Giants Outright Yusmeiro Petit
Yusmeiro Petit has cleared outright waivers and accepted an assignment to Triple-A Fresno, MLBTR has learned. The Giants had designated the right-hander for assignment ten days ago.
The 28-year-old Petit appeared in one game with the Giants this season, hurling 5 1/3 innings of strong relief. He fanned seven and walked none while issuing just two runs. In 13 minor league starts for the Giants this season, the Venezuela native has a 5.01 ERA, though he has a far more impressive 6.8 K/BB ratio in 73 2/3 innings.
Petit has appeared in parts of six Major League seasons since debuting with the Marlins as a 21-year-old in 2006. Most of his experience came with the Diamondbacks from 2007-09 when he made 35 starts and 21 relief appearances.
Giants Back Off On Lilly
5:44pm: Upon reviewing Lilly's medical history, the Giants decided to hold off on pursuing a minor league contract at this time, MLBTR has learned. As we had mentioned earlier, his agreement had been pending a physical.
1:45pm: The Giants have signed lefty Ted Lilly, reports Chris Cotillo of MLB Daily Dish. MLBTR has confirmed the minor league deal, which is pending a physical. Lilly, 37, was designated for assignment by the Dodgers last month and released a few days ago. The Dodgers are on the hook for the remaining $3.7MM or so on his contract, less the prorated portion of the league minimum of Lilly returns to the Majors with San Francisco. Lilly is represented by Larry O'Brien of Full Circle Sports Management.
Lilly joined the Dodgers from the Cubs at the 2010 trade deadline. In October that year, he signed a below-market three-year, $33MM deal in lieu of exploring free agency again. He was solid in 2011, but missed most of 2012 due to shoulder pain, culminating in September surgery. This April, the Dodgers faced a rotation surplus after signing Zack Greinke and Hyun-Jin Ryu, and got into a standoff with Lilly when he refused a minor league assignment. Lilly eventually made a couple of starts that month when Chris Capuano went down, but went on to have separate DL stints for rib cage and neck injuries prior to his release.
The Giants make sense for Lilly in that he's a California native, though with Ryan Vogelsong slated to come off the DL Friday, the Giants don't appear to have a rotation spot for the southpaw unless they trade Tim Lincecum or move Chad Gaudin or Barry Zito to the bullpen. A relief role is also possible for Lilly, however.
2014 Vesting Options Update
As we turn to August, here's a look at the players who have vesting options for the 2014 season..
- Kurt Suzuki, Nationals: $9.25MM option vests with 113 starts in 2013. The Nats were relying on Suzuki during the first half of the season when Wilson Ramos was sidelined, but Ramos returned to action on July 4th, sliding Suzuki back down the depth chart. The 29-year-old is 45 starts shy of the needed mark with 52 games remaining, so Suzuki's chances aren't too strong. if/when the option doesn't vest, it'll become a club option worth $8.5MM with a modest $650K buyout.
- Jamey Carroll, Twins: $2MM option vests with 401 plate appearances. Carroll has 185 PAs in 53 games this season. The veteran has had more than his needed total in each of the last three seasons with 500+ plate appearances in each of the last two years, but he'll have his work cut out for him in 2013.
- Wilson Betemit, Orioles: $3.2MM option vests with 324 plate appearances (combined 700 between 2012 and 2013). Betemit underwent arthroscopic knee surgery on March 26th and he'll begin a rehab assignment on Tuesday. Needless to say, his option won't vest.
- Lance Berkman, Rangers: $13MM option vests with 550 plate appearances. Berkman has 282 plate appearances to his credit and the good news is that despite whispers that he might call it quits after his latest hip troubles, he pledges to return this season. Unfortunately for him, his rehab assignment isn't scheduled to get underway until the end of this week and 550 sounds like a longshot.
- Roy Halladay, Phillies: $20MM option vests with 259 innings pitched (combined 415 innings pitched between '12 and '13). This was a longshot to begin with, but shoulder surgery earlier this season makes this one impossible.
