West Notes: Mattingly, Angels, Padres
At one point, the Dodgers might have been two days away from firing manager Don Mattingly, Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times writes. That was on June 21, when the Dodgers were 30-42 following their second straight loss to the Padres. Shaikin cites a source saying that if the Dodgers had lost the last two games of that four-game series, they would have dismissed Mattingly. Since then, the Dodgers have got 46-11, and Mattingly appears to be a contender for the NL Manager of the Year award. Here are more notes from out west.
- For the Angels, one of the few bright sides of an awful season is that they now have the opportunity to see which of their zero-to-three players can help in the near future, MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez writes. Gonzalez notes that, with several big contracts (Albert Pujols, Josh Hamilton, Jered Weaver, C.J. Wilson) consuming much of their payroll, it's particularly important that the Angels get value out of cost-controlled players. The Angels will look to players like Grant Green, Chris Nelson and Cory Rasmus (all of whom were acquired this year) to see if they might be able to contribute.
- Padres pitcher Andrew Cashner and Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo have become friends since being traded for each other in early 2012, Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times reports. Rizzo says he's rooting for a win-win deal. "I hope [Cashner] has a great career; I hope I have a great career as well," Rizzo says. "There’s no winning or losing this trade. … I hope we both have Hall of Fame careers and everyone’s a winner.”
NL West Notes: Dodgers, Fife, Federowicz, Kennedy
Yesterday, Alex Speier of WEEI.com gave us a fascinating look at last August's blockbuster trade between the Red Sox and the Dodgers. It turns out that one of the biggest deals in recent memory came together rather quickly and Boston could have gone down a number of other paths that would have altered the future of both franchises. One year later, both teams are pretty happy with the way things turned out. Here's the latest out of the NL West, including more on the Dodgers..
- The Dodgers took a significant gamble in the Boston blockbuster and it has paid off, writes Bill Dwyre of the Los Angeles Times. While GM Ned Colletti & Co. knew that they would have lots of money to work with thanks to the new ownership group, they weren't expecting anything on this scale. “They were pushing to go,” Colletti said. “I had my staff with me, standing there, right in the back of this booth. They looked at me, kind of stunned, and said, ‘Can we really do this?’”
- Aside from Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford, a pair of former Red Sox farmhands are also thriving in L.A., notes Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal. Pitcher Stephen Fife and catcher Tim Federowicz came over to the Dodgers as a part of the three-team 2011 Erik Bedard deal.
- Flyball pitcher Ian Kennedy is enthusiastic about playing within the confines of Petco Park with the Padres, writes Dennis Lin of U-T San Diego.
Padres Outright Sean O’Sullivan
Here are Friday's minor moves from around the league…
- Padres right-hander Sean O'Sullivan has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A Tucson, according to the Pacific Coast League transactions page. O'Sullivan, 25, was designated for assignment on Monday. In 25 innings for the Padres this season, he posted a 3.96 ERA but issued more walks (14) than strikeouts (12). He has a 5.89 career ERA in 218 2/3 innings but has been better at Triple-A, where he owns a 4.43 ERA with 6.1 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 in 473 1/3 frames.
- With O'Sullivan's outright, just Wade LeBlanc of the Astros, Jeff Francoeur of the Giants, and Jason Bourgeois of the Rays remain in DFA limbo, as can be seen in MLBTR's new DFA Tracker.
Minor Moves: Arturo Lopez
Here are Wednesday's minor moves from around the league…
- The Padres have acquired left-hander Arturo Lopez from the Mexican League's Diablos Rojos del Mexico, according to the Pacific Coast League transactions page. Lopez has reported to Triple-A Tucson. The 30-year-old Lopez has been in the Mexican League for the past three seasons but spent parts of five seasons with the Padres organization previously. He earned a call-up in 2009 but allowed five runs in 2 1/3 innings. In 85 innings for los Diablos this season, Lopez had a 3.50 ERA with 8.3 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9, though he did allow more hits than innings pitched.
- As can be seen in MLBTR's new DFA Tracker, three players are in DFA limbo: Sean O'Sullivan of the Padres, Wade LeBlanc of the Astros and Jeff Francoeur of the Giants.
Quick Hits: Morneau, Matsuzaka, Red Sox, Padres
We'll round out the evening with some links from around baseball:
- With a big night at the plate putting an exclamation point on his torrid run over August, Twins first baseman Justin Morneau is drawing increased attention on the trade market, 1500ESPN.com's Darren Wolfson reports on Twitter. According to a source, the resurgent Yankees are "back in" on Morneau, which could also increase the pressure on the Orioles to make a move on the veteran slugger. The Yanks are now just one game back of Baltimore, though both clubs have significant ground to gain in both the AL East and Wild Card hunt.
