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Tigers, Rangers Discussing Joakim Soria

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11:10am: Morosi’s colleague, Ken Rosenthal, adds that the Tigers are also interested in Joaquin Benoit but are not actively pursuing Huston Street at this time (Twitter links). The Tigers, according to a rival executive with whom Rosenthal spoke, are interested in adding a reliever that doesn’t view himself as a pure closer, suggesting that a new acquisition may not supplant Nathan as the primary ninth-inning option.

9:57am: The Tigers and Rangers are having ongoing discussions about Texas closer Joakim Soria, reports Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports 1 (on Twitter).

The back end of the bullpen was a worry that Detroit GM Dave Dombrowski hoped not to have when he signed Joe Nathan this offseason, but the former Twins/Rangers stopper hasn’t pitched like himself in 2014. Nathan has posted a 5.61 ERA in 33 2/3 innings with the Tigers, and while his strikeout rate remains strong (9.4 K/9), his walks are up and his fastball is averaging a career-worst 91.7 mph. That velocity dip could have something to do with the increase in his home run rate and decrease in swinging-strike rate as well.

Soria, on the other hand, has been excellent in his first full season back from Tommy John surgery. The former Royals closer has turned in the best strikeout and walk rates of his career (11.9 K/9, 1.2 BB/9) en route to a 2.67 ERA and 16 saves in 30 1/3 innings of relief work.

An acquisition of Soria would give the Tigers an improved ninth-inning option not only for 2014 but also 2015, as his contract contains a $7MM club option ($500K buyout). Beyond that, Soria is highly affordable in 2014, as he’s earning just a $5.5MM salary, of which $2.19MM remains.

This would be the second straight season in which the Tigers have acquired bullpen help, should a deal come to fruition. However, the asking price on Soria will undoubtedly be higher than last year’s asking price for Jose Veras. Detroit sent Danry Vasquez and David Paulino to Houston in order to complete that deal.

The Rangers have reportedly been receiving a good deal of interest in their bullpen arms, and they’ve already shown a willingness to move veteran pieces by sending Jason Frasor to the Royals this week.

NL West Notes: Kemp, Papelbon, Geivett, Padres

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Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp doesn’t necessarily want to be traded, but he would welcome a deal that would allow him to man center field on an everyday basis with a new team, agent Dave Stewart told Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports yesterday. Rosenthal notes, however, that GM Ned Colletti is a bit hesitant to part with Kemp’s right-handed bat, as that would leave the team with just one surefire right-handed power threat in the everyday lineup in 2015: Yasiel Puig. (Hanley Ramirez, of course, is a free agent at season’s end.) Another major roadblock is the roughly $107MM remaining on Kemp’s contract through the 2019 season.

Here’s more on the Dodgers and the rest of the NL West…

  • Mark Saxon of ESPN Los Angeles now debunks one of his own reports, tweeting that he’s been told the Dodgers are not interested in Jonathan Papelbon. Yesterday, a baseball source told Saxon he expected the club to pursue the Philadelphia closer.
  • Rockies owner Dick Monfort appeared on 850 KOA-AM radio with Dave Logan and Susie Wargin, and MLB.com’s Thomas Harding provides some highlights from the discussion. Most notably, after Monfort defended GM Dan O’Dowd by saying he judged O’Dowd’s success on more than just the club’s win-loss record, he was asked who should take the blame for the record: “You would have to say it’s [Rockies senior vice president of Major League operations and assistant GM] Bill Geivett,” said Monfort. “He’s responsible for the Major League team. Now, the talent that gets into the Major League team, [that] is the responsibility of scouting and development.” Monfort declined to comment when asked if all of the club’s decision-makers would return next season, but he did say he “stand[s] by the job that everybody does.”
  • The San Diego Union-Tribune’s staff runs down the list of each Padres GM candidate and explains the reasons that they have a chance at the job as well as the reason that each could lose out to another candidate. Since the publishing of that article, four candidates have already been eliminated, and the finalists now are Red Sox AGM Mike Hazen, Rangers AGM A.J. Preller, Yankees AGM Billy Eppler and MLB senior vice president of baseball operations Kim Ng.
  • Earlier today, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported that Kevin Towers could join the Padres front office as a senior advisor if he his dismissed from his post with the D’Backs. Padres CEO Mike Dee now tells Rosenthal (Twitter links): “Any new hires in the front office will be up to the new GM. Kevin Towers is not a candidate for that position. Thus, any speculation about Kevin rejoining the Padres is just that, speculation.” 

