Mark Buehrle Rumors

Rockies Inquired On White Sox Starters

In June, the main trade buzz around the Rockies was that they had interest in Octavio Dotel. Today, Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune added some intriguing names also on Colorado's wish list: Mark Buehrle, Jose Contreras, and Jon Garland. Obviously Buehrle is off limits now. It wasn't too long ago that Dan O'Dowd expressed his interest in adding a White Sox hurler. Apparently talks stalled when Kenny Williams wanted southpaw starter Franklin Morales or third baseman Ian Stewart from the Rox. Morales has frontline stuff and is trying to hone his control at Double A Tulsa. He missed some..   Continue Reading

---

White Sox Re-Sign Mark Buehrle

The White Sox have signed Mark Buehrle to a four-year contract extension. It's the four-year, $56MM deal that's been rumored for many days now. Definitely well below market value. Buehrle has no-trade protection for 2008. He also has a window during 2009-10 where a trade bumps his salary to $15MM annually and adds extends through 2012 for the same salary. The often pessimistic PECOTA projection system finds Buehrle similar to Jim Kaat but values him at only about $26MM for the life of his new extension. PECOTA feels Buehrle's hits allowed will spike and he'll manage only 150-160 innings annually...   Continue Reading

---

Buehrle's Counteroffer Rejected

More Buehrle! You know you love it. According to Buster Olney, Mark Buehrle's camp proposed an alternative to the full no-trade clause contract. Buehrle's side asked for the same four-year, $56MM deal, but with a $17MM player option for 2012 that would kick in in the event of a trade. That'd put Buehrle's deal on par with Roy Oswalt's. The White Sox rejected the counteroffer. Ken Rosenthal confirms the info. There must be something the Sox don't like about Buehrle, or some secret rebuilding plan in the near future. The fact remains that the team rejected a heavily discounted contract..   Continue Reading

---

Buehrle Cleans Out Locker

And in other news, I tidied up my desk today. Mark Buehrle's housecleaning, however, is just barely newsworthy. It could be a sign that a deal is impending, or it could just be plain old cleaning. I can speak from experience: I only cleaned out my high school locker when school was out for summer. And I found an old sandwich. Just saying. Ken Rosenthal mentioned today that various execs still expect Buehrle to be traded. The Dodgers, Mets, and Mariners seem to be the top contenders. Buehrle, for his part, is as sick of the constant rumors as you..   Continue Reading

---

Buehrle Contract Talks At Stalemate

After Kenny Williams went public with negotiations the other day, the only logical step for Jeff Berry (Mark Buehrle's agent) was to do the same. Williams had explained the gap as an 18-month period where Buehrle would lack no-trade protection. Berry now describes that as 20 months, and says his client won't budge on it. Why should he? He's already about to sign a well below-market contract. The White Sox can't have their cake and eat it too. Furthermore, Berry confirmed that if Buehrle is traded he will certainly exercise his right to free agency after the season. He could..   Continue Reading

---

Buehrle Extension Lives

UPDATE: Kenny Williams spoke to the press tonight; the White Sox have offered Buehrle no-trade protection except for an 18-month span. It seems likely that the two sides reach an agreement. Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times believes tonight could be Mark Buehrle's last start as a member of the White Sox. His teammates have been collecting memorabilia, and extra support is expected tonight at U.S. Cellular. Hard to believe that this thing died over a no-trade clause. Perhaps Buehrle wanted a full and the Sox would only give a partial. But how can they justify passing on a well..   Continue Reading

---

Rosenthal's Latest: Dunn, Morris, Buehrle

Ken Rosenthal's got a new Full Count video over at FOXSports; have a look. Trade rumors: The Padres went with the Barrett/Bradley acquisitions in part because the price on Adam Dunn was just too high. Wayne Krivsky could get more teams involved if he exercises Dunn's 2008 option and tries to trade him in the offseason, a la Gary Sheffield. However, unlike Sheff, Dunn has full no-trade protection until June 15th if the option is picked up. Then on June 15th it switches to a ten-team consent list of Dunn's choosing. The bottom line: the time to trade him is..   Continue Reading

