Baseball Capsules: Giants acquire Garko from Cleveland
Comments 0SAN FRANCISCO — The San Francisco Giants got the offensive first baseman they've been seeking. The Cleveland Indians received a pitcher they consider a future big league starter.
The Giants acquired first baseman Ryan Garko from the Indians on Monday, filling a big need in the infield and adding a key right-handed bat.
Garko was a late lineup scratch for the Indians before they opened a road series against the Los Angeles Angels, and he just needed to fly about an hour up the Pacific Coast to join his new club. He was batting .285 with 11 home runs and 39 RBIs in 78 games for Cleveland, including .343 this month to raise his average 25 points.
The Giants, who fell out of the wild-card lead with a 3-7 road trip, gave up Class-A left-hander Scott Barnes in the deal. Barnes, considered a Top-20 prospect in San Francisco's organization, was 12-3 with a 2.85 ERA and 99 strikeouts in 18 starts and 98.0 innings.
The 28-year-old Garko is expected to be in uniform for the Giants on Tuesday — and general manager Brian Sabean hopes to keep him around beyond this season. Garko, who played at Stanford and is in his fifth major league season and third full campaign, will be eligible for arbitration for the first time.
Garko will get most of the at-bats and playing time at first base, with Travis Ishikawa assuming a more limited role.
"Professional hitter, really punishes left-handed pitching," Sabean said. "It complements what we're trying to do to develop Ishikawa. The timing was right. He can drive in a run. He can hit a three-run homer. ... The pitcher we gave up is probably going to pitch in the big leagues. I think it was good for both clubs."
The sides began talking several weeks ago, Sabean said.
The Indians see Barnes as a starter one day. He will initially report to the club's Class A affiliate in Kinston, N.C.
Their season sabotaged by first-half injuries, the Indians are already looking toward next season. Last week, they traded reliever Rafael Betancourt to Colorado for minor league pitcher Connor Graham and there's a chance Cy Young winner Cliff Lee and All-Star catcher Victor Martinez could be dealt before the July 31 deadline.
General manager Mark Shapiro said he will continue to explore trade possibilities.
"We're doing our job," he said. "But I have no ability to forecast whether or not we will have another move."
Garko started out as a catcher in Cleveland's organization, but was switched to first base in 2007. With Andy Marte having a turnaround season at Triple-A Columbus, the Indians wanted to give him more at-bats and dealing Garko was the only way that was going to happen.
Marte, once considered the Indians' third baseman of the future, was designated for assignment during spring training. However, he has been one of the organization's bright spots this season, batting .327 with 18 homers and 66 RBIs in 82 games with the Clippers.
Shapiro said the 25-year-old Marte will be brought up Tuesday in time for Cleveland's game in Los Angeles.
"He has never given in while other guys would have found excuses," Shapiro said. "He has made some adjustments and shortened his swing."
Garko, a former All-American and 2003 Johnny Bench Award winner for as the best college catcher, finished his Stanford career with a .350 batting average, 60 doubles, 39 home runs and 191 RBI in 218 games.
Leading up to the trade deadline, Sabean is still actively listening to two teams about a player not on the major league roster.
Also Monday, the Giants recalled infielder-outfielder Eugenio Velez and infielder Jesus Guzman from Triple-A Fresno.
Both players were in the starting lineup for the opener of a three-game series with the Pittsburgh Pirates, with Guzman playing first base and batting sixth and Velez in left field and batting seventh.
The Giants also optioned infielder-outfielder John Bowker and infielder Matt Downs to Fresno.
American League
Indians' Abreu suspended 3 games, Wedge out 1 game
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Cleveland Indians manager Eric Wedge and pitcher Winston Abreu were suspended and fined Monday after the reliever plunked a Seattle hitter over the weekend.
Abreu received a three-game ban less than a month after he was traded to the Indians, and Wedge was suspended for one game. Bench coach Jeff Datz ran the team for the opener of a three-game series at the Los Angeles Angels on Monday night.
