Edinson Volquez On Waivers
The Padres have placed right-hander Edinson Volquez on waivers, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe reports (on Twitter). Volquez drew interest leading up to the non-waiver trade deadline, so it would be surprising if he goes unclaimed.
Teams routinely place players on waivers, even if they don't plan on trading them, so this is not an indication that the Padres intend to move Volquez. If he goes unclaimed, the Padres will be able to complete a trade just as easily as they could have before the current waiver period began three weeks ago.
If a team claims Volquez, the Padres will have three choices. They can let him (and his contract) go to the claiming team, they can complete a trade with the claiming team, or they can pull him back off of waivers. National League teams will have claiming priority on Volquez.
Volquez earns $2.24MM this year and is under team control through 2013 as an arbitration eligible player. The 29-year-old has a 4.18 ERA with 8.7 K/9 and 5.4 BB/9 in 148 2/3 innings over the course of 26 starts.
Here’s MLBTR’s list of players to clear waivers in August.
Padres Designate Jeremy Hermida For Assignment
The Padres announced that they designated outfielder Jeremy Hermida for assignment. The team selected the contract of left-hander Andrew Werner and optioned right-hander Brad Boxberger to Triple-A in related moves.
Hermida signed a one-year, $800K contract with the Padres last offseason only to spend considerable time on the disabled list with a strained hip flexor. The 28-year-old appeared in just 13 games for the Padres, but he also played in 44 games for San Diego's Triple-A affiliate, posting a .252/.318/.358 batting line in 170 plate appearances.
September Call-ups: Pirates, Orioles, Padres, Mets
- The Pirates are mulling their September call-ups with the post-season in mind, as they entered play today holding the second NL Wild Card spot and with Triple-A Indianapolis likely playoff-bound. General Manager Neal Huntington told reporters, including Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, "Where we go from there … it’s a delicate balance. I’ve been with another organization where we raided the Triple-A team as it was headed to the post-season. The guys came up and didn’t play very much, and that didn’t go over very well on many fronts." At least one left-handed reliever and another catcher will be added when rosters expand, writes Biertempfel.
- Pirates manager Clint Hurdle adds another consideration when deciding upon September call-ups: cost. In Biertempfel's piece, Hurdle pointed out, "In my rookie year, if you got a call-up, you made $5,000 or $6,000 (in September). Now you’re talking about making $75,000. So if you call up 10 guys, you’re picking up $750,000 in salary and everything that goes with it.”
- Orioles manager Buck Showalter has acknowledged the team's September call-ups will be affected by the team's playoff chase. Rich Dubroff of CSNBaltimore.com lists possible players, both on the disabled list and at Triple-A, who could join the O's when the rosters expand.
- The Padres may not have the roster space to bring Jedd Gyorko up in September, according to John Maffei of the North County Times. The Padres already have 49 players on their 40-man roster (nine are on the 60-day disabled list) and may not want to start Gyorko's service clock just for a September sneak peak, writes Maffei. Since Gyorko has less than three full seasons in pro ball, the Padres don't have to add him to the 40-man roster next season.
- Lucas Duda will probably have to wait until September 1st to rejoin the Mets because the team wants to take a longer look at Mike Baxter, tweets the New York Post's Mike Puma.
- The Nationals have several candidates for September call-ups including pitcher John Lannan and 2011 first-round draft pick Anthony Rendon, writes MLB.com's Bill Ladson.
Cubs Claim Alex Hinshaw
The Cubs have claimed left-handed pitcher Alex Hinshaw off outright waivers, tweets Corey Brock of MLB.com. Hinshaw was designated for assignment by the Padres last Tuesday.
Hinshaw posted a 4.50 ERA and 1.54 WHIP in 28 innings of relief work for San Diego this season. He logged a strong strikeout rate of 11.6 K/9, but struggled with his control (6.4 BB/9). Prior to pitching for the Padres this season, he last appeared in the big leagues with the Giants in 2009.
Hinshaw is expected to join the Cubs in Milwaukee tomorrow in time for their series against the Brewers, tweets Doug Padilla of ESPNChicago.com. The Cubs, however, have yet to announce a corresponding roster move.
Rosenthal On Andrus, Headley, Ichiro, Victorino
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (video link) has posted his latest edition of Full Count, so let's dive in..
- The Rangers likely promotion of top prospect Jurickson Profar doesn't necessarily mean that they'll trade Elvis Andrus this offseason, but its possible. Profar is 19-years-old with many years of club control ahead of him while Andrus has only two years left on his contract after this season. Andrus is a Scott Boras client, making an extension unlikely.
- The Padres want one more piece for their rotation to support Clayton Richard and Edinson Volquez and Chase Headley could be the piece to help them make that happen. San Diego didn't get the prospect package that they wanted for Headley before the deadline but they could get a solid big league pitcher for him this winter.
- The Giants made a serious run at Ichiro Suzuki at the deadline before he wound up with the Yankees. GM Brian Sabean instead went for Hunter Pence as he felt the lineup needed more power. Rosenthal wouldn't be surprised if the Giants pursue Ichiro in free agency, depending on how they feel about re-signing Melky Cabrera.
