Pirates Rumors
Our good friend Jake at Bucco Blog has all sorts of good Pirate info tonight. The Bucs have plenty of trade options right now. My Cliff Notes version:
- Freddy Sanchez could miss most of April with his knee injury. Perhaps the newly released Todd Walker would be a good fit? I can see it. In due time he’ll make his way around the entire NL Central.
- Teams are scouting Ryan Doumit and Humberto Cota as possible backup catcher options. One club with a new opening: the White Sox, who unfortunately may have lost Toby Hall for the season with a labrum tear. D’oh. KW has dealt with Littlefield a couple of times before, on the Todd Ritchie and Rob Mackowiak deals. Littlefield is one of few GMs who has gotten the best of Williams in a deal.
- Jose Castillo and Nate McLouth are also drawing looks from other teams. The Cubs may have peeked at Castillo in their quest to add a backup middle infielder. As for McLouth…maybe the Marlins? Aren’t they supposed to announce their center fielder this week?
- Pirate relievers have also drawn interest but the team doesn’t feel it has a surplus and will likely stand pat for at least a month or two. Jake says Shawn Chacon may be the exception to that.
Hey, That’s Us!
I’ve been alerted that MLBTR snagged the slot for the ninth best baseball blog, according to Sports Media Challenge. Pretty cool. Thanks for reading this ugly black and white thing I created.
I have big plans for the site; might even take it full-time one of these days. Now that would be interesting.
Speaking of blogs on that list, check out this post at Lookout Landing. Funny stuff.
Marlins Acquire Jorge Julio
According to Baseball Digest Daily, the Diamondbacks traded reliever Jorge Julio and cash to the Marlins for Yusmeiro Petit today. Fantasy leaguers, get on it. The team confirmed that he’ll slide right into the closer role.
Pretty good return for Arizona; Petit was the main piece in the Carlos Delgado trade last winter. Petit put up some excellent numbers in Double A in ’05 but scouts weren’t enamored with his stuff. Sure enough, his deception wasn’t enough at Triple A last year and his strikeout rate dropped significantly.
Latest On Jorge Julio
Ken Rosenthal has a new column up. Well, actually it went up 12 hours ago. If it’s whispered, (or just written on FOXSports.com), we hear it (once we wake up, eat some Arby’s, and get situated).
Ken’s main rumor:
The current suitors for the relief ace known as Jorge Julio are the Cardinals and Marlins, with the Bucs and D-Rays on the fringes. For the sake of my Al Reyes sleeper pick let’s keep him out of Tampa Bay. I think the Cardinals could really use a guy like Julio. The acquiring team will be on the hook for all $3.6MM, unless they pony up a top-notch prospect. The Marlins get special treatment I guess.
Rowand Trade Coming?
In his latest Under The Knife article, Will Carroll writes:
"A rumor making the rounds is that the Phillies are holding Aaron Rowand out to make sure he doesn’t hurt himself as they try to deal him."
Rowand is, however, playing in today’s game against Kei Igawa and the Yankees. Prior to today, he sat out three straight games. To me it seems like the White Sox are probably the top suitor.
Brewers, Dodgers Swap Clark and Dessens
According to Baseball Digest Daily, the Brewers have sent Brady Clark and cash considerations to the Dodgers for reliever Elmer Dessens.
Clark, 34, can play all three outfield positions. Perhaps the Jason Repko injury inspired this trade. Clark had a nice year leading off for the Brewers in ’05, but his power fell off last year. He did manage to increase his walk rate though. Clark makes $3.8MM this season in the last year of his contract. This enables Gabe Gross to make the Brewers, though they could stand to unload Kevin Mench or Geoff Jenkins.
Dessens is 35; he earns $1.7MM this year. However, the Royals are paying all of that. He has decent control and can eat some innings at the back of the bullpen.
Rockies Trade Rumors
The Rockies have several rumors cooking on the hot stove as we approach the season.
First there’s infielder Clint Barmes, recently demoted to Triple A. Patrick Saunders writes that the Rangers are still interested, but the Rockies are asking for too much given his performance last year. A few days ago Ken Rosenthal linked the Twins, Cubs, Marlins, and Royals to Barmes. I imagine the Royals are no longer interested.
Saunders also reports that the Rangers are out on Byung-Hyun Kim. The unhappy pitcher could still end up in Oakland or Pittsburgh.
Also, as reported a week ago, the Rockies have liked Mark Hendrickson for some time and could swing a deal with the Dodgers.
Pineiro On The Block?
The Boston Herald reports that scouts from several teams have been monitoring 28 year-old former starter Joel Pineiro. He and his $4MM+ salary may be deemed expendable by the Red Sox with Papelbon closing.
The Globe’s Jeff Horrigan mentions the Reds as a good fit, as their bullpen remains questionable. I believe that newly signed free agents have trade veto power for at least the first few months, but I can’t find the exact rule in writing yet. If Pineiro can get himself over to the NL on a team with an open closing situation (Giants, Marlins?) he should jump at the chance.
UPDATE: A guy who would know dropped me a line – a player cannot be traded within six months of signing. He doesn’t believe it’s a veto thing; it just isn’t allowed. The Red Sox signed Pineiro around January 4th, so I’m not sure how this would work.
UPDATE 2: Another fellow told me that if a newly signed free agent is to be traded before June 15th, he must give his permission. That is the only restriction.
A-Rod And The Giants
Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News combines some inside information with informed speculation to conclude that the Giants will be major players for Alex Rodriguez should he opt out of his contract following this season.
The reasoning, summed up:
- With Bonds, Feliz, and Benitez off the books, the Giants will have money to burn.
- A-Rod would be every bit as big of a draw as Bonds, without the negative connotations. And the next two career home run kings could both be Giants.
- The Giants don’t have a problem dealing with Scott Boras; in fact, they just dealt with him for Barry Zito. And that Zito contract was nearly as crazy as Rodriguez’s will be.
- The Giants inquired as to A-Rod’s availability last winter.
That would be a ton of money tied up with two players, but it would help change the face of San Francisco baseball. I think the Angels will make a huge offer to A-Rod as well.
2007 RotoAuthority Fantasy Guide
Today, I have been hard at work on the tenth update to the 2007 RotoAuthority Fantasy Guide. If you haven’t drafted yet, there’s still time left to pick it up for just $9.99. 600+ players are projected, with player comments and draft tools included. You also get the latest Average Draft Position data from Mock Draft Central. I think it’s a good value and miles ahead of the outdated magazines. You can download a sample file from this page if you’re unconvinced.