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Matt Wieters

Heyman’s Latest: Ng, Ziegler, Wieters, Arrieta, Angels, Kershaw, Gordon, Aoki

By Steve Adams | October 9, 2015 at 1:02pm CDT

Kim Ng, the senior vice president of baseball operations at MLB’s central offices, will interview for the Phillies’ GM vacancy, writes Jon Heyman of CBS Sports in his latest Inside Baseball column. Ng, who has previously interviewed with the Dodgers, Angels, Mariners and Padres, still hopes to become the first female general manager of a team. (She has previously worked in several front offices as well.) Her pursuit of the Phillies’ job brings up the issue of diversity among front office execs and managers, Heyman notes, and commissioner Rob Manfred discussed with Heyman some steps the league could take to increase the hiring of minority candidates for such roles. Manfred places a good deal of blame on his own office, telling Heyman, “I am concerned that we at Central Baseball have to do a better job.” Manfred emphasized a need to better prepare minority candidates and to encourage the hiring of such candidates for entry-level positions, so as to deepen the pool of minority candidates from which MLB clubs can select.

Some highlights from Heyman’s weekly piece…

  • The Diamondbacks plan to exercise Brad Ziegler’s $5.5MM option — an expected outcome considering questions throughout the team’s bullpen and the strong numbers that the side-arming Ziegler posted this season. Arizona will focus on adding starting pitching this offseason, though young arms Robbie Ray and Rubby De La Rosa have positioned themselves well to join Patrick Corbin in the rotation.
  • The Braves will be eyeing pitching upgrades and catching help this winter, and re-signing A.J. Pierzynski will be one option. Heyman also lists a run at Georgia native Matt Wieters as a possibility. I’d expect Wieters to receive and reject a qualifying offer, though Heyman notes that no decision has been made on Wieters’ QO situation just yet.
  • The Cubs are expected to pursue top starting pitchers such as David Price and Jordan Zimmermann, but they’ll also attempt to work out a long-term deal with Jake Arrieta, whose dominant second half and Wild Card performance have thrust him into the national spotlight. As a Scott Boras client, however, it could be difficult for the two sides to come to any sort of agreement. Arrieta is controlled through 2017.
  • A big left-handed bat will be a priority for the Angels this winter, and they’ll be hoping to add at second base and third base, specifically. As for David Murphy’s $7MM club option, Heyman notes that the team might want to put those resources toward a more impactful bat.
  • Clayton Kershaw turned down a $300MM contract offer a few months before signing his seven-year, $215MM extension that featured an opt-out clause after the fifth season, per Heyman. While that’s a shocking number to reject, we also don’t know the length of said deal or the amount of deferred money it contained. Sticking with the Dodgers, the CBS scribe adds that Zack Greinke will exercise his own opt-out clause this winter. That was a foregone conclusion, though Heyman notes that Greinke is said to have enjoyed the L.A. clubhouse much more this season, so his chances of re-signing may be better than previously expected.
  • Once they hire a manager to replace Dan Jennings, the Marlins’ first order of business will be to pursue an extension with All-Star second baseman Dee Gordon. The 27-year-old led the Majors in hits and stolen bases in his first year with the Marlins. A client of the Beverly Hills Spots Council, Gordon is currently controlled through the 2018 season. He earned $2.5MM in 2015 after avoiding arbitration for the first time as a Super Two player last offseason.
  • The Giants are planning on picking up Nori Aoki’s $5.5MM club option. Considering the $700K buyout attached to the deal, it’s essentially a $4.8MM decision for the Giants, making it seem like a fairly easy call. San Francisco also plans to pursue top-of-the-market arms like Price and Greinke.
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Arizona Diamondbacks Atlanta Braves Chicago Cubs Los Angeles Angels Los Angeles Dodgers Miami Marlins Philadelphia Phillies San Diego Padres San Francisco Giants Seattle Mariners A.J. Pierzynski Brad Ziegler Clayton Kershaw David Murphy David Price Dee Gordon Jake Arrieta Jordan Zimmermann Kim Ng Matt Wieters Zack Greinke

