Rumors for June, 2011
Francisco Rodriguez open to setting up for Yankees or Rays
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New York Mets’ closer Francisco Rodriguez said that he’s open to being a setup man for a contending team, according to Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News.
“If I am going to be traded, obviously I want the opportunity to close out games, but if it’s going to be good teams like the Yankees or the Rays, and it’s going to be for two months, I can go out there and help them out,” Rodriguez said.
The Yankees are looking for a setup man for Mariano Rivera since the team has been inconsistent getting to their closer.
Rodriguez has a $17.5 million vesting option for 2012 if he finishes 55 games, but he would consider waiving it if his new team offers him a multi-year deal. However, if he joins the Yankees, it would be near impossible for him to finish that many games before the season ends. The Mets’ closer also has a no-trade clause to ten teams, but it doesn’t not appear to be a problem for now.
“Honestly I don’t even know what (teams) are on the no-trade clause, I haven’t even been asked about that yet,” Rodriguez said. “I mean I would definitely love to stay here, but I have to be open to every possibility out there right now.”
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Injury updates: Oswalt, Wright, Contreras, Willingham and Lowrie
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Here’s a running list of injury updates around the Major Leagues:
– Roy Oswalt left today’s game game against the Cardinals after feeling tightness in his lower back reports David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News.
– Mets third baseman, David Wright, has been cleared to resume baseball activities according David Lennon of Newsday (via Drew Silva of NBCSports.com). He had his back checked today by a back specialist.
– The Philadelphia Phillies have placed right handed pitcher Jose Contreras on the 15-day Disabled List with elbow soreness according to James Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com. Contreras was sidelined for a month earlier this season with a forearm strain.
– The Oakland Athletics have placed outfielder Josh Willingham on the 15-day Disabled List with an Achilles’ tendon injury reports Joe Stiglich of the Bay Area News Group.
– Jed Lowrie won’t need surgery to repair his injured left shoulder reports Sean McAdam and Danny Picard of CSNNewEngland.com. It appears that rest and a strengthening program are the best route to a return for the short stop.
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Nationals name John McLaren as interim manager
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The Washington Nationals have named John McLaren as the team’s interim manager reports Ben Goessling of MASNSports.com. McLaren will serve as a “short-term” manager until the Nationals find an interim manager for the reminder of the season adds Mark Zuckerman of CSNWashington.
Earlier today, Nationals manager, Jim Riggleman resigned after the game against the Mariners. He became upset as Mike Rizzo recently received a five-year extension and felt that the team should of at least picked up his option.
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Paul Maholm wants to stay in Pittsburgh beyond this season
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Left handed pitcher Paul Maholm is in the final year of his three-year, $14.5 million deal with the Pirates, but he would love to stick around according to Jenifer Lagosch of MLB.com.
Maholm has a $9.75 million club option for 2012 with a $750,000 buyout. Depending on how he performs for the reminder of the season, the Pirates will have to make a decision regarding his future.
Langosch says that Maholm has made it public that he wants the chance to see if his career with the Pirates can last beyond even 2012.
“I’d really love to be here to see how it would be playing in October here,” Maholm said. “I already know how the Penguins are treated here. I know how the Steelers are treated. It would be nice to be able to go through that.
“My wife and I, we enjoy it here. We’ve gotten to know a lot of people outside of baseball through a lot of different things we’ve done. It would be tough to break that all of a sudden.”
Maholm would like to negotiate a new contract right now, and find out if he is in the organization’s long-term plans.
“It’s not like I would be offended by anything,” he said. “It’s a negotiation. It’s not us being buddies. It’s not like, just because they’d come to me, I’d go to the tank just because I didn’t like their offer.”
Langosch writes that the Pirates could look at Maholm’s results one of two ways. The first one is to use his results as a reason to keep him around and the second one to use them to dangle the pending free agent as a trade chip.
Maholm is 4-8 with a 3.29 ERA in 95.2 innings through 15 starts this season with the Pirates.
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Jim Leyland’s future with Tigers is uncertain
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Manager Jim Leyland’s future as manager of the Detroit Tigers is uncertain as of now. The longtime manager is contracted through the end of the 2011 season, but there have not been talks about a contract extension for him or general manger David Dombrowski. Leyland previously was given a two-year contract extension on June 19, 2009, but there are no signs that a new contract is in the works, Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports reports.
“I don’t even think about that, and that’s the truth,” Leyland said on Tuesday night. “I don’t think about it. It’s not something that is important to anybody at this time, the way I look at it. It makes no difference.”
Rosenthal says that he would be surprised if owner Mike Ilitch would change managers when Leyland’s contract is up, nor does Rosenthal believe that Leyland deserves to be fired. However, Ilitch does deserve to see more from his team.
“If I get extended, does that mean we’re all of a sudden going to play better? It doesn’t mean anything to me. I said in spring training, I’m not going to talk about it. And I’m not going to talk about it because it just doesn’t make any sense.
