Major League righty Bartolo Colon gets busted in the mouth by a a line drive in a Dominican Winter League game for pitching for Aguilas Cibaenas against Gigantes del Cibao
Video at Beer Mug Sports
The Oakland Atheltics beat the Blue Jays 4-1 Thursday night behind eight shutout innings by Bartolo Colon. Once again, Colon stayed in the strike zone, throwing 68 of 96 pitches for strikes, 70.8 percent. In general, a pitcher throwing 63% or better in a game is doing well. Seventy percent is excellent. Last night’s game was not unusual for Bartolo, as he is at 69.9% for the season. Colon isn’t striking many batters out, but he’s not walking many either. Sometimes he gets knocked around, but can also get an aggressive team to swing at close up low outcome pitches, and in those games, he turns in performances like Thursday night.
The Orioles have inquired about Francisco Liriano, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports. Baltimore is looking to acquire a starting pitcher and their chances at a high-end starter such as Zack Greinke aren’t great, so they’re inquiring on other arms.
Jayson Stark reported yesterday that Liriano is “nearly 100 percent” likely to be traded. The Angels, Red Sox, Yankees, Mets, Blue Jays and Braves are believed to have some interest in Liriano, Heyman reported earlier this month. The 28-year-old left-hander has a 5.31 ERA with 9.8 K/9 and 5.0 BB/9 in 100 innings this year. He earns $5.5MM and is eligible for free agency after the season.
The Orioles have also shown interest in Bartolo Colon, as Ken Rosenthal reported last week. The A’s will likely keep Colon, since he may be worth more on their roster than in a trade, Heyman reports.
The Orioles have inquired about Francisco Liriano, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports. Baltimore is looking to acquire a starting pitcher and their chances at a high-end starter such as Zack Greinke aren’t great, so they’re inquiring on other arms.
Jayson Stark reported yesterday that Liriano is “nearly 100 percent” likely to be traded. The Angels, Red Sox, Yankees, Mets, Blue Jays and Braves are believed to have some interest in Liriano, Heyman reported earlier this month. The 28-year-old left-hander has a 5.31 ERA with 9.8 K/9 and 5.0 BB/9 in 100 innings this year. He earns $5.5MM and is eligible for free agency after the season.
The Orioles have also shown interest in Bartolo Colon, as Ken Rosenthal reported last week. The A’s will likely keep Colon, since he may be worth more on their roster than in a trade, Heyman reports.
The Nationals, Braves, Tigers and Dodgers are in on Ryan Dempster, who could be traded sooner, rather than later. But what about the rest of the starting pitcher market? Here’s the latest:
The Tigers intend to trade for a difference-making starting pitcher, Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com reports (Twitter links). The Rays appear to be telling teams James Shields isn’t available yet, Knobler adds.
It’s possible that Cole Hamels and Zack Greinke will both remain with their current teams at the trade deadline, and if they stay put demand will increase for the next tier of available starters, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports writes. The trade value of pitchers such as Shields and Matt Garza would increase and teams undecided about their midseason plans — the Marlins and Rays, for example — could decide to take advantage of the market and sell.
One rival executive said he’s “very” concerned about Greinke given his recent poor performances and potential fatigue issues. Another executive told Rosenthal that Greinke is a scary potential trade target.
The Orioles are among the teams that have shown interest in Bartolo Colon, Rosenthal reports.
The Tigers are still interested in acquiring a starting pitcher, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reports (Twitter links). However, they aren’t serious players in the market for Greinke.
In today’s Insider-only blog post, ESPN’s Buster Olney explained that players can improve their trade value by performing well in the days and weeks leading up to the trade deadline. Paul Maholm of the Cubs is one example, and clubs have already shown an interest in him. – Mike Axisa
Angels/Giants 22, Tigers/Braves 0: So, I’m a Braves fan and my girlfriend is a Tigers fans and each of our teams got the crap beat out of them last night. So we agreed that baseball sucks and decided to watch downloaded “Parks and Recreation” episodes instead. Good call, yes? I mean, Mike Trout and Buster…
Angels/Giants 22, Tigers/Braves 0: So, I’m a Braves fan and my girlfriend is a Tigers fans and each of our teams got the crap beat out of them last night. So we agreed that baseball sucks and decided to watch downloaded “Parks and Recreation” episodes instead. Good call, yes? I mean, Mike Trout and Buster…
The Athletics, suddenly in contention with a 46-43 record, are one of the few contenders with potential surplus pitching, Yahoo’s Tim Brown writes. They could use production from the left side of their infield and appear to be interested in trading for upgrades. Here’s the latest from Brown, starting in Oakland…
The A’s would likely trade 39-year-old right-hander Bartolo Colon if they deal a starter, Brown writes. However, Ken Rosenthal reported today that a deal involving Colon is highly unlikely.
Assistant GM David Forst said the A’s aren’t looking to sacrifice a lot in mid-season trades. “We’re listening. But we’re not looking to significantly change the composition of this team,” Forst told Brown.
The Dodgers have found trade discussions slow as they look to add starting pitching and corner infield help.
