Hank Blalock Rumors

Orioles Notes: Beltre, Delgado, Wolf, Blalock

The Orioles are positioned to be buyers in free agency, according to Jeff Zrebiec and Dan Connolly of The Baltimore Sun. GM Andy MacPhail says that the club is looking to spend this offseason, but there remains some skepticism in Baltimore as to whether owner Peter Angelos will be willing to open up his checkbook. If the O's decide to dole out dollars this winter, here are some of the players they will and won't be targeting: Barring a change in organizational plans, you can cross the Orioles off the list of suitors for outfielders Matt Holliday and Jason Bay....   Continue Reading

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Hank Blalock Represented By Scott Boras

Here's a new addition to our Scott Boras clients list - Hank Blalock. MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan informed us that Blalock switched to Boras before the season. Blalock, 29 later this month, hit .234/.277/.459 this year in 495 plate appearances. He played 567 innings at first base and spent the rest of the time at DH. It was Blalock's healthiest season since '06, and he showed decent power, but his OBP was the third-worst in baseball among those with 450 PAs.   Continue Reading

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Rangers Notes: Vizquel, Byrd, Rodriguez

MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan examined what some of the Rangers' plans might be this winter, and here are some of the highlights... A right-handed bat is at the top of the Texas wish list for the off-season, with Sullivan singling out Jermaine Dye as perhaps the best fit for the Rangers amongst the veteran hitters on the free agent market. There is a good chance that veteran shortstop Omar Vizquel will re-sign with Texas before the club's exclusive negotiating period for free agents ends on November 19. Sullivan reports that "there appears to be genuine interest on both sides" to bring...   Continue Reading

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Discussion: What's Next For Baltimore?

The Baltimore Sun's Dan Connolly details the questions facing a Baltimore team with some young offensive talent, some terrific young pitching on the way, and a lot of extra cash. Connolly writes that while the 64-98 record Baltimore had in 2009 was the third-worst in team history, "there is a sense that the future has promise because of the emergence of young starting pitchers Brian Matusz, Chris Tillman and Brad Bergesen, catcher Matt Wieters and outfielders Nolan Reimold and Felix Pie." Left unsaid, of course, is the emergence of Adam Jones and Nick Markakis continuing to be a tremendous player....   Continue Reading

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Blalock Knows He Won't Return To Rangers

Hank Blalock knows he won't return to the Rangers in 2010, according to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan. GM Jon Daniels hinted that the club could have interest in free agents-to-be Marlon Byrd and Ivan Rodriguez, but hasn't made any such overtures to Blalock. "Nothing has been said to me, but I know I won't be playing here next year," he said. "It is what it is. I'll just move on." Because Michael Young, Chris Davis and Justin Smoak have the corner infield positions covered and Josh Hamilton, Nelson Cruz, David Murphy and Julio Borbon give the Rangers four players to DH...   Continue Reading

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The Market For Hank Blalock

Hank Blalock will become a free agent after the season, and there's no guarantee that the Rangers will want him back. They paid Blalock $6.2MM this year, but they have uncertain payroll flexibility going forward and an abundance of talented position players. Michael Young should combine with Chris Davis and Justin Smoak to man the corner infield positions. Josh Hamilton, Julio Borbon, Nelson Cruz and David Murphy give manager Ron Washington four outfielders for three positions. Marlon Byrd wants to stay in Texas and Andruw Jones could conceivably return, too. If Blalock hits the market, as expected, he won't be...   Continue Reading

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Roy Halladay Rumors: Thursday Night

1:04pm: Rosenthal and Morosi report that the Blue Jays are asking for Holland, Justin Smoak and two other prospects. 11:47pm: Heyman reports that the Rangers had a "pretty decent chance" to acquire Halladay today. With just over 15 hours to go, the Rangers' chances appear to have decreased in recent hours, Heyman says. 10:52pm: Sources tell Grant that the Rangers have asked the Jays to pay a significant amount of Halladay's 2009 salary in a potential trade. Ryan confirmed that the team would need ownership approval to make a trade for Halladay. 9:59pm: Rangers president Nolan Ryan told Bob Nightengale...   Continue Reading

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ESPN On Qualls, Adrian Gonzalez, Mahay

11:19pm: Olney reports that the Padres and Red Sox had made very little progress in their discussions about Adrian Gonzalez as of 9pm CST. 4:19pm: In regard to the Qualls item below, ESPN's Jerry Crasnick has an update. His source says the D'Backs are "very unlikely" to trade their closer. 11:58am: All kinds of good stuff from ESPN's Buster Olney (Insider required and recommended). The big news: the Red Sox and Padres talked "at length" about an Adrian Gonzalez trade Wednesday night. Those discussions are expected to resume today; of course you can expect top prospects to be involved. On...   Continue Reading

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Rosenthal On Saito, Rangers, Hardy

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports that the Red Sox discussed a trade that would have sent Takashi Saito to Texas for Hank Blalock. The idea lost traction once Josh Hamilton underwent surgery and David Ortiz began hitting better and it's not likely to be revived. However, "several" teams have interest in Saito, who the Red Sox might prefer to deal for a prospect. Here are more details from Rosenthal's column: The Rangers remain the leading contenders to sign Ben Sheets. They also considered going after Nick Johnson, but are more likely to replace Chris Davis internally if they decide...   Continue Reading

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Heyman On Peavy, Pedro, Blalock

Jon Heyman of SI.com has a number of rumors in his latest column: He believes the Cubs and Brewers have the best shot at acquiring Jake Peavy, because of the pitcher's preference for the National League and his desire to play in "middle America." Heyman believes Peavy would accept a deal to either team, but there are never guarantees with a no-trade clause. The Yankees and Indians both say they cannot add payroll. One AL executive believes Pedro Martinez would sign for $3MM plus incentives at this point. The Rangers would listen to offers for Hank Blalock and ask for...   Continue Reading

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