Scott Hairston Rumors
By Drew Silva [September 20, 2009 at 7:04pm CST]
A few links to peruse as the Cubs and Cardinals prepare to do battle on ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball... A scout told the San Francisco Chronicle's Susan Slusser last week that the A's "got smoked" on July's Scott Hairston deal. As you may remember, Oakland sent pitchers Ryan Webb, Sean Gallagher and Craig Italiano to the Padres this summer for the 29-year-old outfielder. An AL scout used the same terminology when speaking with Tom Krasovic about the deal earlier this month. According to the Associated Press, Giants first base prospect Angel Villalona is the main suspect in the killing of...
Continue Reading
By Tim Dierkes [September 9, 2009 at 9:40am CST]
An action-packed set of links for Wednesday... Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker passes along a report about MLB teams, the Cubs included, watching Chunichi Dragons pitcher Wei-Yin Chen's last start. It's possible Chen will be a free agent after the season. The Taiwanese southpaw has a 1.45 ERA this year and would be in high demand. MetsBlog's Matthew Cerrone does not believe the team will non-tender starter John Maine after the season. Maine, coming back from a shoulder injury, may start Sunday. SNY's Ted Berg says this is a terrible time to trade Jose Reyes. R.J. Anderson of DRays Bay...
Continue Reading
By Ben Nicholson-Smith [July 23, 2009 at 2:53pm CST]
ESPN.com's Jayson Stark says this year's deadline will be different than others, since more players will clear waivers, allowing teams to deal until the end of August. Matt Holliday, Jarrod Washburn and Jack Wilson are all "likely to zip through waivers" next month. Here are the rest of Stark's rumors: The Phillies are as motivated as ever to acquire Roy Halladay. Their goal is to win the World Series, not make the playoffs. The Phils don't want to trade Kyle Drabek or J.A. Happ, but one GM believes they should include Drabek if one of the two has to go....
Continue Reading
By Tim Dierkes [July 13, 2009 at 2:48am CST]
Sean Gallagher is headed to the Padres as part of the Scott Hairston deal, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. Gallagher was the player to be named later, eight days after we learned the Padres acquired pitchers Ryan Webb and Craig Italiano for Hairston. A year ago, Gallagher was regarded as the centerpiece of the package the Cubs sent to Oakland for Rich Harden. However, Gallagher's stock dropped shortly thereafter when a shoulder injury surfaced. He still has upside.
Continue Reading
By Ben Nicholson-Smith [July 9, 2009 at 1:28pm CST]
This year’s outfielders have a lot to live up to on July 31st. It was just a year ago that the Red Sox parted with Manny Ramirez and acquired Jason Bay. This time, Matt Holliday’s the big name, but there are also a few cheap, powerful players out there for teams looking to add an outfielder. Here’s your list of trade candidates, ranked from highest 2009 salary to lowest: Matt Holliday - At $13.5MM, Holliday's pricey, but he's a good defender with a history of batting excellence. With just seven extra base hits in the last month, Holliday's no longer...
Continue Reading
By Ben Nicholson-Smith [July 7, 2009 at 4:58pm CST]
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says Javier Vazquez has more value than any available hitter. Here are the details and the rest of Rosenthal's rumors: Not even Matt Holliday or Corey Hart would be fair value for Vazquez, so Rosenthal asks why the Braves would want to trade him at all. The Mets inquired on Scott Hairston, who could have been an affordable stopgap, but balked when the Padres asked for Bobby Parnell. The Marlins offered Gaby Sanchez for Manny Delcarmen, but the Red Sox weren't interested. The Mariners, Tigers and Rays weren't far from agreeing to a deal that...
Continue Reading
By Ben Nicholson-Smith [July 7, 2009 at 11:14am CST]
The Phillies are going to watch Pedro Martinez throw today, but he'll need more than an impressive workout to latch on with the NL East leaders, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney. Pedro will have to accept that teams are going to want to pay him "like a 37-year-old pitcher who had a 5.61 ERA last season," not a future Hall of Famer. Olney wonders whether Pedro's low ground ball rate might prevent him from succeeding at Citizens Bank Park. The A's aren't currently involved in trade talks regarding Matt Holliday or the recently-acquired Scott Hairston. One scout who watched Manny...
Continue Reading
By Ben Nicholson-Smith [July 6, 2009 at 4:03pm CST]
Even more links for your Monday afternoon... Jon Heyman of SI.com hears that the Rays signed Venezuelan third baseman Cesar Perez for $1MM. The "kid can play," according to Heyman. Ben Badler of Baseball America reports that the Indians agreed to terms with two players: a shortstop and Angel Berroa's cousin, who's a pitcher. ESPN.com's Rob Neyer doesn't see Scott Hairston in the lineup of the next A's playoff team. MLB.com's Mark Bowman says he doesn't get the sense the Braves have any desire to deal Yunel Escobar.
Continue Reading
By Ben Nicholson-Smith [July 6, 2009 at 2:15pm CST]
More links for the afternoon... MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo reports that the Twins awarded Max Kepler a bonus of about $800k. That's close to the record for a European player. Ben Klayman of Reuters reports that the Rangers are likely to make financial information available to potential buyers. Owner Tom Hicks would like to see bids for the team by mid-August, but negotiations won't necessarily be complete by the end of the season. Byron Kerr of MASN.com argues that the Nyjer Morgan acquisition shows why the Nats need to award Mike Rizzo the permanent GM job. Ben Badler of Baseball America...
Continue Reading
By Ben Nicholson-Smith [July 6, 2009 at 9:03am CST]
Some odds and ends to start the week off... Carroll Rogers of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution hears the Royals "covet" Yunel Escobar. As O'Brien says, Mark Teahen alone would not likely be enough to acquire the Braves' shortstop. Kiley McDaniel of Baseball Prospectus reports that the Tigers signed a pair of shortstops from Panama. Almost 70% of Cleveland Plain Dealer readers don't think Eric Wedge should be around for the rest of the year. Scott Ostler of the San Francisco Chronicle tells us how some well-placed calls by Ryan Sadowski's mother helped the Giants starter make the big leagues. Remember that...
Continue Reading