Chris Carter DFA’d
According to MLBTradeRumors (hat tip to NY Baseball Digest), the Red Sox have DFA’d Chris Carter — presumably the other “player to be named later” in the Billy Wagner trade.
I’m not sure what exactly this means, mainly because I don’t own (nor can I find online) an official guide to MLB rules regarding waivers, the “end” of the season, “designated for assignment”, and players to be named later.
What I do know is that once a player is “designated for assignment”, his team has ten days to trade, release, or waive him. I *think* Carter would have to clear waivers before being traded to the Mets — otherwise this move would’ve been made weeks ago. I’m also not sure how the “ten days” figures in, considering that the regular season ends before then. I *think* that the ten days can include the postseason — and run right through the World Series and perhaps a few days after the last game of the WS.
I’m going to take a wild stab and guess that Carter will now be subjected to irrevocable waivers — meaning if he’s claimed, the Bosox can’t pull him back. But since they’re irrevocable, I don’t believe the claiming team has to give up anything in return — so the “trade” part of the DFA doesn’t apply.
Further, if no teams claim Carter before the Mets get their chance, does that mean the deal is complete when/if the Mets do claim him?
If you can find an official link explaining what can happen here, or if you are a licensed MLB agent, please comment below.
Ezequiel Carrera Wins Batting Crown
Where They Are Now: Ezequiel Carrera
This afternoon I received an email from the Southern League announcing that Ezequiel Carrera of the West Tenn Diamond Jaxx had won the batting crown.
I’m thinking … “hey, that name sounds familiar!”. Of course it does — Carrera was one of the two dozen players traded by the Mets for Sean Green last winter.
The speedy centerfielder finished the year with a .337 AVG, and also led the league in on-base percentage with a .441 clip. The 22-year-old Venezuelan native also stole 27 bases.
Of course, the Mets are set in centerfield through 2011 with Carlos Beltran, so if the Mets held on to Carrera he wouldn’t have a shot to make the club until he was at least 24 years old. And even then, there’s a good chance Jose Reyes will still be around to man the leadoff spot.
Further, anything can happen between now and then. Carrera’s batting crown is for the Southern League, which is AA ball. Some players can make the jump from there to the bigs but Carrera will likely have to prove himself for at least another year — either by repeating AA or in AAA next season. And truth be told, Carrera is a slap hitter with speed and a good glove — along the lines of a Luis Castillo. In other words, not a potential superstar. Still, thought you’d be interested to see how a former property of the New York Mets performed this year.
Mets Get PTBNL from Red Sox
Anyone else out there not paying attention to Mets news over this past weekend?
In case you missed it:
On Saturday, the Red Sox sent to the Mets one of the two players to be named later in the Billy Wagner deal: Read more
Dead End Deals
Yesterday we looked at the Mets’ trade with the Seattle Mariners last December, and became collectively ill over the fact that seven players were traded away for what could essentially turn out to be Sean Green. Nothing against Green, but that trade is typical of Omar Minaya’s dealings over the past four years. Though you can’t expect every trade to turn out great, you also can’t consistently empty your organization for assets that provide zero return. The below one-way, dead-end deals are part of the reason the Mets’ organization is barren at the upper levels.
You may judge these deals on their success in terms of how the players obtained performed for the Mets, but that’s not the entire point. Moreover, it’s the fact that Read more
Was Sean Green Worth All That?
A sickening feeling came over me after again looking at this December, 2008 trade:
Mets trade Aaron Heilman, Joe Smith, Endy Chavez, Jason Vargas, Mike Carp, Ezequiel Carrera, and Maikel Cleto in return for J.J. Putz, Jeremy Reed, and Sean Green.
Here’s part one of the analysis: Read more
Billy Wagner Agrees to Trade?
TheRopolitans has three sources confirming that Billy Wagner has agreed to a trade to the Boston Red Sox.
So far no official word from the Mets, though it could be coming soon.
No word on who the PTBNL will be, either. But since the Red Sox are taking on all of the rest of Wagner’s contract, and presumably agreeing to the lefthander’s demands regarding his option and arbitration, I get the feeling that the players will not be top-10 prospects.
Strange deal for the Red Sox, considering these caveats:
- Wagner can only pitch once every 3 days
- Wagner insisted that his option for next year NOT be picked up, so he can become a free agent
- Wagner also insisted that he not be offered arbitration, so the team who signs him won’t relinquish a draft pick
- The Red Sox are taking on all of the rest of Wagner’s 2009 salary (roughly $2.7M + $1M buyout)
A healthy Wagner who can set up for Jonathan Papelbon 3-4 times a week could be a difference-maker. But a recovering Wagner who can only pitch one or possibly twice a week at most is not likely to have an impact on the stretch run.