---

No-Trade Clause Holds Up Buehrle Extension

According to Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune, the White Sox are currently unwilling to include a no-trade clause in Mark Buehrle's contract extension. It's not enough that the Sox would get Buehrle well below market value at four years and $54MM. Buster Olney, by the way, wonders whether the players' union would give Buehrle a call for signing a deal like that. Buehrle broke into the Majors in 2000, so 10-5 no-trade rights wouldn't kick in until 2010. The two parties might find a middle ground in a partial no-trade clause. Paul Konerko, for example, was able to list..   Continue Reading

---

Stark's Latest: Tejada, Buehrle, Morris

Jayson Stark posted a new column for ESPN yesterday; let's take a glance at the trade rumors therein. Miguel Tejada's out until August, so that obviously means he won't be traded this season. Right? Wrong - Stark and an AL exec think $30MM or so due to Tejada for the remaining 2.3 seasons on his contract would allow him to pass through waivers. Miggy could be a hot topic for the August 31st trade deadline. You may recall that last August Andruw Jones was placed on waivers, claimed, and pulled back. Andruw called the affair "rude." Here is a refresher..   Continue Reading

---

Latest On Mark Buehrle

It's all Mark Buehrle, all the time here at MLBTradeRumors. The latest: Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times says a lot of the recent confusion stems from semantics. Sure, Buehrle's agent and Kenny Williams haven't spoken. However, intermediaries from both sides have been in contact about a four-year contract extension. It appears that if the White Sox leave Florida tonight without a deal in place, Williams will move forward and trade Buehrle. Cowley says the Mets, Braves, and Dodgers would all be in contention for him. However, I would not be shocked if talks were to extend into the weekend...   Continue Reading

---

Buehrle Extension Possible

UPDATE: Ozzie Guillen makes some comments that seem to hint that extension talks are ongoing. And Ken Rosenthal's sources generally believe the Sox are close to signing Buehrle. UPDATE: Now Gonzales says the White Sox sent their assistant GM to St. Petersburg, where Mark Buehrle's agent is. So there could be some talks after all. I don't know who to believe anymore. It's starting to sound like Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times has been fed some bad information. The Sun-Times had the Red Sox as frontrunners for Mark Buehrle, and then today broke the story of an impending contract..   Continue Reading

---

White Sox Buehrle Extension Close?

UPDATE: Readers are writing in saying 670 AM The Score in Chicago is reporting that Buehrle is "likely" to sign an extension for four years and "around" $50MM. In a surprising turnabout, White Sox starter Mark Buehrle is off the trading block. Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times has the exclusive - the two sides might agree on a contract extension by week's end. It's possible that Buehrle has reduced his demand from five years to four. Would 4/60 get it done? Cowley says the White Sox remain Buehrle's #1 choice for the future, by a long shot. Even over..   Continue Reading

---

White Sox Planted Buehrle To Boston Rumor

Keith Law, on ESPNEWS yesterday, reported that the Mark Buehrle-to-Boston rumor is bogus and almost certainly planted by the White Sox front office. Couldn't hurt to try, unless the plant damages relations with the Red Sox in the future. This type of practice is probably more common than we realize, though. Furthermore, Tony Massarotti of the Boston Herald says the Red Sox are out of this thing (if they were ever really in it). By the way, the reason for the refusal to allow a 72-hour negotiating window: Buehrle's likelihood of signing with St. Louis after the season. A loyal..   Continue Reading

---

Latest Mark Buehrle Trade Rumors

Mark Buehrle is a popular man right now, and I've decided to cover today's trade rumors in a bullet point format. Barry Rozner of the Daily Herald thinks the Dodgers would be a fine fit for Buehrle, given the loss of Jason Schmidt and their bevy of top prospects. Given that ten teams are looking at Buehrle and we've only confirmed five, talks may already be occurring between Ned Colletti and Kenny Williams. Ozzie Guillen tries to defend against detractors: "A lot of people say, 'Oh, they quit. Oh, they should make an offer to Buehrle.' They did, I think."..   Continue Reading

---

Yankees Interested In Buehrle, Dye?

