Rumor Royalty: John Fay (Reds)

John Fay covers the Reds beat for the Cincinnati Enquirer. John also has a popular Reds blog. He kindly answered some MLBTR reader questions today for our Rumor Royalty series. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ MLBTR: How do you perceive the relationship between Wayne Krivsky and Walt Jocketty? Fay: On the surface, everything is fine, but I don't see what happens behind closed doors. I think if the Reds win this year, you could very well see the arrangement continue. Jocketty said as much when I did a story about the two this spring. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ MLBTR: Any idea what the Reds offered for Joe...

Rumor Royalty: John Fay

Rumor Royalty's been in a bit of a hibernation lately, but we're bringing it back for the Reds. Beat writer John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer gets the nod; he's kindly agreed to answer a few questions. John's blog can be found here. If you've got Reds hot stove questions for John, fire away in the comments. I will pick a few and send them over.

Rumor Royalty: Geoff Baker (Mariners)

Geoff Baker kindly answered our Rumor Royalty questions despite vacationing in Hawaii. Geoff covers the Mariners beat for the Seattle Times. He also keeps a blog here. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ MLBTR: How do you see the first base situation turning out? Richie Sexson is entering a contract year and his production has been below average. Do you think anyone else in the system could see time at the cold corner? Baker: If Sexson struggles out of the chute again, then fails to rebound by mid-May, I could see a chain reaction of moves that could lead to someone like Raul Ibanez or...

Rumor Royalty: Todd Zolecki (Phillies)

Todd Zolecki is our Rumor Royalty recipient for the Phillies. Todd covers the team for the Philadelphia Inquirer and also keeps a blog, the soon-to-be-renamed Zo Zone. Todd has kindly agreed to answer a handful of reader questions for the series. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ MLBTR: Does signing Ryan Howard to a long term contract make sense for the Phils? Zolecki: It depends what price we're talking about. Before and after winning $10 million in arbitration, Howard is seeking major money. Maybe in the $200 million range. The Phillies are not the Yankees or Red Sox, so if they commit that type of...

Rumor Royalty: Geoff Baker

Geoff Baker is our Rumor Royalty recipient for the Mariners. He covers the team's beat for the Seattle Times. He also keeps a blog here. Geoff has kindly agreed to answer some questions for MLBTR readers. Please leave your Mariners hot stove queries in the comments and I'll choose my favorites.

Rumor Royalty: Todd Zolecki (Phillies)

Todd Zolecki is our Rumor Royalty recipient for the Phillies. Todd covers the team for the Philadelphia Inquirer and also keeps a blog, the soon-to-be-renamed Zo Zone. Todd has kindly agreed to answer a handful of reader questions for the series. Please leave your Phillies hot stove queries in the comments and I'll choose the best three or four.

Topkin On Rocco Baldelli

I recently named the St. Petersburg Times' Marc Topkin as Rumor Royalty for the Rays. He was kind enough to answer a few questions for the site. MLBTR: Do you expect Rocco Baldelli to be with the Rays on Opening Day? What kind of trade value does he have right now? Topkin: I definitely expect him to be there, as much because the Rays need him badly the way the team is presently constructed as because his trade value is so low because of his lack of playing time due to a series of injuries. I can't imagine the Rays...