Which Teams Took On Salary At The Deadline?
As the trade deadline approached, we heard many writers and executives suggest teams would be unable to add payroll this year. Here's a breakdown of the teams that added at least $1MM in salary to their 2009 payrolls this summer. All totals are approximate:
- The Cardinals added $2.9MM to the team's payroll when they traded for Mark DeRosa and $3.7MM when they added Matt Holliday for a total of $6.6MM.
- The Red Sox added $4.5MM between the Victor Martinez and Adam LaRoche deals.
- Acquiring Jarrod Washburn added about $3.6MM to the Tigers' payroll.
- The White Sox added $2.8MM in salary when they made the Jake Peavy deal.
- The Giants added $2.1MM in the Freddy Sanchez trade.
- The Phillies added $2MM in the Cliff Lee deal.
- The Rockies added $1.9MM in the Rafael Betancourt and Joe Beimel deals.
- The Brewers took on $1.4MM by dealing for Felipe Lopez.
- The Braves took on $1.3MM to add Nate McLouth.
- The Twins added $1.25MM in salary by trading for Orlando Cabrera.
- They didn't take on much salary, but between the Eric Hinske deal and the Jerry Hairston Jr. acquisition, the Yanks added $1.1MM.
- The Dodgers added about $1MM when they dealt for George Sherrill.
In total, 12 teams added payroll, but only one took on more than $5MM. The prognosticators were right about one thing: teams didn't take on much payroll. However, few predicted 12 teams would take on salary at the deadline. Looks like many teams set economic concerns aside when presented with the chance to win.
Discussion: What To Do With Dye?
Scot Gregor of the Daily Herald in Chicago writes that veteran right fielder Jermaine Dye "deserves a new deal."
Dye clubbed his 24th home run today, and has driven in 67 runs as I type this, while posting a line of .280/.354/.534 this season. He may be 35 years old, but as Gregor points out, that doesn't seem to have slowed his bat down.
With Jim Thome likely departing after this season due to concerns from the White Sox over his health, Dye could take on designated hitter duties in order to keep him fresh. Gregor also feels that Dye can still play right field as well, citing a great catch today and a strong outfield assist at Mark Teixeira's expense yesterday.
Dye has become a staple in Chicago, but that didn't stop them in the case of Joe Crede this past offseason. Dye loves playing on the South Side, and currently has a $12MM mutual option for 2010 with a $1MM buyout, though Gregor mentions a possible two-year extension. If you were Kenny Williams, how would you handle the situation this offseason? Should Dye's age be a concern? What type of contract would you offer Dye, if at all?
Odds & Ends: Peavy, Pirates, Deadline
A couple more links for your Saturday evening enjoyment…
- The White Sox introduced Jake Peavy at a press conference this afternoon and Scott Gregor of the Arlington Heights Daily Herald grabbed a few quotes. "I’ve never been more happy to be in a place where they’re committed to winning," said the former San Diego ace.
- Evan Grant of Dallas Magazine breaks down the "winners" and "losers" from this season's non-waiver trade deadline, going beyond simply naming teams. Check it out.
- According to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Pirates have suspended highly-touted pitching prospect Bryan Morris indefinitely for displaying "unprofessionalism" during his Thursday start for Single-A Lynchburg.
- The trade deadline has passed, but we here at MLBTR are not slowing down. Keep in mind the August draft-pick signing (August 17) and waiver (August 31) deadlines. And if you haven't already, check us out on Twitter.
More Trade Reactions
Lots of ink and keystrokes are being spent on analyzing yesterday's big deals. Here are a few, with more to be added on throughout the day:
- The Peavy deal, despite its earlier iteration in May, came "out of nowhere," says Scott Miller at CBS Sports. A rival executive says that White Sox GM Kenny Williams has "the biggest balls in sports," according to FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal, who calls it one of his "all-time favorite" trades. Both of these stories, though similar, are good reads.
- Jayson Stark at ESPN lays out his top winners and losers at the deadline.
- South Side Sox notes that since the Peavy deal had the future in mind as well as the present, they "can't complain in the slightest" about the trade.
- Keith Law at ESPN thinks the Jays came out "extremely well" in the Scott Rolen deal. He also likes the versatility now afforded to the Red Sox in acquiring Victor Martinez.
- Rob McQuown at Baseball Prospectus says that in the Rolen deal, "Walt Jocketty undersold his assets. Badly."
Jake Peavy Dealt To White Sox Again
4:45pm: Two White Sox officials tell USA Today's Bob Nightengale that the Sox will pay all of Peavy's contract. That means they'll pay him $56MM by the end of 2012 and maybe more afterwards.
4:12pm: Peavy's agent, Barry Axelrod, told Tom Krasovic that his client accepted the deal because there was no guarantee that the Cubs and Dodgers, Peavy's preferred teams, would have made a move for the righty in the offseason. Axelrod knows Peavy's contract no longer looks like a bargain, so he says he wasn't expecting a deal.
"Frankly I am flabbergasted that the White Sox would want to make this deal with him in his physical condition," Axelrod said.
3:35pm: USA Today's Bob Nightengale, via Twitter, says the White Sox confirmed they just got Peavy. Brock agrees – Peavy approved the trade this time. Peavy is owed $56MM through 2012, or $74MM through 2013 if the Sox exercise his option.
