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Indians Seek Pitching; Are “Extremely Busy”

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Indians GM Mark Shapiro has no idea if he'll make any trades this July, but he's "extremely busy and active," according to MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince. Though he's not sure he'll make a deal, Shapiro knows he would want to acquire pitching in return for any of his players.

The Indians are expected to be open-minded about Cliff Lee and Victor Martinez in case a team wows them with an offer. Because fewer teams can spend money, more players are expected to clear waivers, which will likely lead to more trades than usual in August. Players like Kerry Wood and Jamey Carroll could clear waivers, which would allow the Indians to consider trades until the end of next month.

Trade Candidates: Relievers

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Just about every team could improve its bullpen and some clubs, like the Marlins and Rockies, are working aggressively to add relievers. Here are some of the names to consider, ordered from highest 2009 salary to lowest.

  • Kerry Wood – He's been a disappointment in Cleveland, and the Indians owe him about $15MM before the end of next year, and possibly more in 2011.
  • Rafael Soriano – Could the Braves get creative and deal Soriano ($6.1MM) or Mike Gonzalez ( $3.5MM), who will also become a free agent this winter.
  • Danys Baez – At $5.5MM, he's an expensive option, but he could help a contender.
  • LaTroy Hawkins – He's been effective in 38 appearances for the Astros, who are still in contention and may hold onto Hawkins ($3.5MM) and fellow reliever Jose Valverde ($8MM).
  • Rafael Betancourt – He's still nowhere near as effective as he was in 2007, but Betancourt's pitched well enough this year; he'll make $3.35MM this season.  
  • Russ Springer – He's been hittable, but he can still strike major leaguers out. He makes $3.3MM this year.
  • George Sherrill – Affordable and effective, Sherrill ($2.75MM) is under team control through 2011.  
  • Chad Qualls – The D'Backs already traded Tony Pena, so they may be reluctant to part with Qualls, who makes $2.5MM this season.
  • John Grabow – Makes $2.3MM this year, before hitting free agency this winter. He's pitching well, but his control's been off this season.  
  • Matt Capps – Like Grabow, he makes $2.3MM this year, but Capps will likely hit free agency after 2012.
  • Juan Cruz – Still tough to hit, but not as effective as last year, Cruz makes $2.25MM this year and more in 2010.  
  • Joe Beimel – The 32-year-old lefty makes $2MM this year. He's pitched well, but not quite as well as his 3.57 ERA suggests.
  • Takashi Saito – A relative bargain at $1.5MM plus incentives, especially when you consider the affordable team option for next year.
  • Heath Bell – At an affordable $1.3MM, the All-Star closer would be appealing to many clubs, especially since he's under team control through 2011.
  • Cla Meredith – By far the cheapest option on this list at just $431k, he's had three respectable seasons in a row since his breakout 2006 campaign.  

The Twins, Angels, Rangers, Phillies, Rockies and Dodgers are among the teams that could make deals to improve their respective ‘pens.

Heyman On Street, Indians, Pedro, Davis

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Jon Heyman of SI.com lists his mid-season award winners, led by Albert Pujols and Joe Mauer. Here are Heyman's latest rumors:

  • Huston Street alone is worth more on the trade market than Matt Holliday. Dan O'Dowd must be happy with his return, which also included Carlos Gonzalez.
  • Jhonny Peralta, Kerry Wood and Carl Pavano are all available.  
  • Indians GM Mark Shapiro believes he can still get a fair return for Cliff Lee if he deals him a year from now, a few months before the lefty is scheduled to become free agent.
  • One executive says the Royals are "pushing" Brian Bannister as a trade candidate. However, they're reluctant to deal Gil Meche and Joakim Soria.  
  • Pedro Martinez intends to sign soon. We know the Phillies are scouting him. Could there be a match in Philly?  The Rays are "thought to be in the mix," while the Yankees are not, even with Chien-Ming Wang's injury.
  • There's apparently been "little progress" between the Brewers and D'Backs regarding Doug Davis. 
  • Nolan Ryan is part of one group trying to buy the Rangers.  

Stark On Royals, Phillies, Holliday

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ESPN.com's Jayson Stark asks some thoughtful baseball people why we're not greeting Manny Ramirez like the "team-wrecking, alibi-distorting, female-fertility-drug-popping scoundrel he is." And, of course, Stark has piles of rumors. Here they are:

  • The Mets were never willing to move Bobby Parnell or other top young arms for Mark DeRosa, so they weren't as close to acquiring him as the Reds and Cubs were. The Phillies, Marlins and Giants were also in the mix.
  • The Indians are more interested in dealing Rafael Bentancourt than Kerry Wood, whose contract ($15MM remaining) would be hard to move.  
  • The Royals will listen on anyone but Zack Greinke, but that doesn't mean they're looking to deal starters. They're "reluctant" to deal Brian Bannister, Kyle Davies or Gil Meche, who has a no-trade clause.
  • The Phillies were looking at Juan Cruz, who the Royals say they'd only deal for an upper-tier prospect ready to make a big-league impact.  
  • The Reds will wait it out and ramp up their pursuit of a bat if they're in the race later in the month.  
  • One executive says Pedro Martinez didn't look bad in last month's workout; Pedro's just demanding too much money. 
  • The Phillies haven't given up on pursuing Cliff Lee, Erik Bedard or Roy Oswalt.  
  • The Braves are trying to deal Jeff Francoeur everywhere, but no one's interested. One front-office guy says his team would be interested if Francoeur's non-tendered.  
  • Officials are divided on whether Yunel Escobar could be dealt, but a trade is unlikely at best.  
  • Rangers GM Jon Daniels says he is now looking to bolster his rotation.  
  • As expected, Daniels confirmed that the Rangers will have "limited" ability to take on salary at the deadline. 
  • The A's will want "two prospects with tremendous upside" for Matt Holliday if they deal him. It's unclear how much of the $6.75MM remaining on his contract the A's would pick up.
  • Could Josh Willingham be the next-best bat on the market? One exec says he might be if Russell Branyan and Miguel Tejada don't become available.  
  • Another official says Willingham's unappealing because of his back issues.  

