Livan Hernandez Rumors

Odds and Ends: Indians, Livan, Braves, Friedman

Let's round up today's random links. The Pirates received catcher Robinzon Diaz from the Blue Jays in the Jose Bautista deal. Not too shabby, he should develop into a credible cheap backup. Yahoo's Gordon Edes sees Manny Ramirez playing for the Mets in '09. The point continues to be hammered home - the Indians intend to acquire a proven closer this winter. Brian Fuentes seems a reasonable target. RotoAuthority takes a closer look at Cliff Lee. Rockies manager Clint Hurdle wants to see if Livan Hernandez fits into their plans for 2009. Hernandez has allowed a remarkable 224 hits in...   Continue Reading

---

Stark's Latest: Manny, Fuentes, Livan, Dunn

ESPN's Jayson Stark has a new Rumblings and Grumblings column up. Some teams won't go anywhere near Manny Ramirez given the way he exited Boston. Opinions range on whether he'll get two, three, or four years this winter. Will he turn it off again after signing a long-term deal? And will other players use the same strategy to escape their contracts? The Rays are likely to stand pat, despite recent injuries. Rockies players haven't hit the waiver wire yet; Dan O'Dowd plans to wait until month's end. Stark wonders whether the Cards could win a claim on Brian Fuentes. Not...   Continue Reading

---

Week In Review: 8/3 - 8/9

Here's a quick look back at some of the bigger stories on MLBTR over the past week: D'Backs ace Dan Haren signed a very affordable extension with the team, which would keep him in Arizona through 2012 with an option for 2013. Great deal for the D'Backs and their fans. Brian Giles was claimed off waivers by the Red Sox, which is now believed to have been an effort to block the Rays from acquiring him. Giles blocked the trade to Boston with his no-trade clause. The Rockies acquired Livan Hernandez from the Twins. Minnesota won't receive a player in...   Continue Reading

---

Rockies Acquire Livan Hernandez

9:52pm: ESPN's Peter Gammons has a blog post contradicting a piece of info from Ringolsby. Gammons says the Mets did not put in a waiver claim on Hernandez. They prefer in-house options. 4:04pm: Ken Rosenthal says Livan is now officially a Rockie. The Rockies will pay the rest of his contract. August is a fine time for teams to unload millions owed to mediocre veteran pitchers. WEDNESDAY, 9:52am: Some additional information from Tracy Ringolsby of the Rocky Mountain News: the Rockies will make a waiver claim on Josh Fogg in the unlikely event the Twins pull Hernandez back. The Twins...   Continue Reading

---

Odds and Ends: Livan, Maddux, Meredith, Fielder

Here are today's links. Live chat today here at 2pm CST. MiLB.com is holding a charity auction with all kinds of memorabilia. Check it out. NPB Tracker takes a look at Japanese closer Hitoki Iwase, who should draw plenty of interest from MLB teams this winter. Trading Greg Maddux to the Dodgers is still possible, though unlikely. There's also word that the Padres "tested the trade value" of Cla Meredith last week. Livan Hernandez is expected to clear waivers today. We know the Rockies have discussed him internally, and Buster Olney speculates the Mets might be interested. The D'Backs are...   Continue Reading

---

Week in Review: 7/27 - 8/2

We saw the non-waiver trade deadline come and go this week, and plenty of action to go along with it. Let's recap the big moves of the week: The Dodgers, Pirates, and Red Sox completed a three-team, blockbuster trade that sent Manny Ramirez to Los Angeles, Jason Bay to Boston, and Andy LaRoche, Bryan Morris, Craig Hansen, and Brandon Moss to Pittsburgh. The Pirates got a pretty nice haul, and while Bay won't necessarily replace Manny's production, he's much more affordable, signed through '09, and doesn't disrupt the clubhouse. The Dodgers add the big bat they need for a push...   Continue Reading

---

Rockies Eyeing Livan Hernandez

Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post reports the Rockies, in the hunt for a fifth starter, are pursuing Livan Hernandez as he clears waivers. "'He's someone we have talked about in the past,' said [Clint] Hurdle, whose team made a late run at Hernandez as a free agent in February. Several Rockies players are pulling for the team to sign Hernandez (10-8, 5.48) as a fifth starter." Hernandez was DFA'd on Friday and won't clear waivers until Tuesday. He still has $1.66 MM remaining on his contract.   Continue Reading

