Revisiting the MLBTR Archives: July 2011

It’s a new month, which means it’s time once again to take a trip back through the MLB Trade Rumors archives. We’re now in July 2011, which means the trade deadline is approaching. It was a busy month for sure. July always is. The Yankees went into July 2011 with a 48-31 record and a 2.5 game in the AL East. Their Cliff Lee-less patchwork rotation was getting the job done.

Despite their record though, the Yankees were dealing with some injuries prior to the trade deadline, and the middle of their bullpen was looking a little leaky. Also, rotation help was still a priority because no one know how Bartolo Colon and Freddy Garcia would handle the second half as their workloads grew. The Yankees were a surprise first place team looking to stay in first place. Let’s go back through the rumor mill.

July 1st, 2011: Olney On Deadline Plans For AL Teams

The Yankees are convinced their internal pitching options are better than what’s available on the market right now. A Rafael Soriano setback would put them in the reliever market.

Soriano did suffer a setback in May, but by July his rehab was going well. He returned on July 30th, the day before the trade deadline, and pitched well enough the rest of the way (3.33 ERA in 24.1 innings). Soriano was the team’s midseason bullpen addition that year. The Yankees never did trade for a reliever — they brought in a bunch of scrap heap guys throughout the season, which every team does every year — and really, they didn’t need too. Soriano joined David Robertson and Mariano Rivera in the late innings, and Boone Logan became Joe Girardi’s trusted lefty. The bullpen was solid. Better than that from the seventh inning on.

July 4th, 2011: Yankees Sign Miguel Andujar

The Yankees signed Dominican third baseman Miguel Andujar, according to Ben Badler of Baseball America. The 16-year-old obtains a $700K bonus.

Kind of a big deal, no? That $700,000 bonus was the second largest the Yankees gave out during the 2011-12 international signing period, behind only the $2.5M they gave Cuban lefty Omar Luis (d’oh). Andujar has not zoomed through the minors, but he did reach Double-A this year, and he’s having a breakout season: .297/.350/.459 (135 wRC+) with ten homers in half a season. He’s still only 21 and has blossomed into one of New York’s best prospects.

July 5th, 2011: AL East Notes: Orioles, Jeter, Lackey

Derek Jeter, who returned to the Yankees‘ lineup from the disabled list last night, told Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News that he’s unhappy with his first half performance and intends to improve “everything” in the second half.

Jeter missed a month with a calf strain in the middle of the 2011 season. He hit .260/.324/.324 (78 wRC+) in 293 plate appearances before the injury and .331/.384/.447 (128 wRC+) in 314 plate appearances after, so yeah, Jeter did improve “everything” after he returned. I don’t remember him playing that well after the injury at all, do you? I was surprised when I saw the numbers.

July 7th, 2011: Mets Listening On Carlos Beltran

The Yankees aren’t interested in Beltran, though the Red Sox are a possible fit given the low level of offensive production Boston has received from its right fielders this year. Mets GM Sandy Alderson says “it’s still a little bit early” to make deals, since the Mets are “relevant” in the race for playoff berths.

The Mets dealt Beltran to the Giants for Zack Wheeler a few weeks later and the Yankees almost certainly could have gotten him for Manny Banuelos or Dellin Betances at the time because they were equally excellent prospects and much closer to MLB. That said, a Yankees-Mets trade of that magnitude probably wasn’t happening. Besides, the outfield was full (Brett Gardner, Curtis Granderson, Nick Swisher), plus Jorge Posada was locked in at DH. The Yankees could have found playing time for Beltran if they really wanted to though.

July 7th, 2011: Yankees Have Interest In Sean Burnett

The Yankees have expressed interest in Nationals lefty reliever Sean Burnett, though the two clubs have not yet had any discussions according to MLB.com’s Bill Ladson (Twitter links). Craig Heist of WTOP 103.5 FM in Washington originally reported the rumor. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says that the Yankees have discussed Burnett internally, but Washington has not yet made him available (on Twitter).

