Padres Acquire Patrick Schuster To Complete Anthony Bass Trade
The Padres have acquired left-hander Patrick Schuster from the Astros to complete yesterday's Anthony Bass trade, tweets Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. The Astros will also receive cash considerations from the Padres, according to a team press release.
Houston selected Schuster out of the Diamondbacks organization with the first overall pick in this morning's Rule 5 Draft. The 23-year-old posted a strong 1.83 ERA with 9.1 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9 in 44 innings at Class-A Advanced last season. He held both left-handers and right-handers to an identical .533 OPS.
The Padres have been said to be on the lookout for left-handed relief help this offseason, so perhaps if GM Josh Byrnes and his staff feel that Schuster can succeed in a lefty specialist role at the Major League level, he can stick on the roster all season. Otherwise, San Diego will have to work out a trade with the Diamondbacks in order to keep Schuster in the organization.
Overnight Links: Padres, Rule 5, Rockies, Iglesias
MLBTR's 24/7 coverage of the 2013 Winter Meetings rolls on, with a few late night (or is it early morning?) links….
- When the Astros and Padres both included players to be named later in Wednesday's Anthony Bass trade, our Steve Adams suggested the move was related to Thursday's Rule 5 draft, and Jim Callis of Baseball America confirms as much. According to Callis (Twitter links), the Astros and Padres have switched spots in the draft, with San Diego likely to select a pitcher first overall.
- Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News tweets that the Yankees expect to lose players in Thursday's Rule 5 draft, naming Tommy Kahnle and Danny Burawa as two pitchers who could be selected.
- The Rockies are looking to add a left-handed reliever and have the money to be flexible, tweets Troy Renck of the Denver Post.
- While they've been linked to major trade candidates like David Price and have one of their own in Matt Kemp, the Dodgers expect to leave Orlando without having completed a major deal, GM Ned Coletti said Wednesday, according to MLB.com's Ken Gurnick.
- A number of scouts are going directly from the winter meetings to Mexico to watch a showcase for Cuban right-hander Raicel Iglesias, tweets Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports. The workout is scheduled for Friday.
- The Rangers can afford to approach the free agent and trade markets with patience, says Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com, writing that Texas isn't necessarily under any pressure to make another big move.
Free Agent Rumors: Cruz, Benoit, Valverde, Giants
As Day Three of the Winter Meetings in Orlando comes to a close, plenty of free agents are still seeking new teams. Here are the latest updates on a few of them:
- Rockies people tell Troy Renck of the Denver Post (Twitter link) that nothing has changed with Nelson Cruz. There's interest in the free agent outfielder, but it's not being characterized as serious at this point.
- The Mariners have been ardent Cruz pursuers from the start of the winter, and one baseball source tells Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com they'll continue to be in the mix for him even after adding Robinson Cano, Corey Hart, and Logan Morrison.
- Teams believe reliever Joaquin Benoit's likeliest destinations are the Indians, Padres, Mariners, Cubs, or Yankees, tweets Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports.
- Agent Scott Boras says client Jose Valverde, who turns 36 in March, intends to continue his big league career and has drawn interest from two big league teams, writes James Schmehl of MLive.com. The Tigers released their former closer in August after his Triple-A reboot didn't go as well as he hoped.
- Earlier in the evening, assistant GM Bobby Evans expressed optimism that San Francisco would find a left fielder by trade or free agency by the day's end, with Andrew Baggarly of CSNBayArea.com naming Franklin Gutierrez as a candidate. However, the Giants no longer expect resolution on their left field situation tonight, says Baggarly (via Twitter). The CSN Bay Area scribe also takes a more in-depth look at some of the club's options.
- Catcher Kurt Suzuki is talking with the Rockies, Cubs, and Twins, tweets Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
Astros Acquire Anthony Bass
The Astros have acquired Anthony Bass and a player to be named later or cash considerations from the Padres in exchange for a PTBNL or cash, the Padres announced on Twitter. The reasoning behind the PTBNLs on each side seems likely to be related to tomorrow's Rule 5 Draft.
The 26-year-old Bass has a 4.08 ERA with 6.5 K/9, 3.8 BB/9 and a solid 46.9 percent ground-ball rate in 187 1/3 career innings at the Major League level. In 98 innings at the Triple-A level, Bass has a 5.42 ERA with 6.9 K/9 and 1.8 BB/9.
