Athletics Acquire Kevin Kouzmanoff
The A's acquired Kevin Kouzmanoff and Eric Sogard from the Padres for Scott Hairston and Aaron Cunningham. Oakland GM Billy Beane dealt from outfield depth to add certainty at third base, while San Diego GM Jed Hoyer strengthened his outfield with a former Padre.
Kouzmanoff, 28, hit .255/.302/.420 in 573 plate appearances for the Padres last year. He's arbitration-eligible for the first time. His glovework grades out as slightly above average, according to UZR/150.
Baseball America ranked Sogard as San Diego's 17th best prospect coming into the 2009 season, before he hit .293/.370/.400 with more walks (58) than strikeouts (47) in Double-A.
Former Padres GM Kevin Towers dealt Hairston to the A's in July. Now the 30-year-old heads back to San Diego. He hit well with the Padres last year but struggled with the A's. He's arbitration-eligible for the second time.
Cunningham, 24 in April, spent most of '09 at Triple A where he hit .302/.372/.479. ESPN's Jerry Crasnick mentions in a tweet that Cunningham recently underwent surgery for a sports hernia. This is Cunningham's third time being dealt.
MLBTR first reported the trade, with Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle naming the players involved and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports pointing to the deal's completion.
Our apologies for initially naming Gio Gonzalez as part of this deal.
Odds & Ends: Draft, Kouzmanoff, Lincecum, Street
A few Saturday links…
- Via Twitter, Bob Elliott of The Toronto Sun spoke to a scouting director who indicated that a committee was forming to work on instituting a world-wide draft and slotting system. "This time it has a chance," said the scouting director.
- Athletics Nation gives A's fans four reasons why they should approve of the Kevin Kouzmanoff–Scott Hairston swap.
- MLB.com's Doug Miller says that whispers of a $20MM arbitration award for Tim Lincecum have "echoed loudly throughout baseball." Obviously, that would be an unprecedented award and break every arbitration record known to man, but it would also make Lincecum the third highest paid pitcher in baseball next season, behind C.C. Sabathia and Johan Santana.
- In a mailbag piece at MLB.com, Thomas Harding says that Huston Street could be a trade candidate if the Rockies drop out of the race and are unable to sign him to an extension. Colorado offered Street a three-year deal earlier this offseason.
- The 30-day exclusive negotiating window between the Hicks Sports Group and the Chuck Greenberg/Nolan Ryan group expired yesterday without the Rangers being sold. Maury Brown at The Biz of Baseball has the joint statement released by the two parties, which indicates that they are on the verge of an agreement.
- Tommy Rancel at DRays Bay estimates some arbitration values for Tampa's four remaining arb-eligible players.
Odds & Ends: Hairston, Brewers, Reds, Salazar
Some links for Friday…
- In an interview with 619 Sports out of San Diego, Scott Hairston said he found out he got traded back to the Padres by reading MLBTR. Cool!
- The Brewers will wait until next month before they consider making an offer to Mark Mulder, reports MLB.com's Adam McCalvy.
- John Fay of The Cincinnati Enquirer runs down the Reds' arbitration history.
- The Orioles have signed outfielder Jeff Salazar to a minor league deal with an invitation to Spring Training, reports Dan Connolly of The Baltimore Sun.
- The Brewers are still in touch with Mark Mulder and Doug Davis, according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
- The Yankees offered Jesus Montero straight up for Roy Halladay, according to Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star (Hat Tip: River Ave. Blues).
- The Rockies watched Derrick Turnbow throw today, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post.
- The Nationals are still in the mix to sign Orlando Hudson, who hopes to sign soon (MLB.com's Bill Ladson reporting).
- Pete Caldera of NorthJersey.com hears of some mutual interest between the Yankees and Rocco Baldelli.
- The Rangers avoided arbitration with Brandon McCarthy, agreeing to a $1.32MM deal for 2010, according to Anthony Andro of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
- Rangers GM Jon Daniels tells Richard Durrett of ESPNDallas that he'd like to add a catcher, but he's not about to rush. "We have some time," the GM said.
