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Odds and Ends: Kendall, Crisp, Gagne

By Tim Dierkes [November 19, 2007 at 9:52am CST]

I'm back in the swing of things, kind of. We're still living out of boxes, but I've got a laptop and I'm digging into all the rumors I missed. Joe did a great job the last couple of days. Be sure to visit his Yankees blog, River Ave. Blues. On to today's random rumors...

I'm hearing that Jason Kendall could be a fallback for the Mets if they can't pry Ramon Hernandez loose from the Orioles.

The Blue Jays have about $4MM to spend, and J.P. Ricciardi likes the idea of Michael Barrett splitting time behind the plate with Gregg Zaun. It seems unlikely, though, because the Padres would have to not offer arbitration to Barrett. And Barrett would have to take a one-year, $4MM deal.

Jamey Newberg discusses the idea of a Coco Crisp for Gerald Laird swap. He notes that the market for Laird should be picking up, but the Red Sox might prefer to wait to trade Crisp.

Haven't heard this one much yet...how about Eric Gagne for the Houston closer vacancy? Would Scott Boras present a problem?

David Wells could be an option for the Mets, if he doesn't retire or end up on the West Coast.

One free agent from Japan who hasn't gotten much press is Marc Kroon. He didn't catch on in MLB but has been doing well for Yokohama the past few years. Kroon holds the record for the fastest pitch ever thrown in a Japanese game (161 km/h, which is about 100 mph). You can see that in this video (the second pitch he throws, the crowd loves it). Kroon is considering trying the Majors again; he says so on his website (note that his site plays music when you visit).

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Comments

I'm glad Omar could be considering Kendall. He's basically a cheaper version of PLD. Crap arm, solid D, contact hitter, low power, good OBP.

He had a down year with the bat, but started to turn it around after he got traded to the Cubbies. If he'll take two years, maybe an option for a third, I'd be happy.

Posted by: JerseyMetFan | November 19, 2007 at 10:07 AM

can Laird catch a knuckleball?

Posted by: 04Forever | November 19, 2007 at 10:26 AM

I'd prefer Teagarden for Crisp...we can get by with Mirabelli or Cash as the back-up to Tek for another year or two and if Teagardens elbow heals up he is an above avg defensive catcher with very good power.

Posted by: Jared78 | November 19, 2007 at 10:27 AM

"can Laird catch a knuckleball?"

If not you can always trade him and a valuable reliever to get Mirabelli back from whoever signs him.

Posted by: Not Joe Morgan | November 19, 2007 at 10:28 AM

If texas trades laird, I'd have to think it would be for pitching. There are plenty of center field options out there, texas needs pitchers. Scratch that...texas NEEDS, NEEDS, NEEDS pitchers. Their farm system is pretty well stocked with position players after the trade deadline moves.

Posted by: SkiBolton | November 19, 2007 at 10:32 AM

Tim -
Any chance the Mets pursuing Ramon Hernandez turns into a Hernandez/Bedard package since they were supposedly saving their prospects for pitching anyway? I'm not sure the Mets have enough to give to get both, but maybe the O's will think so.

Posted by: DGU | November 19, 2007 at 10:38 AM

The Mets don't have enough for Bedard, let alone Hernandez and Bedard.

It would be interesting to see if Laird would be viewed as the eventual replacement for Varitek. Jason's starting to show his age, but I haven't heard anything about Laird coming even close to Jason's pitching staff handling responsibilities.

Posted by: Solman15 | November 19, 2007 at 11:09 AM

ESPN 1000 in Chicago reporting that Garland has been traded to the Angels for Orlando Cabrera.

I insist there must be more coming back from the Angels in the deal, but nothing else was mentioned.

Posted by: Andrew Cabiness | November 19, 2007 at 11:17 AM

MLB is reporting that now as well. Just Cabrera coming back in the deal. Seems fair for both sides. It's not like Garland is an ace.

Posted by: greenbaydude1232 | November 19, 2007 at 11:19 AM

Jason Kendall was just horrible in 2007. Even if his OBP can head back to .350, it doesn't make up for a .350 SLG. Plus, his defense isn't really all that good. There's no reason to spend money on an establish name. Isn't Gerald Laird available via trade?

Posted by: Sky | November 19, 2007 at 11:25 AM

Angels just traded Orlando Cabrera for John Garland. As an Angels fan all I can say is ... crap. I hate Garland.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3118872

Posted by: bjsguess | November 19, 2007 at 11:27 AM

Please let this be a pre-cursor to another trade for Miggy ...

Posted by: bjsguess | November 19, 2007 at 11:28 AM

for who, the white sox or the angels?

Posted by: 04Forever | November 19, 2007 at 11:43 AM

actually it doesnt matter, im sure one thing has nothing to do with the other, its not like they shopped third basemen to make room for him

Posted by: 04Forever | November 19, 2007 at 11:45 AM

I can't see the Astros making a play for Gagne. After Boras played D-Mac as a fool in the Carlos Beltran negotiations, the 'Stros seem to avoid his clients.

Posted by: Darin | November 19, 2007 at 01:08 PM

"can Laird catch a knuckleball?"
"If not you can always trade him and a valuable reliever to get Mirabelli back from whoever signs him."

...hehehe ~ love it!

Oh and again RedSoxD TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK!!!!!! No one even reads your posts because of the all caps; it shows your mentality must be that of a 4th grader and inst worth even paying attention to...

Posted by: darkstar1661 | November 19, 2007 at 02:14 PM

That Kroon guy looks exactly like Snoop Dogg. And he has very bad mechanics (think- injury).

Posted by: johansantana17 | November 19, 2007 at 03:38 PM

I like the idea of a Barrett/ Zaun Platoonfor the Jays. It would give them a deep bench of Scutaro, Stairs and either Barrett/Zaun on the bench. Dosen't do much on the defensive side tho...

Posted by: BJays Fan! | November 19, 2007 at 06:12 PM

No way is Gagne coming to Houston to be a closer, NO WAY!! #1 Scott Boras, #2 He sucked for the Sox last year, #3 So some writer from Boston pulled maybe Gagne to Houston out of his ass

Posted by: mitch4ya | November 20, 2007 at 08:28 AM

Odds and Ends: Kendall, Crisp, Gagne

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