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Archives for July 2006

Braves Shopping Wilson Betemit

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It’s well known that the Braves are shopping infielder Wilson Betemit for more relief help, with the Yankees and Padres interested.

At this point, Betemit is a .282/.340/.434 career hitter in about 500 ABs.  The 24 year-old has played second base, third base, and shortstop in the Majors.  Any team acquiring him should use him in the middle infield, where his offense is above average.

As far as projection goes, Baseball Prospectus sees Betemit peaking in 2009 with an OPS around .815.  Scouts have always loved him.  Baseball America ranked him 99th in 2000, 29th in 2001, 8th in 2002, and 49th in 2003 among all prospects.  Non-contenders should get in on this – Betemit is a good, cheap middle infielder who can help you for the next three or four seasons.

Hatteberg Signed For 2007

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In a minor move today, Reds GM Wayne Krivsky signed first baseman Scott Hatteberg for 2007 with an option for ’08.

The 36 year-old slumped to an awful .256/.334/.343 line for the A’s in ’05.  He signed a free agent deal in February for $750,000 with Cincinnati.  This year, Hatteberg has surged to a .324/.417/.505 performance in 275 ABs.  He’s drawn a walk in an impressive 14% of his plate appearances, 12th in the league.

Hatteberg historically performs worse against southpaws, and Jerry Narron has done well to use him primarily against righties.  In the previous three seasons, Hatteberg faced lefties in 28% of his at-bats.  This year, he’s seen them just 19% of the time.

Given the small commitment to Hatteberg, the path is still clear for 22 year-old first baseman Joey Votto whenever he’s ready.  Votto is hitting .325/.407/.577 in Double A this season.  The .984 OPS leads the Southern League.  Baseball Prospectus’s Kevin Goldstein rates Votto the third best first base prospect in the game behind Daric Barton and James Loney.  Throw in Jay Bruce and Homer Bailey and the Reds can have a core of excellent youngsters in place by ’08.

L.A. Times: Angels Inquire About Ramirez, Tracy, Ensberg

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We’ve heard Miguel Tejada as well as various mid-tier firstbasemen bandied about as possible trade targets for Bill Stoneman and the Angels.  Mike DiGiovanna’s article for the Los Angeles Times today also indicates that the Halos could pursue various slugging third basemen.

Specifically, DiGiovanna mentions that the Angels have inquired about Aramis Ramirez, Chad Tracy, and Morgan Ensberg.

Ramirez is on fire, hitting .329/.391/.763 this month with nine home runs.  What some folks may not realize is that Ramirez has every reason and the ability to test the free agent market this winter.  He would most certainly top the money he’d make staying with the Cubs under his current contract.  Ramirez has said he wants to stay in Chicago, so we’ll see.

The Angels would have to offer an excellent young player to pry Tracy away from Arizona.  The 26 year-old has slipped a bit to .279/.343/.454 this season, which is below average for his position.  Still he’s locked up for $13.25MM for 2007-09.  That’s more than fair value.

Ensberg turns 31 next month, yet free agency is still a few years off.  He hit the DL on July 10th with a shoulder contusion.  After a torrid April, Ensberg hit just .194/.355/.382.  The Padres have also expressed interest, but this acquisition would be a gamble.   

Fantasy Baseball Rookies And More

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New to MLBTradeRumors.com?  Then you may not be familiar with our sister site, RotoAuthority.  RotoAuthority is a fantasy baseball blog that’s updated daily with all sorts of fun projections, sleepers, busts, and strategy.  Our latest post concerns rookies predicted to make a splash before the season began.

Another member of the network is AllCubs.com.  The purpose of that one is pretty obvious.  We have a team of writers discussing Chicago’s National League ballclub.

Check out the latest post over at Rays Index, an excellent Devil Rays blog.  Cork ranks everyone’s trade value and makes thorough roster projections for next season. 

Visit Royals Authority for their take on the recent Dessens, Graffanino, and MacDougal trades.  These guys will stay busy as Dayton Moore keeps wheeling and dealing.

Royals Trade Dessens, Graffanino

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Busy day for Dayton Moore, as he acquired all sorts of pitchers for his veterans.

Let’s start with his first trade: Elmer Dessens to the Dodgers for Blake Johnson, Julio Pimentel, Odalis Perez, and cash.  If you’re like me, you’ve never heard of Johnson or Pimentel, so let’s start there.

Pimentel and Johnson were ranked 16th and 17th among Dodgers prospects entering the 2006 season by Baseball America.  Pimentel is a 20 year-old converted outfielder currently struggling in High Class A.  Pimentel’s teammate Blake Johnson is a 21 year-old righty who was drafted in the second round in ’04.  Just a couple of live arms to help the Royals’ system; collect enough and someone’s bound to pan out.

