Rumors for August, 2011
Royals sign Jeff Francoeur to a 2-year contract extension
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The Kansas City Royals have signed outfielder Jeff Francoeur to a two-year contract extension Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports reports. Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star adds that the deal is for $13.5 million.
Back in July, we learned that the Royals would be willing to deal the outfielder for the right price. The Red Sox were one of the teams interested in the outfielder.
Francoeur is hitting .278/.328/.465 with 15 HR’s and 66 RBI’s in 460 AB’s for the Royals in 2011.
Cleveland Indians release OF Austin Kearns
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The Cleveland Indians have released outfielder Austin Kearns, according to a team press release.
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Pittsburgh Pirates trade Tim Wood to Rangers
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According to Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, the Pirates have traded pitcher Tim Wood to the Texas Rangers for cash or a player to be named later.
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Rockies release Mike Jacobs
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Major league Baseball suspended Rockies’ Minor leaguer, Mike Jacobs, for 50 games after he tested positive for HGH reports Ken Davidoff of New York’s Newsday. Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated adds that the Rockies released the infielder as a result of his suspension.
Jacobs later apologized stating that he took HGH to help his knees and back.
Jacobs was hitting .298/.376/.534 with 23 HR’s and 97 RBI’s in 429 AB’s for the Rockies’ Triple-A in 2011. He last played in the Majors in 2010 with the Mets. That year, he hit .208/.296/.375 with 1 HR and 2 RBI’s in 24 AB’s.
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Diamondbacks interested in Edgar Renteria
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The Arizona Diamondbacks are looking to add some depth and eperience to the short stop position. According to John Gambadoro of 620 KTAR, they have talked to the Reds about Edgar Renteria.
Since Stephen Drew’s injury, the team has been using Willie Bloomquist as their everyday short stop and Cody Ransom in a backup role, but they believe Renteria could help them in the final run for the NL West title.
The veteran short stop is hitting .245/.306/.345 with 4 HR’s and 28 RBI’s in 220 AB’s for the Reds in 2011.
Braves sign Wes Helms to Minor League contract
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According to David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Braves have signed Wes Helms to a Minor League contract.
Helms was released by the Florida Marlins on August 13. Florida previously extended Helms’ contract for one-year at $1 million in August of 2010. If Helms makes the Major League roster, then the Braves are only responsible for the prorated portion of the Major League minimum.
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Angels designate Reggie Willits for assignment
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The Los Angeles Angels have designated outfielder Reggie Willits for assignment according to Bill Shakin of the Los Angeles Times.
Willits hit .045/.192/.091 with 1 RBI in 22 AB’s for the Angels in 2011.
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Injury updates: Davis, Sizemore and Ortiz
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Here’s a running list of injury updates around the Major Leagues:
– Chris Davis was diagnosed with a small tear in his right shoulder and he could be out for the rest of the season according to Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun.
– Indians outfielder Grady Sizemore has resumed baseball activities according to Jordan Bastian of MLB.com. There’s no timetable for his return, but the team is hopeful he could be ready at some point in September adds Bastian.
– David Ortiz will be out for a week with bursitis reports Alex Speier of WEEI.com. Ortiz says he’s been feeling adds Speier.
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Mariners acquire RHP Chance Ruffin
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According to a team press release, the Seattle Mariners have acquired right-handed pitcher Chance Ruffin from the Detroit Tigers to complete the July 30th trade. The team also designated left-handed pitcher Aaron Laffey for assignment to make room for Ruffin on the 25-man and 40-man roster.
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Can the Giants make it to the post season?
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At the beginning of the season, I wouldn’t have doubted that the Giants would at least get back to the NLCS, but as of today, you start to wonder if they’ll even make it to the post season.
Not because they suck or they have been playing horribly, but because pretty much the entire team is injured right now. They lost Buster Posey and Freddy Sanchez for the rest of the season and pretty much everybody else on the active roster has had a DL stint up to this point.
Right now they have Sergio Romo, Barry Zito, Pat Burrell, Andres Torres and Carlos Beltran on the DL. Nate Schierholtz, Jeff Keppinger and Aaron Rowand are also hurt and the team doesn’t know for how long they’ll be sidelined. And atop of all that, Jonathan Sanchez could be out for a while after injuring his ankle yesterday according to Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News.
Now let’s focus on the standings for a moment. The Giants are 3.5 games behind the Diamondbacks, and they are 4-6 in their last 10 games, while the Diamondbacks, who have won seven straight games, are 8-2 in their last 10 games. This doesn’t mean it’s over, but the Giants would have to raise from the ashes and show the world that they’re a team that never surrenders to win the division.
The Giants’ upcoming schedule for the rest of August is pretty accessible though. After this series against the Braves that ends on Thursday, they’ll play the Astros in Houston, and then, they’ll go home to play consecutive series against the Padres, Astros and Cubs.
The first week of September, they have a “life or death” series against the Diamondbacks in San Francisco. I believe that series could determine who will clinch the division, but there’s still a lot of baseball ahead of us.
In my opinion, the Giants still have a chance to clinch the NL West, but I won’t say it’s a sure thing after all that has happened to them this season. Now it’s the time for them to show what they’re made of, and to show why are still the Champs.
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