Heyman On Dye, Felix, Cameron
The latest from SI's Jon Heyman…
- Heyman's sources say the Giants "made no overtures" to acquire Chicago outfielder Jermaine Dye, who Sox GM Ken Williams made available a few days ago. Dye is hitting .260/.339/.474 in 495 plate appearances on the season after a terrible August.
- Heyman talked to "competing execs" who believe the Mariners will try hard to sign young ace Felix Hernandez to an extension during the offseason. If that completely fails then we might hear trade rumors. Hernandez, 24 in April, has a 2.77 ERA and 179 strikeouts in 185.3 innings this year. He's under team control through 2011. Six teams made offers for Felix at the trade deadline this year, including the Tigers, Red Sox, and Rays.
- Three teams expressed interest in Brewers center fielder Mike Cameron, and Heyman isn't sure why Doug Melvin held onto him. The Brewers could've potentially saved $2MM.
- Heyman's heard the initial bids to buy the Rangers have been weak.
Vesting Options To Watch
A few vesting options to watch in September…
- Josh Beckett needs two more starts for his $12.1MM option to vest for 2010. It's not much of a story since the Red Sox would exercise that option anyway.
- The Rangers lose the ability to void Kevin Millwood's $12MM option for 2010 if he pitches 13 more innings this year. Back in March Rangers owner Tom Hicks said he wanted Millwood's option to vest, so he must be pleased with the pitcher's 3.61 ERA.
- Since he made the All-Star team, Freddy Sanchez's 2010 option for $8MM vests if he makes 159 additional plate appearances. That won't happen in one month. Sanchez's shoulder strain couldn't have come at a worse time.
- Magglio Ordonez's $18MM option for 2010 vests with 42 more plate appearances. He had 80 PAs in August with a .961 OPS, so Scott Boras will take issue with excessive benching.
Rangers Release Ryan Freel
The Rangers released Ryan Freel after just two games at Triple A Oklahoma City, according to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan. The Rangers just signed Freel on Friday. As Mike pointed out at the time of the signing, Freel has now played for five organizations in the last year.
Freel picked up limited at bats for the Orioles, Cubs and Royals this year without posting an OPS over .600 for any of the three teams. He remains as versatile as ever, though; Freel has played every outfield position, second and third this year.
Rangers Sign Ryan Freel
MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan reports that the Rangers have signed veteran utility player Ryan Freel to a minor league contract, and have assigned him to Triple-A Oklahoma City. The Royals designated him for assignment last week, and he's hit just .217-.319-.250 in 101 plate appearances this year.
Freel is joining his fifth organization in the last ten months.
Rangers DFA Jason Jennings
The Rangers designated pitcher Jason Jennings for assignment to make room for Pedro Strop, according to Anthony Andro of the Dallas Morning News. Jennings has allowed 67 hits and 28 walks in 61 innings out of the Rangers' 'pen this year, striking out 44. He's struggled since the All-Star break, however. Opponents have combined for a 1.122 OPS against Jennings in the second half.
Jennings, who turned 31 last month, makes $800k this year.
Odds & Ends: Marlins, Rangers, Injuries
Another round of links…
- MLB.com's Joe Frisaro takes a more in-depth look at Marlins president Larry Beinfest's comments on the possibility of long-term extensions for pitchers Ricky Nolasco and Josh Johnson. "With a new stadium set to open in 2012," Frisaro writes, "the Marlins are in a better position to sign players to multi-year deals."
- Matthew Pouliot of NBC Sports continues his "Restoring the Rosters" series with a look at the Rangers' potential 25-man roster. Pouliot is now halfway through the interesting collection of columns.
- Bob Harkins, also writing for NBC Sports, suggests the Phillies are a good match for all-time saves leader Trevor Hoffman, who has reportedly been placed on waivers by the Brewers.
- Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post notes, via Twitter, that the payroll "just for Mets players on the DL would be higher than the total budgets of 17 other teams." Tough times in Queens.
- Ben Nicholson-Smith hosted his weekly live chat on MLBTR Tuesday afternoon. If you missed it, we've got it archived for your viewing pleasure.
Odds And Ends: Selig, Hughes, Byrd, Santana
More links for the afternoon, as the Red Sox just keeping adding players…
- If you've ever wondered about the view from Bud Selig's office, what the commissioner eats for lunch or who his all-time favorite player is, check out Hal McCoy's piece in the Dayton Daily News.
- As effective as Phil Hughes has been out of the Yankees' 'pen, the Yanks will have a tough call when it's time to determine his role next season, as Dave Allen of FanGraphs notes.
- Jay Jaffe of Baseball Prospectus doubts that teams will overpay Marlon Byrd by much this offseason. Byrd's about to turn 32, but his versatility and pop should attract interest, even if he doesn't see massive offers.
- ESPN.com's Rob Neyer says the Mets mishandled Johan Santana by continuing to trot him out there.
Rangers GM On Byrd, Pudge, Scheppers
Rangers GM Jon Daniels said in a chat hosted by the Dallas Morning News that he's focusing on this year because the Rangers haven't set their budget for 2010 yet. Here are the details and the rest of the rumors:
- Not surprisingly, the Rangers aren't looking to trade away any of their veterans before the end of the month.
- Ideally, Daniels would like to have Marlon Byrd back next year.
- The Rangers acquired Ivan Rodriguez to win now, but they're open to bringing him back for another year.
- Daniels estimates that 75% of all players appear on trade waivers at some point in August.
- Daniels gets the sense that there have been more waiver claims than usual this year, despite suggestions that more players would clear because of a general reluctance to spend.
- The GM would prefer not to see a worldwide draft, in part because he believes the Rangers have established a competitive advantage in Latin America.
- The Rangers are still talking with Tanner Scheppers and his agent. The Rangers have until next year's draft to sign Scheppers.
Byrd Hopes To Stay In Texas
Marlon Byrd will hit free agency for the first time after the season and, while he may not be in line for a Gary Matthews-esque contract, he's due for a raise from his $3MM salary. Byrd tells Anthony Andro of the Dallas Morning News that he wants Texas to be his "last stop," though he understands that GM Jon Daniels has to do what's best for the organization. Daniels raves about Byrd's play, but he works on a limited budget and already has Josh Hamilton, Nelson Cruz, Julio Borbon and David Murphy under team control for next year.
Regardless of the Rangers' interest in Byrd, he should be able to draw attention around the league. Byrd, who turns 32 on Sunday, plays above-average defense at every outfield position, according to UZR. He has never had particularly good control of the strike zone, but his 55 extra base hits this year include 38 doubles and 15 homers, so he's showing lots of power.
Odds And Ends: Halladay, O’Day, Scott, Giambi
Some links for the morning…
- Be here at 2pm CST for this week's chat.
- Jamey Newberg compares Roy Halladay and Derek Holland since July 31st and shows that the Rangers are looking good even though they didn't deal for Doc.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post says designating Darren O'Day for assignment was an "under-the-radar mistake" by the Mets.
- MLB.com's Spencer Fordin says the Orioles are trying to evaluate Luke Scott at first base to see if he can play there long-term. No one's hitting him anything, so the O's are having trouble reading his ability.
- Jason Giambi tells Troy Renck of the Denver Post that he has no problem playing in the minors or coming off the bench for the Rockies.
- Curt Schilling said on WEEI in Boston that he's not surprised to hear Billy Wagner is passing up the chance to enter a playoff race.