Cardinals Place Brian Fuentes On Restricted List
4:34pm: Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said he was told not to expect Fuentes to rejoin the team this season, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (via Twitter).
1:54pm: The Cardinals have placed left-handed reliever Brian Fuentes on the restricted list after he asked to be excused for personal reasons, according to Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com (via Twitter).
Fuentes, 37, signed a minor league deal with the Redbirds exactly a month ago after being released by the Athletics. The 12-year veteran has struggled in 2012, posting a 7.20 ERA and 1.70 WHIP in 30 innings with Oakland and St. Louis. He owns a 3.62 ERA, 1.26 WHIP and 204 saves in 613 1/3 career innings.
Player on the restricted list do not count against their team's 25- or 40-man rosters. They also do not accrue Major League service time and are sometimes not paid.
Minor Moves: McClung, Zawadzki
Today's minor moves..
- The Cubs have signed pitcher Seth McClung to a minor league deal and assigned him to Triple-A Iowa, tweets Bruce Miles of the Daily Herald. The right-hander was released by the Brewers roughly two weeks ago and has not appeared in the majors since 2009.
- The Cardinals signed infielder Lance Zawadzki to a minor league contract, according to the Pacific Coast League transactions page. The 27-year-old was previously with the Braves' Triple-A affiliate where he hit .231/.271/.340 with three homers in 157 plate appearances.
Cardinals Notes: Jackson, Furcal, Lohse
The Cardinals lead the National League in runs scored even after losing their best hitter (Albert Pujols) to free agency and getting barely any offense from another one of last year's major contributors (Lance Berkman). Here are the latest Cardinals-related notes…
- The trade of Tyler Greene and the promotion of Ryan Jackson serve as reminders that Cardinals have had trouble developing shortstops, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes. While Cardinals officials and scouts consider Jackson a strong defender, he wasn’t expected to pass former first rounders Greene and Pete Kozma on the team’s depth chart. Rafael Furcal is under contract for 2013, but he has lingering back issues.
- Derrick Goold, Rick Hummel, Jeff Gordon and Larry Borowsky weigh in on Kyle Lohse's next contract at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Lohse hits free agency this coming offseason and should sign for at least three years at $10MM-plus per season, the writers suggest.
- Mark Buehrle’s name comes up in the Post-Dispatch discussion, and there are some similarities between Buehrle and Lohse, but I don’t expect Lohse to obtain a $56MM contract, like Buehrle did. That said, I think Lohse could match Ted Lilly's three-year, $33MM contract from two offseasons ago. Lohse has said he’s open to midseason extension talks, so he may not even reach the open market.
- The Cardinals announced that they purchased Jackson's contract from Triple-A.
Astros Acquire Tyler Greene
The Astros have acquired utility player Tyler Greene from the Cardinals for a player to be named later or cash considerations, Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com reports (Twitter links). The Cardinals selected Greene in the first round of the 2005 draft, back when current Astros GM Jeff Luhnow was overseeing the amateur draft for St. Louis.
Greene has appeared in 77 games for St. Louis this year, playing second, shortstop and both corner outfield positions. The 28-year-old has a .218 /.272 /.358 batting line in 197 plate appearances so far in 2012. He won't be arbitration eligible before the end of the 2013 season.
The teams completed the trade this morning, after the Astros claimed Greene on waivers, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports (on Twitter).
Lohse Open To Mid-Season Extension Talks
Kyle Lohse is in the midst of arguably his best season as a Major Leaguer, and the 33-year-old right-hander is open to discussing a mid-season extension to stay in St. Louis, writes MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch. The Cardinals, however, have yet to approach Lohse with such an offer, according to Langosch.
According to numerous metrics, Lohse is in the midst of a career year. His ERA (2.79), K/BB ratio (3.30), BB/9 (1.6) and FIP (3.56) are all single-season bests for Lohse. His 23 starts tie him for the most in the National League, and his 148 1/3 innings are ninth-most in all of baseball.
Lohse is in the final season of a four-year, $41MM contract extension that he signed late in the 2008 season. Then 29 years old, Lohse passed on the opportunity to test the free agent market following a season that he would finish with a 3.78 ERA in exactly 200 innings. It was a surprising move at the time, especially considering the fact that Lohse is represented by Scott Boras. It would be arguably even more surprising this time around, as this could mark Lohse's last opportunity for a significant contract.
Lohse told Langosch and other reporters that his priority, should he reach free agency, is winning:
"Every year the focus is on winning," Lohse said. "We're not trying to develop something. We're trying to win. With my situation, that's what I'm looking for. If I do go to free agency, they will still be in the mix, I'm sure. But there will be other places to look, too."
Earlier today, Buster Olney suggested that Lohse could approach Mark Buehrle's four-year, $58MM contract if he were to hit the open market. I share Ben Nicholson-Smith's skepticism that Lohse would reach such a lofty sum, given that he lacks Buehrle's durability and consistent track record. However, Boras has worked surprising free agent deals in the past.
If he were to hit free agency, Lohse would join a solid free agent class that includes Zack Greinke, Anibal Sanchez, Brandon McCarthy, Edwin Jackson and Ryan Dempster.
