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Archives for August 2012

Pirates Not Focused On Adding A Pitcher

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The Pirates released Erik Bedard earlier today, and manager Clint Hurdle told Michael Sanserino of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that the club is not looking to add a veteran pitcher through waivers (Twitter link). The team's primary focus right now is internal options.

After posting a solid 3.94 ERA before the All-Star break, the Pirates' rotation has pitched to a 4.72 ERA in the second half as A.J. Burnett (5.18 ERA) and James McDonald (5.91 ERA) have struggled in August. Deadline pickup Wandy Rodriguez owns a 4.86 ERA with Pittsburgh. The Pirates remain three games back of the two NL Wild Card spots but must only win 14 of their last 34 games to finish with the franchise's first winning season since 1992.

Cubs Designate Alex Hinshaw For Assignment

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The Cubs designated left-hander Alex Hinshaw for assignment just nine days after claiming him from the Padres, Doug Padilla of ESPNChicago.com reports (on Twitter). The Cubs called up right-handed reliever Blake Parker in a related move.

Hinshaw posted a 4.50 ERA with 11.6 K/9 and 6.4 BB/9 in 28 innings with the Padres before being claimed off of waivers by Chicago on August 19th. He appeared in two games for the Cubs, recording just one out. The 29-year-old allowed three home runs to the Brewers last night and didn't record an out.

Roy Oswalt Clears Waivers

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3:45pm: Oswalt said he has been told he cleared waivers three weeks ago, Sullivan reports. The right-hander's contract doesn't include a no-trade clause.

12:23pm: The Rangers are talking to other teams about Oswalt and a trade is "possible," MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan reports. The Rangers are looking for utility infield help and aren't sure if they'll be able to move Oswalt.

9:46am: Roy Oswalt has cleared waivers, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports (on Twitter). The Rangers can now trade the 35-year-old right-hander to any MLB team without waiver-related restrictions.

Oswalt earns a base salary of $5MM this year — approximately $1MM between now and the end of the season — and he will hit free agency this fall. He has posted a 5.94 ERA with 8.5 K/9 and 1.8 BB/9 in 50 innings for Texas as a starter and reliever. Rosenthal reports that Oswalt wants to start and suggests the Dodgers could be a possibility. Los Angeles is known to be seeking starting pitching depth.

Here’s MLBTR’s list of players known to have cleared waivers.

Justin Morneau Claimed On Waivers

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Justin Morneau was claimed on waivers several days ago, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports (Twitter links). The Twins didn't work out a trade with the claiming team, so the first baseman will be staying in Minnesota. If the Twins place Morneau on waivers again, the waivers will no longer be revocable. However it seems unlikely that Morneau will be placed on waivers again since the Twins don't view him as a giveaway, according to Heyman.

Morneau earns $14MM this year — approximately $2.8MM between now and the end of the regular season — and the same amount in 2013. The 31-year-old has a .274/.332/.472 batting line with 17 home runs and 25 doubles in 446 plate appearances this year. This marks the first time since 2009 that Morneau has played in 100 games, an indication that Morneau's concussion issues are not preventing him from producing.

Cubs Extend Starlin Castro

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The Cubs have signed Starlin Castro to a contract extension that will keep the 22-year-old shortstop under contract for the remainder of his 20s. The team officially announced a seven-year extension that covers Castro's four arbitration seasons and at least three seasons of free agent eligibility. Paul Kinzer of Wasserman Media Group represents Castro, whose seven-year deal includes $60MM in guaranteed money.

Starlin Castro - Cubs (PW)

Castro has posted a .276/.311/.418 batting line with 12 homers in 540 plate appearances this season. Despite his youth, he already has three full seasons of MLB experience and was on track to go to arbitration for the first time this offseason. As a super two player, he has four seasons of arbitration eligibility.

The deal locks Castro up through 2019, which means he and prospects Jorge Soler and Gerardo Concepcion are the only Cubs players under contract beyond 2014. Soler's nine-year, $30MM contract extends through 2020 and Concepcion's five-year, $6MM contract extends through 2016.

Castro will receive a $6MM signing bonus before earning $5MM in 2013 and 2014, $6MM in 2015, $7MM in 2016, $9MM in 2017, $10MM in 2018 and $11MM in 2019, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports (Twitter links). If Castro finishes in the top five of the MVP voting twice over the life of his contract, his 2019 salary and the value of his $16MM option will each increase by $2MM. All told, the maximum value of his contract including escalators would be $79MM over eight years. 

The eighth-year option includes a $1MM buyout that is part of the $60MM guarantee, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports (on Twitter). The deal doesn't include a no-trade clause, Heyman reports (on Twitter).

 Enrique Rojas of ESPNDeportes.com first reported that the sides reached an agreement after David Kaplan of CSNChicago.com first reported that the two sides were working on a long-term deal. Post by Ben Nicholson-Smith with Zach Links and Steve Adams. Photo courtesy of US Presswire.

