Odds & Ends: Mejia, O’s, McGuire, Rangers, Valverde
Links for Sunday….
- ESPN's Adam Rubin tweets that the Mets have optioned Jenrry Mejia to Double-A Binghamton, where he will start their game on Wednesday.
- Jeff Zrebiec tells us that Buck Showalter will interview for the Baltimore managerial job this week, and Eric Wedge will likely receive a second interview. The club has yet to ask the Mets for permission to interview Bob Melvin.
- MLB.com's Jordan Bastian quotes Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos saying that despite first-round pick Deck McGuire's lack of participation in a media conference call, he's excited to have been drafted by Toronto. Anthopoulos says that negotiations, however, could go down to the wire as they did in 2009 with Chad Jenkins.
- Rangers manager Ron Washington feels that his team could use another front-line starting pitcher, according to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan. Texas has recently seen both Derek Holland and Rich Harden land on the disabled list.
- Nick Piecoro tweets that the D'Backs offered Jose Valverde a two-year deal worth about $10MM before he signed for two years and $14MM with Detroit. The story spawns from some heated comments that were exchanged between Valverde and former teammate Miguel Montero.
- Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times thinks Dan Haren would be a "perfect fit" for the Angels.
- The Cubs will soon face a decision on whether to become buyers or sellers, writes Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune.
- Within a mailbag for the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Paul Hoynes says that a little salary relief is the best the Indians could hope for in a Kerry Wood trade.
- Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch details how the Cardinals will handle their starting rotation for the time being. Even after signing Jeff Suppan, the club will be short-handed while they wait for Brad Penny to get healthy.
- The Tigers should exercise patience when it comes to acquiring a shortstop, according to Lynn Hennig of the Detroit News.
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports tweets that the Tigers will have to think about trading for a starting pitcher, with Rick Porcello heading to Triple-A.
Ian Snell Clears Waivers
SUNDAY: Snell has cleared waivers and accepted a minor league assignment to Triple-A Tacoma, according to a team press release.
TUESDAY: The Mariners designated Ian Snell for assignment and called up Brian Sweeney, according to the team. Snell, who came to Seattle last summer in the Jack Wilson trade, started respectably for the Mariners, but has been ineffective of late. He has allowed at least three earned runs in each of his last four appearances with 11 walks, five strikeouts and a 11.77 ERA in that time.
For the season, the 28-year-old right-hander has a 6.41 ERA with 5.1 K/9 and 4.9 BB/9 in 46.1 innings. Snell got off to a similar start last year before the Pirates demoted him to Triple A and saw him dominate for six starts. Snell has promise, but his recent struggles suggest he isn't close to fulfilling it.
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Cafardo’s Latest: Oswalt, DeJesus, Aardsma, LaRoche
There are a handful of big names that could be moved before this July's trading deadline, and Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe opens his latest column by taking a look at some of the possibilities. Let's check out the highlights from Cafardo's piece….
- There's skepticism within the Astros' organization that owner Drayton McLane would want to trade Roy Oswalt to the Rangers, baseball's other Texas team.
- The return the Royals are requesting in exchange for David DeJesus is higher than any team is willing to pay for now.
- Mariners closer David Aardsma is "already drawing a lot of interest."
- Pedro Feliz, Willie Bloomquist, and Jay Payton could be small-scale trade bait.
- Adam LaRoche on his brief time as a Red Sox: "The ballpark was perfectly suited for the way I swing, and it would have been nice to have stayed there and see what would have happened over a full year."
Olney On Lee, Carmona, Rockies, Torre
In his newest blog post at ESPN.com (Insider-only link), Buster Olney tells the story of a phone call Michael Young made to Rangers GM Jon Daniels last summer. Just before the trade deadline, Young dialed up Daniels to tell him the players were happy with the young talent on the roster, suggesting that giving up the farm for someone like Roy Halladay wasn't necessary.
"Do what you have to do," Young told Daniels. "But don't do something just to appease us down here."
Here are Olney's other hot stove notes:
- The Mariners have yet to shop Cliff Lee, but will soon make a decision about his availability (Twitter link).
- The Mets are interested in Fausto Carmona, who is under contract beyond this year, unlike many of the oft-mentioned pitchers on the trade market. Olney warns that the "Oliver Perez factor" is in play, meaning that if the Mets acquired Carmona, it's unclear how he'd adjust to pitching in baseball's biggest market.
- A hitter like Aaron Hill or Dan Uggla would fit very nicely in Colorado right now, though neither the Blue Jays or Marlins have indicated yet that they're willing to sell. Olney figures that the Rockies will try to avoid making a trade, moving forward with their current roster until Troy Tulowitzki returns.
- As we heard earlier in the week from SI.com's Jon Heyman, Joe Torre appears unlikely to manage the Dodgers next season. "There are a couple of folks in power who are ready to turn the managerial page," according to Olney.
No Fire Sale Coming For D’Backs
Even with his club 15 games below .500, Diamondbacks GM Josh Byrnes doesn't expect to hold a fire sale in the coming weeks, according to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. Although recent reports have indicated that the D'Backs will continue trading, and are considering major moves, Byrnes tells Piecoro that he isn't predicting any "monster" deals.
