Twins Place Jim Thome On Waivers
WEDNESDAY, 9:14am: The White Sox were one of several teams putting in a claim for Thome, reports Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times. ESPN's Buster Olney tweets that "there is a high expectation among executives that the White Sox will be awarded the claim." For that to happen, Thome would have to get past the Orioles, Royals, Mariners, and Athletics. That seems feasible, though it's possible one of the four would put in a claim with an eye on a potential draft pick.
MONDAY, 2:15pm: The Twins placed designated hitter Jim Thome on trade waivers today, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Rosenthal says the Phillies want Thome back in their organization, but there's almost no chance the slugger gets to them. Since the Phillies have the best record in the National League, the 28 other teams would have to pass on Thome first.
Thome, 40, is hitting .256/.365/.503 with 12 home runs in 230 plate appearances this year. He cranked his 600th home run a week ago. Now that Thome has reached the milestone, the Twins might be more inclined to trade him if he would like to join a playoff race. Rosenthal notes that Thome has a full no-trade clause.
Thome's salary should not pose a problem, as he has about $610K remaining plus incentives. As of a week ago Thome wasn't too far from Type B status, so if he continues producing there could be a shot at a draft pick. So there is the possibility that American League non-contenders could place claims. If the Twins want to give Thome freedom to play for any team but don't mind getting nothing in return, they could release him, notes Rosenthal.
Quick Hits: Rangers, Weaver, Rodriguez, Thome
We saw one trade completed today and, as our list of players to clear waivers shows, there are more potential deals on the horizon. Here are the latest links from around MLB…
- Rangers GM Jon Daniels told Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that he doesn't expect to make a trade this month, though he's considering waiver trade candidates every day.
- Angels ace Jered Weaver had a refreshing take on his team friendly five-year, $85MM extension, as Mike DiGiovanna of the LA Times writes. “If $85 million is not enough to take care of my family and other generations of my family, then you’re stupid," he said. "I play baseball for the love of the game, for the competitive part of it.”
- A's GM Billy Beane told Tyler Kepner of the New York Times that the gap between baseball's haves and have-nots has widened. "The window for small-market clubs is shorter and shorter,” Beane said.
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports breaks down some possible trade scenarios between the Rockies and Astros involving the recently-claimed Wandy Rodriguez.
- Rodriguez drew interest at the trade deadline, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post (on Twitter). The Yankees were prepared to give up a player for the left-hander, who they valued at $21MM.
- White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen says he'd love to bring Jim Thome back to Chicago, according to MLB.com's Scott Merkin. Thome hit waivers yesterday.
AL Central Notes: Inge, Thome, White Sox, Kipnis
As the Indians and Tigers continue their battle for the top spot in the AL Central this weekend, let's look at news from all around the division….
- Brandon Inge is back in the Majors after a stint in Triple-A, and he tells MLB.com's Jason Beck and Chris Vannini that he could've left the Tigers after being designated for assignment last month. "I could have said, 'Fine. Release me and I know I could go to probably 20 other teams and play. Especially National League teams, too,' " Inge said. "But I didn't want to. I didn't want to go out like that….if you've been treated well by an organization and your teammates, why would you buck the horse on that one? Just stay there, ride it out."
- Tracy Ringolsby of FOX Sports chronicles Jim Thome's rise from unheralded 13th-round draft pick to the 600-homer club.
- The White Sox have six minor league pitchers on their 40-man roster who have been continually passed over for Major League call-ups this season, and Larry of the South Side Sox blog investigates why.
- With Jason Kipnis on the DL, the Indians could be in the market for infield help, writes Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
- Ron Gardenhire discusses the Twins' 2012 rotation and says that Nick Blackburn and Brian Duensing could be moved to the bullpen if the club finds other starting options, reports Joe Kieser for MLB.com.
Jim Hendry Firing Reactions
The Cubs dismissed GM Jim Hendry earlier today, cutting ties with the third longest tenured GM in the National League even though he's under contract through 2012. The team was one game better than .500 during his tenure, going 749-748. Let's round up the latest reactions, news, and notes surrounding the move…
- A reminder of the criteria for the next GM as laid out by owner Tom Ricketts, who will conduct the search: a commitment to player development, a stronger analytical background, and someone who's been in a winning culture and has a track record of success.
- "[Ricketts] told me he felt we needed a fresh start and he was going to look outside the organization," said interim GM Randy Bush to MLB.com's Carrie Muskat. "I really appreciated his honesty, to be honest."