Updating The Padres’ GM Search

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The Padres, you may recall, are still in the market for a new GM after parting ways with Josh Byrnes. With so many names being tossed around — all amid the latest trade deadline rumors — it can be difficult to keep track of things. Now that the club is beginning to select second-round interview candidates, it seems worthwhile to round up the candidates and see where things stand.

The club is expected to sit down with about a dozen people before narrowing it further and ultimately installing a new GM in August. We’ll keep track of the candidates here by splitting them into categories below, and we’ll post the latest news updates here at the top of this post…

News updates

  • San Diego may be interested in hiring former GM Kevin Towers to a senior advisor position if Towers is fired by the D’backs, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter). The report appears to imply that Towers would not be in consideration for the actual GM post, which the club is expected to fill in relatively short order anyway.
  • The Padres have informed Larry Beinfest that he is out of the running, as their preference is to hire an up-and-coming GM, tweets Scott Miller of FOX Sports San Diego and MLB Network Radio.

Still in the running

  • Rangers assistant GM A.J. Preller (also the first candidate who is reported to have been selected for a second interview)
  • Padres assistant GM Josh Stein
  • MLB senior VP of baseball operations Kim Ng
  • Diamondbacks director of scouting Ray Montgomery
  • Yankees assistant GM Billy Eppler
  • Red Sox assistant GM Mike Hazen

Interviewed, but no longer a candidate

  • Dodgers VP of amateur scouting Logan White, per Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (via Twitter).
  • Former Marlins president of baseball operations Larry Beinfest, per Scott Miller of FOX Sports San Diego and MLB Network Radio (Twitter link).

Declined the opportunity to interview

  • Padres assistant GM A.J. Hinch
  • Padres senior VP of baseball operations Omar Minaya
  • Cardinals assistant GM Mike Girsch
  • Cubs senior VP Jason McLeod
  • Athletics assistant GM David Forst
  • Indians assistant GM Mike Chernoff

Brewers Claim Irving Falu, Designate Kevin Shackelford

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The Brewers have claimed infielder Irving Falu off waivers from the Padres, the club announced. Milwaukee designated righty Kevin Shackelford for assignment to create roster space.

Falu spent about three weeks in the San Diego organization after he was claimed from the Brewers in late June. Now, he’ll head back to Milwaukee, where he signed over the offseason after 11 seasons with the Royals. On the year, Falu has just three hits in 35 MLB plate appearances but owns a .306/.364/.361 triple-slash (with seven stolen bases against six unsuccessful attempts) over 170 trips to the plate at Triple-A. He’ll be headed back down, as the club announced that he has been optioned.

Shackleford, 25, made it onto the club’s 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 draft. But after dominating High-A hitters earlier this year, he has struggled to a 6.35 ERA through 28 1/3 Double-A frames with just 3.2 K/9 against 2.9 BB/9. (In 29 1/3 innings at the level last year, he managed a 0.92 ERA with 7.7 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9.)

Bowden On Price, Hamels, Byrd, Angels, A’s, Reds, More

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ESPN.com’s Jim Bowden (Insider subscription required and recommended) offers a bounty of information on the trade market as we draw to within two weeks of the deadline. While you’ll want to give the piece a full read, here are some of the many highlights:

