Unfounded Rumor: Kaz Matsui
UPDATE, 11-28-07 at 10:45am: Buster Olney says talks for Matsui are indeed picking up, and the Cubs are in the thick of things. He notes that if a team is dead set on acquiring a left-handed hitting middle infielder, its options are limited. It’s possible the Astros are still talking to Matsui.
FROM 11-28-07 at 8:30am:
Since last night, about a dozen people have emailed me about a supposed Denver radio station report. This report purportedly claimed Kaz Matsui had signed with the Cubs for three years and $14MM.
However, none of the emailers had actually heard the report with their own two ears. Details are slim – no one knows who actually said it on air. While the rumor sounds reasonable, it may be made up or a contortion of the truth. It may also be accurate – we don’t know yet.
One sign that the hot stove season has officially kicked in is the spreading of unverifiable radio rumors. These are slippery because they’re very difficult to confirm but have an air of authority to them. That makes radio rumors easy to fabricate and spread around the ‘Net. I’ve also seen many cases where radio personalities were clearly speculating, but a few games of telephone later and they were talking about actual offers.
All that said, radio reports have value when verified. For instance Bruce Levine of ESPN Radio 1000 out of Chicago scooped everyone on the Kerry Wood and Scott Linebrink signings.
Matt Garza For Carlos Quentin?
Shooter! It’s time for some new rumors courtesy of Charley Walters. You like rumors don’t you?
- Walters tosses out the idea of a Matt Garza for Carlos Quentin swap. He’s the guy who was saying previously that Garza for Delmon Young wouldn’t die. I think if Quentin demonstrated good health this could be a fair swap. Meanwhile, Buster Olney suggests Quentin could end up an Athletic if the D’Backs look to acquire Dan Haren or Joe Blanton. However, Nick Piecoro doesn’t see it happening.
- No extension talks going on with Justin Morneau, and it’s arbitration time. Hey, maybe those trade rumors had substance after all. Nah, probably not.
- Walters echoes Ken Rosenthal in suggesting that Joe Nathan will be traded. He believes talks with the Brewers could be forthcoming.
Angels Interested In Johan Santana
Hey, you can never have too much pitching right? Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times reports that Johan Santana is on the Angels’ list. They’re still all about Miguel Cabrera as Plan A and Miguel Tejada as Plan B, but they’ve inquired on Santana as well. Jon Heyman actually mentioned the Halos as a Santana suitor yesterday afternoon, but it didn’t register with me.
DiGiovanna says the Twins would ask for a third baseman, center fielder, and pitcher for Santana. Brandon Wood, Reggie Willits, and Nick Adenhart – is that too much? Another hurdle might be getting Santana to approve a trade to the West Coast.
DiGiovanna adds that the Twins have interest in Gary Matthews Jr. Could this be the mystery CF the Twins are close to acquiring? Maybe not, since Matthews is expensive, old, and mediocre.
Orioles Not Interested In Jose Guillen
Back on November 18th, ESPN’s Enrique Rojas said that the Royals and Orioles the leaders among eight clubs competing for the services of Jose Guillen. However, the Baltimore Sun’s Jeff Zrebiec said today that the O’s do not have interest in him.
It didn’t make much sense from the start. Andy MacPhail has already stated his lack of interest in free agents. Guillen would bring more steroid stigma to a franchise with plenty. And Guillen plays the same position as Nick Markakis.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Nathan, Garza, Bedard
Ken Rosenthal recently dished out a slew of fresh rumors for us to devour.
- Rosenthal still believes that if the Twins trade Johan Santana, they will also trade Joe Nathan in a separate deal. Back on November 11th, Rosenthal first suggested this might happen. About a week ago, Joe Christensen reported that the Twins exchanged contract proposals with Nathan. Nathan is in line to earn at least $15MM per season, if he wants full market value. Rosenthal suggests the Brewers, Indians, Tigers, Cubs, and Red Sox as possible fits for Nathan.
- The Angels may want to keep Gary Matthews Jr., given Vladimir Guerrero‘s declining defensive abilities. Also, Guerrero may soon get a contract extension in the $18MM per season range to put him in line with Torii Hunter. His contract runs through 2009.
- The Twins may be close to getting a center fielder, but it may not be Coco Crisp. Another team is chasing Crisp – perhaps the White Sox?
- Melky Cabrera could be dealt independent and regardless of a Johan Santana deal. The Braves may be interested; the Yanks would then move Johnny Damon back to center.
- Matt Garza or Boof Bonser may be moved for a bat. Probably not Delmon Young, but some young slugger. The Rays also want to find a young shortstop to compete with Reid Brignac.
- The Yanks don’t want to overpay for a free agent reliever – 3/12 seems their limit on the Riskes and Mahays of the world.
- Back at the GM meetings, the Mets inquired on Erik Bedard. The O’s are waiting to see what happens with Miguel Cabrera since they covet many of the prospects being discussed there.
Nady and McLouth For Headley?
CBS Sportsline’s Scott Miller reports that the Pirates are discussing sending Xavier Nady and Nate McLouth to the Padres for third baseman Chase Headley. Nady came up through the Padres’ system before being sent to the Mets for Mike Cameron in November of ’05.