True story: Sean Burnett is somehow still only 33. Feels like he should be pushing 40 by now. He was a pretty big prospect with the Pirates back in the day — he was No. 25 on Baseball America’s 2003 top 100 list, right between John Van Benschoten and Scott Hairston — but injuries derailed his career. Burnett found success with the Nationals as a reliever and pitched to 2.81 ERA (3.48 FIP) with Washington from 2009-12.

Despite big time interest from many teams, the Nationals hung onto Burnett until he became a free agent following the 2012 season. They didn’t get prospects or a draft pick for him. The Angels signed Burnett to a two-year, $8M deal prior to the 2013 season, the same deal the Yankees gave Pedro Feliciano, whose injury had them exploring a trade for Burnett in the first place. Baseball is a flat circle.

July 9th, 2011: Quick Hits: Yankees, Riggleman, Fernandez, Orioles

Alex Rodriguez may need knee surgery that could keep him out a month, and Joel Sherman of The New York Post hears that the Yankees will consider outside options to fill in at third base (Twitter link). Their first choice is to use in-house candidates Eduardo Nunez and Brandon Laird.

A-Rod ended up missing about a month and a half following knee surgery, and the Yankees rolled primarily with Nunez and Eric Chavez at third base in the meantime. They never made a trade. The team’s third basemen hit .243/.286/.319 during A-Rod’s absence. Yeesh. The Eduaric Chavunez plan didn’t work out too well.

July 10th, 2011: Cafardo’s Latest: Bell, Kazmir, Kendall, Aramis

The Yankees, Rangers, Diamondbacks, and Phillies are a few other teams monitoring Bell.

The Padres never did trade Heath Bell at the deadline. They let him walk as a free agent after the season and took the two draft picks instead. Back then you got two draft picks, including the signing team’s first rounder, when you lost a top free agent. Now you get a dinky supplemental round pick. Don’t forget to trade your elite rental relievers, folks, especially if you know you’re not contending and don’t plan to re-sign them.

July 13th, 2011: Heyman On K-Rod, Sabathia, Fielder, Beltran

Yankees ace C.C. Sabathia “has done some selling on the Yankees” to his friend Prince Fielder.  Heyman doesn’t take this as a sign the Yankees are interested in Fielder as a very expensive designated hitter, but rather an indication that Sabathia expects to stick around with the club after this season.

I definitely remember a “sign Prince, dump Teixeira” movement back in the day. Fielder hit .299/.415/.566 (160 wRC+) with 38 home runs in his final season with the Brewers, and he was only 27 too. Teixeira was 31 years old in 2011 and he hit .248/.341/.494 (124 wRC+) with 39 dingers. Replacing Teixeira with the younger Fielder made sense in a world where contracts and positional needs don’t exist.

Instead, the Yankees rotated players in and out of the DH spot in 2012 while Prince took a nine-year, $214M deal from the Tigers. That contract has gone horribly wrong, though the Tigers were able to unload it on the Rangers two years later. Since Fielder signed that contract, he’s been worth +7.0 fWAR and +7.2 bWAR. Teixeira is at +5.6 fWAR and +8.0 bWAR during the same time. The Yankees can wave goodbye to Teixeira after the season. Fielder still has $24M coming to him per year from now through 2020. Zoinks.

July 13th, 2011: Yankees Notes: Romero, Jimenez, Clippard

J.C. Romero intends to opt out of his deal with the Nationals and sign a minor league deal with the Yankees if Washington doesn’t promote him to the Major Leagues by Friday, according to ESPN.com’s Buster Olney. Romero, who hasn’t yet been promoted, wants to secure his release and sign with the Yankees, according to Olney.

The Nationals did not call up Romero, so he indeed used his opt-out clause and signed with the Yankees. He threw 12.1 innings for Triple-A Scranton before being released. Romero spent the next few years bouncing around different organizations.

This blurb reminds me of a report we read about in last month’s MLBTR Archives post, in which the Yankees were accused of tampering with Andrew Miller by trying to convince him to opt-out of his minor league deal with the Red Sox. How did Romero know the Yankees wanted to sign him before his opt-out date? The two sides had to talk. That’s tampering too, right? My guess is this stuff happens all the time. Like, all the time. For some reason it became a big deal with Miller.