Abreu decided not to appeal the suspension, even though he was surprised by the decision.
"Three days can be a little hard on us, but there's nothing I can do," said Abreu, who was acquired from Tampa Bay on July 2. "I didn't try to hit nobody. I was just trying to throw inside, like every pitcher does. I was just doing my thing. A lot of pitchers throw inside, but not to hit the batter. The umpire warned me. I know the other guy hit one of my teammates on purpose. Everybody could see that."
Abreu plunked Jack Hannahan on the shoulder during the ninth inning of the Indians' 10-3 win at Seattle on Saturday night and was promptly thrown out by plate umpire Dale Scott. Wedge was ejected for arguing the ejection, referring to it later as a "knee-jerk reaction."
"Obviously, what happened happened, and it's part of the game," Wedge said Monday. "They have rules pretty much set in place, regarding what they do after a warning is given, so it just comes with the territory. We're obviously playing one guy short, but we haven't used Winston a great deal. And with what our starters have done the last week or so, that helps us."
Abreu's pitch came after Chris Jakubauskas drilled Ben Francisco following Asdrubal Cabrera's two-run homer in the fifth inning. Francisco shouted at Jakubauskas and Mariners catcher Rob Johnson held him back as both benches and bullpens emptied. Umpires then warned both dugouts.
Major League Baseball also fined Jakubauskas.
Twins' RHP Slowey says he will miss rest of season
MINNEAPOLIS — The Minnesota Twins, locked in a tight division race, will be without Kevin Slowey the rest of the season.
Slowey (10-3) will have season-ending surgery to fix a bone chip in his right wrist. The operation requires two to four months of rehab and recovery, Slowey said before Monday's game against the Chicago White Sox.
Slowey said the bone chip was aggravated when he was hit by a line drive last September. He pitched with the injury until July 3, when he left a start after three innings. He went on the disabled list the next day.
"I think there's some peace of mind knowing that we're going to get something done, but at the same time you never really want to get surgery because you never really know how you're going to come out of it," Slowey said.
Slowey's injury is a huge hit to a rotation that's already struggling. During their 10-game road trip right after the All-Star break, the Twins got seven innings or more from their starting pitchers only twice while finishing 4-6 on the trip.
The Twins are two games behind Detroit and four behind Chicago in the AL Central. Meanwhile, Minnesota's starters are 12th in the league in earned-run average. Detroit is second and Chicago is third.
Slowey's 10 wins are still tied for seventh in the league, despite missing the last three weeks. But the pain in his wrist grew to the point where Slowey, team doctors and pitching coach Rick Anderson decided on surgery. The injury has made doing tasks around the house difficult, Slowey said.
"It's a young arm with a very good future, and we want to make sure we don't do anything silly here," Gardenhire said. "He was trying to pitch through this thing, and that always scares me."
Slowey will fly to Baltimore for the surgery, which will be done by Dr. Thomas Graham. The surgery will fix a bone chip that's aggravated the cartilage in Slowey's wrist.
Meanwhile, the Twins will look to pitchers like Francisco Liriano and Glen Perkins, who have both struggled, to fill the gap created by Slowey's absence.
"It's a tough break," manager Ron Gardenhire said. "Our depth is not where we want it to be anyway, and there's a little more of it gone."
-- Nomaan Merchant
Washburn waits to see if Seattle will make move
SEATTLE — Teammates yelled across the Seattle Mariners clubhouse asking pitcher Jarrod Washburn and the crowd around him if something had happened.
For now Washburn is still a member of the Mariners and planning to make his scheduled start on Tuesday against Toronto.
But before Monday's game, Washburn acknowledged that he and his family are paying close attention to all the rumors that have the veteran lefty headed out of Seattle before Friday's nonwaiver trade deadline.
Washburn said even his dad called Monday morning asking if the rumors of a deal with the Milwaukee Brewers had come true.
"I said, 'Come on dad. Don't you think I'd call you if that happened?'" said Washburn, a Wisconsin native.