The Brewers appear to be seeking Major League pitching for Aramis Ramirez, Brown writes. Brown reported last week that the Dodgers are eyeing the veteran third baseman.
The White Sox, Angels, Rangers, Braves, Orioles, Red Sox, Dodgers, Diamondbacks, Pirates, Cardinals and Tigers are among the teams that are currently seeking starting pitching, Brown writes.
James Shields isn’t the only member of the Tampa Bay pitching staff who could be traded this summer. The Rays are open to moving any of their right-handed starters, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports. Right-handers Jeremy Hellickson, Wade Davis, Alex Cobb and Chris Archer would all appeal to teams in need of pitching. Here are more of Rosenthal’s notes from around MLB…
The Rays probably won’t sell if it appears Evan Longoria will be able to return before long, but the third baseman’s timeline remains unclear.
It’s highly unlikely that the Athletics will trade Bartolo Colon, Rosenthal reports. The A’s value Colon more than the mid-level prospects they’d be able to acquire for him in a trade.
Executives say the Angels have enough young talent to trade for a pitcher of Zack Greinke’s caliber. Though GM Jerry Dipoto is reluctant to trade Peter Bourjos and Garrett Richards, both would appeal to other teams. One executive noted that prospects Jean Segura and Kaleb Cowart are also appealing trade chips.
The Angels are looking for a left-handed reliever, Rosenthal reports.
The Cubs are exchanging names with teams interested in Ryan Dempster. The Dodgers, Tigers, Braves and Red Sox are in the mix. A friend of Dempster’s said the right-hander would probably approve a trade to Boston but considers the Dodgers a better fit. The Dodgers have enough prospects to build a package for Dempster, rival executives tell Rosenthal.
The Red Sox are still interested in Matt Garza, another potential trade chip.
The prospect-rich Blue Jays are interested in Justin Upton. GM Alex Anthopoulos is pursuing numerous players and willing to listen on all of his own players, Rosenthal writes. The Pirates have shown considerable interest in Upton, but the Diamondbacks don’t view Pittsburgh as a fit.
The Rangers are almost certain to bolster their bench. One option: upgrade over catcher Yorvit Torrealba.
It’s not surprising to see the Giants pursuing relief help, Rosenthal writes.
The non-waiver trade deadline is coming. July 31, as usual. After a slow beginning to crazy season due to so many teams being in contention or erroneously believing so, the rumblings are getting louder. It’s great fun, yes? Over the next couple of weeks, we will obviously be writing individual posts for each of the…
Colorado is the epicenter of scouting activity this afternoon as Cole Hamels starts against the Rockies this afternoon. The Angels, Dodgers, and Rangers are scouting the Phillie left-hander, according to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports (Twitter links). The Tigers are on hand taking a look at Marco Scutaro, tweets Tracy Ringolsby of Root Sports. Also from the AL and NL West:
The A’s don’t appear to be a fit with the Diamondbacks for Justin Upton, unless it’s part of a multi-team deal, writes Susan Slusser of San Francisco Chronicle.
In the same piece, Slusser writes, if the A’s do make a trade, Bartolo Colon will be the first player dealt because he can net a decent prospect or two and the team has in-house replacement options.
The A’s will be buyers and sellers because they can move veteran starting pitching to fill other needs, tweets ESPN’s Buster Olney.
If the Diamondbacks do become sellers, Jon Paul Morosi of Fox Sports tweets there will be interest in utilityman Willie Bloomquist because he can play short. The question is whether GM Kevin Towers will make him available.
Earlier today, we learned the Dodgers may no longer be the favorite to land the Cubs’ Ryan Dempster. There could a renewed sense of urgency as Chad Billingsley was scratched from his scheduled start today because of elbow pain. Billingsley will have a MRI, tweets MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick, who adds manager Don Mattingly is unhappy the right-hander didn’t disclose the injury earlier.
Joe Girardi was left scratching his head at Bartolo Colon ‘s latest bad start. Edwin Encarnacion and Eric Thames had three hits and three RBIs each and the Toronto Blue Jays used an eight-run first inning to beat Colon and the New York Yankees 16-7 on Thursday night. Toronto lost slugger Jose Bautista to a twisted right ankle in the fourth inning. Bautista, who leads the majors with 31 home runs, limped off after an awkward slide into third base. He is day-to-day.
Read more at SI.com
Major League Baseball is examining a procedure performed on New York Yankees right-hander Bartolo Colon (FSY) last year that involved stem cells being injected into his painful shoulder and elbow, according to The New York Times.
Joseph R. Purita, an orthopedic surgeon in Boca Raton, Fla., told the newspaper he flew to Colon’s native Dominican Republic and helped a team of doctors there with the treatment on the 2005 AL Cy Young Award winner. He said he has used Human Growth Hormone in the procedure before, but not in this case with Colon.
HGH is banned by Major League Baseball.
“The Yankees did notify us and we are looking into it,” league spokesman Pat Courtney told the Times for a story posted on its website on Wednesday night.
This is pretty interesting. He’s pitching pretty well.
Read more at USA Today