  • The Rays are in no hurry to deal ace David Price, and some possible trade partners increasingly believe that he will not change hands before the deadline. The club still wants to see if a post-season run remains possible; though the club sits 9.5 games back at the break, the division does still look somewhat vulnerable. If Tampa does look to move Price, arguably the best potential trade chip in baseball, it will demand more in return than the Cubs received for Jeff Samardzija — who, you may recall, was the key piece in a package that brought back one of the game’s elite prospects in Addison Russell. Needless to say, Price is a rare commodity, especially given his additional season of control, and his potential absence from the market (combined with the A’s early strike for two other top starters) could have interesting repercussions.
  • One player whose trade attention would potentially rise if Price stays put is Cole Hamels of the Phillies, who of course has plenty of value regardless. Bowden says that GMs around the league get the sense that Philadelphia will be very hesitant to move their star lefty, however. (Fellow top southpaw Cliff Lee, meanwhile, looks more and more a potential August trade piece.)
  • Ultimately, while the Phillies will not conduct a true fire sale, GM Ruben Amaro Jr. has indicated through conversations with his peers that the club is prepared to sell. Outfielder Marlon Byrd is the most likely to go, says Bowden, though his contract presents some complications. While the Mariners are interested in him, Bowden says that the recent free agent signee will ask that the club guarantee his $8MM option for 2016, which Seattle is not currently willing to do. The Royals could also make sense as a partner, but also appear on Byrd’s four-team no-trade list and do not want to take on that level of mid-term commitment. It would appear that Byrd’s representatives at ACES advised their client well in selecting the relatively paltry number of teams to which he could refuse a trade.
  • Angels owner Arte Moreno has enabled GM Jerry Dipoto to be aggressive in trade talks, says Bowden. In addition to Huston Street and Ian Kennedy (read more on them here), the Halos have asked the Padres about righty Tyson Ross, though the Super Two hurler is unlikely to be moved. Indeed, now in the midst of his second consecutive season of high-end production, the 27-year-old starter (and his three remaining years of control) would require a significant return.
  • The Athletics remain aggressive on the second base market, with GM Billy Beane also said to be exploring more creative means of improving his club. Oakland is not inclined to deal away shortstop prospect Daniel Robertson after moving their top prospect, says Bowden, with the club’s internal evaluators believing that he could have as much future value as the more-hyped Russell.
  • The Reds are still looking to add a hitter, with Ben Zobrist of the Rays making a perfect match on paper given his positional flexibility and the club’s current injury situation. (Of course, the same could be said of several other clubs.) With Josh Willingham of the Twins set to hit free agency, he has also been looked at by Cincinnati.
  • Bowden provides several other interesting notes. Among them: the Braves have canvassed the market for a southpaw reliever and could be interested in James Russell of the Cubs and Oliver Perez of the Diamondbacks. The Dodgers will likely add a starter. The Cardinals are planning to scout Twins’ catcher Kurt Suzuki as they assess things behind the plate. And the Giants remain interested in a second base addition in the event that Marco Scutaro cannot stay healthy and productive.

Angels Don’t Match Up For Kennedy, Still Pursuing Street

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The Angels and Padres don’t match up on a deal for right-hander Ian Kennedy, sources tell Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, but the two sides are still discussing closer Huston Street (Twitter link). Rosenthal notes that the Padres are still listening to offers from other clubs with interest in Kennedy.

The Angels have been connected to Street several times, and the pitcher himself even said he would welcome a trade to the Halos when asked by Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times. That’s not to say that Street wants to be traded to Anaheim — he’s said multiple times that he loves San Diego — but rather that if he is traded, he’d prefer it to be to a contending team. Street also told Shaikin how exciting the concept of playing alongside names like Mike Trout and Albert Pujols would be, and he offered high praise for manager Mike Scioscia.

According to Shaikin, the Angels prefer Street to Jonathan Papelbon and Joakim Soria. Street, who has pitched to a 1.09 ERA with 9.3 K/9 and 1.9 BB/9 in 33 innings this season, is earning $7MM and has a $7MM club option on his contract for 2015. As such, the price tag on him is likely to be fairly substantial, though not as steep as the presumed price tag on Kennedy.

As far as Kennedy goes, it’s not entirely surprising that the two sides don’t match up. The Angels’ weak farm system has been well documented, and there’s been a great deal of speculation that they could have trouble landing significant upgrades on the trade market. In a second piece, Shaikin spoke with GM Jerry Dipoto, who said that he doesn’t want to deal any pieces from his big league roster in trades.

That, of course, implies that a young player who could be of interest to a rebuilding club, such as slugging first baseman/DH C.J. Cron, isn’t likely to find himself as part of a trade. As Shaikin writes, Dipoto knows that means he doesn’t have the pieces to acquire David Price, but the team is still in active pursuit of pitching upgrades. Based on all of these reports, it seems that Street is the primary target for the time being, though I’d expect the Angels to cast a wide net over the next few weeks.

Latest On Huston Street And Closer Market

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With his club sitting 12 games back in the NL West at the All-Star break, Padres closer Huston Street certainly looks to be a prime trade candidate. The 30-year-old righty owns a 1.09 ERA through 33 games and 33 frames on the year, with a sparkling 9.3 K/9 against 1.9 BB/9. This is his third straight season of sub-3.00 ERA work. Street is playing on a $7MM salary for 2014, and can be controlled for $7MM next season via club option.

Here’s the latest news on Street and the rest of the closer market:

  • Street expects to be dealt, he tells Jim Bowden on MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM (Twitter link). The club has approached him to discuss that possibility, he adds.
  • San Diego has had enough discussions regarding Street that a deal does indeed appear likely, reports Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. The club is, however, somewhat hesitant to part with both Street and set-up man Joaquin Benoit, Heyman adds.
  • The Angels are one club looking at Street, reports Heyman. The club’s interest was reported yesterday by Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Los Angeles has also considered Jonathan Papelbon of the Phillies, but his contract is an obvious turn-off. (On the other hand, of course, he would presumably require less of a prospect return to acquire.)
  • Also weighing a move on Street are the Pirates, says Heyman. The Orioles and Giants have been mentioned by sources as other speculative possibilities. But Heyman says that those clubs appear more likely to prioritize rotation help.
  • Though the Tigers have been mentioned as a team that could conceivably be interested in late-inning relief help, Heyman says that Detroit has not indicated interest in bringing in an option to challenge or supplant Joe Nathan.