Rays activate LHP Shouse from disabled list
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Rays say left-handed reliever Brian Shouse has been activated from the 15-day disabled list.
To make room on the roster, the Rays optioned right-handed pitcher Dale Thayer to Triple-A Durham on Monday. The moves were announced before the AL champions opened a three-game home series against the New York Yankees.
Shouse, 40, was 1-1 with a 3.77 ERA in 19 appearances before going on the DL with an elbow strain on May 25, one day after he was removed from a game against the Florida Marlins.
National League
Mets fire VP Bernazard in bizarre news conference
NEW YORK — Mets general manager Omar Minaya fired a team executive Monday for a series of blowups, then openly questioned the motives of a local beat writer who reported the turmoil after asking about getting a job in baseball.
Vice president of player personnel Tony Bernazard was dismissed after getting into a heated argument with All-Star closer Francisco Rodriguez, challenging Double-A players to a fight and berating a team employee over a seating mix-up.
Then the news conference took a bizarre turn when the focus shifted to Adam Rubin of the New York Daily News and a series of stories he wrote, documenting problems in the club's minor league system.
"You got to understand this: Adam for the past couple of years has lobbied for a player development position. He has lobbied myself, he has lobbied Tony," Minaya said.
Rubin was seated near the back of the room and buried his face in his hands after hearing his name come up. He took a moment to gather his thoughts, then asked Minaya if he was alleging that he conspired to get Bernazard fired.
"No, I'm not saying that," Minaya said. "I am saying, in the past, you have lobbied for a job."
"Over the years he said a number of times that he would like ... he asked me personally ... to work in the front office," Minaya said, "in my front office. Not only me, but he's asked others."
Rubin vehemently denied Minaya's allegations and said he had merely asked for general advice about getting a job in baseball.
"I was flabbergasted," Rubin said. "When he first mentioned my name, I thought he was paying a compliment, an uncomfortable compliment for him. This was absolutely startling.
"I never asked Omar directly for a job," he said. "I don't know how I'm going to cover the team now. I'm absolutely floored. I asked, 'How do you get a job in baseball.' That's it."
Daily News editor in chief Martin Dunn said: "This was a well-reported, well-researched, exclusive story, and it's a shame that the Mets deemed fit to cast aspersions on our reporter instead of dealing with the issues at hand."
"We stand by Adam 1,000 percent," his statement said.
After the news conference, Minaya discussed what had transpired with chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon. The pair visited the Citi Field press box about two hours later, before the start of the Mets' game against the Colorado Rockies.
Minaya said he stood by his comments about Rubin but acknowledged that it "was not the proper forum to raise those issues." Asked if he would reach out to Rubin, who left the ballpark shortly after the news conference, Minaya said, "Possibly."
Wilpon said Rubin had also consulted him about career advice.
"I don't think there's anything wrong with that," Wilpon said. "I believe Adam was just doing what anybody else does. I probably get a call a week from someone asking for career advice."
Rubin recently reported that Bernazard tore off his shirt and challenged members of the Mets' Double-A Binghamton affiliate to a brawl during a postgame tirade this month.
A scrappy infielder in the majors from 1979-1991, the 52-year-old Bernazard had held the Mets' job since December 2004. Prior to that post, he was a special assistant to the executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association.
A text message sent to Bernazard by The Associated Press was not immediately returned.
The Mets have struggled this year on the major and minor league levels. Beset by injuries, New York began the week 10½ games behind Philadelphia in the NL East. Triple-A Buffalo has the worst record in the International League and Double-A Binghamton has the poorest record in the Eastern League.
Bernazard hit .262 with 75 home runs and 391 RBIs with Montreal, the Chicago White Sox, Seattle, Cleveland and Detroit.
-- Dave Skretta
Future team talk can wait for Holliday
ST. LOUIS — Matt Holliday is in no hurry to talk about the future. Neither are the St. Louis Cardinals, who want to sign him to a long-term contract.