If the Bucs and Neal Huntington actually have this opportunity, I think they should take it. By Kevin Goldstein’s count, Headley is the third-best third base prospect in the game (behind Evan Longoria and Andy LaRoche). The 23 year-old hit very well at Double A and should be big-league ready sometime in ’08.
Jake at Bucco Blog leans against such a trade, partially because the Pirates want to try Neil Walker at third base. Walker ranks fifth on Goldstein’s list. I say bring in the possible star-caliber talent and sort out the positions later. If the Pirates trade Jason Bay they’ll have an opening in left field anyway.
Nady is definitely someone the Bucs should be shopping. With four years of service time, his salary will be rising rapidly. He’s a solid if not spectacular player and should generate interest. McLouth had an intriguing last two months of ’07, and he deserves a full-time shot at center in 2008. But I’d rather have Headley than Nady and McLouth if I’m the Pirates.
D’Backs, Dodgers, Royals After Kuroda
UPDATE, 11-27-07 at 10pm: The D’Backs’ offer is rumored to be for three years and $27MM. The Royals were connected to Kuroda today also, but that rumor surfaced on November 8th. It was also revealed tonight that the Dodgers sent three people to Tokyo last week to talk to Kuroda, including Takashi Saito.
FROM 11-27-07 at 9am:
According to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic, the Diamondbacks made an offer to free agent Hiroki Kuroda ten days ago. Piecoro suggests Kuroda could receive $10MM annually for three or four years. A recent Japanese report indicated it might take four years, $45MM. The Phillies also have an offer out to Kuroda. Jim McLennan of AZ Snakepit has some additional info on the Japanese starter.
The Mariners are in the lead for Kuroda; they sent a contingent to Japan to speak with him. Interest is huge – we’ve got the Rangers, Dodgers, Cubs, Phillies, Tigers, Royals, Mets in the mix as well. The Cubs might be out now that they’ve officially moved Ryan Dempster to the rotation. The Phillies are going hard after Randy Wolf, but that might not prevent them from pursuing Kuroda. The Dodgers could be right behind the Mariners, according to the L.A. Daily News. They’ve scouted him quite a bit.
Back to the D’Backs – they’re considering a couple different routes to add a starter. They’d be in the mix for Joe Blanton, Dan Haren, Ervin Santana or Jeremy Bonderman if those young hurlers were made available. Carlos Gonzalez is said to be the main trade chip. They also might opt to offer incentive-free deals to injury risks like Matt Clement or Bartolo Colon.
Kosuke Fukudome Update
The Hanshin Tigers offered free agent outfielder Kosuke Fukudome roughly $18.5MM over four years. They’ve now withdrawn their offer, leaving the Yomiuri Giants as his only Japanese suitor. I’m assuming that means Fukudome’s former team, the Chunichi Dragons, is also out of the running. (By the way, the Hanshin Tigers have switched their attention to signing Lew Ford).
Fukudome should make at least $30MM over three years in the United States. The Rangers, Mets, Cubs, Giants, White Sox, and Padres may all have interest.
Heyman On Santana
SI.com’s Jon Heyman has the latest on the Johan Santana trade talks.
- The Twins want Melky Cabrera plus one of Chamberlain/Hughes/Kennedy from the Yankees. If the Yanks can surrender Kennedy rather than Hughes or Joba, they’ve done a nice job. Sounds like they would consider giving up Hughes though.
- The Twins want one of Clay Buchholz or Jon Lester plus Jacoby Ellsbury. Lester seems to be the only one of the three the Red Sox would part with, while they’d also be fine with sending Coco Crisp over.
- Heyman names the Mets, Dodgers, Angels, and Mariners as interested parties. First I’ve heard of the Ms or Halos being in the mix. Regarding the Dodgers, check out an interview with Ned Colletti. For what it’s worth, he doesn’t seem anxious to deal 3-5 kids for a guy like Santana or Miguel Cabrera.
Odds and Ends: Riske, Bedard, Wolf
And now for your daily jumble o’ rumors. More to come.
- The Twins cleared several spots on their 40-man roster…will they be active next week?
- The Yankees have "reached out" to free agent reliever David Riske. Troy Percival and Ron Mahay have also been linked to the Yanks this offseason.
- The Dodgers have an interest in Tony Clark, which has to bum out James Loney. Dylan Hernandez also notes that the Dodgers’ talks for Erik Bedard have stalled because the Orioles want to see what happens with Miguel Cabrera first. Ned Colletti expects Jeff Kent back, by the way.
- The Cards won’t be afraid to trade their young pitching (Anthony Reyes, Tyler Johnson, and Brad Thompson) for veteran pitching. They also still like Carlos Silva and Kyle Lohse, if the price is right.
- Bob Dutton reports that the Royals’ Yasuhiko Yabuta signing will be finalized at week’s end. Meanwhile nothing is imminent with Jose Guillen.
- Linked to this earlier in a D’Backs post…the Phils are in "serious talks" with Randy Wolf. As I said there, that shouldn’t stop them from going after a more reliable starter.
- Things are heating up between the Twins and Red Sox for Coco Crisp, but that’s all Gordon Edes has for us on the topic.
- As expected, the market for Mike Cameron has picked up now that Torii Hunter signed.