Odds and Ends: Bay, Roberts, Cliff Lee

And here we have some random links I've collected over the past day or so.

• The Bucs will try to fill their open 40-man spots through low profile moves, not unlike the Jason Michaels one.  They won't move Jason Bay or Xavier Nady until they're truly out of it.  4.5 games out of the wild card, they still have a prayer here on May 9th.
• Keith Law's top 60 prospects list for the June draft has been published.  Shortstop Tim Beckham heads the list.
• Gordon Wittenmyer looks back on the Cubs players rumored to be traded for Brian Roberts.
• Juan Uribe, partially on the strength of a great takeout slide, still has life with the White Sox.
• Nick Piecoro reminds us that the D'Backs were close to acquiring Cliff Lee in a deal for Carlos Quentin this winter.  That would just be unfair, Lee as a part of that rotation.  Ken Davidoff notes that the Mets discussed Lee as well.
• So...did the Yankees really have a shot at Micah Owings in the Randy Johnson deal?

Edmonds Released By Padres

FRIDAY: The speculation was accurate; Edmonds will be released today.

THURSDAY: Tim Sullivan of the San Diego Union-Tribune reads between the lines and believes Jim Edmonds' time is up with the Padres.  The 37 year-old center fielder is hitting just .180/.267/.236 in 102 plate appearances.  His defense isn't passing muster, either.

Sullivan figures Edmonds will be released soon, or perhaps the Padres will buy him some time with a DL stint.  They'd have to swallow $4.75MM to sever ties.  Cutting veteran dead weight seems in vogue this year. 

Jays Acquire Kevin Mench, Brad Wilkerson

3:03pm: The Wilkerson signing is also official now.  Both are pretty much no-risk moves.

2:48pm: According to the Newberg Report mailing list, the Blue Jays have acquired outfielder Kevin Mench from the Rangers for cash considerations.

The Brad Wilkerson acquisition may still be in the works, but Mench is a better match as a lefty-masher.  He has a career line of .305/.361/.563 against them.  It's only been 34 Triple A ABs but Mench is hitting .412/.500/.706 against southpaws this year.

Webb, Haren Extensions Possible

FRIDAY: SI.com's Jon Heyman expects the D'Backs to attempt an extension with Dan Haren once they complete Webb's.  Heyman says Haren "won't get Webb money, but he'll get a significant raise on a deal that will likely be another Desert Discount."

THURSDAY: When you have one of the top three pitchers in baseball, you've got to lock him down. Especially if you're the Arizona Diamondbacks, a team rife with young talent that could keep the team successful for years to come. The team has been talking with ace Brandon Webb about an extension to his deal, which essentially runs through 2010. They're not quite there yet, but things are looking positive.

"Yeah, some progress has been made," Webb said. "We've been talking a little bit more. We've made some headway. We'll see where it goes."

Webb, who has won the Cy Young and finished second in voting in the past two years, is set to earn $5.5MM this year and $6.5MM in 2009, with a 2010 team option for $8.5MM which, barring injury, will surely be exercised. As far as I can tell, 2010 represents the first year he would be eligible for free agency -- he had 4.158 years of service time after the 2007 season (four years, 158 days).

Word is that the D'Backs are looking to add at least three years to that deal. At what price, though? AZ Central notes two excellent deals for comparison: Johan Santana's $22MM salary, and Jake Peavy's $17.3MM take home pay. My guess is that a deal would be geared more towards the latter.

The D'Backs tried to get a deal done early last off-season, but were rebuffed by Webb. I would guess, then, that the team is ready to fork over the dollars at this point. Webb is off to another superb start, sitting on a 7-0 record with a 2.49 ERA.

Posted by Joe Pawlikowski, who writes for River Ave. Blues, a Yankees blog.

Turnbow Heads To Nashville

Derrick Turnbow has accepted his assignment to Triple A Nashville, rather than forfeit his remaining salary.    Four teams (the Mets not among them) had interest in trading for Turnbow.  Brewers GM Doug Melvin was frank with MLB.com's Adam McCalvy about the situation - teams wanted him to eat much of the $2.5MM Turnbow is owed, but weren't offering decent prospects. 

Turnbow passed through waivers because no team wanted to take on his salary while keeping him in the bigs.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Wells, Griffey, Olney, Tavarez, Edmonds

A lot of links today, so let's get to what is being said about some trade and signing possibilities in the Blogosphere...