July 17th, 2011: Rosenthal On Phillies, Adams, Royals, Guthrie

Mike Adams is one player under control past this season who has drawn “serious interest” from the Phillies, as we heard yesterday. But the Yankees and Rangers, among other teams, are also very interested in the righty.

Adams was ridiculously good bad in the day. He overcame a ton of injuries earlier in his career and managed to throw 217 innings of 1.66 ERA (2.40 FIP) ball for the Padres from 2008-11. San Diego traded him to the Rangers for pitching prospects Joe Wieland and Robbie Erlin at the 2011 trade deadline. Trading a setup man for two starting pitching prospects? Madness. No team would ever do that. It’s not like that’s the going rate or anything.

July 17th, 2011: Ubaldo Jimenez Rumors: Sunday

The Rockies and Yankees match up well, according to SI.com’s Jon Heyman. Colorado likes Jesus Montero, but the Yanks are reluctant to include Manny Banuelos, Dellin Betances, or Ivan Nova along with Montero.

There were a TON of Ubaldo rumors in July 2011 and I will spare you most of them in this post because they’re all repeats. The Yankees were very much in on Jimenez, who was having a very good season after having an ace-caliber season a year earlier. Still, there were concerns about his trademark inconsistency, and the Yankees really didn’t want to give up any of their top prospects for something less than a sure thing. I was all aboard the Ubaldo train. I was ready to trade Montero+ for him. Good thing I’m not in charge.

July 17th, 2011: Quick Hits: Wigginton, Reyes, Phillies, Lowe

Ty Wigginton‘s name has come up in talks between the Yankees and Rockies, tweets SI.com’s Jon Heyman. As Heyman points out, Wigginton could fill in for Alex Rodriguez as he recovers from surgery.

Ty Wigginton! He was one of those guys who was connected to the Yankees every year. Yankees need a third baseman? Get Ty Wigginton. First baseman? Ty Wigginton. Second baseman? Ty Wigginton. Bench player? Ty Wigginton. Ty Wigginton, Mark DeRosa, and Scot Shields were the cures to whatever ailed the Yankees each year. It was amazing.

Wigginton was with the going nowhere Rockies in 2011 and he was having a decent enough season, hitting .242/.315/.416 (85 wRC+) while playing the four corner positions. The Yankees had lost A-Rod to his knee surgery and adding another versatile bench bat is never really a bad idea. The Rockies never did trade Wigginton though. They kept him, lost 89 games, and let him walk as a free agent. Got nothing for him.

July 18th, 2011: AL East Notes: Papelbon, Kuroda, Blue Jays, Rays

The Yankees called Hiroki Kuroda‘s agent to gather information and heard that the starter doesn’t want to leave Los Angeles for the East Coast, according to Peter Gammons of MLB Network (on Twitter).

I wanted the Yankees to trade for Kuroda so bad back then. Folks said he was just an NL pitcher and all that, but nope. Kuroda was an awesome Yankee from 2012-14. Several teams had interest in him at the 2011 trade deadline, though ultimately he told the Dodgers he would not waive his no-trade clause because he wanted to remain close to his family in Los Angeles.

July 19th, 2011: Mariners Rumors: Felix, League

Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik still plans to retain ace Felix Hernandez, he tells Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  Rosenthal says the Yankees occasionally check in to see if the team will change its stance, but there’s no indication they’ll budge. 

Felix was only 25 back in 2011 and he was coming off his Cy Young season. He was one of the most valuable commodities in the game and the Mariners were smart to hang onto him.

Do you think the Yankees still check in occasionally about Felix? I mean, I’m sure they do, but probably not as often, right? He’s pitched well since the start of last season (3.37 ERA and 3.82 FIP) but his strikeout rate is dropping while his walk and homer rates climb. He’s also had some physical issues and there’s $95M left on his deal through 2019. Felix is still awesome! But it appears his best years are behind him. He’s into his decline phase now.