---

Livan Hernandez To Be Designated

3:25pm: Joe Christensen says both Hernandez and Craig Monroe will likely be DFA'd today. Both were questionable acquisitions from Day 1. Francisco Liriano and Randy Ruiz will join the Twins. 8:23am: According to La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, the Twins are expected to designate Livan Hernandez for assignment today to make room for Francisco Liriano. The Twins are prepared to eat the remaining $1.66MM on Hernandez's contract. It's the right move, just several weeks too late. Hernandez turned into a pumpkin in late May, while Liriano has been on a tear for about a month. It...   Continue Reading

---

Graziano's Latest: Dunn, Putz, Laird

Time to check in with Dan Graziano of the Newark Star-Ledger. Graziano calls Adam Dunn "the man without a rumor." Even with his flaws this one is hard to figure out. [UPDATE: SI.com's Jon Heyman is finally hearing a couple of teams are in on Dunn.] John Maine's rotator cuff strain has the Mets looking at pitching. Graziano suggests names like Livan Hernandez, Paul Byrd, and Jarrod Washburn. The Mets have talked to the Tigers about Scott Schoeneweis. They'd have to replace him, maybe with Arthur Rhodes or Eddie Guardado. The Mariners will listen on J.J. Putz, but he won't...   Continue Reading

---

Walters With A Twins Scenario

Charley Walters of the St. Paul Pioneer Press tosses out a trade scenario: It will be interesting whether the Twins try to package Michael Cuddyer and Livan Hernandez in a trade for a slugging third baseman before the July 31 deadline, saving $20 million in guaranteed money to Cuddyer and $2.5 million to Hernandez. Denard Span ($390,000) would replace Cuddyer in right field, and Francisco Liriano ($400,000) would replace Hernandez in the starting rotation. Will Carroll said the Twins are looking at players like Adrian Beltre, Hank Blalock, Garrett Atkins, and Casey Blake. But I can't see the Mariners, Rangers,...   Continue Reading

---

Could Livan Hernandez Become Available?

Charley Walters of the St. Paul Pioneer Press doesn't exactly say that the Twins are willing to trade Livan Hernandez. Here's what he wrote: It's too early, with the Twins still in contention. But starter Livan Hernandez's trade value probably won't be higher than it is now, and it will be interesting to see whether the right-hander, 33, is dealt for some power by the All-Star Game in July. Hernandez has interesting numbers. He has the second-lowest strikeout rate in baseball, coupled with the fifth-worst hit rate. To counter that, Hernandez has the 10th-best walk rate. Walter's suggestion that Hernandez...   Continue Reading

---

Wood On BoSox Radar

In Nick Cafardo's column in the Boston Globe today, he mentions that Kerry Wood is on Sox's radar. He says they envision him as the guy they were looking for when they traded for Eric Gagne on July 31. Unfortunately, this may not jibe with Wood's intentions. As Tim has discussed here, he might be looking to remain as a starter, though that would limit the teams that are interested in him. Presumably, given his injury history and temporary success as a reliever in '07, more teams would line up to have Wood in their bullpens. The Cubs, who could...   Continue Reading

---

Mets and Devil Rays

Ryan McConnell of the New Jersey Star-Ledger posted a run-down of Mets' rumors, mostly old hat by now. Items of note: The Mets are being asked too much for both Chad Cordero and Octavio Dotel, causing them to take another look at Eric Gagne. They are also looking at Matt Thornton (White Sox), Shawn Chacon (Pirates), Chad Bradford (Orioles) and Jon Rauch (Nationals). I think they should go for Chad Bradford, silly contract be damned. We've all heard about second base possibilities in Mark Grudzielanek, Mark Loretta and Luis Castillo. I think that of these candidates, Grudzielanek is the best..   Continue Reading

