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Rosenthal’s Latest: Red Sox, Tigers, Rollins, Castillo, Phillies

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The Red Sox are receiving a lot of praise throughout baseball for their approach to the trade deadline, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports in his latest video. The club considered prospect based offers for Jon Lester and John Lackey from the Orioles and Marlins, but ultimately opted to bulk up on major league offense. Boston is loaded with pitching prospects who they’ll be able to audition over the remainder of the season. Ostensibly, the club will have fewer holes to plug over the offseason as a result of their deadline dealings.

  • Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski told Rosenthal that Mike Russell (a scout who covers the Rays for Detroit) and Jim Leyland advocated for acquiring David Price. Without their advice, Detroit might have passed on Price.
  • The A’s kicked the tires on a deal for Jimmy Rollins, but talks didn’t go anywhere. Oakland is Rollins’ home town, so he might considered waiving his no trade clause to go home.
  • Cuban free agent outfield Rusney Castillo is expected to be the biggest August acquisition. The Yankees, Red Sox, and several other teams are in on Castillo.
  • All of the guys the Phillies didn’t trade at the deadline – Cole Hamels, A.J. Burnett, and Jonathan Papelbon to name a few – could be dealt prior to the August trade deadline. The Phillies should see most of their roster clear waivers.
  • Josh Willingham, Alex Rios, Joaquin Benoit, and Neal Cotts are a few other names Rosenthal mentions as August targets.

Explaining August Trades

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The month of July did not end quietly, with a dozen highly impactful trades going down on deadline day. Of course, several contenders weren’t in on the action at all. And for those that were, injury and performance issues will inevitably spring up over the next month. Good for them, then, that teams can still conduct trades in August, even if they’re more complicated.

Here’s a rundown of how August trades work…

  • Teams have to pass players through revocable waivers to trade them after the July 31st non-waiver trade deadline. Those revocable waivers last 47 hours.
  • Players who go unclaimed after those 47 hours are eligible to be traded to any team for the rest of the season.
  • A team has three options if one of its players is claimed off revocable waivers. That team can either pull the player back without penalty, work out a trade with the claiming team, or simply hand the player and his salary over for nothing. Recent examples of this include the White Sox’s acquisition of Alex Rios and the Giants’ acquisition of Cody Ross.
  • Teams will often put most of their players on waivers to determine interest. There’s no risk in doing so, as they don’t have to actually give up a player that is claimed by another team.
  • Regardless of the day of the week (Saturday and Sunday are treated as normal days), clubs have two days (48.5 hours) to deal claimed players. They can only negotiate a trade with the team that was awarded the claim on that player.
  • If only one team claims a player, he can only be dealt to that team. If more than one team claims a player, he can only be traded to the claiming team with the highest waiver priority. The order of priority goes: 1) from worst record to best record among teams in the same league as the club seeking waivers; and then 2) from worst to best among teams in the other league. (In other words, if a player is put on waivers by an AL team, first priority goes to the AL club with the worst record, with the NL club with the worst record in line behind the best AL team.)
  • If a team places a player on waivers a second time after pulling him back, the waivers are no longer revocable. A claiming team would be awarded the player at that point. Obviously, the risk in placing a player on waivers a second time is significant.
  • Teams cannot pass players on the disabled list through waivers. If a player is placed on waivers and then placed on the disabled list the next day, his team must cancel the waiver request.
  • Players acquired after August 31st can’t play in the postseason.

For proof that significant trades could still be on the horizon, look no further than 2012. One of the largest trades of the past decade occurred on August 25, when the Red Sox traded Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford, Josh Beckett and Nick Punto to the Dodgers for James Loney, Allen Webster, Rubby De La Rosa, Jerry Sands and Ivan De Jesus.

This post is based on an MLBTR post that was originally published by Ben Nicholson-Smith on June 25, 2009. Thanks to Cot’s Baseball Contracts and this article by ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark.

