Uncategorized News & Rumors

If you'd like to filter MLBTR's information by team or limit it to transactions only, we've got you covered.

In the navigation bar, check out the Feeds By Team dropdown.  Clicking on the name of a team returns all the posts that reference that club.  For example, this page displays only posts with Braves-related rumors.  The newest will always be on top. 

Next to the word "Braves" you'll see an RSS button and a Twitter button.  The RSS button leads here, to the URL you'd put into your RSS reader to receive only our Braves rumors.  The Twitter button takes you to @mlbtrbraves, which shows all posts involving the team.  The MLBTR team Twitter pages are also a place to quickly receive info from team press releases, even if that info is not used on the main site.

If you'd prefer to monitor only actual transactions, we've got several options.  Our Transactions page shows only posts marked as transactions, such as signings, trades, DFAs, and releases.  You can also get this same info on Twitter and RSS.

An explanation of the many ways to enjoy MLB Trade Rumors:

• If the main site doesn't load perfectly on your cell phone, try the more mobile-friendly mlbtraderumors.mobi.  It's a simple page that shows you just the headlines and lets you click through to what you want to read.
• If you want only the hard news in the form of transactions, our transactions page is the ticket.  You can also get only the transactions via Twitter or RSS. 
• To return to the main page at any time, just click on the title or the Home button on the navigation bar below the title. 
• The navigation bar will cover many of your needs.  Use the About dropdown to learn about this site or any of its writers. 
• The Contact button takes you to a page where you can write an email message to the MLBTR writers.  If you have a link to a rumor we've missed, please send it in through the Contact page!  Also use the Contact page to inquire about advertising on MLBTR.
• The Archives dropdown shows you 15 months worth.  If you need to go back further, click on Site Map at the very bottom of the page.  Site Map also lists out every MLBTR post category, including players, teams, and features.
• The Widget button takes you here, where website owners can easily add to their sites a constantly updated box with all of MLBTR's headlines.
• The Forums button takes you here, to a message board community of MLBTR readers with over 5,500 members.  You can discuss any baseball-related topic on the Forums, and start your own thread too.
• Feeds By Team is a very useful dropdown.  Hover over it to see all 30 teams.  Click on the team name to bring up a page of every post containing information about that team, with the latest on top.  These are the same pages you'll find if you go to the Rumors By Team section on the sidebar and select A's Rumors, Angels Rumors, etc.  Also under the Feeds By Team dropdown, you'll find RSS and Twitter buttons.  Those links allow you to follow a single team's rumors via RSS or Twitter.  Did you know we have a separate Twitter account for each of the 30 teams?  For example you can follow @mlbtrtigers, where you would get the latest Tigers updates.
• On the far right of the Navigation bar, you'll see buttons for Twitter, Facebook, and RSS.  MLBTR has over 41,000 Twitter followers, over 21,000 Facebook fans, and over 32,000 RSS subscribers.  Sign up for these and you'll be the first to receive all of our posts.
• On to the sidebar.  It begins with a list of our Top Stories, which our writers update any time major hard news occurs.  Go here for a quick update on the most important stories.  Below that is the site's Search Box, where you can type in any player's name and get the latest on him. 
• MLBTR Features has all kinds of goodies, including our free agent lists, reverse standings, list of Scott Boras clients, latest Elias Rankings and GM-related stuff.  Many of the MLBTR Features are constantly updated by our writers, so be assured that our free agent lists are always fresh.  The Elias Rankings have been reverse-engineered for MLBTR by Eddie Bajek, and you won't find that info anywhere else. 
• Below Features you've got headlines for all the Recent Posts, in case you'd rather not scroll to see all the headlines.  Then there's a box for our Mailing List, where you can sign up to receive a daily email containing MLBTR's posts.  Use this option if you don't need the news as soon as possible.
• Next we have Featured Posts, where you'll find original work from MLBTR writers we consider noteworthy.  For example, read about which teams are spending aggressively on the draft.

If you're a regular MLBTR reader, you'll be familiar with our chats, our Week In Review posts and Mike Axisa's Baseball Blogs Weigh In feature. Here's some more detail on when you'll see our weekly features and exactly what to expect from them:

• Our new reverse standings page shows you the projected order of the 2011, which picks are protected and which ones are not. It's updated every morning and you can find on the right side of the site under 'MLBTR Features.'
• MLBTR Chats – Come by every Wednesday at 2pm CST to chat about the latest trades, signings and rumblings around the major leagues.
• Baseball Blogs Weigh In – Every Friday morning, Mike Axisa directs you to some of the best writing on baseball blogs around the web. Whether it's opinion, stats or something else entirely, you can connect to the best of the blogosphere once a week on MLBTR. If you want to send Mike a post of yours, reach him at: mike@riveraveblues.com.
• Week In Review – It's amazing how much happens in seven days. Every Sunday night, we summarize the week's biggest stories and link to some of our original content in our Week In Review posts.

Is your favorite team sitting out the pennant race this year?  Have you lost all desire to follow them in September?  MLBTR has the perfect solution: reverse standings!

