Omar Vizquel Rumors

Giants Rumors: Aurilia, Vizquel, Cain

Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News did some quick blogging from Brian Sabean's press conference today. Here's a full transcript. Hot stove notes: Rich Aurilia could be re-signed, but Omar Vizquel won't be back. The Giants will buy Vizquel out for $300K. With Pablo Sandoval penciled in at first base, the Giants may be reluctant to trade catcher Bengie Molina (my own speculation on the Molina part). Matt Cain is said to be "untouchable" in a trade. So we'll stop with the Cain trade scenarios for now. Possible offseason needs include bullpen help and a run-producer. The relief...   Continue Reading

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D-Backs Now Favorite To Land Eckstein

Ken Rosenthal is reporting that the D-Backs are the favorite to land David Eckstein from the Blue Jays, prior to tonight's deadline for players to be eligible for the post-season. Previously we heard that both the D-Backs and the Angels were in pursuit of Eckstein. Eckstein, 33, is almost certain to be traded before the deadline for setting postseason rosters at midnight Sunday. While talks are fluid, the Jays currently are more inclined to trade with the D-backs, sources say. Rosenthal says the Angels are now considering other options, including Omar Vizquel of the Giants and Juan Castro of the...   Continue Reading

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Vizquel Wants To Play Next Year

Omar Vizquel, arguably one of the best defensive shortstops in the game, is not ready to retire and if he cannot sign with a Major League club in 2009, he'll look for playing time in Japan. "I've played here long enough in America," he told Henry Schulman, of the San Francisco Chronicle. "I've seen every team, every ballpark. I think it would be great to experience a new league and something new. I played in Japan in 2000 on the major-league all-star tour and I found it very cool - good baseball, good fans. Why not? It's a new culture."...   Continue Reading

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Odds and Ends: Murphy, Vizquel, Roberts

Today's collection of links and rumors. I'll be doing the weekly live chat here at 2pm CST. Right after that I'll be on New Jersey's Fox Sports Radio 1260AM. White Sox GM Kenny Williams talked about difficult it is to find an impact starter on the trade market. River Ave. Blues thinks the Yankees should pursue Josh Bard. The Athletics designated second baseman Donnie Murphy for assignment. Murphy, 25, showed a hint of promise at Triple A last year. The Giants don't want to embarrass Omar Vizquel by releasing him. The Red Sox aren't likely to make a major bullpen...   Continue Reading

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Sabean Explains Giants' Trade Strategy

Giants GM Brian Sabean explained his trade deadline strategy to the San Francisco Chronicle's Henry Schulman. As you might expect, starters Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, and Jonathan Sanchez are off-limits. The trio has 331 Ks already. The Giants aren't interested in a rental, even though they are in the race at five games out. Sabean is likely to keep Bengie Molina and Randy Winn, but Ray Durham, Omar Vizquel, and Rich Aurilia are available.   Continue Reading

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Cafardo's Latest: Boston Could Use Vizquel

Last week I heard Peter Gammons on ESPN radio discussing Omar Vizquel as a possible replacement candidate for the struggling Julio Lugo. In today's Boston Globe, Nick Cafardo chimes in: "Vizquel is quite fond of Boston but would be interested only if he were a starter. He has a close relationship with Manny Ramírez from their Cleveland days. Vizquel still has a terrific glove and can hit." Lugo - who is just returning from a mild concussion - finds himself batting .284 but with a .331 OBP and only 7 extra base hits, all doubles. He has a major league...   Continue Reading

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Sabean: Giants Will Not Be Sellers In '08

Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle has some telling quotes from Giants GM Brian Sabean. Despite a 17-24 record and being 8.5 games behind the D-Backs in 3rd place of the NL West, Sabean says the Giants are not going to give up on the '08 season and will not be trading off their veteran players. "As long as we've got a chance to stay in and around third place, why not?" Sabean said as he stood along the dugout rail and watched his players take batting practice. "Why wouldn't you want to think that way? These guys think...   Continue Reading

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Odds and Ends: Jacque, Vizquel, Greinke

Today's linkage... An MLBTR chat will take place in this space at 2pm CST - get your questions ready! I will also be hopping on ESPN-1580 (Columbia, MO) today at 4:20pm CST. Jacque Jones prefers to play for the Marlins...I imagine he will end up there. GM bloodlines courtesy of Batter's Box. Omar Vizquel wants to play in '09, if he has a good offensive year in '08. The White Sox do not intend to overpay their 8th overall pick this June. The Royals haven't had any extension talks yet with Zack Greinke, who would become a free agent after...   Continue Reading

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Rosenthal's Latest: Lidge, Daniel Cabrera, Bonds, Edmonds

Ken Rosenthal has a new column up. I put the Griffey info in a separate post; let's discuss the rest. Rosenthal suggests that Brad Lidge would be harder to replace than Pat Burrell, and for that reason the Phillies will make a bigger effort to re-sign him. I imagine Phillies fans would prefer that course of action. The problem? The Phillies have little chance of offering four years, according to Jayson Stark. The Rangers will face a delicate situation in coming years: moving Michael Young to a different position. The chain reaction could make Hank Blalock available. Blalock has a...   Continue Reading

