Ben Sheets Rumors

Sheets To Test Free Agency

Brewers ace Ben Sheets is in the midst of a monster contract year, and he's planning on testing the open market after the season. The Brewers might've had a chance to sign him to an extension, but GM Doug Melvin decided to pass. After all, Sheets hasn't topped 160 innings since '04. He's made most of his starts in '08 as we near the halfway point. Sheets earns $11MM in '08, and he'll be looking for a raise this time around. Assuming he stays healthy for the rest of the season, I could see a contract similar to Jason Schmidt's...   Continue Reading

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Salisbury On Phillies' Trade Chips

Back on June 19th, ESPN's Jayson Stark said the Phillies had "at least kicked the tires on C.C. Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, Bronson Arroyo, and Jarrod Washburn." He also expected them to inquire on Erik Bedard. Scott Lauber says the Phils have scouted Sabathia, Burnett, Ben Sheets, and Greg Maddux recently. Jim Salisbury of the Philadelphia Inquirer weighs in this morning on the Phillies' trade chips. He names Shane Victorino, Jayson Werth, Carlos Carrasco, Lou Marson, Greg Golson, and Adrian Cardenas as Phillies players other teams may covet. However, Salisbury believes Pat Gillick might opt for a midlevel acquisition and hang...   Continue Reading

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Phillies Trade Strategy Mired By Parity

Scott Lauber of the Delaware News-Journal writes in the Phillies/baseball blog about the team's trade strategy in the looming trade-deadline season. He spoke to Phillies Assistant GM Ruben Amaro Jr. and GM Pat Gillick, both of whom reiterated the notion that it'll be tough to trade this year because of the parity among some clubs. There are 15 teams with a .500 record or better, which means some of those teams may still be in contention in mid July. Of course, it also means some of those teams will be out of it by the trade deadline. To wit: The...   Continue Reading

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Phillies Scouting Rumors

All of these "team X scouts team Y" type reports should be taken with a grain of salt, because scouting does not necessarily imply trade interest. But hey, this is MLB Trade Rumors. Paul Hagen of the Philadelphia Daily News says the Phillies sent special assistant Charley Kerfeld to watch the Brewers play the Blue Jays. Hagen notes that Kerfeld may have observed Ben Sheets and A.J. Burnett. Jayson Stark told us Thursday that the Brewers would have to be "way out of it" before making Sheets available. But Burnett might be fair game, and Stark said the Phillies have...   Continue Reading

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Stark's Latest: Sabathia, Bedard, Phillies, Freel

It's Thursday, and you know what that means. Time for another installment of Jayson Stark's Rumblings and Grumblings at ESPN.com. Stark runs through a laundry list of candidates for the Mariners' and Mets' manager and GM vacancies. The Indians will not be giving a negotiation window for a team hoping to sign C.C. Sabathia while acquiring him. Erik Bedard is "now officially on the market." Bedard's value has diminished since the Mariners acquired him, however. The Phillies have already inquired on Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, Bronson Arroyo, and Jarrod Washburn. Stark sees Bedard joining that group, but believes it'd require Carlos...   Continue Reading

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Gammons On Available Pitchers

ESPN's Peter Gammons names ten starting pitchers who could be available in the coming months. We'll try to devise a comprehensive list when we get to the position in our Trade Market series. Gammons' trade possibilities: Paul Byrd, Jeremy Sowers, Derek Lowe, Rich Harden, Odalis Perez, Brett Tomko, Jarrod Washburn, Zach Duke, Vicente Padilla, and Kevin Millwood. Byrd, Lowe, Perez, and Tomko will be free agents after the season. Sowers and Duke are the kids. Harden is the oft-injured ace. Washburn, Padilla, and Millwood bring burdensome contracts. Gammons also five "unlikely, but not impossible" scenarios. He suggests A.J. Burnett, Bartolo...   Continue Reading

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Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Wells, Griffey, Olney, Tavarez, Edmonds

A lot of links today, so let's get to what is being said about some trade and signing possibilities in the Blogosphere... The Darth Boss George Brigade wants Hank Steinbrenner to sign David Wells to prove that Hank is indeed his father's son. River Ave. Blues says the Yankees are too smart to sign Wells and then goes on to list about 87 pitchers that should be given a shot in the Highlanders' rotation before Wells. Redlegs Rant feels that Ken Griffey Jr. is behind the recent stories that speculate on him being traded. Mariners Central speculates on some of...   Continue Reading

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Buster Olney Drops Uncommon Trade Thoughts

Buster Olney talks trade in his latest insider-only piece. Let's have a look at the guys he names. Ryan Howard. This is a tough one. Philly is in second place right now, and they should be in contention throughout the year. Howard has started poorly, but you can figure a rebound. While the Phillies might not be eager to pay Howard $25 to $30MM over the next two years, some other team might. I figure they could get a decent haul from, say, the Angels. Still, it's hard to justify trading away your best power hitter (at least in name)...   Continue Reading

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Free Agent Stock Watch: Ben Sheets

It looks like Ben Sheets made the right decision by signing a four-year contract with the Brewers after his spectacular 2004 season. The then-25-year-old tossed 237 innings to the tune of a 2.70 ERA, striking out 264 to just 32 walks, with a WHIP below 1.00. Those are absolutely insane numbers, but because his team was lousy, he finished just eighth in the Cy Young voting. (To be fair, Randy Johnson should have won it, with Sheets a close second.) Since then, Sheets hasn't pitched more than 157 innings in a season due to a number of injuries. He's still...   Continue Reading

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Sheets & Sabathia Head Next Year's Free Agent Class

A couple nice nuggets to confirm what we already suspect regarding a couple big fish on the 2009 Starting Pitcher Free Agents list. As MLBTR covered here, this should be Ben Sheets' last year with the Brewers. Further affirming the inevitable, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says, If the 29-year-old right-hander finally has a healthy season and puts up impressive numbers, the Brewers would be hard-pressed to meet his asking price on what has been a runaway pitching market in recent years. And, should Sheets break down again and turns his four-year, $38.5 million contract into a complete...   Continue Reading

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Ben Sheets' Last Year in Milwaukee?

We're well-overdue for a Ben Sheets rumor. I like Michael Hunt's point on what could be the inevitable departure of Sheets: "Chances are this is Big Ben's last season with the Brewers, unless another medical anomaly throws a fat one over the heart of the team's checkbook. But that's the catch: The Brewers need him to be so good and healthy that he'll be out of their economic grasp. Such is their balancing act... Absent the miraculous - the union agreeing to a salary drag - the Brewers can't keep everyone. Maybe there's your Sheets decision." If Hunt is right...   Continue Reading

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