Chad Qualls Rumors

Dissecting The Jose Valverde Trade

Regular MLBTR readers know I have mostly been a harsh critic of Ed Wade's short tenure as the Astros' GM. Well, not this time. He made an excellent deal in acquiring Jose Valverde for Chris Burke, Chad Qualls, and Juan Gutierrez. Valverde, 27, is a nasty shut-down closer with two seasons before free agency. He gets strikeouts by the bushel and can handle the ninth in a tough hitter's ballpark. Burke was once the 10th overall pick in the 2001 draft, but he turns 27 in March. His best year was a .765 OPS in 2006. The D'Backs hope he..   Continue Reading

---

Dan Haren Traded To Diamondbacks

It looks like Billy Beane has pulled the trigger on a trade for Dan Haren, sending him to the Diamondbacks for a package of prospects. The departed: Carlos Gonzalez, Brett Anderson, Dana Eveland, Greg Smith, Chris Carter, and Aaron Cunningham. The A's also sent right Connor Robertson to the D'Backs. The D'Backs also completed another deal, sending closer Jose Valverde to the Astros for Chris Burke, Chad Qualls, and Juan Gutierrez. Tim will be around later to share his views on the trade. -Jo   Continue Reading

---

Rosenthal's Latest: Mahay, Cordero

Ken Rosenthal busts out a few new ones. The Royals have been in touch with Ron Mahay's agent. Rosenthal names the Yankees, Giants, and Astros as other interested parties. Why the Giants? The Royals would trade Jimmy Gobble and then sign Mahay. Regarding the Yankees, Rosenthal says that the Santana situation somehow affects their willingness to sign Mahay. Meanwhile, Jayson Stark says the Rays are also in on Mahay. The Nationals asked for Chad Qualls and Luke Scott for Chad Cordero and were rebuffed by Ed Wade and the Astros. It's not the craziest offer but how many outfielders do..   Continue Reading

---

Odds and Ends: Garcia, Greene, DeJesus

With so many rumors, there's a need for a daily Odds and Ends post to catch 'em all. Buster Olney talked to Freddy Garcia's agent. He's looking at a June return from shoulder surgery. Indians GM Mark Shapiro made an offer on Brad Lidge. The Astros didn't even reply. They did hear back from the Marlins on their Miguel Cabrera inquiry. The price is seemingly too high for talks to continue. Peter Gammons says that before the Astros got Michael Bourn, the White Sox pushed for a Chad Qualls for Ryan Sweeney swap. Evan Grant notes that the Rangers have..   Continue Reading

---

Tigers Trade Rumors: Barmes, Dotel, Qualls

The Detroit Free Press has a Tigers update for us today. The Tigers are intent on acquiring a backup shortstop. They recently sent a scout to watch the Rockies' Clint Barmes at Triple A. Barmes is at .310/.374/.464 in the minors this year. Perhaps the Tigers envision him as a possible successor to Carlos Guillen at short. Relievers on the radar: Brad Lidge, Chad Qualls, Octavio Dotel, and Kyle Farnsworth. Eric Gagne does not seem likely right now, and we know Lidge is a long shot. Farnsworth might make the most sense, as the cost would mainly be money. The..   Continue Reading

---

Yankees Focused On Gagne, Wheeler, Qualls

It seems highly likely that the Yankees will make a move to upgrade their bullpen before the Tuesday trade deadline. They appear to have three main targets. Kat O'Brien of Newsday says the Yanks have had serious discussions with Texas regarding Eric Gagne. Though Gagne wants to close, remember that he can be traded to New York without his consent. A Rivera-Gagne combo would essentially turn every game into seven innings. O'Brien names righthanders Ian Kennedy and Jeff Marquez as two pitchers the Rangers might be after. Kennedy is definitely more highly regarded. The Rangers also like Melky Cabrera but..   Continue Reading

---

Rosenthal's Latest: Dunn, Wheeler, Izzy

Ken Rosenthal posted a new column last night, and has updated it very recently. I've already spoken about the Teixeira stuff, but there's other good material in there too. Some of the wilder speculation out there has been that the Twins might trade Torii Hunter or Johan Santana if they decide they're out of it. Various Baseball Prospectus reports put the Twins' playoff chances between 5-10%. Rosenthal debunks the idea that Minnesota would shop Hunter without first making him an offer, and keeping Santana for at least 2008 makes sense. Plus, Santana has a no-trade clause. Rosenthal does have some..   Continue Reading

---

Mariners Watching Starters

UPDATE: Hickey writes that the Mariners have also scouted Kyle Lohse, Matt Morris, Jason Johnson (thought he went to Japan), and Octavio Dotel. However, a deal seems unlikely because none of those players are worth top Mariner prospects. According to Jim Hickey of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, the Mariners have been scouting all kinds of available and not-so-available starters lately. The Mariners have been scouting the White Sox "religiously" lately. If they saw Javier Vazquez beat the Tigers on Tuesday, they came away impressed. (However, Vazquez can and probably would veto a trade to the AL or NL West). They were..   Continue Reading

---

McAdam On Red Sox Trade Possibilities

Yesterday, Sean McAdam of The Providence Journal posted an article discussing trade possibilities for the Red Sox. Let's discuss. It seems that the Red Sox will add a bullpen arm despite the fine work of Manny Delcarmen. Apparently they want someone with experience. Eric Gagne doesn't seem likely, nor does Brad Lidge. Instead, Chad Qualls, Dan Wheeler, and maybe Salomon Torres or Scott Linebrink could be acquired. The focus is said to be on the Houston relievers. Wheeler seems like a solid buy-low option. You can add Octavio Dotel to the radar as well. And let's throw Brian Fuentes into..   Continue Reading

---

Red Sox Interested In Chad Qualls

Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle appeared on XM Radio's Baseball Beat yesterday, and reported that the Red Sox are interested in Astros reliever Chad Qualls. Qualls, who will turn 29 this year, has a 4.50 ERA through 40 innings. His strikeout rate is way up, but so are the hits and home runs. He was worked pretty hard last year with 81 appearances. Qualls is a long way from free agency. A few items of note: he dealt with shoulder tendinitis this spring, and has a likely two-game suspension coming for throwing a ball into the stands   Continue Reading

---

Latest From Gammons

The man himself, Peter Gammons, had a blog posting on Saturday that I neglected to mention here. Gammons mentions some suitors for Mark Buehrle: the Mets, Cardinals, and Mariners. He draws the Jermaine Dye/Padres connection we have seen in the past. Gammons believes the Astros will move one of Brad Lidge, Dan Wheeler, or Chad Qualls. However, that was written before Lidge hit the DL for a strained oblique. Houston would also love to move Morgan Ensberg, but that's nothing new. The Dodgers are looking for a corner infield slugger, but aren't interested in Troy Glaus or Scott Rolen. Adam..   Continue Reading

---

Gammons Rumors: Qualls, Garland

In today's blog post at ESPN.com, Peter Gammons slips in a couple of trade tidbits. While discussing the Boston bullpen, Gammons remarks: "They'll keep looking at relievers on other teams - like Houston's Chad Qualls - and figure they'll get a mess of innings out of the starting rotation." Gammons may be speaking in the hypothetical, but he may be implying that the Red Sox are looking into Qualls' availability. The 28 year-old righty has been tough to hit the last two seasons, but a K/9 below 6 isn't closer material. Another Gammons bullet point regarding the Red Sox: "The..   Continue Reading

---

Search MLBTR

MLBTR Mailing List

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

MLBTR Features

Recent Posts

Rumors By Team

Monthly Archives

Live Chats

Tuesdays at 2 p.m. CST