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AL East Notes: Rays, O’s, E-Rod, Porcello, Hanley

By Mark Polishuk | September 30, 2015 at 8:15am CDT

Though the Rays are on pace for their second straight losing season, the team’s pitching depth gives them hope for a turn-around in 2016, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times writes.  Chris Archer and Jake Odorizzi will be joined in the rotation by the now-healthy Matt Moore and Drew Smyly.  The fifth spot will be contested between Erasmo Ramirez, Nate Karns or top prospect Blake Snell, with Alex Colome and Matt Andriese on hand as further depth options.  That’s not even counting Alex Cobb, who will be back from Tommy John surgery late next season.  While Tampa certainly may want to hang onto its pitching depth given the team’s recent injury issues, I would think the Rays may also considering dangling an arm or two as trade bait this winter to add some offensive help.

Here’s some more from around the AL East…

  • Adam Jones plans to speak to owner Peter Angelos about the Orioles’ offseason plans, the outfielder tells the Baltimore Sun’s Dan Connolly.  It will be a challenging winter for the O’s with eight free agents, though Jones feels most of them would come back for the right offer since “it’s a great place to play.  I know they all like being here.”  If some leave, Jones notes that the silver lining is freed-up payroll space.  “It’s going to be exciting to see what goes on this offseason because I know when you have a lot of free agents that means you have a lot of money to spend,” Jones said.  “And so, hopefully, I can influence some officials to spend a little bit of that money.”
  • Last winter saw the Orioles also lose Nelson Cruz, Andrew Miller and Nick Markakis to free agency, and another free agent exodus could threaten this competitive chapter in O’s history, as closer Zach Britton notes to Connolly.  “If you look at it, our window was a three- to four-year window that everyone was talking about. ’OK, if we’re going to do it, now is the time.’ So, yeah, if we lose every single guy [to free agency], it’s going to be a real challenge to have to replace them,” Britton said.  “You have to do it through the draft, you’ve got to do it through trades or do it through signing free agents. We’ve got to do it somehow.”
  • Two of those free agents say they want to return to the Orioles.  Steve Pearce tells Connolly that “I’d love to be back. I’d love for everybody to be back,” while Matt Wieters tells MASNsports.com’s Steve Melewski that he knows this could be his last few days in a Baltimore uniform.  “I’m trying to embrace it and enjoy this last bit of the season,” Wieters said. “I’ve been very fortunate being able to to be here as long as I have and would love to stay here. But that is all stuff that will be controlled and talked about in the offseason.”
  • There is “healthy skepticism” around baseball that the Red Sox will fully explore having Hanley Ramirez as a full-time first baseman next year, Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald reports.  This and the hefty $66MM still owed to Ramirez will make it difficult for the Sox to get any kind of decent return if they want to trade him.
  • Eduardo Rodriguez isn’t technically a homegrown prospect (the Red Sox acquired him from the Orioles last summer in the Andrew Miller trade), though CSNNE.com’s Sean McAdam believes the young southpaw can be the first front-of-the-rotation arm produced from Boston’s farm system since Clay Buchholz.  Rodriguez, 22, has posted a 3.85 ERA, 2.65 K/BB rate and 7.2 K/9 over 121 2/3 IP for the Sox in his rookie season.
  • It’s been a trying year overall for Rick Porcello, but the right-hander tells WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford that he’s learned some lessons from his first year with the Red Sox and is going into 2016 on a high note.  Porcello signed a four-year, $80MM contract with Boston prior to the season and became a target of fan ire after his early struggles, though he’s pitched well since coming back from a DL stint in August.
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Baltimore Orioles Boston Red Sox Tampa Bay Rays Adam Jones Hanley Ramirez Matt Wieters Rick Porcello Steve Pearce

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AL East Notes: Red Sox, Wieters, Buehrle

By Steve Adams | September 28, 2015 at 11:07am CDT

Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald looks up and down the Red Sox’ roster in his latest column, attempting to pin who will remain with the club this offseason. While there is, of course, no definitive way of being certain, Silverman notes that much of the bullpen could be on its way out the door, and he also feels that it’s more likely the Sox will focus their efforts on finding a taker for Hanley Ramirez than for Pablo Sandoval. Assuming Boston brings in a top-flight pitcher, he feels one of Henry Owens or Joe Kelly could become trade bait on the strength of strong second halves, and he opines that while there’s no definitive need to trade an outfielder, Jackie Bradley is probably the likeliest of the current starters to be moved if dealing one of the three is necessary to bolster the rotation. Rich Hill seems likely to return, he writes, and he echoes recent reports stating that if all goes well with Clay Buchholz’s final bullpen sessions, the Sox will pick up his $13MM option for the 2016 season.