Our new reverse standings page will be automatically updated each morning to show the latest projected 2011 draft order for the first round.  Will the Orioles make a "run" at the Pirates for the first overall pick?  Will the Nationals make up ground on the Royals, Cubs, Diamondbacks, Indians, and Mariners to jump from the ninth to the third pick?  Every loss counts!

Let's put on our speculating hats and conjure up a list of starting pitchers who might be currently available.  Warning: most of these guys have ERAs around 5.00.

• Kenshin Kawakami, Braves.  The Braves don't have much use for Kawakami, unless Derek Lowe is ailing.
• Rodrigo Lopez, Diamondbacks.  He leads MLB with 32 home runs allowed, but at least he takes the ball every fifth day. 
• Paul Maholm and Zach Duke, Pirates.  These lefties are probably not a part of the Pirates' long-term future, but they might find an improved market in the offseason. 
• Kevin Millwood, Orioles.  He's had some good starts this month, but he's owed over $2.1MM this year.
• Dave Bush, Brewers.  Only makes sense if you're looking for someone to chew up innings. 
• Kyle Davies and Bruce Chen, Royals.  If the Royals intend to non-tender Davies after the season, they could trade him today. 
• Jeremy Bonderman, Tigers.  He's currently dealing with rib cage inflammation, but could be an OK option for someone in September.  The Tigers would have to assume some of his remaining $2.2MM. 
• Scott Kazmir, Angels.  With almost $16MM left on his contract through next year, Kazmir probably already cleared waivers.
• Aaron Harang, Reds.  He'll be activated today to start against the Brewers.  The Reds probably need him.
• Rich Harden, Rangers.  He's been booted to the bullpen and would have $2.4MM coming to him if traded. 
• Carlos Zambrano, Cubs.  He's got over $39MM left on his contract through 2012 and surely cleared waivers, but an offseason deal is more likely. 
• Scott Olsen and Jason Marquis, Nationals.  Olsen gets $75K in incentives for each of his next three starts, after which he will get $105K per.  Marquis has over $8.8MM left on his contract, which runs through next year.
• Randy Wolf, Brewers.  If traded, Wolf will have at least $22.6MM coming to him through 2012.  He's another guy who presumably cleared waivers.

Last offseason, relievers Matt Capps, Octavio Dotel, Mike Gonzalez, Kevin Gregg, Fernando Rodney, Rafael Soriano, Jose Valverde, and Billy Wagner were guaranteed a total of $61MM.  There are quality relievers in that bunch, but their salaries were inflated by their past experience as closers.  Let's take a look at the players and teams likely to be involved in the offseason closer carousel this time around.

Free agents who have picked up at least five saves this year: Soriano, Gregg (club option), Mariano Rivera, Brian Fuentes, Dotel, Jon Rauch, Chad Qualls, Kerry Wood, Trevor Hoffman, and Aaron Heilman.  Frank Francisco, Scott Downs, Jason Frasor, Jose Contreras, J.J. Putz, and Takashi Saito have recent experience in the ninth inning.  Bobby Jenks, George Sherrill, and J.P. Howell could reach free agency as non-tenders.  Heath Bell, Jonathan Papelbon, and David Aardsma are among the potential trade candidates.  That's 22 relievers who'd probably like to close, and you could name a few more with a shot.  Which clubs will be in the market for a closer?

• Orioles: They'll probably see what Gonzalez, Alfredo Simon, and David Hernandez can do next year rather than overpay for saves again.  So far Buck Showalter hasn't committed to a lone closer. 
• Red Sox: If they move Papelbon, I could see them bringing in a veteran reliever at a lesser price to compete for the closing job.
• Yankees: The expectation is that they'll re-sign Rivera.
• Rays: The best members of their bullpen are free agents, so they'll probably be adding relievers of some sort.
• Blue Jays: Picking up Gregg's $4.5MM club option will be a consideration.
• White Sox: A bullpen in flux.  Jenks could join Putz in the free agent ranks.  Matt Thornton should be back, but he's dealing with forearm soreness right now.
• Angels: Rodney has the experience, though Kevin Jepsen might be a better choice if the Halos stay internal.
• Rangers: Neftali Feliz isn't going anywhere, though GM Jon Daniels hasn't ruled out a move back to the rotation.
• Braves: Billy Wagner is retiring, so they could go with Jonny Venters if a veteran isn't acquired to provide competition.
• Diamondbacks: They've expressly stated they'll be in the market for a closer this winter.
• The Indians, Tigers, Royals, Twins, Athletics, Mariners, Marlins, Mets, Phillies, Nationals, Cubs, Reds, Astros, Brewers, Pirates, Cardinals, Rockies, Dodgers, Padres, and Giants appear to have their closer choices in-house for next year, though things will change between now and April.

Eight players signed as free agents for over a million bucks in the offseason have been dumped so far this year.  Let's look at the grisly details.

