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Rangers Acquire Luis Martinez From Padres

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The Rangers announced that they have acquired catcher Luis Martinez from the Padres in exchange for right-hander Ryan Kelly (via Twitter).

Martinez, 26, has been added to Texas' 40-man roster. The right-handed hitter appeared in 22 games with the Friars in 2011, hitting .203/.309/.305 in 68 plate appearances.

Kelly, 24, was a 26th-round pick of the Pirates in 2006. He has a 4.50 career ERA over five minor league seasons.

Blue Jays Bid $50MM For Darvish

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The Blue Jays bid over $50MM for Yu Darvish, falling just short of the Rangers' $51.7MM bid, according to Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star. Here's the latest on the Blue Jays’ division, starting with a right-hander who spent three up-and-down seasons in Toronto… 

  • Several teams are kicking the tires on acquiring A.J. Burnett, but the Yankees will have to absorb significant salary to make a deal and Burnett can veto trades to ten teams per year, according to George A. King III of the New York Post.
  • The Yankees bid less than $20MM for Darvish, according to Andrew Marchand of ESPNNewYork.com.
  • Orioles GM Dan Duquette explains the team's shrinking pro scouting department to MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli. "In an effort to make an impact on the franchise, I can argue that the scouts are most valuable to a team at the amateur level,” Duquette said. “They can have a bigger impact on this organization.”
  • Former Rays catcher Toby Hall has decided to retire, according to Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times. The 36-year-old spent seven seasons with the Rays and last played in the Major Leagues in 2008. 
  • Dan Hayes of the North County Times hears the Rays are one of the teams that has asked the Padres about Anthony Rizzo (Twitter link). However, the Padres, who have been flooded with interest, aren't matching up that well with the Rays at this point, according to Jim Bowden of MLB Network Radio and ESPN.com (on Twitter).
  • MLB executives expect Gio Gonzalez to be traded relatively soon now that Darvish is no longer available, according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (on Twitter). The Red Sox are among Gonzalez’s suitors.

NL East Notes: DeRosa, Hamels, Martinez, Prado

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Ed Wade is heading back to the NL East after four years in Houston. Here are more links from the division, starting with Wade’s longtime team…

  • Mark DeRosa says he's interested in playing for the Nationals, according to MLB.com's Bill Ladson (Twitter links). However, other teams are interested and DeRosa is not close to making a decision.
  • Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. says he's comfortable heading into Spring Training with the team he has, according to Paul Hagen of MLB.com. The Phillies have already made major free agent signings, added complementary players such as Laynce Nix, Jim Thome and Dontrelle Willis and signed players to minor league deals, as our Free Agent Tracker shows.
  • Those who know Cole Hamels doubt he would give the Phillies much of a discount on a potential extension, according to Tyler Kepner of the New York Times. The 27-year-old John Boggs & Associates client posted a 2.79 ERA with 8.1 K/9, 1.8 BB/9 and a 52.3% ground ball rate in 215 innings this past season. He's set to hit free agency after the 2012 season (MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects a $14MM salary for Hamels in his final season of arbitration eligibility).
  • Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com shows that the Mets already have a projected payroll in the $90MM range. GM Sandy Alderson has suggested the team's payroll could be less than $100MM, so the Mets may not have much offseason shopping remaining.
  • The Mets are interested in catcher Luis Martinez, who was designated for assignment by the Padres on Sunday, according to Mike Puma of the New York Post (on Twitter). The 26-year-old hit .203/.309/.305 in 68 plate appearances with the Padres this past season.
  • The Braves and Rockies have continued discussing a possible deal that would send Seth Smith to Atlanta for Martin Prado, according to MLB.com's Thomas Harding. The Braves appear to be seeing what they can get for Jair Jurrjens first, however. Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports examined possible suitors for Smith earlier today, including the Braves despite their preference for a right-handed hitter. 

