Giants Acquire Pagan From Mets For Torres, Ramirez
The Giants and Mets have agreed on a deal that will send Andres Torres and Ramon Ramirez to New York and Angel Pagan to San Francisco, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post. The Giants will also receive a player to be named later or cash, according to a team release. The deal was announced by both clubs today.
All three players are arbitration eligible, and Torres in particular was a candidate to be non-tendered next week. Both Torres and Pagan were valuable as regulars in 2010 but struggled in 2011, though the Mets were expected to tender Pagan a contract.
Prior to the Giants' acquisition of Pagan, their outfield was expected to feature Aubrey Huff in left, Melky Cabrera in center, and Nate Schierholtz in right field. Given the defensive inadequacies of Huff and Cabrera, Pagan might be a well-used fourth outfielder in San Francisco. Pagan will be surely be motivated to earn regular playing time, as he's entering his contract year. He projects to earn $4.7MM through arbitration for 2012.
The Mets can potentially control Torres for two years, and MLBTR estimates a salary of around $2.5MM in 2012. He makes for a nice upside play for GM Sandy Alderson. Alderson has also revamped his 2012 bullpen in the course of about an hour. Ramirez is a useful, affordable addition, and the Mets also signed veteran relievers Jon Rauch and Frank Francisco (together again!)
GMs Alderson and Brian Sabean last matched up in late July, when the Mets traded Carlos Beltran and cash to the Giants for pitching prospect Zack Wheeler.
Tim Dierkes contributed to this post.
Mets Close To Making Trade
8:46pm: The Giants and Mets are believed to be discussing a deal that would send Andres Torres and Ramon Ramirez to New York for Angel Pagan, tweets Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News. That would match up with the two-for-one rumors, and Torres and Pagan qualify as "change of scenery" players as well.
8:33pm: Hot on the heels of their agreement with Jon Rauch, the Mets have a multi-player trade in the works, tweets MLB Network's Jon Heyman. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter) describes the deal as a "change of scenery" trade both ways, and says the Mets are going to receive two players in exchange for one. Joel Sherman of the New York Post (Twitter link) hears that the move will net the Mets another reliever.
Giants “Far Down The Road” On Two Trades
8:45pm: One of the proposals is believed to be Andres Torres and Ramon Ramirez for Angel Pagan, tweets Baggarly. That would match up with the two-for-one rumors we heard earlier about the Mets.
8:42pm: The Giants are "far down the road" on two trade proposals and GM Brian Sabean thinks the team may make a move tonight, according to Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News (on Twitter). The proposed moves don't involve Jed Lowrie, Carlos Quentin, or Martin Prado, three names that have surfaced in recent trade rumors, adds Baggarly.
With rumors swirling that the Mets are also close to making a deal for a reliever, and the Giants said to be entertaining offers for Ramon Ramirez, it's possible the Mets could be on the other end of one of San Francisco's two proposals. That's my own speculation, however.
Giants Trying To Trade Keppinger, Torres, Ramirez
12:37pm: It'd be a fairly easy call for the Giants to non-tender Keppinger, reports Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News. Baggarly also notes that the Giants intend to work out a multiyear deal with starter Ryan Vogelsong, who would be eligible for free agency after 2012. For more on the Giants' huge arbitration class, read up here.
11:34am: The Giants are trying to trade infielder Jeff Keppinger, outfielder Andres Torres, and reliever Ramon Ramirez, tweets Danny Knobler of CBS Sports. They're planning to keep lefty Jeremy Affeldt. ESPN's Buster Olney says there's a strong feeling by other teams Torres will be non-tendered. If so, the Giants may not be able to get much for him. Torres was the second-most valuable center fielder in baseball in 2010, based on FanGraphs' wins above replacement.
Keppinger, Torres, and Ramirez are all arbitration eligible, and MLBTR projects salaries in the $2.3-2.7MM range for each.