Here’s more from the AL East…

  • It once seemed like a foregone conclusion that Matt Wieters would receive a qualifying offer from the Orioles, writes Steve Melewski of MASNsports.com, but the 29-year-old’s sub-par numbers since returning from Tommy John surgery have cast some doubt on the situation. Melewski personally feels the QO is now an unlikely scenario, as Wieters has hit just .251/.291/.395 and may still be feeling some lingering effects of his operation. I’d counter by stating that I can’t envision a Scott-Boras-represented, prime-aged catcher being the first player to ever accept a QO, and at least one crude barometer of his elbow’s health — his 31 percent caught-stealing rate — suggests that it’s holding up fairly well. Wieters hasn’t had the season that he, his agent or the team hoped, but he’d still be a lock to turn down the offer, in my eyes. Whether or not the Orioles make the offer is another story.
  • Sunday may have marked the last home start that Mark Buehrle will with the Blue Jays, writes Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi, but neither Buehrle nor the team is focused on looking that far into the future right now. Davidi notes, though, that there’s a possibility that Buehrle will retire this winter, and some feel that if he does pitch in 2016, his preference is to be closer to his home in Missouri. Whatever the future holds, Davidi continues, the Jays have been rewarded for their acquisition of Buehrle back in 2012; the veteran has not only delivered solid on-field results, he’s served as a mentor for Marcus Stroman and Drew Hutchison. Asked about any emotion he felt Sunday, Buehrle delivered a calm response: “If I announced my retirement at the beginning of the year, then maybe that would be something different, but I still don’€™t know what’€™s going to happen. I’€™ll go home and think about it, and if it is my last start here, then that’€™s something I’ll be sentimental about on my couch in the off-season.”
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Baltimore Orioles Boston Red Sox Toronto Blue Jays Mark Buehrle Matt Wieters

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Heyman’s Latest: D-Backs, Freeman, O’s, Samardzija

By Steve Adams and charliewilmoth | September 25, 2015 at 12:38pm CDT

Jon Heyman of CBS Sports has published his latest Inside Baseball column and begins by taking a look at his 25 “heroes” of the 2015 season. Here are some highlights from the rest of the piece…

