Kurt Birkins Released
Joe Smith of the St. Pete Times is reporting that the Rays have released lefty reliever Kurt Birkins. The move was made to open a spot on the 40-man roster in preparation for the September roster expansion.
Birkins made six appearances for the Rays earlier in the year and spent parts of the last two seasons with the Orioles, including two starts in ’07. He posted a 7.52 ERA in 40.2 innings with 29 strikeouts and 28 walks for Durham.
Given the demand for lefty relievers, look for Birkins to land a job in a contender’s bullpen for the final month of the season.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.
Odds and Ends: Indians, Rays, Jays
Time to cobble together today’s links.
- The Dodgers designated Tanyon Sturtze for assignment. The 37 year-old pitched only 2.1 innings for the big club.
- Dejan Kovacevic does not believe the Pedro Alvarez issue will prevent the Pirates from working with Scott Boras in the future.
- RotoAuthority assembles a fantasy team entirely of players who went undrafted in March.
- Dave Cameron wonders if the Indians will make a trade due to their catching surplus.
- Rays Index wants to make it clear that drafting high is only a small factor in the Rays’ success.
- Drunk Jays Fans caught an amusing exchange between a fan and GM J.P. Ricciardi on his radio show.
- Dave O’Brien ponders the possibility of a Mike Hampton trade. In another post, he mentions that reliever Will Ohman was claimed on waivers and pulled back.
Fuentes, Taveras Placed On Waivers
3:25pm: Rosenthal says Fuentes’ trip to the bereavement list pretty much kills the chances of a trade.
WEDNESDAY, 10:55am: Troy E. Renck weighs in, suggesting that Taveras might clear waivers. The Nationals like him, but don’t want to add payroll. He expects the Dodgers, Rays, and Cardinals to put in claims on Fuentes (the Dodgers would win). The price remains a premium young starter, even though now the receiving team would get one less month of Fuentes.
TUESDAY: As expected, the Rockies have placed closer Brian Fuentes and center fielder Willy Taveras on waivers. Ken Rosenthal does not expect either player to clear.
As Rosenthal says, the Rockies will still require a return superior to two draft picks for Fuentes. He is certain to sign a multiyear deal elsewhere in the offseason. The Dodgers have first crack among contenders, though a non-contender could put in a claim just for sport.
Taveras is under team control through 2010, unless he is non-tendered before then. The speedy 26 year-old is hitting just .264/.316/.312 in 465 plate appearances.
Odds and Ends: Indians, Livan, Braves, Friedman
Let’s round up today’s random links.
- The Pirates received catcher Robinzon Diaz from the Blue Jays in the Jose Bautista deal. Not too shabby, he should develop into a credible cheap backup.
- Yahoo’s Gordon Edes sees Manny Ramirez playing for the Mets in ’09.
- The point continues to be hammered home – the Indians intend to acquire a proven closer this winter. Brian Fuentes seems a reasonable target.
- RotoAuthority takes a closer look at Cliff Lee.
- Rockies manager Clint Hurdle wants to see if Livan Hernandez fits into their plans for 2009. Hernandez has allowed a remarkable 224 hits in 152 innings – a rate that will rank second in baseball history if he can reach the 162 innings needed to qualify. Even Jose Lima can’t make that claim.
- J.C. Bradbury notes that the Braves’ attempts to extend star players acquired via trade have been largely unsuccessful.
- Outs Per Swing chats with Rays exec Andrew Friedman.
- Danny Knobler surveyed scouts about Francisco Rodriguez‘s stuff.
Odds and Ends: Kazmir, Thomas, Sweeney
We’ll kick it off with a few links today and add more bullets periodically.
- Cole Hamels feels that he handled his contract renewal last year immaturely.
- Over at The Hardball Times, Geoff Young looks at the best compensation picks of the 20th century.
- Geoff Blum‘s ’09 option vests with one more plate appearance.
- Bronson Arroyo has a plan to make the Reds competitive.
- Matthew Cerrone explains Carlos Delgado‘s ’09 option.
- Jeff Passan on the Cardinals’ brilliant signing of Ryan Ludwick.
- Baseball Prospectus profiles #26-50 on their list of players to build a team around.
- Twins reliever Brian Bass accepted a Triple A assignment, so he won’t become a free agent.
- MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo takes a preliminary look at the ’09 draft order.
- Jamey Newberg wonders if the Rangers could pry Scott Kazmir loose this winter. It’s hard to see the Rays trading him.
- Susan Slusser expects the A’s to add an impact bat this winter, but free agent DHs Frank Thomas and Mike Sweeney will probably be let go. In a related note, ESPN’s Buster Olney says the A’s had a chance earlier this year to acquire Jason Bay for a package including pitching prospect Vin Mazzaro.
Post-Draft Roundup: Hosmer, Smoak, Strasburg
Below I’ve collected more interesting remaining links regarding the amateur draft.
- The Royals bumped their offer from $5MM to $6MM and signed top pick Eric Hosmer. Rany Jazayerli was surprised to see Hosmer effectively get more than #1 pick Tim Beckham. The Royals joined the Red Sox and Pirates as teams spending around $10MM on draft picks this year.
- The Rangers resisted a Major League deal for Justin Smoak, and ultimately signed him to a $3.5MM minor league deal. Owner Tom Hicks pined for a hard slot system.
- The story of pitcher Chris Gruler, picked third overall by the Reds in ’02, reminds us to temper our enthusiasm for these kids. Many will bust.
- Tim Lincecum says Buster Posey can expect other minor leaguers to treat him differently because of the bonus he received.
- The race is on for Stephen Strasburg, who is separating himself from the pack as the top talent in the ’09 draft. The Mariners, Padres, and Nationals all have a shot at him, with the Nats in the "lead." Would the Nats avoid Strasburg due to signability concerns?
