May 2006

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Clemens Signs, Nevin to Cubs

The long expected Roger Clemens signing with Houston has finally been made official. One less distraction; the sideshow is finally over. Until Clemens decides there's a slight chance he pitches in 2007. The Astros are 6.5 games back and Clemens should provide a several-win boost over the likes of Fernando Nieve. The Cubs are 11 games under .500, 12.5 out of first, but they're not giving up. Jim Hendry just swapped Jerry Hairston for Phil Nevin, a clear win now type move for a team with little chance of winning now. Cubs fans shouldn't mind the deal, given that the..   Continue Reading

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Angels Buzz

All sorts of good info coming from my Angels guy: The Halos were recently close to a fairly big trade, but pulled back at the last minute. It may have been the much discussed Adam Kennedy for Shea Hillenbrand deal, but another one that was rumored to be close was Alfonso Soriano for Erick Aybar and Joe Saunders. The Soriano deal included a component where Jose Molina ended up a Yankee. Now that Kendry Morales heated up and is holding his own in the middle of the L.A. lineup, the team plans on waiting until the All-Star break to make..   Continue Reading

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Zito On Mets' 40 Man Roster...Sort Of

Just got word from a loyal emailer: "Was driving back from a party last night around 1:20AM and WFAN in NY had callers saying that Barry Zito's name was on the Mets roster over at Mets.com. His name was in place of Alay Soler. Sure enough, WFAN had checked it out and they confirmed that it was the case." No, this probably isn't an early sign that the Mets have completed a Zito for Milledge and Soler trade. Most likely it was just a webmaster getting crazy in the way that only a webmaster can. On the other hand, if..   Continue Reading

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Fire Sale In Chicago?

It's May 28th and the Cubs are now 13.5 games out of first place, 13 games under .500. The June schedule doesn't include any pushover matchups (if there is such a thing for this club). It's becoming time to shake things up. Which players are the most likely trade candidates? How about Kerry Wood? Yes, he loves Chicago and has a no-trade clause. But there are a couple of teams in Texas who could use Wood as a backup option if they miss out on Roger Clemens. The Rangers are clinging to first place right now and could get Adam..   Continue Reading

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El Duque Swapped For Julio

In a surprising move, the Diamondbacks sent starter Orlando Hernandez to the Mets for reliever Jorge Julio. El Duque, age 36-40ish, has a 6.11 ERA and 1.58 WHIP through his first nine starts this year. 27 year-old righty Julio had a 5.06 ERA and 1.45 WHIP for the Mets. Hernandez will be paid $4.5MM this season and doesn't figure to pick up his incentives for Comeback Player of the Year or an All-Star Game. Julio makes about $2.5MM and has yet to reach free agency. Hernandez was projected to add about 1.8 wins in 122 innings while Julio's projection called..   Continue Reading

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Latest Mets Buzz

Haven't heard from my Mets source in a while, but he checked in this morning with some good info. He tells me that the Mets are not interested in trading Lastings Milledge or Aaron Heilman in a Barry Zito deal. The Mets aren't a team to overpay for 2-3 months of Zito given his impending free agency. In addition, the Wilpons are sensitive about the Scott Kazmir trade (7-2, 2.39 ERA) and won't let history repeat itself. On the other hand, if the Mets had to include Milledge and another top prospect (Alay Soler?) to acquire Dontrelle Willis, they'd jump..   Continue Reading

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Yanks Get Creative With Hidalgo

Finding cheap free talent has never been a strong suit of the Yankees. That's why I was surprised to see them in contact with Richard Hidalgo's agent. Hidalgo will work out for New York and could get a minor league contract. The 30 year-old outfielder was last seen in Baltimore's spring training camp. Though he hasn't posted an OPS over .800 since 2003, Hidalgo is still a good low-risk gamble. It's possible the time off helped him recover from last year's wrist injuries. A healthy Hidalgo could still hit something like .260/.340/.480, good for a couple of cheap wins. He'd..   Continue Reading

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Nats Want Milledge for Livan

I find it almost comical that Jim Bowden would demand Lastings Milledge in a trade for Livan Hernandez. I know he wants to save his job with the next Scott Kazmir deal, but c'mon now. The Mets aren't that desperate, are they? Hernandez has an ERA over 6 and is only 31 years old in theory. He makes $8MM this year and $7MM the next. Whether or not Milledge is worthy of all the hype, the Mets could do a lot better. I still think Livan will come around and could help the Mets, but at that price they need..   Continue Reading

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Rox, Jays Interested In D-Train?

We haven't mentioned Canada's Marty York in a good two months. Back in March, York mentioned that the Blue Jays were close to acquiring Craig Wilson and that A.J. Burnett would miss all of April. Wilson's a Pirate and Burnett made two starts in April, but I have to give him partial credit on Burnett. Last Tuesday, York threw out all sorts of intiguing teams in connection with Dontrelle Willis. The Blue Jays and Rockies were two I definitely hadn't heard before. Willis to Colorado isn't as crazy as it sounds. For one thing, the Rockies are shockingly a half..   Continue Reading

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2007 Free Agent Market: Shortstops

Updated 12-07-06 Sorry folks, there's nothing left at short. The demand for Miguel Tejada, Michael Young, and Omar Vizquel should be strong if someone needs to make a splashy deal   Continue Reading

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Ringolsby: Cubs Interested In Shealy

I've been waiting almost a month for a name to surface in connection with the Cubs' first base vacancy that I actually like. I've heard about Mike Sweeney, Kevin Millar, Tony Clark, and Jeff Conine. While I was OK with the Clark idea, that deal made more sense two weeks ago. I could see Derrek Lee back on the field for the Cubs in about one month. In that case, you'd hope Jim Hendry could acquire a player who may be useful beyond then. Even more ideal, though, would be acquiring a player who the Cubs might still want around..   Continue Reading

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Yanks Need Outfield Help

The trade rumor question on everyone's mind today: who are the Yankees getting to replace Hideki Matsui? Buster Olney ran through seven options in his blog today. Let's assess these first. 1. Bobby Abreu was the headliner today. Olney reiterated Gillick's aggressive attempts to deal him this winter. But as a few commenters on this site have mentioned, why would the Phillies trade Abreu to the Yanks when their team is contending? New York doesn't have an equitable starting pitcher to offer in return (unless Carl Pavano gets a visit from the 2003 fairy again). Dealing Abreu for Philip Hughes..   Continue Reading

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Nats Fire Sale?