According to George King of the New York Post, the White Sox have been scouting Yankee Double A pitchers Ian Kennedy and Joba Chamberlain. King says to "expect the Yankees to be interested" in Mark Buehrle and Jermaine Dye, which is not the same as saying the Yankees have inquired. Jon Heyman of SI.com has a source saying the White Sox are seeking Kennedy, Chamberlain, or Phil Hughes. Heyman's source also believes that the trio is unavailable. My friend and I were trying to figure out how a Dye acquisition would work for New York, assuming Bobby Abreu is not..   Continue Reading

---

Mets After Jose Contreras

The Mets have kicked the tires on Mark Buehrle, but Jose Contreras may be a more likely acquisition according to the Newark Star-Ledger. The Mets would prefer not to trade younger players for a rental, and may turn to Contreras because he's signed through 2009. I'm sure Kenny Williams would have no problem with that. I think Contreras would handle a return to New York well. Lastings Milledge would be more than enough for Contreras, in my mind. Dan Graziano's article also confirms that the Braves and Red Sox have been pushing hard for Buehrle. He says there was "no..   Continue Reading

---

Rosenthal's Latest - Buehrle To Brewers?

Ken Rosenthal has a new article, and as usual he's broken several brand new trade rumors. A brief summary: Here's a good one: the Brewers have "kicked the tires" on Mark Buehrle. You can never have too much pitching, I guess. It's a long shot that Doug Melvin could pull it off without involving Yovani Gallardo or Ryan Braun, and he won't trade those two. Without either player, the Brewers would pretty much be offering quantity over quality in terms of prospects. My own speculation: Corey Hart might intrigue Kenny Williams, but he'd be hard to part with. Rosenthal estimates..   Continue Reading

---

Red Sox Emerge As Top Buehrle Suitor

Here's something we didn't see coming. According to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times, the Red Sox have emerged as the frontrunner for southpaw Mark Buehrle. They've jumped ahead of the Braves and Mets on the strength of their farm system. Cowley says talks between Buehrle and the White Sox regarding an extension are basically dead. Now Boston has taken center stage, even sending assistant GM Allard Baird to watch Buehrle's last start (a typical fine effort from him). Cowley believes a major motivation for the Red Sox is keeping Buehrle away from the Yankees. The Red Sox would apparently..   Continue Reading

---

Rosenthal's Latest

Ken Rosenthal has a new column up. A summary appears below. Rosenthal thinks the Tigers are unlikely to acquire Eric Gagne or Akinori Otsuka, perhaps preferring to look at internal options. That's a shame, as I think they really need to add someone. The White Sox won't be granting a 72 hour negotiating window if they trade Mark Buehrle. Strictly a rental. That could limit the market for him, but Kenny Williams will come up with at least one quality prospect. The Dodgers don't seem likely to trade for Adam Dunn or Jermaine Dye, but could go after Mark Teixeira...   Continue Reading

---

Latest From Gammons

The man himself, Peter Gammons, had a blog posting on Saturday that I neglected to mention here. Gammons mentions some suitors for Mark Buehrle: the Mets, Cardinals, and Mariners. He draws the Jermaine Dye/Padres connection we have seen in the past. Gammons believes the Astros will move one of Brad Lidge, Dan Wheeler, or Chad Qualls. However, that was written before Lidge hit the DL for a strained oblique. Houston would also love to move Morgan Ensberg, but that's nothing new. The Dodgers are looking for a corner infield slugger, but aren't interested in Troy Glaus or Scott Rolen. Adam..   Continue Reading

---

Stark's Latest

ESPN's Jayson Stark has his latest Rumblings and Grumblings column up, and it's chock full o' rumors. Stark speaks to one NL exec who thinks any Barry Bonds trade rumor is hogwash. That source believes that there would be no market for him. Personally, I don't buy it. There would only be $8MM or so left on the deal, and as a two-month DH Bonds could make a huge impact on a contender. And he did indicate he'd waive his no-trade clause. Word is that the Mets wouldn't trade Lastings Milledge for an impending free agent - Mark Buehrle included...   Continue Reading

---

Should White Sox Break Their Rules For Buehrle?

