Odds and Ends: Kendall, Crisp, Gagne

I’m back in the swing of things, kind of.  We’re still living out of boxes, but I’ve got a laptop and I’m digging into all the rumors I missed.  Joe did a great job the last couple of days.  Be sure to visit his Yankees blog, River Ave. Blues.  On to today’s random rumors…

• I’m hearing that Jason Kendall could be a fallback for the Mets if they can’t pry Ramon Hernandez loose from the Orioles.
• The Blue Jays have about $4MM to spend, and J.P. Ricciardi likes the idea of Michael Barrett splitting time behind the plate with Gregg Zaun.  It seems unlikely, though, because the Padres would have to not offer arbitration to Barrett.  And Barrett would have to take a one-year, $4MM deal.
• Jamey Newberg discusses the idea of a Coco Crisp for Gerald Laird swap.  He notes that the market for Laird should be picking up, but the Red Sox might prefer to wait to trade Crisp.
• Haven’t heard this one much yet…how about Eric Gagne for the Houston closer vacancy?  Would Scott Boras present a problem?
• David Wells could be an option for the Mets, if he doesn’t retire or end up on the West Coast.
• One free agent from Japan who hasn’t gotten much press is Marc Kroon.  He didn’t catch on in MLB but has been doing well for Yokohama the past few years.  Kroon holds the record for the fastest pitch ever thrown in a Japanese game (161 km/h, which is about 100 mph).  You can see that in this video (the second pitch he throws, the crowd loves it).  Kroon is considering trying the Majors again; he says so on his website (note that his site plays music when you visit).