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David Aardsma

Relievers On Boston’s Radar

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4:23pm: The Red Sox are having ongoing discussions with Dan Wheeler about a possible deal, according to Alex Speier of WEEI.com. One of Speier's sources is optimistic about the negotiations.

1:16pm: The Red Sox liked Matt Guerrier well enough to offer him a two-year deal, but the Dodgers offered a third guaranteed year and the right-hander has agreed to play for Los Angeles. The Red Sox will have to move on to other targets as they look to round out their 'pen. Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe has the details on what he says is the biggest challenge of the offseason for GM Theo Epstein.

Two former Twins, right-hander Jesse Crain and left-hander Brian Fuentes are the team’s priorities now. The Red Sox are also considering trades and would “love” to reacquire Justin Masterson, according to Cafardo. The Indians have been reluctant to part with Masterson, whom they acquired in the 2009 Victor Martinez trade.

There are a number of alternatives for Epstein to pursue, including Indians relievers Joe Smith and Rafael Perez, who “could be on Boston’s radar.” The A’s are likely willing to listen on their relievers and the Mariners would listen on David Aardsma, Cafardo writes.

David Aardsma’s Trade Value

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The offseason is less than a month old, but the perception is that Joaquin Benoit's three-year, $16.5MM deal with the Tigers has busted the free agent reliever market. It's possible that the most cost effective bullpen pieces can now be found in trades, and Geoff Baker of The Seattle Times believes that David Aardsma's trade value has gone up without throwing a pitch since the end of the regular season.

Aardsma, 29 next month, emerged as Seattle's closer in 2009, and has pitched to a 2.90 ERA with 9.6 K/9 and 4.4 BB/9 in 121 innings with the Mariners. He's 69 for 78 in save opportunities in that time, numbers that are likely to push his salary north of $4MM in his second time through the arbitration process this offseason. Aardsma earned $2.75MM in 2010.

The Mariners, who finished with the game's second worst record in 2010, have a number of holes to fill. They have a replacement closer in waiting in Brandon League, and could shop Aardsma for an upgrade at basically any position not occupied by Chone Figgins, Ichiro Suzuki, or Franklin Gutierrez. As we've seen in recent years, hard-throwing relievers can fetch all kinds of returns.

Matt Lindstrom brought back three non-top prospect minor leaguers in a trade. Kerry Wood returned two low level minor leaguers and salary relief. Leo Nunez brought Mike Jacobs. Chris Perez and another player landed Mark DeRosa. Joel Hanrahan and Sean Burnett were essentially traded for each other. Jose Valverde, Rafael Soriano, Chad Qualls, Ramon Ramirez, Octavio Dotel … the list goes on and on.

The number of teams that could use a guy like Aardsma is 30, for all intents and purposes, but his expected salary will likely limit his market to teams with sizable wallets. Baker speculates about a fit with the Rays, but acknowledges their payroll crunch. The Red Sox are seeking bullpen help and are familiar with Aardsma after his 2008 stint with the team, then of course you have the usual suspects like the Yankees, Dodgers, Cardinals, Cubs, Tigers, Phillies, etc. All of this is one reason why Aardsma will almost certainly not be with the Mariners come Spring Training, as Baker puts it.

Odds & Ends: Darvish, Feliciano, D’Backs, Blue Jays

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As the Padres face a big uphill battle in San Francisco this weekend, we look at some news items….

Stark On Sherrill, Blue Jays, Harper, Thome

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There has been a “flurry” of waiver claims on prominent players, according to an MLB official who spoke with ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark. Nearly every desirable hitter and reliever has been claimed, according to Stark’s source. However, we can add at least one name to our list of players to clear waivers. Here it is, along with Stark’s other rumors:

  • George Sherrill, who has a 7.00 ERA and $1.3MM remaining on his contract, cleared waivers, according to Stark. The Dodgers can now trade him to any club, as our waiver trade primer explains.
  • David Aardsma, Kevin Gregg and Brandon League were all claimed on waivers and pulled back, according to Stark’s source. If the Mariners or Blue Jays re-expose their respective relievers to waivers, they would no longer have the right to pull the players back.
  • Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos told Stark that he’s looking for high-impact players, because the club is geared towards reaching 95 wins.
  • One MLB official believes Manny Ramirez will sign a one-year, incentive-based contract with an AL team this winter. That sounds about right.
  • There have been no signs that Scott Boras, who represents first overall pick Bryce Harper, has had any meaningful conversations with the Nationals about what it will take to reach a deal. The sides have until Monday at 11pm CST to reach a deal.
  • The Twins were willing to include Wilson Ramos (now in Washington’s system) in a trade for Cliff Lee, according to Stark’s sources.
  • Jim Thome already has 15 homers for the Twins, and he could be back in Minneapolis next year. "We'd certainly have interest in him coming back," Twins assistant GM Rob Antony told Stark.

Mariners May Move Aardsma On Saturday

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The Mariners may move David Aardsma on Saturday, a source tells Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter). 

Aardsma, 28, has a 4.59 ERA on the year with 9.7 K/9 and 4.3 BB/9.  Recently we have learned that the Tigers are keeping tabs on him, the Giants inquired on him, and the Red Sox have explored a trade for him (and roughly fifteen other relievers).