NL West Rumors: D-Backs, Padres, Giants
It remains to be seen whether or not Masahiro Tanaka will be posted by the Rakuten Golden Eagles, but if he is and the Diamondbacks have yet to address their starting pitching needs, expect Arizona to place a bid on the Japanese right-hander, tweets Steve Gilbert of MLB.com. Here's more on the D-Backs and a pair of their NL West rivals:
- Kevin Towers and the D-Backs don't mind waiting on Eric Chavez, who is deciding where he wants to play and monitoring Arizona's moves, according to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic (Twitter link).
- Asked about the possibility of trading Archie Bradley, Towers suggested today that it would be "very, very tough" for the D-Backs to do so, tweets Gilbert.
- The Padres have interest in Scott Downs, among other southpaw relievers, tweets Jon Morosi of FOX Sports. San Diego's Josh Byrnes confirmed that the team is casting a wide net for bullpen help, indicating that he has touched base with "most" available left-handed relievers (Twitter link via Adam Berry of MLB.com).
- According to Berry (Twitter links), Byrnes said the Padres have weighed "six or eight ideas" and have meetings set up to discuss free agents and trades. Byrnes also shot down the latest round of Chase Headley rumors, stating that the team views the third baseman as part of its 2014 plans.
- Andrew Baggarly of CSN Bay Area has some details on the Giants' search for an outfielder, tweeting that the Giants called three times on Norichika Aoki before the Brewers decided to send Aoki to the Royals. In a second tweet, Baggarly says the Giants are interested in Michael Morse and Corey Hart, but probably not at the years and dollars those players will command.
- John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle provides a couple more Giants updates, reporting that no teams have inquired on San Francisco's five starters, but that the club's young pitching has drawn some interest. Shea adds that the team appears unlikely to bring back Chad Gaudin (Twitter links).
Mark Prior Officially Retires; Could Join Padres Front Office
Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press tweets that he ran into Mark Prior at the Winter Meetings and was told the Prior has officially retired and could join the Padres front office. Prior's most recent comeback attempt with the Reds in 2013 was cut short when he once again injured his shoulder.
Prior, now 33 years of age, hasn't pitched in the Major Leagues since 2006. Drafted second overall behind Joe Mauer in the 2001 draft, Prior burst onto the scene in 2002-03 with the Cubs in dominant fashion. In his first 328 big league innings, Prior posted a 2.74 ERA with a 392-to-88 (4.45) K/BB ratio.
Unfortunately, Prior would go on to throw just 329 additional Major League innings in an injury-riddled career. Multiple injuries to his rotator cuff, labrum and anterior capsule in his right shoulder required multiple surgeries that have limited 58 2/3 innings in affiliated ball since the end of the 2006 season.
Prior's once-promising playing career officially comes to an end with a 3.51 ERA, 10.4 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 in 657 innings. Prior signed a then-record $10.5MM contract out of the 2001 draft, which stood until 2009 when Stephen Strasburg signed a four-year $15.1MM deal as the No. 1 overall pick.
The Padres organization has lost several key members of its field staff following the hiring of Rick Renteria as Cubs manager, and it also lost special assistant Brad Ausmus to the Tigers. Prior could bring a wealth of knowledge to assist GM Josh Byrnes and his staff.
Reliever Rumors: Balfour, Perez, Logan, O’Flaherty
We haven't seen a ton of action yet from Orlando today, but plenty of smaller-scale rumors have been trickling in throughout the day, including plenty related to the bullpen market. Let's round up a few of the latest updates on some available relief pitchers….
- The Indians, who are in the market for a closer, have spoken to Grant Balfour, sources tell Jon Morosi of FOX Sports (Twitter link).
- Buster Olney of ESPN.com reports (via Twitter) that Chris Perez is in attendance in Orlando to meet with teams in person, which Olney sees as a good move, considering how Perez's 2013 season played out.
- The Tigers sound lukewarm on the bullpen market at this point, according to Jason Beck of MLB.com (via Twitter), who says that stance could change once more closer openings are filled and free agents shift their focus to setup jobs.
- The Yankees, Nationals, and Padres have all been involved in the lefty relief market to varying degrees, according to Morosi (via Twitter).
- New York has stayed in touch with Boone Logan, tweets Andy McCullough of the Star-Ledger. However, Dan Kolko of MASNsports.com (Twitter link) hears that Logan is hoping to earn a role as a setup man, rather than simply as a LOOGY.
