Elijah Dukes Rumors

Olney's Latest: Cardinals, Snell, Milledge, Maine, Fuentes

Buster Olney's latest offering is packed full of links: Bernie Miklasz notes that the Cardinals have only three starting pitchers (Adam Wainwright, Todd Wellemeyer, and Joel Pineiro) locked up for next year (he's not expecting Chris Carpenter to contribute in 2009), and no prospects waiting in the wings. His solution? Pry open owner Bill DeWitt's wallet, "and please, no el cheapo deals for rehabbing pitchers, medically risky pitchers, broken-down pitchers." The Pirates have it a little bit tougher. According to pitching coach Jeff Andrews, it consists of Paul Maholm and "a blank sheet." Here's one vote for adding Ian Snell,...   Continue Reading

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Nationals Release Lo Duca, Lopez

The Washington Post is reporting that the Nationals released both Paul Lo Duca and Felipe Lopez following tonight's game. The move was made to free-up space on the roster for Elijah Dukes and Emilio Bonifacio. Lo Duca was hitting .230/.301/.281 in 139 at bats this season and made $5MM on a one-year deal. Lopez was hitting .231/.303/.309 in 324 at bats and was in his final arbitration-eligible season, making $4.9MM. Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.   Continue Reading

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Mr. Dukes Goes To Washington

UPDATE, 12-3-07 at 4:19pm: The Rays will receive a 20 year-old southpaw starter named Glenn Gibson. Gibson was actually rumored way back on November 14th in this deal and the Nats didn't want to part with him. He's said to have a "decent fastball, very good curve, and tons of polish." Scratch what I said about getting Dukes for nothing; Gibson is something. He's been compared to Will Inman but with a little more projection. UPDATE, 12-3-07 at 2:34pm: The Post's Barry Svrluga has more on this trade. The Nats basically get Dukes for nothing - just an as-yet unknown..   Continue Reading

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Nationals Still Pursuing Dukes

A week ago, a Dominican news site reported that the Nationals were trying to acquire outfielder Elijah Dukes. It's a love affair that's gone on for some time now; Jim Bowden has a thing for athletic, troubled ballplayers. The Rays still want some kind of useful pitcher or shortstop in return, but the Nats don't want to surrender anyone of value. Tonight, MLB.com's Bill Ladson has further details on Washington's pursuit. He quotes a baseball official close to the situation who believes it's more likely than not that the Nationals acquire Dukes. Coincidentally, the Nationals' third base coach is currently..   Continue Reading

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Nats Trying To Acquire Dukes?

Rays Index dug up a story on a Dominican news site. Apparently the Nationals are trying to acquire Elijah Dukes with the intent of making him their center fielder. Manny Acta went to the Dominican Republic to watch Dukes play recently. The Rays, of course, are asking for pitching in return. The Nats don't want to give up Collin Balester, Colton Willems, Zech Zinicola, or Glenn Gibson in the deal. If you speak Spanish check out the article here and let us know any interesting info in the comments that we weren't able to glean from Google Translator   Continue Reading

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Random Rumors

Some random rumors to help you get through your Thursday morning... As you might imagine, the Rangers are keenly watching and hoping Alex Rodriguez opts out of his contract. That would free up $7MM for them in each of the next three years. Rangers' manager Ron Washington's wish list includes a center fielder, corner outfielder, and first baseman. The Rangers have been connected to Torii Hunter quite a bit, but they'll have plenty of competition. Will the exchange rate free up a bunch of money for the Blue Jays? Perhaps even enough to make a pass at A-Rod? Hey, fans..   Continue Reading

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Elijah Dukes To Stay Put Today

Marc Lancaster of the Tampa Tribune says it's his understanding that there's "no chance" Elijah Dukes will be moved today. That makes sense; Dukes hasn't taken part in baseball activities for over a month. He should be traded in the offseason   Continue Reading

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White Sox Interested In Elijah Dukes?

The Devil Rays optioned Elijah Dukes to Class A and put him on the temporary inactive list back on June 22nd. He's earning his Major League salary and getting counseling for his problems. According to Will Carroll of Baseball Prospectus, the White Sox may be interested. Given their clear need for outfielders for 2008, a Dukes trade makes plenty of sense. Chicago is a far way from Tampa and would represent a fresh start for Dukes. Andrew Friedman and Kenny Williams have yet to match up for a trade to the best of my knowledge, though the Rays apparently have..   Continue Reading

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Elijah Dukes Demoted

We knew something was coming...the Devil Rays demoted outfielder Elijah Dukes today and also placed him on the temporary inactive list (ie, no pay). A trade or release is forthcoming. According to the Tampa Tribune, the Rays spent yesterday exploring potential deals. You'd think with millions of dollars hanging in the balance, Dukes would just relax and focus on baseball with his new team   Continue Reading

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Marlins Still Like Elijah Dukes

The Marlins have flirted with the idea of acquiring Elijah Dukes for center field for at least a few months. Back in March, Jayson Stark mentioned the idea. At that point, Peter Gammons felt that the Fish would not trade young pitching to get their center fielder. Now they may be able to get Dukes for next to nothing. The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports that the Marlins have Dukes on the radar if they can get him for little. Any breathing reliever might do the trick. If the Marlins think, for some reason, that they can alleviate Dukes' off-the-field issues,..   Continue Reading

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Dukes Trade Coming Soon?

