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Javier Vazquez Trade Close?

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With a Javier Vazquez trade supposedly close to complete, it’s been unusually hard to dig up information about the deal.  Here’s the situation so far:

Adam Rubin of the New York Daily News addressed Vazquez today with just this blurb:

"Javier Vazquez, who has piqued the Mets’ interest, may be on the verge of getting shipped to the Windy City. A baseball insider suggested the White Sox are the most likely destination for the Diamondbacks pitcher, possibly leading to a trade involving Jon Garland (a free agent after the 2006 season) or Jose Contreras."

Ken Rosenthal is on the same page:

"The White Sox are making a ’strong, under the radar’ bid to trade for Diamondbacks right-hander Javier Vazquez, according to a source with knowledge of the negotiations. The package of players that the Diamondbacks would receive is not known, though it could include a major-league starting pitcher — perhaps right-hander Jon Garland or Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez — and an outfield prospect such as Chris Young."

The Mets have long been mentioned as another suitor for Vazquez, and the Nationals are a dark horse.

I hate to be a wet blanket, but it doesn’t look like Vazquez will end up with either major market club.

I spoke to Chicago Tribune White Sox beat writer Mark Gonzales for his take on the rumor:

"Don’t think it’s going to happen. They had a brief chat, and nothing is on the front burner as of late last week.  Garland has become a bigger concern because of the free agent market."

The takeaway?  The Sox probably won’t chase Vazquez, but they’re not going to pay Garland A.J. Burnett money after this season.  Look for Garland to be dealt before the trading deadline, and possibly this winter.

How about the Mets?  My source close to the team tells me that some in the front office are privately scared of how Vazquez fared in the Bronx.  Omar likes him, but there is a split opinion.  The club is in wait and see mode, so they won’t aggressively pursue Vazquez.

One thing’s for sure – the Diamondbacks are being tight-lipped about details of the Vazquez deal.  I know that Jack Magruder of the East Valley Tribune, who is close to Josh Byrnes, still doesn’t know where the righty starter is headed.  Perhaps an unexpected team will emerge with the best offer, like the Tigers for example. 

Mets Not Pursuing Tejada

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In Thursday’s Miguel Tejada column, I suggested that the Mets might pursue the shortstop.  A few other outlets speculated along similar lines.  After speaking with my Mets source today, I’m convinced there’s no chance of the club trading for Tejada.

According to my source, GM Omar Minaya is content to just tinker with his team at this point.  Benson and Matsui could go in the right deals, and Minaya will add depth to his bullpen.  He’ll also pick up another option for 2B.  But Jose Reyes isn’t going anywhere, and Tejada’s not coming to New York.

Rangers Snag Vicente Padilla

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Spurned in his attempts to trade for Adam Eaton, new Rangers GM settled for right-handed starter Vicente Padilla to fill in the back end of his rotation.  Padilla was going to be nontendered by the Phillies anyway, so Daniels only had to give up a player to be named later, likely a C level prospect.

At his best, Padilla went 14-11 with a 3.28 ERA for the 2002 Phillies.  That year was marked by low home run and walk rates for Padilla.  He’s still only 28, and 2005 was an injury-plagued year.  Triceps tendonitis and other maladies may have contributed to Padilla’s worst walk rate since 2000.  Ameriquest Field will not be a better pitching environment than Citizens Bank Park; in fact both parks inflate home runs about 20%. 

Padilla will probably post an ERA a bit worse than league average (league average is 4.35) and could provide 200 innings for the Rangers.  At $4MM or so, that’s quite a bargain.  Scott Elarton will be at least that bad and is looking for a three-year deal.  Padilla marks a second solid acquisition by Daniels after his fleecing of Jim Bowden for Brad Wilkerson. 

Astros Or Retirement For Clemens

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Plenty of buzz going around about Roger Clemens entertaining new teams such as the Red Sox, Yankees, or Rangers for the 2006 season.  According to my Astros source, however, Clemens is again choosing between the Astros and retirement.

Houston Chronicle writer Brian McTaggart has confirmed that Brad Ausmus is very close to signing a two-year pact with the Astros.  It’s well known that Clemens does not want to pitch for any other catcher, and the Red Sox tried in vain to lure Ausmus out East.  Boston was never really an option for Ausmus, who wants to be a starter and considered only San Diego as an alternative.

According to my Astros source, look for Clemens to return to Houston and start taking advantage of some of his previously negotiated perks.  In 2006, Clemens would skip more road trips to stay with his family.  Look for Roger to pull a few strings and try to get the Astros to promote his son Koby to the Corpus Christi Hooks (Double A club located in Texas).  Third baseman Koby has played just nine games at Class A with the Tri City ValleyCats in New York.  In addition, Roger has a ten-year agreement to work for the Astros after retirement to work with the club’s young players.

After pitching in the World Baseball Classic, expect Clemens to take a few months off and return to the Astros around mid-June.  His salary will certainly be less than $18MM, and the team will hopefully have acquired the improved offensive players Clemens desires.   

Matt Morris San Francisco Projection

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The always reliable Ken Rosenthal is reporting that Matt Morris is close to signing a deal with the Giants.  This has been speculated for some time now, and I created a projection for Morris as a Giant about a month ago.  I figured I’d try to get some more mileage out of that RotoAuthority post.

New at RotoAuthority today is my Prince Fielder projection.  Prince is nearly a lock for 30 HR, and a must-have in fantasy baseball.

