More Rios Reactions
The world's had a few hours to digest the Rios trade and a few have made their judgments. Let's check it out, with more likely on the way:
- Mark Gonzales at the Chicago Tribune talked to Jermaine Dye, who called the move "a shock" and doesn't know what the future holds for him.
- Ken Rosenthal at FOX Sports says the White Sox have managed their payroll well enough in order to take on a contract as big as Rios's.
- Joe Cowley at the Chicago Sun-Times has an in-depth piece on the deal. Apparently Sox GM Kenny Williams had tried to acquire Rios before the deadline. Williams admits that the team went "out on a limb" for Rios money-wise, after claiming finances would be an issue for the Sox this season.
- Drunk Jays Fans sees it as "the right move for whatever direction this club might be headed in." (Maybe not safe for work/children, but entertaining as usual.)
Odds & Ends: Rios, Reds, Nationals
On this day last year, the White Sox acquired Horacio Ramirez from the Royals for minor-leaguer Paul Orlando. Today, they got Alex Rios for nothing.
- Matt Eddy at Baseball America has a useful guide to the past week's minor-league transactions.
- Tough break for the Nationals: According to Chico Harlan at the Washington Post, prized young arm Jordan Zimmermann has a torn ligament that will likely require up to 18 months to repair. Speculation, but perhaps this could further press the Nationals in the Stephen Strasburg negotiations?
- Ken Davidoff at Newsday likes the Alex Rios move for both teams.
- Game of Inches analyzes some metrics and sees the Rios move as a big win for J.P. Ricciardi.
- Reds GM Walt Jocketty tells MLB.com's Mark Sheldon that talks have fallen off between the team and first-round selection Mike Leake. Last week's above-slot signing of Mike Minor by the Braves didn't help matters.
Arangure Jr. On Chapman, Sano, Padres
ESPN's Jorge Arangure Jr. has some good inside info on the international free agent market, as always. Let's scope out his latest:
- Despite reports that the Padres had been interested in top talent Miguel Angel Sano, a Padres executive "assured" Arangure that the team would not be signing Sano. Investigation into Sano's age is ongoing.
- Arangure believes that the recent acquisition of Alex Rios by the White Sox takes them out of the running for top Cuban pitching talent Aroldis Chapman. It had been rumored that the White Sox were one of the top suitors for Chapman, as the Sox already field Cuban stars like Jose Contreras and Alexei Ramirez.
- The Padres are said to be scouting Edgar Ferreira, who Arangure says is the top Dominican amateur pitcher still unsigned. They'll watch him pitch tomorrow. Ben Badler at Baseball America ranked Ferreira the 11th overall best international free agent this season.
White Sox Acquire Alex Rios
According to the New York Times' Tyler Kepner (via Twitter), the White Sox have acquired Alex Rios from the Blue Jays. It's a straight waiver claim, so the Blue Jays will receive nothing in return. Says Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi:
"This allows us to get out from under a contract and do more to address our club."
Check out Ken Fidlin's article from the Toronto Sun for more Ricciardi quotes on the move.
The 28-year-old Rios is due roughly $60MM more on the seven-year contract he signed last April, which will take him through the 2014 season with a club option for 2015. Rios is hitting .264/.317/.424 in 479 plate appearances for the Jays this season. With the Jake Peavy acquisition already in the books, that means White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf has taken on more than $100MM in future contracts for the Sox.
To lose Rios' fat contract is a major relief for the re-building Blue Jays, while the Sox add a relatively stable long-term piece to their outfield. This could also potentially spell the end for Jermaine Dye as a member of the Sox, as he has a mutual option after this season and it's not clear how he'd fit into the picture. If he is retained, Rios could potentially play center field.
Knobler’s Latest: Rios, Tejada, Rays
Danny Knobler from CBS Sports writes that two baseball sources have confirmed to CBS Sports that Alex Rios was claimed on waivers, and one source stated that he was claimed by the White Sox. Knobler says that the Jays will keep Rios if they're not offered enough in return.
Additionally, an unknown team placed a waiver claim on Houston shortstop Miguel Tejada. The Astros have since pulled Tejada back. Any guesses as to who the claiming team was?
