Odds & Ends: Dodgers, Rangers, Maya, Lowell
Sunday night linkage..
- The three newest members of the Dodgers are happy to be in Los Angeles, writes MLB.com's Ken Gurnick.
- The Rangers were the biggest winners at the deadline, writes Scott Miller of CBSSports.com.
- Yunesky Maya tells Jorge Ebro of El Nuevo Herald (Spanish link) that he has been training hard and "in about three weeks" the Nationals can save him a spot on the roster (translation courtesy of Nick Collias). Earlier today the Nats confirmed that they have inked the 28-year-old hurler to a four-year deal.
- Major league sources tell Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports that a three-way trade was discussed in which Mike Lowell could have landed with the Yankees. In the discussed deal, the Red Sox would have sent Lowell to the Rangers, who would then send the veteran to the Yankees.
- Daniel Barbarisi of The Providence Journal writes that despite his strong first half, Clay Buchholz still couldn't bring himself to relax at the deadline.
- The Giants haven't talked to Carlos Delgado's people since this winter, tweets Mychael Urban of CSNBayArea.com.
- MLB.com's James Hall writes that Indians manager Manny Acta is happy to have July 31st in the rear view mirror. Jake Westbrook, Kerry Wood, Austin Kearns, and Jhonny Peralta were all shipped out in advance of the deadline.
- The future of Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu is clearly in doubt, tweets Bob Nightengale of USA Today.
- Toronto GM Alex Anthopoulos had his eye on center fielder Anthony Gose for quite some time, writes Jordan Bastian of MLB.com. Anthopoulos finally got his man in exchange for first baseman Brett Wallace.
Odds & Ends: Duffy, Tigers, Yankees, Reds, Red Sox
Some leftovers in the wake of another trade deadline…
- I'll be appearing on Sporting News Radio at 8:25pm PT tonight to talk about the deadline. You can listen in here.
- ESPN's Jayson Stark named his trade deadline winners and losers, with the Rangers, Padres, and Yankees among the teams earning praise.
- The Phillies released Triple-A outfielder Chris Duffy, reports Matt Gelb of The Philadelphia Inquirer (via Twitter).
- Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski told Steve Kornacki of MLive.com that he "had a chance to do something surprising and big," and that it was like "getting the wind knocked out of you" when it fell through. He didn't elaborate any further, so we'll have to keep playing the guessing game.
- Joel Sherman of The New York Post says the Yankees took on $4.8MM at the deadline, more than any other team (Twitter links). The bankrupt Rangers came in second at $4.1MM.
- Reds GM Walt Jocketty told MLB.com's Mark Sheldon that he was working on some deals in recent days, but they "fell apart at the end."
- ESPN's Buster Olney tweets the Red Sox finished second in the Kerry Wood race, ditto the Rays and Lance Berkman, both of whom ended up with their biggest rival.
- Mark Zuckerman of Nats Insider tweets that Yunesky Maya's deal with Washington will be made official within the hour.
- The Padres inquired about Jacoby Ellsbury before picking up Ryan Ludwick, but were told he's not available according to ESPN Boston's Gordon Edes (Twitter links).
- ESPN's Buster Olney tweets that the Dodgers took on about $3MM with all their deadline moves. Their financial situation has been in question basically all season.
- Chad Tracy has exercised an opt-out clause in his minor league contract with the Yankees and is now a free agent, tweet Conor Foley with the Triple-A Scranton Yankees.
- Barret Loux has joined the Cotuit Kettleers of the Cape Cod League according to the team's official Twitter feed. Loux was the sixth overall pick in last month's draft, but recently failed his physical with the Diamondbacks and could be looking to rebuild his stock.
- The Royals traded minor league catcher Jeff Howell to the Twins for future considerations according to milb.com's official Twitter feed.
Yankees Acquire Kerry Wood
The Yankees may have found their new setup man. They acquired Kerry Wood from the Indians today for a player to be named later and cash. The Indians also picked up $2.17MM of the $3.67MM Wood has left on his contract, but Cleveland will receive an additional $200K from the Yankees if Wood stays healthy. The former phenom was just activated from the DL today after dealing with a blister. In 20 innings this season, the 33-year-old righty has a 6.30 ERA, 8.1 K/9, and 5.0 BB/9.
Wood doesn't know what role he'll have in Joe Girardi's bullpen, but he's excited to be joining a team that has a chance to win the World Series.
"That’s why we all play the game," he said.
Indians manager Manny Acta explained that Chris Perez will now be the team's permanent closer. And though Acta would rather be buying than selling, he's glad to see his former players join contending teams.
"It’s good for those guys to get an opportunity to go somewhere where they have a chance to win," Acta said.
ESPN.com's Buster Olney, ESPN.com's Jayson Stark and Joel Sherman of the New York Post contributed to the story on Twitter as it broke. MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith contributed the quotes.