  • Adding a top-tier starting pitcher and a top closer are the main priorities of the Diamondbacks this offseason, Heyman hears. While the D-Backs probably won’t make a run at “the” top starter (presumably David Price), the team does have some money to spend on a starting pitcher. Previous reports have also stated that the Diamondbacks will renew trade talks for Aroldis Chapman this winter, though the asking price on him has, in the past, been said to be exorbitant.
  • The Braves have shown a willingness to listen to trade offers on almost anyone, but sources tell Heyman that Freddie Freeman probably isn’t going anywhere. Atlanta is also said to be open to a return for Craig Kimbrel — the initial trade was made for the purpose of shedding Melvin Upton’s contract — though the ’pen will receive a boost when Shae Simmons, Jason Grilli and Chris Withrow are healthy.
  • The Orioles will make qualifying offers to Chris Davis and Wei-Yin Chen but are not yet certain whether to extend one to Matt Wieters, who has had somewhat of a rough season in his return from Tommy John.
  • Clay Buchholz has been out since July with an elbow injury and will not return this season, according to Heyman, but the Red Sox will exercise his $13MM option for 2016 if he looks good in a bullpen session Sunday. Whatever happens, the Red Sox will look for additional pitching this winter. (Last night, WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford reported that Buchholz still hopes he can pitch an inning in the Red Sox’ last game of the season.)
  • The White Sox considered offering Jeff Samardzija an extension of around $80MM when they acquired him last season, but Samardzija wanted to test free agency. Heyman reports that Samardzija was disappointed the White Sox didn’t deal him in July, since a deal would have allowed him to pitch for a contender and would have prevented him from being extended a qualifying offer.
  • Yankees assistant GM Billy Eppler still looks like the favorite for the Angels GM job, and Rangers assistant GM Thad Levine is another possibility. Heyman also mentions that the name of Padres and Diamondbacks GM Kevin Towers has also come up.
  • Though Eppler may the favorite in Anaheim, he’s also one of two finalists for the Mariners’ GM post, with the other being Jerry Dipoto. Each candidate is in line for a second interview, which could be more than Dana Brown of the Blue Jays and interim GM Jeff Kingston get. Each has interviewed once, as have others, per Heyman.
  • Incoming Blue Jays president Mark Shapiro will retain GM Alex Anthopoulos. Of course, as Heyman notes, that’s hardly surprising given how well the Jays have played recently.
  • Nationals ownership, is, perhaps unsurprisingly, very disappointed with the 2015 team. While nothing is certain, however, GM Mike Rizzo seems likely to return for 2016.
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Arizona Diamondbacks Atlanta Braves Baltimore Orioles Boston Red Sox Chicago White Sox Los Angeles Angels Toronto Blue Jays Washington Nationals Alex Anthopoulos Billy Eppler Chris Davis Clay Buchholz Craig Kimbrel David Price Freddie Freeman Jeff Samardzija Jerry Dipoto Kevin Towers Matt Wieters Mike Rizzo Wei-Yin Chen

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Cafardo On Duquette, Showalter, Hunter, Howard

By Zachary Links | September 20, 2015 at 10:23am CDT

In today’s column, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe caught up with ex-Red Sox GM Ben Cherington.  Cherington reflected on some of the decisions he regrets but he also recognizes that he left Boston with a solid core of young talent to build upon going forward.  Many of those young players remain in Boston because Cherington resisted the urge to put together a package for Cole Hamels.

“We had a lot of conversations with [the Phillies]. I just didn’t want to give up our core and we couldn’t find another way to get it done,” Cherington said of the ace, who ultimately went to the Rangers.

Here’s more from today’s column..

  • There’s tension over Orioles owner Peter Angelos not allowing GM Dan Duquette to pursue a higher-profile and higher-paying job with the Blue Jays, major league sources tell Cafardo.  Sources also tell The Boston Globe scribe that Angelos has not compensated Duquette for the lost opportunity.  All in all, it’s a slight that baseball execs Duquette to be “bush league,” Cafardo writes.
  • There’s also been talk of friction between Duquette and manager Buck Showalter, Cafardo writes, although both men are signed through 2018.  Meanwhile, there’s fear that the Orioles will not spend the money necessary to retain free agents like Chris Davis, Matt Wieters, and Wei-Yin Chen.
  • The Twins want Torii Hunter back for at least one more season, according to a team official who spoke with Cafardo.  For his part, the veteran says that he’s going year to year. In 516 plate appearances this season, Hunter has posted a batting line of .245/.298/.414 which isn’t really in line with his career offering of .277/.332/.462.  However, he has played well in right field and the Twins like his veteran leadership.
  • The Phillies had a scout watching the Orioles last week in the event that the O’s lose Davis in free agency and gain interest in Ryan Howard.  Howard is not be expected to replicate Davis’ production, of course, but Cafardo notes that he still has power and would be better suited as a DH.
  • There’s “continued interest” in Red Sox utilityman Brock Holt, Cafardo writes.  Holt’s opportunities in the Red Sox’s outfield may be limited and new team president Dave Dombrowski should get a fair amount of offers this winter for him.
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Baltimore Orioles Boston Red Sox Minnesota Twins Philadelphia Phillies Toronto Blue Jays Brock Holt Buck Showalter Chris Davis Cole Hamels Dan Duquette Matt Wieters Peter Angelos Ryan Howard Torii Hunter Wei-Yin Chen

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AL East Notes: Ortiz, Parra, Orioles, Red Sox

By | September 12, 2015 at 7:16pm CDT

Red Sox slugger David Ortiz has hit his 500th career home run. Ortiz, 39, entered the day with 498 home runs. He bashed a pair of homers off southpaw Matt Moore at notoriously pitcher friendly Tropicana Field. He now has 33 home runs at that venue per Roger Mooney of the Tampa Tribune (via Twitter). He’s the 27th player in major league history to reach the vaunted milestone. He could pass Eddie Murray (504 home runs) before the end of the season. Gary Sheffield (509 home runs) may be a stretch.

