The Toronto Blue Jays have acquired middle infielder Cliff Pennington from the Arizona Diamondbacks, the teams announced. Chris Cotillo of SB Nation first reported the swap and Robert Murray of Baseball Essential first reported the teams were working on a trade for an infielder.
The Diamondbacks also sent cash in the deal for Pennington. In return, they received High Single-A shortstop Dawel Lugo. Pennington, 31, is hitting .237/.314/.281 with a home run and 10 RBIs over 157 plate appearances this year. He has a good defensive track record and has good versatility, playing above-average defense at second base, third base, shortstop, and in the outfield. The Blue Jays will now have another option in the middle infield off the bench in Pennington, to go along with Munenori Kawasaki. --Devan Fink
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The Houston Astros acquired lefty reliever Oliver Perez from the Arizona Diamondbacks, they announced early Saturday morning.
The Diamondbacks received Low Single-A left-hander Junior Garcia in return. The soon-to-be 34-year-old Perez will serve as the second southpaw out of Houston's bullpen, along with Tony Sipp. As a whole, the bullpen has been a strength for the Astros, as their 2.70 ERA is second in the American League and third in baseball overall. They have a 3.0 fWAR, which is eighth in the Majors. The Astros continue to show that they are ready to contend this season, acquiring Carlos Gomez, Scott Kazmir, and now Perez over the past few weeks to bolster their team with proven veterans down the stretch to hopefully bring them to the playoffs. On the season, the impending free agent Perez is 2-1 with a 3.10 ERA (2.99 FIP) and 11.5 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 ratios in 29 innings pitched on the season. --Devan Fink
The Atlanta Braves acquire outfielder Nick Swisher, outfielder Michael Bourn, and cash considerations from the Cleveland Indians in exchange for third baseman Chris Johnson, the teams announced. Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports first mentioned the possibility of the deal.
According to Brown's colleague at Yahoo, Jeff Passan, the Braves will receive more than $10 million from the Indians in the swap. In the first August blockbuster of the waiver trading season, the two teams deal bad contracts. This deal was more about moving payroll off the books and getting rid of players clogging spots on the roster rather than getting real value in return. In order to move Johnson, who is signed through 2017 (with a team option for 2018) and is owed a guaranteed $18.5 million, the Braves took on Bourn and Swisher, who both are signed just through next season, at $14 million and $15 million, respectively. So, the Braves basically removed two years of a "bad contract" and took two players signed for a year less. With the $10 million in relief that the Indians will be giving them, the Braves will basically be paying Bourn and Swisher $19 million next season, or about all of Johnson's remaining contract in one year, if that makes sense. For the Indians, this trade opens up two spots on their roster that have been clogged. Also, they could try and get Johnson to produce as a change-of-scenery candidate, as he was above average offensively just two years ago. This season, none of the players involved in the deal have been superb, which is the reason they are considered to be in "bad contracts." Swisher, 34, has played in just 30 games due to injury and has hit .198/.261/.297/.558 with two home runs and eight RBIs in 111 plate appearances. He has a 54 wRC+ and a -0.7 fWAR this year. Bourn, 32, has been a bit better than his new Braves counterpart, hitting .246/.313/.294/.608 with 13 stolen bases (18 attempts) and 19 RBIs over 326 plate appearances. He has a 74 wRC+ and a -0.2 fWAR. Johnson, 30, is hitting .235/.272/.320/.592 with two home runs and 11 RBIs over 162 plate appearances. He has a 63 wRC+ and a -0.4 fWAR. The two teams had reportedly talked a Swisher-for-Johnson swap prior to the non-waiver trade deadline, but nothing got done. It is unclear if these players cleared waivers, but no team would likely be willing to risk taking on the contracts for free, so they presumably did clear. --Devan Fink
The New York Mets announced the acquisition of left-handed reliever Eric O'Flaherty from the Oakland Athletics in exchange for a player to be named later.
To make room for O'Flaherty on the 25- and 40-man rosters, the Mets designated Alex Torres for assignment. O'Flaherty was signed to a to a two-year, $7 million deal with the Athletics after coming off Tommy John surgery at the end of the 2013 season. Considering he would not pitch the entire 2014 season coming off the procedure, the A's backloaded his deal, owing him $1.5 million last season and $5.5 million this year. The deal appeared to be in the Athletics' favor last season, when O'Flaherty came back to the team on July 4 and worked 20 innings, posting a 2.25 ERA and good 6.8 K/9 and 1.8 BB/9 ratios. The former Braves setup man has not pitched nearly as well this year, going 21 1/3 innings to a 5.91 ERA with much poorer 6.3 K/9 and 5.5 BB/9 marks. The Athletics designated the lefty for assignment after acquiring Aaron Brooks from Atlanta. With the Mets, O'Flaherty will be the left-handed specialist, where Torres was serving. He has been very good against left-handed hitters and this season they hit just .182/.286/.209 in 50 plate appearances against him. For his career, O'Flaherty has allowed just a .199/.266/.263 line against lefties. --Devan Fink
The Detroit Tigers announced Tuesday that Dave Dombrowski has been released from his duties as general manager and president.
The Tigers promoted assistant general manager Al Avila to the role of executive vice president of baseball operations and general manager. The team will not have a president of baseball operations, as Avila will report directly to owner Mike Ilitch. "I would like to thank Dave Dombrowski for his 14 years of service," said Ilitch in the press release. "Together we've enjoyed some success, but we're still in aggressive pursuit of our ultimate goal: to bring a World Series title to Detroit and Michigan. I've decided to release Dave from his contract in order to afford him the time to pursue other career opportunities. I feel this is the right time for the Tigers to move forward under new leadership." Dombrowski's contract was up following the season, and as one of the best executives in baseball, he will surely get an opportunity with another team to be a team president. The Toronto Blue Jays and Boston Red Sox have been already rumored as possible destinations for Dombrowski. As for Avila, he has been working in baseball since joining the Marlins in June 1992 as the assistant director of Latin America options, helping the team sign Livan Hernandez and Miguel Cabrera during his tenure with Miami, which he moved all the way up the ranks to vice president and assistant GM in July 2001. Avila was given the same position of assistant general manager and vice president by the Tigers on April 15, 2002. With his promotion, Avila becomes the first Cuban-born general manager in baseball history. Avila is part of a deep-rooted baseball family. His father, Ralph Avila, was the vice president of the Dodgers and is currently the senior scouting advisor for the team. His son, Alex Avila, currently catches for the Tigers. --Devan Fink |
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