December 2007

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Mets Pitching Plans

Many readers have written me asking what the Mets are going to do to upgrade their starting rotation. Matthew Cerrone as a man in the know, and he's written a summary over at MetsBlog. Cerrone senses nothing much cooking on the Johan Santana front, yet the Mets remain "oddly confident." Cerrone believes the Mets will probably sign one rehabber - Freddy Garcia or Bartolo Colon. He says reviews on Colon in the Dominican Winter League have been positive. Omar Minaya knows Colon well, having traded the farm for him as GM of the Expos. Garcia may be ready to pitch..   Continue Reading

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Kazmir Too Pricey For Rays?

According to Eduardo A. Encina, the Rays explored a contract extension for ace Scott Kazmir last year. Nothing came of it, and now Encina says "there's already talk that Kazmir's days as a Ray are numbered." The dominant lefty, who turns just 24 in January, has three years left before free agency. His monster second half in '07 (2.39 ERA) may indicate an upward trend that could result in Cy votes in '08. It seems that Kazmir is represented by Brian Peters (rather than Scott Boras as I previously stated). If he does decide to go year to year with..   Continue Reading

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Matt Clement Rumors

FROM 12-31-07 at 11:20am: Wuerz says Clement balked at the idea of a minor league deal with the Cardinals. FROM 12-30-07 at 12:26pm: John Perrotto believes Clement is leaning towards the Pirates or Indians, partly because of a new home he built in Butler, PA (same place he was born). FROM 12-30-07 at 2:10am: Here's a rumor I missed from a couple of days ago. Scott Wuerz of the Belleville News-Democrat, a Southern Illinois newspaper, indicated in his blog that the Cardinals were close to signing Matt Clement. Haven't seen recent buzz about this in the Post-Dispatch, but maybe Wuerz..   Continue Reading

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Mailbag: Lopez, Colon, Cano

Let's dig into the MLBTR mailbag once again. You could ask a question by emailing mlbtraderumors@gmail.com. What moves would you like to see the Rockies make to improve their starting rotation? - Sean The Rockies seem to have decent rotation depth - Aaron Cook, Jeff Francis, Jason Hirsh, Ubaldo Jimenez, Franklin Morales, Taylor Buchholz, even Kip Wells and Mark Redman. I would like to see Dan O'Dowd toss an injury-recovering free agent into the mix. The one I like is Rodrigo Lopez. He was quietly very solid for a half-season in Colorado this year. He had surgery to repair a..   Continue Reading

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Report: Juan Gonzalez Signs With Yankees?

UPDATE, 12-29-07 at 12:43pm: I'm told the article is the equivalent of an April Fool's joke. FROM 12-29-07 at 10:38am: El Vocero, one of the bigger newspapers in Puerto Rico, is reporting that the Yankees signed Juan Gonzalez to a two-year, $2MM deal. This report definitely makes me raise an eyebrow, for three reasons: In both 2006 and 2005, odd reports surfaced about teams being interested in Gonzalez, only to have the teams publically deny interest a day or two later. It seems absurd to give Gonzalez two years or $2MM when he hasn't played in the Majors since that..   Continue Reading

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Johan Santana Rumors

UPDATE, 12-29-07 at 10:59am: Jayson Stark's sources speak of glacially moving Santana talks with the Red Sox, Yankees, Mets, and Mariners that may drag out for several more weeks. UPDATE, 12-28-07 at 11:00am: Joel Sherman's sources name the Red Sox as the "strong favorite" to acquire Santana in the new year. He sees the Yankees backing down and the Mets as lagging behind for lack of MLB-ready young players in their offer. Also here's a Jayson Stark Santana article I missed yesterday giving his take on the Yankees, Red Sox, and Mets. UPDATE, 12-27-07 at 2:59pm: Charley Walters has some..   Continue Reading

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Odds and Ends: Villarreal, Cano, Rowand

Alright let's round 'em up. This was one I was going to pass on posting, but it's pretty dead right now. The Astros signed newly acquired reliever Oscar Villarreal to a two-year deal. He was already under team control through 2008. The MLB.com article adds that Ed Wade's interest in Livan Hernandez and Bartolo Colon is low, and talks with Jon Lieber pretty much died. The Yankees pulled Robinson Cano out of Winter Ball. The word is that he doesn't want to aggravate a calf injury. You could read into it and speculate he's a part of trade talks. Seems..   Continue Reading

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Vote For MLBTR

We're in the Final Four in Busted Coverage's sports blog tourney! Please head over and place a vote if you've got a second. Thanks for all the votes so far   Continue Reading

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Mets Still Like Jon Lieber

The New York Daily News reiterated the Mets' interest in free agent starter Jon Lieber this morning. Liebs turns 38 in April. He's probably just as good as Livan Hernandez, but less durable. The Mets' interest in Lieber was previously reported by Jayson Stark on December 5th. Other teams connected to Lieber - the Reds, Royals, Astros, and Rangers. Peter Botte and Roger Rubin name Lieber as one of many free agent options for the Mets if they fail to trade for a frontline guy. Kyle Lohse, Freddy Garcia, and Bartolo Colon are candidates. Matthew Cerrone says the Mets have..   Continue Reading

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Darin Erstad Signs With Astros

Minor signing tonight, as the Astros inked Darin Erstad to a one-year deal. It's a one-year, $1MM deal plus incentives. Erstad has become a popular stathead target but as long as the Astros don't give him hundreds of at-bats, does it really matter   Continue Reading

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