Trading Wags means the Mets get his $2.7M off the books plus the $1M buyout that they would have had to pay if they chose not to pick up his $8M option. However, it also means the Mets will need to think long and hard about picking up J.J. Putz’s $8.6M option — if they don’t, then who is the setup man in 2010?
We won’t know how to evaulate this trade until the players coming from Boston are identified; I imagine we won’t hear about them until after the season.
** UPDATE **
Via Twitter, Bart Hubbach of the NY Post suggests that the Mets will receive two AA players, and that the Bosox WILL offer Wags arbitration (and thus get the draft picks when he signs elsewhere). Per Hubbach:
The Mets are getting two AA-level prospects. The Red Sox agreed to decline Wagner’s option but are retaining draft-pick compensation.
The top prospect on the Red Sox AA team (the Portland Sea Dogs) is 22-year-old 1B Lars Anderson, but I doubt they’d give him up for a one-month rental.
** ANOTHER UPDATE **
David Lefort of Boston.com has this to say about the players going to the Mets:
It is not expected that any more than one of the two players the Sox are giving up will come from the 40-man roster, and neither is considered an upper-tier prospect.
Translation: the Mets are likely to receive filler material. I’m betting on RHP Bryce Cox and catcher Juan Apodaca. Time will tell.
Mets Get Jason Dubois
They passed on Manny Ramirez, ignored Raul Ibanez, decided against Adam Dunn, and never considered Casey Blake, before settling on Gary Sheffield as a stopgap.
But finally, the Mets have acquired the big-bodied, power-hitting left fielder they’ve needed since admitting Moises Alou to a nursing home: Jason Dubois.
What do you mean, “who the heck is Jason Dubois?” Doesn’t anyone read Baseball America?
For the uninformed and the ignorant, Jason Dubois is a 6′5″, 225-pound outfielder who once slugged 31 homeruns in a minor league season (2004). He’s been hidden in the Chicago Cubs’ system for 8 of his 9 years in the minors, unable to leapfrog over the Calvin Murrays and Matt Murtons of the world. This year he’s hitting .302 with 11 HRs and 50 RBI in only 275 at-bats — but again, his path blocked to the majors by a stunning array of outfielders in the Cubs’ system. Luckily for the Mets, the Cubs were willing to part with the strapping righthanded hitter, who at 30 years old is in the prime of his athletic life.
Immediately, Dubois arrives as the man with the best raw power in the organization among those who do not require a walker to enter the batter’s box. Following in the footsteps of the departed Wily Mo Pena and Valentino Pascucci, Dubois has prodigious power and a prodigious penchant for striking out — 77 times so far this season. But hey, he’s played in Buffalo before (in 2006) and should be warmly welcomed by the Bisons’ fan base.
And who knows, he might be auditioned in Flushing for a 2010 job in the outfield.
Mets Trade for Anderson Hernandez
Two weeks short of the anniversary of the trade of Anderson Hernandez for Luis Ayala, the Mets have reacquired the slick-fielding middle infielder from the Washington Nationals.
Almost immediately upon arriving in Washington last year, AHern swatted the baseball like he never did before, batting .333 with a .409 OBP in 28 games and 91 plate appearances, walking 10 times and striking out only 8. That offensive outburst was enough to make us wonder if the Mets made a mistake in giving up on the previously light-hitting Hernandez — who perennially leads the Caribbean winter league in batting but flops upon returning to the States.
However, Hernandez went right back to his expected offensive output this year — .251 AVG, .310 OBP, 41 Ks in 255 times to the plate. So we can presume that 28-game hot streak was an aberration.
So it’s interesting that the Mets would bring him back to Flushing, considering he is redundant to Wilson Valdez and Argenis Reyes — both of whom remain in Buffalo. Though, personally, I always enjoyed watching AHern and given the choice of all three, would take him over Reyes and Valdez.
In return for AHern, the Mets sent A-ball infielder Greg Veloz to the Nats. Veloz is sort of a 21-year-old version of Hernandez (or Argenis Reyes) — a switch-hitting middle-infielder with above-average speed. He doesn’t have the fielding prowess of AHern nor Argenis, and in fact there was a time that the Mets felt he’d hit enough to move to 3B (he was their #16 prospect in 2008 according to Baseball America). However, he hit a disappointing 6 HRs in a little less than 600 plate appearances last season, and is hitting only .232 with 2 HR through 91 games thus far this year.
For a moment, I questioned why the rebuilding Nationals would trade away a still-young, Gold-Glove caliber second baseman but I guess they don’t see AHern hitting enough to ever be a regular. And, they have acquired a youngster who is quickly becoming a non-prospect but still has time to rebound. It’s not like the Nats are going anywhere in 2010 nor 2011, so they have time to wait.
