According to the Minor League Baseball transactions feed, the Jays signed LHP Wilfredo Ledezma to a minor-league deal yesterday. The 28-year-old was released by the Nationals in April after he posted a 9.53 ERA and 8/4 K/BB ratio in 5.2 innings.
Blue Jays Rumors
Heyman On Jays, Gonzalez, Peavy
Jon Heyman of SI.com calls Toronto's team the "Blew Jays" because he believes GM J.P. Ricciardi blew the Roy Halladay trade talks. Here are the details and a couple other rumors:
- Heyman says too much talk, too much candor and an overly steep price prevented Ricciardi from making a deal.
- Heyman hears that Halladay would have approved trades to a variety of teams in the East and Midwest.
- The Jays never agreed on prospects with the Rangers, but would have sent $5MM to Texas in a possible Halladay deal.
- One executive says the Jays "overplayed their hand."
- The Padres wanted more than Clay Buchholz, Justin Masterson and Jed Lowrie for Adrian Gonzalez.
- GM Kevin Towers had a deal more or less in place to send Jake Peavy to Atlanta last offseason before the righty told the Padres he didn't want to go to Atlanta.
Super Two Update: Maybin, Snider
Certain players come closer to Super Two status with every day they spend in the majors. The more service time they get, the closer they come to securing a fourth year of arbitration and a bigger payday. Cameron Maybin and Travis Snider could set themselves up for Super Two status if they spend enough time in the major leagues before the end of the season. We can assume that the Marlins and Blue Jays are watching the calendar as they decide if and when to call on their respective outfield prospects.
Maybin has a career-low strikeout rate and a lofty .328/.415/.471 line at Triple A. He needs 35 more days of service time this year to have a good chance at Super Two status after 2011. If the Marlins call him up before September, there's a real possibility they'll have to go to arbitration with Maybin four times, which could cost the organization millions.
Unlike the Marlins, the Blue Jays aren't in a pennant race. They can keep the PCL player of the week in Triple A if it's best for the organization's future, since there's no need to win now. Snider, who's hitting .293/.400/.602 at Triple A, needs about 50 more days of service time this year to have a good chance at Super Two status after 2011. If the Blue Jays call him up much before August 20th, they risk letting Snider go to arbitration an extra time.
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.
Verducci On Halladay, Pirates, Extensions
Tom Verducci of SI.com says the media has unfairly called the Blue Jays losers in the aftermath of the trade deadline. Verducci says the Jays should not have been expected to lower their asking price for Roy Halladay. Here are a few other notes to take a look at:
- Among all players 36 and older only Raul Ibanez, Chipper Jones, Mike Cameron and Craig Counsell play the field and have enough plate appearances to qualify for the batting title.
- Verducci says the Pirates chose "the proper philosophy" when they dealt so many players this summer. One executive says the Pirates obtained quantity, but not necessarily quality.
- Clubs would rather rely on youngsters than guarantee lots of money to veteran players in multi-year deals.
- The lack of extensions this year could lead to a collusion charge from the players' union.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Deadline Deals
On this date nine years ago the Rangers traded Dave Martinez to the Blue Jays. It was the third time Martinez had been traded since the beginning of the season. That night, Martinez would tie a big league record by playing for his fourth franchise in one season. He also appeared with the Devil Rays and the Cubs. Martinez' current club, the Rays, did not make any trade deadline deals, but plenty of other teams did. Let's take a look at what is being written in the Blogosphere…
- MLB Notebook hosted a round-table discussing the trade deadline winners and losers.
- Sully Baseball says declaring winners and losers this soon is meaningless.
- Zells Pinstripe Blog says the trade deadline was not as bad for the Yankees as many think.
- Rays Revolutionary explains why it was not important for the Rays to make any deadline deals.
- UmpBump wonders how Adam LaRoche makes the Braves better in 2010, as some have suggested.
- Capitol Avenue Club explains the reasoning behind the Adam LaRoche deal for the Braves.