The White Sox have a rule: no contracts exceeding three years for pitchers. This is because they signed Jaime Navarro for four years before the 1997 season and Navarro was terrible. Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune urges Jerry Reinsdorf to break the rules and give Mark Buehrle a five-year deal. Rogers feels that Buehrle compares to Billy Pierce and Tom Glavine, southpaws who remained successful for their age 29-33 seasons. Baseball Prospectus equates Buehrle with Jim Kaat, who was also better than average at that age. Even #2 comp Jerry Reuss would've been a strong buy for his age..   Continue Reading

---

White Sox Trade Winds

Tons of articles today about the plans of Kenny Williams and the Chicago White Sox. Dave van Dyck of the Chicago Tribune speaks of a rumor involving both Mark Buehrle and Jermaine Dye going to the Mets for prospects. This one may have originated on ESPN. Or maybe it's a contortion of Saturday's Newark Star-Ledger rumor. When you see a rumor like that, a red flag should go off. Why would Williams trade both in a package deal? Maximum value is extracted with separate deals. Both van Dyck and Buehrle himself give much credence to this particular trade talk. Buehrle..   Continue Reading

---

Mets Inquire On Buehrle, Lidge

Dan Graziano of the Newark Star-Ledger writes that the Mets have inquired as to the availability of starter Mark Buehrle as well as reliever Brad Lidge. According to Graziano, a Buehrle acquisition would allow the Mets to move Jorge Sosa to the bullpen, helping two areas at once. Apparently Omar Minaya has been a big Buehrle fan for a while. Something involving Lastings Milledge would make a ton of sense. Would a Mike Pelfrey or Philip Humber be required as well? Kenny Williams and Omar Minaya have matched up a couple times before, when Minaya was GM of the Expos...   Continue Reading

---

Could The Cardinals Acquire Buehrle?

Larry over at Viva El Birdos breaks down exactly how rare a trade of a pitcher of Mark Buehrle's caliber would be. He also compares previous midseason deals for big-name starters to see what the Cardinals or any other team might have to send over to Chicago. Another marquee pitcher dealt midseason was Randy Johnson in 1998. While the age 34 season is rarely considered a player's prime, the Unit didn't really establish himself until he was 26. Anyway, that deal required a serious bounty of John Halama, Carlos Guillen, and Freddy Garcia. Halama had a few useful seasons, Garcia..   Continue Reading

---

Ozzie Shoots Down Trade Talk

The always quotable Ozzie Guillen spoke out on recent trade rumors involving Jermaine Dye and Mark Buerhle [Chicago Sun-Times]: ''It's never been talked about,'' Guillen said. ''Maybe Kenny has it in his mind, but he's never said one thing to me about it. I want to go all the way to the end with these guys, see what we can do with these guys. ''I'll be honest with [the media], I'll be honest with the fans, I'll be honest with me. If we get to that point, I'll be the first one to tell people, 'It's going to be hard..   Continue Reading

---

Would Buehrle Play For Cubs?

Every year, writers try to help ignite the Cubs-White Sox rivalry prior to the interleague series. Back in '05, Sox pitcher Mark Buehrle was asked if he'd ever sign with the Cubs: "It depends. It's one of those things that if no team in baseball wants me and they do, I'll go over there and sign. But I have my places that in the back of my mind - I'm not saying Wrigley - there are a couple of cities that if I was a free agent and they offered me, I wouldn't go there. Even if it came down..   Continue Reading

---

Buehrle's Stock Rising

Mark Buehrle's brilliant no-hitter last night still might not be enough to secure him a contract extension from the White Sox. Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune certainly expects him to hit the open market after this season. For one night at least, he looked like the Buehrle of old. And the Buehrle of old is worth a truckload of money in the current market. Buster Olney believes he's comparable to Barry Zito, and that the Mets and Red Sox could get involved. Most folks think Buehrle will end up joining his hometown Cardinals, which could involve a small discount...   Continue Reading

