NL Central Notes: Brewers, Reds, Pirates
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.
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Quick Hits: Lee, Phillies, Mariners, Miller
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.
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com talks about the Phillies trade preferences in his latest video. They would prefer to deal Lee, A.J. Burnett, and Marlon Byrd over Cole Hamels and Chase Utley.
- Also per Morosi, the Mariners are under pressure to answer the trades made by the Athletics and Angels. He mentions pitching prospects like Taijuan Walker and Brandon Maurer as interesting pieces to other clubs. If the Mariners fail to pull of a blockbuster for David Price, they’ll probably focus on right-handed power.
- The Cardinals are moving Shelby Miller to the bullpen for an unspecified amount of time, tweets Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Matheny said the move was to rest the right-hander. Based on Goold’s tweet, he may start again as soon as Wednesday. Earlier in the season, Dave Cameron of FanGraphs provided some evidence that Miller looked “broken.” He’s certainly pitched below expectations with a 4.29 ERA, 6.03 K/9, and 4.46 BB/9.
West Notes: Padres, Dodgers, Giants, Rockies
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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Quick Hits: Samardzija, Viciedo, D-Backs, Byrd
Jeff Samardzija couldn’t be happier to be joining the A’s, writes MLB.com’s Jane Lee. “Billy asked me how I felt,” said Samardzija. “I was supposed to pitch today, so I’m a day past my due date to pitch. I’m chomping at the bit. I don’t think there’s any better way to get acclimated than to do it on the mound. It was a no-brainer for me, and I look forward to it.” Here’s more from around baseball.
- Jim Bowden of ESPN.com (Insider sub. req’d) looks at what it would take for the Marlins, Giants, and Cardinals to land Rays second baseman Ben Zobrist.
- David Golebiewski of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review looks at the advanced stats and says that the Pirates came away as the winners in the Ernesto Frieri–Jason Grilli swap.
- White Sox slugger Dayan Viciedo says that he’s not fazed by the trade rumors surrounding him, writes Daniel Kramer of MLB.com. In last night’s MLBTR poll asking which position player will be dealt first, Viciedo finished third behind Martin Prado and Chase Headley.
- Mariners skipper Lloyd McClendon would like to see his club get an offensive upgrade, but he also doesn’t want to see them sell off top prospects for rental players, writes Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times.
- The Padres are seeing immediate returns on Cuban pitcher Odrisamer Despaigne, writes Jeff Sanders of U-T San Diego.
- The Diamondbacks probably aren’t done trading after sending Joe Thatcher and Tony Campana to the Angels, writes Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. “We plan on being active,” Diamondbacks General Manager Kevin Towers said. “This is the start.“
- Troy Tulowitzki‘s trade value may never be higher for the Rockies, argues Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post. Tulo is saying the right things and hasn’t asked for a trade but a change makes sense for both sides at this time.
- Tulowitzki deserves better that what he’s getting with the Rockies, writes Mark Kiszla of the Denver Post. “I want to be somewhere there’s a chance to be in the playoffs every single year,” Tulowitzki said.
- Cardinals GM John Mozeliak tells Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that the club sees the cost of trading as high.
- Phillies right fielder Marlon Byrd was dealt Aug. 27 last year from the Mets to the Pirates and he could be traded again this summer. However, the veteran says he’s not thinking about that, as Marc Narducci of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes.
- Corey Seidman of CSNPhilly.com looks at how the Cubs-A’s blockbuster deal helps the Phillies.
- The Indians talked to the Cubs about Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel and it would have cost them Francisco Lindor, Tyler Naquin, and Danny Salazar to make the same kind of deal that the A’s did, writes Paul Hoynes of the Plain Dealer.
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Visit Hoops Rumors For The Latest NBA News
As most of you know, this is a monumental week in the NBA offseason. There’s a ton of news flying around with the 2014 draft just hours away and the official start of free agency on Tuesday and you can keep up with all of it on HoopsRumors.com.