• The Darth Boss George Brigade wants Hank Steinbrenner to sign David Wells to prove that Hank is indeed his father's son.
• River Ave. Blues says the Yankees are too smart to sign Wells and then goes on to list about 87 pitchers that should be given a shot in the Highlanders' rotation before Wells.
• Redlegs Rant feels that Ken Griffey Jr. is behind the recent stories that speculate on him being traded.
• Mariners Central speculates on some of the names that it might take to land Ken Griffey Jr., noting that the M's are not likely to part with either of their top two prospects, Wladimir Balentien and Jeff Clement.
• The Tribe Time Report sees plenty of holes in Buster Olney's recent theory that Garret Atkins would be a good fit for the Indians.
• Brewers Nation agrees with Olney that the Brewers should trade Ben Sheets.
• Sox & Pinstripes doesn't want to just give away Julian Tavarez but they also note that the bullpen needs help and Tavarez isn't the answer.
• Batter's Box says Brad Wilkerson should fit in well with the rest of the Jays lineup, which also lacks the ability to hit for average or power.
• One writer at Fanhouse doesn't understand why Kevin Towers is so disappointed in the play of Jim Edmonds. They feel it was pretty obvious that the Pads were getting a player well past his prime.

Cork Gaines writes for Rays Index and can be reached here.

Stark's Latest: Griffey, Daniel Cabrera, Lidge

ESPN's Jayson Stark has a new column up; it's a must-read.

• Stark examines the impact of ten deals made last offseason; check it out.
• Because of last year's surprise playoff clubs, teams may wait extra long this year before throwing in the towel and trading veterans.
• As Peter Gammons has noted, Ken Griffey Jr.'s 2009 option will be an impediment in dealing him.  Even if the Reds find a suitor Griffey will probably want that $16.5MM guaranteed for '09.
• Daniel Cabrera will be available again this summer.  The Orioles should trade him as soon as possible; the .213 BABIP and 1.62 K/BB ratio indicate that his 3.54 ERA is a fluke.
• The Royals will have pitching to spare this summer, with guys like Ron Mahay, Jimmy Gobble, and Brett Tomko on the block.  Might make sense to shop Gil Meche, too.
• The Phillies may want to explore an extension with impending free agent Brad Lidge before season's end.  Three years might be their max, though.  The extension subject has not yet been broached with Pat Burrell.

Rockies Not Planning Starter Acquisition

FRIDAY: Rockies owner Dick Monfort says the Rockies aren't looking to acquire a starter at this time.  As of yesterday Rob Bradford of the Boston Herald said the Rox remained interested in Tavarez but that no advancements had been made.

THURSDAY: On Tuesday we found out that the Rockies have been looking into a number of trade options for their starting rotation. The two most common names in the conversation are Josh Fogg and Julian Tavarez, both former Rox. Fogg has given up over a run an inning for the last place Reds, and could be DFA if the team opts to go with youngster Homer Bailey, who has a 2.72 ERA in AAA. Tavarez might be expendable for the Sox, though that would mean depending on David Aardsma.

Today, Jack Etkin of the Rocky Mountain News tells us that the Rox have inquired on Cardinals pitcher Anthony Reyes. We've heard the rumor that the Cardinals are shopping the former USC star, though they are looking for "an upper echelon prospect back, plus another piece." Any Rox fans want to toss out names of trade candidates? Could Brian Fuentes be the other piece?

After a poor major league showing in 2007, Reyes broke camp with the Cardinals this year as a reliever. He didn't fare very well, allowing eight runs in 13.2 IP, though of course that's a measly sample size. He's since been optioned to AAA, where he'll be showcased as a starter. He has yet to make an appearance.

Etkin further notes that the Rox have had no substantial talks with the A's about Joe Blanton or Rich Harden, nor the Rangers about Kevin Millwood. It's unlikely any of that crop will be traded until much later in the season, if at all. The Boston Herald confirms the team's interest in Tavarez, and as Tim noted, Walt Jocketty didn't deny the Fogg rumors.

Posted by Joe Pawlikowski. If you see any rumors, send 'em over.

David Wells A Possibility For Yankees?

Mike Puma of the New York Post has comments from free agent lefty David Wells and Hank Steinbrenner indicating a third tour with the Yankees is possible.  Boomer's interest is obvious, while Steinbrenner seems intrigued.  Before Brian Cashman gets involved and discussions occur, the Yankees will see how Darrell Rasner and Kei Igawa fare.  Wells had some choice words for Joe Torre, so don't expect him back in L.A.

How does Wells stack up with Rasner and Igawa, according to Baseball Prospectus' PECOTA projection system? 

Wells - 4.80
Igawa - 5.15
Rasner - 5.24

Not much of a difference in the projected ERAs, but Wells would be a fun story.  He managed to make 29 starts last year, but at 5.4 innings per he'd definitely give the bullpen a workout.  Then again, Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy were averaging about four.  Fun fact - Roy Halladay is averaging 8.14 innings per start this year.  Only Halladay and C.C. Sabathia averaged more than seven innings per start last year.

Jays Targeting Wilkerson

The rumblings have become something more - Jeff Blair says the Blue Jays are "zeroed in on signing" outfielder Brad Wilkerson.  The Jays had been mulling Jason Michaels previously, but he went to the Pirates.

The Jays are looking for someone who can hit southpaws.  Wilkerson, a left-handed hitter, handled 'em in '07 and '05, flailed against them in '06.  The Mariners designated him after 68 plate appearances of a .232/.348/.304 line.