AL West Notes: Preller, Gallo, Johnson, A’s

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The AL West has three teams on pace for postseason play and is home to the two best records in baseball.  The 59-36 A’s hold a slim lead over the 57-37 Angels, while the Mariners’ 51-44 record gives them a 2.5 edge over the Royals and Blue Jays for the second AL wild card slot.  On the flip side, Houston (40-56) and Texas (38-57) hold the American League’s two worst records, with the Rangers’ eight-game losing streak dropping them to worst record in the game.

Here’s the latest from around the AL West…

  • Rangers assistant GM A.J. Preller will receive a second interview for the Padres’ general manager job, Gerry Fraley of the Dallas Morning News reports.  Of the dozen or so candidates known to have interviewed for the job, Preller is thought to be the first to receive a second meeting with San Diego’s upper management team.
  • Also from Fraley, he notes that the Rangers are projected to draw around 400,000 fewer fans than last season, and he speculates this drop in attendance could impact the club’s 2015 payroll.
  • Joey Gallo’s power was the talk of yesterday’s Futures Game, and WEEI.com’s Alex Speier is already wondering how the Rangers prospect could have fallen to the 39th pick of the 2012 draft.  The Red Sox, in particular, had two bonus compensation picks plus their own first-rounder with Gallo still on the board and yet passed on him all three times (drafting Deven Marrero, Brian Johnson and Pat Light instead).
  • When Drew Pomeranz is ready to return to the Athletics’ 25-man roster, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle hints that the A’s could make room by parting ways with Jim Johnson.  The A’s nearly dealt Johnson to the Marlins last month and there have been reports that Oakland would be willing to eat most of Johnson’s remaining salary (approximately $4.2MM) in a trade.  Johnson has been a major disappointment in his first season as an Athletic, posting a 6.18 ERA and losing his closer’s job to Sean Doolittle.
  • The Athletics’ seven All-Stars took some very different paths to get to Oakland, Tim Britton of the Providence Journal writes, which is a tribute to how creatively the team has built its first-place roster.

Angels Trying To Deal For Kennedy, Street

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The Angels are trying to acquire starting pitcher Ian Kennedy and closer Huston Street from the Padres, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports writes. The two teams have discussed a possible deal for Street, but not yet for Kennedy.

Acquiring both players will be tricky for the Angels, Rosenthal suggests, because the Padres control both Kennedy and Street through 2015. They are more inclined to trade players  who are eligible for free agency after the season, like Chase Headley and Chris Denorfia. Another potential obstacle is that the Padres’ ownership might hope to quickly build a competitive team — the recent signing of Seth Smith to a two-year extension suggests that the Padres do not wish to rebuild for long. They could potentially trade Headley and Denorfia, but keep Kennedy and Street for next season.

The Padres might acquire Triple-A second baseman Taylor Lindsey in a deal for Kennedy and Street, Rosenthal writes. The Angels do not have a strong farm system, so it might be tough for them to assemble the talent needed to swing a big trade, at least not without dealing big-league players of their own.

Padres Notes: Kennedy, Street, Management

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Here’s the latest from San Diego…

  • Ian Kennedy is perhaps the Padres’ biggest trade chip, yet the team isn’t eager to deal the right-hander, Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune writes.  Kennedy has pitched well (3.72 ERA, 3.19 K/BB, 9.3 K/9 in 181 2/3 IP) since coming to the Friars last season and the club still has him under control through the 2015 campaign.  “Unless an offer blows them away, the Padres’ owners, eager to contend, may be compensating Kennedy handsomely in 2015,” Lin notes, as Kennedy has one more season of arbitration eligibility remaining and will earn a nice raise over his current $6.1MM salary.  FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal reported yesterday that the Orioles had been scouting Kennedy.
  • “I’ve allowed myself to be open to whatever happens, happens.  Last year I definitely did not want to be traded. Now, my plan is to play for whatever uniform they put me in,” Huston Street tells Yahoo Sports’ Tim Brown.  Street’s excellent season has drawn some trade attention from other clubs, and while the closer noted that he likes San Diego and believes the team can still be competitive, “I lean heavily toward the want-to-win side of the equation.”
  • Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune answers questions about the trade deadline, the Padres’ GM search and several other topics as part of an online chat with fans.
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