- Yankees GM Brian Cashman shot down speculation about his candidacy for the job, reports Jack Curry of the YES Network (Twitter links). Cashman said that New York "has been home for quite some time," and he'd like that relationship to continue when his contract is up after the season.
- White Sox GM Kenny Williams said he would give assistant GM Rick Hahn the highest level of recommendation if asked about him by Ricketts, reports Mark Gonzales of The Chicago Tribune (on Twitter). Hahn was one of MLBTR's top 20 GM candidates.
- ESPN's Jim Bowden put together a list of potential GM replacements, including several names that appear on our list.
- Hendry admitted to reporters, including David Kaplan, that he was actually fired on July 22nd. He stayed on to help the team get all of their draft picks signed before the August 15th deadline because owner Tom Ricketts asked him to (Twitter links). Ricketts told Paul Sullivan of The Chicago Tribune that "[Hendry's] been terrific, [it's] a credit to his character."
- In a video for FOX Sports, Ken Rosenthal says that Hendry was done in by the bad contracts given to players like Alfonso Soriano, Carlos Zambrano, and Milton Bradley even though he had to spend the money at behest of the team's previous owner, the Tribune Company.
- The Chicago Sun-Times listed Hendry's highs and lows, a collection of the best and worst moments during his tenure as GM.
Heyman On Pirates, Orioles, Buehrle, Hultzen
The Astros placed Wandy Rodriguez and Brett Myers on waivers, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com. Here are Heyman’s other notes from around MLB…
- Commissioner Bud Selig singled out the Pirates and Nationals for overspending in the draft and is more determined than ever to add slotting for draft bonuses, according to Heyman.
- Union people suggest to Heyman that current Major Leaguers oppose the idea of capping bonuses for amateur players, however.
- Orioles president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail admitted that pitchers like Jake Arrieta and Brian Matusz have disappointed this year. "The starting pitching has really gone backward." he said. "We've got to get these guys back to where they were before."
- Suggestions that Mark Buehrle may retire after the season are off-base, Heyman reports. The left-hander’s contract expires after the season.
- The Mariners assured top pick Danny Hultzen that he’ll arrive in Spring Training 2012 with the chance to make the team, according to Heyman.
Teams Spend $236MM On Draft
The totals are in and Major League teams have again broken draft spending records. According to figures compiled by Jim Callis of Baseball America, MLB teams spent a combined $227.94MM on this year's draft bonuses and $235.99MM including additional guaranteed money in MLB deals for Danny Hultzen, Trevor Bauer, Dylan Bundy, Anthony Rendon and Matt Purke.
A year ago, MLB teams spent about $35MM less: $195.78MM, or $201.83MM including additional guaranteed money in big league deals. The Pirates led the way in 2011, spending over $17MM and breaking the $11.93MM record the Nationals set a year ago. Washington also broke its previous record, spending over $15MM on Rendon, Purke, Alex Meyer, Brian Goodwin and others.
Though only seven teams had ever spent over $10MM on the draft before this year, ten teams did so in 2011, according to Baseball America. Along with the Pirates and Nationals, the Royals ($14.01MM), Cubs ($11.95MM), Diamondbacks ($11.93MM), Rays ($11.48MM), Mariners ($11.33MM), Padres ($11.02MM), Blue Jays ($11.00MM) and Red Sox ($10.98MM) spent eight figures on the draft.
The Tigers ($2.88MM), who didn’t select until the second round, and White Sox ($2.76MM) were the only clubs to spend less than $3MM, according to Baseball America.
Quick Hits: White Sox, Indians, Meister
Links for Tuesday night, as Albert Pujols reaches the 30-homer plateau for the 11th consecutive season. Pujols, who started the season slowly, now leads the National League in home runs. Here are today’s links as the first baseman's free agent stock continues inching back up…
- The White Sox can't take on payroll at this point, according to Scott Merkin of MLB.com (on Twitter).
- Indians GM Chris Antonetti declined to tell Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer whether the Indians considered Delmon Young, the former Twins outfielder who was acquired by the Tigers yesterday. Antonetti says the Indians are still looking at ways to improve.
- Darren Heitner of the Sports Agent Blog interviewed agent Barry Meister and touched on arbitration, the Winter Meetings and clients such as Craig Counsell.
