Odds & Ends: Garcia, Guillen, Dunn, Reds
Links for Monday night, as Brandon Phillips' choice words make this week's Reds-Cardinals series that much more intriguing…
- Freddy Garcia told Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune that he would like to return to the White Sox in 2010 if there's room in the team's rotation.
- Talks between the Royals and Giants about Jose Guillen are not progressing noticeably, but not completely dead, according to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle (on Twitter).
- MLB.com's Bill Ladson believes the Nationals should sign Adam Dunn to an extension if they can't find a player who can hit and play defense.
- The Reds agreed to sign Dominican shortstop Olivel Florentino for $250K, according to Ben Badler of Baseball America.
- Bobby Cox tells MLB.com's Steve Gartner that Alex Gonzalez has been excellent on defense since the Braves acquired him for Yunel Escobar last month.
Odds & Ends: Reds, Giants, Harper, Dodgers, Prior
Links for Saturday, as J.P. Arencibia homers on the first pitch he sees in the majors….
- John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer tweets that he has not seen a year in which the Reds have faced so many difficult roster decisions in the last decade.
- Jim Callis of Baseball America (via Twitter) expects the Giants to eventually sign their first-round pick, center fielder Gary Brown.
- Barry Shlachter of the Dallas Morning News examines whether the group headed by Chuck Greenberg and Nolan Ryan overpaid for the Rangers.
- Jim Callis of Baseball America passes on news of a pair of draft picks signing for over-slot deals: The Blue Jays signed their second-round pick, while the Pirates locked up their fourth-rounder.
- Tigers owner Mike Ilitch acknowledged to Bob Wojnowski of the Detroit News that he'd signed off on some bad contracts in the past, but said that won't stop him from spending money in the future.
- MLB.com's Bill Ladson hears that negotiations between the Nationals and Bryce Harper could "heat up" by Tuesday. The first overall pick in this year's draft enrolled for classes at the College of Southern Nevada, but that doesn't mean he won't end up signing with the Nats.
- The Dodgers still seem to be buyers, leading Steve Dilbeck of the Los Angeles Times to wonder if they put a waiver claim on Adam Dunn.
- Although he's pitching for the Orange County Flyers now, Mark Prior hopes to make his way back to the bigs, according to MLB.com's Rhett Bollinger.
Royals Designate Jose Guillen For Assignment
5:38PM: Good news and bad news for Guillen. San Francisco may still have an interest in him, as Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News reports that the Giants are "discussing" making a move for the outfielder. The bad news comes from an anonymous executive who told Sports Illustrated's Jon Heyman (Twitter link) that "no contender" should go after Guillen since only Milton Bradley is considered to have a worse "personality/clubhouse rep."
12:55PM: The Royals designated Jose Guillen for assignment, according to Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star (on Twitter). The team, which called up Philip Humber in a corresponding move, now has ten days to determine Guillen's future. A trade seems likely, though a release is possible.
The 34-year-old drew interest from the Giants and other clubs before the trade deadline. Since the deadline, Guillen is hitless in 19 at bats, so he hasn't helped his trade value this week. After the Royals traded Scott Podsednik, GM Dayton Moore told reporters that he'd consider dealing players who are on the brink of free agency.
Guillen has $3.8MM remaining on his contract before he hits free agency this winter. Despite his recent slump, he has 16 homers and a .255/.314/.429 line thanks to strong performances in April and June.
Giants Designate Denny Bautista For Assignment
The Giants designated reliever Denny Bautista for assignment to create roster space for Todd Wellemeyer, according to the team on Twitter.
The 27-year-old Bautista has a respectable 3.74 ERA this year, even though he's walking nearly a batter per inning (7.4 BB/9). However, the right-hander strikes lots of batters out (11.8 K/9) and has allowed less than one hit per inning pitched. Bautista has already played for six teams and has maintained a high walk rate throughout his seven-year career.
Waiver Trade Candidates: NL West
The current NL West picture: the Padres hold a slim lead over the Giants and the Rockies and Dodgers are playoff contenders, too. The Diamondbacks haven't been close to contention for months. Here are some waiver trade possibilities to keep in mind:
Padres bench player Matt Stairs, who was traded two Augusts ago, could clear waivers in spite of his $700K contract because of his .590 OPS. Scott Hairston could see reduced playing time with Ryan Ludwick around and it's possible that his $2.45MM salary would clear waivers. Hairston has a .235/.316/.390 line in 2010.
Barry Zito and Aaron Rowand would both clear waivers, but Zito is an important part of San Francisco's rotation. Rowand has $27MM remaining on his contract, but is hitting just .252/.302/.405. The Giants have enough outfielders to give the 32-year-old up, but no team would claim Rowand given his salary. Edgar Renteria is hitting .284/.346/.376, but he's making $9MM this year, so he could clear waivers. The Giants, who have a club option for Renteria's services in 2011, could get by without him. It's possible that Todd Wellemeyer would clear waivers given his 5.52 ERA, but his $1MM salary is affordable. The Giants have bullpen depth, so they would likely consider parting with Wellemeyer, who is finishing a rehab stint.
