Odds And Ends: Blue Jays, Cotts, Indians
Manny's back to help celebrate the Fourth of July weekend! Here are some links to start the day off…
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports that Blue Jays execs will decide what course of action to take this month once they see how the team performs on its ten-game road trip against divisional rivals.
- Jamey Newberg ranks this week's top 20 Rangers prospects for MLB.com. Texas just keeps churning out quality players; this week it's Julio Borbon.
- Cubs reliever Neal Cotts underwent Tommy John surgery, according to the Sports Network, via the Miami Herald.
- Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times says the Mariners and Angels have a serious advantage over the Rangers when it comes to making deadline deals now that the Rangers are borrowing money from MLB.
- Steve Kornacki of MLive provides five reasons why the Tigers may not make the playoffs and five reasons why they're in first.
- As Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel notes, Seth McClung's preformance has made the Brewers' need for a starter more glaring.
- Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer says the Indians would need a "staggering" return for either Cliff Lee or Victor Martinez.
Mariners Sign Guillermo Pimentel
The Mariners signed Guillermo Pimentel to a bonus of $2MM, according to ESPN.com's Jorge Arangure Jr.. Pimentel signed the contract as the clock struck midnight on July 2nd, the earliest moment he was eligible.
Odds And Ends: Renteria, Lugo, Phillies
It's a busy day for international signings, but lots is going on at the major league level, so let's take a look:
- The Dodgers are looking for pitching, but how about Jason Schmidt? He pitched well at Triple A for the second time yesterday, according to MLB.com's Ken Gurnick.
- Newsday's Ken Davidoff creates a history of recent deadline deals.
- Edgar Renteria told Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle that he turned down two multi-year offers to sign with the Giants.
- Think it's too early to talk about Bryce Harper? Well Joe Dunand Jr., Alex Rodriguez's nephew, is just 13 years old and, as Ian Begley of the New York Daily News reports, he's already quite a slugger.
- The relative of another superstar signed with the Angels. Mike Piazza's second cousin will go pro, according to the Florida Tech Sports site.
- Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times crunches some numbers and suggests Franklin Gutierrez could be more valuable than Adam Jones this year.
- Kevin Towers says the addition of Bob Melvin to the Padres' staff wasn't meant to threaten Bud Black, according to Nick Canepa and Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune.
- Julio Lugo admits that his deal with the Red Sox hasn't worked out, according to Steve Buckley of the Boston Herald.
- Jim Salisbury of the Philadelphia Inquirer says the Phillies have more minor league pitching depth than ever.
Mariners Explore Deal For Kouzmanoff; Not Ready To Trade Yet
Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com reports that the Mariners are taking a "wait-and-see" approach to trades and "will probably wait about two weeks before moving definitively on the trade market."
Morosi adds that the Mariners and Padres have "engaged in preliminary discussions with the Padres about third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff, according to one source with knowledge of the talks."
With Adrian Beltre on the DL, a deal for a third baseman would make sense for the Mariners. Earlier today, we discussed an alternative for the Mariners at third, as well as the chances that they will trade pitchers Erik Bedard and Jarrod Washburn.
Odds And Ends: Mariners, Webb, Donnelly
Some links for the afternoon…
- John McGrath of the Tacoma News Tribune says Greg Dobbs could be the answer for the Mariners at third base.
- Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times considers the possibility that the Mariners could deal Erik Bedard or Jarrod Washburn and still contend. He concludes that the team needs both pitchers to make the playoffs.
- Dayn Perry of FOX Sports looks at projected stats for a handful of trade candidates.
- Brandon Webb won't have to undergo shoulder surgery, according to MLB.com's Steve Gilbert. Instead, he'll aim for a September return.
- Mike Aviles isn't so lucky. He'll miss the rest of the season as he recovers from Tommy John surgery, according to MLB.com's Dick Kaegel
- Diamond Leung reports that Brendan Donnelly left the Astros organization to become a free agent.
- Tune in to 1570 WSCO in Green Bay at 5:05 CST as I'll be talking rumors.