General manager John Mozeliak said Monday he expected talks with Holliday's agent, Scott Boras, at some point. Holliday is making $13.5 million in the final year of a three-year contract.
"Right now, I want him to experience St. Louis and just see how he likes it," Mozeliak said. "Trying to push something at this point doesn't make sense."
Chairman Bill DeWitt considers the recent acquisitions of Holliday, Mark DeRosa and Julio Lugo more than rentals to put the team over the top. Holliday and DeRosa are due for free agency while Lugo has one year to go on his contract.
Ownership has had great success locking up star players soon after acquiring them, getting Mark McGwire, Scott Rolen and Jim Edmonds to sign long-term deals.
"Certainly we'd love to sign Matt Holliday long-term and that'll be our objective," DeWitt said. "You hope they'll get in this atmosphere and want to stay here."
Holliday was 7 for 11 in his first three games with the Cardinals, including a 4-hit game in his debut Friday that matched his career high. He was again batting cleanup behind Albert Pujols in his home debut with St. Louis in the opener of a four-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday.
So far, he's non-committal about his contract status.
"I'm going to enjoy myself and try to help this team get to the playoffs and to the World Series and work every day I can to be the best player I can be," Holliday said. "And leave it there. I think there's a time and a place for all those other things and when that time comes is when I'll do my evaluating."
Holliday described himself as "sort of a Cardinal fan" growing up in Stillwater, Okla. He was a .385 career hitter at 4-year-old Busch Stadium with five homers and seven RBIs in 39 at-bats.
"I'm excited to be here, and I'm excited to play in front of great fans at a great stadium," Holliday said. "Obviously, everyone says it's the greatest place to play baseball in the world and my experience here three to six times a year was nothing but excellent."
Following the flurry of trades to strengthen the lineup, the Cardinals have a need for a stronger fifth starter than Todd Wellemeyer, 7-9 with a 5.79 ERA. Mozeliak said the team likely would seek to strengthen that spot from within with manager Tony La Russa refusing to commit to Wellemeyer's next start on Friday.
La Russa said because of several off days coming up, the team might not need a fifth starter very often for a while.
"Right now," Mozeliak said, "this is our team."
Rookie outfielder Colby Rasmus had a second cortisone injection for a bruised left heel on Monday and was not in the lineup, but could return on Tuesday.
The Cardinals brought in 16-year-old outfielder Wagner Mateo, who got a $3.1 million signing bonus earlier this month, for a look at Busch Stadium. Wearing uniform number 09, Mateo took batting practice before the game.
-- R.B. Fallstrom
Hudson moves closer to return to majors
LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. — Bobby Cox shrugged last week when asked how he would find room for Tim Hudson on his Atlanta Braves' pitching staff.
"Those things always work out," Cox said.
Hudson was the ace of the Braves' staff before his season-ending elbow ligament-replacement surgery on Aug. 8, 2008. Almost a full year later, the right-hander moved closer to his return to the majors when he pitched four scoreless innings for Triple-A Gwinnett against Lehigh Valley on Monday night.
Hudson gave up one hit in each of his four innings but did not walk a batter in his third injury rehabilitation appearance. He threw only 41 pitches, 27 for strikes.
"Everything felt good," Hudson said.
"I was supposed to go four innings or 60 pitches. The main thing was sitting down between innings and see how it responds. Everything went all right."
Hudson, 11-7 with a 3.17 ERA at the time of his 2008 injury, would be a valuable second-half addition to any pitching staff if healthy. But the Braves, third in the majors with a 3.72 ERA, already have a deep rotation.
Rookie Tommy Hanson has won five of his first six decisions, adding depth to a staff that also includes Derek Lowe, Javier Vazquez, Jair Jurrjens and Kenshin Kawakami.
That's five starting pitchers without Hudson.
"As of right now I don't think they need me too much," said Hudson, who said he doesn't feel the need to rush his rehabilitation schedule.