- Ryan Theriot tells Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune that he'd like the Cubs to sign Ben Sheets.
- The Mets signed Jolbert Cabrera to a minor league deal, according to Ed Price of AOL FanHouse (via Twitter).
- Writing for FanGraphs, Patrick Newman explains what the Rangers can expect from new signing Colby Lewis.
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweeted last night that the Mets contacted Jerry Hairston Jr..
- ESPN.com's Buster Olney says some people within the Mets organization believe Omar Minaya will be fired the first time his club slumps badly.
- Olney also notes that Adam LaRoche will be up against a crop of free agent first basemen that could include Carlos Pena, Lance Berkman and Derrek Lee after the season.
- Troy Renck of the Denver Post says the Giants, Padres, Rangers and Mariners have all called about Yorvit Torrealba.
- The Pirates aren't close to agreeing to terms with Zach Duke on his 2010 salary, according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Duke made $2.2MM last year in his first season as an arbitration-eligible player.
- The Cardinals will watch Derrick Turnbow throw today, according to Rob Rains of the St. Louis Globe-Democrat.
- The Cards signed knuckleballer Charlie Zink to a minor league deal, according to Alex Speier of WEEI.com. After eight years in the Red Sox organization, the 30-year-old will try to break camp with St. Louis.
- Bill James tells Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe that he's curious to see how much better the Red Sox are on defense this season.
Odds & Ends: A’s, Villalona, Millwood, Bradley
A few links to peruse as the Cubs and Cardinals prepare to do battle on ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball…
- A scout told the San Francisco Chronicle's Susan Slusser last week that the A's "got smoked" on July's Scott Hairston deal. As you may remember, Oakland sent pitchers Ryan Webb, Sean Gallagher and Craig Italiano to the Padres this summer for the 29-year-old outfielder. An AL scout used the same terminology when speaking with Tom Krasovic about the deal earlier this month.
- According to the Associated Press, Giants first base prospect Angel Villalona is the main suspect in the killing of a 25-year-old man in the Dominican Republic. As Tim noted on MLBTR's Twitter feed this afternoon, "a 20 year sentence would probably affect" his prospect status. Villalona, 19, hit .267/.306/.397 in 74 games this season at Single-A San Jose.
- As Stephen Hawkins of the Associated Press points out, Kevin Millwood's $12MM option for 2010 will vest if he reaches 4 1/3 innings in his Monday start against the A's.
- Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune has reaction from several Cubs regarding the suspension of teammate Milton Bradley. "Sometimes you've just got to look in the mirror," said right-hander Ryan Dempster, "and realize that maybe the biggest part of the problem is yourself and (not) wanting to be here and play every day, and wanting to have some fun."
Odds & Ends: Chen, Mets, White Sox
An action-packed set of links for Wednesday…
- Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker passes along a report about MLB teams, the Cubs included, watching Chunichi Dragons pitcher Wei-Yin Chen's last start. It's possible Chen will be a free agent after the season. The Taiwanese southpaw has a 1.45 ERA this year and would be in high demand.
- MetsBlog's Matthew Cerrone does not believe the team will non-tender starter John Maine after the season. Maine, coming back from a shoulder injury, may start Sunday.
- SNY's Ted Berg says this is a terrible time to trade Jose Reyes.
- R.J. Anderson of DRays Bay sees a trade more likely than a non-tender for catcher Dioner Navarro.
- Over at FanGraphs, Anderson notes that Kiko Calero (10.8 K/9) is a "nice sleeper candidate" among free agent relievers. Calero's strikeout rate ranks behind only Rafael Soriano, Mike Gonzalez, Rich Harden, and Octavio Dotel among free agent pitchers with at least 40 innings.
- Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski told MLB.com's Jason Beck the Magglio Ordonez vesting option situation "speaks for itself." 23 more plate appearances for Maggs, and the Tigers have him at $18MM for 2010.
