Quick Hits: Lowe, Padres, Hairston, Twins, Tigers
Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com notes (on Twitter) that the MLB owners meetings will be held in Denver later this week. They are expected to vote on the sale of the Padres, but the Athletics/Giants/San Jose issue is unlikely to be resolved. Here's the latest from around the league…
- The Giants, Orioles, Phillies, and Red Sox all had interest in Derek Lowe before he signed with the Yankees, tweets Danny Knobler of CBS Sports.
- The Mets have not yet put Scott Hairston on trade waivers, reports Ken Davidoff of The New York Post. Davidoff argues that the Amazin's should trade the outfielder this month.
- Phil Mackey of 1500ESPN.com says that it's lazy to blame the Twins' struggles on their payroll, particularly the $23MM owed to Joe Mauer on an annual basis.
- Josh Slagter of mLive.com says the Tigers should give top prospect Nick Castellanos a shot, similar to how the Orioles used Manny Machado to bolster their lineup.
- In today's Insider-only blog post, ESPN's Buster Olney mentions that he's heard Mark Kotsay's name pop-up as a future big league manager. The Padres signed the veteran to a one-year extension yesterday, so he's not ready to transition to coaching just yet.
Yankees Sign Derek Lowe
MONDAY: The Yankees have officially announced the signing in a press release and say they will use Lowe out of the bullpen. Their 40-man roster is now full.
SATURDAY: The Yankees have agreed to sign Derek Lowe, reports Marc Carig of The Star-Ledger (on Twitter). New York placed CC Sabathia on the DL with elbow stiffness today, so the move figures to replenish some pitching depth. Joel Sherman of The New York Post says (on Twitter) that the veteran right-hander has agreed to pitch out of the bullpen.
Lowe, 39, was released by the Indians earlier this week. He pitched to a 5.52 ERA in 21 starts for Cleveland this season, including an 8.80 ERA in his last dozen starts. He walked (45) more batters than he struck out (41) in 119 innings, though he was still generating plenty of ground balls (60.0%) with that sinker.
The Indians acquired Lowe from the Braves this past offseason and only had to pay $5MM of his $15MM salary. They're still on the hook for that money less the pro-rated portion of the league minimum, which the Yankees will pay.
Indians Release Derek Lowe
The Indians announced that they released Derek Lowe. They designated the right-hander for assignment ten days ago and had until today to trade or release him.
Lowe is willing to start or relieve, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports (on Twitter). There's a sense that Lowe will return to the National League Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun reported yesterday. The Cubs aren't interested and the Red Sox will pass.
Lowe, 39, posted a 5.52 ERA with 3.1 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 in 119 innings with Cleveland this year. He earns a $15MM salary, but the Braves and Indians are responsible for all but the pro-rated MLB minimum at this point.
Orioles Notes: Overbay, Lowe, Chavez
In our poll this afternoon, more than 3,300 MLBTR readers told us that they believe the Orioles will finish the season with an above-.500 record but will not qualify for the postseason. Baltimore came into the day in a four-way tie for the two AL Wild Card spots. Here's the latest from Charm City, courtesy of The Baltimore Sun's Dan Connolly…
- “No, we are looking around every day,” said GM Dan Duquette when asked if the Manny Machado call-up means they are closing the door on acquiring players from outside the organization.
- The Orioles have expressed some interest in the recently released Lyle Overbay, but they might not have room for him on the roster.
- There's a sense that Derek Lowe will wind up back in National League once he clears waivers tomorrow, but the Orioles could have interest according to Connolly.
- Endy Chavez is expected to clear waivers tomorrow and will likely accept an assignment to Baltimore's Triple-A affiliate.
- We had some more Orioles links earlier this morning.
Indians To Release Johnny Damon, Jeremy Accardo
The Indians will release Johnny Damon and Jeremy Accardo today, MLB.com's Jordan Bastian reports (on Twitter). The club has one more day to make a move involving Derek Lowe.
The Indians removed Damon from their roster six days ago, after he posted a .222/.281/.329 batting line with four home runs in 224 plate appearances as a left fielder and designated hitter. The club designated Accardo for assignment five days ago after he posted a 4.58 ERA with 7.1 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9 in 26 appearances.
Damon hasn't heard if any contenders are interested in signing him, but he wants to keep playing, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe reports (Twitter links). The Red Sox will pass on Lowe for now, Cafardo reports.
AL East Notes: Valentine, Thome, Lowe
The Orioles defeated the Mariners tonight to draw within a half game of one of the American League's Wild Card spots. In what most consider to be a shocking season, the second-place Orioles trail the Yankees by 5 1/2 games following New York's loss to the Tigers. Here are some links pertaining to the division…
- "We are not making a change at manager," Red Sox principal owner John Henry told WEEI.com's Rob Bradford via email. Henry wrote that managers often get too much credit and also too little credit for what happens on the field.
- WEEI's Alex Speier tweeted a quote from Red Sox GM Ben Cherington that echoed Henry's sentiment, though Cherington stopped short of saying how long Valentine's Boston tenure would last (Twitter links).
- Orioles DH Jim Thome was told to refrain from baseball activities for 30 days, reports MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli. With an early September return questionable at best, he may be more interested in coming back for another season, according to Ghiroli (Twitter links).
