Mark Buehrle is a popular man right now, and I’ve decided to cover today’s trade rumors in a bullet point format.
- Barry Rozner of the Daily Herald thinks the Dodgers would be a fine fit for Buehrle, given the loss of Jason Schmidt and their bevy of top prospects. Given that ten teams are looking at Buehrle and we’ve only confirmed five, talks may already be occurring between Ned Colletti and Kenny Williams.
- Ozzie Guillen tries to defend against detractors: "A lot of people say, ’Oh, they quit. Oh, they should make an offer to Buehrle.’ They did, I think." The Daily Southtown notes that the offer was a meager three years, $30MM. The Sox made that offer at the height of Buehrle’s ineffectiveness.
- The New York Post says the Mets will only trade for Buehrle if they get a 72-hour window to sign him. Rosenthal said on Friday that that’s not happening. The Mets’ urgency to acquire a starter is related to how Pedro Martinez looks in coming weeks.
- Ken Davidoff of Newsday says that while the Mets and Yankees are confirmed among the ten interested clubs, neither plans to offer "serious prospects" for Buehrle. That seems to mean that Lastings Milledge, Philip Humber, Mike Pelfrey, Joba Chamberlain, and Phil Hughes are out. Davidoff shows that Omar Minaya and Kenny Williams have clearly been talking, and confirms Omar’s interest in Jose Contreras.
- Joel Sherman thinks the Mets are in on Buehrle for two reasons: in case the price surprisingly plummets, and to raise the price for Atlanta.
- Adam Rubin says all veteran Sox pitchers are available – except Jon Garland.
- You may have noticed that Kenny Williams recently issued a nondenial of the Buehrle-to-Boston rumor, saying "Not today." The Red Sox weren’t amused by that, and a deal is not close. The Boston Globe agrees, adding that Boston won’t part with Clay Buchholz or Jacoby Ellsbury. Nonetheless, Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post thinks the Red Sox are the favorite for Buehrle, and they’d sign him to a contract extension.
- Bryan Burwell of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports on chatter that the Cardinals have offered Anthony Reyes, John Rodriguez, and one prospect for Buehrle. Burwell would make the deal, even if that prospect is Bryan Anderson.
- GM Doug Melvin in response to Ken Rosenthal’s Buehrle-to-Brewers rumor: "This is the month for Internet rumors." Damn straight, Doug. Actually, July and December are the big ones. Melvin says he hasn’t talked to Kenny Williams, in reality. Maybe Melvin wouldn’t part with Yovani Gallardo or Ryan Braun for Buehrle, but another prospect has emerged in Manny Parra. Parra tossed a perfect game in Triple A last night.
