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Giants Interested In Jose Abreu, Masahiro Tanaka

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The success of imports like Hyun-Jin Ryu, Yoenis Cespedes, and Yasiel Puig in the state of California has led to the Giants rethinking their approach to the international market this winter.  Sources tell Andrew Baggarly of CSNBayArea.com that the club's scouting department is going into hyperdrive with an eye on Japan's Masahiro Tanaka and Cuba's Jose Dariel Abreu.

“The risk and cost assessment has to be part of the equation,” Giants vice president Bobby Evans said. “As for the rewards, you do look at what some of these recent high-risk signings have done. It does give you a sense of `This is the potential.’ It does give you that desire to say, `Hey, can we get the next one?’”

Aside from seeing the success of Puig et al, the Giants recognize that this winter's free agent market will be relatively thin, making it necessary to explore other options.  San Francisco also recognizes that they will have a good amount of cash to spend thanks to their share of the league's TV revenue.  They'll do their due diligence on both Tanaka and Abreu, but Tanaka might be the better fit of the two given the club's emphasis on pitching and the potential marketing opportunities he brings.

Baggarly notes that the Giants may have been discouraged from going after international free agents after their bad experience with Cuban defector Osvaldo Fernandez in the late 1990s.  However, they're now seeing that top foreign talents have been able to come to the major leagues and succeed right off the bat.  Evans was also quick to note that the Giants always did their homework on players like Cespedes and Puig, along with every other international free agent.  For example, sources said they went after Jose Iglesias in 2008 when he defected from Cuba.

NL West Notes: Puig, Dodgers, Cano, Giants, Pence

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Dodgers manager Don Mattingly benched Yasiel Puig at the start of the fifth inning of last night's 4-0 victory over the Cubs, and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says it was the right call.  Mattingly gained respect in his clubhouse by benching the 22-year-old, said one Dodgers player.  The player added that Puig also gained respect by taking the advice of the club's veterans and accepting responsibility in his postgame chat with the media.  Here's more out of the NL West..

  • Hunter Pence told Andrew Baggarly of CSNBayArea.com (on Twitter) that he'd still pass up free agency to sign a multi-year deal with the Giants, but the club hasn't brought him anything yet.  Pence has made no secret of his preference to re-up with the Giants rather go out on the open market.
  • Robinson Cano's bid for big bucks is hurt by hints that the Dodgers might not be totally flush with cash after they lock up Clayton Kershaw to a new deal, writes Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com in his list of the top 50 free agents for this offseason.  The top ten includes three NL West representatives: Ricky Nolasco of the Dodgers and Tim Lincecum and Pence of the Giants.
  • The Dodgers signed Edinson Volquez as another option for the backend of the rotation, but that doesn't necessarily mean that the struggling Chris Capuano will be bumped, writes Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times.  The Dodgers might use Volquez as a sixth starter at least once to give the other starters an extra day of rest.

Lincecum, Pence, Lopez Claimed Off Waivers

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Giants stars Tim Lincecum, Hunter Pence and Javier Lopez all went on waivers Saturday and were quickly claimed by teams, according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com.  However, someone familiar with the situation told Heyman that "none of them are going anywhere." 

While the Giants could still trade any of the players, it appears that either the claiming teams were doing so in order to block trades or the Giants weren't really interested in trading any of the three.  The Giants could save close to $8MM by dropping the pending free agents, but there's reason to believe that they were never eager to deal three players who have helped them win World Series titles.  With Lincecum and Pence, the Giants have extra incentive to keep them as they plan to extend qualifying offers and collect draft picks if they go elsewhere.    

Lincecum owns a 4.55 ERA with 9.4 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9 but he is seen as someone who can help teams as a reliever or starter and one rival exec is confident that he's "better than a 4.5 ERA pitcher."  The right-hander is owed $4.2MM for the remainder of the year.  Pence, who makes about $2.8MM and Lopez, who is owed just $859K until the end, were locks to be claimed.  At any rate, it appears that all three men will finish the season in San Francisco.

