April 2007

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Rosenthal's Latest

The always-interesting Ken Rosenthal has another column up, chock full of rumory goodness. The man knows how to work the phones like no other. Some highlights: Rosenthal considers the possibility that Curt Schilling could be the easy choice for the best available free agent starter after this season, with John Smoltz off the board. Even if Carlos Zambrano is out there, Schill would be a better option for teams looking to go short-term. Rosenthal says the Red Sox could revisit extension talks, even though it seemed just a month ago that Schilling was certain to hit the open market. One..   Continue Reading

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Clear A Path For Lincecum?

Tim Lincecum is doing everything he can to prove he's ready for the Majors - he posted a 14K, zero walk effort yesterday. His stats are off the charts after five starts. Whether or not there's an open spot in the Giants' rotation, it's clear that Lincecum is one of their 12 best pitchers. He needs to be helping the big club right now, though I believe waiting until June to promote him could delay his free agency by a year. The Giants' rotation consists of Matt Cain, Barry Zito, Matt Morris, Noah Lowry, and Russ Ortiz. All have ERAs..   Continue Reading

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Rosenthal On Dontrelle Willis

According to Ken Rosenthal, the Marlins will probably only listen to offers for starter Dontrelle Willis if they fall out of the race by the July 31st trading deadline. He also adds the interesting fact that a new ballpark for the Marlins could actually encourage them to trade Willis. At least then a public backlash wouldn't affect a stadium deal. Both Willis and Miguel Cabrera figure to earn over $10MM next year, and Rosenthal says no Marlin is untouchable. The idea of trading Dontrelle first surfaced about a year ago; I would imagine the Fish have received some decent offers..   Continue Reading

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A's Acquire Ryan Langerhans

According to Baseball Digest Daily, the A's acquired outfielder Ryan Langerhans from the Braves for a player to be named later or cash considerations. Given the recent trade for Chris Denorfia, the A's will have decent outfield depth in 2008. Perhaps this means they won't be re-signing Milton Bradley. Langerhans, 27, was off to a 2 for 41 start this year. The trade should leave Matt Diaz and Craig Wilson with some extra playing time for Atlanta. It could also make Scott Thorman a full-timer. Langerhans posted an excellent 13.7% walk rate last year, but he's still well below average..   Continue Reading

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Red Sox Eyeing Kosuke Fukudome?

Kosume Fukudome is a 30 year-old outfielder currently playing for the Chunichi Dragons. Mike Plugh praises his doubles power and has described him as an on-base machine with a rifle arm on defense. He may compare to Hideki Matsui in some ways. Should Fukudome come over to the Majors after this season, it won't involve the posting process. He'll be a free agent. According to injury guru and occasional rumormonger Will Carroll (subscription required), the Red Sox already have their eye on Fukudome. Carroll doesn't expect the Sox to acquire a long-term outfielder like Rocco Baldelli this summer because of..   Continue Reading

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Teams Inquiring About Zambrano

As one might expect, teams around baseball are calling Jim Hendry about Carlos Zambrano's availability. Ken Davidoff writes that he would have a long list of suitors, likely including the Yankees and Mets. After spending all that money this offseason, the Cubs would probably not make a Zambrano trade that would significantly weaken them this year. That means they'd need a young MLB-ready starter in return, perhaps akin to when the Astros got Jason Hirsh for Jason Jennings. Couple of clubs that could pull this off, in my opinion, are the Twins and Angels. The Twins could part with a..   Continue Reading

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MLBTR Demographic Survey

If you have a minute, please complete the MLBTradeRumors Demographic Survey. It's only four easy questions, and your answers are 100% anonymous. I'll be using the info to gather general overall demographic data only. I would really appreciate it if you fill it out. The survey can be found here. Thanks   Continue Reading

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Torre Could Be Fired

The big story in baseball today, though not a trade rumor, is that manager Joe Torre could be fired if the Red Sox complete a sweep of the Yankees this weekend. One can question some of Torre's behavior through the year, as with most managers. But to fire him in April is just silly and reactive. Typical theatrics. The Yankees' 5.94 starter ERA is the second worst in the league. Torre didn't cause this. Torre didn't sign Kei Igawa, and he probably didn't decide to give Chase Wright two starts instead of Phil Hughes. He didn't cause the injury to..   Continue Reading

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Recently On Our Network

I have a couple of other sites, and there's some interesting material to read when you have a minute. Recent posts at RotoAuthority Fantasy Baseball: Several starters have significantly upped their strikeout rates in the early going. What's the deal with Boof Bonser? The Cleveland closer options are fleshed out. Phil Hughes discussed from a fantasy point of view. Recently at AllCubs.com: A report on the Iowa Cubs. This weekend's Cards/Cubs series is previewed   Continue Reading

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A's Acquire Chris Denorfia

According to Reds beat writer John Fay, the Athletics have acquired 26 year-old outfielder Chris Denorfia from the Reds for two players to be named later and cash. Denorfia is out for the season due to Tommy John surgery. One might think 25 year-old Rule 5 power reliever Jared Burton would be involved in the deal, but that is not the case. Fay asked Wayne Krivsky specifically about that. Just playing matchmaker, but maybe one of the two players is starter Brad Halsey? He certainly wants out, and he's had moderate success in the NL before. Fay also mentioned that..   Continue Reading

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