Rangers Have Room For Rental Player
According to GM Jon Daniels, the Rangers have room in their budget to trade for a player whose contract expires at season's end, tweets Jim Bowden of Sirius XM Radio. However, in a second tweet, Bowden notes that the club would require the court's permission to acquire a player whose contract runs past 2010.
The news is a mixed bag for Rangers fans who are curious to know how the team's sale and a recent judge's ruling will affect the club's ability to make trades. On one hand, Daniels makes it clear that acquiring an impact pitcher like Cliff Lee is still a possibility. Conversely, trading for a player with a multi-year contract like Roy Oswalt's would be more difficult to pull off. On top of that, if the Rangers were to trade for Lee or another player whose contract expires this year, they'd essentially be renters, as signing anyone to an extension seems unlikely at the moment.
Ted Lilly, Kevin Millwood, Ben Sheets, and Jake Westbrook are a few other potentially available arms who aren't under contract past this season.
A’s Won’t Trade Young Players
The A’s aren’t looking to make major changes this summer, but they won’t deal their young players even if they do make trades, GM Billy Beane told Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. The A’s haven’t ruled out making moves, but they want to build up a base of young talent.
"That's one of the reasons we acquired Conor Jackson,” Beane said. “Not just for right now, but he's a younger player and his age makes him very attractive."
Two A’s veterans, Ben Sheets and Coco Crisp, have been tabbed as potential trade candidates, but Slusser says Sheets “isn’t stirring up interest” and points out that Crisp has barely played. ESPN.com’s Buster Olney reported that the A’s can afford to cover some of the $5.4MM remaining on Sheets’ salary in order to obtain better prospects. The right-hander has a 3.79 ERA, less than one hit allowed per inning pitched and twice as many strikeouts as walks since the Blue Jays lit him up for nine runs on May 2nd.
Even contenders are hesitant to deal young players, so it would be surprising if the A's, who are 10.0 games out of a playoff spot, decided to trade young talent away.
Olney On Rangers, Sheets, Gonzalez, Orioles
Lawyers in the game say the Rangers don’t have a good chance of completing their ownership transfer by the July 31st trade deadline, according to ESPN.com’s Buster Olney. That means Roy Oswalt won’t likely play for the Rangers this year. But GM Jon Daniels, who would like to add a veteran starter, could acquire Cliff Lee if he gets creative. Taking on salary would be a challenge, since the Rangers have borrowed $20MM or more from MLB to operate. Here are the rest of Olney’s rumors:
- The A’s can afford to cover some of the $5.5MM remaining on Ben Sheets’ contract in a trade if it means they acquire better prospects. Since few teams want to take on payroll, the A’s, who paid part of Matt Holliday’s salary after trading him to the Cardinals last year, could improve the return they get for Sheets by absorbing money again.
- Olney says recently-fired manager Fredi Gonzalez has been “a dead man walking” since the end of the 2009 season.
- The Orioles aren’t in a rush to trade their veterans, partly because the team is struggling so much.
A’s May Hold Onto Ben Sheets, Deal Coco Crisp?
When Ben Sheets signed a one-year, $10MM contract with Oakland in January, it was widely assumed that the A's would try to flip Sheets to a contending team at the trade deadline, provided that the right-hander proved he was healthy and returned to his past form. Sheets has made 15 starts and had some ups and downs in performance (a 4.66 ERA, 1.65 K-BB ratio), but was still seen as a candidate to be moved in July.
Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com, however, reports that barring a "compelling" offer, the Athletics intend to keep Sheets for the remainder of the season. The club likes how Sheets has acted as a mentor to their young pitchers and his eight-figure contract isn't too much of a burden on the payroll.
Since Sheets doesn't even currently project to be a Type-B free agent under the most recent Elias rankings, it would seem unlike the A's to just let him walk as a free agent after the season. It's possible the club thinks they could re-sign him at a lower price, but a healthy Sheets is bound to attract the attention of several teams over the winter.
Rosenthal also notes that Coco Crisp could be dealt, but Oakland "will need to be motivated to move" the veteran outfielder. Rosenthal argues that Crisp's $5.75MM option for next season fits into the club's budget, but Crisp has battled injuries for the last two seasons and has just a .719 OPS since 2006. If the A's can't move him at the deadline, it seems more likely that Crisp would be bought out for $500K.
Odds & Ends: Sheets, Matthews Jr., Cubs, Red Sox
A few more links for Monday night….
- A scout tells John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link) that he didn't know of any teams scouting Ben Sheets this past weekend.