Finally, we’ve got new material at HoopsBuzz – seems that Ron Artest has demanded a trade.

Brad Lidge Could Be Available

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I first heard the Astros might consider trading Brad Lidge a few days ago, when Dayn Perry tossed it out there.  Perry mentioned that Lidge could go to Atlanta, and here’s what I said:

"Could the Braves somehow emerge with the best closer on the market?  One who no one even knew was on the market?  I wouldn’t put it past Schuerholz.  I can’t see Houston doing the deal for anything less than catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia or shortstop Elvis Andrus."

I still feel that the Braves are the frontrunner.  Lidge doesn’t become a free agent until after the 2008 season, so it’s not like the Astros would make this deal to snag whatever they could get before Lidge departs for the big bucks.  Whatever team gets Lidge gets him for three solid years and will pay a below-market salary for it.

Given that, it makes sense that the Astros would look to improve their team now and not in two years.  So Saltalamacchia and Andrus might not be the right kind of players for this deal.  Major League ready lefty starter Chuck James might be a start in a Lidge deal.  Anthony Lerew would also fit the bill.  The dealbreaker, though, might be Marcus Giles.  Giles will be a free agent after 2007, and the Astros can’t expect to run Craig Biggio out there forever.

John Lopez wrote about trading Lidge in an article for the Houston Chronicle yesterday.  Lopez’s logic against the Orioles and Reds makes sense.  Those teams are not a top-flight closer away from competing.  But Lopez also dimisses the Boston Red Sox simply because Manny wouldn’t fit with Houston.

I think the Red Sox could become major players for Lidge, but Ramirez doesn’t have to be involved.  Even outside of Andy Marte, the club has enough young talent to at least get a meeting with Astros GM Tim Purpura.  Pitchers Jon Lester, Jonathan Papelbon, and Craig Hansen can be contributers in 2006 and beyond, and Boston would love a rock-solid alternative to Keith Foulke.

Lopez goes on to write that the Phillies look like the only legitimate possibility for a deal.  Obviously I disagree with that.  It doesn’t make sense for the Phils to leave a gaping hole in their offense in order to craft a Yankee-like bullpen.

What other teams have a strong need at closer and the talent to swing a deal for Lidge?

Scanning the Closer Watch, I don’t see any.  The Orioles and Reds remain dark horses, but the Red Sox and Braves seem to be the best fits.

What do you think?         

Cubs Interest In Tejada Confirmed

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A couple of different sources are confirming the Cubs’ interest in Miguel Tejada.

According to an emailer, David Kaplan of WGN Radio spoke with two sources close to Miguel Tejada.  The sources told Kaplan early Friday that Tejada would love to play for the Cubs and would welcome a trade.  The Tribune Company owns both WGN and the Cubs.

Several other emailers mentioned a Bruce Levine report on ESPN Radio 1000.  According to Levine, there is major interest in Tejada by the Cubs and Jim Hendry has had talks with the Orioles front office already.  John Stockstill is currently the Orioles’ director of pro scouting, and formerly had the same role with the Cubs.  Interestingly, that same Baltimore Sun article from December 7th has a headline called "Tejada Energized" and mentions that Tejada is "excited" about the 2006 season.

The two teams worked amicably on a blockbuster trade last winter, when the Cubs sent Sammy Sosa to the Orioles for Jerry Hairston and some prospects.  If you’re looking for possible scenarios for a Cubs-Orioles Tejada trade, you can browse some of the 144 comments on the first post on this topic.  In my opinion, Felix Pie and Rich Hill would both have to be a component of any deal.   

Cards May Miss Out On Morris

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This morning, I mentioned that Matt Morris could be considered Plan C for Walt Jocketty.  Looks like it might be time for Plan D. 

Joe Strauss’s article from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch today confirms the Cardinals’ lowball offer to Morris of $13MM over two years with a $7MM option for the third.  Strauss quoted Jocketty on agent Barry Axelrod’s reaction to the offer:

"If we don’t get one of these guys we still feel we have a pretty strong rotation," Jocketty said. "We wanted to get a little depth; it might’ve allowed us to do some other things. We’ll have to go to Plan C. We have a lot of plans left."

If that’s not enough for you, I spoke with Bernie Miklasz today, also of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.  According to Bernie:

"They’ve been rejected by Morris…. not officially, but Jocketty was bummed about the response he got from Axelrod."

Alexrod’s response probably indicated that Morris wasn’t going to be giving the Cardinal discount after the club came crawling back to him.

My count of Jocketty’s Plans so far differs from his.  I’ve got A.J. Burnett as Plan A, Javier Vazquez as Plan B, and Matt Morris as Plan C.  Despite Jocketty’s posturing, Adam Wainwright isn’t ready for a Major League rotation.  Wainwright avoided surgery after he finished 2004 with an aching elbow, and he went on to post OK numbers at Triple A Memphis.  He definitely needs more seasoning.  Don’t expect the Cards to open the season with both Anthony Reyes and Wainwright in the rotation.

So let’s figure this out: who’s Plan D?  Let’s scan the Top 50 Free Agents List.  The Cards are too cheap for Roger Clemens even if he would play for them. Kevin Millwood, Jeff Weaver, and Jarrod Washburn will all cost at least as much as Morris.  This takes us all the way down to #42, Jason Johnson.  Johnson might be had $11MM over two years, and he’s my guess for Plan D.  Of course, if it comes to that, it might make sense to just hang on to Jason Marquis and find another way to acquire an outfielder.

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