- An Orioles team official told Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com that the team doesn't have interest in Derek Lowe, who was recently DFA'ed by the Indians (Twitter link). Cleveland is said to be exploring trade options for Lowe.
Central Notes: Overbay, Indians, Pirates, Burnett
Some links pertaining to baseball's two Central Divisions, which are currently led by the White Sox and Reds…
- The Reds aren't interested in Lyle Overbay, general manager Walt Jocketty told reporters including John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer (Twitter link). Jocketty mentions Overbay's defensive limitation and says his team likes Xavier Paul. Overbay was released by the D-backs earlier today.
- Indians GM Chris Antonetti is exploring the trade market for both Johnny Damon and Derek Lowe, tweets MLB.com's Jordan Bastian. Antonetti feels there's a chance that he can complete trades within their respective 10-day windows. Cleveland recently designated Damon and Lowe for assignment.
- Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer writes that Antonetti is happy with the job Manny Acta has done and expects him to be the Indians' manager in 2013. Antonetti did concede that the front office and coaching staff may have over-evaluated the roster's talent in Spring Training.
- Pirates GM Neal Huntington says he is actively monitoring the waiver wire and will make claims to improve his team or block others from improving theirs, writes Karen Price of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
- The Pirates haven't explored an extension with A.J. Burnett as of yet, Huntington told reporters including the Tribune-Review's Rob Biertempfel (Sulia link). Huntington says the team's focus is currently on making the playoffs.
Quick Hits: Lowe, Cubs, Antonini, Rangers, Indians
Links from around baseball as Saturday becomes Sunday..
- The Cubs are not interested in pitcher Derek Lowe, according to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe (via Twitter), who spoke with a major league source. Last night it was reported that the Cubs were "looking into" what it would take to acquire the veteran, who was designated for assignment by the Indians earlier this week.
- Dodgers pitcher Michael Antonini cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Albuquerque, according to Ken Gurnick of MLB.com (via Twitter). Antonini was designated for assignment to make roster space after the acquisitions of Brandon League and Shane Victorino.
- Rangers General Manager refused to succumb to outside pressure and held on to his most prized prospects through the trade deadline, writes Tyler Kepner of the New York Times. While third baseman Christian Villanueva and right-hander Kyle Hendricks were shipped out, infielders Mike Olt and Jurickson Profar and pitcher Martin Perez stayed with the organization.
- Paul Hoynes of The Plain Dealer would like to see the Indians take a page out of the White Sox's book and rebuild while keeping the focus on winning.
Chicago Notes: Lowe, Soriano, Williams, Liriano
Here's the latest from both Windy City teams….
- The Cubs are "looking into what it would take to acquire" Derek Lowe, reports Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times. Lowe has a 5.52 ERA in 21 starts this season and was designated for assignment by the Indians two days ago. The Orioles and Red Sox have also been mentioned as possible suitors for Lowe, though the Red Sox haven't been in contact with the Indians about Lowe, according to WEEI.com's Rob Bradford.
- Also from Wittenmyer's piece, Cubs president Theo Epstein said Alfonso Soriano had one semi-legitimate suitor before the trade deadline. ‘‘There were a few nibbles, and there was one match of a team that had expressed interest and a place that he would go,’’ Epstein said. ‘‘But they ended up never making an actual offer and addressing their needs somewhere else.’’ This team could possibly be the Dodgers, who were known to have an interest in Soriano before acquiring Shane Victorino from the Phillies.
- White Sox general manager Kenny Williams tells reporters (including MLB.com's Scott Merkin) that he plans to monitor the waiver wire, though "we don't have a lot of positions where if you claim somebody they're going to come in and play."
- Francisco Liriano ended up being Williams' biggest acquisition in the days before the trade deadline and the GM thinks Liriano will thrive under pitching coach Don Cooper. "While there might be some other guys out there who were available, I just felt that Liriano's one that all he really has to do is be in the strike zone on a more consistent basis," Williams said.
Olney On Dempster, Athletics, Lee, Castro
At least one baseball person wonders if Ryan Dempster hurt his free agent stock by agreeing to join the Rangers, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney reports. The American League, referred to by one general manager as "the big boy league," features some high-powered offenses that could have impact Dempster’s numbers and diminish his leverage in offseason contract talks. Here are more notes from Olney…
- The Dodgers were interested in Dempster, but they never pushed for him, Olney reports. The Dodgers didn’t want to trade from their core of good prospects and they didn’t waver when the Cubs asked about their top minor leaguers.
- Olney suggests teams like the Red Sox and Orioles could have interest in Brandon McCarthy if the Athletics place him on waivers when he returns from the disabled list.
- Before the trade deadline, the Phillies made it clear that they would not pick up any of Cliff Lee’s salary in a trade and would also want prospects in return for the left-hander. Olney suggests it’s highly unlikely Lee will be moved in a waiver deal this month.
- Starlin Castro’s name came up in conversations between the Cubs and Diamondbacks leading up to the trade deadline, Olney writes. However, both sides moved on quickly and a deal was never close.
- Olney wonders if the Nationals could pursue in Derek Lowe given their interest in adding pitching leading up to the trade deadline.