Giants Trying To Trade Affeldt Or Ramon Ramirez
The Giants have a ton of money tied up in the bullpen right now, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, so they're trying to move Jeremy Affeldt or Ramon Ramirez. Many teams seek bullpen help, including the Yankees, Red Sox, Blue Jays, Tigers, Twins, Angels, Mariners, Mets, Brewers, Cardinals, and Reds.
Affeldt, a 32-year-old lefty, had his $5MM club option exercised by the Giants in October. Ramirez, a 30-year-old righty, projects to earn $2.3MM in his last year before free agency.
Including Affeldt, Ramirez, Brian Wilson ($8.5MM), Javier Lopez ($4.25MM), Santiago Casilla ($1.9MM estimated), and Sergio Romo ($1.3MM estimated), the Giants project to have a $23.25MM bullpen in 2012. That doesn't seem too bad against a $130MM payroll, though it increases to over 23% of the team's spending once you remove the dead weight of Barry Zito and Aaron Rowand.
Players To Avoid Arbitration: Tuesday
Today is the deadline for players and teams to submit arbitration figures. The sides will then settle on a salary between the team's proposed number and the player's proposed number or go to an arbitration hearing. Arbitration eligible players are under team control, so the clubs don't risk losing them – it's a question of how much the players will earn.
Yesterday, 11 players avoided arbitration. We could see just as many agreements trickle in today and we'll keep you posted on them right here and with our Arb Tracker. The latest updates will be at the top of the post:
- The Angels have agreed to terms with Reggie Willits and Howie Kendrick, tweets Bill Shaikin of The Los Angeles Times. Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register tweets that Kendrick will earn $3.3MM, Willits $775K (on Twitter).
- The Giants agreed to terms with Santiago Casilla on a one-year deal worth $1.3MM with incentives, according to ESPN Deportes' Enrique Rojas (on Twitter). The team also announced that they avoided arb with Jonathan Sanchez and Ramon Ramirez (on Twitter). Sanchez will earn $4.8MM with incentives tweets Hank Schulman of The San Francisco Chronicle while Ramirez will earn $1.65MM according to Janie McCauley of The Canadian Press.
- The Braves agreed to terms with Peter Moylan and Eric O'Flaherty, according to MLB.com's Mark Bowman (on Twitter). Moylan gets $2MM, O'Flaherty gets $895K according to Dave O'Brien of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (on Twitter).
- The Mariners agreed to terms with Brandon League, David Aardsma and Jason Vargas, the team announced. Aardsma will earn $4.5MM with plenty of incentives, according to Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times (plus Twitter link).
- The Rangers agreed to terms with C.J. Wilson and Nelson Cruz, according to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan (Twitter links). Cruz gets $3.65MM, and Wilson gets $7.05MM with a chance to earn another $100K according to his agent Bob Garber, via email.
Rosenthal’s Full Count Video: Salty, Braves, Cards
Ken Rosenthal has a new Full Count video up, so let's dive in…
- The Red Sox scouted Jarrod Saltalamacchia hard before acquiring him this afternoon, and they feel that he is throwing better and will benefit from a change of scenery. 18 months ago the cost for Salty was Clay Buchholz, so they feel he's worth the gamble considering the uncertain futures of Victor Martinez and Jason Varitek.
- The Braves didn't need either Kyle Farnsworth or Rick Ankiel, but picking up both improves their depth considerably. Ankiel will be the regular center fielder against righties, platooning with Melky Cabrera, while Farnsworth will help lessen the burden on Takashi Saito and Jonny Venters. The Braves are clearly going for it in Bobby Cox's final season.
- It seems odd that the Cardinals would trade Ryan Ludwick given their offensive inconsistency this year, but the team likes what Jon Jay has done and they'll save big when Ludwick goes to arbitration for the final time next season.
- Relative to its competition, no team did as poorly as the Mets at the deadline. They were outbid for Ramon Ramirez, and the Cubs wanted no part of a Luis Castillo and Oliver Perez for Carlos Zambrano swap. The Cubbies are hopeful that Big Z will come back and rebuild his value down the stretch.
Giants Acquire Ramon Ramirez
The Giants have acquired righty reliever Ramon Ramirez from the Red Sox in exchange for minor league pitcher Daniel Turpen.
