Jay Payton Rumors

Crasnick On Remaining Free Agents

ESPN's Jerry Crasnick has a new article up looking at a bunch of free agents. Crasnick talked to one American League exec who views Pedro Martinez as "strictly a National League pitcher." Coupled with his price tag and long layoff, the market isn't big for Pedro. Ben Sheets is weeks away from a throwing program. He's probably a ten-start guy this year, but interest figures to be strong. Jim Edmonds hopes to sign by May. He'll need two to three weeks to get ready. Mark Grudzielanek also wants to play, and tells friends he only needs a week. He'll look...   Continue Reading

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Stark On Greinke, Manny, Dunn, Swisher

The latest from ESPN's Jayson Stark... The Cubs' ownership situation is not close to the finish line, which is one reason the team won't be acquiring Jake Peavy anytime soon. One source of Stark's suggested Zack Greinke nearly left his current agent John Courtright of SFX for Scott Boras, a whisper I'd heard as well. But now Greinke is happy with his contract and agent. Free agents such as Manny Ramirez and Ivan Rodriguez could reasonably wait until March to sign. Not a bad thing for this website! Adam Dunn would like Manny to sign earlier, as he's waiting to...   Continue Reading

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Red Sox Rumors: Payton, Taguchi, Bard, Paulino

Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald has a few new Red Sox rumors: The Sox are not interested in Jay Payton or any Craig Landis client (he also reps Jon Garland). They're also not in on So Taguchi. Josh Bard could be a Plan B or C at catcher. Ronny Paulino has also been discussed.   Continue Reading

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Perrotto's Latest: Dye, Jenks, Werth, Madson

THURSDAY: David Lennon of Newsday talked to a source who said there's "nothing there" in regard to the rumor of a Dye and Jenks to the Mets blockbuster. Joel Sherman talked to a few Mets officials who called the rumor nonsense. Sherman says Martinez is "all but untouchable." WEDNESDAY: Let's dig into the latest column from John Perrotto of Baseball Prospectus. Perrotto speaks of whispers of a possible White Sox-Mets blockbuster. The Mets would receive Jermaine Dye and Bobby Jenks and the White Sox would receive Fernando Martinez among others. Regarding the Orioles' possible involvement in a trade that would...   Continue Reading

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Huff, Millar, Payton Clear Waivers

According to Dan Connolly and Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun, four Orioles players have cleared waivers: Aubrey Huff, Jay Payton, Kevin Millar, and Jamie Walker. Walker we already knew about. The Orioles can now trade any of the four to any team. I had guessed that Huff would not clear waivers, on account of his .910 OPS (10th in the AL). However, the $10.1MM owed to Huff through '09 proved too much for the other 29 teams. His limited defensive abilities probably also played a role. The Sun also mentioned that George Sherrill was claimed by an AL team...   Continue Reading

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Odds And Ends: Braves, Orioles, Redding, Dunn, Ryan

A few more post-deadline notes from the MLBiverse... Apparently the Braves tried to get involved in the Jason Bay sweepstakes in the last hour before the deadline. Andy MacPhail feels that the Orioles will actually be more active in August than in July. Jeff Zrebiec and Dan Connolly suggest that several players, including Kevin Millar, Jay Payton and Ramon Hernandez could be had in August. MacPhail also noted that while there "was a pretty high bar set" for teams asking about Brian Roberts, MacPhail made it clear that Roberts was not off-limits and suggested that a deal this winter is...   Continue Reading

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Cubs Outfield Situation: Crisp, Johnson, Byrd

Quite a bit of info is floating about this evening regarding the Cubs' quest to add an outfielder. Let's put it all together. SI.com's Jon Heyman names Coco Crisp, Jay Payton, Marlon Byrd, and Brandon Inge as possible targets. Inge makes the least sense given his salary and the Tigers' need for him while Curtis Granderson is out. ESPN's Jayson Stark confirms Ken Rosenthal's assertion that the Cubs are leading the pack for Reed Johnson. Stark speculates that such an acquisition could prompt the Cubs to trade Matt Murton. ESPN's Peter Gammons says Red Sox scout Allard Baird is currently...   Continue Reading

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Three CF Options For Cubs

SI.com's Jon Heyman reiterates the Cubs' concern with Felix Pie, setting out the three main trade candidates for the team. Coco Crisp probably won't get dealt until he proves he's healthy. Even then, as I've said, $11MM over two years is a lot for a fourth outfielder. The Cubs may have competition from the Rays and A's for Crisp. Jay Payton would be a salary dump given the $5MM owed to him this year. The Cubs could take him while passing off the $16.25MM owed to Jason Marquis. The Cubs would love to move Marquis, though Jon Lieber's willingness to...   Continue Reading

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Stark's Latest: Roberts, Fuentes, Lofton

ESPN's Jayson Stark has a new blog post jam-packed with hot stove rumors. The Cubs are getting frustrated with the Brian Roberts situation, wondering if they'll ever complete this trade. The Orioles are scouting players but still haven't given the Cubs the names they crave. I got the exact same vibe from the source who told me Jose Ceda's inclusion was never proposed by the Cubs. The Tigers and Phillies are both hunting for bullpen help; Detroit's sights are set higher than Philadelphia's. Unwanted players such as Wes Helms and Brandon Inge aren't in demand. And while Marcus Thames is...   Continue Reading

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No Recent Brian Roberts Talks

SI.com's Jon Heyman wrote on Monday that the Cubs and Orioles had resumed talks for Brian Roberts. However, Cubs GM Jim Hendry came out on Wednesday and said he hadn't had any trade talks for five or six days. Tonight, the Baltimore Sun's Jeff Zrebiec chimes in, confirming Hendry's statement of inactivity. Zrebiec was able to confirm from two sources that the Cubs offered Ronny Cedeno, Sean Gallagher, Donald Veal, and another unknown player for Roberts. The teams can't agree on the fourth player, and the O's may want a fifth too. The Orioles are said to like top Cubs'...   Continue Reading

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