The Nationals’ Decision To Pass On Adam Dunn
No one, the Washington Nationals included, expected Adam Dunn to be this unproductive in 2011. The slugger, whose home run hitting ability seemed all but automatic from 2004-10, has an unexpectedly low .161/.294/.296 line with only 11 home runs this year. If the Nationals had anticipated this kind of dropoff for Dunn, they wouldn’t have maintained interest in him for as long as they did.
A year ago this time, Washington was still considering the possibility of extending Dunn, who was having a characteristically strong season and the plate on his way to free agency. After posting a .260/.356/.536 line with 38 homers, Dunn signed a four-year, $56MM deal with the White Sox, turning down overtures from rumored suitors such as Detroit and Oakland.
Because Dunn turned down the Nationals’ three-year offer to join the White Sox, the Nats obtained two compensatory draft picks in June. Last night they signed both of those picks, right-hander Alex Meyer, selected 23rd overall, and outfielder Brian Goodwin, selected 34th overall, in addition to their other top picks. By reaching deals with the 6’9” Meyer and Goodwin, a former Cape Cod League standout, the Nationals added significant talent to their system and even though the two players cost $5MM in total, Washington is already drawing praise for its aggressive approach.
The Nationals had interest in Dunn on a multiyear deal last year, so they were wrong about him just like the White Sox and many other teams (I was wrong, too). But their decision not to outbid Chicago turned out to be an excellent one. Instead of an expensive, positionless and now unproductive player, they added two potentially impactful prospects for a fraction of the price.
Photo courtesy Icon SMI.
White Sox Release Brian Bruney
AUGUST 15th: The White Sox released Bruney, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.
AUGUST 6th: The White Sox have designated Brian Bruney for assignment according to Mark Gonzales of The Chicago Tribune (on Twitter). The move frees up a roster spot for Zach Stewart, who will start tomorrow and push Jake Peavy back to Sunday.
Bruney, 29, pitched to a 6.86 ERA with 7.3 K/9 and 5.5 BB/9 in 19 2/3 innings for Chicago this year. Stewart will be making his ChiSox debut after being acquired from the Blue Jays in the Edwin Jackson–Mark Teahen trade last weekend. Peavy appears to be getting an extra day of rest after throwing 115 pitches on Monday, his most since last May.
John Danks Wants To Remain With The White Sox
There were a few trade rumors circling around John Danks heading into this year's deadline, but if the southpaw had his way, he'd remain in Chicago for years to come. Danks tells The Chicago Sun-Times that he and agent Jeff Berry have engaged in some low-level negotiations with the team about a contract extension.
“There’s been a little bit of talks here and there, but nothing super serious,’’ Danks said. “It hasn’t gotten to the point where it’s been a back-and-forth negotiation. It’s been more, ‘OK, we’ll throw this out there, No, OK then we’ll throw this out there.’ It will be another ‘No,’ and then it kind of dies out.
“This is my first choice. I love it here. This is all I know, and I love everything about it. I’ve heard it said that I want free agency, I want to go back to Texas, I just want to move on. That couldn’t be further from the truth, so we’ll see how it works out. There’s a business side to it, and I think it goes both ways. It will play out the way it’s supposed to play out, and hopefully that’s here.’’
Danks has one more year of arbitration eligibility and can become a free agent after the 2012 season. The left-hander is earning $6MM this year and, despite a rough 0-8 start and a stint on the DL with an oblique injury, Danks' numbers (3.90 ERA, 2.61 K/BB rate, 6.8 K/9 rate) are about on par with his career norms. He looks to be on pace for the $10-11MM salary that MLBTR's Tim Dierkes suggested Danks could receive in 2012 if he had "a normal platform season."
Danks turned down a four-year, $15MM extension offer from Chicago during the 2009-10 offseason, which looks like a smart move in hindsight. He said he and Berry hadn't discussed figures in a while and denied a report that he wanted "Mark Buehrle-type money," which would make his extension worth roughly $14MM per season.
Though the White Sox ultimately told teams that Danks wasn't available, he was seen as potential trade bait last month if Chicago wanted to avoid paying that 2012 arbitration payout and get a solid return in a deal. Danks admitted that he and another Sox pitcher, Gavin Floyd, were logical trade candidates if the Sox decided to cut costs and rebuild.
"I think [Floyd and I] would be two of the more likely guys to go if they went that direction,’’ Danks said. “I can’t see them doing that, personally, just because we have [Adam] Dunn and [Alex] Rios coming back, so you have pieces there for next year. But if it comes down to that point and they’re looking to go that way, Gavin and I would be possibly two of the first guys to go.’’