Matt Capps Rumors

Pirates "Pushing Hard" To Deal Sanchez

8:49pm: Geoff Baker reports that one of the Pirates' top scouts is in Seattle to watch the Mariners play the Rangers. Baker speculates that it could be related to the availability of Sanchez or Jack Wilson. 8:34pm: Jeff Fletcher of AOL Fanhouse has a source that says if a Sanchez deal is imminent "it's not to the Giants." 4:48pm: Troy Renck of the Denver Post says giving up Young to acquire Sanchez "makes no sense" for the Rockies, who would be more likely to pursue Matt Capps. 3:52pm: Perrotto reports that the Pirates could deal Sanchez by this weekend. The...   Continue Reading

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Marlins & Pirates Talking Capps; Aren't Close

The Marlins, who have signed three relievers this week, are talking with the Pirates about trading for another. Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reports that the Marlins have maintained contact with the Pirates about closer Matt Capps, though the two sides are not close to a deal. The Marlins already included Jeremy Hermida in an offer for Capps, but the Pirates declined, as they have limited interest in Hermida. As Morosi points out, both Hermida and Capps make about $2.3MM this year and will likely hit free agency after 2011, so they match up financially. However, the Pirates aren't...   Continue Reading

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Giants, Pirates Discussed Sanchez, LaRoche

From Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: The Pirates and San Francisco have had trade talks regarding second baseman Freddy Sanchez and, to a lesser extent, first baseman Adam LaRoche, each of whom can be a free agent after this season. The Giants have had a scout following Sanchez, a source confirmed yesterday, and their interest in LaRoche goes back several months. Their preference at first base, though, is for a right-handed bat. Sanchez sports a .316/.355/.477 line, a huge improvement on the .224/.280/.276 aggregate performance from Giants second basemen (primarily the demoted Emmanuel Burriss, though Juan Uribe has snagged...   Continue Reading

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Twins Interested In Pirates Players

11:52am: Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that the Pirates and Twins are not discussing Sanchez. 9:11am: Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reports that the Twins are interested in a trio of Pirates: Freddy Sanchez, Matt Capps and John Grabow. Twins GM Bill Smith did not discuss specifics, but he confirmed that he's open to making deals. "We still need to make this club better, whether that comes from the minor leagues or outside the organization," Smith said. "We're still looking to do that." As Morosi says, the Pirates have already been aggressive sellers, dealing Nate McLouth and...   Continue Reading

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Pirates Open To More Deals?

Ed Price at Fanhouse.com reports that the Pirates might be open to dealing more of their players. He cites "an official of an AL team" as saying that the Bucs have been "considering deals for [John] Grabow and closer Matt Capps." Price writes that the Pirates are not simply attempting to dump salary; they will want power pitching prospects in return. He cites a "person familiar with the Pirates' thinking" who says that other teams would have to give up more for Capps, whose contract runs through 2011. Grabow is a left-handed reliever who had his best season last year....   Continue Reading

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Cardinals Reliever Rumors

5:57pm: K-Rod's agent Paul Kinzer said the Cardinals did not offer his client a similar contract. 9:08am: According to Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Cardinals made a bid for Francisco Rodriguez in the neighborhood of the Mets' successful three-year, $37MM bid. The search continues. Strauss says the Cards plan to explore trades before escalating talks with Brian Fuentes. Potential trade targets: J.J. Putz, Matt Capps, and Jon Rauch. Talks for Jose Valverde "stalled abruptly earlier in the week." The trade bait will probably be on of the Cardinals' outfielders. Strauss adds that GM John Mozeliak met with...   Continue Reading

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Mets Bullpen Rumors

The Mets signed Francisco Rodriguez yesterday, but GM Omar Minaya is not done tinkering with his bullpen. SI.com's Jon Heyman says Matt Capps, Huston Street, and others are on the radar as setup possibilities. However, teams are asking for Jon Niese and the Mets don't want to give him up. Heyman adds that the Mets have talked to the Mariners and Cubs about relief help as well.   Continue Reading

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Pirates Rumors: Wilson, Paulino, Byrd

Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is back on the scene to get us up to speed with the latest Pirates rumors. Let's start with the team's five veteran trade candidates: Jack Wilson: The Tigers and Dodgers are said to be the main suitors. The problem is that neither team wants to send the Pirates top prospects while paying all of the $7.85MM Wilson has coming. Additionally, the Pirates do not view Dodgers shortstop prospect Chin-Lung Hu as a possible trade centerpiece. The Bucs have spoken to at least two other clubs about Wilson, but Kovacevic rejects the previously reported...   Continue Reading

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Molony's Latest: Mahay, Loretta, Erstad, Guzman

Let's check in with MLB.com's Jim Molony. The Rays are scouting lefty relievers Brian Fuentes and Ron Mahay. The issue? The price for Fuentes seems exorbitant, and Mahay may not be available. Troy E. Renck names the Yankees, Mets, Cardinals, and Marlins as the main suitors for Fuentes aside from the Rays. A few contenders have inquired with the Astros as to the availability of Mark Loretta and Darin Erstad. As you might imagine, the Rangers are open to trading Frank Catalanotto. We mentioned yesterday that his contract is a bit of a burden. It seems that Jim Bowden is...   Continue Reading

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Bucs Sign Capps Through '09

According to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Pirates signed closer Matt Capps through the 2009 season. They added $65K to his '08 salary and gave him $2.35MM for '09 (his first arb year). They also tossed in a $500K signing bonus. Previously, Kovacevic had said talks with Capps fizzled because of Manny Corpas' deal. Corpas receives $2.75MM for his first arb year, so Capps gets about 85% of that. By that logic, perhaps the Pirates could buy out Capps' last two arb years (2010-11) for a total of $8.3MM or so. Regardless, this is a nice little move...   Continue Reading

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