$75K Survivor League At DraftKings

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The DraftKings $75K Survivor League starts tonight!  A $27 entry fee gets you a shot at your share of a $75K prize pool, with the top 150 getting paid.  Even better, the winner of this three-day Survivor League gains entry to DraftKings’ $3.3 million Fantasy Baseball Championship, a live event at Atlantis Paradise Island where the winner takes home $1,000,000.

The deadline for this contest is 6:05pm central time tonight.  You get a $50K budget to pick ten MLB players, with each day playing out like this:

Day 1 (7/30): 3,150 entries and top 750 advance
Day 2 (7/31): 750 entries and top 150 advance
Day 3 (8/1): Final 150 play for $75,000 in prizes

Here’s a look at my team:

draftkings

The clock is ticking…sign up for the DraftKings Survivor League now!

This is a sponsored post from DraftKings.

Central Notes: Pirates, Ruggiano, Pirates, Bastardo

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If the Pirates can’t land a reliever this week, Travis Sawchik of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review suggests that the Bucs could move Edinson Volquez to the bullpen.  Volquez, who has hit 98 mph on the gun this season, has been trending down since April. More from the Central Divisions..

Advertise With MLB Trade Rumors

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Diehard baseball fans know there’s only one website to constantly refresh this week: MLB Trade Rumors.  Last year in the three days leading up to baseball’s July 31st trade deadline, MLBTR generated over 6.6 million pageviews.

If your company might be a good fit to advertise on MLBTR this week, email Tim Dierkes at mlbtradvertising@gmail.com.  Ad campaigns start as low as $250, and we can have your ad running quickly.  Social media advertising is also available; MLBTR has 376K Twitter followers and 103K Facebook fans.

NL Central Notes: Brewers, Reds, Pirates

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The Brewers have been active at the trade deadline in recent seasons, but GM Doug Melvin is downplaying the impact a deadline acquisition might have, writes MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy. “We’re out there, we’re going to have our ears open,” says Melvin. “But we still have to play well as a team and not to think that one acquisition makes a difference. Not many times does that acquisition make the difference without the team still continuing to play well.” Melvin’s acquisition of C.C. Sabathia in early July 2008 was exactly the sort of high-impact move GMs hope for when they make summer deals, although Melvin is obviously correct that one player can’t carry a team all by himself. McCalvy suggests that the Brewers could be in the market for right-handed relief help this summer. Here are more notes on the NL Central.

  • The Reds have struggled recently, and it’s unclear what they’ll do at the trade deadline, MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon writes. If they end up buying, they’d like a hitter who can play more than one position. Injuries have hurt the Reds this season, and a number of bulky salaries in 2015 could impede their ability to upgrade. If they do decide to sell (although there does not appear to be much evidence that’s likely), they could make available a number of desirable pieces, including Johnny Cueto, Homer Bailey, Mat Latos and Mike Leake.
  • Pirates manager Clint Hurdle agrees with general manager Neal Huntington that the Bucs need to be careful trading top prospects for short-term upgrades, Travis Sawchik of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review writes. “You start talking about moving three or four prospects in your top 10, 15? That can get a little dicey,” Hurdle says. “What can help now versus hamstring you later?” Hurdle also notes, however, that the Pirates have made late-summer moves to improve their club in each of the last three seasons, getting players like Derrek Lee, Ryan Ludwick, Wandy Rodriguez, Marlon Byrd and Justin Morneau. The Pirates’ biggest need this year is probably in the bullpen, and upgrading there shouldn’t necessarily cost top prospects.

$100K MLB Medium Midsummer Classic Contest At DraftKings

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Earn your share of a $100K prize pool in tonight’s MLB Medium Midsummer Classic at DraftKings!  The contest has a $20 entry fee, and first place will take home $20K with the top 1,125 finishers getting paid.  The deadline for entry is tonight at 6:05pm central time.  You can sign up here.

The rules are simple.  Each entrant is assigned a fixed salary cap of $50,000 that they can use to draft their entire 10 player roster.  Click here to see the stats used and their values.  Here’s a look at my team, which steers clear of the Marlins-Braves contest because of the threat of a rainout.

draftkings

Don’t hesitate!  Sign up for the DraftKings $100K Medium Midsummer Classic right now!