• Alex Cora, released by Mets on 8-7-10.  Signed to a one-year, $2MM deal by Omar Minaya on 11-30-09.  Received 187 plate appearances. 
• Chan Ho Park, designated for assignment by Yankees on 7-31-10.  Signed to a one-year, $1.2MM deal by Brian Cashman on 2-24-10.  Pitched 35.3 innings. 
• Brendan Donnelly, released by Pirates on 7-29-10.  Signed to a one-year, $1.35MM deal by Neal Huntington on 1-18-10.  Pitched 30.6 innings. 
• Garrett Atkins, released by Orioles on 7-6-10.  Signed to a one-year, $4.5MM deal by Andy MacPhail on 12-18-09.  Received 152 plate appearances. 
• Adam Everett, released by Tigers on 6-15-10.  Signed to a one-year, $1.55MM deal by Dave Dombrowski on 12-7-09.  Received 89 plate appearances. 
• Randy Winn, designated for assignment by Yankees on 5-28-10.  Signed to a one-year, $1.1MM deal by Brian Cashman on 2-8-10.  Received 71 plate appearances. 
• Bob Howry, released by Diamondbacks on 5-17-10.  Signed to a one-year, $2.25MM deal by Josh Byrnes on 12-28-09.  Pitched 14.3 innings. 
• Jack Cust, designated for assignment by Athletics on 4-3-10.  Signed to a one-year, $2.65MM deal by Billy Beane on 1-7-10.  This may have been more of a procedural move by the A's, but they were still willing to let him go for nothing three months and zero plate appearances after signing him.
• Only $16.6MM was committed to these players, so it's not outrageous.  The cases of Cust, Howry, and Winn are curious because they were cut so quickly, while Atkins stands out as the worst signing of the bunch. 
• Also consider Jeremy Hermida, Akinori Iwamura, and Brian Bruney.  They were not free agents but these offseason acquisitions were also outrighted or released.

If you'd like to filter MLBTR's information by team or limit it to transactions only, we've got you covered.

In the navigation bar, check out the Feeds By Team dropdown.  Clicking on the name of a team returns all the posts that reference that club.  For example, this page displays only posts with Braves-related rumors.  The newest will always be on top. 

Next to the word "Braves" you'll see an RSS button and a Twitter button.  The RSS button leads here, to the URL you'd put into your RSS reader to receive only our Braves rumors.  The Twitter button takes you to @mlbtrbraves, which shows all posts involving the team.  The MLBTR team Twitter pages are also a place to quickly receive info from team press releases, even if that info is not used on the main site.

If you'd prefer to monitor only actual transactions, we've got several options.  Our Transactions page shows only posts marked as transactions, such as signings, trades, DFAs, and releases.  You can also get this same info on Twitter and RSS.

The Blue Jays agreed to sign first-round pick Deck McGuire for $2MM, according to Kendall Rogers of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). Toronto scouting director Andrew Tinnish used the first of his high picks on the 6’6” Virginia native  when the Blue Jays selected the Georgia Tech righty 11th overall. Last year, MLB recommended a $1.863MM bonus for the 11th-overall selection.

Click here for the complete list of 2010 first-rounders to sign.

The upcoming free agent class has its share of big names, including Cliff Lee and Carl Crawford.  Lee's free agency was delayed by one year because of the extension he signed with the Indians four years ago.  Crawford's chance at a huge payday was pushed back two years because of a deal he signed with the Rays more than five years ago.  Imagine if all players took the riskier but more potentially lucrative approach, forsaking multiyear extensions.  These players would be hitting the market:

• Catchers: Yadier Molina, Chris Snyder.  Molina lost money by choosing the security of a long-term deal, though Snyder was smart to sign one.
• First basemen: Kevin Youkilis, Justin Morneau.  I doubt they have regrets about signing, but both players would be primed for huge free agent contracts this winter.  Then again Morneau hasn't played since July 7th due to a concussion and Youkilis' season ended on August 2nd with a thumb injury.  Maybe teams would have been cautious of major commitments.
• Second basemen: Brandon Phillips.  He would've scored big on the open market; there's not much at this position and he's only 29. 
• Shortstops: Maicer Izturis, Ramon Santiago.
• Third basemen: David Wright.  Wright's had his ups and downs this year but as a 28-year-old he would have done well.
• Outfielders: Grady Sizemore, David DeJesus, Jason Kubel, Alex Rios, Nick Swisher.  DeJesus and Kubel have club options that will probably be exercised.  Sizemore's contract was once considered a massive bargain, but now his 2012 option is in question.  Rios and Swisher would be entering free agency off strong seasons.
• Starting pitchers: Zack Greinke, Dan Haren, Scott Kazmir, Joe Blanton.  Greinke might be wishing he didn't have another two years on his contract, while Haren could probably beat the two years and $29MM he has remaining.  Kazmir and Blanton, though, are likely glad they have security.
• Relievers: Huston Street, Matt Thornton.  Contrasting would-be contract years.  Street didn't debut until June 23rd this year due to a shoulder injury.  Thornton continues to dominate, making his 2011 club option an easy decision.