- Among the topics in Mark Gonzales' Chicago Tribune White Sox mailbag: the Brandon Allen–Tony Pena swap and the possibility of the Sox pursuing Chone Figgins. In another article, Gonzales notes that Ozzie Guillen wants Freddy Garcia ($1MM club option) as his fifth starter next year.
- Jack Curry of the New York Times has the story on the Newark Bears, and independent league club that has chosen to stock its roster with recognizable former big leaguers trying to claw their way back to the Show.
- An AL scout told Tom Krasovic "Oakland got smoked" in the Scott Hairston trade. The Padres received pitchers Sean Gallagher, Ryan Webb, and Craig Italiano in the July 5th trade (Gallagher was named later).
- WEEI's Alex Speier says the Red Sox announced the signing of Cuban shortstop Jose Iglesias to a four-year Major League deal beginning next year (it's worth $8.25MM).
Stark On Deadline Deals
ESPN.com's Jayson Stark says this year's deadline will be different than others, since more players will clear waivers, allowing teams to deal until the end of August. Matt Holliday, Jarrod Washburn and Jack Wilson are all "likely to zip through waivers" next month. Here are the rest of Stark's rumors:
- The Phillies are as motivated as ever to acquire Roy Halladay. Their goal is to win the World Series, not make the playoffs.
- The Phils don't want to trade Kyle Drabek or J.A. Happ, but one GM believes they should include Drabek if one of the two has to go.
- The Phillies may have to decide which outfielder to include in a deal: Michael Taylor or Dominic Brown. One scout says there's "nothing not to like" about Taylor.
- Acquiring Cliff Lee would take a "four-for-one, Halladay-esque Package."
- The Dodgers, Angels, Phillies, Rays and Brewers are scouting Lee.
- Both the Blue Jays and Indians want top young arms for their aces, but the Indians aren't demanding big-league ready prospects, as long as they get a high-upside group.
- Expect Lee to be traded close to the deadline, if he's moved at all, because the Halladay saga will need resolution first.
- The Orioles have two prices for George Sherrill. Teams willing to take on his salary have to give up a premium prospect and another prospect, but if the O's have to pay Sherrill, they want a premium prospect and two other players.
- Danys Baez's value has plummeted recently.
- The Braves, unsure of how much Tim Hudson can contribute, are leaning heavily towards keeping Javier Vazquez.
- Adding a reliever is now the Dodgers' top priority.
- The Phillies have some interest in Ryan Spilborghs, Scott Hairston and Ryan Raburn.
- The Reds would like to deal some of their expensive pitchers.
- July 31st is also the deadline for Japanese teams to acquire foreign players for the rest of their season, so if Scott Boras is going to send Stephen Strasburg overseas, this will have to be the week.
- The Cubs are looking at left-handed relievers, including Sherrill, John Grabow and Joe Beimel.
PTBNL In Scott Hairston Deal: Sean Gallagher
Sean Gallagher is headed to the Padres as part of the Scott Hairston deal, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. Gallagher was the player to be named later, eight days after we learned the Padres acquired pitchers Ryan Webb and Craig Italiano for Hairston.
A year ago, Gallagher was regarded as the centerpiece of the package the Cubs sent to Oakland for Rich Harden. However, Gallagher's stock dropped shortly thereafter when a shoulder injury surfaced. He still has upside.
Trade Candidates: Outfielders
This year’s outfielders have a lot to live up to on July 31st. It was just a year ago that the Red Sox parted with Manny Ramirez and acquired Jason Bay. This time, Matt Holliday’s the big name, but there are also a few cheap, powerful players out there for teams looking to add an outfielder. Here’s your list of trade candidates, ranked from highest 2009 salary to lowest:
- Matt Holliday – At $13.5MM, Holliday's pricey, but he's a good defender with a history of batting excellence. With just seven extra base hits in the last month, Holliday's no longer perceived as a sure thing.
