Rumors for June, 2011
Could Bartolo Colon be off DL for Subway Series?
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Bartolo Colon has been on the DL since June 11, but according to Alden Gonzalez and Matt Fortuna of MLB.com his recovery is on the right track and the Yankees are considering starting the 38 year old righty in their upcoming series against the Mets. He threw a very promising 60 pitch simulated game followed by several drills one of which was bunting which hints that the Yankees are strongly considering starting him in the upcoming Subway Series this weekend at Citi Field.
Of course Colon did go out with a strained hamstring, so there is some concern brewing in the Bronx. “I mean there’s always a little concern, but he hurt [his left leg] covering first base,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi stated before their series opener against the Brewers at Yankee Stadium. Colon is 5-3 with a 3.10 ERA in 13 appearances this season.
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More pitchers notes: Lee, Niese, Harden and Broxton
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Here are a few more notes regarding some Major League pitchers:
– To no one’s surprise, Cliff Lee threw a hell of a game today for his third consecutive complete shutout. He limited the Red Sox’s offense to two hits, struck out five and walked two. In June, he has a 0.21 ERA in 42 innings in five starts.
– Mets starter Jonathon Niese underwent, and passed, a battery of tests at Henry Ford Hospital to help determine the cause and nature of his recurring rapid heartbeat reports David Waldstein of the New York Times. The Mets’ assistant GM, John Ricco, said everything seemed fine with Niese’s heart according to the initial results. They’re still waiting the results of one more test, though.
– It appears that Rich Harden will finally pitch this season after being sidelined since Spring Training. Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle tweeted earlier today that Harden will start for the Athletics this Friday.
– Jonathan Broxton will be shut down for at least three weeks with more elbow soreness according to Tony Jackson of ESPN Los Angeles. “We don’t have a timetable now,” Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said. “We did this once before, where he was shut down for three weeks and did all the stuff to return, and then we got back here. It’s just hard to say now that we’re going to get him back in six weeks or seven weeks or eight weeks. To me, at this point, if we get him back, great, all the better. But we have to kind of move forward.”
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Diamondbacks could add bullpen arms soon
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Arizona Diamondbacks president and CEO Derrick Hall told FOXSports.com (as reported by Jon Paul Morosi) that GM Kevin Towers has the green-light to add payroll leading up to the July 31 trade deadline. With that said, the team could fulfill a team need in the bullpen.
“We’ve got the flexibility,” Hall said. “Our ownership group is willing to invest in this team. We’ve told KT, ‘If we’re in it, we’ll do whatever it takes to support you.’”
The team is currently in second place by 2 1/2 games, but that’s not bad given that they had the sixth-smallest payroll at $53.6 million to open the 2011 season.
One team that could be a trading partner are the NL West rival San Diego Padres. Morosi says the Padres have a surplus of relievers and Towers is familiar with the organization since he was their GM through the 2009 season. However, given that they are in the same division, it may take more coercion (read: money) to make a deal happen. Another alternative is the Minnesota Twins’ Matt Capps.
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Yomiuri Giants acquire INF Josh Fields
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The Yomiuri Giants have acquired infielder Josh Fields, according to Sponichi (via Patrick Newman of NPBTracker). An official announcement of the deal is expected in the next few days.
Fields was recently claimed off of waivers by the Milwaukee Brewers from the Colorado Rockies on May 25. In 50 games for Triple-A Colorado Springs, Fields was hitting .365/.429/.674 with 11 home runs and 45 RBIs.
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Pitchers notes: Vogelsong, Madson and Wainwright
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Here are a few notes regarding some Major League pitchers:
– Ryan Vogelsong keeps on rolling and Craig Calcaterra of NBCSports.compoints out that he hasn’t allowed more than two runs in a start since May 3rd, yes, that’s ten starts ago. Today he earned his sixth win of the season against the Cubs although he allowed three earned runs in six innings.
Before today’s game, Vogelsong had a 1.86 ERA in 72.2 innings in 13 games, 11 starts. I’m guessing he used his time in the Venezuelan Winter League to work things out and become a better pitcher. In Venezuela with the Tiburones de la Guaira, Vogelsong was 6-2 with a 2.25 ERA in 60 innings in 11 starts.
– The Phillies bullpen received another blow, as their closer, Ryan Madson, was placed on the Disabled List with a bruised right hand reports Mat Gelb of the Philadelphia Enquirer. Madson will join Jose Contreras and Brad Lidge on the DL.
– Adam Wainwright underwent Tommy John surgery earlier this year, but even though many believed it was going to be a season-ending injury, he wants to get back this year. Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes that Wainwright wants to participate in the playoffs, if the Cardinals get there of course.
“My modest goal,” he said, “is try to talk them into letting me play on the playoff roster in October.” Wainwright’s chances though are really small, given the fact that he hasn’t thrown a ball since the surgery.
Hummell adds that Wainwright also wants to be on the active roster this year because that way his contract options of $9 million in 2012 and $12 million in 2013 automatically would vest. If he is on the DL at the end of this year, he can be a free agent and the Cardinals would have to negotiate another contract to keep Wainwright.
“I have great desire to stay here,” said Wainwright, who won 39 games the previous two seasons. “I don’t think it gets much better. And we’re comfortable here.”
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Should Yankees focus their trade strategy just to beat Boston?
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The New York Yankees have the best record in the American League, but as Joel Sherman of the New York Post points out, they have the worst against the Boston Red Sox. The Bronx Bombers are 1-8 against the Red Sox this season, and with the chances of them meeting in the ALCS really high, the Yankees need to find a way to beat their arch-rivals.
As Sherman points out, the Red Sox’s OPB against right handers is 24 points higher than any other team. The Yankees, have been struggling against left handed pitchers this season.
