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Stark’s Latest: Manny, Fuentes, Livan, Dunn

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ESPN’s Jayson Stark has a new Rumblings and Grumblings column up.

  • Some teams won’t go anywhere near Manny Ramirez given the way he exited Boston.  Opinions range on whether he’ll get two, three, or four years this winter.  Will he turn it off again after signing a long-term deal?  And will other players use the same strategy to escape their contracts?
  • The Rays are likely to stand pat, despite recent injuries.
  • Rockies players haven’t hit the waiver wire yet; Dan O’Dowd plans to wait until month’s end.  Stark wonders whether the Cards could win a claim on Brian Fuentes.  Not likely, given the contenders in front of them in waiver order.
  • All kinds of near-deals in the final minutes on deadline day – John Grabow to the Phillies, Ian Snell to the Rockies, and Jason Bay to the Rays.
  • Livan Hernandez’s incentives get expensive in a hurry once he hits 160 innings, and the Twins are on the hook for those.
  • Stark talked to officials from two teams who didn’t think the Reds would’ve offered Adam Dunn arbitration.

Waiver Trade Possibilities For Red Sox, Rays

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The Red Sox, three games behind the Rays in the standings, have the advantage when it comes to waiver claims.  Both teams are dealing with injured third basemen for the next few weeks, and may choose to bring in some veteran assistance. 

Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe names four players who may be of interest to the Red Sox and Rays: Rich Aurilia, Mark Loretta, Gary Sheffield, and Kevin Millar.

Even after he clears waivers, a deal for Sheffield seems unlikely.  The Rays have already expressed their disinterest.  Sheffield doesn’t expect a deal, noting that he’s been put on waivers many times. Cafardo says the Rays do have interest in Aurilia, while the other names are speculation for both teams.

Heyman’s Latest: Washburn, Cashman, Garcia, Lofton

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SI.com’s Jon Heyman checks in with a new column.

  • Jarrod Washburn reportedly cleared waivers, though Heyman’s use of the word "reportedly" makes me think the statement came from one of the shaky reports floating about.  We’ll wait for definitive word on that one.
  • Heyman’s sources say the Yankees plan to offer a new contract to GM Brian Cashman after the season.  Hank Steinbrenner has apparently warmed to Cashman.  Additionally, "club higherups" expect Cashman will want to stay rather than jump to the Seattle job.
  • Heyman loves the Freddy Garcia acquisition; he wonders if Garcia will be motivated by Ozzie Guillen’s comments.  The White Sox weren’t interested; Guillen doesn’t think Garcia will be ready for the playoffs.  There’s a chance Garcia could return to the Tigers in ’09.
  • Heyman says it was a 2-2 vote whether to keep Manny Ramirez in Boston – Theo Epstein and Tom Werner advocating a trade, and Larry Lucchino and John Henry preferring to keep him.  Henry changed his mind and the deal was made.  Lucchino recently denied Heyman’s speculation that he might leave after the season.
  • The Rays made an offer to Kenny Lofton in spring and even gave Barry Bonds consideration.  But now a signing of either is "highly unlikely."  Giants GM Brian Sabean thinks the Rays should sign Bonds.
  • Heyman continues to speculate that Jim Bowden could be fired.
  • One GM expects the Padres to pick up Brian Giles’ $9MM option for ’09.  It’s an easy decision since it has a $3MM buyout.  However, Peter Gammons says it will be declined.

Odds and Ends: Ibanez, Dunn, Blake, Stewart

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Let’s kick off the morning with some random links.

Gammons’ Latest: Sheffield, Pujols

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ESPN’s Peter Gammons has a new blog post up.

  • The Tigers called the Rays, shopping perpetually unhappy DH Gary Sheffield.  The Rays’ baseball people were not interested.
  • Albert Pujols’ elbow is barking a bit, but he expects to finish the season.  I wonder what a healthy Albert could do.
  • Gammons notes a failed waiver trade back in ’03.  The Cubs acquired Rafael Palmeiro, but Raffy nixed the deal when they wouldn’t add a year to his contract.

David Price Promoted To Triple A

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David Price’s remarkable rise through the Tampa Bay Rays organization continued today. According to MLB.com’s Bill Chastain, Price was promoted to Triple A Durham last night, and if all goes well, he could be wearing a Rays uniform in September.

Price, 22, was the number-one overall selection out of Vanderbilt University in the 2007 draft. The left-hander has posted outrageous lines at both Class-A Vero Beach (4-0, 1.82 ERA, 37:7 K:BB ratio in 37.2 IP), as well as Double-A Montgomery (7-0, 1.89 ERA, 55:16 K:BB ratio in 57 IP).

The Yankees did something similar in 2007, getting a boost from Joba Chamberlain late in the season. Rays manager Joe Maddon said that a similar situation isn’t out of the question for the Rays when asked:

"That’s not impossible," Maddon said. "That’s a possibility. We’ve discussed a variety of different ideas about him. We haven’t talked specifically about it, but we’ve talked among ourselves, among Minor League staff members, front-office people, everybody’s been included in the conversation."

If Price’s dominance can continue, he would be an invaluable boost to the Rays, whether in a set-up or starting role.