Placed On Waivers: Gallardo, Morse, Bell, Lopez

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Here's Monday's list of players that have been placed on revocable trade waivers…

  • Yovani Gallardo — Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter) reports that Gallardo has been placed on waivers by the Brewers.  The starter drew interest this summer as a player who could help not just for 2013, but beyond, as he is under contract for $11.25MM next season with a $13MM club option for 2015.  Gallardo is having a down year, but he has had two strong starts against the Reds this month since coming off of the DL.  For his career, Gallardo owns a 3.76 ERA with 8.9 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9.
  • Mike Morse — Rosenthal also reports that Morse was placed on waivers by the Mariners.  Morse's teammate, Kendrys Morales, was claimed off of waivers earlier today, giving Seattle two bats to dangle to interested clubs.  Will either player be moved?  We can surmise that the M's held on to impending free agents like Morse, Morales, and Raul Ibanez with the idea of retaining them beyond this season.  On the year, Morse owns a .227/.282/.414 slash line with 13 homers in 301 plate appearances – down from his career line of .285/.338/.480.
  • Heath Bell — Jon Heyman of CBS Sports tweets that Bell, 35, has been placed on waivers. He came to the Diamondbacks from the Marlins this offseason in a three-team trade that also included the A's. Bell has rebounded, to an extent, from a rough 2012 season that saw him post a 5.09 ERA in his only season with the Marlins. He's pitched to a 3.88 ERA with 10.0 K/9, 2.1 BB/9 and a 41.9 percent ground-ball rate. His HR/FB ratio is at a sky-high 17.2 percent, which has bloated his ERA. xFIP predicts that with a league-average HR/FB rate (roughly 11 percent), Bell would have an ERA of 3.05. His K/BB numbers and the fluky nature of high HR/FB rates suggest he's in for some improvement in the ERA department, but he's under contract for $9MM this season and again in 2014. The Marlins are picking up $8MM of that salary, but he'd be an expensive acquisition. I'd expect Bell to clear waivers.
  • Javier Lopez — Heyman also tweets that the 36-year-old Lopez has been placed on waivers by the Giants. Lopez has a masterful 1.99 ERA with 8.2 K/9, 3.1 BB/9 and a monstrous 64 percent ground-ball rate. He drew significant interest from multiple teams prior to the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline. San Francisco GM Brian Sabean reportedly had exorbitant asking price at the time, seeking top prospect Danny Salazar from the Indians in exchange for Lopez. A free agent at season's end, Lopez is owed roughly $813K over the remainder of the year and seems likely to be claimed.

For a reminder on how revocable trade waivers and August trades work, check out MLBTR's August trades primer. You can see who is available to be traded to any team by checking MLBTR's list of players who have cleared waivers.  Zach Links contributed to this post.

Giants Release Jeff Francoeur

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SATURDAY: The Giants have released Francoeur, according to the MLB.com transactions page. (Thanks to Chris Cotillo of MLBDailyDish.com for the heads up.)

TUESDAY: The Giants have designated outfielder Jeff Francoeur for assignment, the team announced via Twitter (hat tip to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle). The move (along with a DL trip for Chad Gaudin) will clear 25-man roster space to allow San Francisco to recall pitchers Mike Kickham and Jean Machi. It also opens a 40-man spot, Andrew Baggarly of CSNBayArea.com notes on Twitter.

Francoeur was inked to a minor league deal by the Giants in July after being released by the Royals. Perhaps hoping for another mid-career resurgence, club and player were left disappointed. During his time in San Francisco, Francoeur posted an anemic .194/.206/.226 line, with no home runs, over 63 plate appearances. The CSE client is still just 29 years old, but has failed to hit at a league-average rate (let alone regain his early-career form) since his 2011 renaissance year in Kansas City. 

You can keep an eye on players who have been designated using MLBTR's new DFA Tracker. Francoeur joins Wade LeBlanc of the Astros and Sean O'Sullivan of the Padres among players currently in DFA limbo.

West Notes: Ramirez, Giants, Zito, D’Backs

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Earlier today a pair of AL West clubs made a small trade when the Astros shipped Travis Blackley to the Rangers for cash and a player to be named later.  Blackley, who was recently outrighted by Houston, was assigned to Triple-A Round Rock.  Here's a look at the latest out of the AL and NL West..