  • The Orioles will probably make a push to re-sign outfielder Gerardo Parra, opines Brittany Ghirolli of MLB.com. The O’s acquired the then hot-hitting Parra from the Brewers at the trade deadline. Since the trade, he’s batted just .227/.256/.380. He’s also popped five home runs with 23 runs scored and 13 RBI in 159 plate appearances. His defensive ability and versatility are bonus points in his favor. MLBTR’s Jeff Todd recently evaluated Parra’s free agent stock, concluding that it was too early to handicap the market for Parra.
  • It’s possible that Baltimore won’t re-sign any of their impending free agents, writes Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun. The club may find more dollar-for-dollar value by passing on Matt Wieters. Chris Davis is sure to cost a boatload, while Wei-Yin Chen should be in demand as a reliable, left-handed starter. Darren O’Day is coming off an All-Star appearance that could buff his potential earnings. Re-signing Parra will likely depend on the demand for his services. Lastly, the club may view Steve Pearce’s role as replaceable via a club-controlled asset.
  • The Red Sox planned to ride a wave of youthful stars to the pennant in 2014, writes Richard Justice of MLB.com. When Plan A failed, they acquired Pablo Sandoval, Hanley Ramirez, and Rick Porcello to reinforce the 2015 roster and beyond. As we know, the club has also failed this season. Luckily, the youth wave of 2014 is still mostly with the club and starting to make good on its promise. Mookie Betts, Xander Bogaerts, Jackie Bradley Jr., Rusney Castillo, and Blake Swihart have all hit well this year – particularly since July 30. While the Sox undoubtedly have a busy offseason ahead of them, the club-controlled core should provide plenty of flexibility and optimism for 2016.
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Baltimore Orioles Boston Red Sox Chris Davis Darren O'Day David Ortiz Gerardo Parra Matt Wieters Steve Pearce Wei-Yin Chen

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Rosenthal’s Latest: Cespedes, Red Sox, Wieters, Seager

By charliewilmoth | September 12, 2015 at 1:16pm CDT

Here’s the latest from Ken Rosenthal, via a pair of videos at FOX Sports:

  • There will be ample interest in Mets outfielder Yoenis Cespedes this winter. The past two seasons have shown how much he can help a lineup — the Athletics faded down the stretch last year after trading him, and the Mets are now thriving after dealing for him.
  • If Dave Dombrowski doesn’t promote assistant general manager Mike Hazen to GM, the Red Sox front office could undergo a “mass exodus.” Diamondbacks executive DeJon Watson is another possibility for the GM job, and former Braves GM Frank Wren could fit in as GM or in some other position.
  • Matt Wieters has a house in Atlanta and went to Georgia Tech, and he could be a good fit for the Braves this offseason. He might also make sense in Washington, however — Wieters’ agent Scott Boras also represents Nationals stars Max Scherzer, Jayson Werth, Bryce Harper, Gio Gonzalez, Anthony Rendon and Stephen Strasburg. Nats catcher Wilson Ramos has not hit well this season and is eligible for free agency after 2016.
  • Corey Seager is off to a hot start to his big-league career, but the Dodgers still seem likely to use him as a backup in the playoffs (depending, perhaps, on the timing of Enrique Hernandez’s return from a hamstring injury). Jimmy Rollins has hit well enough in the second half (.233/.301/.386), and the Dodgers are big fans of his defense. They also want to demonstrate respect for the roles Rollins and third baseman Justin Turner have played for the Dodgers this season.
  • “The planets are aligning” for David Price to score a huge contract this offseason, Rosenthal says. The Blue Jays, Dodgers, Giants, Cubs and Red Sox are all potential contenders for his services.
  • Rosenthal says he suspects Tigers manager Brad Ausmus will, in fact, be dismissed after the season is over. The team recently said it hadn’t reached a decision on Ausmus, but it notably did not commit to him for 2016.
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Atlanta Braves Boston Red Sox Detroit Tigers Los Angeles Dodgers Washington Nationals Brad Ausmus Corey Seager David Price Jimmy Rollins Matt Wieters Yoenis Cespedes