Ramirez, 28, had a 4.46 ERA with 6.6 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 in 42.1 innings out of Boston's bullpen this season. There is approximately $555K left on his contract this season, and he is arbitration eligible in each of the next two seasons.
Turpen, 23, had a 4.09 ERA with 7.5 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 in 50.2 innings for San Francisco's Double-A affiliate this season, working mostly in relief. The 254th overall pick in the 2007 draft was not ranked as one of the Giants' 30 best prospects before the season according to Baseball America.
WEEI.com's Rob Bradford first reported the deal while Henry Schulman of The San Francisco Chronicle added some details.
Mike Axisa contributed to this post.
Red Sox Have Explored Trades For Many Relievers
FRIDAY, 1:03am: Theo Epstein has discussed multiple possible trades with former Red Sox assistant GM and current Padres GM Jed Hoyer, according to Peter Abraham and Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. The Globe duo believes Boston could have interest in a reliever like Joe Thatcher, and, given the team's excess of outfielders when Jacoby Ellsbury returns, they may match up with San Diego.
THURSDAY, 12:59pm: Though they're on his no-trade list, the Red Sox asked the Brewers about Trevor Hoffman, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Rosenthal adds that the Brewers are not inclined to move Hoffman. Meanwhile they're getting calls on Carlos Villanueva and Todd Coffey.
12:05pm: The Red Sox are leaving no rock unturned in their search for relief help. They've explored Rafael Perez, Will Ohman, Mike Gonzalez, Matt Capps, Michael Wuertz, Craig Breslow, Sean Marshall, Kerry Wood, David Aardsma, and Kyle Farnsworth, reports Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. Cafardo says Scott Downs looks unlikely unless the Blue Jays back down from their top prospect requests. On a related note, SI's Jon Heyman tweets that the Jays asked the Mets for outfield prospect Kirk Nieuwenhuis and one other player for Downs and were denied.
Marshall is the interesting name here. The 27-year-old lefty has had a dominant year in relief, posting a 1.71 ERA, 10.4 K/9, and 2.9 BB/9 in 52.6 innings with one home run allowed. He's been especially strong against lefties. Marshall is under team control through 2012 and would presumably be very difficult to pry loose from the Cubs. Gonzalez is another surprising name, since he's spent most of the season on the shelf with a shoulder injury and is still owed good money.
Cafardo adds that the Red Sox have been shopping reliever Ramon Ramirez, and offers the opinion that a National League team might want to take a look at him. Ramirez has a 4.57 ERA, 6.5 K/9, and 3.3 BB/9 in 41.3 innings with six home runs allowed and is a potential non-tender candidate after the season.
Odds & Ends: Donnelly, Guillen, Mets, Red Sox
Links for Monday, as we congratulate Matt Garza for throwing the first no-hitter in Rays history…
- Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post hears (via Twitter) that the Marlins have zero interest in Brendan Donnelly. The recently-DFA'd righty pitched well for the Marlins last year.
- The Giants have been scouting Jose Guillen aggressively, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (via Twitter). The Royals have been willing to move the 34-year-old for a while.
- MLBTR's Tim Dierkes answered questions about the upcoming trade deadline for SD Sports Net.
- Pirates GM Neal Huntington told MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch that "money seems to be really tight within the industry" right now.
- Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic offers his interpretation of interim GM Jerry Dipoto's comments about Joe Saunders' winning percentage.
- The Mets are in wait-and-see mode at this point, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney (Twitter link).
- GM Omar Minaya confirmed to Andy Martino of the New York Daily News that the Mets aren't going to fire any coaches today (Twitter link).
- The Red Sox are pursuing bullpen help, but would consider trading relievers Ramon Ramirez and Manny Delcarmen, according to Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston (Twitter link).
- The Marlins aren't going to hire Bobby Valentine to manage the team, according to Juan C. Rodriguez of the South Florida Sun Sentinel. Valentine told 790 the Ticket that his candidacy for the Marlins gig was "not a dead issue."