Ivan Rodriguez Rumors

Trade Candidates: Catchers

The market for catchers has been silent this year, as many contenders are set behind the plate. It’s partially a coincidence, but still noteworthy that so many of baseball’s best teams have catchers performing well. Here are a few backstops who could be available this month: Ramon Hernandez - Likely expendable because of Ryan Hanigan's emergence, Hernandez has hit .252/.333/.368 with five homers and more walks than strikeouts this year. He doesn't come cheap though, as he makes $8MM. Yorvit Torrealba - The Rockies have Chris Iannetta, so Torrealba and his career OPS of .700 are expendable. He'll earn $3.5MM...   Continue Reading

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Stark On Deadline Deals

ESPN.com's Jayson Stark reports that, with only five teams more than six games under .500, it's a tough time to be a buyer. Here are the details from his latest Rumblings and Grumblings: There are many trade candidates in Washingon, but free agent-to-be Nick Johnson is the likeliest to move of them all. Adam Dunn's price would be "astronomical" according to one executive. One of Danys Baez and George Sherrill will likely be dealt, and it seems more likely that Baez will move. As one official says, "he's throwing great, but he's still Danys Baez." The D'Backs would prefer to...   Continue Reading

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Odds And Ends: Nats, Astros, Putz, Brewers

More links for Friday afternoon... Thomas Boswell of the Washington Post believes the Lerner family and Stan Kasten have to take responsibility for a weak Nationals team and turn it around in Washington. Former Nats GM Jim Bowden told WUSA9 that in retrospect he wishes he'd kept a closer eye on the Nationals' actions in the Dominican. More from Richard Justice on his chat with Astros owner Drayton McLane. It's "likely" that Ivan Rodriguez, Jose Valverde and Miguel Tejada will be shopped. ESPN.com's Rob Neyer says he wouldn't be surprised if Braves GM Frank Wren calls the Rockies about Ryan...   Continue Reading

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Odds & Ends: Gregerson, Hanley, Strasburg

Links for Monday... Matt Eddy of Baseball America has the minor league transactions, including the Dodgers' signing of J.D Durbin. Marc Lancaster of the Tampa Tribune says Rays Rule 5 pick Derek Rodriguez, a reliever, has been returned to the White Sox. Yahoo's David Brown talked to Carlos Pena about many topics, including his agent Scott Boras. According to Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Padres received pitcher Luke Gregerson as the player to be named later in the Khalil Greene deal. The other player the Padres received, the now-injured Mark Worrell, was also a minor league closer....   Continue Reading

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Pudge Passes Physical

According to Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the Houston Chronicle Ivan Rodriguez passed his physical for the Astros to finalize his one year deal. Pudge says all the right things about joining his new team.   Continue Reading

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Heyman On Bargains, Andruw, Buchholz

The latest from SI.com's Jon Heyman... Heyman runs through his top 13 free agent bargains, beginning with Orlando Cabrera, Bobby Abreu, and Jon Garland. Andruw Jones will decide next week whether to opt out and become a free agent again. Heyman reminds us that the Yankees, Braves, and Phillies were previously interested. He says a Yankees person "hedged" when asked if they'd rejoin the Jones pursuit. The Twins sent a scout to watch Ivan Rodriguez before he signed with Houston, but Heyman figures they must be confident about Joe Mauer's back after standing pat. The Red Sox "remain uninterested in...   Continue Reading

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Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Bucs, Jays, Pedro, Pudge, Phils, Twins

On this date 72 years ago, in what may have been the biggest trade in Negro League history, Josh Gibson and Judy Johnson were traded from the Pittsburgh Crawfords to the Homestead Grays for $25K and two players. Earlier this week, Pudge Rodriguez, one of the greatest catchers of this generation, became the latest big-name free agent to find a home. Let's take a look at what is being written in the Blogosphere... Pirate Revolution takes a look at some players that could become available for the Pirates in the next two weeks as teams trim their rosters, including Jeff...   Continue Reading

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Odds And Ends: Tejada, Manny, White Sox

A few links for Thursday night... Good news for the Astros: The AP (via ESPN) reports that a federal prosecutor recommended that Miguel Tejada get probation, but no prison time for his involvement with PEDs. MLB.com's Ken Gurnick passes along a memorable Manny Ramirez quote: "No more cricket. I'm not signing to play cricket. Well, I can be a free agent after this year, so we'll see. But don't ask me about cricket." Scot Gregor of the Daily Herald writes that the White Sox need to make a deal for a center fielder who can bat leadoff. He thinks GM...   Continue Reading

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Heyman On Pedro, Pudge, Andruw

SI.com's Jon Heyman has a new column. Heyman believes the Mets offered Pedro Martinez a $1-2MM base salary, but he's still looking for $5MM. Not happenin'. ESPN's Jayson Stark suggests Pedro is asking for $6-8MM. Heyman takes Astros GM Ed Wade to task for seemingly lying to MLB.com beat writer Alyson Footer about the team's pursuit of Ivan Rodriguez. The Pudge deal will be official once his physical is complete. Andruw Jones must decide by Friday whether to stay with the Rangers (presumably he'd head to Triple A if he does not opt out). In talking to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan,...   Continue Reading

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Odds & Ends: Pudge, A-Rod, Wilson, Hill

Links for Thursday... Chat today, 2pm CST. Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the Houston Chronicle talked to various Astros players about the Ivan Rodriguez signing. John Brattain of The Hardball Times asks what might have happened with Alex Rodriguez if he hadn't had Scott Boras whispering in his ear. Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette assures us that the Pirates shopped shortstop Jack Wilson aggressively this winter. Eric Seidman of FanGraphs questions the Nationals' decision to release Shawn Hill. If Hill is useful in future years, this one's on Mike Rizzo. Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star discusses the...   Continue Reading

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