---

White Sox Won't Talk Contract With Future Free Agents

The White Sox decided Sunday afternoon that there will be no more contract talks. The declaration surely applies to impending free agents Mark Buehrle, Jermaine Dye, and Tadahito Iguchi. Assuming Carlos Zambrano signs, Buehrle will hit the free agent market as the youngest starting pitcher. He's got a better track record than the somewhat comparable Jason Jennings, but that comes with more mileage. Buehrle has averaged 221 innings over the past six seasons, while Jennings has averaged 180 over the past five. Dye may vie for attention among free agent hitters like Adam Dunn, Alex Rodriguez, Andruw Jones, and Bobby..   Continue Reading

---

Fallout From Vazquez Extension

From Jermaine Dye's point of view, it may have been odd to see the White Sox negotiate a contract extension with Javier Vazquez on Tuesday. After talking to the club earlier, Dye's agent told the outfielder that the Sox would not talk contract extension with any player before the end of the season. The Daily Herald says he might accept less than Carlos Lee's 6/100 package. I think the Sox might consider 4/60 but he's a long shot to re-sign. And then there's Mark Buehrle, whose situation is more directly related to Vazquez since both are starters. It's pretty clear..   Continue Reading

---

Buehrle Turned Down Offer Last Year

Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune reports that White Sox pitcher Mark Buehrle turned down a contract extension worth around $33MM over three years last July. Buehrle was quoted as having no regrets, but you have to wonder. Would he take the same deal if the Sox offered it now? Would the Sox still offer it after a 6.44 second half ERA? Buehrle's strikeout rate dipped to a dangerously low 4.32 per nine in '06. But the confusing part is that his two worst strikeout rate months were his two best ERA months (April and May). He was pretty lucky..   Continue Reading

---

Buehrle Expected To Leave White Sox

At SoxFest yesterday, there was an amusing back-and-forth between Kenny Williams and Mark Buehrle. While they were in the same room, they exchanged barbs through reporters. Buehrle feels Williams said directly that the southpaw would not be back with the Sox in '08. It seems that Williams alluded to that in a more roundabout way, however. Bottom line: both parties seem to agree that Buehrle will price himself out of the White Sox's range. The lefty needs a major bounce-back season to snag the huge deal he seemed in line for before 2006. He posted a 6.44 ERA in the..   Continue Reading

---

Buehrle For Milledge?

Here's a new one, courtesy of Scott Merkin of MLB.com. The White Sox could send Mark Buehrle to the Mets for Lastings Milledge. An interesting idea, kind of the opposite of Kenny Williams's Chris Young for Javier Vazquez deal last winter. However, Merkin quotes Williams as desiring young pitching as the return for one of his veteran starters. Would the Mets entertain Mike Pelfrey for Buehrle? Just throwing it out there. Kenny Williams has made a couple of deals with Omar Minaya in the past. In January of 2003, the Sox sent Rocky Biddle, Orlando Hernandez, Jeff Liefer, and cash..   Continue Reading

---

Kenny Williams, Dealmaker

Either Ken Williams is keeping busy at the GM meetings, or the reporters covering the Sox have very fertile imaginations. I'm sure the truth is somewhere in between. In addition to the Andruw Jones deal I mentioned in the previous post, here's a roundup of possible White Sox moves: Chris De Luca reports on a possible Freddy Garcia / Ervin Santana swap. Oddly enough, his sources say that the "package" would be built around Santana. Garcia might be a better pitcher right now, but just barely: last year, Garcia was worth 15 win shares, while Santana was worth 13. Santana's..   Continue Reading

---

Mark Buehrle To The Cardinals

Disclaimer: this one is pure speculation. Over at the premiere Cardinals blog, Viva El Birdos, lboros dropped a very intriguing name: Mark Buehrle. There haven't been many published reports of Buehrle being available. Here's the logic behind the Buehrle idea according to commenters Demetre and lboros. Demetre: There really isn't anything concrete about Buehrle being available (I don't think) except for his unapolegitic, vocal, native STL love and desire to be a Cardinal at all costs. Its about as pre-ordained a cardinal pitcher-to-be as i can remember outside the system. lboros: the Buehrle is pure speculation on my part, but..   Continue Reading

---