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Archives for August 2012

Quick Hits: Victorino, Greinke, Longoria, Nats

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The Indians have lost nine games in a row, but they don’t plan on reacting to their struggles by making a managerial change. General manager Chris Antonetti said Manny Acta will return as the team's manager in 2013, Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports (on Twitter). The team already exercised Acta's 2013 option last September. Here are today’s links…

  • Shane Victorino hasn't been with the Dodgers long, but he'd like to stay there long-term, in part because of the proximity to his parents in Hawaii and family home in Las Vegas, writes ESPN's Mark Saxon.
  • The Dodgers and Angels could bid against one another for Zack Greinke when the right-hander hits free agency this coming offseason, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney writes. The Angels intend to keep Greinke, and the Dodgers are prepared to spend on elite pitching, as evidenced by their claim of Cliff Lee.
  • Olney points out that Kyle Lohse is positioning himself for a solid free agent contract, and suggests he could approach Mark Buehrle’s four-year, $58MM contract. Lohse is older than Buehrle and doesn’t have the same history of durability, so I will personally be surprised if Lohse gets a four-year deal or an annual salary of $14MM.
  • Matt Kemp, Carlos Gonzalez and Andrew McCutchen provide their respective teams with considerable value, relative to their contracts, but Evan Longoria has the most team-friendly contract in MLB, Yahoo's Jeff Passan writes (Passan's not considering pre-arbitration eligible players). The Rays announced that they will activate Longoria from the disabled list for tomorrow’s game.
  • The Nationals announced that they agreed to sign four international free agents: right-hander Ramses Rosario and outfielders Aldrem Corredor, Darryl Florentino and Luis Guzman.

AL East Notes: Valentine, Thome, Lowe

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The Orioles defeated the Mariners tonight to draw within a half game of one of the American League's Wild Card spots. In what most consider to be a shocking season, the second-place Orioles trail the Yankees by 5 1/2 games following New York's loss to the Tigers. Here are some links pertaining to the division…

  • "We are not making a change at manager," Red Sox principal owner John Henry told WEEI.com's Rob Bradford via email. Henry wrote that managers often get too much credit and also too little credit for what happens on the field.
  • WEEI's Alex Speier tweeted a quote from Red Sox GM Ben Cherington that echoed Henry's sentiment, though Cherington stopped short of saying how long Valentine's Boston tenure would last (Twitter links).
  • Orioles DH Jim Thome was told to refrain from baseball activities for 30 days, reports MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli. With an early September return questionable at best, he may be more interested in coming back for another season, according to Ghiroli (Twitter links).
  • An Orioles team official told Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com that the team doesn't have interest in Derek Lowe, who was recently DFA'ed by the Indians (Twitter link). Cleveland is said to be exploring trade options for Lowe.

Lohse Open To Mid-Season Extension Talks

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Kyle Lohse is in the midst of arguably his best season as a Major Leaguer, and the 33-year-old right-hander is open to discussing a mid-season extension to stay in St. Louis, writes MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch. The Cardinals, however, have yet to approach Lohse with such an offer, according to Langosch.

According to numerous metrics, Lohse is in the midst of a career year. His ERA (2.79), K/BB ratio (3.30), BB/9 (1.6) and FIP (3.56) are all single-season bests for Lohse. His 23 starts tie him for the most in the National League, and his 148 1/3 innings are ninth-most in all of baseball.

Lohse is in the final season of a four-year, $41MM contract extension that he signed late in the 2008 season. Then 29 years old, Lohse passed on the opportunity to test the free agent market following a season that he would finish with a 3.78 ERA in exactly 200 innings. It was a surprising move at the time, especially considering the fact that Lohse is represented by Scott Boras. It would be arguably even more surprising this time around, as this could mark Lohse's last opportunity for a significant contract.

Lohse told Langosch and other reporters that his priority, should he reach free agency, is winning:

"Every year the focus is on winning," Lohse said. "We're not trying to develop something. We're trying to win. With my situation, that's what I'm looking for. If I do go to free agency, they will still be in the mix, I'm sure. But there will be other places to look, too."

Earlier today, Buster Olney suggested that Lohse could approach Mark Buehrle's four-year, $58MM contract if he were to hit the open market. I share Ben Nicholson-Smith's skepticism that Lohse would reach such a lofty sum, given that he lacks Buehrle's durability and consistent track record. However, Boras has worked surprising free agent deals in the past.

If he were to hit free agency, Lohse would join a solid free agent class that includes Zack Greinke, Anibal Sanchez, Brandon McCarthy, Edwin Jackson and Ryan Dempster.

Hoyer: Garza “Likely” To Pitch For Cubs In 2013

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Trade rumors involving Matt Garza swirled persistently around this summer's non-waiver deadline, but a triceps injury helped keep the right-hander in Chicago. Garza, now sidelined indefinitely with the injury, seems to be part of GM Jed Hoyer's plans for 2013 according to Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune. Sullivan writes:

"He's likely to be a member of the Cubs in 2013," [Hoyer] said. "And we're excited to have him. (Trading him) is the last thing we're thinking of. We're just trying to get this guy healthy."