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Orioles Hope To Re-Sign Davis

By | August 15, 2015 at 6:09pm CDT

The Orioles plan to re-sign at least some of their impending free agents, GM Dan Duquette told fans and reporters at an annual event including Rich Dubroff of CSN Baltimore. Duquette highlighted one power hitter by name, saying “we do want to sign some of our key players for the future, and Chris Davis is one of them.” In addition to Davis, Baltimore currently has seven impending free agents including Matt Wieters, Wei-Yin Chen, Gerardo Parra, Darren O’Day, Steve Pearce, and Nolan Reimold. The club probably can’t sign them all, tweets Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com.

Specifically regarding Davis, the Orioles may have to compete in a thin market for first baseman. Our free agent tracker lists just eight potential free agents at the position. Of those, Edwin Encarnacion will be retained unless he sustains a major injury. Justin Morneau also has an affordable $9MM option although he has missed most of the 2015 season with injury. Mike Napoli and Pearce are probably the next biggest names at the position.

The lack of free agent first basemen could push Davis’ value north of $100MM, according to Mike Petriello of FanGraphs. The 29-year-old is in the midst of his second best season, slashing .257/.341/.541 with 32 home runs. However, Davis showed last year that there is some downside to his power happy approach. The club may have to weigh whether it makes better sense to commit to Davis or sign multiple other players.

Among the other free agents, Wieters, Chen, and O’Day will be the most difficult to replace. Wieters, 29, missed the early portion of the season recovering from Tommy John surgery. He’s battled a few nagging injuries since his return. He appeared to be breaking out in 2014 prior to sustaining the elbow injury. This season, his strikeout rate has spiked to 24.6 percent – up from a career average of 18.7 percent. It’s worth wondering if that number will regress with full health.

MLBTR’s Jeff Todd wrote about Chen recently in a free agent profile, comparing his potential earnings to Bronson Arroyo, Jason Vargas, and Ricky Nolasco. Including inflation, that would seem to peg him for a two to four year deal worth about $12MM to $14MM per season. The Orioles plan to make Chen a qualifying offer, per CBS’ Jon Heyman. That may affect the market for his services.

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Baltimore Orioles Chris Davis Dan Duquette Gerardo Parra Matt Wieters Nolan Reimold Steve Pearce Wei-Yin Chen

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AL East Notes: Wieters, Davis, Rays, Kelly

By Mark Polishuk | August 12, 2015 at 12:24pm CDT

Matt Wieters left the third inning of last night’s Orioles loss to the Mariners with a right hamstring strain, and he’ll be re-evaluated on Friday when the club is back in Baltimore.  All parties are hopeful that Wieters can avoid the DL, and the catcher told reporters (including Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun) that “I think we caught it before it became a severe strain. The hamstring got tight and it was getting tighter. I think we stopped before we did any serious damage to it.”  Losing Wieters would obviously be a blow to the Orioles’ postseason chances, and another DL stint also wouldn’t do any favors to Wieters’ free agent stock this offseason.  The catcher already missed the first two months of the season recovering from Tommy John surgery but had been hitting well (.278/.305/.449 with five homers) in 167 PA since his return.