More Odds And Ends: Rays, Rangers, Burnett, Pirates
A few more random notes from the MLBiverse…
- Rays executive VP Andrew Friedman says the team’s waiver position makes it "extremely unrealistic to expect that [the Rays] will be able to get something done in August."
- Tom Hicks says the Rangers will look for free agents this offseason that fit the team, but he doubts they will offer any long-term deals to pitchers over 30. That doesn’t rule out C.C. Sabathia or Oliver Perez.
- A.J. Burnett denies he has already decided to opt out of his contract, but Jays manager Cito Gaston thinks the pitcher won’t be back.
- Dejan Kovacevic says now that the signings are concluded, the Pirates’ draft bonanza was unprecedented for the organization.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.
Cafardo’s Latest: Ausmus, Towles, Mariners, Giants, Sheffield, Salty
Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe has a few items in his Sunday column…
- Cafardo says that the Red Sox, despite being in the market for a catcher, are not interested in Brad Ausmus. They did inquire with the Astros about J.R. Towles, who is currently in Triple A, but were told he is unavailable.
- One executive told Cafardo that the Mariners continue to demand other teams take entire contracts and give up prospects for players like Raul Ibanez, Jarrod Washburn and Adrian Beltre. In the cases of Ibanez and Beltre, that position is defensible.
- Cafardo interviewed Brian Sabean about several topics: 1) When asked about trading veteran players, Sabean responded "There’s still time"; 2) When asked whether the Giants would "go young" or target free agents in the offseason, Sabean was noncommital but said they will look for free agents and trade pieces to fix problems, specifically mentioning the bullpen and first base; 3) When asked if he was tempted to sign Barry Bonds, Sabean would not answer.
- Cafardo was just musing on a few players, but feels that Gary Sheffield could help the Rays, but only if the Tigers pay some of the salary. He also thinks Jarrod Saltalamacchia would be a nice fit in Boston next season.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here .
Rays Not Interested In Bonds
Just to hammer the point home, Barry Bonds‘ agent Jeff Borris told Ken Rosenthal today that Rays GM Andrew Friedman failed to respond to his text message. The Rays would like to add a hitter, but they’ve never had serious interest in Bonds. Borris believes his client has been "blackballed" by MLB.
Rosenthal says the Rays would only consider Gary Sheffield if the Tigers picked up the majority of his contract, understandably. They’re not interested in Kenny Lofton or Jose Vidro.
Bonser Not Discussed In Washburn Talks
8:42pm: Hold the phone – John Hickey says Bonser’s name never came up in the Washburn talks. Jim Street and Larry Stone agree. The criticism of the Mariners may be somewhat unjustified. Hickey says Nick Blackburn was on the table for a very brief period of time. Lee Pelekoudas was tight-lipped on the topic.
4:52pm: Even Washburn can’t believe the Mariners wouldn’t trade him for Bonser. He’s disappointed the trade didn’t go through. Perhaps a new GM will deal him this winter.
FRIDAY, 12:19pm: Joe Christensen has details on the Twins’ uncharacteristic claim of Washburn. He heard they offered the Mariners Boof Bonser (plus apparently the salary relief), but the Ms wanted someone like Nick Blackburn or Kevin Slowey. It is hard to see this as anything but a blunder for the Mariners’ front office.
On a related note, Scott Miller says Lee Pelekoudas will not become the Mariners’ permanent GM, while Jon Heyman says Kevin Towers is unlikely. Pat Gillick is still rumored as a possibility for the next team president.
THURSDAY
11:48pm: Baker says the Twins put in claims on both Washburn and Ibanez, but only won the Washburn one. With Washburn, the Twins would’ve put him in the rotation and moved a starter to the setup man role. Baker notes that a deal still could happen.
4:58pm: SI.com’s Jon Heyman says the Twins won the Washburn claim and the Tigers won the Ibanez claim. The Red Sox and Mets also put in claims on Ibanez. Interesting on both fronts, but no deals were struck so both players will remain with the Mariners.
Heyman says that while the Twins’ Washburn claim had the flavor of a blocking move, the two teams did have trade discussions. There wasn’t really anyone to block, unless the White Sox were lying about their lack of interest.
4:56pm: The Cardinals did not put in a claim on Washburn, according to Derrick Goold.
3:00pm: Geoff Baker expects that the Mariners will hold onto Ibanez, given the compensatory picks they’ll receive this winter. He further speculates that Washburn’s next start will not be for Seattle.
10:54am: The Twins didn’t win the claim on Ibanez, according to Joe Christensen. Ibanez doesn’t expect a trade, though the Mariners have not discussed an extension with him.
9:57am: Geoff Baker confirms both players have been informed they’ve been placed on waivers. He sees the Jays, Red Sox, and Rays as possible AL claimants for Ibanez. Buster Olney considers the Twins a possibility as well. There seems little chance Ibanez would slip to the NL. Baker and Olney also heard an unconfirmed rumor that the Cardinals claimed Washburn.
WEDNESDAY
According to Ken Rosenthal, Mariners players Jarrod Washburn and Raul Ibanez were claimed on waivers yesterday. The Ms have until tomorrow afternoon to work out a deal with the claiming teams. Rosenthal says the Yankees did not claim Washburn.
At the least, the Mariners have a chance to unload Washburn’s contract. Ibanez is inexpensive, so they’ll want quality prospects in return. The Mariners can also elect to keep both players if they don’t like the offers.
The American League received first crack at the two Mariners, in the following order (omitting non-contenders):
- Tigers
- Rangers
- Blue Jays
- Yankees
- Twins
- White Sox
- Red Sox
- Rays
- Angels