3:29pm: MLB.com's Corey Brock via Twitter: Aaron Poreda's in the deal. Ed Price of AOL Fanhouse has righty Adam Russell in the trade as well. Righty Dexter Carter and southpaw Clayton Richard are also going to San Diego, according to multiple reports.
3:22pm: Not sure what to make of this, but SI's Jon Heyman tweeted that Padres pitcher Jake Peavy was dealt to the White Sox again. Heyman is not sure if Peavy OK'd it. He says the Padres get minor leaguers. Peavy is currently recovering from a torn ankle tendon.
Josh Fields Wants To Be Traded
It worked for Brian Anderson, maybe it will work for Josh Fields, too. After being demoted to Triple A, the third baseman told Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times that he wants to be traded. Fields says he had a good meeting with White Sox GM Ken Williams, but hopes he's dealt before the deadline nonetheless.
The 26-year-old is hitting .220/.301/.354 this year and hasn't been able to find the power stroke that carried him to 23 homers in his 2007 rookie season.
Odds & Ends: Harang, Brewers, Orioles
Here are some fresh links from only the most verified sources on the Internet:
- Mark Gonzales at the Chicago Tribune reports that White Sox GM Kenny Williams spoke with Josh Fields' agent. Gonzales wonders if Fields might be on the outs.
- Andy Martino at the Philadelphia Inquirer gets a rundown of the Phils' big prospect names being tossed around in a potential deal for Roy Halladay from Baseball America's Ben Badler.
- Mark Sheldon at MLB.com reports that Aaron Harang has a limited no-trade clause, but Harang had this to say: "I don't know which teams I put. I put them down a couple of years back."
- Brewers GM Doug Melvin is still in buying mode, he tells Tom Haudricourt at the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.
- Steve Melewski at MASN Sports talked to O's president Andy MacPhail about Miguel Angel Sano. No offers yet, apparently.
- Roch Kubatko at MASN says that there are "rumblings" that the Orioles might have interest in the Dodgers' 3B prospect Josh Bell, potentially as a piece in a George Sherrill deal.
Odds & Ends: White, White Sox, Bard, Willingham
More links as the rumors keep flowing in…
- La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune "heard the Twins might be sniffing around Seattle reliever Sean White." White's best skill is a decent groundball rate; his strikeout and walk rates do not impress.
- The White Sox inked second-round pick Trayce Thompson, according to Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune. The high school outfielder, chosen 61st overall, gets $625K.
- Tony Massarotti of the Boston Globe is fairly sure the Red Sox won't trade Daniel Bard this week.
- Chico Harlan of the Washington Post believes the Nats should keep Josh Willingham because he's relatively affordable, powerful and plays well enough defensively.
- ESPN.com's Keith Law says Ryan Garko is a small upgrade for the Giants at first base.
- The Rangers believed they were frontrunners to acquire Garko yesterday, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post. They'd still like a right-handed hitting first baseman.
- The Mets signed former big leaguer Adam Pettyjohn to a minor league deal, according to Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post.
Tim Dierkes contributed to this post.
Cafardo’s Latest: Martinez, Boston, Pitching
In his latest piece for The Boston Globe, Nick Cafardo reports that the Indians turned down an offer of Clay Buchholz for Victor Martinez according to an NL scout. The Red Sox then countered with a package of Michael Bowden, Justin Masterson, and an outfield prospect, but the Indians turned that down as well.
Let's round up the rest of Cafardo's rumors…
- In addition to Boston, the Indians are also fielding offers from the Rays and Giants for Martinez, but aren't inclined to make a deal unless a team's best prospects are involved.
- Cafardo runs through the list of other pitchers that "could be pried away," including Scott Kazmir, Cliff Lee, Erik Bedard, Jarrod Washburn, and George Sherrill. He says it'll take "a blockbuster package" to land Lee.
- Aubrey Huff and Kevin Millar are also available.
- The Red Sox will "dip in the (Roy) Halladay sweepstakes" if the price comes down, but otherwise will look for a righthanded bat that can play the outfield.
- Cafardo says it will be interesting to see if the Yankees, Phillies and Dodgers are aggressive at the deadline or take a pass, considering all three clubs are playing well right now.
- The White Sox could pull off something big because GM Kenny Williams "has a bit of gambler in him."
- It'll be interesting to see if the Giants' plans to add a bat are put on hold after the sudden death of principal owner Sue Burns.
- Twins GM Bill Smith may add a middle infielder and/or a reliever before the deadline. Last night we learned that they were "deep into talks and talking composition of a deal" with the A's about Orlando Cabrera. The team might be able to stretch it's normal payroll with Target Field opening next year.
- Cafardo proposes a "swap of underachieving Scott Boras clients," J.D. Drew and Magglio Ordonez.
- While there is some uneasiness about there not being any substantive talks between the Nationals and Stephen Strasburg, those kind of deals can come together quickly. The signing deadline is August 17th.
- The Rangers are unable to add payroll, which will hamstring their efforts that the trade deadline.
Guillen: “Everything Quiet With The White Sox”
According to MLB.com's Scott Merkin, the White Sox aren't likely to add "a major piece to their playoff puzzle" before the trade deadline.