Orlando Hernandez Rumors

Davidoff's Latest: Sabathia, El Duque, Heilman

A few notes from Newsday's Ken Davidoff, who has blog posts here and here. C.C. Sabathia's agents met with the Yankees yesterday, among other teams. As you know, teams can only talk contract with their own free agents currently. Sabathia is certainly open to playing for the Yankees. Orlando Hernandez not only wants to pitch in 2009; he wants to close. He's thinking big after missing all of 2008. Davidoff gives a 10% chance of the Yankees re-signing Jason Giambi, and a 1% chance of re-signing Carl Pavano. The Rays like Aaron Heilman, though not as much as they once...   Continue Reading

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Odds and Ends: El Duque, Tazawa, Ausmus

Links for Tuesday. Be sure to check back on Odds and Ends posts, as I update them throughout the day with minor links. The Jays may no longer have A.J. Burnett under contract, but they continued their claiming frenzy by adding pitcher Les Walrond. The A's re-hired Jason Giambi's strength coach. Does it mean anything? The Cardinals remain intrigued by the idea of bringing Edgar Renteria back. The Dodgers bought out catcher Gary Bennett for $50K; he's a free agent now. Mike Cameron thinks C.C. Sabathia has a good chance of re-signing with the Brewers. He says Sabathia could be...   Continue Reading

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Week in Review: 8/17 - 8/23

Another week in the books, and we keep seeing big names moved after the July 31 non-waiver deadline. Let's look back on the past week: The Dodgers acquired Greg Maddux from the Padres for two minor league players to be named later. Nice acquisition to bolster their rotation, and does anyone want to place bets on how excited 20-year-old Clayton Kershaw is to get tips from Maddux every day for the rest of the season? The Pirates are exploring the idea of trading Jack Wilson this offseason more and more. Given the slim free agent market for shortstops, he would...   Continue Reading

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El Duque May Retire

According to Adam Rubin of the New York Daily News, Orlando Hernandez is opting to have surgery on his right big toe to remove a bunion, meaning his career is all but over. El Duque has resisted this procedure in the past because it may take more than a season to fully heal. Hernandez left his last outing on July 18th for Mets Double A affiliate Binghamton after only one inning citing discomfort on his foot. Alejandro A. Leal writes for UmpBump.com. Comments? Rumors? Email me: alexo (at) umpbump (dot) com.   Continue Reading

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Mets Dangled El Duque

According to SI.com's Jon Heyman: The Mets quietly sought trade offers for Orlando Hernandez late this winter, with the idea that if anyone bit, they would sign Kyle Lohse. But apparently there were no takers. Swapping El Duque's 140-150 innings for Lohse's 190 might add a few wins, given the replacement level pitchers the Mets went to in '07. Hernandez at $6.5MM isn't terribly appealing though. The Mets could probably get Lohse for a similar amount on a one-year deal. Maybe they still should and just force Hernandez into the bullpen whether he likes it or not.   Continue Reading

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Odds and Ends: El Duque, Rays, Botts, Cruz

Today's linkage... RotoAuthority tries to decide what to do with the fourth pick in a fantasy draft. The rumor about the Royals moving to the NL seems unfounded. Sean McAdam says the Red Sox will keep an eye on the free agent pitching market, but don't intend to spend much. El Duque has all sorts of problems, which I won't go into. Maybe he's just down on his luck, but he indicated a 50/50 chance of this being his last season. He'll earn $6.5MM, and PECOTA calls for a 4.08 ERA in 98 innings. DRays Bay talked to team owner...   Continue Reading

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Mets Re-Sign El Duque

The Mets inked Orlando Hernandez for two years and $6MM. For that price, who can complain? So far the only locks for the 2007 rotation in my mind are Hernandez and John Maine. Of course, there are plenty of remaining options. Keep in mind that El Duque hasn't topped 161 innings for a while now, so the team will have to use its sixth or seventh starters. Here's a look at the current state of the starting pitching free agent market. UPDATE: The deal would be a lot less desirable at double the price, which is what Ken Rosenthal is..   Continue Reading

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El Duque Swapped For Julio

In a surprising move, the Diamondbacks sent starter Orlando Hernandez to the Mets for reliever Jorge Julio. El Duque, age 36-40ish, has a 6.11 ERA and 1.58 WHIP through his first nine starts this year. 27 year-old righty Julio had a 5.06 ERA and 1.45 WHIP for the Mets. Hernandez will be paid $4.5MM this season and doesn't figure to pick up his incentives for Comeback Player of the Year or an All-Star Game. Julio makes about $2.5MM and has yet to reach free agency. Hernandez was projected to add about 1.8 wins in 122 innings while Julio's projection called..   Continue Reading

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White Sox Obtain Javier Vazquez

In a move that took both me and Mark Gonzales by surprise, the White Sox acquired starter Javier Vazquez for center fielder Chris Young (plus the unwanted salaries of Orlando Hernandez and Luis Vizcaino). Whenever a defending World Champion makes a couple of major trades, the GM is inevitably described as "bold" in the media. I'm not sure whether I count as a member of the media, but "bold" is getting cliche. Check out some of these synonyms: spunky, audacious, gritty. I think I'll call Kenny Williams spunky when referencing the Vazquez and Thome deals. If you're a Sox fan,..   Continue Reading

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