- Talking Chop looks at what the Adam LaRoche trade means for Chipper Jones' future in Atlanta.
- Dodgers Rumors looks at some August waiver-wire trade targets for the Dodgers.
- MLB Insights makes a case that J.P. Ricciardi's tenure has been a successful one.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com. If you have a suggestion for this feature, Cork can be reached here, and followed on Twitter here.
Olney On Parity, Waivers, Rolen, Encarnacion
ESPN.com's Buster Olney shows that the economic downturn has widened the gap between rich teams and poor ones after a decade of relative parity. As he shows, seven of the eight teams with the biggest payrolls would make the playoffs if they began today. The Mets have the game's second-biggest payroll, but wouldn't make it. Here are a few others notes from Olney's blog:
- We could start hearing about waiver claims today, since teams have stared putting players on waivers.
- The Reds' acquisition of Scott Rolen is "without question the most widely panned pre-deadline trade within the industry."
- The Reds gave up Josh Roenicke and Zach Stewart, a pair of highly-regarded young arms.
- One talent evaluator believes the Jays will release Edwin Encarnacion after the season. Even if the third baseman's $4.75MM salary is too much for the Jays, they'd presumably try to trade him first.
Odds And Ends: Jays, O’s, Dodgers, Sano
Some links to read this morning…
- Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston told MLB.com's Jordan Bastian that the Jays will need improved offense to contend next year.
- The Orioles have nearly completed their rebuilding process, MLB.com's Spencer Fordin says.
- Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun suggests the O's could make room for Brian Matusz by parting ways with Melvin Mora.
- Diamond Leung reports that the Dodgers acquired Harvey Garcia from the Pirates for a PTBNL or cash.
- The Dodgers never acquired a big-name starter, so Yahoo's Tim Brown says the team will have to win without a Manny Ramirez-esque infusion of talent this summer- unless they add a pitcher who clears waivers, of course.
- What's new with Miguel Angel Sano? His agent wants to let interest develop, according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Several teams are interested, including the Pirates.
Odds & Ends: Deadline, Halladay, French
Just a few more links on a slow rumors night…
- Scott Miller of CBSsports.com posts his deadline winners and losers. Unlike most of the reaction pieces we've seen, Miller defends Pirates GM Neal Huntington "as he stubbornly sticks to his vision." I think Huntington put it best when he said "We don't feel like we've broken up the 1927 Yankees."
- Jordan Bastian of MLB.com says that now that the deadline has passed, Blue Jays ace Roy Halladay can focus on just pitching. I know it comes with the territory, but it must be tough having to answer the same questions about what you think will happen day after day.
- MLB.com's Jim Street writes that getting traded to the Seattle in the Jarrod Washburn deal was a dream come true for Luke French, who somehow grew up a Mariners fan in Colorado.
Odds & Ends: O’s, Halladay, Pirates
Some links as we ponder what team might be desperate enough to pick up Sidney Ponson:
- Peter Schmuck at the Baltimore Sun notes that the George Sherrill trade sends mixed signals about whether the Orioles believe they can contend in 2010.
- Nick Cafardo at the Boston Globe has a lot of interesting stuff from Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi in the aftermath of the Roy Halladay talks.
- Pirates owner Bob Nutting was "emphatic" in saying that ownership would not change for the near future, says Dejan Kovacevic at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Kovacevic also talked with general manager Neal Huntington, and has the highlights of that interview.
- Recently dealt Orlando Cabrera says he'd be interested in returning to the A's as a free agent this offseason, says Susan Slusser at the San Francisco Chronicle.
- Bill Madden at the New York Daily News calls the Indians' and Pirates' trade deadline "a disgrace."
- Indians GM Mark Shapiro is "not looking for applause now" for the Cliff Lee and Victor Martinez deals, says Bud Shaw at the Cleveland Plain-Dealer.
- Bob Klapisch from FOX Sports looks at how each divisional race is impacted by the flurry of deals made at the end of July.