Where will Hudson fit in? There's no obvious answer unless general manager Frank Wren and Cox plan to move a starter to the bullpen.
"Obviously we have a lot of great pitchers on our club," Hudson said Monday night. "Hopefully I fit in there somewhere.
"I have no idea what's going to happen. I just know what I need to do to get ready. I can only control what's placed in front of me."
Wren has indicated he feels no pressure to make another trade before the July 31 non-waiver deadline.
"We like our club the way we're situated right now," Wren said last week. "We like the balance we have in our lineup. We've liked our pitching, really, from the beginning. We're observing and if there's ways to improve, we'll at least look at them. But right now we like our club."
Wren already has made two significant first-half trades to boost the Braves' outfield. He acquired outfielder Nate McLouth from Pittsburgh before trading Jeff Francoeur to the New York Mets for Ryan Church on July 10.
The Braves, who are 8-3 since the All-Star break and were off on Monday. They trailed NL wild-card leader Colorado by 3½ games and NL East leader Philadelphia by 6½ games entering Monday's schedule.
The Braves may need bullpen help for their playoff push. They have three of seven relievers in the National League with at least 50 appearances: Peter Moylan, 55; Eric O'Flaherty, 51; and Mike Gonzelez, 50.
The trades for Church and McLouth, combined with the emergence of second baseman Martin Prado as a starter and No. 2 hitter, have sparked the offense.
Prado is hitting .315. Shortstop Yunel Escobar, the former No. 2 hitter who now hits fifth or sixth, already has a career-high 11 homers and leads the team with 58 RBIs.
"I think up and down our lineup we're getting more and more quality at-bats, which we think will translate into more runs and obviously more wins," Wren said. "That's been the area that's held us back some."
Wren said his satisfaction with his current roster "doesn't keep you from inquiring and seeing if there are other things we can do.
"It's always a fine balance when you look at your team and talk to Bobby and the coaches and players. There's a certain feeling and chemistry that every team has and when you feel like you've reached that right balance, you're hesitant to make changes."
Hudson may make three more appearances with Gwinnett. He said he plans to pitch five innings in his next start, possibly on Friday.
He gave up three earned runs in 4 2-3 innings in two appearances with Class A Myrtle Beach before making the move to Gwinnett.
-- Charles Odum
Giants honor late owner
SAN FRANCISCO — Sue Burns surely would have appreciated the sea of orange in her honor, even more color than usual at the San Francisco Giants' waterfront ballpark in remembrance of the club's beloved late owner.
Burns, a devoted philanthropist whose family holds the largest stake in the Giants, died July 19 at age 58 of complications from lung cancer, only nine days after being diagnosed.
Home run king Barry Bonds, a close friend with Burns, was among those in attendance for an on-field tribute Monday night before the Giants hosted the Pittsburgh Pirates. Players wore "Burns" patches on their uniforms, the on-deck circle was changed from Giants to Burns for this night and flowers and a jersey reading "GMenMom" with a No. 1 on it hung from her regular box seat near San Francisco's dugout alongside a bouquet of flowers.
A brief moment of silence was held before the national anthem and Burns' two daughters, Tori and Trina, threw out the ceremonial first pitches to Bonds and Rich Aurilia.
Giants coaches, players, staff and their wives stood near the pitching mound for the pregame ceremony, which also included a video tribute. Burns' son-in-law and two granddaughters were on the field, too.
Burns missed Jonathan Sanchez's no-hitter for the Giants on July 10 — a rare absence from the ballpark. Burns attended a game against San Diego the previous day.
Bonds, dressed casually in jeans and a zip-up sweat shirt and sporting dark shades, declined to discuss Burns.
"I've already said enough," the slugger said, making his way to Burns' seats for the game after signing autographs outside the Giants' clubhouse.
Bonds had previously posted a message about Burns on his Web site.