Odalis Perez is an intriguing pickup for a team like the Royals.  He immediately becomes their most talented pitcher despite his awful 2006.  Looking at his peripherals, his strikeout rate dropped this season and his hits allowed skyrocketed.  Perez’s control remains excellent.  The southpaw had mixed results in the World Baseball Classic this March.  He claimed to be in the best shape of his life in February following an ’05 season marred by an oblique strain, shoulder inflammation, and biceps tendinitis.

Financials: Perez is due around $2.75MM for the rest of this season, $7.75MM next season, and a $1.5MM buyout for ’08 if the Royals don’t want him for $9MM.  Of that $12MM, the Dodgers are paying $8MM.  That leaves KC with just a $4MM obligation to Perez for the rest of this year and his age 29 season.  He’s projected to be worth that much in ’07 alone, and the Royals don’t have much to lose. 

As for Dessens, he’s your run-of-the-mill 34 year-old reliever.  He’ll earn roughly $640,000 for the rest of ’06 and $1.7MM next year.

The Royals also shipped Tony Graffanino to the Brewers for Jorge De La Rosa.  De La Rosa, a 25 year-old southpaw, has fared poorly in the Majors with a 5.12 ERA in 65 innings.  He was traded to the Diamondbacks in the Curt Schilling deal in ’03 and then bounced to the Brewers in the Richie Sexson trade a few days later.  De La Rosa has dealt with elbow and control issues (they go hand in hand), but he’s still got a bit of promise.

Trade Rumor Roundup: 6 Days Left

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What’s new in the world of trade rumors?

It wasn’t just Humberto Sanchez missing a start – Tigers prospect Jair Jurrjens is skipping two starts because of a stiff neck.  While it certainly seems that recent trade winds could be at play here, it may just be a case of bad luck for Detroit.  Both players can still be dealt despite the minor injuries.

A few more nuggets concerning the White Sox’s efforts to acquire Alfonso Soriano surfaced in newspapers today.  Phil Rogers notes sources indicating that Scott Podsednik, and not Brian Anderson, would be part of a package for Soriano.  In addition, Sam Borden of the New York Daily News suggests that Jim Bowden requested Double A pitcher Lance Broadway but was rebuffed.

Didn’t get to hear Tim Purpura on the radio yesterday personally, but it seems he may have inadvertently indicated that Willy Taveras is not in the team’s future center field plans.  I imagine plenty of teams would have interest in Taveras despite his .280/.319/.331 line in 905 career ABs.  On the plus side, Taveras truly is an excellent defender according to The Fielding Bible.  They actually think he deserved the Gold Glove last year over Jim Edmonds.

Harold Reynolds got the axe from ESPN today; Deadspin has the thirdhand info. 

Dayton Moore did well with reliever Elmer Dessens in a trade back to the Dodgers.

Many thanks to all those who visited MLBTradeRumors.com yesterday. June 24th was our best-ever day for traffic, beating out December 8th.  Keep on comin’ back for all the latest trade rumors; I love writing about this stuff.

Soriano, Sanchez, Meche: Much Ado About Nothing

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Seems that a couple of the more interesting rumors to come up today have proven to be nothing at all.

The first was ESPN’s rumor that Brandon McCarthy would be included in a Soriano to the White Sox deal, which was to be extremely close.  It seems that the deal has fallen through at least in the short term, and Kenny Williams stated publicly that neither McCarthy nor Josh Fields will be traded.  Still in the stockpile: Brian Anderson, Ryan Sweeney, Jerry Owens, Sean Tracey, Lance Broadway, Casey Rogowski, and Charlie Haeger. 

It has also been noted that Humberto Sanchez missed his start tonight due to a tender elbow.  Not exactly a way to pump up a prospect’s value, so the Tigers may have to deal other prospects.  They’ve still got Brent Clevlen, Jordan Tata, and Jair Jurrjens, among others.  Still, Sanchez seems like the one available trading chip who could help bring a star player to Detroit.      

Also, we’re unclear at this point whether the rumored ESPN Radio report of a completed Aaron Heilman for Gil Meche trade is legit.  Indications are that it was a hoax.  Sorry ’bout that.  Here’s MetsBlog’s take on this (non)rumor.

Mariners Trade Rumor: Todd Walker

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According to ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick, the Mariners are scouting the Cubs’ Todd Walker.

Walker would be platooned with Eduardo Perez at DH and would be used against right-handed pitching.  From 2003-05, Walker has batted .290/.346/.458 against right-handers.  The 33 year-old impending free agent makes $2.5MM this season.  The Cubs have been trying to trade him since spring training.

Donald Trump Interested In Buying Cubs

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Interesting note from BenMaller.com this afternoon:  Donald Trump would consider purchasing the Cubs, if they became available.

The Donald is currently building a Trump International Hotel and Tower, a condo/hotel thingie, on the former site of the Chicago Sun-Times building.  It should be completed in 2009, just one year after the 100th anniversary of the last time the Cubs won a World Series.

If the Cubs ever become available, Trump would have competition from Mark Cuban.  There’s already a petition going. 

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