- Jermaine Dye - He makes $11.5MM this year and there's a mutual option with a $1MM buyout for 2010 on his deal. The White Sox want to win now though, so Dye doesn't appear to be on the block.
- Gary Matthews Jr. – The Angels would presumably pick up salary in any deal involving Matthews, as he makes $10MM this year and $23MM over the course of the next two years.
- Juan Pierre – Another overpaid outfielder in LA, Pierre makes $10MM this year and $18.5MM over the course of the next two. At least he's hitting well, with an OBP approaching .400 and a career-high slugging percentage.
- Alex Rios – He makes $5.9MM this year and has $60MM more coming his way between now and 2014. His teammate, Vernon Wells likely could not be traded.
- David Dejesus – Under contract for $3.6MM this year, he can play all three outfield positions, but his .714 OPS is ordinary.
- Mark Teahen – Makes $3.6MM as well and can play the outfield, though he's been manning third for the Royals. He has a .344 OBP and 27 extra base hits.
- Jeff Francoeur – He's struggled since last year and makes $3.4MM this season, so the suitors are not lining up for Francoeur.
- Josh Willingham – He has 10 homers for a .534 slugging percentage and he'll earn $3MM in 2009. Mike Rizzo says Adam Dunn's staying in Washington.
- Luke Scott - He makes just $2.4MM this year and won't be a free agent until after 2012, so the Orioles have a cheap, powerful asset on their hands. They have three talented outfielders already in Nolan Reimold, Nick Markakis and Adam Jones, so they could conceivably part with Scott.
- Jeremy Hermida – With good patience, some power and a $2.25MM contract, Hermida could appeal to teams in need of a bat.
- Cody Ross – Like Scott, Ross is cheap and powerful. He's slugging .505 and makes just $2.2MM this year. He's scheduled to hit free agency after 2011.
- Scott Hairston – He was just traded, but he plays solid defense and has extra base power, so Hairston, who makes $1.25MM this year, could appeal to other teams.
- Ryan Spilborghs – Apparently the Rockies would prefer to hold onto Spilborghs, who's under team control for three more years and makes just $415k this season.
The Tigers, Braves, Mets, Giants and Reds could all look for outfield bats.
Rosenthal On Vazquez, Hairston, Teahen
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says Javier Vazquez has more value than any available hitter. Here are the details and the rest of Rosenthal's rumors:
- Not even Matt Holliday or Corey Hart would be fair value for Vazquez, so Rosenthal asks why the Braves would want to trade him at all.
- The Mets inquired on Scott Hairston, who could have been an affordable stopgap, but balked when the Padres asked for Bobby Parnell.
- The Marlins offered Gaby Sanchez for Manny Delcarmen, but the Red Sox weren't interested.
- The Mariners, Tigers and Rays weren't far from agreeing to a deal that would have sent Edwin Jackson to Seattle and J.J. Putz to Detroit last offseason.
- Kevin Towers compares Rule 5 pick Everth Cabrera to Rafael Furcal.
- The Royals "do not seem terribly inclined" to deal Mark Teahen.
- The Pirates covet Eric Young Jr. of the Rockies.
- Some predict that the distribution of amateur talent- through the draft and international signings- will be the biggest issue in the next Collective Bargaining Agreement.
Olney On Pedro, Holliday, Hairston, Manny
The Phillies are going to watch Pedro Martinez throw today, but he'll need more than an impressive workout to latch on with the NL East leaders, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney.
- Pedro will have to accept that teams are going to want to pay him "like a 37-year-old pitcher who had a 5.61 ERA last season," not a future Hall of Famer.
- Olney wonders whether Pedro's low ground ball rate might prevent him from succeeding at Citizens Bank Park.
- The A's aren't currently involved in trade talks regarding Matt Holliday or the recently-acquired Scott Hairston.
- One scout who watched Manny Ramirez this week said he looked "heavy-legged" and out of shape.