Rumors for July, 2011
Jose Yepez clears waivers – outrighted to Triple-A
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Catcher Jose Yepez has cleared waivers and has been outrihted to Triple-A Tacoma according to Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times.
Yepez was designated for assignment by the Mariners last week. The 30-year old catcher was hitting .276/.324/.347 at Triple-A Tacoma in 28 games.
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Heath Bell open to set up role if traded
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Padres closer, Heath Bell, said earlier today that he’s open to a set up role this season if he’s traded to a contender according to Richerd Durret of ESPNDallas.com.
“If you’ve got a closer right now and you need me to be the eighth-inning guy, I’ll be the eighth-inning guy,” Bell said. “Secretly, I would probably tell the manager, ‘Look, I’m going to go out there and I’m going to show you I can beat the other guy.’ If the other guy is better than me, then we’ll have one heck of a bullpen.”
Earlier today, we learned that the Yankees, Rays, Rangers, Diamondbacks, Phillies, Cardinals and Angels are possible destinations for Bell, who doesn’t care which league he ends up in.
“I like the NL because I know everybody,” Bell said. “Then I look at the AL and they don’t really know me. I don’t think in the major leagues you trick anybody or you fool anybody because everybody kind of knows everybody. It’s going to be interesting. If I get traded to the AL, I’ve got a lot of homework to do, but they also have a lot of homework to do.”
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Carlos Beltran would accept trade to Red Sox
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When New York Mets outfielder Carlos Beltran was asked (as reported by Alex Speier of WEEI) if he would waive his no-trade clause to be shipped to the Boston Red Sox, this is what he had to say:
“They’re in first place,” he smiled. “That’s a no-brainer.”
Beltran would be owed about $6 million for the rest of the year and sources close to Speier say that the Red Sox will not have much money to spend this summer to bolster their lineup.
“I have already made it clear to the Mets — and they know — that I’d say yes [to a trade],” Beltran said. “At the same time, right now we’re playing good baseball and we’re contending. So we have to wait. We have to wait and see what happens.”
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Could Heath Bell end up with Yankees, Rays, Rangers, Cardinals, Angels or Phillies?
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Here’s the latest from Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe:
– The New York Yankees, Tampa Bay Rays, Texas Rangers, Arizona Diamondbacks and the Philadelphia Phillies are all possible destinations for the San Diego Padres’ closer Heath Bell. Bell later mentions (via Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times) that the in addition to the teams above (minus the Diamondbacks) that the Angels are a potential suitor for his mid-season services.
“When they tell me I’m going to Philly, St. Louis, Texas, the Yankees, the Angels — wherever it is — I’ll give my all to them,” Bell said (via Shaikin).
– The Oakland Athletics need offense and could trade left-handed pitchers Craig Breslow and Brian Fuentes. Other pieces of trade bait include Michael Wuertz and Grant Balfour.
– The Toronto Blue Jays could be ready to dump Jason Frasor, Octavio Dotel or Shawn Camp.
– The Baltimore Orioles could trade left-handed pitcher Mike Gonzalez.
– The San Diego Padres may listen to offers for Mike Adams.
– Free agent left-handed pitcher Scott Kazmir is not drawing much interest. However, the San Diego Padres and the Texas Rangers have taken a look.
– Jason Kendall’s career may be over after he has re-torn two tendors in his right rotator cuff. He’ll miss the rest of this season and much of next season.
– The Chicago Cubs would love to make a deal for third baseman Aramis Ramirez. Some places that he could land include Los Angeles (Angels), Seattle, San Francisco, Atlanta or Arizona.
– The Cubs may not deal right-handed pitcher Matt Garza, but the team will listen to offers.
– Left-handed pitcher Jamie Garcia is about to sign a four-year, $27.5 million deal with the St. Louis Cardinals.
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K-Rod confirms Boras – will not be setup man
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According to Adam Berry and Anthony DiComo of MLB.com, New York Mets closer, Francisco Rodriguez is now a Scott Boras client. Rodriguez confirmed this information (via Brian Costa of the Wall Street Journal), and said that will not accept deal to team on his no-trade list if it means being a setup man.
