Kelly Shoppach Rumors

Looking Beyond Varitek

According to Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald, a slew of catchers are being shopped to the Red Sox. Among them: Jeff Mathis, Mike Napoli, Brian Schneider, Miguel Montero, John Buck, Ramon Hernandez, Bengie Molina, Carlos Santana, Kelly Shoppach, Victor Martinez, Jesus Flores, Kenji Johjima, Jeff Clement, Yorvit Torrealba, and the Rangers' guys. Silverman says the Braves, Cardinals, and Rays also have catchers available. It seems that teams are asking for players like Justin Masterson, Clay Buchholz, or Lars Anderson in some cases. On the Jason Varitek front, Scott Boras told the AP yesterday that he's had no financial discussions...   Continue Reading

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Indians Rumors: Shoppach, Roberts, Street

Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer discusses the Indians' offseason needs. With Victor Martinez, Kelly Shoppach, Carlos Santana, and others, the Indians have a surplus of catching (and mad guitar skills). The Red Sox, Marlins, Reds, and Tigers are known to be in the market, so maybe the Indians can deal a catcher to fill another need. Those other needs: an infielder, a late inning reliever, and a starter. Hoynes believes the Indians will fall short of meeting the demands of free agents Francisco Rodriguez, Brian Fuentes, and Rafael Furcal. Hoynes implies the asking price for one year of...   Continue Reading

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Cafardo Rumors: Wigginton, Ibanez, Rodney

A few rumors we missed from Nick Cafardo's Sunday column... The Indians would want a young closer type in return for catcher Kelly Shoppach. The Tribe has Houston's Ty Wigginton on the radar as a third base possibility. But then who would play third for the Astros? The Yankees have been calling around aggressively, even inquiring on Roy Oswalt and Lance Berkman. They're not available. The Mets are said to be eyeing Raul Ibanez for left field. The Tigers are dangling setup man Fernando Rodney, hoping to acquire a better closer. Jon Paul Morosi believes the Tigers might aim for...   Continue Reading

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Odds and Ends: Indians, Rays, Jays

Time to cobble together today's links. The Dodgers designated Tanyon Sturtze for assignment. The 37 year-old pitched only 2.1 innings for the big club. Dejan Kovacevic does not believe the Pedro Alvarez issue will prevent the Pirates from working with Scott Boras in the future. RotoAuthority assembles a fantasy team entirely of players who went undrafted in March. Dave Cameron wonders if the Indians will make a trade due to their catching surplus. Rays Index wants to make it clear that drafting high is only a small factor in the Rays' success. Drunk Jays Fans caught an amusing exchange between...   Continue Reading

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Rosenthal's Latest: Giles, Dodgers, Indians, Fielder

Ken Rosenthal has a new Full Count video up over at FOX Sports. Here's the highlights: The Red Sox wanted to use Brian Giles in right field against certain right-handers, and shift J.D. Drew over to center field for those games. Giles blocked the trade for family reasons, according to Rosenthal, despite the chance at an increased pay day and an opportunity to play in the postseason. Rosenthal says that while the Dodgers are under pressure to re-sign Manny Ramirez, there may be more pressure to sign Casey Blake after this season. Rosenthal points out that Blake is batting .333...   Continue Reading

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Pirates Pulled Out Of Bay To Cleveland Deal

Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has some new information for us regarding an aborted Jason Bay deal. Kovacevic says the Bucs made a decision through the entire chain of command that Franklin Gutierrez, Kelly Shoppach, Cliff Lee, and a minor league pitcher wasn't enough for Bay and Ronny Paulino. This situation has been confusing to follow from the start, with plenty of conflicting information floating about. For instance, the Cleveland Plain Dealer's Paul Hoynes said on Wednesday that Lee and Shoppach were never involved in these talks - the Bucs wanted three to five of the Indians' top prospects...   Continue Reading

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Indians Rumors: Haren, Blanton, Bedard, Inge

Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer gets the Indians rumor mill churning. As we mentioned earlier today, the Indians have spoken to the A's about Dan Haren and Joe Blanton. They've also inquired on Erik Bedard. The Tribe is quietly looking to pair C.C. Sabathia with another ace. Such an acquisition would soften the blow if Sabathia leaves after the '08 season. Hoynes says a Haren acquisition might require one player from the Indians' 25-man roster plus at least one near MLB-ready guy. The Tribe had brief talks with Detroit about Brandon Inge, but they've moved on. Doesn't seem..   Continue Reading

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Bay To Indians Talks Revived, Then Dead Again?

UPDATE, 12-5-07 at 2:24pm: The Indians and Pirates haven't even talked about Bay since the Meetings began. UPDATE, 12-5-07 at 10:58am: Buster Olney says these talks are dead. FROM 12-5-07 at 7:35am: According to Dejan Kovacevic, the Indians felt pressured when they saw the division-rival Tigers trade for Miguel Cabrera. Their response was to restart their conversations with the Pirates for outfielder Jason Bay. A five-player trade is being discussed, apparently expanding upon the rumor originally reported by ESPN's Steve Phillips. The Bucs would send Bay and catcher Ronny Paulino for Franklin Gutierrez, Kelly Shoppach, and Cliff Lee. Looks like..   Continue Reading

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Crasnick's Latest: Lee, Wells, Bay

ESPN's Jerry Crasnick just cranked out a bunch of good stuff. The Indians have talked to the Cardinals about sending Cliff Lee over for Anthony Reyes and catcher Bryan Anderson. The Giants could trade for Ben Broussard, but want to see if he's non-tendered first. Kip Wells is being marketed as a setup man, since things didn't work out as a starter. Who knows, he puts a few mph on the heater in relief and maybe he takes off. Crasnick kills the Bay for Shoppach/Lee rumor...didn't seem right to begin with   Continue Reading

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Pirates Rumors: Bay, McLouth, Morris

MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch jumps into the fray with her own set of Pirates rumors. Jason Bay rumors are flying around. Langosch mentions Steve Phillips' rumor at ESPN: Kelly Shoppach and Cliff Lee for Bay. Andy Marte could be involved as well. The Rangers have decided they desire a corner outfielder, and moved from Nate McLouth to Bay accordingly. Langosch suggests the Rangers would send relievers over to Pittsburgh - now that would be a bad trade for the Bucs. McLouth, by the way, is drawing interest from the Giants and Padres. He's also been linked to the Marlins. The Rockies..   Continue Reading

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Odds and Ends: Burke, Nathan, Adam Miller

Here we go, another collection of random rumors. Chris Burke is definitely getting traded. Though Burke was the 10th overall pick in 2001, he'll be 28 in March and sports a career line of .249/.319/.377. Joe Nathan is in Nashville, and seemed amused by the closer vacancies in San Francisco and Milwaukee. The Royals have $25MM to burn, and whether or not it makes sense they're damn well going to spend it. The Indians refused to trade Adam Miller for Delmon Young. Paul Hoynes suggests the Tribe tried to push Cliff Lee for Young instead but Lee was too expensive..   Continue Reading

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Pirates, Indians Talking Bay

We've known for a while now that the Pirates have outfielder Jason Bay on the block. A big deal for Bay could put new Pirates GM Neal Huntington on the map. According to Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald, the Indians are engaged in talks for Bay. This isn't a big surprise, since Huntington came from the Cleveland organization. Trading Bay now seems like a sell-low move, unless the Bucs feel Bay won't bounce back in 2008. Andy Marte, Cliff Lee, and Jeremy Sowers could be available from the Tribe. Silverman notes that Indians' backup catcher Kelly Shoppach has been..   Continue Reading

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