With the arrival of AHern, I’m guessing that Luis Castillo’s “mild ankle strain” is worse than originally indicated.
Dangers of the Trading Deadline
Maybe it wasn’t so bad that the Mets remained status quo through the July 31 trading deadline.
After all, imagine how the organization would be lambasted if, for example, they traded someone the day before that player’s bobblehead day?
As you many know, the Cleveland Indians dealt All-Star catcher / first baseman Victor Martinez to the Red Sox yesterday. What they did not factor into the trade was the fact that tonight, in Cleveland, is “Victor Martinez Bobblehead Day”. The Indians have confirmed that they do indeed plan to go forward with the promotion.
But that’s not all … on Thursday of next week, the Indians are also going forward with a Victor Martinez chest protector backpack promotion!
Really, they don’t have much of a choice but to go on with both promos. First of all, part of the reason thousands of people purchased tickets to these evenings was to get the items. Secondly, the items have already been manufactured — it’s not like there’s time to rip off the heads from the figurines and replace them with Kelly Shoppach. And finally, there are the promotional partners, who spent their money many moons ago to ensure these evenings would occur and have their brand associated with them.
So for once, congratulate the Mets — by not trading their closer, Frankie Rodriguez bobblehead night can go off without a hitch on September 6th.
Over at Yahoo, “‘duk” has a number of suggestions to make tonight a bit less awkward for the Indians and their fans; among them:
“Combine a little imagination with some sandpaper and it’s actually a Sandy Alomar, Jr. bobblehead!”
“The bad news? We’ve traded Victor to Boston. The good news? You don’t have to go Christmas shopping for your jerk nephew who lives in Columbus but claims to be a lifelong Red Sox fan.”
“It’s still less fragile than Kerry Wood.”
“You think you’re angry now? Wait until the LeBron James t-shirts in 2011.”
Deadline Deals
The clock has struck four and the apple in Citi Field may as well be a pumpkin.
No trades for the Mets, but a flurry were made by others. Since the 2 PM update, the following occurred.
Red Sox get Victor Martinez
The Bosox were expected to do “something”, and they did, moving Adam LaRoche (see below) and adding Casey Kotchman and Victor Martinez to their lineup. Martinez can catch, play 1B, and DH; his presence along with Kotchman’s likely means “Big Fraudi” Ortiz will have more time to “research” his PEDs usage. The Red Sox gave up three pitchers — Justin Masterson, Nick Hagadone and Bryan Price. Nice haul for the rebuilding Indians, and a deal that helps both clubs going in opposite directions.
White Sox acquire Jake Peavy (again)
This time Peavy OK’d the deal, according to various sources. What changed since the last time? More importantly, Peavy is currently on the disabled list. Isn’t there an MLB rule stating that a player on the DL cannot be traded? The Padres get a foursome of prospects: Clayton Richard, Adam Russell, Aaron Poreda and Dexter Carter.
Nationals trade Nick Johnson to the Marlins
Stunning to see an in-division deal, but the Nationals are so far down in the standings they’re listed in the Central. The Fish gave up minor-league LHP Aaron Thompson, a 2005 first-round pick who compares to Tom Glavine — meaning, a soft-tosser (89-91 MPH fastball) who relies on control and guile. The 22-year-old has struggled with injuries and has been something of a disappointment. I’m not sure who he would compare to in the Mets’ system … maybe Michael Antonini? (Though, Antonini is two years older.) But stop thinking about it … where would you put Johnson with Dan Murphy entrenched at 1B?
Nationals trade Joe Beimel to the Rockies
Lucky for the Mets, they just missed seeing the LOOGY face their slugging LH hitters in key situations (had there been any such situations, or if the Mets had any dangerous LH hitters). They also missed out on adding him to their own bullpen. The Rockies gave up two undisclosed minor leaguers.
Blue Jays trade Scott Rolen to the Reds for Edwin Encarnacion
This deal had been rumored for several weeks, with the Jays supposedly uninterested in the free-swinging Encarnacion. But they came to their senses when they realized that free swinger was only 26 years old and is as good a fielder at the hot corner as Rolen used to be. Being 13 games out tends to knock sense into teams.
Braves acquire Adam LaRoche from Red Sox for Casey Kotchman
Whoa! Where did this one come from? Theo Epstein’s saberbrain loves Kotchman’s OBP, youth, and contract status. We thought the Braves didn’t like LaRoche’s passive attitude, but I guess they’ll look the other way and focus on his homerun bat. Instant upgrade for the Bravos.
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