Feldman Rejects Minor League Assignment
Scott Feldman rejected an assignment to the minor leagues after clearing outright waivers and the Rangers will activate him tonight, according to Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. The Rangers, who placed Feldman on outright waivers earlier in the week, can option Yoshinori Tateyama to the minors to create active roster space for Feldman, but they'll have to make another move to create room on the 40-man roster.
Once Feldman rejected the minor league assignment, the Rangers had the choice of activating him or releasing him. If they had released Feldman, who has spent the entire season recovering from a winter knee operation, they would still have been responsible for the $9MM or so remaining on his contract.
Feldman was a starter for Texas from 2008-10, but the Rangers will likely put him in the bullpen now. The 28-year-old has a 4.80 ERA with 5.0 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 in six seasons. He signed an $11.5MM extension with the Rangers after posting a 4.08 ERA in 189 2/3 innings in 2009.
Rangers Place Scott Feldman On Outright Waivers
9:45pm: Feldman will join the Rangers' big league bullpen tomorrow, reports MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan. The Rangers will need to clear a 40-man roster spot for the righty. Either Andres Blanco is going to the 60-day DL, or someone is getting designated for assignment or outrighted.
10:02am: The Rangers placed starter Scott Feldman on outright waivers, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The waivers expire in about two hours. The Rangers' goal appears to be avoiding adding Feldman back to the 40-man roster, since his stay on the 60-day DL is ending and the roster is currently full.
Feldman had microfracture knee surgery in November of last year, and I think he'll clear waivers because of his contract. He's owed about $1.8MM more this year, $6.5MM in 2012, and a $600K buyout for a total of almost $9MM through next season. Feldman has made ten rehab starts this year, posting a 4.17 ERA, 5.8 K/9, 2.0 BB/9, and 0.9 HR/9 across 49 2/3 Double and Triple-A innings.
Feldman, 28, posted a 4.08 ERA in 189 2/3 big league innings in 2009, earning him the multiyear contract. Teams looking for low strikeout innings eaters have safer options this month, such as Jason Marquis and Bruce Chen.
Rangers Release Manny Delcarmen, Seth McClung
The Rangers released righties Manny Delcarmen and Seth McClung from their Triple-A club, tweets Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News.
Delcarmen, 29, posted a 5.59 ERA, 7.7 K/9, 3.5 BB/9, and 0.9 HR/9 with 52 hits allowed in 38 2/3 innings for the Rangers' and Mariners' Triple-A affiliates this year. The Rockies non-tendered Delcarmen in December, and he signed a minor league deal with the Mariners despite a Major League offer from an NL team. He opted out of his contract with Seattle on June 1st and signed with Texas.
McClung, 30, posted a 5.19 ERA, 5.7 K/9, 3.9 BB/9, and 0.7 HR/9 with 93 hits allowed in 78 Triple-A innigs this year, including 11 starts. He'd signed a minor league deal in December.
NL West Notes: Colletti, Ethier, Beltran, Young
Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp, former Rockies outfielder Matt Holliday and former Padres first baseman Adrian Gonzalez will all take part in tonight's Home Run Derby. Here’s the latest from the NL West as we await tonight’s power display…
- Dodgers GM Ned Colletti has the support of owner Frank McCourt, according to Bill Shaikin of the LA Times. Colletti's contract expires after next year.
- Andre Ethier told Shaikin that he and Kemp expect to be with the Dodgers “for the long run” (Twitter link). Both are on track to hit free agency after the 2012 season.
- Kemp told Lyle Spencer of MLB.com that he hopes to stay with the Dodgers long-term.
- Carlos Beltran wouldn't be shocked if the Giants trade for him, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter). The Giants will consider adding rental players and Beltran has said that he would waive his no-trade clause under the right circumstances.
- Michael Young told Troy Renck of the Denver Post that at one point he thought he was going to be traded to Colorado and wanted to join the Rockies (Twitter link). Young was the subject of near-constant trade rumors earlier in the year, after he requested a trade and the Rockies had interest in acquiring him.
Heath Bell Talks Trade Possibilities
Padres closer Heath Bell appears to be keeping tabs on his own market, telling Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times he views the Angels, Yankees, Cardinals, Rangers, and Phillies as potential suitors (Twitter link).
Bell discussed the trade possibility at length with MLB.com's Matthew Leach and other reporters today at the All-Star game media session, saying he's willing to set up for the rest of the year if a team acquires him for that role. Of course, he doesn't really have any say in the matter; if a team wants him to play shortstop he'll have to do that to collect his paycheck. Bell does not seem to have a league preference. As you might expect, Bell will want a closing job when he signs a contract as a free agent.
An NL executive spoke to Tom Krasovic about Bell's trade value, wondering if Padres setup man Mike Adams is valued more. As far as fantasy baseball trade value, Dan Mennella at CloserNews wonders if it's time to try flipping Bell.
Cafardo’s Latest: Bell, Kazmir, Kendall, Aramis
Heath Bell's name has been near the top of this season's list of trade candidates for months, and in this week's Sunday Baseball Notes, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe adds a new potential suitor to the mix. According to Cafardo's source, the Rays are interested in the Padres' closer, but will have to determine over the next couple weeks whether they have "enough firepower" to go all out to catch the Red Sox and Yankees. Here are a few other highlights from Cafardo:
- The Yankees, Rangers, Diamondbacks, and Phillies are a few other teams monitoring Bell.