- Recently-released pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka expects to link up with a new team shortly with the hopes of returning to the big leagues, tweets Scott Miller of CBSSports.com. In a series of tweets, Miller quotes Indians GM Chris Antonetti: "We didn't have an immediate opportunity. Dice-K was throwing well in Triple-A and thought he may have a better opportunity."
- One team that will not be in on Matsuzaka is the Brewers, reports Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. GM Doug Melvin did say that Dice-K's agent, Scott Boras, had reached out to Milwaukee. "I told Boras I didn't have a spot for him," said Melvin. "We already have six starters for September."
- Looking ahead at the first base position for the Red Sox in 2014, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe says he expects the club to "stay in-house" rather than chasing a new player such as Jose Dariel Abreu. Cafardo opines that the club is most likely to shift Will Middlebrooks to first or employ a platoon of Daniel Nava and Mike Carp. Cafardo finds it less likely that Mike Napoli will be re-signed, but says a big September could lead the club in that direction.
- Mike Dee, the new president and CEO of the Padres, says that the club is poised to "invest more in the team moving forward," reports MLB.com's AJ Cassavell. Emphasizing that dealing with the team's less-than-perfect TV situation will be "a priority," Dee said that the baseball operations focus will be "to draft well and to develop [the team's] own talent." For his part, GM Josh Byrnes explained that more money did not just mean more big league spending: "Payroll is certainly part of it. But it's also investment spending, whether it's player development, medical or the international side; anything that we can do to give ourselves a better chance to produce talent."
Placed On Waivers: Chase Headley
We'll keep tabs on any notable players hitting the revocable waiver wire right here …
- The Padres have placed third baseman Chase Headley on waivers, reports Jon Heyman of CBS Sports (on Twitter). One of last year's biggest breakout players, Headley has been the subject of repeated trade and extension rumors. He is playing on a $8.575MM contract this year, just under $2MM of which still remains to be paid, and will enter his final year of arbitration eligibility next season. Thus far in 2013, Headley has failed to live up to his big 2012 campaign. After missing time early in the year due to injury, Headley has managed only a .237/.328/.368 line in his 472 plate appearances to date. Nevertheless, the 29-year-old figures to appeal to a variety of clubs, though the Padres would surely require a substantial return to let him go.
For a reminder on how revocable trade waivers and August trades work, check out MLBTR's August trades primer.
Padres Designate Sean O’Sullivan For Assignment
The Padres announced on Twitter that they have designated right-hander Sean O'Sullivan for assignment to clear a roster spot for fellow righty Brad Boxberger, who will be recalled from Triple-A Tucson.
O'Sullivan, 25, signed a minor league contract with the Friars this offseason after the Blue Jays released him last November. The right-hander was drafted by the Angels and traded to the Royals along with Will Smith in exchange for Alberto Callaspo. Toronto later acquired him from Kansas City for cash considerations.
O'Sullivan posted a 3.96 ERA in 25 innings with the Padres this season but walked more batters (14) than he struck out (12) in the process. In 218 2/3 Major League innings, the San Diego native has a 5.89 ERA with 4.2 K/9, 3.6 BB/9 and a 40.1 percent ground-ball rate.
Minor Moves: Nakajima, Robinson, Hayes
Today's minor moves from around the league…
- The Athletics have outrighted Hiroyuki Nakajima off their 40-man roster, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets. Nakajima will remain with Triple-A Sacramento, where he has spent the entire season. The Japanese infielder signed a two-year, $6.5MM deal with Oakland in December and posted a .282/.336/.368 line in 324 minor league plate appearances.
- The Padres purchased the contract of catcher Chris Robinson from Triple-A Tucson, the team announced. In corresponding moves, Nick Hundley was put on the paternity list and Jason Marquis was transferred to the 60-day DL. Robinson, 29, was dealt from Baltimore to San Diego in June. The London, Ontario native was a third-round pick of the Tigers in the 2005 draft and has a .275/.320/.355 line in 2326 PA over nine minor league seasons.
- The Royals have outrighted catcher Brett Hayes to Triple-A Omaha, according to the Pacific Coast League transactions page. Hayes, 29, was designated for assignment after appearing in just three big league games for Kansas City this season. He's batted .231/.280/.441 in 68 Triple-A contests and is a career .219/.366/.364 hitter in 146 games at the Major League level — all of which came with the Marlins prior to his brief stint with the Royals.