NL Central Notes: Drew, Marte, Cardinals
The Reds have been nearly unbeatable since losing their top player to injury and now have the best record in baseball at 64-41. Here are today's NL Central links after another Reds win…
- The Pirates considered and rejected a trade that would have sent two minor leaguers to Arizona for Diamondbacks shortstop Stephen Drew, Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports (on Twitter). The prospects — not Jameson Taillon or Luis Heredia — are at the mid-to-low levels of Pittsburgh's farm system.
- The Phillies asked the Pirates for Starling Marte, Brad Lincoln and more in possible trades for Hunter Pence, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney reports (on Twitter). The Phillies ultimately obtained Nate Schierholtz, minor league reliever Seth Rosin and minor league catcher/first baseman Tommy Joseph from the Giants for Pence.
- MLB terminated the contract between the Cardinals and right-handed pitching prospect Andres Serrano, Ben Badler of Baseball America reports. The Cardinals had signed the Dominican for $750K, but he failed the age and identity sections of his investigation, according to Badler. Brian Walton of TheCardinalNation.com had the story last month.
Cardinals Acquire Edward Mujica
The Cardinals acquired reliever Edward Mujica from the Marlins for third baseman Zack Cox, tweets Peter Gammons of MLB Network.
Mujica, 28, has a 4.38 ERA, 6.0 K/9, 2.1 BB/9, 1.38 HR/9, and 50.4% groundball rate in 39 innings for the Marlins this year. Mujica is owed $568K for the remainder of the season and will be arbitration eligible for the third and final time after the season. Mujica was part of the deal that sent Cameron Maybin to the Padres in November 2010.
Cox, 23, was the Cardinals' first-round pick in 2010. He's hitting .254/.294/.421 in 316 Triple-A plate appearances. Baseball America ranked Cox fourth among Cardinals prospects prior to the season, and was still willing to call him a "potential No. 3 hitter" at the time. It's a nice pickup for Mujica, even if Cox's star has fallen.
Photo courtesy of Steve Mitchell/US Presswire.
NL Central Notes: Lowrie, Brewers, Cardinals
The NL Central includes the Senior Circuit's most potent offense (the Cardinals) and its lowest-scoring team (the Cubs). The Cardinals outscore the Cubs by more than one run per game (4.88 runs per game vs. 3.69). Here are the latest links from the NL Central…
- The Astros are telling teams they're open to more trades, Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com reports (on Twitter). Even Jed Lowrie, who has been on the disabled list with a sprained ankle for the past two weeks, is available.
- Brewers president of baseball operations Doug Melvin joined Casey Stern and Jim Bowden on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM and explained how the Zack Greinke trade went down (audio here).
- The Brewers released Seth McClung, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports (on Twitter). The right-hander, who last pitched in the Major Leagues in 2009, appeared in 21 games for Milwaukee's Triple-A affiliate this year, posting a 6.36 ERA in 103 1/3 innings.
- The Cardinals have never been more open to trading pitching prospect Shelby Miller, ESPN.com's Jayson Stark reports. However, at least one team has lost interest in Miller.
- Cubs manager Dale Sveum will be surprised if Ryan Dempster isn't traded, Bruce Levine of ESPNChicago.com reports (on Twitter). Click here for the latest rumors surrounding the right-hander.
Westbrook Intends To Exercise Option After Season
Cardinals righty Jake Westbrook "fully intends on exercising his half of mutual option for '13" after the season, tweets Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, but the pitcher has no idea what the Cardinals will do. Westbrook's contract, signed in November of 2010, includes an $8.5MM mutual option for 2013 with a $1MM buyout if the club declines and no buyout if the player declines.
Given Westbrook's solid 2012 performance, this could be one of the rare mutual options where both sides are exercised. The 34-year-old owns a 3.61 ERA, 5.8 K/9, 2.3 BB/9, 0.57 HR/9, and 57.7% groundball rate in 127 innings this year.
Phillies Could Be “Most Active Sellers”
The Phillies entered this weekend needing to perform well in a critical series against the division rival Braves. Instead, they were swept and now appear to be in the position to sell off several pieces. ESPN's Buster Olney tweets that the Phillies could be baseball's "most active sellers" in the next two days, and that they've laid the groundwork for several trades. Olney's colleague Jayson Stark hears from several teams that the Phillies could make 2-3 trades prior to Tuesday's deadline, though they've yet to officially declare themselves sellers (Twitter link).
CSNPhilly.com's Jim Salisbury agrees that selling is likely, and runs down several of the possibilities for the Phillies in the coming days. Salisbury writes that Shane Victorino is the "most likely" Phillie to be dealt, and lists the Giants, Pirates, Reds and Dodgers as possible destinations for Victorino. Interest in Victorino was said to be "heating up" as recently as yesterday.
The Reds have also inquired on Juan Pierre, and both the Orioles and Cardinals are potential destinations for Joe Blanton according to Salisbury. He also says that Hunter Pence could be moved if GM Ruben Amaro Jr. is blown away by an offer, and speculates that Ty Wigginton would fit on several teams looking for bench help.
Salisbury reiterates that the Phillies are likely to keep Cliff Lee for the time being, although he could be shopped this offseason in an attempt to fill multiple holes.