The Devil Rays have a new-look outfield, with Delmon Young in center, Jonny Gomes in right, and Elijah Dukes on the bench. Gomes just homered today and could really take off as a 30 home run guy if he plays every day. Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times hinted this morning that if Dukes didn't start today, his departure may be imminent. He didn't, and Rocco Baldelli may be back by Friday. Some sort of action with Dukes at that point seems likely, whether a release, demotion, or trade. Jim Bowden's recent "character is extremely important" comment to the..   Continue Reading

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Nationals After Elijah Dukes

According to Ken Rosenthal, Jim Bowden and the Washington Nationals are attempting to trade for Devil Rays center fielder Elijah Dukes. Rosenthal notes that Bowden has before extended opportunities with players with off-the-field problems, most recently Dmitri Young. Dukes, who will turn 23 later this month, has an interesting line on the season. He's at .199/.321/.409 with ten home runs and thirty walks in 209 plate appearances. It's an odd way to arrive at a .730 OPS, but ultimately puts him pretty close to the average AL center fielder (.260/.332/.408). Obviously once Dukes' batting average catches up - and I..   Continue Reading

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Stark's Latest

Hey everybody, I'm back from my trip. I hope you enjoyed the posts from Tom and Jeff in the meantime. California was actually colder than Chicago is right now, go figure. Jayson Stark had a new column up at ESPN.com yesterday; let's dissect the trade rumors. Stark quotes scouts doubting whether Miguel Tejada's power will ever return. Over the last year and a half or so, the Orioles had all sorts of young players they could've acquired for Tejada. Names like Felix Pie, Rich Hill, Brandon McCarthy, Ryan Sweeney, Ervin Santana, Erick Aybar have surfaced before. Tejada earns $12MM this..   Continue Reading

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Florida Teams Talking Trade?

Here's a rumor I missed from Jayson Stark's column on Friday. Stark notes: "Despite talk of the Marlins and Devil Rays reviving their long-rumored deal involving Rocco Baldelli, Florida actually appears to be more focused on the younger (and cheaper) B.J. Upton and Elijah Dukes as center field possibilities." That makes sense, but what would Florida give up at this point? Scott Olsen has to be off-limits. Josh Johnson is hurting. Anibal Sanchez's shoulder inflammation has died down, but he's still a risk. Ricky Nolasco might be reasonable, though it would chip away at the team's strength. Nolasco for Dukes..   Continue Reading

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Elijah Dukes In Trouble Again

Oh, Elijah. This time, it's marijuana possession. At least, that's the charge. Elijah Dukes is an interesting player - a world of talent, a complete wild card in terms of behavior. PECOTA sees him hitting .283/.349/.454 as a 23 year-old this year. I think the D-Rays should just grin and bear it rather than trade him, as dealing now would be selling low   Continue Reading

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Blue Jays Targeting Dukes?

UPDATE: A reliable source close to the Jays tells me this one is "nonsense." Sorry to disappoint! According to our good friends at D-Rays Bay, the Blue Jays and Devil Rays are talking about an Elijah Dukes trade. The proposed deal is pitchers Shaun Marcum and Josh Sowers for Dukes. Marcum, 25, had a strong showing in Triple A last year as well as an acceptable rookie effort with the Jays. Sowers, Jeremy's brother, is still in the lower minors. Not sure where Dukes would fit into Toronto's 2007 plans, as Adam Lind is already looking for a full-time role..   Continue Reading

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Pirates Targeting Elijah Dukes?

Bucco Blog reports that the Pirates and Devil Rays are talking, and the Bucs may be targeting 22 year-old first baseman/outfielder Elijah Dukes. Jake's informal poll of writers and scouts seemed to indicate that such an acquisition would require either Tom Gorzelanny or Mike Gonzalez. To me, Gorzelanny would make the most sense. As you probably know, Dukes has a world of talent but some makeup issues. Gorzelanny had a scare last year with August elbow stiffness, though he came back to make three starts after that. For 2007, the 24 year-old southpaw is projected at a 4.06 ERA and..   Continue Reading

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