Interesting article from Ken Rosenthal today. He mentions how the Nationals' new management, in an attempt to build long-term could consider trades for Livan Hernandez, Jose Guillen, Alfonso Soriano, Nick Johnson, and Brian Schneider. Johnson could bring an incredible bounty, especially if he continues to hit for this kind of power and stays healthy. Back in March, Jim Bowden signed Johnson to a deal well below his market value. PECOTA calls for another nice year for Hernandez, though no one could've seen all of these HRs allowed coming. We could be looking to a season akin to his 1998 if..   Continue Reading

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Lilly Wants To Be A Giant

Ted Lilly was forthcoming yesterday with his desire: he'd like to play in the Bay Area for either the Giants or A's. Lilly mentioned that he was looking at the Giants' rotation and doesn't know whether they would have an opening. I think we can reasonably answer his question. Matt Morris, Noah Lowry, and Matt Cain form the foundation of the rotation. Still, the Giants definitely will have a need for a starter. Jason Schmidt is a free agent after this season. If his first 52 innings are any indication, he's going to have a huge price tag. San Francisco..   Continue Reading

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Olney: Cards Considering Stewart/Hunter

I haven't addressed the Cardinal outfield situation since March 5th. Since then, many things have changed: Kevin Mench is hitting .300/.328/.591 with 9 home runs. He's been driving in a lot of runs as the Rangers' sixth place hitter. What's more, Jason Marquis has stunk it up (6.00 ERA) and John Koronka came out of nowhere to toss four quality starts in seven tries. Can't see any kind of Mench for Marquis swap now. Also, Jim Edmonds is hitting .240/.333/.417, and Will Carroll thinks he may have to shut it down for a while to get completely right again. Toss..   Continue Reading

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Mets Rotation Concerns

Reader Brian M. recently asked: "Where do the Mets turn now that Victor Zambrano is out for the year? Bannister will be back in week or so, but with Maine also being placed on the DL, and Lima getting slammed today, the Mets need one more arm. Do they turn to Heilman (the obvious choice, but Mets brass are too stubborn to take him out of the 'pen)? Time to search free agency? Perhaps time to trade Victor Diaz? What should they do, and what do you think they will do?" Good question, Brian. The Mets currently have a rotation..   Continue Reading

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Craig Hansen A Starter?

A few more rumors out of Boston: Is Craig Hansen developing a third pitch so that the Red Sox can use him in the rotation? Could be, according to my source. They'll wait and see what comes of David Wells's rehab start first, however. Given that Hansen suffered from a tired arm last year, the Red Sox will have to be extra careful if they try it. My source also corrected my Dustin Pedroia speculation, saying that while the club is not happy with Pedroia as a shortstop, they will have no problem using him in place of Mark Loretta..   Continue Reading

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Oliver Perez Available?

Here's a new one for ya, courtesy of Baseball Prospectus's Will Carroll yesterday: "One rumor from the last few days is that Oliver Perez and Ryan Doumit are being dangled to the Phillies." Would this deal make a good fit? It seems a foregone conclusion that Mike Lieberthal is spending his last year as a Phillie, so the team does need to begin thinking long-term about its backstop. Doumit would be a decent option. Ronny Paulino has impressed the Pirates so far, and just a few weeks ago Jim Tracy indicated that Humberto Cota would start more often than Doumit..   Continue Reading

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Do The Red Sox Need Izturis?

It is apparent that Dodgers shortstop Cesar Izturis is available, as the Dodgers don't have an opening for him at shortstop. I would think that the overall health/performance shakiness of the entire infield would be enough for L.A. to keep Izturis around as a backup all season. But the rumors persist, the main one being that the Red Sox are interested. I have to wonder why. The team already has a slick-fielding, walk-allergic shortstop, and his name is Alex Gonzalez. I admit, Gonzalez had a terrible April with the bat. But he's had similar months in his career, so why..   Continue Reading

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Pedroia Falling Out of Favor?

A source out of Boston had a little nugget about Red Sox second base/shortstop prospect Dustin Pedroia. Pedroia, by the way, is the 11th best prospect in baseball according to Baseball Prospectus. My source tells me that Pedroia is "falling out of favor with the Sox brass." Apparently the Red Sox think he's gotten way too big and is too slow to play shortstop. Pedroia has come back from a shoulder strain to play shortstop for Boston's Triple A affiliate. He was moved to second base last year, but the Hanley Ramirez trade resulted in a switch back to short...   Continue Reading

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Mirabelli Back to Boston?

Word is that Doug Mirabelli is currently on a charter plane to Boston from San Francisco. Apparently this one is all over Dennis and Callahan and Dale and Holley on WEEI. No word yet on who the Red Sox would send over to get Tim Wakefield's personal catcher back. UPDATE: The Red Sox are trying to get Mirabelli to Fenway by gametime tonight   Continue Reading

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