- The Braves have spoken with the agent of Eric O'Flaherty, but that appears to be on the backburner for now, particularly since he's drawing interest from other teams, tweets David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
NL West Notes: Kemp, D-Backs, Rockies, Anderson
Matt Kemp's agent, former MLB pitcher Dave Stewart, told Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times that he expects his client to be traded this offseason. Said Stewart: "I haven't heard a player's name floated around like that and something not happen." Stewart may be thinking back to last offseason's Justin Upton saga with that comment, but it's worth noting that several big-name trade candidates have been rumored to be on the block only to stay put, with Chase Headley coming to mind off the bat for me. Here's more out of the NL West…
- The Diamondbacks are one of the teams with the most aggressive interest in White Sox ace Chris Sale, but there's no guarantee that the Sox have made him available, per ESPN's Buster Olney (on Twitter). Earlier today it was reported that the Sox are looking to move a starting pitcher, but Sale would require an even bigger package than David Price will command.
- "I think we are still in the market for a starting pitcher, another bat, and as I've said before, our bullpen is not closed," Rockies director of Major League operations told Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post. Owner Dick Monfort recently said he could see the payroll stretching to $95MM, Saunders notes.
- MLB.com's Thomas Harding reports that the Rockies were "deep" in talks with the A's for Brett Anderson last week but talks slowed due to concerns over Anderson's medical reports. Harding notes that the two sides could resume talks this week.
- The Padres and Diamondbacks could be two teams to show interest in recently DFA'ed Twins right-hander Liam Hendriks, writes Mike Beradino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. D-Backs GM Kevin Towers was the Padres' GM when San Diego finished runner-up to the Twins in bidding for the Australian right-hander as a free agent. Likewise, Padres director of international scouting Randy Smith was in the same role with San Diego when the Twins signed Hendriks in 2007.
Padres, Sox Have Talked Headley, Quintana In Past
Recent reports have linked Padres third baseman Chase Headley to the White Sox, and Dan Hayes of CSN Chicago adds some more details to that story, noting that the two sides have discussed the switch-hitting Headley numerous times. However, Chicago GM Rick Hahn is loath to meet counterpart Josh Byrnes' request of including Jose Quintana as part of the package.
As Hayes notes, Quintana can be controlled for another five seasons, and the Sox like the pairing of him and Chris Sale at the front of their rotation for the foreseeable future. The Sox are more amenable to trading fellow lefty Hector Santiago, according to Hayes, and they've likely offered him in potential deals for Headley. However, one big league evaluator told Hayes that Santiago's value has been negatively impacted by pitching in the same rotation as Quintana, as teams are frequently more interested in talking about Quintana, who is more consistent.
Though Headley figures to be one of the most oft-discussed players at this week's Winter Meetings, the Padres don't expect to trade their third baseman, sources tell Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times. As for the White Sox, previous reports have indicated that the White Sox consider Quintana, Sale and Avisail Garcia to be untouchable in trades.
Central Notes: Pirates, Royals, White Sox
The idea that the Pirates would trade for David Price is "pure nonsense," writes the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Ron Cook. The Pirates would have to pay about $30MM for two seasons of Price, and would have to give up lots of value in prospects as well. "There are a lot fewer clubs that can play at the top of the market than clubs that can't," Pirates GM Neal Huntington says. "We just can't afford to do 'X.' Well, we could, but then how would we build a championship-caliber club around that one player?" Huntington also says the single biggest improvement the Bucs can make is re-signing A.J. Burnett, who continues to consider whether to play for one more year or to retire. Here are more notes from the Central divisions.
- The Pirates could look for a first baseman, starting pitcher, shortstop and/or right fielder this week, Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review writes. Biertempfel notes that the Pirates "checked in on" starting pitcher Bronson Arroyo. If so, that might indicate that they're not hopeful that Burnett will be back next year.
- The Royals offered Carlos Beltran three years and over $40MM, CBS Sports' Jon Heyman tweets. Beltran ended up going to the Yankees for three years and $45MM. Heyman also notes that the Royals will also be bidding against the Yankees for infielder Omar Infante.
- The White Sox have demonstrated interest in Chase Headley of the Padres, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports. As Van Schouwen notes, that's a little odd, unless the White Sox think they can sign Headley to an extension — the White Sox aren't expected to contend in 2014, and Headley is a free agent after the season.