Several Teams Interested In Luis Heredia
Seven teams are interested in Mexican right-hander Luis Heredia, according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The 6'4'' teenager is part of this year's July 2 class, so he will be able to sign exactly one month from today if the Mexican team that controls Heredia's rights makes him available. The Pirates, Yankees, Dodgers, Giants, Blue Jays, Rangers and Mariners are interested, but acquiring the 15-year-old pitcher could cost as much as $2MM.
The Pirates have pursued international free agents aggressively under GM Neal Huntington. The club nearly signed Miguel Sano last summer, before the Dominican signed with the Twins. Alex Anthopoulos has also pursued international talent aggressively since taking over as Blue Jays GM last fall.
Jack Hannahan Clears Waivers
TUESDAY, 1:41pm: Hannahan cleared waivers and will head to Triple A, according to a press release.
FRIDAY, 5:37pm: The Mariners have designated Jack Hannahan for assignment, according to Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times. The move cleared a spot on the 40-man roster for Eliezer Alfonzo, who was selected from Triple A Tacoma.
Hannahan suffered a groin injury in spring training and, despite the Mariners' offensive struggles, was unable to earn a shot with the big-league club this season. Baker writes that Hannahan appeared to be a lock to make Seattle's roster as a utility player, but the 30-year-old hit just .190/.297/.270 in 118 plate appearances for Tacoma.
Mariners Designate Colome, Texeira For Assignment
The Mariners designated pitchers Jesus Colome and Kanekoa Texeira for assignment, according to a team press release. The moves freed up spots for Garrett Olson and Sean White.
Colome, 32, posted a 5.29 ERA, 8.5 K/9, and 5.8 BB/9 in 17 innings this year, allowing only one home run despite a low groundball rate. The Mariners had signed the hard-throwing righty to a minor league deal in February. Baseball America ranked Colome the 53rd best prospect in baseball in 2000, a few spots above Adam Dunn and C.C. Sabathia. The next year he ranked 69th, just beating Francisco Rodriguez and Carl Crawford.
Texeira, 24, has a 5.30 ERA, 6.8 K/9, and 4.8 BB/9 in 18.6 innings, with no home runs allowed. He was taken in December's Rule 5 draft from the Yankees, so any team acquiring him must keep him on the Major League roster all season. Before outrighting him to the minors, he'd need to be offered back to the Yankees for $25K. Baseball America ranked Texeira 26th among Mariners prospects heading into the season, describing him as a deceptive sinker/slider reliever who "could have value in a lower leverage role." Jack Zduriencik had drafted Texeira out of a Hawaii high school in '04, but the righty did not sign with the Brewers.
Rosenthal On Cardinals, Silva, Yankees
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports leads his latest column by noting that the Angels' problems extend beyond the loss of first baseman Kendry Morales. On the business side, I wonder how Morales' abbreviated 2010 will affect his first-time arbitration payday after the season. A few other hot stove notes from Rosenthal…
- Rosenthal would not be surprised to see the Cardinals add a starting pitcher. They've got payroll flexibility but a reluctance to move more prospects. In my opinion, that points toward an acquisition of someone like Jake Westbrook.
- Carlos Silva has surpassed all expectations, and you have to credit Cubs GM Jim Hendry for saving money and getting a useful player for Milton Bradley. Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik said to Rosenthal, "We didn't see any flashes of him doing what he's doing now. It just didn't feel like it was going to work here."
- Rosenthal finds it likely that the Yankees will attempt to acquire a bat as well as bullpen help.
- Could Phillies first base prospect Jonathan Singleton become trade bait? Rosenthal spoke to one scout who raved about Singleton, who the Phillies drafted out of high school in the eighth round last year. Singleton, ranked 20th among Phils prospects heading into the season by Baseball America, is off to a strong start in Low A.
Remembering the 1990 Trade Deadline
Ah, 1990. Times were very different then. Ken Griffey Jr. played for the Seattle Mariners. The Simpsons and Saturday Night Live were on the air. And Congress passed a bill in response to an unprecedented oil spill.