  • Manny Ramirez tells Hector Cruz of ESPNDeportes (via Twitter, Spanish link) that he won't retire from baseball and will seek out a new opportunity.  The slugger was released by the Rangersyesterday.
  • Barry Zito's large home/road split is an obstacle to an August trade, Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com says.  The Giants hurler has a 3.01 ERA in 71.2 innings at home this year, but a 9.50 ERA in 41.2 innings on the road.  However, the lefty is now in the final guaranteed months of his contract, so it could be "more than just a formality" that he cleared waivers, sources told Knobler.  Zito is owed $20MM this season, with a $7MM buyout for 2014.
  • The Diamondbacks won't rush to promote top prospect Archie Bradley this season unless they're in the thick of things and he can make a difference, writes MLB.com's Steve Gilbert.

Aaron Steen contributed to this post.

Barry Zito Clears Waivers

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Giants lefty Barry Zito has cleared waivers and is free to be traded to any team, tweets Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. As Heyman notes, however, Zito doesn't appear to be a trade candidate at this time.

The 35-year-old Zito is in the final season of a seven-year, $126MM contract with the Giants. The contract has been widely panned, and while Zito has had some respectable seasons in San Francisco, this hasn't been one of them. He's pitched to a 5.40 ERA with 6.0 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9. He's been outstanding at home for the Giants, totaling a 3.01 ERA In 71 2/3 innings, but he has an eye-popping 9.50 ERA away from AT&T Park, having allowed 44 earned runs in 41 2/3 frames.

Zito's contract contains an $18MM vesting option that would trigger if he were to reach 200 innings this season. That's extremely unlikely to happen, as he's 84 2/3 innings short of that mark. He's earning a whopping $20MM in 2013, of which about $5.14MM is remaining.

Because of his underwhelming performance and hefty salary, it seems likely that he will close out his massive contract with the Giants. Zito becomes the fifth player to reportedly clear waivers since the beginning of August.

Minor Moves: Quiroz, Paulino, Manzella

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Tuesday's minor moves from around the league…

  • The Giants have outrighted Guillermo Quiroz to Triple-A Fresno, according to Hank Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle (via Twitter).  The 31-year-old, who appeared in 43 games for the Giants this season and slashed .186/.237/.302, was DFA'd last week.
  • The Orioles have activated Ronny Paulino from the minor league disabled list and assigned his contract to the Tigers' Triple-A affiliate in Toledo, the team announced on Twitter. In other words, the Orioles announced, Baltimore has sold Paulino's contract to the Tigers for cash considerations after he was claimed off waivers. Paulino, 32, hit .234/.368/.319 between Double-A Bowie and Triple-A Norfolk this season and last appeared in the Majors with the O's in 2012.
  • The White Sox have signed Tommy Manzella to a minor league contract and assigned him to Double-A Birmingham after he was released by the Blue Jays, according to Chris Cotillo of MLBDailyDish.com. Manzella, 30, was a third-round pick of the Astros in 2005 and ranked among their Top 15 prospects from 2007-09, per Baseball America, largely due to his glove at shortstop. BA repeatedly ranked Manzella as the best defensive infielder in Houston's system, but his bat never caught up. He hit .225/.267/.264 in 282 plate appearances when the Astros gave him the starting job at shortstop in 2010. Manzella, who began 2013 with the Rockies' Triple-A club, is a career .256/.315/.357 hitter in the minors.
  • Two players are currently in DFA limbo: Delmon Young of the Phillies and Brett Hayes of the Royals.

Rosenthal On Norris, Lincecum, Rios, Utley

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Let's take a look at the latest from FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal in this week's edition of Full Count:

  • The Diamondbacks were the runner-up among teams vying to acquire Bud Norris from the Astros. The Snakes planned to keep Norris in the rotation for the remainder of the season, then shift him to the bullpen through the end of his contract, Rosenthal says, noting the team's wealth of young starting pitching and contracts for relievers Heath Bell and J.J. Putz that will expire after 2014. However, the Orioles were able to offer Houston the superior compensation pick.
  • Tim Lincecum is pushing his free agent stock up with his recent run of strong starts, but the Giants haven't initiated contract talks yet with the hurler. An executive cited by Rosenthal pegged a potential deal for Lincecum in the three-year range with a $13MM-14MM annual salary. Though that initially appears high considering the right hander's poor performance last year and at the beginning of this one, the qualifying offer the Giants are likely to extend will probably be in the same $13MM-14MM range.
  • Though the White Sox weren't able to find a taker for Alex Rios' contract before the deadline, Nelson Cruz's suspension changed the thinking in the Rangers' front office, according to Rosenthal. Texas was previously asking for significant cash back in any trade, while the Pirates weren't even interested enough to discuss specific names, Rosenthal reports. However, the Sox will likely eventually get infielder Leury Garcia from their deal with the Rangers, which could give them the flexibility to trade either second baseman Gordon Beckham or shortstop Alexei Ramirez. 
  • The dearth of hitters reaching the open market could have made Chase Utley quite popular in free agency. Rosenthal cites the Dodgers, Athletics and Orioles as potential suitors. The two years and $27MM of guaranteed salary that Utley received from the Phillies is comparable to guarantees that David Ortiz, Torii Hunter and Carlos Beltran got in free agency, Rosenthal notes.