"We'll explore a lot of possibilities and see where we end up," said Byrnes. "I do think a lot of our players are guys we value and want to keep and I think if we're going to make trades, we'll have to get the type of things – particularly young pitching depth – that would make sense to us."
Piecoro notes that the Diamondbacks will still probably field offers on "just about anybody," but the players most likely to be dealt are Adam LaRoche, Aaron Heilman, and Chris Snyder. If the team does decide to move players like Kelly Johnson and Stephen Drew, they'll likely demand a top pitching prospect in return. Presumably, the D'Backs would have to be blown away by a package of multiple young arms to consider trading Dan Haren.
Brewers Outright Chris Smith
The Brewers have sent Chris Smith outright to Triple-A Nashville, according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The move clears a spot on the roster for Todd Coffey, who is returning from a stint on the disabled list.
After Smith recorded an impressive 1.71 ERA and 12.4 K/9 in 23 appearances as Nashville's closer, he was called up when the Brewers parted ways with Jeff Suppan. The 29-year-old appeared in just three games for Milwaukee, allowing a pair of runs in 3.1 IP.
Ryan Franklin Plans To Retire After 2011
Ryan Franklin's $6.5MM contract keeps him under St. Louis's control through 2011, and when it expires, the right-hander isn't sure he'll sign another one, according to Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Strauss writes that, for now, the Cardinals closer is planning to retire after the 2011 season.
"I think I owe it to my family," Franklin said. "I've missed a lot of things that have been going on. I don't want to miss a lot more…. I'm financially sound. I don't see having to keep playing for that reason."
The 37-year-old currently sports a 2.40 ERA, along with 13 saves and a career-best 1.2 BB/9. He's enjoyed his best years in St. Louis, posting a 2.85 ERA and 69 saves in 232 appearances with the team since 2007. If he does indeed retire following the 2011 campaign, he'll have earned approximately $20MM in his major league career, according to Baseball-Reference.
Odds & Ends: Grandal, Red Sox, Salazar, Rockies
A few links to check out while we wait to see if the Rays can avoid falling out of first place for the first time in nearly two months…
- The Reds have made initial contact with the representatives for Yasmani Grandal according to John Fay of The Cincinnati Enquirer. GM Walt Jocketty said they will continue talks this week with 2010's 12th overall draft pick.
- WEEI.com's Alex Speier mentions that when Felix Doubront started for the Red Sox last night, he became the first Latin American player signed and developed by the Theo Epstein regime to reach the big league. ESPN's Jorge Arangure mentions (via Twitter) the Boston hasn't had a homegrown Latin American position player since the early 1990's.
- Meanwhile, MLB.com's Peter Gammons says (via Twitter) that only two teams were willing to take Manny Ramirez off Boston's hands two years ago even if they footed the bill: the Marlins and Dodgers. The Red Sox's requests for Mike Stanton and Andre Ethier were met with "no thank yous."
- MLB.com's Corey Brock, Brittany Ghiroli, and Gina Mizeli spoke to Oscar Salazar, who reflected on the trade that send him from the Orioles to the Padres last year.
- The Rockies will look at the middle infield market, but ESPN's Buster Olney tweets they're likely to just ride out Troy Tulowitzki's absence with what they have in house. He does however mention that Dan Uggla is one name to watch.
- Both Jhonny Peralta and Kerry Wood offered up the stock "it's out of my control" response when asked about the possibility of being traded, according to Paul Hoynes of The Cleveland Plain-Dealer.
- Mark Kiszla of The Denver Post says the idea of the Rockies' acquiring Cliff Lee is wishful thinking. The team would have to get back in the playoff race and show it can compete without Troy Tulowitzki before ownership would consider adding Lee's salary to the payroll.
- The Cardinals had interest in signing Ben Sheets this winter according to Derrick Goold of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, but the righthander's price was too high. “If he wants to prove his value here, we’d have interest,” said manager Tony La Russa. “It turns out he had value that wasn’t going to work.”
Orioles Interested In Jake Fox
SATURDAY, 8:59pm: The Orioles still have interest in Fox according to Zrebiec. Oakland has until Thursday to trade, release or waive him, though the fact that Baltimore has waiver priority may increase the likelihood of a deal.
WEDNESDAY, 4:14pm: Andy MacPhail and the Orioles have at least some interest in acquiring Jake Fox, according to Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun. The A's designated Fox for assignment over the weekend and are apparently hoping that he clears waivers.
Fox, 28 next month, has already played left field, third base, DH and catcher in 2010. His .214/.264/.327 batting line doesn't compare with the numbers he has posted in the minors. Fox has 122 homers with a .293/.357/.528 line in his minor league career, so he clearly has some hitting ability.
Zrebiec suggests a Fox acquisition could mean the end of Garrett Atkins' tenure in Baltimore, though it would not be a surprise to see the Atkins era end before long regardless of what happens with Fox.