But even if that all seems familiar, the trade deadline of 1990 certainly won't. The action came later in the season, with most of the biggest trades actually taking place in August. Let's meet at the corner of Transaction Avenue and Memory Lane…
- The Boston Red Sox, keen on acquiring a first baseman, grabbed Mike Marshall from the Mets on July 27 for three minor leaguers, headlined by Greg Hansell. Marshall was actually pretty effective for Boston, with a .464 slugging percentage in 117 plate appearances, though he was near the end of his career.
- An August 3 deal between the Braves and Phillies had hidden implications. The immediate deal? Dale Murphy for Jeff Parrett. Both teams also included players to be named later. Atlanta got Jim Vatcher and Victor Rosario. Philadelphia got Tommy Greene, who posted a 3.66 ERA from 1991-93 and and pitched a no-hitter in 1991.
- In a Doyle Alexander-for-John Smoltz-like trade, the Pirates acquired Zane Smith from the Expos for Willie Greene, Scott Ruskin and a player to be named later. At first, the deal seemed one-sided, as Smith went 6-2 with a 1.30 ERA for Pittsburgh as the Pirates won the NL East. However, the PTBNL turned out to be… Moises Alou.
- The Athletics, en route to a World Series appearance, made a pair of interesting moves just before postseason rosters could be set. On August 29, they acquired Harold Baines from the Texas Rangers for Joe Bitker and Scott Chiamparino. The same day, they traded top prospect Felix Jose, Stan Royer and Daryl Green to the Cardinals for Willie McGee. The move froze McGee's National League batting average at .335- he'd go on to win the batting title in absentia. Good thing, too- his .274 mark with Oakland brought his season line down to .324, meaning under today's rules, which combine NL and AL totals, he'd have finished behind Eddie Murray (.330), Dave Magadan (.328) and Lenny Dykstra (.325).
- And the Houston Astros, on August 31, made a blockbuster move, trading longtime second baseman Bill Doran to the eventual World Champion Cincinnati Reds for Terry McGriff, Keith Kaiser and Butch Henry. Oh, and also, they made a throwaway trade, dealing reliever Larry Andersen to the Boston Red Sox for so-so prospect Jeff Bagwell.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Lee, Braves, Mets, Oswalt
On this date 12 years ago, Diamondbacks manager Buck Showalter ordered closer Gregg Olsen to intentionally walk Barry Bonds with the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the 9th. Arizona was leading the Giants 8-6 at the time, and the move not only forced in a run, but also put the winning run in scoring position. The next batter, Brent Mayne, flew out to deep center field to end the inning and give the D'Backs the 8-7 win. It was just the third time in history that a batter was intentionally walked with the bases loaded, though the Rays' Joe Maddon turned the same trick with Josh Hamilton in August 2008.
Coincidentally, Bonds hit his 715th career homer to pass Babe Ruth for sole possession of second place on the all-time list on this same date back in 2006. Anyway, here's a collection of links from around the baseball blogiverse…
- Prospect Insider examines the Cliff Lee trade market.
- Capitol Avenue Club lists six players the Braves could select with their first pick, #35 overall, in next month's draft. Atlanta sent their first round pick, #20 overall, to the Red Sox as compensation for signing Billy Wagner.
- Mets Paradise looks at the internal candidates the Mets could turn to if they need to fill another rotation spot.
- Yankeeist reviews some players the Yankees either let go or passed on last offseason, plus some players they could pursue next winter.
- Dodger Dugout tries to figure out what Ned Colletti might be thinking as the trade deadline slowly approaches.
- Meanwhile, The Baseball Opinion speculates about Roy Oswalt landing with the Dodgers.
- The Bottom Line says that John Lackey's curve has been lacking with the Red Sox.
- River Ave. Blues takes a deeper look at some draft prospects the Yankees have been linked to.
If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here.