- A source told Rosenthal that the Pirates could have gotten Shane Victorino from the Phillies before the deadline for Brad Lincoln. Of course, Pittsburgh instead sent Lincoln to the Blue Jays for Travis Snider.
Quick Hits: Samardzija, Stauffer, Izturis, Reynolds
Tigers manager Jim Leyland all but confirmed that Victor Martinez will not return this season, reports James Schmehl of mLive.com. Martinez torn his ACL during an offseason workout, but there was a small possibility that he would return to the team in September. Here's the latest from around the league…
- “I’m not really too worried about that. I like to leave that front-office stuff to my agent,” said Cubs right-hander Jeff Samardzija to ESPN Chicago when asked if any contract extension talks were taking place. The 27-year-old is in the middle of a breakout season while earning $2.64MM.
- Right-hander Tim Stauffer is dealing with shoulder and elbow issues, and Bill Center of The San Diego Union-Tribute says that the Padres will likely non-tender him after the season. Stauffer has only made one start this year and will earn $3.2MM.
- The Nationals designated Cesar Izturis for assignment earlier today, and manager Davey Johnson told reporters (including Dan Kolko of MASNSports.com) that the club will likely bring him back in September if he isn't claimed off waivers (Twitter link).
- Rich Dubroff of CSNBaltimore.com says the Orioles have a difficult decision to make about Mark Reynolds' club option after the season. Baltimore holds an $11MM option ($500K buyout) for the slugger, who has turned it on of late following a slow start.
- The Padres are considering internal options (crosscheckers Bob Filoti and Bill Gasparino) as well as external options (Mets coordinator Ian Levin and crosschecker Steve Barningham) for their scouting director position, reports Jim Callis of Baseball America (on Twitter).
NL West Notes: Francoeur, Giants, Pence, Padres
We took a look at both Western divisions earlier today, now we'll zero in on just the National League side..
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter) wonders if Jeff Francoeur could be a fit for the Giants. Rosenthal notes that the outfielder, owed $6.75MM next season, would likely would clear waivers. However, the Royals couldn't be expected to just give him away.
- It has been widely speculated that the Giants acquired Hunter Pence as a response to rumors surrounding Melky Cabrera's possible suspension, but GM Brian Sabean denied that being a factor, writes Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle. "We tried to acquire [Pence] at the deadline last year and he was going to be a Giant if we could find a way to do it this year," Sabean said. The GM also said that there was nothing "too compelling or interesting" available on the waiver wire.
- The new Padres ownership could take the club in a number of directions, writes Chris Jenkins of U-T San Diego. The sale of the team is now complete as it was approved at the owners meetings this week.
Owners Approve Sale Of Padres
AUGUST 16th: The sale of the team is complete, reports Bob Nightengale of USA Today (on Twitter). The deal was approved at the owners meetings this week. The Padres are now under the control of the Ron Fowler group, which includes the O'Malley family.
AUGUST 6th: The sale of the Padres to the O'Malley group has completed, writes Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune.
The sale price, according to Center, is roughly $800MM. That includes $200MM of up-front cash for the Padres as an advance for their upcoming 20-year television deal with FOX Sports San Diego. The deal is pending approval of other Major League owners, which could come as soon as Aug. 16 when the owners meet in Denver, according to Center.
The O'Malley group was selected to purchase the Padres one month ago today. Peter O'Malley, former owner of the Dodgers, leads the purchase group that also includes his sons, Kevin and Brian; nephews Peter and Tom Seidler; San Diego businessman Ron Fowler; and professional golfer Phil Mickelson. O'Malley's sons and nephews are expected to become "hands on" owners. There are no immediate changes to the baseball operations team known at this time.
Mike Axisa contributed to this post.
Padres Designate Alex Hinshaw For Assignment
The Padres have designated left-handed pitcher Alex Hinshaw for assignment, the club announced via press release.
Hinshaw, 30 in October, posted a 4.50 ERA and 1.54 WHIP in 28 innings of relief work for the Friars this season. The lefty logged a strong strikeout rate of 11.6 K/9 but struggled with his control (6.4 BB/9). Prior to pitching for San Diego this season, he last appeared in the big leagues with the Giants in 2009.
In a corresponding 40-man roster move, the Padres selected left-hander Tom Layne from Double-A San Antonio.
Padres, Mark Kotsay Agree To Extension
2:40pm: Kotsay's extension is worth $1.3MM, tweets Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com.
10:33am: The Padres announced via press release that they have agreed to terms on a contract extension with Kotsay. “Mark provides versatility and a very good late-game at-bat,” General Manager Josh Byrnes said. “He brings invaluable leadership to our club and has become one of the key members of our team.”
9:20am: The Padres are set to extend veteran Mark Kotsay through the 2013 season today, according to Corey Brock of MLB.com (via Twitter). San Diego has been impressed by the veteran's clubhouse presence and his bat off of the bench, according to Brock.
Kotsay, 36, has a .275/.333/.363 slash line with one home run in 111 plate appearances. The outfielder/first baseman made just $1.25MM this season and earned trade interest from multiple clubs in July, including the Reds. Kotsay owns a .278/.334/.409 batting line across his 16-year career.