This is sponsored post from DraftKings.

Quick Hits: Lee, Phillies, Mariners, Miller

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It’s not often that elite players are traded multiple times during the prime of their career. Phillies ace Cliff Lee is one of those few, writes Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer. He’s been dealt three times – each trade coming at a time when he was both healthy and extremely effective. The 11 prospects acquired for Lee in various trades have all been a disappointment, with Justin Smoak and Carlos Carrasco the only current major league contributors.

The 35-year-old is expected to return to action on Monday from an elbow strain. Unlike the last time the Phillies traded Lee, he now comes with concerns about age, contract, and health. As such, Philadelphia may struggle to find the kind of prospect package necessary to justify a trade.

West Notes: Padres, Dodgers, Giants, Rockies

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There were several notes yesterday on the Padres’ search for a new GM. The club interviewed Rangers assistant GM A.J. Preller yesterday, reports MLB.com’s Corey Brock, joining prior candidates Larry Beinfest, Logan White of the Dodgers, Ray Montgomery of the Diamondbacks, and Billy Eppler of the Yankees. Today, the team had a sit-down with Red Sox assistant GM Mike Hazen, per Peter Gammons of GammonsDaily.com (via Twitter). Meanwile, Cardinals assistant GM Mike Girsch has withdrawn himself from consideration, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today (Twitter link). As Nightengale further tweets, some potential candidates have expressed a belief that it will take upwards of two to three years to effect a turnaround in San Diego.

Here’s the latest trade deadline chatter from the Friars and the rest of the NL West:

  • The Padres are asking for a big return to move late-inning righties Joaquin Benoit and Huston Street, reports Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times (via Twitter). A reunion with the Tigers makes sense for Benoit, tweets Jon Morosi of FOX Sports, because the sides parted on good terms.
  • The Dodgers are looking into the starting pitching market, particularly after losing Josh Beckett to the 15-day DL, reports Shaikin. Though Los Angeles hopes Beckett’s hip impingement will only cause him to miss one start (with the benefit of the All-Star break), the club is readying for a longer absence. Of course, Paul Maholm remains in the fold, and the club has fill-in options at Triple-A, but those appear to be temporary options. Shaikin says that the team lacks the kind of rotation depth that it would prefer, and could pursue either a depth arm (he gives Jake Peavy and Bartolo Colon as hypothetical examples) or a high-end pitcher such as David Price or Cole Hamels.
  • Giants GM Brian Sabean says that his team is willing to consider any and all trade proposals, reports Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News. “We’ve told everybody that everybody we have is in play,” said the long-tenured GM. “There are no untouchables in our organization.” While he expressed a desire to be patient, he expressed consternation at the team’s recent struggles. “Unfortunately, we’ve leaked oil in a lot of areas,” said Sabean. “That further confuses what you think you might want to do or have to do in and around the trade deadline.” As far as where an addition could be made, Sabean indicated that many spots are in play: “All our prospects are in play, but at this point we need bullpen help, you can always use another starter, second base, bench help,” said Sabean. “Just a lot of areas where you need shoring up and obviously we’re not [going to] be able to do that totally in the trade market.”
  • Last night, we took a look at some comments from Rockies owner Dick Monfort, courtesy of Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post. Notably, he said that he has no plans to deal star shortstop Troy Tulowitzki. This morning, Saunders posted the full transcript of his interview with Monfort, and there is plenty more to cover. Monfort says that the organization’s greatest need is starting pitching depth, and said he “would love to have another starting pitcher before the trade deadline,” preferably “somebody that we could have control of for a period of time.” The club had interest in acquiring Jeff Samardzija, but “the asking price was Eddie Butler and some other stuff,” which Monfort found too steep.
  • Though Colorado has one of the worst records in the league, Monfort says that the team is not a seller, at least at this point. After weathering the injuries and a tough stretch in the schedule, he said that he is holding out hope that the Rockies can creep back into the wild card picture. Monfort said that he does not anticipate trading starter Jorge De La Rosa or outfielder Michael Cuddyer, who he “would like to figure out a way to keep” beyond this season.
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