- Brett Myers, Indians: $8MM option vests with 200 innings pitched in 2013 and a passed physical after the season. After logging 21 and 1/3 innings in 2013, Myers was sidelined with tendinitis and a mild ligament sprain in his right elbow and has yet to return. When he does come back, it's possible that the Tribe will move him to the bullpen.
- Barry Zito, Giants: $18MM option vests with 200 innings pitched. Zito has racked up 111 and 1/3 innings through 21 starts this season. Zito probably won't get to lock in his sizable 2014 salary.
- Johan Santana, Mets: His $25MM option could have vested with 215 innings pitched or winning the 2013 Cy Young Award, but he won't have a chance at that thanks to a season-ending tear in his pitching shoulder.
It's also worth noting that Pirates pitcher Francisco Liriano has a $8MM club option for 2014, but it can vest at any of three levels – $5MM, $6MM, or $8MM – based on the number of days he is not on the DL this year with a recurrence of his right arm injury. It's not known how many days the hurler must steer clear of right arm trouble in order to trigger each level of his option, however. The left-hander made his season debut on May 11th and has a 2.02 ERA with 9.3 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9 through 16 starts this season.
Giants Re-Sign Hunter Strickland
The Giants have re-signed right-hander Hunter Strickland to a minor league contract, MLBTR's Zach Links has learned. Strickland, 24, underwent Tommy John surgery in late May and was designated for assignment last week. The Giants ultimately released him and worked out a new minor league contract.
Strickland was selected by the Red Sox in the 18th round of the 2007 draft. In six minor league seasons between Boston, Pittsburgh and San Francisco, Strickland has a 3.80 ERA with 6.1 K/9 and 1.9 BB/9 in 388 innings.
After being converted to a relief role full-time, Strickland was in the midst of his best minor league season prior to the injury. He had pitched to a 0.86 ERA with 23 strikeouts against five walks in 21 games for the Class A Advanced San Jose Giants. The Giants claimed him off waivers from the Pirates in April, roughly two-and-a-half years after he was acquired from Boston in exchange for Adam LaRoche.
July Trade Recap: NL West
As we continue to recap the July 2013 trade period, the focus shifts to the National League. We'll start things off with the NL West:
Diamondbacks
- Acquired left-handed reliever Joe Thatcher, minor league righty Matt Stites, and a 2014 Competitive Balance pick (Round B) from the Padres in exchange for right-handed starter Ian Kennedy.
Dodgers
- Acquired right-handed reliever Carlos Marmol and an international bonus pool slot from the Cubs in exchange for right-handed reliever Matt Guerrier.
- Acquired right-handed starter Ricky Nolasco from the Marlins in exchange for minor league right-handers Angel Sanchez, Steve Ames, and Josh Wall.
- Acquired catcher Drew Butera from the Twins in exchange for a player to be named later or cash.
Giants
- Acquired right-hander Guillermo Moscoso from the Cubs in exchange for a player to be named later or cash.
Padres
- Acquired right-handed starter Ian Kennedy from the Diamondbacks in exchange for left-handed reliever Joe Thatcher, righty Matt Stites, and a 2014 Competitive Balance pick (Round B).
Rockies
- Acquired right-handed reliever Mitchell Boggs from the Cardinals in exchange for an international bonus pool slot.
- Acquired right-handed starter Armando Galarraga from the Reds in exchange for minor league righty Parker Frazier.
Synopsis
With crickets chirping all around baseball, the NL West certainly played its part in keeping down the trade volume. Most of the above-listed deals involved minor leaguers.