Odds and Ends: Hudson, Twins, Sisco, Dunn

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Links for Friday…

Odds And Ends: Cameron, Abreu, Treanor

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Links for Thursday night…

  • Brian Cashman phoned Doug Melvin to explain that he hadn’t called earlier because the Yanks have "a lot of things going on." The Brewers GM said he’s "probably going to hang on to" Mike Cameron.
  • Ozzie Guillen spoke with Bobby Abreu and said "interest exists" from the White Sox perspective.
  • GM Dave Dombrowski was part of the reason Matt Treanor chose the Tigers.
  • T.R. Sullivan continues to track interest in Ben Sheets, and doesn’t see the Yankees being very aggressive on that front.
  • Adam Dunn and Pat Burrell don’t deserve raises if you ask Rob Neyer, but he knows they’re likely to get them.
  • Kerry Wood sounds happy to be in Cleveland and has "no desire to ever start again."
  • The other top reliever to be introduced today, J.J. Putz, said he expected to become a Tiger.

Odds and Ends: Nelson, Atkins, Taveras

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After a hectic Winter Meetings, it’s been a slow weekend.  Today’s links…

Indians Complete Kerry Wood Signing

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11:50am: The AP reports that Wood gets $10MM in 2009 and $10.5MM in 2010. If he finishes 55 games either year, the Indians’ option vests and they pay Wood $11MM in 2011.  Check out this Chicago Tribune article for comments from Wood and Mark Shapiro.

9:09am: Kerry Wood signed a two-year $20.5MM contract with the Indians that has a vesting club option for a third year.

The Indians decided to complete the deal after discussing Wood’s physical and running it past club executives.

Indians Close To Deal With Wood

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FRIDAY, 5:34pm: According to Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, we should hear the Indians’ decision on the Wood signing by Saturday. Indians president Paul Dolan has the final call.

9:41am: Looking for a Kerry Wood update?  The AP is reporting that he took his physical yesterday, and team doctors are taking a look.  They say it may still take a few days before the official announcement.

WEDNESDAY, 4:42pm: Castrovince says Wood is headed to Cleveland for a Thursday physical.  He believes the two-year, $20MM deal will include a third-year option of some variety.

11:37am: SI.com’s Jon Heyman says the Indians are closing in on a two-year, $20MM deal with Wood.  Jon Paul Morosi reported the same earlier today.

TUESDAY, 11:17pm: Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune reports Wood reached an agreement with the Indians on what is believed to be a two-year deal with a vesting option.  It’s unclear if Rogers is offering up new information here or just summarizing what we know.

7:44pm: John Perrotto says the Indians signed off on Wood’s medical reports and will likely announce the signing today or tomorrow.

5:36pm: The AP says the Indians are close to a two-year deal with Wood.

5:01pm: Peter Gammons says the Indians are making progress with Wood but still talking to alternatives.

4:21pm: Yahoo’s Gordon Edes says an Indians source expressed confidence that the team is close to signing Wood, probably to a two-year deal with a vesting option. The AP agrees.

3:12pm: Castrovince says his Wood report "appears to be legit."  Multiple sources have confirmed to him that a deal "could be cemented soon."  Wood would still have to pass a physical though.

3:03pm: ESPN’s Keith Law:

A source with Cleveland indicated that the Indians are still "actively engaged in the closer market" but haven’t settled on one player or finalized a deal yet.

1:15pm: According to MLB.com’s Anthony Castrovince, the Indians appear closer to a two-year deal with Kerry Wood.  The deal may contain a third-year option.

Tigers Unlikely To Add Closer

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8:04: Steve Kornacki doesn’t feel that the Tigers are done adding to their bullpen yet. He feels Dave Dombrowski will pursue Fuentes is the price comes down.

He also looks at what he deems the other six viable options left: John Smoltz, Trevor Hoffman, Brandon Lyon, David Weathers, Chad Cordero, and Eric Gagne. Hardly an impressive crop. Kornacki lists Lyon and Weathers as the most attractive options, unless the Tigers can luck out and pry Smoltz away from Atlanta. Smoltz is a Michigan native.

6:44: Danny Knobler of CBS Sports says that getting a closer is no longer a priority for the Tigers.

Detroit isn’t interested in Trevor Hoffman, can’t afford Brian Fuentes, and they tried for Kerry Wood but missed. The Tigers feel they could have landed J.J. Putz, but the Mets swooped in with a last minute offer and won his services.

Knobler also wonders if the Tigers could release Dontrelle Willis if he doesn’t show something in Spring Training.

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