Ryan Freel Rumors

Dunn Could Stay, Says Fay

Reds beat writer John Fay says he thinks the Reds will hold on to Adam Dunn and take the draft picks when he leaves as a free agent, because Cincinnati's outfield is so thin that they can't afford to lose Dunn. With Ryan Freel done for the year, the Reds currently have four healthy outfielders on the roster. That means if they traded Adam Dunn or Ken Griffey Jr. right now, you're looking at Corey Patterson playing every day. That might blow up this blog. This makes no sense to me. The Reds would only trade Dunn if they were...   Continue Reading

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Stark's Latest: Sabathia, Bedard, Phillies, Freel

It's Thursday, and you know what that means. Time for another installment of Jayson Stark's Rumblings and Grumblings at ESPN.com. Stark runs through a laundry list of candidates for the Mariners' and Mets' manager and GM vacancies. The Indians will not be giving a negotiation window for a team hoping to sign C.C. Sabathia while acquiring him. Erik Bedard is "now officially on the market." Bedard's value has diminished since the Mariners acquired him, however. The Phillies have already inquired on Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, Bronson Arroyo, and Jarrod Washburn. Stark sees Bedard joining that group, but believes it'd require Carlos...   Continue Reading

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Freel Unhappy

Reds beat writer John Fay talked to Ryan Freel tonight. Freel is not amused about sitting tonight in favor of Corey Patterson. Freel has been hitting well lately, better than Patterson. Wayne Krivsky shopped Freel around this spring, calling the Twins and other clubs. The lack of interest was no surprise; Freel was coming off a lousy season and earns $7MM over 2008-09. The versatile Freel hits lefties well, and was good for a .360-.370 OBP prior to last season. Still, the Reds would probably have to eat some salary or take some back in order to move Freel.   Continue Reading

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Rosenthal's Latest: DeWitt, Murton, Vargas, Hatteberg, Pena, Baek, Piazza

Ken Rosenthal has his latest column up at FoxSports.com. As usual he is not shy about stirring up rumors. Let's take a look at what the rumor-guru has to say: Rosenthal notes that the Dodgers will go with Blake DeWitt at third base who has never played a game above AA. This comes after the Dodgers failed to acquire either the Astros' Mark Loretta, who was unavailable and the Royals' Esteban German, who was too expensive. The Royals were asking for the Dodgers' third best prospect, shortstop Chin-Lung Hu. He indicates that the Padres and the Rays are pursuing Matt...   Continue Reading

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Odds And Ends: Lahey, Gibbons, Freel

A couple minor notes this morning... The Phillies claimed reliever Tim Lahey off of waivers from the Cubs. Lahey was the top pick in the Rule 5 draft from the Twins' system. The Cubs had to expose Lahey to waivers prior to offering him back to the Twinkies. Rule 5 rules still apply with the Phillies, so Lahey must remain on their 25-man roster all season or be offered back to Minnesota. John Fay notes that after the Reds latest round of cuts the roster sits at 26 which could open the door for a trade. He doesn't offer any...   Continue Reading

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Reds Shopping Freel?

John Fay, writing on his Reds Insider blog, notes that the reason for the lack of cuts in Reds camp is that they might be looking to move Ryan Freel. He didn't elaborate much, other than to say he heard talks of Philadelphia, Minnesota, "and others." Freel is pretty versatile, having handled all three outfield positions, as well as second and third base. The Twins could use his bat in the lineup. But where would he play? Second? Displace recently-acquired Carlos Gomez in center field temporarily? Or just a utility role? The same situation appears to be in place in...   Continue Reading

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Reds Seek Catching Help

John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer is hearing a rumor that the Reds are "actively seeking a catcher." He speculates that Ryan Freel could be trade bait. Fay's note conveniently gels with some info from a Jeff Brantley radio appearance that a reader passed along. Brantley reportedly said the Reds have been scouting the Rangers' Gerald Laird. On a not necessarily related note, Brantley also mentioned that they may look to trade Matt Belisle. MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan recently wrote that the Rangers don't intend to trade Laird despite some interest. On the other hand, Jon Daniels admitted in Sullivan's article...   Continue Reading

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Rays Likely To Fill Outfield Void Through Trade

According to Marc Lancaster, the Rays would prefer to fill their need for a fourth outfielder via trade as opposed to signing a free agent such as Kenny Lofton. Lancaster notes the Rays are likely to offer one of their surplus of starting pitchers. The Rays have five pitchers competing for the final two spots in the rotation and two of those pitchers (Edwin Jackson and Jason Hammel) are out of options. In addition Lancaster mentions that the Rays have a number of pitching prospects at AA and AAA that could be included in a deal. The Rays would prefer...   Continue Reading

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Freel Could Be Traded

Hal McCoy of the Hamilton Journal-News notes that superutility man Ryan Freel is in a precarious position in Cincinnati. The Reds don't have a major need for him; he makes $3MM this year and $4MM in '09. McCoy and Freel have both heard trade rumblings. The best part about Freel's availability is that the Frofton monster could still be created. Back in mid-December I wrote: Here's the kicker of my plan: pair Kenny Lofton with Ryan Freel. Freel couldn't touch lefties last year but the two previous years he had OBPs over .400 against them. Taking Lofton's '07 vs. righties...   Continue Reading

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Stark's Latest: Santana, Hamilton, Snell

Ah, a new Rumblings and Grumblings from Jayson Stark. Let's dig in. It sounds like the Yankees would discuss Phil Hughes and the Red Sox might part with one of Ellsbury/Lester/Buchholz to acquire Johan Santana. The acquiring team would need an extension window though. The Mets are in on Santana big-time and would have to give up Carlos Gomez and then some. If the Twins do trade Santana, they would probably hang onto Matt Garza. But otherwise Garza could be traded for a young hitter, as we've been hearing. The Fish want four 0-3 players for Miguel Cabrera, pretty much..   Continue Reading

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Reds Extend Ryan Freel

According to MLB.com, the Reds have signed Ryan Freel to a contract extension through 2009. The deal covers his arbitration years, so he'll still become a free agent in 2010 as originally scheduled. He'll make $7MM for 2008-09, a fine price for Cincinnati. Freel failed to break through with the Blue Jays and Devil Rays, and both clubs chose not to re-sign him. The Reds finally gave him a shot and he's shown great speed with a strong walk rate. It's tough to put a price on a player like Freel, a useful guy who plays 2B, 3B, and all..   Continue Reading

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Freel Would Be Good Fit For Cubs

Over at The Cub Reporter, Arizona Phil recently outlined a sensible option for the Cubs' leadoff spot that hasn't been mentioned much. He proposes that the Cubs should find a way to acquire the versatile Ryan Freel from the Reds. Freel compares favorably to Juan Pierre and is further away from free agency   Continue Reading

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