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Rosenthal's Latest: Bonds, Nathan, Barrett

By Tim Dierkes [October 10, 2007 at 2:11pm CST]

Ken Rosenthal has a new rumor column up. Feels like it's been a while.

Rosenthal thinks it's a sign of desperation that the Angels would entertain signing Barry Bonds, who doesn't fit in with their club. His OBP would fit in anywhere, but he would tie up the DH spot at the expense of Juan Rivera and Vladimir Guerrero.

The Cubs are expected to bring Daryle Ward back at $1.2MM (makes sense) and Steve Trachsel at $4.75MM (questionable). Cubs fans can only hope Trachsel would be considered a tradeable asset, as Rosenthal opines. Rosenthal also quashes the idea of trading Aramis Ramirez, both because of his full no-trade clause and the team's impending sale.

David Eckstein is expected to leave the Cardinals, no big surprise. Rosenthal reiterates recent rumors connecting him to the White Sox, Tigers, and Mets.

Rosenthal's idea for Bill Smith and the Twins: keep Johan Santana this winter, and instead trade the $6MM super-closer Joe Nathan. Teams would line up for him, and Pat Neshek wouldn't be a bad replacement.

Do you think Michael Barrett could be a free agent bargain? Rosenthal talked to one exec who feels this way, and it is a good point if he can bounce back to .280/.350/.480 for five million bucks.

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Comments

Micheal Barrett is a bargain at 5m. His offense has the potential to be among the top catchers in the baseball. As a Cubs fan i have seen streaks where he has hit .400 over the course of a few weeks. He just needs some time to get his head straight. I would say he doesn't get more than a year or two deal though. He needs to prove that he can be a functional part of mlb team and improve his defense. If he does those two things within the next couple of years, he could be looking at more lucrative contracts in the future.

Posted by: CubsFan84 | October 10, 2007 at 02:35 PM

I fully agree with Rosenthal. Nathan is the guy to trade for the Twins. They should either sign Hunter or sign Rowand, and re-sign Santana, but deal Nathan, as great as he is. If they could get Cano for him, and solve 3b in a big way in doing so, they should jump at it.

Posted by: djskilbr | October 10, 2007 at 02:51 PM

I think the Twins best move is to keep Santana and listen to trade offers for Nathan. Trading him makes sense if they get the right package in return. But the bullpen is full of question marks (Neshek was ineffective 2nd half, minor arm injury or maybe fatigue - Reyes was ineffective - Crain torn rotator cuff and labrum - Rincon ineffective - Guerrier possibly not as good as stats show - Nathan possibly traded - Perkins possibly in rotation). What I'm saying is that there are significant question marks in the Twins bullpen and trading Nathan makes it a bigger issue.

Posted by: kab21 | October 10, 2007 at 02:53 PM

This is why I like Rosenthal A LOT more than ESPN's Jason Starke. He knows what he is talking most of the time and this little tidbit is something I can see happening. The Twins don't know if they're going to get the Liriano before he got injured, so you can't risk losing your ace if you don't have a suitable replacement.

As far as Nathan goes, you have a solid replacement in Neshek. So trading Joe wouldn't be a bad idea since he still has atleast five more good seasons in him. And a lot of teams are looking for closer (Philly, Houston?, Cubs, San Fran?), so you can get some good prospects in return and still have Santana.

Posted by: Bravesfan89 | October 10, 2007 at 03:22 PM

Rosenthal's Latest: Bonds, Nathan, Barrett

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