Rosenthal On Baker, Medlen, Orioles

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Melky Cabrera missed out on a free agent payday of at least $50MM by testing positive for an elevated amount of testosterone, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports writes. Baseball is focused on improving ways of detecting testosterone and expanding tests for human growth hormone, Rosenthal reports. Here are some highlights from the remainder of his column…

  • Dusty Baker might not have much leverage in contract talks with the Reds unless a managerial opening or two emerges, Rosenthal writes. Baker, whose contract expires after the season, earns $4-4.5MM per year and Rosenthal argues he deserves a raise. The Astros will be looking for a manager this offseason and jobs could open up in Boston and Anaheim.
  • There’s no talk of the Braves shutting Kris Medlen down, even though he underwent Tommy John surgery at the same time Stephen Strasburg did. The Braves limited Medlen’s innings by starting the season with him in the bullpen.
  • The Orioles are able to add payroll, but they didn’t do so in their recent trade with the Diamondbacks. Arizona sent about $300K to Baltimore to account for the difference in the salaries of Matt Lindstrom and Joe Saunders. 
  • The Orioles put in a claim on Joe Blanton earlier in August, Rosenthal reports. The Dodgers won the claim on the right-hander, who had nearly $3MM on his contract at the time he was placed on waivers.

Kershaw Open To Talking Extension

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The Dodgers have spent aggressively to acquire players from other organizations this summer, but at some point in the coming months they could turn their attention to a player they drafted and developed themselves: reigning Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw. The left-hander told Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times that he would consider a long-term extension if the Dodgers wish to discuss one. 

"Yeah, sure, I'm always open to talks," Kershaw said. "I've had a great time here. I love the guys and I love everything about L.A."

Last offseason the sides agreed to a two-year, $19MM deal that covers Kershaw’s first two arbitration seasons (2012-13). They discussed the possibility of a four-year deal with a fifth year option before settling on two years, according to Hernandez.  The 24-year-old Hendricks Sports client will be eligible for arbitration one more time following the 2013 season and eligible for free agency following the 2014 season.

Dodgers GM Ned Colletti said in May that he doesn’t intend to negotiate a longer deal with Kershaw during the regular season. Since then, the Dodgers have spent more than $430MM in player acquisitions, Hernandez writes. It won’t be surprising if Guggenheim Baseball Management, the team’s new ownership group, works aggressively to keep Kershaw in place long-term.

Kershaw has followed up his Cy Young season with a similarly dominant year. He leads National League pitchers with 186 2/3 innings, 183 strikeouts and two shutouts. His ERA has risen but remains under 3.00 at 2.84 and he continues to limit walks (2.1 BB/9). At this point in Kershaw’s career, he seems well-positioned to obtain a contract worth in excess of $100MM.

Players Who Have Been Placed On Revocable Waivers

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Alfonso Soriano, Carlos Marmol and Roy Oswalt are the only players known to have cleared waivers so far this month (not counting the long list of players who have been traded). But we know other players have been placed on waivers, even though some of the details surrounding those cases remain unclear. Here's a list of the players that have been placed on revocable waivers this month, along with what we know about each player:

Please note: This post concerns players placed on revocable Major League waivers. Many other players have been placed on release waivers or outright waivers, but those waivers are irrevocable — teams can't pull players back off of irrevocable waivers. This post was first published on August 23rd.

Daisuke Matsuzaka On Waivers

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The Red Sox recently placed right-hander Daisuke Matsuzaka on revocable waivers, ESPN.com's Buster Olney reports (Twitter links). One general manager told Olney that Matsuzaka and Mark Buehrle might be available for little return.

Matsuzaka earns $10MM in 2012, the final season of his six-year, $52MM contract with the Red Sox. Just less than $2MM remains on his contract between now and the end of the season. In six starts for Boston this year he has posted a 5.10 ERA with 7.8 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9. He started against the Royals last night, allowing one unearned run, five hits and two walks in seven innings while striking out six.

The Red Sox have been particularly aggressive in placing players on waivers this summer (at least in terms of what has been reported relative to other teams). If Matsuzaka goes unclaimed, the Red Sox will be able to complete a trade just as easily as they could have before the current waiver period began at the beginning of August.

If a team claims Matsuzaka, the Red Sox will have three choices. They can let him (and his contract) go to the claiming team, they can complete a trade with the claiming team, or they can pull him back off of waivers. American League teams will have claiming priority on Matsuzaka.

Dodgers Seek Starting Pitcher

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TUESDAY: The Dodgers continue to work hard to add a starting pitcher, ESPN.com's Buster Olney reports (on Twitter). Olney points out that the Dodgers are willing to take on major salaries and suggests Mark Buehrle could be a possibility.

MONDAY: Eight of the 25 players on the Dodgers’ active roster have been acquired in trades since the end of July and they may not be done dealing yet. The Dodgers are looking for another starting pitcher, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports (Twitter links). However, they aren’t close to any trades and don't expect to be able to acquire an impact starter.

The Dodgers have already traded for two starters since the waiver trade period began in August: Joe Blanton and Josh Beckett. Clayton Kershaw, Aaron Harang and Chris Capuano round out the rotation for the Dodgers, who can only trade for MLB pitchers who have placed on waivers. To this point no available starting pitchers are known to have cleared waivers (Joe Saunders cleared, but was traded over the weekend).

GM Ned Colletti must complete a deal by Friday for an acquisition to be eligible for postseason play. The Dodgers could trade for a starter in September, but he would not be eligible for the postseason should the Dodgers qualify.

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