Rosenthal's Latest

The authority on all trade rumors, Ken Rosenthal has spoken.  Let's review.

• As we have heard before, the Dodgers like Adam Dunn.  We've also discussed the fact that there's not a clear place to put him.  Whether you go with first base or left field, a veteran must move.  The Padres like Dunn as well but talks have yet to occur.  The Angels may have liked him in the past but they don't seem likely at this point.  And the Twins?  They just won't break the bank for him unfortunately.
• With Michael Barrett having issues with 40% of the Cubs' rotation, the Cubs could look to trade him.  Even though he's a top offensive catcher, his impending free agency might prevent any strong return.  Plus, the Cubs would have to go with a Henry Blanco/Koyie Hill tandem.  A more likely scenario is that the Cubs will let Barrett walk after the season.
• Finally some clarity on Eric Gagne's limited no-trade protection.  Rosenthal reveals that he can veto trades to 12 teams.  The Phillies and Indians are again mentioned as suitors.  Rosenthal thinks Mark Teixeira could generate a lot of talk but no action at the trading deadline.  Kind of like Alfonso Soriano or A.J. Burnett before him.
• The asking price for Brad Lidge, supposedly: a premium young catcher and promising young pitcher.  Lidge will probably earn $8MM next year before hitting free agency.  The Astros should be happy with a young catcher or a young pitcher, not both.  I'd mention Salty here but I think he is worth much more than Lidge.  Rosenthal says the Astros could move another bullpen arm like Wheeler or Qualls to get the bat they need. 
• Could the Devil Rays simply retain Al Reyes and Carlos Pena?  Both players could be valuable contributors to the 2008 club.  I like the idea of keeping Reyes around for next year, but I think Pena has peaked.
• Noah Lowry would get the attention of the Braves or Cardinals, but the Giants are unlikely to move him.
• The Phils are likely to pass on Tomo Ohka despite their need for pitching.

Comments

[jatorres]

What would it take for the Astros to get John Buck back from the Royals? He's not a stud catcher by any means, but he's an improvement. Maybe they should start looking at a Brian McCann for Lidge swap...

[kevybo1]

I'm no Braves fan but no way would the Braves be stupid enough to trade Brian Mcann for Brad Lidge. Lidge is getting older every game, while Brian Mcann is pretty young.

[Ripwa]

McCann for Lidge has to be a joke.

[ZachAttack]

I just laughed out loud. Arguably the best young C for a guy who can't save a single game?

[ZachAttack]

I just laughed out loud. Arguably the best young C for a guy who can't save a single game?

[speedchaser9]

Kendall and Windsor for Lidge.

BOOK IT!!!1!11!!1

[speedchaser9]

Kendall and Windsor for Lidge.

BOOK IT!!!1!11!!1

[strongupthemiddle]

Teixiera for Zach Duke and Laroach semms like a good deal for both teams. Rangers asst. GM was in Pittsburg last night scouting Duke.

[Quick]

How about Lowery for Yunel Escobar. I'd hate to see him go but starting pitching is the braves greatest weakness.

[boomshwa12]

your obviously kidding, but roto said a stud young catcher and a promising young pitcher...not a promising young pitcher and arguably the worst contract in baseball. and jatorres was obviously kidding about the mccann swap too

what about lidge and jennings for salty and a lesser prospect? and just for good measure i'd throw in craig biggio, woody williams, tim purpura, and drayton mcclane since he can't spend a day without his puppet (purpura) or his butt buddy (biggio)

[bravesbeast]

ah, so the rumor season begins. boomshwa that is a very intersting point, as I would not at all be against that deal. The thing is that our lineup first has to get healthy and show we can have consistient production out of thorman, but jennings and lidge could definitely be considered for salty. Rosenthal makes a great point on lowry, as he fits the mold as the type of pitcher we would trade for. And yes, i would do escobar for lowry in a heartbeat, as it makes sense for both teams. Sabean and JS do have history in the Russ Ortiz/Damien Moss trade. But for lowry the giants would be looking for escobar and another prospect, and that may be too much, but the braves should pursue lowry as much as they can. Boomshwa that trade really really entices me, im warming up to it by the minute.

[bravesbeast]

I know i am not a gm, but just saying

[touchmymonkey]

Let me start by saying I beleive Barrett will stay a cub until the end of the year - but just on the off chance a trade might be possible I can only think of two possibilities. Swap him even up for Kendall - not sure Oak wants to screw up any P-C tandems so doubt that will happen. Perhaps Barrett, Guzman and maybe a low level prospect gets us Hernandez from the O's? I know Hernandez is much better but has he lived up to what O's were expecting from him? They can get Barret resigned for less than what Hernandez is owed plusthey get a decent young pitcher. Too outlandish to hope for? what would cubs have to toss in instead to make it happen?