When the Giants asked about Aardsma, the M's countered by offering their closer and Jose Lopez for Pablo Sandoval, but Jack Zduriencik & Co. were rebuffed.

Red Sox Have Explored Trades For Many Relievers

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FRIDAY, 1:03am: Theo Epstein has discussed multiple possible trades with former Red Sox assistant GM and current Padres GM Jed Hoyer, according to Peter Abraham and Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. The Globe duo believes Boston could have interest in a reliever like Joe Thatcher, and, given the team's excess of outfielders when Jacoby Ellsbury returns, they may match up with San Diego.

THURSDAY, 12:59pm: Though they're on his no-trade list, the Red Sox asked the Brewers about Trevor Hoffman, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  Rosenthal adds that the Brewers are not inclined to move Hoffman.  Meanwhile they're getting calls on Carlos Villanueva and Todd Coffey.

12:05pm: The Red Sox are leaving no rock unturned in their search for relief help.  They've explored Rafael Perez, Will Ohman, Mike Gonzalez, Matt Capps, Michael Wuertz, Craig Breslow, Sean Marshall, Kerry Wood, David Aardsma, and Kyle Farnsworth, reports Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe.  Cafardo says Scott Downs looks unlikely unless the Blue Jays back down from their top prospect requests.  On a related note, SI's Jon Heyman tweets that the Jays asked the Mets for outfield prospect Kirk Nieuwenhuis and one other player for Downs and were denied. 

Marshall is the interesting name here.  The 27-year-old lefty has had a dominant year in relief, posting a 1.71 ERA, 10.4 K/9, and 2.9 BB/9 in 52.6 innings with one home run allowed.  He's been especially strong against lefties.  Marshall is under team control through 2012 and would presumably be very difficult to pry loose from the Cubs.  Gonzalez is another surprising name, since he's spent most of the season on the shelf with a shoulder injury and is still owed good money.

Cafardo adds that the Red Sox have been shopping reliever Ramon Ramirez, and offers the opinion that a National League team might want to take a look at him.  Ramirez has a 4.57 ERA, 6.5 K/9, and 3.3 BB/9 in 41.3 innings with six home runs allowed and is a potential non-tender candidate after the season.

Giants Inquired On David Aardsma

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The Giants inquired on Mariners closer David Aardsma, MLBTR has learned.  However, the Mariners countered by offering Aardsma and Jose Lopez for Pablo Sandoval and were turned down.

Aardsma was a first-round pick of Brian Sabean's Giants back in '03 but was traded to the Cubs with Jerome Williams two years later for LaTroy Hawkins and cash.  His peripheral stats haven't changed much since last year, and his groundball rate is actually up, but his ERA increased from 2.52 to 4.73.  One plus is that he's under team control through 2012.  Lopez, a potential non-tender candidate for the Mariners after the season, doesn't seem to hold much trade value despite last year's 25 home run campaign.

Sandoval has seen a big downturn this year, with a .263/.325/.384 line after last year's amazing performance garnered MVP votes.  His injuries have seemingly been minor, though he is just returning from personal leave.  Sandoval remains under team control through 2014 and the Giants probably aren't inclined to sell low.

Tigers Not Showing Interest In Pudge, Robertson

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The Tigers are not showing interest in re-acquiring Ivan Rodriguez or Nate Robertson for the stretch run, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. 

Tigers catchers have combined to post just a .564 OPS so far in 2010, but manager Jim Leyland told MLB.com’s Jason Beck and Alex DiFilippo that he will mix and match Gerald Laird and Alex Avila for now. There haven't been indications that the Nationals want to trade Pudge, who had a .673 OPS entering the day's action and continues to throw out 42% of would-be base stealers, even at 38.

The Marlins designated Robertson for assignment yesterday, after he allowed seven earned runs against the Rockies. There has been little reported interest in the 32-year-old, but I suggested earlier in the week that he could be a cheap, effective left-handed specialist, especially for a team that doesn't like the thin relief market. The Tigers are interested in relievers, but are apparently eyeing pitchers other than Robertson.

Morosi notes that the Tigers are not pursuing Ryan Theriot, but are keeping tabs on Brandon League, David Aardsma and other relievers.

Crasnick On The Bullpen Market

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ESPN's Jerry Crasnick does a nice job profiling the underwhelming market for relievers.  The Red Sox, Tigers, Angels, Dodgers, Yankees, Rays, Phillies, and Twins could be looking to make an acquisition.  A few tidbits…

  • The Astros "will gladly talk about Brandon Lyon, but aren't so interested in discussing Matt Lindstrom."  Lyon is still owed $12.48MM through 2012.
  • Crasnick points out that Octavio Dotel is not a pitcher you want facing lefties.  How about D.J. Carrasco?  He's quietly having another decent year, he's cheap, and he's under team control through 2012.  Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review tweeted yesterday that at least five teams have inquired.
  • Crasnick finds "the consensus" to be that Mariners closer David Aardsma will be dealt before the deadline.  The Tigers have been linked to the hard-throwing righty, whose ERA is up several runs this year despite his strikeout and walk rates remaining stable.  Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times feels the Mariners would need their socks knocked off to move Aardsma. 
  • Chad Qualls, Clay Hensley, and most of the Brewers' and Royals' pens also merit consideration as trade bait.

Red Sox Rumors: Relievers, Beltre

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Red Sox rumors from those covering the team…

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