Rosenthal On Holliday, Lee, Jays
On the MLB Network, Ken Rosenthal says he wouldn't be surprised to see the Indians deal Cliff Lee. Here are the details and the rest of his rumors:
- There's a good chance Matt Holliday will be dealt, though the A's aren't shopping him now. They say they'd have to be impressed to deal him, but Rosenthal suggests this is just a more subtle way of asking for offers.
- Several GMs believe Billy Beane will trade Holliday this month.
- Rosenthal isn't sure Cliff Lee will be in Cleveland for the rest of the year. He says the Indians aren't going to sign him when he becomes a free agent after 2010, so if someone offers the young top-of-the-rotation starter the Indians are looking for, they could deal their ace.
- Victor Martinez is less likely to be dealt, as the Indians would consider keeping him after 2010, when they're expected to pick up his option.
- There's no chance Vernon Wells gets traded.
- Alex Rios, however, could appeal to some teams as a center fielder, so there's a chance he's moved.
International Free Agent Update
ESPN.com's Jorge Arangure relays the latest on a pair of international players with his Twitter account.
- Cheslor Cuthbert, who agreed to terms over the weekend, will receive a bonus of about $1.2MM from the Royals.
- The Rangers appear to be closing in on Jurickson Profar.
- It looks like he'll receive a bonus of about $700k to play short.
- He could probably have received more if he'd signed as a pitcher, but he doesn't want to pitch.
Our own Mike Axisa questioned Baseball America's Ben Badler about some other international players over at River Ave. Blues:
- It looks like top Latin catching prospect Gary Sanchez will sign with the Yankees for about $3MM.
- The Mariners seem to be the favorites to sign Guillermo Pimentel.
- Ugueth Urbina's son, Juan, will likely sign with the Mets.
- Badler says Miguel Angel Sano would have gone somewhere between fourth overall and the end of the first round if he'd been eligible in this month's draft.
Odds And Ends: Gonzalez, Pirates, Batista
More links for the afternoon…
- Steve Kelley of the Seattle Times says the Mariners face some tough long-term decisions about Adrian Beltre and his future as a Mariner.
- Pirates president Frank Coonelly believes his team will be able to match or surpass the Brewers' payroll once attendance picks up, according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
- Maury Brown of the Biz of Baseball reports that Ken Rosenthal will join the MLB Network and keep reporting for FOX Sports.
- Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times can see the Mariners trading Miguel Batista whether they're buyers or sellers.
- Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker shows that Yu Darvish relied on fastballs and sliders to take a no hitter into the 8th inning in Japan recently.
Mariners Not Adding Third Baseman Yet
Larry Stone sat down with Jack Zduriencik following the Ryan Langerhans acquisition today, to ask if anything else was on the horizon in the wake of Adrian Beltre's injury. Zduriencik said that for the time being, nothing is in the works:
Zduriencik has not received any calls offering a third baseman yet, and says the Langerhans acquisition is more related to the loss of Endy Chavez than to Beltre's surgery.
Stone also reports that Zduriencik sat with Scott Boras in the first row behind home plate at Dodger Stadium. The two discussed Beltre, Jarrod Washburn, and Dustin Ackley, but nothing too formal on any of the three.
Nats Swap Langerhans For Mike Morse
Pete McElroy informs us that the Nationals have sent Ryan Langerhans to the Mariners in exchange for Mike Morse.
Morse, 27, was a third-round pick by the White Sox in the 2000 draft. He was off to a fine .312/.370/.481 start in the Pacific Coast League this season, and has managed a .300 batting average in 107 career major league games.
Langerhans, 29, has been posting a nice season at the Triple-A level as well, hitting .278/.371/.488 with 9 home runs on the year.
Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times confirms the deal and says that Langerhans will likely be a part of the big league club starting this Tuesday.
Interestingly, during a chat that Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik held with fans a few days ago, one reader suggested making a move to acquire Langerhans. Zduriencik's reply: "Good suggestion."