"It was very sudden and devastating to all who knew her," Bonds wrote. "Not only were Sue and her husband, Harmon, majority owners of the Giants, but throughout my career in San Francisco, they became family. Her friendship and support was unwavering and for that I will be forever grateful. Sue was a gracious and warm person who touched everyone she met."
Burns and her husband, who died of heart failure in 2006 at age 61, helped keep the Giants in San Francisco in 1992 rather than relocating to Florida. Bonds arrived the following year — and Burns was influential in Bonds re-signing with the club for one season in 2007, when he broke Hank Aaron's home run record with career clout No. 756.
The couple also were integral in building the team's 10-year-old ballpark at China Basin.
Burns often followed the team on the road and regularly went to spring training in Arizona. The Giants estimated that she attended at least 1,000 games over the last decade.
"We're going to miss Sue so much here," manager Bruce Bochy said. "You can tell how much she's loved by everybody who showed up today. This is an amazing woman. She loved her boys. She made everybody feel comfortable and welcomed you."
The Giants also held an organizational remembrance earlier in the day with players and front office personnel.
-- Janie McCauley
Reds put OF Dickerson, RHP Owings on DL
CINCINNATI — Shoulder problems landed outfielder Chris Dickerson and fifth starter Micah Owings on the 15-day disabled list Monday, two more blows to a Cincinnati Reds team fading from contention.
The Reds put Dickerson on the 15-day disabled list with what they described as a bruised right shoulder. Dickerson landed hard when he tried to make a diving catch during a 5-2 loss in Chicago on Sunday, the Reds' sixth in a row.
Dickerson, who is left-handed, said tests found a small tear in the right shoulder.
"It's my non-throwing arm, so I won't have to have surgery," said Dickerson, who had surgery on his left ankle last year. "I've been down that road already."
Dickerson is batting .259 with two homers. He has started 51 games in the outfield.
Owings started Sunday's game and left after three innings with a stiff shoulder. The right-hander is 6-11 and is one of the Reds' top pinch hitters, batting .229 with three homers.
Owings had a sore right shoulder at the end of last season, when the Reds got him from Arizona to complete the trade for Adam Dunn. Manager Dusty Baker said the problems Sunday weren't related.
"He was a little surprised that we put him on the DL," Baker said. "But we needed another arm here. He's got some tightness in there. It's not what it was when we got him last year."
The Reds recalled infielder Drew Sutton and right-hander Robert Manuel from Triple-A Louisville to fill their spots. Sutton batted .125 in his two previous stints with Cincinnati this season. Manuel had no record in three appearances.
-- Joe Kay
Dodgers activate Kuo from 60-day DL
ST. LOUIS — The Los Angeles Dodgers activated left-handed reliever Hong-Chih Kuo from the 60-day disabled list Monday in time for the opener of a four-game series against the Cardinals.
Kuo had been on the DL since May 2 with a left elbow strain and replaces infielder Blake DeWitt, who was optioned to Triple-A Albuquerque on Sunday. Manager Joe Torre planned to ease Kuo into the setup role he held last year while going 5-3 with a 2.14 ERA and one save.
The 28-year-old Kuo is 1-0 with a 6.75 ERA in seven appearances this season.
DeWitt was optioned to Albuquerque for the fifth time. He's mainly been used as a replacement at second, third, and shortstop and was batting .156 with one home run in 23 games.
Marlins P Badenhop, manager Gonzalez suspended
NEW YORK (AP) — Florida pitcher Burke Badenhop has been suspended three games and Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez was penalized one game after trouble this weekend at Dodger Stadium.
Major League Baseball issued the penalties Monday. Badenhop also was fined, as was Los Angeles pitcher Jeff Weaver.
Badenhop's suspension will begin Tuesday night unless he appeals. Gonzalez will sit out the game against Atlanta.
Badenhop hit Orlando Hudson in the rear with a pitch in the seventh inning of Sunday's 8-6 win. Earlier in the game, Weaver hit Florida's Hanley Ramirez with a pitch, prompting umpire Bob Davidson to issue warnings against further trouble.
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