- John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer tweets that there's no risk to the Reds signing Gary Matthews Jr., but that he still wouldn't do it.
- Jack Moore of Fangraphs explains how he thinks the Cubs should approach the trading deadline.
- The Red Sox will have the financial flexibility to make a move or two this summer in part because of their abundance of homegrown pitching talent, according to MLB.com's Peter Gammons.
- Bob Ford of the Philadelphia Inquirer says the Phillies may need to acquire an arm for the back of their bullpen.
- With July 31st fast approaching, MLB.com's beat writers are fielding a slew of questions about possible trades. Check out mailbags from Anthony Castrovince (Indians), T.R. Sullivan (Rangers), Joe Frisaro (Marlins), and Chris Haft (Giants) for their thoughts on the trade market.
Odds & Ends: Grandal, Red Sox, Salazar, Rockies
A few links to check out while we wait to see if the Rays can avoid falling out of first place for the first time in nearly two months…
- The Reds have made initial contact with the representatives for Yasmani Grandal according to John Fay of The Cincinnati Enquirer. GM Walt Jocketty said they will continue talks this week with 2010's 12th overall draft pick.
- WEEI.com's Alex Speier mentions that when Felix Doubront started for the Red Sox last night, he became the first Latin American player signed and developed by the Theo Epstein regime to reach the big league. ESPN's Jorge Arangure mentions (via Twitter) the Boston hasn't had a homegrown Latin American position player since the early 1990's.
- Meanwhile, MLB.com's Peter Gammons says (via Twitter) that only two teams were willing to take Manny Ramirez off Boston's hands two years ago even if they footed the bill: the Marlins and Dodgers. The Red Sox's requests for Mike Stanton and Andre Ethier were met with "no thank yous."
- MLB.com's Corey Brock, Brittany Ghiroli, and Gina Mizeli spoke to Oscar Salazar, who reflected on the trade that send him from the Orioles to the Padres last year.
- The Rockies will look at the middle infield market, but ESPN's Buster Olney tweets they're likely to just ride out Troy Tulowitzki's absence with what they have in house. He does however mention that Dan Uggla is one name to watch.
- Both Jhonny Peralta and Kerry Wood offered up the stock "it's out of my control" response when asked about the possibility of being traded, according to Paul Hoynes of The Cleveland Plain-Dealer.
- Mark Kiszla of The Denver Post says the idea of the Rockies' acquiring Cliff Lee is wishful thinking. The team would have to get back in the playoff race and show it can compete without Troy Tulowitzki before ownership would consider adding Lee's salary to the payroll.
- The Cardinals had interest in signing Ben Sheets this winter according to Derrick Goold of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, but the righthander's price was too high. “If he wants to prove his value here, we’d have interest,” said manager Tony La Russa. “It turns out he had value that wasn’t going to work.”
Mets Seek Top Starter
The Mets would like to add a top starter and their ability to absorb payroll will help them acquire an arm, according to ESPN.com’s Buster Olney. Few teams appear willing to take on significant salary, according to Olney, and that could position the Mets to acquire a pitcher for the stretch run.
Roy Oswalt would pitch for the Mets, but they don’t like the $26.8MM remaining on his contract. That price tag would make any team pause and the Mets know the Astros would want prospects, too. Olney hears that the team would prefer to take on salary than give up prospects.
Some within the Mets organization want to make a serious run at Cliff Lee, who would certainly cost top prospects. The Mariners are hesitant to deal Lee at this point, but most expect that to change.
If the Mets sidestep Oswalt and Lee, they could turn to Jake Westbrook, Fausto Carmona, Ben Sheets or Kevin Millwood (who is open to pitching in Queens). Westbrook, Sheets and Millwood all make $10MM-plus, which could limit the number of bidders and give the Mets an edge.
Minnesota’s Trade Deadline Wish List
La Velle E. Neal of the Minneapolis Star Tribune examined the Twins' biggest needs (starting pitching, third base, bullpen) and threw out a few names that the current AL Central leaders are known to be looking at, or could potentially look at as the calendar turns to July. Let's examine the likelihood of some of Neal's possibilities…
- Roy Oswalt. Thanks to Target Field, the Twins have raised their payroll to account for such big moves as Joe Mauer's extension. Absorbing the rest of Oswalt's contract, however, could be a bit much for the club. He is owed a little more than $9MM over the rest of this season, $16MM in 2011, and $16MM in 2012 with a club option for a $2MM buyout. As noted over the weekend, Oswalt could demand that that option year be automatically picked up in any trade, making it an even bigger financial pill for the Twins to swallow.