[Brian]

Right team, wrong catcher. The Astros want Jarrod Saltalamacchia. Our GM, Tim Purpura has to be the most incompetent GM in baseball. If he is holding out for a young stud catcher AND a young promising pitcher, then we'll be holding on to Lidge for the rest of the year. I would do a Saltalamacchia for Lidge deal straight up, but I know the Braves are going to want more.

[bravesbeast]

Brian, you damn right we are. I would really like to hear your justtification as to how brad lidge is enough for salty straight up. We have wickman, and soriano is gonnna step right in once wickman retires. Plus, we have a bounty of arms in the minors who we can call up. We are not going to trade our best young prospect for a rocky reliever. Now if Jennigns and lidge becomes avaliable, then salty and another mid level prospect makes sense. The trade that makes the most sense is escobar for lowry, plus maybe a mid level prospect.

[Brian]

Bravesbeast, so basically, all you want to do is give up a bunch of you mid level prospects and hope to get back a Babe Ruth type player? Also, I never said the Lidge for Salty would happen, I said I'd like to do it but I know the Braves would want more. Guess what dude, you guys arent the only team with a stud player that you want alot for. Dont get your hopes up.

[bravesbeast]

IF i came up as seeming to say you were suggesting the trade or saying it should go through, i am sorry. I am pissed that the media would actually think that trade would go throught. However, when I have I ever suggested a bunch of mid level prospects for a babe ruth type player? Yunel Escobar is held in high regard by some GM's, and all i suggested was escobar and a prospect for noah lowry, and of course the three cy young's he has won. The other trade i was suggesting was jennings and lidge for salty and another prospect, as that trade would be worth salty going somewhere. Try not to extremely over exaggerate my points in order to make your stance look better.

[Baseballfan79]

Ken mentions florida as a
possible target for Barrett.

What about Olivo and a pitching prospect for Barrett?

Last year olivo threw out 40% of runners, and had great numebrs overall, this year he is struggling with us. Barrett is a problem for you all. Olivo can catch a solid game and be a nice pick up perhaps.

I honestly have no idea what the value of Barrett might be at this point or his contract status (which of course would factor heavily into his value).

[Papelboner]

How about a Red Sox/ Astros connection:

George Kotteras (catcher at AAA that they got for David Wells) and Manny Delcarmen or Craig Hansen?

They'd get a catcher for the future and a possible replacement for Lidge in a year or so. Would this get a deal done, or is this not enough?

[bravesbeast]

i could personally see that as a possible deal papelboner, i just do not know whay the redsox would give up that much. Yes, Lidge has dominant stuff, but that dominance has not been around for the past 1 and a half years. I am sorry, but the astros are just asking too much in return for lidge, but they might get some team who is desperate enough for the rocky reliever to get what they want.

[bravesbeast]

i could personally see that as a possible deal papelboner, i just do not know whay the redsox would give up that much. Yes, Lidge has dominant stuff, but that dominance has not been around for the past 1 and a half years. I am sorry, but the astros are just asking too much in return for lidge, but they might get some team who is desperate enough for the rocky reliever to get what they want.

[astrosfan]

bravesbeast: While I agree a Lidge for Salty straight-up isn't a fair deal for the Braves, Jennings shouldn't enter the picture, especially for just a mid-level prospect.

The Astros gave up way too much for Jennings and he's our only decent starter after Oswalt.

I could see a Salty for Ligde and another major leaguer (like Burke, or Scott) or Lidge and a decent Astro pitching prospect.

I agree with the other poster, Tim Purpura is an awful GM, and maybe there's some truth to the rumors (owner wanting to control the job) as to why Hunsicker left.

[Aduncaroo]

I don't see the Cubs getting much of anything for Barrett.

However, I don't know why everyone keeps saying that we would need to get another Catcher in return. The Cubs are very happy with Hill so far, and he could split time with Blanco. You don't need another Catcher unless it was a premium one, like Salty, which is NOT going to happen.

I do wish Hendry would try to trade Barrett and see if there is a package he could put together for Salty. I don't really think that the Cubs have what the Braves would be looking for, unless we gave up Marshall and then some, and Marshall's value is getting higher and higher because he has been lights out in every start this year. Still, giving him up and another high level prospect would be tough...but from what I have seen from Salty so far this year, he is probably worth it.

If I'm the Astros...I do the Salty and a good mid level prospect for Jennings and Lidge TODAY. Jennings is proving he is over rated by the start, Lidge has great stuff but needs a change of scenery, and Salty would do a lot for that team, not to mention they would be shedding a good amount of payroll as well.

[Papelboner]

The reason the Sox may want to do the deal is to give the team a RH setup man in front of Papelbon this year, and then possibly allow Paps to move to the rotation next year (if Theo and Co. still want to move him into that role). Kotteras hasn't hit as well as expected at AAA and Delcarmen/Hansen have both been dissapointments thus far in their young careers, so I don't see this as giving up too much.