Rodriguez is wrapping up his three year, $37 million contract that was signed prior to the 2009 season, and should he finish 55 games this season he would vest his $17.5 million contract option for 2012.
K-Rod is a candidate to be traded by the Mets given his contract vesting situation. Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports said that the Mets have contacted the New York Yankees about Rodriguez’s availability, but the Yankees would only be interested in K-Rod at a minimal price.
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When will Bryce Harper be in the Majors?
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Could phenom Bryce Harper be in a Major League uniform sooner than we expect? Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports believes that that the Washington National’s outfielder may be ahead of his own accelerated schedule.
“Obviously, he’s been producing. If it’s up to me, he’s got the tools to be up there right now,” last year’s No. 3 overall pick Manny Machado of the Baltimore Orioles said.
The Nats have previously said that they have no plans to have Harper up in the big leagues this year, and GM Mike Rizzo told Morosi that his position remains unchanged.
The 18-year-old Harper was promoted from Single-A to Double-A earlier this month after hitting .318/.423/.554 with 14 home runs in 72 games in Single-A Hagerstown.
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Alex Rodriguez’s knee surgery went as expected
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According to Danny Kobler of CBSSports.com, the New York Yankees say Alex Rodriguez’s knee surgery went as expected.
Rodriguez had to undergo arthroscopic surgery to repair a slight meniscus tear in his right knee. The 35-year old Rodriguez is a career .302/.386/.569 hitter with 626 career home runs. His replacement is likely going to be Eduardo Nunez. Nunez, 24, .277/.317/.437 with 3 home runs this year.
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Royals open to dealing their veterans if it helps them long term
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The Kansas City Royals are looking more like sellers, reports Dick Kaegel of MLB.com. They have some decent trade chips in veteran position players like Jeff Francoeur, Melky Cabrera and Wilson Betemit.
They also have pitchers like Bruce Chen, Jeff Francis and Kyle Davies that “could fill a rotation vacancy somewhere” as Kaegel points out.
The Royals would probably ask for top-of-the-line starting pitchers and right handed hitters with power, but to find players who will have an immediate impact on the team is highly unlikely says Kaegel.
“Any deal that we would potentially make would be something that we felt would help us long term,” GM Dayton Moore said. “We’ll be open-minded as we move forward, as we always are, but there’s no specific strategy in place where we’re trying to push a certain player.”
The Royals’ master plan has them maturing and blossoming into contenders in the next couple of years according to Kaegel. So if they deal any of their veterans, they could get young prospects who might help the cause in the next year or two.
Pitchers notes: Sabathia, Meek, Beckett and Contreras
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Here are a few notes regarding some Major League pitchers:
– C.C. Sabathia collected his 13th win today and became the first pitcher in the Majors to reach that plateau this season. The left hander threw a complete game shutout, striking out nine while allowing four hits.
– Pirates reliever Evan Meek is still in the “strengthening phase” of his recovery from shoulder tendinitis according to GM, Neal Huntington (via Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
– Right handed pitcher Josh Beckett has been medically cleared to pitch in the All-star Game on Tuesday according to Tim Britton of the Providence Journal.
– Phillies reliever Jose Contreras suffered a “very serious” setback and his season could be in doubt reports Will Carroll.
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A-Rod to Undergo Knee Surgery
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According to Ian Begley and Mike Mazzeo of ESPN, Alex Rodriguez is undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery to repair a slight meniscus tear in his right knee. This news comes after hearing about the tear from an MRI on Friday. Rodriguez is expected to miss 4-6 weeks for recovery. A-Rod is hitting .299/.366/.485 with 13 home runs this season.
Rodriguez, 35, is a career .302/.386/.569 hitter with 626 career home runs. His replacement is likely going to be Eduardo Nunez. Nunez, 24, .277/.317/.437 with 3 home runs this year.
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