Week In Review: 8/3 – 8/9

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Here’s a quick look back at some of the bigger stories on MLBTR over the past week:

  • D’Backs ace Dan Haren signed a very affordable extension with the team, which would keep him in Arizona through 2012 with an option for 2013. Great deal for the D’Backs and their fans.
  • Brian Giles was claimed off waivers by the Red Sox, which is now believed to have been an effort to block the Rays from acquiring him. Giles blocked the trade to Boston with his no-trade clause.
  • The Rockies acquired Livan Hernandez from the Twins. Minnesota won’t receive a player in return, but unloads Hernandez’s remaining $1.5MM on his contract, as well as his 5.48 ERA. Seems fine to me.
  • Fifteen teams watched a throwing session from Freddy Garcia. Here are a few reactions.
  • Relievers on the move: The Cubs DFA’ed Scott Eyre, and traded him to the Phillies the next day. The Rays acquired Chad Bradford from the Orioles, and DFA’ed Al Reyes in order to make room for him. In a rare inter-division trade, the Royals traded Horacio Ramirez to the White Sox. Huston Street was claimed, but is staying put.
  • Position players on the move: Felipe Lopez signed with the Cardinals, the Mariners released Jose Vidro, and the Marlins signed Paul Lo Duca in addition to claiming Brad Ausmus off waivers. No word on whether or not a deal will be worked out for Ausmus yet.
  • A few glimpses into 2009? Rafael Furcal hopes to re-sign with the Dodgers. Bobby Abreu hopes to be wearing Yankee pinstripes again, and the Nationals hope Willie Harris is a part of the organization again as well.
  • Tim made a list of waiver trade candidates for both the American League and National League and compiled a list of players who were known to have cleared waivers in 2007. Remember, these are just players who would likely clear waivers, whether because of their talent level or contractual status. Teams often place big-name players on waivers that they have no intention of trading.

Perrotto’s Latest: Waivers, Extensions, Garcia, Braves

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John Perrotto over at Baseball Prospectus has his Every Given Sunday column up:

  • Perrotto lists off several people which he believes are the most likely to be made available if and when they clear waivers. While the list is comprised of a lot of the usual suspects this August (Greg Maddux, Jarrod Washburn, Paul Byrd, Randy Winn), Perrotto lists some other names that we haven’t seen as much: Francisco Cordero, Tyler Walker, Todd Jones, Jose Bautista, and Doug Mientkiewicz. Perrotto also says that he feels Aubrey Huff has the best chance to be traded of any impact bat available.
  • Perrotto states that the Rockies would like to sign both Garrett Atkins and Matt Holliday long-term. If unsuccessful, they will both be on the trading block this offseason.
  • The Pirates would like to sign Nate McLouth and Ryan Doumit long-term as well, buying out their arbitration years.
  • Perrotto lists the Yankees as the front-runners to sign Freddy Garcia. The Mets and Rays are also suitors for Garcia, though I personally don’t think Garcia makes sense for the Rays.
  • The Yankees have "little interest" in pursuing Manny Ramirez this offseason, despite possible reports that Manny would like to play for them.
  • The Twins would still like to add a late-inning reliever this season to boost their bullpen as the AL Central race winds down.
  • The Braves’ top priority this offseason is pursuing a front-line starter, Perrotto says. He lists possible candidates as: C.C. Sabathia, Ben Sheets, Ryan Dempster, Derek Lowe, and Jon Garland. Seems a bit odd to consider the last three "front-line," though Dempster has certainly been impressive this season.

Rays Designate Reyes

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Last night, veteran Al Reyes was DFA’d by the Tampa Bay Rays to make room for Chad Bradford. Reyes is 38 and has a 4.37 ERA (actually a touch better than last year’s mark of 4.90). He’s had two stints on the DL this year, and has had a 5.14 ERA in 8 games since last being activated. Reyes said he needs to get the ball more than "every four or five days" to stay consistent, but also said he wasn’t surprised by the move. He’s making 2.3MM this year.

The Rays have 10 days to make a move. I’m on the fence here; on the one hand, Reyes is 38 and has shoulder problems and a terrible ERA for a reliever. On the other, he had 26 saves last year, and with the way that saves are currently valued in baseball, I feel like some team is bound to roll the dice with him.

Brian Giles Blocks Trade To Boston

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2:17pm: Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe says Giles would have vetoed a deal to the Rays as well.  Cafardo believes the Red Sox will continue to monitor the waiver wire for a bench bat.  Amalie Benjamin says the Sox weren’t broken up about Giles’ decision, and trade talks didn’t get too far.

12:55pm: It’s official – Giles has blocked the deal.  The window has closed.   You may recall he originally took less to sign with the Padres back in ’05.

12:35pm: ESPN’s Buster Olney says Giles plans to block a trade to Boston.

8:41am: The Brian Giles situation should be resolved today.  New take on it this morning: Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald has a baseball source indicating "the Red Sox claimed Giles out of legitimate interest and not as an attempt to keep another team from claiming him."

Ken Rosenthal wrote yesterday, "the move was apparently designed as a block to prevent the Tampa Bay Rays from claiming Giles, sources say."

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