Alberto Callaspo Rumors

Odds & Ends: Astros, Schmidt, Callaspo

A few Thursday evening links to browse through.... MLB.com's Brian McTaggart reports that the Houston Astros will decrease their spending in 2010, after the team's payroll exceeded $100MM the first time in 2009. Filing for free agency may have just been a formality for Jason Schmidt, according to Ken Gurnick of MLB.com. The 36-year-old righty looks headed for retirement. Dick Kaegel of MLB.com hasn't heard anything that substantiates rumors of an Alberto Callaspo-A.J. Ellis swap between the Royals and Dodgers. Evan Brunell of The Hardball Times is "horrified" that the Phillies are considering Placido Polanco for their third base opening....   Continue Reading

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Royals Prefer Trades

Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star dishes on the Royals... Dayton Moore...step away from the free agent market. The Royals are moving toward trades, with an eye on the long-term. Owner David Glass says the plan is to "turn over some of the club." Moore already made a nice move in flipping Mark Teahen for Josh Fields and Chris Getz. Dutton again mentions the talks between the Dodgers and Royals on a possible A.J. Ellis for Alberto Callaspo deal. Ellis, 29 in April, posted OBPs over .436 in Triple A for 2008-09. The Royals are probably stuck with Jose...   Continue Reading

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Royals Seeking A Catcher

After declining their 2010 option for Miguel Olivo, the Royals are searching for a catcher according to Bob Dutton of The KC Star. Dutton mentions that it would be best for the team to fill their hole behind the plate prior to December 12th, allowing them to non-tender the incumbent John Buck. “We led all of baseball (last season) in passed balls and wild pitches,” general manager Dayton Moore said. “That will be fixed in 2010. Our defense in general is our main objective to fix before next season. “And it starts behind the plate.” The team has indicated that...   Continue Reading

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Odds & Ends: Uggla, Royals, New Blood

Here's some links to start off a gorgeous Sunday (at least around these parts)... After calling out teammate Hanley Ramirez, Bill Shaikin of The LA Times wonders if Dan Uggla might get a ticket out of Florida. If so, he says Uggla could be a fit for the Dodgers, who he says "are not expected to engage in a bidding war to retain second baseman Orlando Hudson." Sam Mellinger of The KC Star presents a few ways to improve the Royals for 2010. In addition to not handing out albatross contracts to players like Kyle Farnsworth and Jose Guillen, Mellinger...   Continue Reading

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Dutton On The Buckner/Callaspo Trade

Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star recently snagged our Rumor Royalty honor for the Royals. It's a way to acknowledge the best beat writer for each team, the person who brings us the most hot stove material. I do a Q&A with each writer, if they're willing. Click here and scroll to see all the entries in the Rumor Royalty series. MLBTR: Do you think swapping a solid-looking starter in Billy Buckner for a young second baseman in Alberto Callaspo was a wise move by Dayton Moore? Dutton: I think it was a reasonable gamble - but it was..   Continue Reading

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Royals Acquire Alberto Callaspo

Interesting move today, as the Royals sent 24 year-old minor league starter Billy Buckner to the Diamondbacks for 24 year-old second baseman Alberto Callaspo. Buckner, a labrum surgery survivor, has a plus curveball according to Baseball Prospectus' Kevin Goldstein. Goldstein adds that he's able to get groundballs and projects as a fourth starter. Throw him in the NL, maybe he could even become a #3. Callaspo is one of the better second base prospects out there, but keep in mind that good prospects rarely come up at that position. He almost never whiffs, and plays strong defense. The high contact..   Continue Reading

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Dan Haren Rumors: Wednesday

UPDATE, 12-5-07 at 11:20am: Joel Sherman says Stephen Drew, Mark Reynolds, and Tony Pena are also off the table in the Haren talks. UPDATE, 12-5-07 at 8:09am: Susan Slusser adds that the A's aren't being unreasonable with Arizona - they haven't asked for Justin Upton or Chris Young. Slusser also notes that Billy Beane wouldn't sit down with the Tigers unless they'd discuss Andrew Miller and Cameron Maybin. That's when the Tigers turned to the Marlins. Beane downplayed the chances of trading Haren, but what else is he going to say? FROM 12-5-07 at 12:09am: Technically it's Wednesday now, and..   Continue Reading

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Mets Targeting Livan Hernandez?

Ben Shpigel of the New York Times has some new Mets info for us today. Surprisingly, Shpigel believes the one free agent starter the Mets will seriously consider is Livan Hernandez. That is odd because I had read Livan wasn't high on Omar Minaya's list. We've seen the Mets connected to free agents Byung-Hyun Kim, Carlos Silva, Hiroki Kuroda, Kyle Lohse, and Jason Jennings so far this offseason. As far as some unsung trade opportunities, my Mets guy says Ervin Santana, Chris Capuano, Claudio Vargas, and Noah Lowry are being considered. According to Shpigel, the Mets hope to re-sign Ramon..   Continue Reading

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Alberto Callaspo Drawing Interest

It was revealed this morning in the Arizona Republic that one of the Diamondbacks' most asked-about players recently has been infielder Alberto Callaspo. Callaspo is set to back up at second, short, and third this year for the big club. Josh Byrnes stole him a year ago for a mere Jason Bulger. Callaspo is notoriously hard to strike out - he whiffed in only 6% of his ABs in Triple A last year en route to a .337 average. His Major League equivalent came to .280/.337/.395 in 2006, so yes, he could start for many teams. Baseball America doesn't go..   Continue Reading

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