Some more from around the division…

  • Chris Davis has rebounded from a miserable 2014 to have a big 2015 season, with improved health and better performance against fastballs as two major reasons for his resurgence, MLB.com’s Mike Petriello writes.  With a thin market of free agent first basemen this winter, Petriello thinks Davis could make a big cash-in on the open market this offseason, perhaps even a contract topping the $100MM mark.
  • Desmond Jennings and Drew Smyly are both slated to return from DL stints to the Rays this week, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times writes.  Smyly’s return is the more tenuous of the two, as he didn’t pitch well in a recent rehab start.  He’ll throw a bullpen session on Thursday to determine whether he’ll make his scheduled start against the Rangers on Sunday.
  • With Koji Uehara done for the season, Joe Kelly could be the Red Sox answer at closer both for the rest of 2015 and maybe in the future, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe writes.  Kelly, for his part, tells The Boston Herald’s Jason Mastrodonato that he has no interest in switching to a bullpen role.
  • Has the Jacoby Ellsbury signing already been a bust for the Yankees?  Brendan Kuty of the Star-Ledger poses the questions and breaks down both sides of the argument, concluding that it’s still too early to judge the seven-year, $153MM contract before even two full seasons have passed.  Ellsbury’s underachieving, injury-plagued 2015 season, however, is a cause for concern for the Yankees, especially since Ellsbury was still expected to perform like a top-level player for at least the first few years of the deal.
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Baltimore Orioles Boston Red Sox New York Yankees Tampa Bay Rays Chris Davis Desmond Jennings Drew Smyly Jacoby Ellsbury Joe Kelly Matt Wieters

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Stark’s Latest: Giants, Hamels, Price, Orioles, Gallardo, Alvarez

By Steve Adams | July 27, 2015 at 1:34pm CDT

The latest deadline rumblings from Jayson Stark of ESPN.com…

  • The Giants are still searching for starting pitching, but they’re only looking at top-of-the-rotation arms to pair with Madison Bumgarner in a playoff rotation, Stark hears. San Francisco has checked in on both David Price and Cole Hamels, but they’re not considered a favorite to land Hamels from the Phillies, and there’s still no definitive sense that Price has been made available by the Tigers. Yesterday, Stark reported that the Dodgers and Rangers were emerging as the favorites in the Hamels market.
  • The Orioles are speaking with other clubs to get a feel for what kind of return they could get if they market Matt Wieters, Chris Davis, Wei-Yin Chen, Tommy Hunter and Bud Norris, Stark hears. However, rival clubs feel the O’s will only sell if they slide to six or more games back in the Wild Card race — and they’re 3.5 games out with four to play before the deadline at this time. If they make up a bit of ground, they could add a bat, but Stark says it’d likely be a bench piece as opposed to a bigger name. Baltimore GM Dan Duquette said last week he would be a buyer regardless of the team’s play, though others have suggested that the Orioles could still end up selling if they struggle enough.
  • Adding help that can be controlled beyond 2015 is the priority for the Rangers, which is why they’re targeting Hamels, Tyson Ross and Andrew Cashner while also listening to offers on Yovani Gallardo. However, according to Stark, those moves aren’t linked, and Texas could acquire a rotation piece for 2016 but also hang onto Gallardo. Personally, I think Gallardo’s pitched well enough to warrant a qualifying offer. A draft pick and improved odds of making a late run (especially if they do add another rotation arm) present enough value that the Rangers shouldn’t feel obligated to simply take the best offer for Gallardo if the proposed packages aren’t all that impressive.
  • The Pirates are now likely to hang onto Pedro Alvarez after shopping him without success for several weeks. They’ve asked the Brewers, White Sox and Rays about Adam Lind, Adam LaRoche and James Loney, respectively, but with Alvarez in the fold, they’re not likely to make a move at first. Stark adds that multiple sources downplayed the recent reports connecting Pittsburgh to the Red Sox’ Mike Napoli.
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Baltimore Orioles Boston Red Sox Chicago White Sox Detroit Tigers Milwaukee Brewers Newsstand Philadelphia Phillies Pittsburgh Pirates San Francisco Giants Tampa Bay Rays Texas Rangers Adam LaRoche Adam Lind Andrew Cashner Bud Norris Chris Davis Cole Hamels David Price James Loney Madison Bumgarner Matt Wieters Mike Napoli Pedro Alvarez Tommy Hunter Tyson Ross Wei-Yin Chen Yovani Gallardo

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