- With Hayes having been outrighted, just two players are currently in DFA limbo: Ryan Roberts of the Rays and Elliot Johnson of the Royals. Both were designated for assignment yesterday.
NL West Notes: Betancourt, Fowler, Headley
The Rockies (57-65) and Padres (54-67) are playing out the string on the 2013 season and already looking ahead to 2014. Here's the latest from these two NL West clubs…
- Rafael Betancourt is set to come off the disabled list and Troy Renck of the Denver Post (Twitter link) speculates that the Rockies could put Betancourt on waivers to gauge trade interest in the closer. Colorado and Betancourt have a $4.25MM mutual option for 2014 and through the 38-year-old has two separate stints on the DL this year, he has still pitched effectively. With a younger and cheaper closing option in Rex Brothers, however, the Rockies may want to make a change.
- Dexter Fowler should be made available on the trade market this winter, The Denver Post's Mark Kiszla opines. Fowler is hitting .268/.376/.428 with 12 homers, 67 runs scored and 18 steals in 430 PA, and has spent time on the DL with hand and wrist injuries. As Kiszla notes, the Rockies shopped Fowler last offseason but didn't find any takers after asking for a big return. Fowler signed a two-year, $11.6MM deal with Colorado in February and the 27-year-old still has one final year of arbitration eligibility following the 2014 season.
- Chase Headley's disappointing season has left the Padres with a bit of a conundrum this winter, Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune writes. Rumors have been rampant over the last year that the Padres would either sign Headley to a long-term extension or trade him, though the Padres would be selling low if the moved Headley now. Center speculates that the Padres might try to lock Headley up to a bargain of an extension and then re-explore the trade market if he returns to form next season.
- Also from Center, he notes as part of his weekly Padres chat that he expects the Padres actively pursue trades this winter. Center sees the Friars offering packages of a young pitcher and a position player, and says the club will certainly pursue corner outfield help. Third base could also be a possibility given Headley's situation.
Quick Hits: A-Rod, Desmond, Padres, Zimmermann
Alex Rodriguez's public battle with the Yankees took another turn today when the slugger denied a report that the club intends to fine him a day's pay for conduct during his recent rehab assignment. According to ESPNNewYork.com's Andrew Marchand, a hand-delivered letter written by Yankees GM Brian Cashman informed A-Rod that the club plans to punish him for seeking a second opinion on his quadriceps injury and also for failing to appear at Yankee Stadium last month after meeting with MLB officials to discuss the Biogenesis investigation. In an article by Bryan Hoch and Josh Vitale of MLB.com, however, A-Rod denied receiving the letter. "Maybe they sent it to my lawyers," Rodriguez said. "But I'm not really going to talk about that." More Saturday night MLB links…
- Neither Ian Desmond nor Jordan Zimmermann appear close to contract extensions with the Nationals, Bill Ladson of MLB.com reports. Zimmermann, 27, said his camp and the Nationals broached the subject in the offseason but didn't come close to an agreement. "I'm not going to give a huge team discount," Zimmermann warned. "Just something fair is all I ask."Meanwhile, Desmond recognizes that he has two years of arbitration remaining and doesn't appear to be in a hurry to put together a deal, according to Ladson.
- Everth Cabrera's recent suspension has reinforced the fact that the Padres' farm system is thin on shortstop talent, Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune says. “You’d like to have a shortstop at every level that you feel is a prospect – has a chance to be an everyday guy,” assistant GM Chad MacDonald said. However, as Sanders notes, the club's best prospects at the position remain in the lower minors. For now, former first-round pick Logan Forsythe figures to get an extended look at short for the Friars.
- Astros top prospect George Springer may finish the season at Triple-A, Brian McTaggart and Chris Abshire of MLB.com say. Springer, 23, is hitting .303/.410/.597 with 38 stolen bases across stops at Double-A and Triple-A this season. However, Astros manager Bo Porter didn't give any indication of when Springer might be called up to the major league club when discussing the outfielder today.
- Will Middlebrooks was called up to man third base for the Red Sox because he has more experience at the hot corner than Xander Bogaerts, Scott McLaughlin of WEEI.com reports. Many speculated that Bogaerts, who's hit .300/.392/.487 in 481 minor league plate appearances this season, would get the call, but manager John Farrell says the team prefers that he continue to take reps at third in the minors. The Sox want Bogaerts to be ready in case Middlebrooks struggles or hits the disabled list, according to McLaughlin.