- While there hasn't been a whole lot of interest in Scott Kazmir, the Padres and Rangers have "taken a look."
- Jason Kendall, who hasn't played this year as he recovers from shoulder surgery, has re-torn two rotator cuff tendons. Kendall will undergo additional surgery, possibly ending his career. Royals manager Ned Yost on the procedure: "That takes him out of the picture for this year and out of the picture for next year…. I think it’s more a quality-of-life surgery so he can have function in his shoulder."
- The Angels appear to be the team most interested in Aramis Ramirez, though Cafardo names the Mariners, Giants, Braves, and D'Backs as other clubs who could look into the Cubs' third baseman. Of course, Ramirez's agent said earlier this week that his client likely won't waive his no-trade clause, so inquires may be futile.
Rangers Sign Ronald Guzman
JULY 9: Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News reports that the deal is now official (Twitter links). Anthony Andro of The Star Telegram says the final bonus is $3.45MM.
JULY 2, 12:54PM: The deal is actually worth $3.5MM, tweets Melissa Segura of Sports Illustrated.
12:12PM: The Rangers aren't finished signing big-time international free agents. The club has agreed to terms with Dominican outfielder Ronald Guzman, according to Dionisio Soldevila of the Associated Press (via Twitter, en Espanol). The deal is reportedly worth $3.3MM.
Guzman stands at 6-foot-4 and weighs in at 195 pounds. The 16-year-old throws and hits left-handed and projects to left field because of his below-average arm and speed.
Some believed that Guzman could command the biggest payday of any international free agent today, but his $3.3MM deal was trumped by Nomar Mazara's deal earlier today. Mazara will reportedly earn more than $5MM.
Enrique Rojas of ESPNDeportes.com (via Twitter, in Spanish) first reported that the Rangers were close to a deal with Guzman.
Quick Hits: Pirates, Mariners, Rangers
Links for Wednesday…
- MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch reports that Pirates GM Neal Huntington led a meeting today that focused on the team's outlook leading up to the trade deadline. Part of the meeting revolved around internal pieces, specifically players due to come off the disabled list soon.
- The Mariners announced in a press release that they've signed fourth rounder John Hicks, a catcher from Virginia. MLB's slot recommendation for the 123rd pick is approximately $234K.
- The Rangers have signed Dominican right-hander Pedro Payano according to Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes (on Twitter). He received a $650K bonus.
2012 Vesting Options Update
The season is offically more than halfway complete now, so let's update the status of the various vesting options from around the league…
- Bobby Abreu, Angels: $9MM option vests with 433 plate appearances. Abreu is just 82 plate appearances short of that total, so this one will vest later this month, barring injury.
- Rafael Furcal, Dodgers: $12MM option vests with 600 plate appearances. Injuries have limited Furcal to just 82 plate appearances this year, so this one won't be vesting.
- Jon Garland, Dodgers: $8MM option vests with 190 innings pitched. A few days ago we heard that Garland is unlikely to pitch the rest of the season due to a shoulder issue. He's at 54 innings, so the Dodgers won't have to worry about this one vesting either.
- Francisco Rodriguez, Mets: $17.5MM option vests with 55 games finished and if doctors declare him healthy at the end of the year. K-Rod has finished 32 games already, putting him on pace for 60. A trade to a team that would use him as a setup man would change things, though we recently heard that some GMs beleieve Rodriguez's trade value is reaching a "tipping point" as he racks up the games finished.
- Koji Uehara, Orioles: $4MM option vests with either 55 appearances or 25 games finished. Uehara has appeared in 35 games and finished 16, putting him on pace for 68 and 29, respectively.
- Arthur Rhodes, Rangers: $4MM option vests with 62 appearances and if he's not on the disabled list at the end of the season. Rhodes has appeared in 28 games so far, and he's on pace for 52. Texas will need to use him a little more liberally down the stretch for this one to kick in.
- Joakim Soria, Royals: $6MM option vests with 55 appearances. With 35 appearances already to his credit, Soria is on pace to pitch in 69 games this year.
- Dan Wheeler, Red Sox: $3MM option vests with 65 games; increases to $3.25MM with 70 games. Wheeler has appeared in 26 games this year with a disabled list stint mixed in. He'd have to appear in 39 of the team's final 77 games for the option to vest, which seems unlikely.
Adam Wainwright's 2012 ($9MM) and 2013 ($12MM) options will not vest because he will finish the season on the disabled list after having Tommy John surgery. Aramis Ramirez's option depends on MVP Award finishes and whether or not he's traded, not plate appearances or another counting milestone.
Rangers Sign Nomar Mazara
The Rangers have officially signed Dominican outfielder Nomar Mazara according to Anthony Andro of The Star-Telegram (on Twitter). Enrique Rojas of ESPNDeportes.com originally reported the agreement. The deal would top the previous watermark set by Athletics pitcher Michael Ynoa, who signed for $4.25MM in 2008.
Mazara, 16, stands at 6-foot-5 and hits for power from the left side. Rojas writes that he is considered to be the best power-hitting prospect out of Latin America since Wily Mo Pena and Miguel Cabrera. The Blue Jays, Red Sox, and Athletics also showed interest in the 16-year-old, the source said. Ben Badler of Baseball America (via Twitter) previously said that it was difficult to gauge what kind of bonus the outfielder might command.