The Cardinals have designated catcher George Kottaras for assignment, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes. The move clears space for new catcher A.J. Pierzynski.
Kottaras collected only six plate appearances for the Cardinals, who claimed him from the Indians July 11. For the season, Kottaras only has 33 plate appearances, hitting three homers in that span. He’s hit .216/.326/.414 in parts of seven seasons in the big leagues.
10:06am: The Red Sox are “close” to trading Peavy to the Giants, Rosenthal and Jon Morosi report (via Twitter), although there are still details to be ironed out before the deal is done.
9:58am: Yesterday, the Red Sox and Giants were in the midst of serious talks regarding Peavy, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets. The Giants don’t have much starting pitching depth right now and currently have Yusmeiro Petit in the rotation in place of the injured Matt Cain. Also, Peavy and Giants manager Bruce Bochy worked together when they both were with the Padres.
9:33am: The Red Sox are “close” to trading starting pitcher Jake Peavy to an unknown National League team, Jen Royle of the Boston Herald tweets. (She notes, however, that “[l]ots of things need to happens before this gets done.”) That NL team is not the Cardinals, who have lately been connected to Peavy. (The Red Sox had reportedly been scouting the Cardinals’ system in case Peavy trade discussions advanced.) The Braves have also reportedly been involved in Peavy trade talks, and Royle guesses that the Giants or Brewers could also be possibilities.
Peavy has a 4.72 ERA with 7.3 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 in 124 innings this season. He is making $14.5MM this season before heading to free agency this winter.
Free-agent-to-be Jon Lester would be willing to re-sign with the Red Sox in the offseason even if they traded him in the coming week, Gordon Edes of ESPN Boston writes. “I mean, this is what I know, this is what I love,” says Lester. “Like I’ve said many times, this is where I want to be. If they trade me, I completely understand.”
Edes notes that 17 or more teams watched Lester and the Red Sox face off against David Price and the Rays Friday night. Both Lester and Price are potential trade candidates.
Lester and the Red Sox had discussed an extension in spring training, but the Red Sox’ offer of four years and $70MM seemed to be quite low. Since then, Lester said that he does not want to discuss an extension during the season (although reports haven’t been entirely consistent regarding Lester’s position on in-season negotiations). The Red Sox, meanwhile, have characterized the $70MM offer as merely an “opening offer” to begin negotiations.
If the Red Sox were to trade Lester and then seek to re-sign him, his resulting ineligibility for the qualifying offer would change the dynamics of potential negotiations with other clubs. If the Red Sox keep Lester this season, they can then extend him a qualifying offer, which he would, obviously, be extremely likely to refuse. While the qualifying offer would be highly unlikely to derail the market for Lester in the way it did for Kendrys Morales, Stephen Drew, Nelson Cruz and Ervin Santana last offseason, it would be a factor for other teams negotiating with him, since they would have to consider the lost value of a draft pick.
The Marlins are still hoping to be buyers at next week’s trade deadline, MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro reports. Miami has won five of its last six and have rising optimism, although the team is still eight games out of first in the NL East and 5 1/2 games back in the Wild Card race. They’re interested in a starting pitcher and a second baseman to hit atop the order, although the second baseman might be a player from the high minors rather than a major leaguer.
Unsurprisingly, the Marlins do not have interest in trading Giancarlo Stanton, as Frisaro also notes. If they were to sell, the Marlins would have a number of interesting trade pieces, including Stanton, Casey McGehee, Steve Cishek and Mike Dunn.
Here’s a look back at this week at MLBTR.
Key Moves
Trades
Signings
Designated For Assignment
Outrighted
Released
Key Minor-League Signings
The Indians are in the market for a starting pitcher and a right-handed hitting outfielder, reports Paul Hoynes of the Plain Dealer. While the team is looking for a way to add a number one type rotation piece, Hoynes says that looks unlikely at present.
Adding a piece of the magnitude of David Price would cost Cleveland its best prospect, Francisco Lindor, says Hoynes, and the team is not willing to part with it shortstop of the future. Lower-end arms do not have much appeal, given that the club already has its fair share of middle-of-the-road starters. While the Indians hope that Justin Masterson can return to health and form, Hoynes says that the club would consider dealing the 29-year-old righty in August if he (and/or, presumably, the team) does not perform up to expectations.
Second on the team’s priority list is a righty bat to play in the outfield. With Michael Bourn still dealing with hamstring issues, Ryan Raburn scuffling, and David Murphy inconsistent, outfield help could be useful. Hoynes says that the team is particularly interested in a player who swings from the right side, which would allow for balance to the lineup and better flexibility in late-game situations. GM Chris Antonetti has indicated that the team would be most interested in adding someone who comes with control at least through next year.
The Cardinals have agreed to a deal with free agent catcher A.J. Pierzynski, reports Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (via Twitter). Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch first reported that the sides were moving towards an agreement, with Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reporting that Pierzynski would be joining the team tomorrow in Chicago.