July 20th, 2011: Quick Hits: Cespedes, Ludwick, Pettitte

The Yankees have not contacted Andy Pettitte about coming out of retirement and do not expect to do so, according to Yahoo’s Jeff Passan. 

Nah, Pettitte would never come out of retirement to pitch. That would be crazy.

July 21st, 2011: New York Notes: Dickey, Isringhausen, Garcia

The Yankees have some interest in Jeremy Guthrie according to SI.com’s Jon Heyman (on Twitter), but they know Orioles‘ owner Peter Angelos will not trade with them.

This rumor almost feels like the Yankees were playing a joke on the O’s. “Well, we’d like to send you some players for Guthrie, but you won’t trade with us, so too bad.” Guthrie was serviceable all those years with the Orioles and yeah, he would have helped the Yankees in 2011, but this one wasn’t going to happen.

July 21st, 2011: Minor Moves: Chico, Singleton, Dobies, Dodgers

The Yankees released right-hander Alan Horne, according to Matt Eddy of Baseball America (on Twitter). Horne, a first rounder ten years ago, allowed 13 runs in 6 1/3 innings at Double-A Trenton this year.

Great, now I have all the prospect sad. Horne was not a Yankees’ first round pick. The Indians took him 27th overall out of high school in 2001 but he didn’t sign. The Yankees grabbed him in the 11th round of the 2005 draft out of Florida. Horne had a great 2007 season in Double-A (3.11 ERA and 3.30 FIP in 153.1 innings) and was one of the team’s top prospects. The Yankees can’t have nice things though. Horne got hurt the next season, and the season after that, and the two seasons after that. Following that breakout 2007 season, he had a 7.23 ERA (5.69 FIP) in 107 total innings the rest of his career. Baseball can be a real son of a bitch.

July 22nd, 2011: Yankees Sign Marcus Thames

The Yankees signed Marcus Thames to a minor league deal, according to George A. King III of the New York Post. The 34-year-old, who played for the Yankees in 2002 and 2010, will report to the Yankees’ minor league complex before he’s assigned to Triple-A. Thames hit .288/.350/.491 in a part-time role with the Yankees last year, adding 12 home runs.

Thames had an awesome season after signing a minor league deal with the Yankees in 2010, and he turned it into a guaranteed one-year deal worth $1M with the Dodgers. It didn’t work out and they released him in July. Thames never did actually play for the Yankees in 2011. He instead starting his coaching career after the season, one that has since landed him in the Bronx as the Yankees assistant hitting coach.

July 22nd: Yankees Asked About Shields, Rays Said No

The Yankees asked the Rays about James Shields and heard that he is not available, according to ESPN.com’s Buster Olney (on Twitter). Olney suggests that the right-hander would also be off-limits to the Red Sox, since they’re ahead of Tampa Bay in the standings, like the Yankees.

I imagine the phone call went something like this:

“Are you guys open to trading James Shie…”
… click …

Not only were the Yankees and Rays division rivals, but Shields was signed cheap, he was in the middle of a phenomenal season (2.82 ERA and 3.42 FIP), and Tampa was contending. They won 91 games and went to the postseason that year. It never hurts to ask, but there was basically no chance the Rays would have ever traded Shields that summer, especially to the Yankees.

July 23rd, 2011: Yankees Rumors: Adams, Sabathia, Pitchers, Igawa

Yankees GM Brian Cashman told Bill Pennington of The New York Times that he negotiated deals in 2008 and 2009 that would have let Kei Igawa return to Japan, but the lefty refused both times. Cashman also said he was prepared to trade Igawa to the Padres in 2007 after San Diego claimed him off waivers, but “ownership was not willing to let him go yet.”

Yeah I remember this. The Padres claimed Igawa off trade waivers in August 2007 and the Yankees could have dumped him and the remaining $18M or so left on his contract on San Diego. They still paid the $26M posting fee, but at least they would have cut their losses, you know? Instead, Igawa remained and spent 2008-11 in Triple-A. Talk about a dud.