- Cliff Lee. Neal notes that acquiring Lee will come at a hefty cost, given the two compensatory draft picks that the soon-to-be free agent could bring back in the winter. Neal raises the possibility that Lee might be enough to entice Minnesota into swapping touted (and Mauer-blocked) prospect Wilson Ramos.
- Rich Harden, Dan Haren, Ben Sheets. Neal doesn't delve into detail about these three, probably because Harden and Sheets don't fit the profile of the "big workload" ace that Neal thinks the Twins need to complement Francisco Liriano. Haren has a cleaner injury history than the other two, but he's struggled this year and is due to earn $25.5MM in 2011-12 (plus a $3.5MM buyout of his $15.5MM club option for 2013).
- Mike Lowell. We heard about Minnesota's interest in Lowell over the weekend, and how Twins management had obvious concerns about Lowell's health and his big salary. Boston's catch-22 with Lowell seems to be that teams will want to know he's healthy before dealing for him, but the Red Sox can't find a way to showcase him without taking a hot player like Adrian Beltre, David Ortiz or Kevin Youkilis out of the lineup.
- Michael Wuertz. The Austin, Minnesota native was pursued by the Twins last summer, and we heard last week that the Twins were looking for bullpen help. Neal points out that the Twins' bullpen is pitching well already and they have some good relievers in the minors, so Wuertz would strictly be a depth pick-up. Also, if Oakland remains in the AL West hunt, the A's may not be willing to swap the right-hander.
Heyman On Prince, Buchholz, Sheets, Padres
We've already heard about Roy Oswalt and Cliff Lee, but Jon Heyman of SI.com introduces us to some lower-profile trade candidates in his latest column. Here's the latest on what trades to expect over the course of the next two months:
- This summer, the Yankees plan on pursuing a reliever plus a hitter to replace Nick Johnson (Twitter link).
- Executives believe there's a real chance the 19-28 Brewers deal Prince Fielder. One NL GM says "Milwaukee can't afford the Prince Fielders of the world.''
- The Indians asked for Clay Buchholz in exchange for Cliff Lee last summer and were rejected by the Red Sox. The Indians were smart to ask, but the Red Sox are surely glad they held onto Buchholz, who has a 3.07 ERA this year.
- An AL GM says Ben Sheets needs to be more consistent to become an appealing trade target. Sheets is pitching better after a slow start.
- GMs around the league would love to see the White Sox make their pitchers available.
- A White Sox insider says Ozzie Guillen isn't going anywhere.
- One GM can see the D'Backs trading Dan Haren for a prospect-rich package, but other executives think the D'Backs will keep their ace.
- Most executives see the Padres holding onto Adrian Gonzalez and Heath Bell – at least as long as they're playing this well.
Ben Sheets’ Trade Value
At first glance, Ben Sheets doesn't appear like much of a trade target. He has an ERA over 5.00, he's walking a batter every two innings and his team is just two games out of a playoff spot. Not only that, he's making a base salary of $10MM this year. But if the A's fall from contention and Sheets builds on his current hot streak, he could attract interest on the trade market.
Sheets started the season poorly and even gave up eight-plus earned runs in back-to-back starts, but he may have been tipping his pitches early on. Only the hitters who faced him know if he was tipping his pitches, but this much is clear: Sheets has pitched much better recently. Since May 8th, he has a 2.52 ERA, has allowed fewer hits than innings pitched and has 29 strikeouts with 12 walks.
Still, Sheets, who has generally had low walk rates, is now walking more hitters than ever. It's less worrisome when you consider that his walk rates have traditionally improved over the course of the season. Sheets missed all of 2009 with elbow surgery, so he may still be finding his way around the strike zone. That's what Sheets thinks, anyway. He recently told Ron Kroichick of the San Francisco Chronicle that he's "starting to settle in."
Most MLB starters will look good if you highlight their best four-start stretch of the season, but Sheets' recent success is just part of the reason his trade value is picking up. His average fastball is 91 mph this year, just a bit lower than his career norms. That suggests he's healthy after last year's operation. The A's aren't taking any chances, however; they have only allowed Sheets to reach the 100 pitch plateau twice in his ten starts.
Teams could have interest if the A's fall from contention, but they would probably want to see improved control and continued health from Sheets. He cannot be offered arbitration after the season, so no acquiring team will have the chance to obtain draft picks. Even if Sheets stays healthy, the A’s would likely have to eat salary in any trade, since there are many cheaper, more predictable options available.