Red Sox Have Explored Trades For Many Relievers
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.
Stark On Lilly, Indians, Astros, Dodgers
The starting pitching market may be ‘mediocre’ if you ask officials around the major leagues, as ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark did, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t tons of rumors out there with just over a week before the deadline. Here they are:
- Six teams or more are interested in Ted Lilly, who will almost certainly get traded. The Tigers, Mets and Dodgers have interest, but the Yankees probably won’t be involved. The Cubs are not willing to pick up any of Lilly’s salary and probably won’t have to.
- The A’s, on the other hand, will pick up much of the $4MM or so remaining on Ben Sheets’ salary and are ready to deal him.
- The Indians are willing to deal one of Jake Westbrook or Fausto Carmona for a “compelling” package, but not both.
- They’re also growing more and more confident that they’ll be able to trade Kerry Wood. If they don't strike a deal before the deadline, they could do so after Wood clears waivers in August.
- The Yankees are kicking tires on many starters, including Westbrook and Dan Haren.
- The Astros would have to be “overwhelmed” to move Brett Myers (as FOX Sports reported) or Wandy Rodriguez. Myers has a mutual option, so there’s no guarantee he returns in 2011. I find it hard to believe that the Astros wouldn’t deal him for a good-but-not-great group.
- The Marlins appear to have decided to focus on extending Dan Uggla, instead of trading him.
- The Dodgers have told rival teams that they have $2-3MM to play with.
Odds & Ends: Molina, Machado, Wood, Montero
Saturday afternoon linkage…
- Bengie Molina has had an immediate impact in Texas, writes Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com.
- The Orioles won't sign Manny Machado before August 1st, Baltimore's director of scouting told Brittany Ghiroli of MLB.com (via Twitter).
- The Indians placed closer Kerry Wood on the disabled list with a blister on his right index finger according to MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince. The move is retroactive to July 12th, so unless he needs more than the 15 days off, Wood will be back just before the trade deadline.
- Meanwhile, ESPN's Buster Olney says Wood's actual trade deadline is August 31st, because he will clear waivers next month given the $4MM still owed to him this season (Twitter links).
- White Sox GM Kenny Williams often approaches his veteran players to get their opinions about potential moves, but he has not yet pulled Paul Konerko aside to discuss scenarios according to Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun Times.
- Bernie Miklasz of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch says that Cardinals' GM John Mozeliak was well-deserving of his contract extension.
- In a video on ESPN, Olney says the Yankees have determined that they would not trade catching prospect Jesus Montero for any player available on the trade market. They were willing to move him for Cliff Lee because it was a special case.
Odds & Ends: Wood, Cards, Uggla, Guillen, Lilly
Links for Friday, after an impressive start from trade candidate Ted Lilly…
- Peter Gammons said on WEEI that he hears the Red Sox don't have interest in Kerry Wood.
- Five Cardinals writers confront the following question at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Has Cards GM John Mozeliak emerged from the shadow of his predecessor, Walt Jocketty?
- Joey Votto and Ryan Zimmerman are among the ten MLB players with the most trade value, if you ask Dave Cameron of FanGraphs.
- Cardinals GM John Mozeliak did not deny interest in Kelly Johnson and Dan Uggla while chatting to Jim Bowden of Sirius XM Radio (Twitter link).
- The Rockies are not discussing Dan Uggla with the Marlins, according to Tracy Ringolsby of FOX Sports (via Twitter).
- 2005 first rounders Justin Upton and Ryan Braun are 11th and 12th, respectively, on Dave Cameron's list of the MLB players with the most trade value.
- The Giants have a better chance of obtaining Jose Guillen than David DeJesus, according to MLB.com's Chris Haft. The Giants have said they'd prefer to avoid rental players, but Guillen could presumably be had.
- Cubs GM Jim Hendry met with Ted Lilly yesterday to discuss the left-hander's future, according to Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune. Lilly, a (projected Type A) free agent after the season, makes $12MM this year and has no-trade protection.
- Bobby Jenks told the Chicago Sun-Times that he is relieved not to spot his name in trade rumors – at least for now.
- Former MLB manager Don Baylor tells Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun that he would like the chance to interview for the upcoming managerial opening in Toronto.
Odds & Ends: Marlins, Wigginton, Rockies, Wood
It was on this day in 1905 that Shirley Povich, one of the great sportswriters of all time, was born in Bar Harbor, Maine. Povich, who passed away in 1998, would've been 105 today and no doubt still would've been keeping an eye on Stephen Strasburg for the Washington Post.
Some news items….
- The Palm Beach Post's Joe Capozzi wonders if Edwin Rodriguez's planned lineup changes in Florida are a hint towards a possible trade of Cody Ross or Jorge Cantu.
- Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun adds the Padres and Rangers to the list of "potential fits" for Ty Wigginton.
- Troy Renck of the Denver Post tweeted a few follow-up points to his story about Colorado's interest in Dan Uggla. Renck mentions right-hander Esmil Rogers and outfielder Matt Miller as possibilities for a trade package with Florida, but "there's no way" that Jhoulys Chacin would be dealt. Renck also thinks the Rockies "will listen" to offers for Franklin Morales, though those offers might not be related to any Uggla deal.
- MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince shares some Cleveland hot stove talk in a reader mailbag. Castrovince says that Kerry Wood has drawn "minimal, at best" trade interest, but he notes that Wood could be dealt in late August to a team that didn't want to pay an extra month of Wood's contract.
- In another MLB.com mailbag, Bill Ladson "would be shocked" by a Matt Capps trade. The Nationals still have Capps under control for 2011, and with Drew Storen still a rookie and Tyler Clippard not pitching well lately, Ladson doesn't think Washington will want to risk dealing their closer.
- It's "all quiet on [the] Ben Sheets trade front," tweets FOXSports.com's Ken Rosenthal, though Sheets' recent success "should change" that.
- Aroldis Chapman's inconsistent control means that Chapman probably won't be promoted to the majors until September, writes John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer.
- We already know that the Giants have shown some interest in acquiring David DeJesus, and now Hank Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets that a "top Royals talent evaluator" was on hand for the Mets/Giants game at AT & T Park tonight.
- Steve Kornacki of Mlive.com looks at what the Tigers need to do in the second half and weighs in on some trade options. Kornacki says that trading for Jack Wilson wouldn't cost much for Detroit, whereas acquiring Dan Haren isn't worth the cost since he doesn't think "the Tigers are good enough to get past the first round of the playoffs. And that’s the only reason to gamble that much for somebody like Haren."
- Rice's Anthony Rendon, thought to be a potential first overall pick in the 2011 Amateur Draft, is undergoing ankle surgery on Friday, reports MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo.
- Fangraphs' Dave Cameron has the latest installment of his ranking of the players with the most trade value. As he goes from #20 to #16, Cameron cites a defending Cy Young Award winner and two potential Cy winners for this season.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Mets, Red Sox, Meek, Giants
On this date eight years ago, Major League Baseball's 73rd All Star Game ended after 11 innings in a 7-7 tie when both sides ran out of pitchers. Shortly thereafter, commissioner Bud Selig ruled that the All Star Game will determine home field advantage in the World Series, a still unpopular decision. The American League has won every Midsummer Classic since then, and 12 of the last 13 overall (the tie being the one exception).
This year's All Star Game is still four days away, so here are some links to keep you occupied until then…
- Mets Paradise examines some trade scenarios for the Mets involving Ted Lilly and Octavio Dotel.
- The Bottom Line finds some relievers on the trade market that could entice the Red Sox.
- MLB Depth Charts lists (almost) every club's nearly big league-ready trade chips.
- Pittsburgh Lumber Co. looks at the possibility of the Pirates turning Evan Meek, an All Star, into a starting pitcher.
- The Dugout Report wonders if the Bengie Molina trade means the Giants are going for it, or packing it in.
- Meanwhile, More Hardball catches up with the three Molina brothers.
- River Ave. Blues lays out the case for the Yankees to acquire Kerry Wood.
- Examiner looks at the consequences of Jake Peavy's injury for the White Sox.
- The Baseball Opinion reviews the Mark Mulder trade following the lefty's retirement.
If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here.
2011 Vestings Options Update
The season started with nine vesting options to watch, but we're down to just five a little beyond the season's halfway point…
- Trever Miller, Cardinals. The southpaw's $2MM option vests with 45 appearances. He's appeared in 31 of the team's 85 games, so he's on pace for 59. He should get there easily.
- Alex Cora, Mets. Cora's $2MM option vests with 80 games (not necessarily starts), and he's already appeared in 48. He's on pace for 91 games. Luis Castillo's foot and Ruben Tejada's emergence could stand in Cora's way.
- Darren Oliver, Rangers. His $3.25MM option will lock in with 59 appearances. He's already appeared in 37 games, so he should get there without a problem.
- Ramon Hernandez, Reds. Hernandez must play in 120 games for his $3.25MM option to vest. He's appeared in just 57 of Cincinnati's first 86 contests, putting him on pace for 107 games.
- Magglio Ordonez, Tigers. Ordonez's $15MM option vests with 135 starts or 540 plate appearances. He's on pace for 141 and 615, respectively, so it'll take a lengthy stint on the disabled list to knock him off track.
The vesting options for Kerry Wood, Brian Fuentes, Billy Wagner, and Matt Cain have already been addressed.