Knobler also says that the Rays have been very active in placing claims on any low-salary players, in order to block them from being traded to the Red Sox or Yankees. Knobler says that the Rays, however, are not believed to be the team that claimed Tejada.
Odds And Ends: Colon, Lee, Bedard, Ligtenberg
More links for the afternoon…
- If you don't already know which three major leaguers have weight or fitness-related clauses in their contracts, check out Jorge Says No! to find out.
- Marc Hulet of FanGraphs says the Blue Jays acquired two of the top ten prospects moved this deadline. He ranks Zach Stewart 8th and Josh Roenicke 10th among all prospects dealt.
- The White Sox don't know where Bartolo Colon is, according to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times.
- Via Twitter, Ed Price of AOL FanHouse informs us that Phillies' acquisition Cliff Lee has allowed four runners past first base in 16 innings with his new team. Not bad.
- Larry LaRue of the Tacoma News Tribune says there's a good chance Erik Bedard will need another exploratory surgery after he undergoes an MRI tomorrow.
- Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus reports that former MLB reliever Kerry Ligtenberg retired. He had been pitching in an independent league.
Nats Acquire Ward & Hopper From White Sox
The Nationals acquired former major leaguers Daryle Ward and Norris Hopper from the White Sox today, according to Bill Ladson of MLB.com. The players go from Chicago's Triple A team to Washington's.
Odds And Ends: Yanks, Red Sox, Indians, Peavy
More links to look through as we ready ourselves for four days of Yankees vs. Red Sox…
- ESPN.com's Buster Olney presents nine reasons the upcoming Boston-New York series matters. To an extent, both teams have their psyches on the line this weekend.
- Indians ownership says the team will likely lose about $16MM this year, according to the Associated Press (via ESPN). The Indians trimmed about $8.1MM in payroll leading up to the deadline.
- So how do teams like the Indians compete with big spenders like the Yankees and Red Sox? Joe Posnanski of SI.com says small market teams may have to beat richer ones by taking advantage of the 'win now' mentality in large markets.
- Jake Peavy is set to pitch in three minor league games before joining the White Sox, according to Bruce Levine of ESPN.com. He's still expected to make his AL debut in late August or early September.
Odds & Ends: White Sox, Rolen, Halladay
Some late-night links to peruse as we wonder how the Phillies can fit in both Pedro Martinez and J.A. Happ into their pitching staff:
- The Red Sox signed 11th-round pick, high school SS Jason Thompson, to a deal worth $300k, says Jim Callis at Baseball America.
- Evan Brunell at the Hardball Times defends the rationale behind the widely-panned Scott Rolen trade.
- Scot Gregor at the Daily Herald wonders if any of the three recently-defected Cuban talents might land on the White Sox. They all share the same agent, Jaime Torres, as current Sox Dayan Viciedo, Jose Contreras and Alexei Ramirez.
- Joe Cowley at the Chicago Sun-Times posits the question: Do the White Sox keep Scott Podsednik for another year or go after Chone Figgins as their speedy lead-off man for 2010?
- Craig Calcaterra at the Hardball Times questions whether J.P. Ricciardi actually "botched" the Roy Halladay negotiations, as he has been criticized for doing.
Odds & Ends: Red Sox, Mora, Halladay
Some links to pore over as we just miss another no-hitter:
- Alex Speier at WEEI reports that the Red Sox won't give 16-year-old Dominican hurler Victor Payano a contract, despite being rumored as favorites to sign him. Payano, in line for a bonus around $900k, had failed his physical.
- Peter Schmuck at the Baltimore Sun notes that top prospect Brian Matusz was called up to start tonight for the O's and they in turn optioned Kam Mickolio to Triple-A. After Melvin Mora's recent spat with manager Dave Trembley, there was speculation Mora would be gone, but he is starting tonight. He still could be moved.
- Scott Podsednik's improved play has increased his value, but he wants to stay with the White Sox in 2010, says Scott Merkin at MLB.com.
- Rangers GM Jon Daniels said in an e-mail to Yahoo's Gordon Edes that there was no effort by J.P. Ricciardi to mislead the Rangers in Roy Halladay talks, and Ricciardi was "upfront" about what he wanted.
- The Padres officially released Mark Prior today, says CBS Sports. The move was reported to be on the horizon by Corey Brock at MLB.com Saturday.