LeBron James made shockwaves earlier this week when he notified the Heat that he’ll be exercising his early termination option in order to test the free agent market. Knicks star Carmelo Anthony also decided to opt out of his deal and there are already teams daydreaming of clearing enough cap space to unite the two stars. Elsewhere, the Grizzlies could be in danger of losing free agent Zach Randolph and the Lakers are continuing their coaching search. And, of course, the trade winds continue to swirl around Timberwolves All-Star Kevin Love.
Tonight’s draft also promises to be one of the most thrilling in recent memory thanks to a great deal of uncertainty at the top of the board. The Cavs have the No. 1 pick and while they’ve been heavily connected to Kansas’ Andrew Wiggins, their move is anyone’s guess after their surprise selection one year ago.
If you’ve been out of the basketball loop, have no fear: you can take this afternoon to pour over our comprehensive archive of material to get yourself caught up. You can also study up on tonight’s draft with Hoops Rumors’ Prospect Profiles, which includes interviews I conducted with many of the spotlighted players.
So, what are you waiting for? Head on over to HoopsRumors.com and follow us on Twitter: @HoopsRumors.
East Notes: Ortiz, Price, Yankees, Nationals
Five years removed from what seemed like his demise, David Ortiz remains the Red Sox‘s foremost game-changer, writes Alex Speier of WEEI.com. “I couldn’t even watch TV, any sports channel at the time, because it was nothing but, ‘He’s done.’ You’re struggling and people are saying that you’re done, it doesn’t help,” recalled Ortiz. “That’s when your mind has to start processing that and next thing you know, ‘I’m out.‘ ” Here’s more out of the AL and NL East..
- The Rays need to trade David Price as soon as possible, writes Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. The Rays, of course, can’t afford to keep their ace long term and Price has grown increasingly frustrated with the team’s losing. Meanwhile, Topkin doesn’t see a trade within the division as an impossibility, but he says that it will require an additional premium for the Rays to even consider it.
- The Yankees have to explore their options for starting pitchers on the trade market, writes Joel Sherman of the New York Post. The Bombers have the phenomenal pitching of Masahiro Tanaka and a strong late-game bullpen working in their favor, but they feel they are one more rotation injury or significant dip in production from being in trouble.
- There’s no indication that the Nationals would trade someone like Denard Span to make it possible, but Ryan Zimmerman says that his preference is to stay in left field rather than move back to one of the corner infield spots, writes Bill Ladson of MLB.com.
Quick Hits: Hudson, Niese, Orioles, Lester
Giants starter Tim Hudson is baseball’s top unsung player, Yahoo! Sports’ Jeff Passan writes. One reason Hudson’s greatness often goes unnoticed is that his key weapon is the grounder, not the strikeout. With a ground ball rate of 57.4% this season, though, he’s been spectacular, with a 1.81 ERA, 6.0 K/9 and 1.8 BB/9 in 89 1/3 innings — all despite being an undersized 38-year-old who missed much of last season with a serious ankle injury. Here are more notes from around the big leagues.
- Mets GM Sandy Alderson told Jim Bowden of SiriusXM (on Twitter) that the club has the resources to be buyers at this year’s trade deadline. Alderson went on to say that pitcher Jon Niese won’t be trade bait.
- Orioles Executive VP Dan Duquette told Jim Bowden of SiriusXM (via Twitter) that he wants bullpen help as well as better offensive production at second and third base.
- Red Sox starter Jon Lester tells WEEI’s Rob Bradford that he still wants to stay in Boston. “It’s all I’ve really known,” Lester says. “You don’t see many guys that get drafted by a team and end up staying there their whole career. It’s just something that I’ve always … wanted to do.” Lester cites his relationships with members of the Red Sox’s front office, and points out that his wife and kids would have to start their social lives anew if they were to move to a new city. Basic considerations like these rarely enter conversations about why a player might choose to sign with, or stay with, a team, but they’re clearly important. Lester, who is eligible for free agency after the season, says negotiations with the Red Sox will hinge on “what we think is a discount and still fair.”
Charlie Wilmoth contributed to this post.