Pierzynski, 37, signed with the Red Sox before the season for one year and $8.25MM. But he never seemed to mesh in the clubhouse and, perhaps more importantly, failed to replicate his usual success at the plate. He hit just four home runs in 274 plate appearances and slashed a substandard .254/.286/.348. That was a far cry from his production over the prior two seasons, when he hit a combined 44 home runs and slashed .275/.311/.462.
Of course, for St. Louis, the signing represents an attempt to fill the void left by the injured Yadier Molina, who is expected to be out until at least the tail end of the regular season. Pickings were fairly slim on the trade market, with Kurt Suzuki of the Twins representing perhaps the most likely option. It remains unclear how playing time will be allocated between Pierzynski and usual backup Tony Cruz, but it seems likely that Pierzynski will see plenty of action down the stretch.
The deal will presumably no relief for the Red Sox, who will avoid only the pro-rated league minimum salary while paying Pierzynski the rest of his promised $8.25MM. The veteran will have a chance to boost his numbers — and do so during what seems likely to be a tight division race — before once again hitting the open market next year.
Meanwhile, the Twins will presumably need to look elsewhere if they desire to deal Suzuki, with the Orioles representing perhaps the only obvious landing spot. The Dodgers appear to be another team that could conceivably look to upgrade behind the plate, though it is far from clear that Suzuki would offer much of an upgrade and other potentially available backstops would take persuading to pry free. All said, it looks as if the catching market will not see much movement in advance of July 31.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Images.
All eyes were on Tampa, where David Price of the Rays and Jon Lester of the Red Sox are squared off in a match-up of top starting pitchers — and top potential trade pieces. And that includes many top scouts around the game, as several reports suggest. At least 17 clubs had eyes in the stands, tweets Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com. That includes two each for the Royals, Giants, and Pirates. A scout from the Phillies was also on hand — according to a tweet from Sean McAdam of CSNNE.com, he is the club’s top evaluator — though presumably not for the two starters. Other teams with “top evaluators” watching, presumably with a variety of possible motives, included the Braves, Orioles, Mariners, Cubs, and Nationals, says Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter link). Of course, it remains to be seen whether either of the two lefties is shopped, but the ramifications of the decisions of their respective clubs will obviously be widespread.
Here’s more from the game’s eastern divisions:
8:46pm: Pierzynski is already in Chicago and will join the Cardinals tomorrow, tweets Rosenthal. An announcement is expected before tomorrow’s game, which starts at 1:05pm CST, according to a tweet from Goold.
8:33pm: A deal appears to be close, Goold reports, with Pierzynski leaving a visit to Cooperstown for induction weekend, per Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter). Goold indicates that Pierzynski seems to be headed to meet the club in Chicago. Meanwhile, Kottaras has cleared his locker and left the club, though the precise transaction involving him remains unclear.
8:09pm: The Cardinals are working on a deal with free agent catcher A.J. Pierzynski, reports Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (via Twitter). The recently-added George Kottaras would be the odd man out if a deal gets done, which Goold seemingly implies is likely.
Pierzynski was recently released by the Red Sox after struggling for much of the year. His line stands at .254/.286/.348 on the year, including only four long balls in his 274 plate appearances. That fell well short of the production that Boston expected when it landed Pierzynski on a one-year, $8.25MM deal.
St. Louis, of course, would presumably add Pierzynski at a league-minimum rate, leaving the Red Sox to pick up the rest of the tab on the backstop. The club seems in need of an additional option behind the plate after losing Yadier Molina for a significant stretch. Tony Cruz has seen the bulk of the action since Molina went down.
Of course, a move on Pierzynski would also have fallout on the rest of the trade deadline catching market. In particular, the team with the most obvious trade piece behind the dish — the Twins, who field veteran Kurt Suzuki — would lose a strong potential suitor. A report earlier today suggested that the Cardinals (along with the Orioles) were interested in the first-time All-Star.
6:53pm: And it is now official: having taken his second plate appearance tonight, Rollins’ 2015 option has vested.
8:59am: Jimmy Rollins currently has 1,098 plate appearances between the 2013 and 2014 seasons, meaning that his next two plate appearances will trigger his $11MM vesting option for the 2015 season (as noted by Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com on Twitter). The only thing that would prevent the option from kicking in would be if Rollins were to finish the season on the disabled list. Even in that case, the option could still be guaranteed if a mutually agreed upon doctor deems him ready for Opening Day 2015.
Rollins has enjoyed somewhat of a rebound season in 2014, slashing .243/.326/.398. He’s already more than doubled his 2013 home run total (from six to 13) and has swiped 19 bases in 24 attempts after stealing just 22 bags in 2014.
The former MVP, now 35 years of age, has 10-and-5 rights (10 years of Major League service time, five straight with his current team), meaning that he can block trades to any club. However, if he decides to waive those rights, teams might look be interested given his respectable production at the plate and still strong defense (UZR/150 pegs him at +5.5 runs this season). However, that seems unlikely, as Rollins has said that his preference is to remain in Philadelphia — the only organization he’s ever known.
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