Although CC Sabathia has been amazing, Pedro Feliciano or Damaso Marte haven’t pitched due to injuries and Boone Logan has not been reliable.
“One of our areas of weakness is the left side, but I can’t force it,” GM Brian Cashman said. “I can’t make it happen if it is not there.”
So, do the Yankees HAVE to find a left handed pitcher in order to beat the Red Sox? The answer is more complicated than what meets the eyes.
As a Yankees official said, “A lefty would help. But I don’t think it is live or die. You tend to make mistakes when you focus on one thing. If we go to the deadline only thinking about lefty pitching versus the Red Sox, we are going to screw up the trade deadline.”
Cashman already said that he might not be able to trade for a starter that is better than Bartolo Colon or Phil Hughes, or a reliever better than Rafael Soriano, and he might be right. Especially if you try to find a good left handed starter to pair with Sabathia.
The Yankees might have the package to land a good lefty starter, the problem is that the market is really thin this summer says Sherman. The Athletics appear to be unwilling to let go of Gio Gonzalez, mostly because their other two lefties Brett Anderson and Dallas Braden are injured. John Danks of the White Sox could be a possibility, but now he is on the Disabled List.
The Dodgers, although sellers, will try to keep Clayton Kershaw. As an NL personnel man said, “MLB will treat the Dodgers like the Rangers last year and will not sell off parts because they want it to be as attractive to prospective buyers as possible.”
Wandy Rodriguez of the Astros has almost zero chances of being effective in the AL East, and Francisco Liriano has a lot of up and downs and as Sherman says, “he is an injury waiting to happen.”
What about a righty? According to Sherman, there are two interesting cases here, Matt Garza and Anibal Sanchez. Garza has 9-4 record against Boston, including 2-0 with a 1.38 ERA in two ALCS games in 2008.
The Cubs though, had to get rid of young talent in order to get Garza, but they can get rid of him again to get good young talent in return and enter into complete rebuilding mode.
Sanchez on the other hand will be a free agent after the 2012 season, but the Marlins have shown no inclination to give him a long-term contract. Although he’s having a great season he has had arm problems in the past.
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Colorado Rockies targeting Dodgers Jamey Carroll
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The Colorado Rockies are looking for a second baseman and it’s possible that they could address that need through a trade, Troy E. Renck of The Denver Post reports.
Colorado is looking for more consistent offense at second base and the team has expressed interest in their NL West rival’s second baseman, Jamey Carroll. The team is ranked down the list in average and on-base percentage for their second baseman from Chris Nelson and Jonathan Herrera.
The team is also looking for starting pitching, but Renck believes they could look internally for rotation help.
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Tigers willing to move LHP Brad Thomas
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Left handed pitcher Brad Thomas, who was placed on the Disabled List on May 11 with elbow inflammation, could be leaving the Tigers according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.
The team has been “gauging trade interest” in Thomas and they are willing to move him says Morosi. Thomas is currently rehabing from his injury at Triple-A Toledo and has posted a 2.00 ERA in six appearances there. He is 0-1 with a 9.00 ERA in 12 appearances for the Tigers in 2011.
The question though, is what are they going to ask in exchange for the left hander. While the Tigers have had minimal production at second and third base they still rank second averaging 5.08 runs per game this month. So according to Morosi, they could ask for pitching instead.
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Too early to tell where Beltran and Rodriguez may land
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According to an industry source close to Mike Puma of the New York Post, it’s too early to tell where outfielder Carlos Beltran and closer Francisco Rodriguez could land in a trade. The source is likely responding to Monday’s rumors involving the Texas Rangers’ interest in the Mets’ duo.
Puma’s source adds that if Beltran is to be traded, the team will wait until mid- or late July when David Wright will be available to come off of the disabled list. However, if the Mets just tank, then Beltran could get dealt sooner assuming that Beltran waives his full no-trade clause.
Rodriguez has a limited no-trade clause that prevents a deal to 10 teams. K-Rod is on pace to finish 60 games this year and his 2012 contract worth $17.5 million will vest once he gets to 55 games.
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Could Dodgers’ Kuroda, Carroll and Loney be traded? Options could be limited
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The Dodgers filed for bankruptcy today and that will make their seller status almost certain. I even think that if the fans prove they are good they will probably sell them as well, so Ryan you better watch out.
Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports writes a list of top Dodgers’ candidates for being traded:
– Hiroki Kuroda: According to Morosi, in a trade market short on high-end starters, Kuroda is the Dodgers’ best trade chip. A Major League source close to Morosi said that “a lot of clubs” have already shown interest in him. Sources close to Morosi’s colleague, Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports, said that Kuroda would not be traded unless he received some form of compensation.
– Jamey Carroll: He could be valuable to any team that needs help at second, third, or shortstop says Morosi. He also has post-season experience and is hitting .300/.368/.366 with 8 RBI’s in 257 AB’s for the Dodgers this season.
– James Loney: It appears that Loney won’t be back as the Dodgers’ everyday first baseman in 2012. Morosi points out that his OPS has dropped for the fourth consecutive year and is producing below-average as a first baseman.
– Casey Blake: He is owed about $4 million, including the buyout on next year’s club option, and the Dodgers would probably need to eat most of that in order to move him. But he has plenty post-season experience and could help in a platoon role and coming off the bench.
The Dodgers have also a lot of players on the Disabled List like Rafael Furcal, Vicente Padilla, Rod Barajas, Jon Garland and Jonathan Broxton. All of them will become free agents at the end of this season, so Morosi says that anyone capable of proving he’s healthy will become automatic trade candidates.
Rosenthal adds that MLB would intercede if McCourt decided to get a jump on the trade market and their options would be limited.
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