Shea Hillenbrand Rumors

Odds and Ends: Hillenbrand, Tsao, Uehara

Here are some random bits and pieces to hold us over until front offices re-open... Shea Hillenbrand has only received one inquiry this winter - from the Giants. He probably won't be earning $6MM again. Hillenbrand posted a .599 OPS in 267 ABs for the Angels and Dodgers this year. I thought perhaps that was one of the worst performances of the decade for guys with 250+ ABs. However it's only the 49th worst since 2000. Homer Bush's 2000 takes the cake - a .524 OPS for the Blue Jays in 297 ABs. The Royals inked Chin-Hui Tsao to a...   Continue Reading

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Angels Sign Shea Hillenbrand

Ken Rosenthal reports that the Angels have signed Shea Hillenbrand to a one-year deal. ESPN adds that the contract includes an option for 2008. RotoWorld has the dollars: $6MM in 2006 with a $6.5MM vesting option for '08. Should the Halos use him at first base, it could indicate a trade of Casey Kotchman or Kendry Morales is on the horizon. Hillenbrand, 31, hit .277/.313/.451 in 530 ABs between the Blue Jays and Giants this year. His 21 homers were a career high. By comparison, the average American League first baseman hit .280/.352/.467 in 2006. Hillenbrand's reunion with John Gibbons..   Continue Reading

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Tuesday tidbits

Nothing in the news that is too breathtaking today, but there have been enough things worthy of mention that I thought I'd throw them all into one thread. Here's a fun trade possibility: the Red Sox are interested in Chad Cordero (uh, who wouldn't be?) and may be dangling Wily Mo Pena, whom Jim Bowden is known to...how should I put this?...really like. Bowden hasn't acquired a toolsy outfielder for a couple of weeks now, so if the Sox found a way to sweeten the deal, perhaps Trader Jim would take the bait. The Yankees have been quiet lately, but..   Continue Reading

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Giants Acquire Shea Hillenbrand

Many teams were interested, but Brian Sabean and the Giants prevailed in the Shea Hillenbrand sweepstakes late Friday night. The deal marks Sabean's first of the year and first ever with J.P. Ricciardi (as far as I can tell). The average National League first baseman has hit .286/.366/.504 this season, while Hillenbrand is at .301/.342/.480. While he's a below average fix at first, it sure as hell beats the .714 OPS the Giants have gotten out of the position thus far. Hillenbrand moves from a ballpark that inflates home runs by about 18% and batting average about 5% for right-handed..   Continue Reading

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Shea Hillenbrand Designated

According to a Blue Jays source of mine, this is how the Shea Hillenbrand designation went down: "It seems Hillenbrand and a few (word is two) of his teammates were being mischievious during yesterday's workout. Gibbons stormed in the clubhouse like an old den-mother and demanded the pranksters reveal themselves. Just Hillenbrand stepped forward. Gibbons blew a gasket. Everyone's face hung open. Gibb told Hill to take a shower and leave (on his first day back from adopting a kid). As the team left for the field, Hill still suited-up and paced in the clubhouse, not knowing what to do...   Continue Reading

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Trade Rumor Roundup: 11 Days Left

Let's see what we've got churning in the rumor mill this morning. Shea Hillenbrand, a player well-liked by his teammates, was designated for assignment last night. Kind of reminds me of the Jose Guillen situation a couple of years ago. Despite the unpleasantness, Bill Stoneman still managed to turn Guillen into Juan Rivera and Maicer Izturis. Let's see how J.P Ricciardi does now that manager John Gibbons has forced him into this situation. As we told you a couple of days ago, Gibbons may follow Hillenbrand out the door. More on this situation in a bit. A Reds message board..   Continue Reading

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Blue Jays Trade Rumors

There's no doubt that the Blue Jays will need to address their pitching staff if they want to make the playoffs, as I detailed in this post. Today I've got a source giving us the latest buzz coming out of Toronto. The Jays have approximately $2-4 million in the budget to compensate their deadline acquisitions. J.P. Ricciardi knows he'll need more salary room than that, so look for Shea Hillenbrand ($5.8MM) or Eric Hinske ($4.3MM) to change addresses before the deadline. Hillenbrand has an .821 OPS, pretty much average for a corner infielder. Hinske stands at .887 thanks to a..   Continue Reading

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Trade Candidates Part 2

Last time we looked at players in their contract year and trade possibilities. Today we'll open the field and see who else could be available. Dealing Shea Hillenbrand or Eric Hinske would probably make sense for the Blue Jays. It looks like the two will enter 2006 splitting DH duty for the Jays, and Hillenbrand may have twice as much value with the bat as Hinske. The problem is figuring out which team actually has a need for a middling 1B/3B/DH type. The Red Sox have six starters (seven if you think Papelbon is rotation-ready), but they shouldn't be so..   Continue Reading

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