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Wanted: Major League Ready Shortstops

Both the San Francisco Giants and the Cincinnati Reds have lost their starting shortstops to injury recently. Omar Vizquel had surgery to remove torn cartilage from his knee, while Alex Gonzalez' 'sore knee' turned out to be a broken knee. In both cases, the players are not expected to be ready for opening day and neither team appears to have a major league-ready shortstop ready to step in. The best options for the Giants appear to be Kevin Fransden and Rich Aurilia. Fransden is a natural second baseman while Aurilia has not been a regular shortstop since 2004. The Reds...   Continue Reading

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Odds and Ends: Lowell, Sabathia, Polanco

I'm going to start up a catch-all Odds and Ends post for smaller rumors and notes today. Refresh to see it grow. A reader emailed me to tell me that Buster Olney said on XM Radio recently that there are talks of the Twins going after Scott Rolen. These reports can be tough to confirm, but there you go. UPDATE: Joe Christensen squashes this one. Mark Feinsand doesn't think Epstein is keen on giving Mike Lowell even a three-year contract. He might get five on the open market. UPDATE: The Red Sox apparently have a three-year offer out to him,..   Continue Reading

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Vizquel Close To Deal With Giants

According to Ken Rosenthal, Omar Vizquel is close to signing with the Giants for one year and $5.5MM. The White Sox had been in on him as well. I guess the silver lining in this move is that Vizquel's glove will be beneficial to a young pitching staff. But the 2008 Giants really shouldn't be playing veterans if they don't have to   Continue Reading

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Giants Rumors: A-Rod, Vizquel, Feliz

Brian Sabean acknowledged today that he'll kick the tires on Alex Rodriguez but admitted that it could hamstring the team financially. That's right - he's considering tying up half of the Giants' payroll in two players. Signing with the Giants would be A-Rod embracing his mercenary reputation - the team has no chance of competing next year. Additionally, Sabean mentioned that the Giants hope to re-sign Omar Vizquel and Pedro Feliz for the left side of their infield. Discussions have begun with Vizquel regarding a one-year pact with a vesting option. It's a very solid defensive tandem, but neither can..   Continue Reading

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Carlos Guillen to Play 1B Next Season

The Tigers anticipated this. Carlos Guillen's okay with it. Despite signing Guillen in March to a 4 year deal for $48MM to begin next season, the shortstop is going to be moving across the diamond sooner than expected to play first base. The move is designed to protect his knees from the physical stresses of SS. Tim argued that 4/48 was a bargain as long as he remained the Tigers' shortstop. Unfortunately, it appears Manager Jim Leyland has had to talk him into moving to first, despite Guillen's condition last week that the Tigers had to bring in a gold..   Continue Reading

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Giants Hope To Bring Vizquel Back For '08

According to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle, there are "strong indications" that the Giants want Omar Vizquel to man shortstop for them in 2008. Vizquel is earning $4MM this year; perhaps $3MM or so would get it done for next year. Vizquel would like to come back. If his goal is 3,000 hits, though, that will take at least three more seasons. Retaining Vizquel is not what I suggested in my Giants Needs and Luxuries post a few days ago. I understand that Vizquel's sparkling defense helps the pitching staff and his veteran leadership can't be measured. (Though..   Continue Reading

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Vizquel Claimed Off Waivers, Pulled Back

On August 16th, ESPN.com's Jayson Stark mentioned that Omar Vizquel, among many others, had cleared waivers. Stark's colleague Buster Olney heard differently, however. According to Olney, Vizquel was indeed claimed but no deal was reached and he was withdrawn. Olney believes the Tigers may have made the claim, or perhaps the Indians as a block. Vizquel still doesn't strike out much, but his batting average dipped to .245 this year. He could've helped a contender though. I'm not sure whether the Elias Bureau will rate him a Type A or B free agent after this year, as he was solid..   Continue Reading

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Slick-Fielding Shortstops Available

If you're looking for an all-glove type shortstop this summer, you have plenty of options. The Giants could move Omar Vizquel, but only if they feel that he can't help them in '08. According to Tim Brown, he loves the city and would stay if they made an offer. The Giants talked extension with him in March but his offensive performance this year may have changed their mind. He has $1.8MM in salary left. With Ryan Theriot performing OK this year and Ronny Cedeno tearing up Triple A, the Cubs may deem Cesar Izturis expendable. Giving Cedeno the starting shortstop..   Continue Reading

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Vizquel Extension Up For Discussion

40 year-old shortstop Omar Vizquel would like to play in 2008 and 2009, so the Giants will meet with his agent today to talk extension. I wanted to get an idea of just how rare this type of thing is, so I finally checked out the Play Index tool over at Baseball-Reference. It is awesome. How many guys in modern Major League history have played even 50 games in a season at shortstop at age 40 or older? The answer is four: Barry Larkin, Luke Appling, Ozzie Smith, and Honus Wagner. Appling and Wagner each had three such seasons. The..   Continue Reading

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