“It is what it is. I’m a big boy. I want to manage. But I’ve always been a believer in this: If somebody thinks that they can get somebody better, they should get him. That’s what an owner should do.”
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Jim Riggleman resigns
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Washington Nationals manager, Jim Riggleman, has resigned effective immediately according to Bill Ladson of MLB.com.
Adam Kilgore of the Washington Postadds that Riggleman told GM, Mike Rizzo, he would resign before the game if his contract situation was not resolved. “Very disappointing to the players, fanbase, city and myself,” said Rizzo (via Ben Goessling of MASNSports.com).
Riggleman became upset as Rizzo recently received a five-year extension and felt that the team should of at least picked up his option.
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Chicago Cubs working on trade deadline strategy
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Baseball sources close to Bruce Levine of ESPNChicago.com are saying that the Chicago Cubs are bringing together their top Scouts on Monday and Tuesday to have meetings about the team’s direction for the July trade deadline. During the meeting, GM Jim Hendry will give the scouts direction on the team’s needs and which teams the Cubs might match up with in trade talks.
Alfonso Soriano, Carlos Zambrano, Aramis Ramirez and Kosuke Fukudome are four Cubs’ players that could be on the trading block if they are willing to waive their no-trade or partial no-trade clauses. None of the aforementioned players are ecstatic to be on the move, but at least Zambrano and Soriano are open-minded about being traded.
“It’s not the worst thing,” Soriano said of being traded. “When I got traded from the Yankees [for Alex Rodriguez] to Texas, that was a difficult one. But when I got traded to Washington, that’s just part of the game. We work for the team. They do what they want to.
“I expect to stay here. This is my fifth year, but if they say they want to trade me, then why wouldn’t I want to go somewhere else. I wouldn’t stay here.”
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John Maine is considering retirement
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Right handed pitcher John Maine, frustrated with his struggles with the Rockies’ Triple-A team, left the team after his start on Monday reports Jack Etkin of InsideTheRockies.com.
Maine is 1-3 with a 7.43 ERA for the Colorado Springs Sky Sox. According to Etkin, Maine spoke with pitching coach Doug Linton after his Monday outing. He said that although he would like to keep playing he needs to get away from the game due to the lack of results. For how long, nobody knows.
The 30-year old veteran went 1-3 with a 6.13 ERA in 9 starts for the New York Mets in 2010 before undergoing surgery late in July. He signed a Minor League deal with the Rockies back in February.
Maine has a career record of 41-36 with a 4.35 ERA in 585.2 innings throughout 108 games, 105 starts with the Orioles and Mets.
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Yankees not interested in Jose Reyes, need a setup man
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With captain Derek Jeter injured and Jose Reyes having an outstanding season, it was not crazy to think that Reyes could be a target for the Yankees. Reyes has played his entire Major League career in New York, so adapting to the New York media wouldn’t be a problem for the short stop.
Besides that, being part of a winning team is always attractive to players, let’s face it, who doesn’t want a World Series Championship ring.
Yesterday, according to Roger Rubin of the New York Daily News, Yankees GM, Brian Cashman put an end to all the speculation surrounding Reyes. “That’s just not going to happen,” he said.
Cashman gave a vote of confidence to Jeter and his backup, Eduardo Nunez, who has been filling in for the injured Jeter.
“We have an everyday shortstop in Derek Jeter,” said Cashman. “And I think we have an everyday shortstop that would be playing for a lot of clubs in Eduardo Nunez. The Yankees don’t have a need now or in the future for a shortstop.”
The Yankees though, need a setup man since they lost Rafael Soriano and more recently Joba Chamberlain due to injuries. “But we do need a setup man,” Cashman added.
Mike Adams, Heath Bell and Luke Gregerson of the Padres could be dealt before the deadline and they could be a fit for the Yankees’ setup role. Also Mets closer, Francisco Rodriguez, has said he wouldn’t mind a setup role if another team if asked.
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Rockies looking for pitching help
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The Colorado Rockies might look for pitching help later this summer reports Thomas Harding of MLB.com. Rockies General Manager, Dan O’dowd is still trying to determine if they will seek help via trade, but he acknowledged that losing Jorge de la Rosa has created a void.
“We’ll have a better idea where we’re at and what we’re going to do to position ourselves toward [July] 31, so a lot will tell over the next four weeks,” O’Dowd said.
“When you lose de la Rosa, we’ve had guys that have filled in admirably, but you’re still missing a guy that was a huge piece of your starting rotation,” he added. “I said all along, even when we were struggling offensively for so long, I still feel the issues with our club are going to come down to our pitching.”
“Jorge was at a perfect stage of his career to take that jump that it looked like he was about to take. If we were out looking for anything, it would be to continue to improve our pitching.”
The team slumped in May after losing de la Rosa and Esmil Rogers, but several “call-ups” have helped them to get out of the slump and back to the fight for the NL West.
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