Dan Wheeler Rumors

Carroll's Latest: Torrealba, Wheeler, Dunn

Here's the latest from Will Carroll at Baseball Prospectus. Some of this info is from this afternoon, so I apologize for the tardiness. The Rockies may still move a lesser player like Yorvit Torrealba, if anyone's interested. There doesn't seem to be a match with the catching-hungry Marlins though. Carroll tosses a new name into the relief market: Dan Wheeler. Would the Rays part with him? Carroll's sources don't think much of the recent Jeff Kent rumor. The White Sox have been aggressive in their relief pursuit; the Twins have been passive in general. The Mets, Rays, and Phillies have...   Continue Reading

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Rays Notes: Crawford, Baldelli, Wheeler

Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times has the latest on the Rays' moves today. The first two were expected. Carl Crawford's $8.25MM option for '09 was exercised. The Rays still have a $10MM club option for '10 that is highly likely to be exercised. After that, it's anyone's guess. The Rays chose Rocco Baldelli's $4MM buyout over his $6MM option. It's a sad situation but it had to be done. Dan Wheeler was signed to an extension. His '08 contract was replaced; the new three-year deal runs through 2010 and is worth $10.5MM. He would've been a free agent...   Continue Reading

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Could D-Rays Flip Dan Wheeler?

Keith Law raises a good point in his blog post today - the Devil Rays might be able to spin Dan Wheeler for a younger, cheaper player. Law thinks it's very likely that Andrew Friedman and Co. will aggressively shop Wheeler in the next two days. They've managed to spin Ty Wigginton into a more scarce commodity with higher demand. For example: if Octavio Dotel is worthy of a discussion about Dodgers' shortstop Chin-Ling Hu, does Wheeler fall within the same realm? If not, does controlling him through 2008 close the gap? With Reid Brignac struggling in Double A overall,..   Continue Reading

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Astros Trade Wheeler To Devil Rays For Wigginton

UPDATE: Wigginton will be used as the primary third baseman; you have to expert Morgan Ensberg to be gone soon. We expected both players to be traded, but not for each other. Today, the Astros traded 29 year-old reliever Dan Wheeler to the Devil Rays for 29 year-old supersub Ty Wigginton. By my count, Wheeler reaches free agency after the 2008 season and Wiggy after 2009. Looking at the two most important metrics, strikeout and walk rate, Wheeler should return to form for Tampa Bay. His strikeout rate is up; his walks down. Wheeler does not allow many baserunners. Perhaps..   Continue Reading

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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

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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

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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

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Rosenthal On Teixeira, Dunn

I neglected to mention a Ken Rosenthal article from yesterday, chock full of rumory goodness as always. Rosenthal believes the Yankees need a backup plan in case they are not able to retain Alex Rodriguez. Wilson Betemit definitely makes sense in that he'd be useful even if they do keep A-Rod. Rosenthal basically names every third baseman you can think of. The most likely option, to me, is to simply sign Mike Lowell as a free agent. Would he switch sides? Perhaps, if the Red Sox don't make an offer or try to lowball him. The Braves apparently won't give..   Continue Reading

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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

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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

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