Of course, the Diamondbacks and Padres did pull off one of this year's most interesting swaps. On its face, the Ian Kennedy trade seems backwards, with second-place Arizona sending fading San Diego an established (albeit struggling) starter to acquire a LOOGY, an underwhelming relief prospect, and a competitive balance pick. The deal starts to make more sense when you consider the D-backs' starting depth and Kennedy's underperformance and rising arbitration salary. Nevertheless, as MLBTR's Tim Dierkes explained earlier today, Kennedy is a 28-year-old, cost-controlled, former Cy Young-contending starter who still possesses substantial upside. While Thatcher promises to deliver some value out of the Arizona pen, the most fascinating aspect of this deal will be watching to see whether Kennedy makes the Diamondbacks look foolish for giving up on him over the coming seasons.
On the seller side of the ledger, the division was notable for the absence of deals. The Giants, along with the above-noted Padres, both had various pieces that seemed ticketed for more promising clubs. With the Pads opting to hold onto reliever Luke Gregerson, and the Giants failing to deal any of their potential chips (such as pending free agents Javier Lopez, Tim Lincecum, and Hunter Pence), there was no influx of young talent to the bottom of the standings. Likewise, the Rockies opted to pick up a few minor pieces earlier in the month, but refrained from any major moves in either direction.
In large part, the inaction of these clubs makes sense. The Giants are fresh off of a World Series victory and have the pieces to put together an above-average team next year. The club apparently intends to bring back Javier Lopez and make qualifying offers to Lincecum and Pence. It is understandable that San Francisco would choose to keep a competitive roster together in the meantime while making those plans for the future.
In a different way, the Padres and Rockies had valid reasons to stand pat. Neither is so far out of the picture that a late run is out of the question. More importantly, both clubs have their share of young, big league talent that could continue to emerge in the near future. The pieces most recently discussed as trade possibilities from these teams — players like the Padres' Gregerson and Carlos Quentin, and the Rockies' Michael Cuddyer and Josh Outman — are all valuable big leaguers that are under team control beyond this season. If these clubs hope to contend over the next two seasons, it made sense to retain these assets. Moreover, none seemed likely to bring back anything close to a sure prospect.
Wait, did we forget a team? After a seemingly endless run of major moves, even the Dodgers were relatively quiet this year. Of course, Los Angeles did manage to make the most significant addition among the division contenders when it picked up Nolasco from the Marlins earlier this month. With the addition of Nolasco and the upswing in the team's overall health and performance, there were no glaring needs to address on deadline day. As it turned out, the biggest move the Dodgers made in the final run-up to the deadline was signing former closer Brian Wilson.
Giants, Javier Lopez Have Mutual Interest In Return
Javier Lopez is staying put and the left-hander says he and the Giants have already discussed his impending free agency and there is mutual interest in a return, tweets Andrew Baggarly of CSNBayArea.com. The veteran said that he signed his two-year extension with every intention of playing it out and is glad that he'll get that chance, tweets Hank Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle.
The reliever's name popped up multiple times throughout the day in trade rumors but nothing came to fruition. With minutes to go before the deadline and multiple teams still linked to Lopez, Giants skipper Bruce Bochy said he was confident Lopez would staying put, according to Alex Pavlovic of the Mercury News (via Twitter).
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported that the Giants kept a high asking price on Lopez and the Reds were among the teams vying for him, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post. The Indians and Giants also had discussions regarding Lopez, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported yesterday the Giants asked the Indians for young starter Danny Salazar, which was not going to happen.
The Tigers were believed to be interested in Lopez, but Jim Bowden of ESPN.com (Twitter links) reported that Detroit never tried to land the lefty.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
Relief Rumors: Lopez, Gregerson, Thatcher, Red Sox
Less than one day remains until the trade deadline, and relievers have been the most moved commodity in recent days, with Scott Downs, Jose Veras, Jesse Crain and Marc Rzepczynski all changing teams. Here's more on the relief market…
- The Tigers remain open to adding relief help and have expressed interest in Javier Lopez, according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports (on Twitter). It seems that Detroit isn't necessarily set in the bullpen department after adding Veras yesterday.
- Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer tweets that the Indians called the Giants about Lopez but the talks ended quickly when San Francisco asked for top prospect Danny Salazar in return.
- The Padres are listening on both Luke Gregerson and Joe Thatcher, but they'd need to be "inspired" to move either pitcher, according to ESPN's Buster Olney (Twitter link).
- Andy Martino of the New York Daily News reported earlier today the Red Sox still consider bullpen help as a high priority (Twitter link). However, the team acquired Jake Peavy and Brayan Villarreal earlier tonight, so that may no longer be a need. Villarreal could slot into Boston's bullpen, and the Sox could also push Brandon Workman to the bullpen, as Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe noted (on Twitter).
Yankees, Reds Inquired On Hunter Pence
TUESDAY, 10:26am: The Yankees also checked in on Pence, writes Jon Heyman of CBS Sports, but as with the Reds, there doesn't appear to be a match. Heyman says the Pirates and Rangers are also among the interested teams.
MONDAY, 3:32pm: The Reds inquired on Giants right fielder Hunter Pence, tweets Jon Heyman of CBS Sports, but it doesn't look like a match so far. It seems an odd fit for the Reds, who have Jay Bruce and Shin-Soo Choo entrenched in their outfield and Ryan Ludwick on a rehab assignment following April shoulder surgery.
Pence, 30, is hitting .277/.320/.457 in 440 plate appearances this year and is hitting .259/.300/.401 since June 1st. He has around $4.6MM remaining on his contract. The Giants reportedly plan to make a qualifying offer after the season, setting the bar for a potential trade this month.
Dodgers In Lead For Brian Wilson
TUESDAY, 10:17am: The Dodgers are now the front runner to sign Wilson, tweets Nightengale.
MONDAY, 9:24pm: ESPN's Jim Bowden lists the Giants, Pirates and Dodgers as front-runners for Wilson (on Twitter).
8:58pm: Wilson has narrowed his decision to three or four teams and is in the "offer/counter-offer" stage at this point, Miller tweets.
7:10pm: The Pirates and Giants are both "serious suitors" for Wilson, who appears close to signing soon, according to Scott Miller of CBS Sports. Miller adds that the Diamondbacks and Dodgers have some level of interest as well, and he notes that Wilson "has an affinity for Los Angeles." The Phillies were also thought to have interest prior to the six-game skid that has pushed them firmly into their stance as sellers.
3:52pm: The D'Backs are not in on Wilson, tweets John Gambadoro of Sports 620 KTAR.
2:52pm: The Pirates and Diamondbacks are the strong front runners for free agent reliever Brian Wilson, tweets Bob Nightengale of USA Today, who notes that Wilson has offers from four NL teams and one AL club. Yesterday, Yahoo's Tim Brown noted interest from the same mix of five teams.
Wilson, 31, auditioned for teams Thursday with the Pirates, Diamondbacks, Athletics, Giants, Phillies, Rangers, Rockies and Cardinals in attendance. The former Giants closer had Tommy John surgery in April 2012.
Steve Adams contributed to this post.
Giants Rumors: Javier Lopez, Pence, Lincecum
The Giants will definitely move lefty reliever Javier Lopez, reports Joel Sherman of the New York Post. As for fellow impending free agents Hunter Pence and Tim Lincecum, as reported yesterday, the Giants intend to make a qualifying offer to both after the season, but are willing to listen to trade offers now. The latest:
- The asking prices on Lopez and the Rockies' Josh Outman are said to be really high, tweets ESPN's Buster Olney.
Earlier Updates
- The Giants' interest in retaining Pence and Lincecum will clearly affect whether they're traded this summer. Assistant GM Bobby Evans noted to Sherman, "You have to be realistic that if you trade a guy, you are not going to be able to re-sign him. That is what history shows." In a general sense, Evans also said, "We will listen. And things change as the deadline gets closer. But I don’t see anyone overwhelming us to make deals happen."