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NL West Notes: Romero, Dodgers, Giants, Padres

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Here's the latest from the NL West…

  • Lefty reliever J.C. Romero is with the Rockies today according to ESPN's Buster Olney (on Twitter), but he has not signed. Troy Renck of The Denver Post says (on Twitter) that Romero will see a doctor and throw a bullpen tomorrow, and if all goes well, he could be added to the roster as soon as Monday. The Yankees released Romero earlier this week.
  • Bill Shaikin of The Los Angeles Times reports that the Dodgers are currently on pace to lose more than $42MM in annual revenue since 2009, their last playoff appearance. Shaikin also has a breakdown of some payments the team made in recent years, including more than $5K for Red Sox tickets.
  • A source told Henry Schulman of The San Francisco Chronicle that the Astros asked the Giants for one of their untouchable prospects "plus plus" in exchange for Hunter Pence before the trade deadline (Twitter link).
  • Tyler Kepner of The New York Times wrote about the Padres and their knack for finding relievers in uncommon places, including Josh Spence. The left-hander from Australia has a 1.61 ERA in 22 1/3 innings since being called up, and lefties have hit just .140/.159/.279 off him.
  • Despite a 38-56 record in their lasts 94 games, SI.com's Jon Heyman says (on Twitter) that the job of Rockies manager Jim Tracy is not in jeopardy.

Hoyer Talks Adams, Bell, Draft, Petco Park

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Padres GM Jed Hoyer appeared on XX1090 Sports Radio with Darren Smith yesterday, and you can listen to the interview right here. Let's recap the important stuff…

  • "No one liked watching Mike Adams pitch the eight inning more than I did," said Hoyer, who added that trading the setup man was about getting better in the long-term and maintaining payroll flexibility. "You can't have the back end of your bullpen taking up a third of your payroll space."
  • Hoyer has spoken to Heath Bell's agent a number of times since the trade deadline, but said the nature of those talks will remain private. He did acknowledge that he cleared the air with Bell.
  • "We're going to be aggressive and make them good offers, but we're not going to do anything ridiculous," said the GM in reference to the team's unsigned draft picks. "I think we'll get all these guys signed, I hope we do." The Padres have already signed top pick Cory Spangenberg.
  • Hoyer spoke about Petco Park, and how his team is third is scoring on the road but 15th at home. "[Moving in the fences is] something that's always under consideration. I don't think it's imminent. I think it's something … we need to get over the Petco hurdle without moving the fences in."

Gaslamp Ball recapped the rest of the interview, in which Hoyer discussed injuries, the surging Jesus Guzman, and more.

Padres To Sign Pedro Feliz

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The Padres have agreed to sign Pedro Feliz to a minor league deal, according to Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes. Feliz joined the Camden Riversharks of the Atlantic League after the Royals released him in Spring Training and will report to the Padres' Triple-A affiliate on Friday.

Feliz hit .218/.240/.293 in 429 plate appearances for the Astros and Cardinals last year before signing with the Royals last offseason. The 11-year veteran has a .298 average with 11 homers and 15 doubles in 275 at bats since joining the Riversharks in May, according to Rojas.

Padres To Raise Payroll

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The Padres will raise their payroll over $50MM next year with the expectation that it will rise to a “resting place” of $70MM within five years, CEO Jeff Moorad told Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune. That’s a significant boost for the Padres, who have operated on payrolls in the $38-45MM range since 2009.

“Our long-term goal is to operate at $70 million,” Moorad said. “When we get there, we’ll be properly balanced.”

Moorad also noted that his ownership group is not close to completing its purchase of the Padres from owner John Moores, though they hope to finalize the deal sooner rather than later. The Padres are looking forward to a new TV deal, since their current agreement expires after the season. However, Moorad says the Padres don’t expect to be major spenders on the free agent market.

“The team is going to be homegrown,” he said. “I’m consistent. We’re not going to be shifting our priorities from year [to year]. The plan won’t change.”

Moorad explained that he intends to break even every year, without pocketing profits or sustaining losses.

Quick Hits: Astros, Bell, Tigers, Angels, Rays

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On this date last year, the Brewers sent Jim Edmonds to the Reds. Tonight, Milwaukee starter Shaun Marcum will look to extend his club's division lead against Edwin Jackson and the Cardinals. Here's the latest from around MLB…

  • Zachary Levine of The Houston Chronicle reports that the official transfer of ownership of the Astros from Drayton McLane to Jim Crane is likely to take place on August 22nd if the other 29 owners approve the sale at next week's owners' meetings.
  • Executives believe Wandy Rodriguez will clear waivers, but not Heath Bell, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter). Neither player had been sent through waivers yet as of this morning.
  • The Yankees, Red Sox and Phillies are in one tier and the rest of MLB is in another, Tom Verducci writes at SI.com.
  • The Tigers’ deep rotation and strong attendance led to extensions for GM Dave Dombrowski, John Lowe of the Detroit Free Press writes.
  • Yahoo's Tim Brown suggests Mike Scioscia deserves credit for keeping the light-hitting Angels in the race (they trail the Rangers by 1.5 games).
  • It's unlikely that the Rays will make any moves this month, ESPN.com's Buster Olney writes.