Olney On Pitching, Benoit, Rangers, Managers
We could very well see a buyer's market for pitching this summer, writes ESPN.com's Buster Olney. Veterans like Ben Sheets, Jake Westbrook, Kevin Millwood and Cliff Lee could join Roy Oswalt on the trade market and give interested teams plenty of choice. Here are the rest of Olney's rumors:
- There's not much of a chance that the Dodgers will have the money to pursue Oswalt during the season, though they did call to inquire about him. Lee would be more affordable, but the Mariners would have to make him available and the Dodgers would have to out-bid other suitors.
- The Rays had a pair of scouts tracking the now-dominant Joaquin Benoit last winter, before they signed him. That signing has worked out for the Rays and for Benoit, who has yet to allow an earned run.
- The Rangers are apparently looking for catching help. This comes as no surprise, since we've heard that they have some interest in A.J. Pierzynski and Rod Barajas.
- Third base coaches Chip Hale (Mets) and Mike Quade (Cubs) may have futures as big league managers.
Dodgers Inquire On Roy Oswalt And Cliff Lee
The Dodgers inquired on both Roy Oswalt and Cliff Lee and got similar responses from the Astros and Mariners, reports Bill Shaikin of the LA Times. Both clubs told the Dodgers that they're not about to deal their respective aces now, but assured GM Ned Colletti that he would hear about it if anything changes.
The Dodgers have a rotation of Hiroki Kuroda, Clayton Kershaw, John Ely, Chad Billingsley and, eventually, Vicente Padilla. That group, plus Carlos Monasterios, Charlie Haeger and Ramon Ortiz, has combined for a 4.20 ERA.
The Dodgers have less payroll flexibility than some teams, but Colletti says the club could take on payroll in the right trade.
"I think it really depends on the deal," Colletti said.
Lee has about $5.7MM remaining on his deal, and Oswalt has about $29MM remaining on his. That could make Lee the more coveted pitcher, as Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports explained earlier tonight. It seems likely that the Astros will listen to offers for Oswalt, but there's no guarantee that the Mariners will shop Lee.
Cliff Lee’s Availability And Roy Oswalt’s Value
If Cliff Lee becomes available, the Astros will have a harder time obtaining value for Roy Oswalt, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Lee is younger, pitched better in 2008-09, makes less money, has succeeded in both leagues and could help a team obtain picks in next year’s draft.
Rosenthal’s sources say the Yankees are among the teams that would rather pursue Lee when he becomes a free agent after 2010 than part with prospects for Oswalt. The Yankees spent on Lee's former teammate, free agent C.C. Sabathia after passing on the chance to deal for Johan Santana and that decision has worked out well.
In theory, the Astros could take on salary to shrink the gap between the two aces’ salaries, but Rosenthal hears that Astros owner Drayton McLane would probably not cover a substantial amount of the $29MM or so Oswalt will earn before his contract expires.
High-revenue clubs could afford Lee’s $8MM contract and some mid-revenue teams could become involved, too. If the 18-28 Mariners, who rallied to beat the Tigers today, do not become sellers, the point is moot. If the Mariners start playing better, Oswalt remains the most attractive arm around, though it doesn't appear that the Astros are looking to deal him at this point.
Jack Wilson Thinking About Retirement
Jack Wilson is experiencing doubts about his baseball future after his latest injury, according to Mike McCall of MLB.com. Originally on the disabled list due to a strained right knee, Wilson experienced a setback last week, pulling his right hamstring during a rehab assignment. With no timetable set for his return, the 32-year-old spoke candidly about his frustration:
"This is when you actually look at your career and if it's going to last too much longer," Wilson said. "In reality, there's nothing more that I can do. If it ends up pulling, there's nothing you can do about it. You're out two weeks every time you do it."
Although Wilson's hamstring issues have hampered his durability, his health problems don't appear as serious as those of Eric Chavez, another 32-year-old thinking about retirement because of injuries. Considering Wilson signed a two-year, $10MM deal with Seattle this winter, the slick-fielding shortstop is probably unlikely to call it a career quite yet.