Padres To Sign Jeremy Hermida

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The Padres reached an agreement with outfielder Jeremy Hermida on a minor league deal, tweets ESPN's Jerry Crasnick.  They had non-tendered him last week.  Hermida, a former Marlins top prospect, hit .319/.400/.524 in 450 plate appearances for the Reds' Triple-A affiliate this year.  The 27-year-old was claimed off waivers by the Padres in August and designated for assignment in early December upon the team's acquisition of Huston Street.  Hermida received some feelers from Japanese teams this offseason, Crasnick notes.

AL East Rumors: Latos, Blue Jays, Rays, Red Sox

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The latest out of the AL East:

  • Peter Gammons of MLB Network tweets that the Blue Jays "went to the end" on Mat Latos, though the Reds ultimately won out. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports also hears Toronto was a finalist on Latos, though he doesn't know the details of their offer (Twitter links). The Jays are one team that could have comfortably matched the quantity and quality of the prospects Cincinnati sent to San Diego.
  • While the Rays would ideally like to add another reliever with high-leverage experience, GM Andrew Friedman tells Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times he's comfortable with the bullpen arms he has now.
  • The Red Sox probably aren't done making moves, though they don't seem inclined to make a big splash such as a Gio Gonzalez trade, writes Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald.

Padres Interested In Matt Garza

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The Padres have some interest in acquiring Matt Garza from the Cubs in a package that would include Anthony Rizzo, tweets Jim Bowden of ESPN.com and MLB Network Radio. Based on reports yesterday, it seems both clubs may be interested in working out a trade involving Rizzo.

With Mat Latos now a Cincinnati Red, the Padres' interest in Garza makes some sense, particularly since the team has a crowded picture at first base, between Rizzo and Yonder Alonso. The Cubs' front office tandem of Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer was responsible for the Adrian Gonzalez trade that sent Rizzo from Boston to San Diego a year ago, so both execs are very familiar with the 22-year-old.

However, MLBTR projects Garza, who is under team control for just two more years, to earn well over $8MM through arbitration this season. Additionally, the Cubs' asking price for the right-hander is said to be steep. On the heels of the Latos trade, it's unclear whether the Padres would want to move multiple prospects and take on salary in order to restock their rotation. Peter Gammons of MLB Network finds the possibility of the Friars acquiring Garza unlikely, for now (Twitter link).

Padres Designate Luis Martinez For Assignment

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The Padres have designated catcher Luis Martinez for assignment according to a team press release. The move clears up 40-man roster space after San Diego acquired three 40-man players (Edinson Volquez, Yasmani Grandal, Yonder Alonso) in Saturday's Mat Latos trade. Their 40-man roster is now full.

Martinez, 26, hit .203/.309/.305 in 68 plate appearances this past season, his big league debut. He spent the majority of the season with the Padres' Triple-A affiliate, where he hit .323/.379/.434 in 219 plate appearances. Martinez is a .272/.364/.360 career hitter in five minor league seasons.

West Rumors: Rizzo, Pujols, Dodgers, Shuey

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The Padres made a mini-blockbuster earlier today by trading Mat Latos to the Reds, and now let's recap the latest rumors from out west…

  • Clubs have already started calling the Padres about Anthony Rizzo, and the Rays and Cubs are among those interested according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (Twitter links). Rizzo could be on the market after Yonder Alonso joined San Diego in the Latos trade.
  • Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports provided the details of the incentives in Albert Pujols' contract with the Angels (Twitter link). The slugger will get $3MM for his 3,000th career hit and $7MM for his 763rd career home run, which would break the all-time record. The soon-to-be 32-year-old currently has 2,073 hits and 445 homers.
  • Dodgers GM Ned Colletti has restructured his front office slightly, according to MLB.com's Ken Gurnick. Vance Lovelace was promoted to director of professional personnel after serving as special assistant to the GM and director of pro scouting. Rick Ragazzo replaces Lovelace as director of pro scouting after serving as a special assistant to the GM.
  • The Dodgers are still fighting with Hartford Life Insurance Co. over Paul Shuey's $3.25MM salary for the 2004 season, reports Bill Shaikin of The Los Angeles Times. The team sued the insurance company in 2006, saying they didn't honor their claim when the right-hander did not pitch that season due to injury. 