Stark On Reyes, Bell, Astros, Slowey

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Jose Reyes’ injuries have hurt his free agent stock, as we saw earlier today. ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark surveys people around MLB to determine what kind of contract the shortstop will obtain in free agency. Here are the details and the rest of Stark’s rumors:

  • There’s buzz that the Mets were prepared to offer Reyes $100MM over five years earlier in the summer, Stark reports. It’s not hard to imagine the Mets scaling back their offer or replacing guaranteed years with vesting options now.
  • One of Stark’s sources estimates that each day on the disabled list costs Reyes $500K. However, there's no doubt that Reyes will see some substantial offers this winter.
  • Rival teams expect the Padres to trade Heath Bell this month, Stark reports. The Cardinals and Diamondbacks are the serious NL contenders with the worst record (62-53), which makes them prime candidates to make a claim on Bell. Assuming he does get claimed, the Padres will only be able to trade with the claiming team, so they’ll want to time his placement on waivers carefully.
  • The Astros’ sale is just a week away, Stark writes. Other clubs are hearing that incoming owner Jim Crane may drive payroll down to $50MM or below from $71MM.
  • One executive expressed his surprise at the Twins’ decision to keep Kevin Slowey, a non-tender candidate who’s currently earning $2.7MM at Triple-A. “If they'd traded him, at least they would have gotten something,” the person said. At least they would have gotten rid of the money. So I'm just not sure why he's still there."

NL West Notes: Rockies, Giants, Beltran, Padres

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Let's check out a few items from the National League West..

Poll: The Padres And Heath Bell

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It came as something of a surprise when the Padres retained closer Heath Bell at Sunday's non-waiver trade deadline. A pending free agent on a small-market club, Bell was considered the favorite among relievers on this July's trade market to find a new home.

However, no suitor could meet the Padres' asking price, apparently, which is reported to have been some player (or players) the Friars deemed to be of equal value to the two compensatory draft picks they'd receive in the offseason if Bell were to sign elsewhere after turning down arbitration.

The situation has grown complicated for the Padres, however, as Buster Olney of ESPN.com and Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com explained in separate pieces today. After the deadline, Bell said he'd accept arbitration if the Padres offered it to him, which would not be cost effective for a team on a tight budget. After all, Bell, 34 in September, could earn as much as $12-13MM in 2012 after another trip through arbitration.

The Padres also don't seem especially inclined to offer him a long-term deal — even at a discount — because he's said since Spring Training that he'd take one, and yet none has come to fruition. The others options are to trade him this month after putting him on waivers, which is not easy and compromises bargaining leverage, or to perhaps release Bell after going through arbitration if the price is exorbitant, a scenario put forth by Tom Krasovic of Inside The Padres.

If you're wondering about the fantasy ramifications of this situation, check out the post I wrote up today over at CloserNews.com.

Anyway, what would you do if you were the Padres?

How would you handle Heath Bell?
Sign him to an extension - he's worth it for two or three years at below-market value 44.00% (2,897 votes)
Trade him in August - dump the rest of his salary and hopefully recoup a decent player 28.39% (1,869 votes)
Offer him arbitration - stomach the big salary for one year 22.60% (1,488 votes)
Let him walk without offering arbitration 5.01% (330 votes)
Total Votes: 6,584

Quick Hits: Indians, Bedard, Braves, Phillies

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Links for Thursday, before the Pirates try to reach the .500 mark and the Indians try to climb above it…

  • One GM told Tim Kurkjian of ESPN The Magazine that the Indians gave up an awful lot to get Ubaldo Jimenez, "a guy you're just not sure about." However, reliever Frank Herrmann told Kurkjian that he believes in Cleveland's GM. "We're not going to meddle in the way the front office works," Hermann said. "I would be upset if Chris Antonetti came down to the clubhouse and told me how to hold my curveball."
  • Rob Bradford of WEEI.com reports that the Red Sox never stopped pursuing Erik Bedard throughout their negotiations for Jimenez, Hiroki Kuroda and Rich Harden.
  • Texas outfielder Josh Hamilton told Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com that the Rangers want to prove that last year's World Series run was just the beginning. "We want to show we belong there, that it wasn't a fluke," Hamilton said. 
  • Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says the Padres should have traded Heath Bell by now or signed him to an extension. Their best remaining option is to trade him this August, even though they have significantly less leverage than they did a month ago, Rosenthal says.
  • Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle can envision the Astros winning as many as 90 games in 2013 – but he can also envision three consecutive 100-loss seasons.
  • The Braves and Phillies will likely reinforce their bullpens internally, as Rosenthal explains. The Braves would like to add a right-hander and Peter Moylan, who is returning from back surgery, and minor leaguers Arodys Vizcaino and Julio Teheran are options. The Phillies, meanwhile, are looking forward to the return of Jose Contreras.

Olney On Bell, Goldschmidt, Cuddyer

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The latest MLB news and rumors from ESPN.com’s Buster Olney…

  • Rival evaluators believe the Padres made a major mistake in not trading Heath Bell at the deadline, according to Olney. If the closer accepts arbitration, as he says he would, the small market Padres will be burdened with a big contract. And if they don’t offer arbitration, the Padres won’t get anything for losing Bell.
  • The Twins want to keep hot-hitting Michael Cuddyer after the season, according to Olney (on Twitter). The versatile Cuddyer hits free agency this winter.
  • Arizona GM Kevin Towers told Olney that he was impressed by Paul Goldschmidt's power and work ethic in Spring Training. The rookie first baseman homered against Tim Lincecum Tuesday and Towers says he'll be able to cope when things aren't going so well. "He's not a kid who's going to start hanging his head if he gets a couple of oh-fers," Towers said.
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