The 28-year-old Garza has pitched to a 3.91 ERA with an 8.3 K/9, 2.8 BB/9 and 47.3% groundball rate in 103 2/3 innings for the Cubs in 2012. His fastball enjoyed its usual solid velocity (93.6 mph on average) and he's held opponents to a .236/.301/.393 batting line. He's earning $9.5MM in 2012 and, as a Super Two player, he will be eligible for arbitration for a fourth and final time this offseason.

Hanging onto Garza into the 2013 season carries extra implications for his trade value, given changes to baseball's collective bargaining agreement. Should the Cubs move him in the offseason, the acquiring team would qualify for draft pick compensation following a qualifying offer. If Garza is moved midseason next year, however, his new team would be ineligible to receive a draft pick.

Central Notes: Overbay, Indians, Pirates, Burnett

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Some links pertaining to baseball's two Central Divisions, which are currently led by the White Sox and Reds…

  • The Reds aren't interested in Lyle Overbay, general manager Walt Jocketty told reporters including John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer (Twitter link). Jocketty mentions Overbay's defensive limitation and says his team likes Xavier Paul. Overbay was released by the D-backs earlier today.
  • Indians GM Chris Antonetti is exploring the trade market for both Johnny Damon and Derek Lowe, tweets MLB.com's Jordan Bastian. Antonetti feels there's a chance that he can complete trades within their respective 10-day windows. Cleveland recently designated Damon and Lowe for assignment.
  • Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer writes that Antonetti is happy with the job Manny Acta has done and expects him to be the Indians' manager in 2013. Antonetti did concede that the front office and coaching staff may have over-evaluated the roster's talent in Spring Training.
  • Pirates GM Neal Huntington says he is actively monitoring the waiver wire and will make claims to improve his team or block others from improving theirs, writes Karen Price of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
  • The Pirates haven't explored an extension with A.J. Burnett as of yet, Huntington told reporters including the Tribune-Review's Rob Biertempfel (Sulia link). Huntington says the team's focus is currently on making the playoffs.

Diamondbacks Claim Wil Nieves

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4:08pm: The Diamondbacks announced that they claimed Nieves and placed Blanco on the disabled list.

1:51pm: The Diamondbacks are expected to add catcher Wil Nieves, Steve Gilbert of MLB.com reports (on Twitter). The Rockies designated Nieves for assignment last week.

Nieves appeared in 16 games for the Rockies this year, but has been sidelined since July 8th with turf toe. The 34-year-old posted a .298/.333/.404 batting line in 51 plate appearances this year. Nieves, a nine-year MLB veteran, has a career line of .226/.272/.296. Henry Blanco has been backing up Miguel Montero behind the plate for the Diamondbacks.

Outrighted To Triple-A: Carlos Maldonado

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The latest outright assignments from around MLB…

  • The Nationals announced that they outrighted catcher Carlos Maldonado to Triple-A Syracuse. Maldonado, 33, appeared in four games for the Nationals this May and was removed from the team’s 40-man roster three days ago. He has spent most of the season at Triple-A Syracuse, where he has a .223/.343/.405 batting line in 146 plate appearances.

Giants Acquire Jose Mijares

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The Giants have claimed left-handed reliever Jose Mijares from Kansas City, the teams announced. Mijares will provide Giants manager Bruce Bochy with a third lefty relief option to go along with Jeremy Affeldt and Javier Lopez.

Mijares has a 2.56 ERA with 8.6 K/9, 3.0 BB/9 and a 33.3% ground ball rate in 38 2/3 innings this year. The 27-year-old earns $925K, will be arbitration eligible following this offseason, and will remain under team control through 2014.

I identified Mijares as a midseason trade candidate in May. However, I wouldn't have predicted he'd go unclaimed by 13 American League teams and a number of National League teams given the season he's having and his modest salary.

Nationals Designate Severino For Assignment

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The Nationals announced that they designated left-hander Atahualpa Severino for assignment. The move creates 40-man roster space for Cesar Izturis, who was claimed off of waivers from Milwaukee. The Nationals created room for Izturis on the 25-man roster by placing Mark DeRosa on the 15-day disabled list.

Severino appeared in six games on last year's Nationals team, but has spent the entire 2012 campaign at Triple-A Syracuse. The 27-year-old has a 2.72 ERA with 8.2 K/9 and 6.3 BB/9 in 40 relief appearances so far this year. He has generally had high strikeout and walk totals in his seven-year minor league career: 9.3 K/9 and 4.2 BB/9.

Nationals Claim Cesar Izturis

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The Nationals announced that they have claimed infielder Cesar Izturis off of waivers from the Brewers. The team placed Mark DeRosa on the 15-day disabled list in a related move.

Izturis has a .235/.248/.333 batting line in 169 plate appearances this year. The 32-year-old has played all four infield positions with Milwaukee, and his versatility will prove useful in Washington. The Nationals needed infield depth with Ian Desmond and DeRosa on the disabled list. Izturis earns $875K this year and will hit free agency this offseason.

Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post first reported that the Nationals had acquired Izturis (on Twitter).

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