Reactions To The Mat Latos Trade

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Earlier today, the Reds pulled the trigger on a major deal as they shipped Yonder Alonso, Edinson Volquez, Yasmani Grandal, and Brad Boxberger to the Padres for right-hander Mat Latos.  Here's a look at some reactions to the trade from around baseball and a look at how it will impact both clubs..

  • Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports likes the deal for both sides and argues that it takes a quality package of talent to land a 24-year-old potential No. 1 starter.   When looking at all of the pitchers available on the trade market, including Gio Gonzalez, Matt Garza, Wade Davis, and Jair Jurrjens, Latos possesses the most upside.
  • If the Reds make the playoffs in 2012 and/or in '13, in a weak division, and Latos helps, this trade will have served its purpose for the club, tweets Buster Olney of ESPN.com.
  • One source told Dan Hayes of the North County Times (via Twitter) that the club had "a ton" of concern about Mat Latos' maturity issues.  Latos turned 24 years old last week.
  • The first rival evaluator Olney (via Twitter) spoke with loved the trade for the Padres.  That same evaluator raised concerns about how Latos grows mentally as a pitcher and thinks that his fastball command is the big question mark for him (Twitter link).
  • The Rockies were briefly in the mix for Volquez this week before he was traded to San Diego, tweets Troy Renck of The Denver Post.
  • Even though it's fair to say that Alonso and Grandal were blocked by Joey Votto and Devin Mesoraco, respectively, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (via Twitter) still feels that the Reds gave up a lot to land Latos.
  • After watching Latos pitch in 2010, John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer (via Twitter) could not have imagined the Padres dealing the talented pitcher.  However, Latos' 2011 wasn't quite as impressive.
  • More from Olney (via Twitter) who thinks the Reds would have been better off dealing Votto for a huge haul of prospects and plugging Alonso in at first base.  However, the Reds want to try to keep Votto and view him as their own Albert Pujols (Twitter link).  Rival executives don't see how they'll be able to hang on to Votto while keeping their payroll under control.
  • The Padres view Boxberger as someone who can eventually be a potential closer, tweets Scott Miller of CBSSports.com.  Baseball America ranked the 23-year-old as the 10th best prospect in the Reds' farm system.

Byrnes On Latos, Alonso, Rizzo, Surplus

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Some highlights from Josh Byrnes' conference call this afternoon..

  • Padres GM Josh Byrnes said four teams had the right package of young players to make a run at Mat Latos, tweets Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com.  Ultimately, he said, the Padres winnowed it to two teams before deciding on the Reds.
  • Byrnes said that the Padres view Yonder Alonso as a first base candidate and not as a left fielder, Crasnick tweets.  Right now, it appears that Alonso and Jesus Guzman will duke it out for the job in Spring Training (Twitter link).
  • For the time being, it seems that the Padres' current plan is to slot Alonso in at first and have Rizzo go back to Triple-A, tweets Crasnick.  Byrnes admits that the deal will probably be a tough pill to swallow for Anthony Rizzo, tweets Scott Miller of CBSSports.com.
  • The Padres GM says that he won't rule out another trade, but he is comfortable with his team's surplus of offensive players, Crasnick writes (via Twitter).
  • Newcomer Yasmani Grandal will be given more time in the minors, tweets Crasnick.  Byrnes referred to Nick Hundley as the club's "No. 1 guy" and a key part of the team.
For the time being, it seems that the Padres' current plan is to slot Alonso in at first and have Rizzo go back to Triple-A, tweets Crasnick
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