July 24th, 2011: Cafardo On Clippard, Pence, Upton, Myers

• The Rangers have made “a lot of inquiries” on Tyler Clippard. The Braves, Yankees, and Red Sox also have varying levels of interest in the Nationals’ setup man.
• Athletics lefty Craig Breslow is drawing interest from the Yankees and Red Sox.

The Yankees cast a pretty wide net for bullpen help. Clippard was one of the best setup men in all of baseball at the time, and Breslow was Breslow, meaning the quintessential journeyman lefty specialist. Neither guy was traded at the deadline. The Nationals keeping Clippard made perfect sense. Breslow was shipped to the Diamondbacks as part of the Trevor Cahill trade no one won after that 2011 season.

July 25th, 2011: AL East Rumors: Farnsworth, Upton, Kuroda

The Yanks had a scout at Edwin Jackson‘s start yesterday in Cleveland, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.

Jackson was only 27 at the time and he had shown flashes of brilliance, but he had been on four teams in the previous three calendar years. Everyone wanted him and then wanted to get rid of him, it seemed. The White Sox ended up trading him at the deadline to the Blue Jays, who immediately flipped him to the Cardinals for Colby Rasmus. From 2008-13, Jackson played for the Rays, Tigers, Diamondbacks, White Sox, Cardinals, Nationals, and Cubs. Seven teams in six seasons.

July 25th, 2011: Yankees Rumors: Jackson, Prospects, Gio Gonzalez

The Yankees would pay big for A’s lefty Gio Gonzalez, tweets Sherman, but Oakland still refuses to discuss the southpaw.  The 25-year-old ranks eighth in the American League with 124 strikeouts and seventh with a 2.67 ERA, and is not arbitration-eligible until after this season.

Gio was only 25 at the time, and by then he’d already been traded for Jim Thome, Freddy Garcia, and Nick Swisher. Some pretty big names, huh? Gonzalez had a breakout season in 2011 (3.12 ERA and 3.64 FIP) and the Yankees did pursue him aggressively again after the season, but the Nationals beat them out. That trade basically amounted to Gio for Tommy Milone, Derek Norris, and John Jaso. Eh.

July 27th, 2011: Yankees Tried For Ricky Nolasco

The Yankees tried for starter Ricky Nolasco, tweets SI’s Jon Heyman, but the Marlins are not ready to deal him.  Earlier, Joel Sherman of the New York Post talked to an “AL personnel man” who said he thought the Marlins would at least listen seriously on Nolasco.

Nolasco, like Jackson, was one of those guys who had a better FIP than ERA every single season — he had a 4.76 ERA and 3.56 FIP in 2009-11 — which back in those days meant he was bound to pitch better going forward. Now we know it doesn’t always work like that. The Marlins kept Nolasco through the deadline and traded him the following season to the Dodgers for three bullpen prospects who didn’t pan out. The Yankees were connected to pretty much every possible pitcher prior to the 2011 trade deadline, and they ended up acquiring none.

July 27th, 2011: Cubs Trying To Unload Zambrano

2:14pm: The Cubs called the Yankees about Zambrano, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, but the Yankees have no interest.

Nope. Zambrano was more trouble than he was worth at this point of his career. His game was slipping and his blowups were becoming more frequent. Nope. Nope nope nope.

July 27th, 2011: AL East Notes: Lee, Rays, Yankees, Jackson

The Yankees signed 14th rounder Rookie Davis to a deal worth $550K, according to Callis (on Twitter). The right-hander/first baseman obtained the biggest bonus so far for any player selected after the third round.

The 2011 draft was the last draft before the bonus pools were put in place, so the Yankees were able to pay Davis a big overslot bonus with zero consequences. He was a total projection pick who panned out, at least enough for the Yankees to include him in the Aroldis Chapman trade this past winter. Davis has a 2.67 ERA (4.71 FIP) in 64 Double-A innings for the Reds this year, but for some reason he’s no longer able to miss bats (11.7 K%).

July 28th, 2011: Erik Bedard Rumors: Tuesday

The Red Sox and Yankees will have scouts in attendance, report Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports, who say the Sox are “all over” the lefty.  The Mariners have been scouting Boston’s Double and Triple-A affiliates, according to the FOX writers.