Players Who Have Cleared Waivers

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MLBTR will continue to update this post as players reportedly clear revocable trade waivers, making it a running list of players that may be traded to any club in the season's final two months. Remember though, players must be acquired by Aug. 31 to be eligible for their new team's postseason roster. Click here for a further explanation of the August waiver and trade rules. Also bear in mind that a player's no-trade rights remain effective even if he clears waivers. Player names are linked to the source articles, and this article can always be found under the MLBTR Features portion of the sidebar on the right side of the page.

Last Updated: 8-15-2013

  • Elvis Andrus, Rangers — Andrus is under contract for an additional nine years and $124.475MM, making it no surprise that teams passed on claiming him. He was hitting .255/.317/.306 at the time he cleared waivers — a notable decline in production for the 24-year-old. The Rangers reportedly have no intention to trade him.
  • Erik Bedard, Astros — Bedard owns a 4.28 ERA with 8.2 K/9 and 4.4 BB/9 in 21 starts and two relief outings in 2013 for Houston.  The southpaw, who cleared waivers on Aug. 14, would be a really cheap pickup as he is owed just $300K for the rest of the season.  
  • Dan Haren, Nationals — Haren was placed on waivers on Aug. 8 without any clubs biting on him and his remaining $3.7MM in salary.  The right-hander owns a 4.99 ERA with 8.0 K/9 and 1.6 BB/9 so far in 2013 and he could be of interest to teams if the Nationals fall further back in the Wild Card chase. 
  • Brendan Ryan, Mariners — Word came down of Ryan clearing waivers on Aug. 14.  The M's were said to have him available before July 31st but couldn't find any takers.  
  • Matt Lindstrom, White Sox — Everyone needs relief help, but the White Sox were selling at the non-waiver deadline and couldn't find a suitable deal for Lindstrom.  The reliever, who has a 3.47 ERA with 6.4 K/9 and 4.4 BB/9, cleared waivers on Aug. 14.
  • Justin Morneau, Twins — Morneau cleared waivers on Aug. 14, when he had roughly $3.5MM remaining on his $14MM salary. A free agent at season's end, Morneau was dreadful in July, batting .175/.266/.330. He homered six times in his first 10 games of August though, which could make teams reconsider their stance.
  • Barry Zito, Giants — Zito cleared waivers on Aug. 14, but at that point still had $5.14MM remaining on his $20MM salary. With an ERA north of 5.00 and that kind of money remaining on his deal, it seems likely that Zito will play out the rest of his widely panned contract in San Francisco.
  • Josh Johnson, Blue Jays — With more than $4MM left on his salary at the time he was placed on waivers, no team was apparently willing to take a risk that the big righty's poor results will begin to reflect his more promising peripherals. Unless Johnson hits an August hot streak, it seems likely that the Jays will hold onto him and consider whether to make him a qualifying offer when he reaches free agency at the end of the year.
  • Adam Dunn, White Sox — That Dunn cleared waivers isn't a huge surprise, given his $15MM salary in 2013 and in 2014. He's been red-hot since June 1, however, which could lead contending AL teams such as the Orioles and Rangers to show interest if the White Sox are willing to include some cash in the deal.
  • Jimmy Rollins, Phillies — Rollins has taken a big step back in production this year (especially on the power side of the ledger) and is owed $11MM for 2014 (and possibly the same for 2015 if his option vests). The 34-year-old shortstop seems discinclined to waive his full no-trade rights, making him unlikely to change hands.
  • Michael Young, Phillies — The third baseman could be an August trade candidate given his expiring contract, experience, and serviceable (if unspectacular) 2013 campaign. He is reportedly willing to waive his no-trade protection to go to a contender.

Steve Adams contributed to this post.

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