---

Mariners Watching Starters

UPDATE: Hickey writes that the Mariners have also scouted Kyle Lohse, Matt Morris, Jason Johnson (thought he went to Japan), and Octavio Dotel. However, a deal seems unlikely because none of those players are worth top Mariner prospects. According to Jim Hickey of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, the Mariners have been scouting all kinds of available and not-so-available starters lately. The Mariners have been scouting the White Sox "religiously" lately. If they saw Javier Vazquez beat the Tigers on Tuesday, they came away impressed. (However, Vazquez can and probably would veto a trade to the AL or NL West). They were..   Continue Reading

---

Graziano's Latest: Livan, Wily Mo

Dan Graziano at the Newark Star-Ledger has really stepped up in recent days with a lot of insider trade talk. Let's see what he has in store for us this morning. Apparently Josh Byrnes is calling around, actively shopping Livan Hernandez. According to Graziano, the Mets, Braves, and Mariners have expressed interest. To the contrary, Ken Rosenthal wrote last night that the Mets and Braves are not interested. Who to believe? Hopefully the Mariners do better than Livan if they make a move for a starter. To hear Nick Piecoro tell it, the Diamondbacks are more likely to just opt..   Continue Reading

---

Olney: D'Backs Could Trade Livan Hernandez

ESPN's Buster Olney brings up one available starting pitcher we haven't mentioned here anytime recently: Livan Hernandez. It hadn't really occurred to me that the Diamondbacks could be sellers. But according to various playoff odds reports, their chances of making the playoffs have slipped to 3-8%. Our good friend Jeff Sackmann took a look at teams on the bubble in a recent column at Hardball Times and recommended the Diamondbacks sell off players such as Hernandez, Eric Byrnes, and Orlando Hudson. Hernandez reaches free agency after this season, and it seems likely the D'Backs would let him leave. Trading him..   Continue Reading

---

Diamondbacks Acquire Livan Hernandez

Looks like someone got some faulty info about Livan Hernandez being pulled back from waivers; Ken Rosenthal reports that the Diamondbacks have acquired the 31 year-old righty. The Nats received Double A pitchers Matt Chico and Garrett Mock. Chico has had more success with Tennessee so far. Neither pitcher is on the 40-man roster, making it easier to get the deal done. Hernandez is set to earn $8MM this season and $7MM in 2007. While his strikeout rate has remained steady from last year, his hit and home run rates have spiked. To his credit, his two August starts have..   Continue Reading

---

Rumor Roundup

Another day, another rumor roundup. Let's throw everything fresh into the mill. The Orioles are thinking about taking on one of Philly's huge outfielder contracts, for some reason. I guess this could help next year's push for third place. Baltimore is one of baseball's most baffling teams to me. Abreu rumors have been floating around the Orioles since at least November. The Cubs and Yankees may have something cooking, with Scott Williamson the likely candidate to be dealt. If the reliever market is really so inflated, why don't the Cubs trade Howry and Eyre? The Pirates are offering up all..   Continue Reading

---

Nats Want Milledge for Livan

I find it almost comical that Jim Bowden would demand Lastings Milledge in a trade for Livan Hernandez. I know he wants to save his job with the next Scott Kazmir deal, but c'mon now. The Mets aren't that desperate, are they? Hernandez has an ERA over 6 and is only 31 years old in theory. He makes $8MM this year and $7MM the next. Whether or not Milledge is worthy of all the hype, the Mets could do a lot better. I still think Livan will come around and could help the Mets, but at that price they need..   Continue Reading

---

Latest Red Sox Rumor - Clement, Vidro, Milledge

Several emailers have alerted me to a post made over at Sons of Sam Horn late last night. A respected poster lays out this scenario: Red Sox trade Matt Clement and Alex Cora Nationals trade Jose Vidro and Jay Bergmann Mets trade Lastings Milledge and Xavier Nady (with some chance of Victor Diaz instead of Milledge) Red Sox receive Milledge and Nady Nationals receive Clement and Cora plus cash if Clement pitches over 150 innings Mets receive Vidro and Bergmann plus a PTNBL from either Nats or Sox depending on Vidro's health. (Livan Hernandez could end up with the Mets..   Continue Reading

---