Oakland Athletics Rumors

Odds & Ends: Orioles, Brewers, Green, Sellers, Astros, Byrd, Vizquel, A's

Some more links as the weekend begins... Dan Connolly of The Baltimore Sun notes that the Orioles didn't make any contract offers on the first day of free agency. The Brewers have signed 16-year-old Dominican shortstop Santo Aybar, reports MLB.com's Adam McCalvy. Baseball America rated Santo the 18th best Dominican prospect this year. Nick Green doesn't expect to back with the Red Sox, according to Dan Barbarisi of The Providence Journal. Jon Heyman of SI.com reports that the Marlins, Royals, Tigers and Reds are currently baseball's most active sellers. The Astros signed minor league free agent Jose Valdez, according to...   Continue Reading

---

A's Unlikely To Pursue Free Agents

Billy Beane indicated that the A's will not pursue free agents with whatever money they have available, and instead will look to the trade market to fill any openings, according to MLB.com's Mychael Urban. "We're going to look at young players to fill spots, first and foremost," Beane said. "If those players we'd like to acquire aren't obtainable, we'll consider bringing in guys who can hold the positions down. We're going to stay disciplined and try to do everything we can to fill those spots with young players. "So the next step is to continue to bring guys like Andrew...   Continue Reading

---

Rogers On White Sox, Gamel, Cabrera, Yankees

The White Sox have a new third baseman of the future, writes Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune. Dayan Viciedo held his own as a 20-year-old in AA this year (.708 OPS), but Brent Morel has passed him on Rogers' depth chart with a torrid stint in the Arizona Fall League. Here are the rest of Rogers' rumors: A's GM Billy Beane likes what he sees from pitching prospect Fautino de los Santos, who is hitting the mid-nineties as he recovers from Tommy John surgery. Casey McGehee has emerged as a solid player, but the Brewers are reluctant to trade...   Continue Reading

---

Olney On Ausmus, Carroll, Prior, Penny

A few notes from ESPN's Buster Olney... Via Twitter, Olney's heard from other teams that the Reds would love to move closer Francisco Cordero. Of course, closers are plentiful and Cordero is set to earn $25MM over the next two years. I mentioned in our Reds Offseason Outlook that the team would have to eat half of that to make him mildly appealing. Similarly, the Indians would definitely listen on Kerry Wood, who is set to earn $20MM over the next two years. Olney believes other teams could join the Reds and Tigers in cost-cutting mode. He says the teams...   Continue Reading

---

A's Talk: Third Base, Duchscherer

Athletics general manager Billy Beane is looking at possible third base acquisitions, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. The A's face uncertainty with hot corner options Eric Chavez, Adam Kennedy, and Brett Wallace. Slusser says the A's are emphasizing youth and "unlikely to spend much money on free agents." So you have to question my earlier guesses that the A's will sign Miguel Tejada and Jim Thome. Slusser wonders, "from a sheer speculation standpoint," if Alex Gordon, Josh Fields, or Brandon Wood could be trade possibilities. Click here to read our post about third base trade candidates....   Continue Reading

---

Odds & Ends: Smoltz, Holliday, Varitek, Tejada

Let's round up a few more links in a busy day of rumors.... John Smoltz wants to pitch next year, according to this tweet from ESPN.com's Peter Gammons. The Mets will ask the Blue Jays about the price for Roy Halladay, as they did this summer, according to Newsday's Ken Davidoff. As Chad Jennings of the Journal News reports, Andy Pettitte isn't likely to return to the Astros. We knew Matt Capps could be a trade chip for the Pittsburgh Pirates this offseason. According to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Pirates offered Capps to the Milwaukee Brewers for...   Continue Reading

---

Odds & Ends: Crosby, Gonzalez, Mariners

More items from a busy opening day of baseball's hot stove season... Consider it a formality, but John Lackey, Matt Holliday, and Jason Bay were among the 79 players filing for free agency today according to MLB.com's Tom Singer. Free agent Bobby Crosby told MLB.com's Mychael Urban that he doesn't expect to be back in Oakland next season. Alex Gonzalez has yet to hear from the Red Sox in regards to whether or not they will exercise his $6MM option for next season, says The Boston Herald's Michael Silverman. Jim Street of MLB.com breaks down Seattle's free agents, noting that...   Continue Reading

---

Adam Kennedy Hopes To Stay With A's

Infielder Adam Kennedy would like to remain with the Athletics in 2010, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. The interest is mutual; his agent has had "very positive" talks with the A's. Kennedy, 34 in January, hit .289/.348/.410 in 586 plate appearances this year, playing second and third base. According to UZR/150, Kennedy's defense this year did not approach the performance from his heyday. The Cardinals released Kennedy in February, eating most of the $4MM owed to him. The Rays signed him to a minor league deal and traded him to Oakland for a player to be...   Continue Reading

---

Aroldis Chapman Review

With all the information swirling around about free agent lefty Aroldis Chapman, I thought a summary would be helpful. Chapman has been declared a free agent and can sign at any time, though a deal is unlikely before the conclusion of the World Series. One GM told Yahoo's Tim Brown in July, "I'm sure all 30 teams will be interested to some degree." Nonetheless, let's look at specific suitors. Red Sox: They've been a top suitor from the start. Kiley McDaniel of Baseball Prospectus says Chapman was scheduled to throw a bullpen at Fenway today but it was cancelled due...   Continue Reading

---

Odds & Ends: Astros, Athletics, Blue Jays

With baseball dark until Wednesday, let MLBTradeRumors.com light the way for you... Rob Neyer has a must-read piece about the Astros refusing to give Manny Acta a three-year contract offer. As Neyer writes, "If you think it's silly to give a manager a three-year contract but don't mind throwing $100 million of your ill-gotten gains at Carlos Lee, you probably need to have your head examined (though of course something similar might be said of half the owners in the majors)." MLB.com A's beat reporter Mychael Urban explains why Oakland dealt Matt Holliday, Jason Giambi and Orlando Cabrera- but kept...   Continue Reading

---

Top Stories

Search MLBTR

Lijit Search

MLBTR Features

Recent Posts

MLBTR Mailing List

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

Rumors By Team

Monthly Archives

Live Chats

Tuesdays at 2 p.m. CST