Seattle ended up trading Bedard to the Red Sox at the deadline and the Yankees predictably got crushed for it. Then Bedard allowed 22 runs in 38 innings with Boston and all was forgotten. That was a three-team trade with the Dodgers, and of the six players involved, Bedard worked out the best. None of the prospects panned out.

July 28th, 2011: Red Sox Rumors: Vargas, Harden, Buchholz, Bedard

The Red Sox and Yankees scouted Rich Harden in Oakland today, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter).

By then Harden was in the “trying to hang on” phase of his career. Injuries, including a torn shoulder capsule, took all the electricity out of his arm. Sucks. Harden made four good and one bad start prior to the trade deadline and the A’s decided to keep him. He then had a 5.57 ERA in ten starts and 53.1 innings after the deadline. Harden hasn’t pitched since. Injuries are the worst. This guy was so ridiculously good back in the day.

July 30th, 2011: Red Sox Pushing Hard For Quentin, Thornton

Joel Sherman of the New York Post senses that the White Sox “have really fallen out love with Thornton, and would love move the $13MM he is owed for 2012-13.”  He says the Yankees have been watching the lefty.

The White Sox fell so out of love with Thornton that they kept him for another two years before trading him to the Red Sox at the 2013 trade deadline. The Yankees signed him as a free agent after that season and that didn’t work out. At least they were able to dump him and his contract on the Nationals.

July 30th, 2011: Yankees Inquired On Francisco Liriano, Span

5:29pm: The Yankees inquired on Francisco Liriano only to hear that the Twins aren’t trading him, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter).

2:32pm: The Yankees inquired on Twins center fielder Denard Span, tweets Yahoo’s Tim Brown.  Brown imagines that this inquiry could be part of something bigger, since the Yankees are currently set on outfielders.

The interest in Liriano is nothing new. We’ve read about him a few times over the last couple months worth of MLBTR Archives posts. The interest in Span is new though, and I don’t remember it at all. Like I said earlier, the Yankees had a full outfield (Gardner, Granderson, Swisher) plus a full-time DH (Posada), so Span definitely would have had to be part of something bigger. Maybe they were looking to pick up Span and flip Gardner or Swisher elsewhere? Granderson was having an MVP caliber 2011 season, so he wasn’t go anywhere. Intrigue!

July 31st, 2011: Rockies’ Talks For Ian Stewart Heating Up

1:45pm: The Yankees have called on Stewart, tweets Jayson Stark.

Stewart had some good but not great seasons with the Rockies from 2008-10 (96 wRC+), but he was in the middle of a disaster 2011 season (11 wRC+). It seems like the Yankees were hoping to buy super low on a 26-year-old former top prospect lefty hitter with power who, at worst, could help fill-in while A-Rod was on the DL. Stewart basically stopped hitting after 2010 though. The Rockies kept him through the deadline and his bat never recovered.

July 31st, 2011: The Latest On Wandy Rodriguez

The Yankees offered to pay $21MM of the $38MM left on Wandy’s contract, but that wasn’t enough for the Astros.

This sounds ridiculous now, but Rodriguez was rock solid back then. He had a 3.49 ERA (4.15 FIP) in 2011 and went on to pitch to a 3.72 ERA (4.05 FIP) from 2012-13. No, Wandy wasn’t great, but he could help you in the middle to back of your rotation. I understand why the Astros didn’t want to pay him $17M to pitch for another team. He was pretty good!

July 31st, 2011: AL East Notes: Rays, Bedard, Hairston, Jimenez

Jack Curry of the YES Network hears that the Yankees wanted a shoulder MRI for Ubaldo Jimenez, but the Rockies declined (Twitter link).

Yeah, this was never going to happen, and frankly it was a ridiculous request on the part of the Yankees. Could you imagine letting another team give your player an MRI? Get outta here. There was no upside there for the Rockies. If the MRI shows a healthy shoulder, you still get the same trade package. If it shows some sort of red flag, he’s your problem and his trade value evaporates. I get why the Yankees asked, but man, that was never in a million years going to happen.