Manny Ramirez earns $20MM this year, but the White Sox and Rays showed interest in him last month. Manny could definitely clear waivers in late August if he returns from his calf strain, so he is a player to watch. George Sherrill cleared waivers recently, so teams clearly don't think he's worth his $4.5MM salary. He hasn't pitched well this season, so he will be available. Like Stairs, Garret Anderson would likely clear waivers despite his modest salary ($550K) because of his poor production (.484 OPS).
The Rockies have waiver trade candidates galore, from relievers Rafael Betancourt, Joe Beimel and Randy Flores to bats like Brad Hawpe to role players like Jason Giambi and Melvin Mora. Aaron Cook, who went to the hospital this weekend after getting hit on the foot with a line drive, could appeal to contenders. He'd have to prove he's healthy first, but Cook makes $9MM this year with $9.75MM or more remaining afterwards, so he'd likely clear waivers. He has pitched to a 5.08 ERA this year, but contenders could have interest if his foot is fine and the Rockies keep fading.
Diamondbacks first baseman Adam LaRoche makes a reasonable $4.5MM this year, so it's possible that someone would claim him. It wouldn't be a surprise to see the D'Backs trade LaRoche given the many deals they've already made. Chris Young and Stephen Drew are making reasonable salaries, so they will probably be staying put.
For our primer on the waiver trade process, click here.
Odds & Ends: Dodgers, Rangers, Maya, Lowell
Sunday night linkage..
- The three newest members of the Dodgers are happy to be in Los Angeles, writes MLB.com's Ken Gurnick.
- The Rangers were the biggest winners at the deadline, writes Scott Miller of CBSSports.com.
- Yunesky Maya tells Jorge Ebro of El Nuevo Herald (Spanish link) that he has been training hard and "in about three weeks" the Nationals can save him a spot on the roster (translation courtesy of Nick Collias). Earlier today the Nats confirmed that they have inked the 28-year-old hurler to a four-year deal.
- Major league sources tell Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports that a three-way trade was discussed in which Mike Lowell could have landed with the Yankees. In the discussed deal, the Red Sox would have sent Lowell to the Rangers, who would then send the veteran to the Yankees.
- Daniel Barbarisi of The Providence Journal writes that despite his strong first half, Clay Buchholz still couldn't bring himself to relax at the deadline.
- The Giants haven't talked to Carlos Delgado's people since this winter, tweets Mychael Urban of CSNBayArea.com.
- MLB.com's James Hall writes that Indians manager Manny Acta is happy to have July 31st in the rear view mirror. Jake Westbrook, Kerry Wood, Austin Kearns, and Jhonny Peralta were all shipped out in advance of the deadline.
- The future of Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu is clearly in doubt, tweets Bob Nightengale of USA Today.
- Toronto GM Alex Anthopoulos had his eye on center fielder Anthony Gose for quite some time, writes Jordan Bastian of MLB.com. Anthopoulos finally got his man in exchange for first baseman Brett Wallace.
Giants Acquire Ramon Ramirez
The Giants have acquired righty reliever Ramon Ramirez from the Red Sox in exchange for minor league pitcher Daniel Turpen.
Ramirez, 28, had a 4.46 ERA with 6.6 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 in 42.1 innings out of Boston's bullpen this season. There is approximately $555K left on his contract this season, and he is arbitration eligible in each of the next two seasons.
Turpen, 23, had a 4.09 ERA with 7.5 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 in 50.2 innings for San Francisco's Double-A affiliate this season, working mostly in relief. The 254th overall pick in the 2007 draft was not ranked as one of the Giants' 30 best prospects before the season according to Baseball America.
WEEI.com's Rob Bradford first reported the deal while Henry Schulman of The San Francisco Chronicle added some details.
Mike Axisa contributed to this post.
Adam Dunn Not Traded
The latest on slugger Adam Dunn, who we learned yesterday is comfortable serving as a designated hitter for two months…
- Dunn was not traded, according to many reports.
- Rosenthal tweets that Dunn to the White Sox for Jackson and others is "far from over."
- Edwin Jackson for Dunn is still possible, tweets SI's Jon Heyman, but the Nationals want another player or two.
- One Nationals source tells Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports he thinks Dunn is staying.
- The Giants are still checking in on Dunn but the Nationals still want Jonathan Sanchez or Madison Bumgarner, tweets Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle.
- The Nationals are getting late interest in Dunn from new teams and longshots are being explored, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
- The odds of a Dunn trade are less than 50-50, tweets ESPN's Jayson Stark. He adds that the Rays are not pursuing any bat aggressively.
Giants Still Active
2:56pm: It doesn't look like anything will happen with the Giants and Hart, tweets Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.
2:28pm: Lots of familiar names still in play for the Giants, tweets Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle, including perhaps Corey Hart again.
2:17pm: The Diamondbacks, Giants, and Blue Jays have discussed a three-way deal, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. For the moment I'll leave the speculation to the commenters, but we know the Giants like Kelly Johnson from Arizona as well as Jays relievers and Jose Bautista. The Jays have had interest in Johnson as well.
Giants In Talks For Kelly Johnson
The Giants are in talks for Diamondbacks second baseman Kelly Johnson, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. He says the Giants like that Johnson can also play left field. I imagine they're also keen on the fact that he's under team control for 2011. SI's Jon Heyman tweets that the Diamondbacks rejected an offer of Joe Martinez plus another player for Johnson.