I also just read that the Twins may be interested in Mike Lowell, with the Sox picking up a chunk of salary. I wonder what the twins would have to offer. The article also mentions moving Youk to 3rd so the Sox can go after Teixiera.

[bravesbeast]

Astrosfan,

Fair enough. I would not mind the idea of Salty for Lidge and Scott, as scott deserves a full time gig. I think that would be a fair trade, but in all honesty, I would just rather keep salty.

[Brickhaus]

On Pena and Reyes:

1) I agree that Pena has peaked; however, he WAS once considered a top notch prospect, and he probably just took longer to develop than some other players. I'm willing to bet that the 'real' Carlos Pena is closer to what he's doing now than to what he's done in the past.

2) I believe that the Rays have an option on Reyes for next season, and I can't imagine that they wouldn't exercise it.

3) I've heard that Pena has two arbitration years left after this season. I haven't calculated it myself, but it does appear that he should have at least one season of team control left, so he probably won't be a free agent next year anyway.

[boomshwa12]

i like craig hansen's potential. i wouldn't mind seeing lidge go for him and another prospect. what about lidge straight up for jon lester? i remember hearing that deal discussed in the offseason (and shot down), but what do some of you sox fans think about that given lidge's recent string of success?

i think that if he was given the rest of the year to set up for paplebon and completely get his confidence back then he could go into next year and be a pretty good closer. lidge may have struggled for the last year+ but he was a dominant closer at one point. that's more than hansen can say, and i know ya'll are looking to move paplebon back to the starting rotation eventually. if lidge has the rest of the year to get his confidence back, and go into the offseason with some momentum then he could very well rebound to the point he was at again.

[statnut]

Absolutely agree on Pena. He was a top prospect for years, and I think now that he is out from under that pressure, he's blossoming. He does have a 27 homer season to his credit, and he seems to be pulling the ball with power.

[Papelboner]

I don't think the Sox are intersted in trading Lester. Given all that's happened with his recovery from cancer, he seems to have a special place with the team. And given the age in the rotation (Schilling and Wakefield), I don't see the Sox giving up Lester or Bucholtz in ANY deal. I would much rather give up Hansen/Delcarmen type guys with a catcher like Kotteras. They also have decent OF prospects in David Murphy and Brandon Moss that Houston may be interested in. I would do a Hansen/Kotteras deal and not even think twice, and if it came down to it, I'd throw in Murphy or Moss to put it over the top.

[statnut]

I think Lidge and the Sox are a good fit, but what about the M's? They could offer Clement and one of their AA arms.

[Papelboner]

I don't really see the fit with the M's, they've already got a pretty lights out bullpen. I guess you can never have enough arms, but I'd rather hang on to Clement with Johjima a free agent after '08.

[Papelboner]

and I have a feeling the Astros might start off by asking for Adam Jones, which in turn should end any conversation of a Lidge deal, if I'm Seattle.

[statnut]

But this could allow the M's to move Morrow to the rotation, and bump Batista or Ramirez. That would be big for them IMO.

[Papelboner]

Yeah, I hadn't considered moving Morrow to the rotation. If that's where the M's figure he will be long term, then that makes sense, I just wasn't aware that they were going to try him in the rotation. From what I've read on him, he only has two major league pitches right now (Fastball and Split) and his other stuff is behind. That sounds like a reliever to me. Going to the rotation could expose his limited arsenal. But anyway, if they do move him to the rotation picking up Lidge would certainly be a nice pickup, but I wonder how long Lidge will accept being a setup man. In Boston, he may see the light at the end of the tunnell if they were to move Paps to the rotation. I don't think Seattle has any plans to move Putz out of the closer role.

[statnut]

Well, Morrow's best success in college came as a starter(last year), and he started 5 of the 8 games he pitched in for hte Mariners minors last year. He was also supposed to replace Hernandez when he got hurt this year, but brought Baek up instead. So there is always the possibility he could move into the rotation this year. Its not likely to happen, but if they had a chance at Lidge, it could work.

[boomshwa12]

i'd probably do the seattle deal for clement and a prospect. i'd rather see the stros acquire a young catcher or shortstop over anything. has clement really been that big of a disappointment that they would trade him and spare parts for lidge though? don't get me wrong i love lidge, but clement was the #2 pick in the draft a few years ago...

[boomshwa12]

seeing how everett is officially out for 6-8 weeks with that ankle, what are the chances of the braves paring escobar with salty in that deal for lidge and jennings? maybe the stros could throw in luke scott to sweeten it a little, although i'd much rather send lane or burke over there.

or how bout sending ensberg to the angels for erick aybar?