Rumors for July, 2011
Houston Astros claim RHP Lucas Harrell
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The Houston Astros have claimed right-handed pitcher Lucas Harrell, Zachary Levine of the Houston Chronicle reports. Harrell was immediately assigned to Triple-A Oklahoma City.
Harrell, 26, has a lifetime 1-0 record with a 5.28 ERA in 11 appearances (three starts) with the Chicago White Sox.
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Chicago Cubs release Fernando Perez
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The Chicago Cubs have released Fernando Perez, Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune reports. The outfielder was acquired by the Cubs in the January trade that involved Matt Garza.
The 28-year-old Perez was hitting .206/.206/.206 in 18 games for the Cubs this season.
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Marlins’ Chris Hatcher Reaches Majors, This Time As A Pitcher
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Chris Hatcher has reached the majors again, reports Juan Rodriguez of the Sun Sentinel. The difference this time is that he made it as a pitcher. The former catcher was converted to a pitcher last season which has proved to be a very smart move. In 30 appearances at AA this season he is 2-1 with a 2.31 ERA overall. Those excellent numbers have earned him the call up to the Marlins Major League Club.
Last season as a catcher with the Marlins, he went hitless in his only 6 at bats. In the minors last year for AA and AAA combined he hit only .197/.274/.283 with 2 home runs in 101 games.
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The Braves have little payroll room, but could still be active as buyers
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According to Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports, the Braves are near their payroll limit, as they were last year. They could still make some trades, as they did last year they will just need to be creative.
Rosenthal believes that the most logical fit for the Braves could be a right handed hitting outfielder. Earlier this week, we learned that they could look for a “proven” leadoff hitter.
The team might be able to afford players like Ryan Ludwick, Josh Willingham or Michael Cuddyer as long cash considerations are part of the deal. If their trade partners eat some money of on players’ contract, the Braves could pull a couple of trades off.
The Braves definitely could use another bat, but as Rosenthal points out, they will have to be creative in order to make a deal happen.
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Diamondbacks looking for bullpen help
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With their National League West rival already discussing trade possibilities with up to fifteen teams, the Arizona Diamondbacks are not going to sit still and let the Giants run away with the division title. Nick Piecoro of the The Arizona Republic says the Diamondbacks are looking for bullpen help, but they won’t deal top end prospects for a rental.
“I think fans always get a little impatient, and I don’t blame them,” Diamondbacks CEO Derrick Hall said. “They want to win. They can taste it and they can smell it. But we want to have some sustainability, and in order to do so, we’ve got to keep those guys.”
GM Kevin Towers has acknowledged that he’ll have to give up a player of value, but not everybody is up for sale.
“I want to make sure we prioritize,” Towers said. “That’s why we want to get multiple looks from as many people as we can. We don’t want to move the wrong prospect, someone that has a lot of upside and we think could be a core player for us in the future.”
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Giants have had trade conversations with as many as 15 teams
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The San Francisco Giants have had conversations with as many as fifteen teams to gauge their willingness to make a deal, Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News reports. GM Brian Sabean has acknowledged that he’s willing to add a rental player for the rest of the season which usually means that they’ll have to part with a key prospect or maybe even break up their top-notch pitching staff.
“No, you have to be more open-minded because of the situation we’re in,” Sabean said. “But you’d have to be pretty damn sure that, quote (unquote), rental player was a difference maker.”
The team is already at a club-record $120 million payroll, and adding a rental player such as the New York Mets’ Carlos Beltran at nearly $10 million still owed to him may be a difficult approval process from team ownership.
“I don’t know how many actual premium choices there will be,” he said. “It might be a late-breaking year, a last 48-hour sort of thing.”
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Angels promote top prospect Mike Trout
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The Angels in a surprising move, have called up the best prospect in all of baseball not named Bryce Harper, Mike Trout. The move comes as somewhat of a surprise as Trout is only 19 years old and has no experience above Double-A. Though a move was needed as current center fielder Peter Bourjos was injured in last night’s game.
The 6-foot-1, 220-pounder has exceptional speed and has advanced defensive and hitting skills and is still only a young buck.
Trout will wear uniform No. 27, which was last worn by free swinger and 2004 MVP Vladimir Guerrero. Trout was a first-round pick, (25th overall) in the 2009 draft.
It is not known if Trout’s promotion is only temporary or if he is here to stay. The best way for Trout to stay is to show the tools which made him one of the top two prospects in all of the game.
Trout was batting .324 with 32 extra-base hits, a .415 on-base percentage and a Texas League-leading 28 stolen bases for Arkansas.
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Rockies Not Looking to Drop Any Salary This Month
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According to Troy E. Renck of The Denver Post, the Rockies are not looking to shed any salary this month. Aside from pitcher Aaron Cook and third baseman Ian Stewart, the Rockies will not be sellers regardless of their record. They will be looking to add pitching, hopefully an arm that they can control past this year. They are also looking for another strong bat in the lineup. They could use a veteran infielder that could fill in for multiple positions such as Adam Kennedy or Jamey Carroll. They are definitely not looking to move closer Huston Street or infielder Ty Wigginton
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Are the Cardinals giving Jaime Garcia an extension?
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The St. Louis Cardinals and left handed pitcher Jaime Garcia are apparently close to finalizing a contract extension, pending a physical, reports Michael Golde of KTRS radio.
The contract would be for four years and $27.5 million guaranteed, with team options for 2016 and 2017. Although Cardinals GM, John Mozeliak, didn’t confirmed the rumors, he didn’t denied them either reports Matthew Leach of MLB.com.
“I can tell you that any contract discussions that we have with any player will be done privately, and when we have an announcement, we’ll have an announcement,” Mozeliak said.
Garcia didn’t comment about the deal either. “I’m focused on pitching right now. It feels like it’s a little more private. If there’s something going on, you guys will know when it’s time to talk about it.”
If the Cardinals do ink Garcia to a four-year deal, such a deal would cover Garcia’s three years of arbitration eligibility plus his first year as a free agent. This season, Garcia is 8-3 with a 3.23 ERA in 111.1 innings.
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Jose Reyes likely to stay with the Mets this season
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Earlier today, we learned that the Mets and Jose Reyes were not secretly negotiating a contract extension, but that doesn’t mean he will get traded this season.
Mets General Manager, Sandy Alderson, said it was “very unlikely” Reyes would be traded this season according to Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com. That was true even before Reyes’ injury adds Rubin.
There were rumors that the Mets would move Reyes before the July 31st trade deadline, but sources now say there’s almost no way that could happen.
Earlier this week, there were reports that Alderson was leaning towards a “substantial offer” after the season that could be in the $20 million-a-year range.
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