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Archives for December 2007

Chronicle Rumors: Haren, Blanton, Lincecum

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Susan Slusser and John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle have an extensive collection of A’s and Giants rumors from Monday’s Winter Meetings mayhem.

  • The asking price for Dan Haren is said to be massive, is in 3-4 blue chippers.  The Tigers might even be willing to part with both Andrew Miller and Cameron Maybin for him – wow.  The D’Backs are a bit more gunshy about their top prospects, though most believe Carlos Gonzalez to be available.  I imagine Justin Upton is off limits.
  • The Dodgers are going the hardest after Joe Blanton, with the Mets trailing. 
  • Huston Street is likely to stay put and may even talk extension with the A’s.
  • The authors don’t expect Brian Sabean to get the Tim Lincecum offer he needs to pull the trigger.  But they suggest Sabean’s "interesting" offer could involve Jay Bruce, Edwin Encarnacion, or Alex Rios.

Odds and Ends: Tavarez, Lieber, Stewart

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Another collection…

Jays In On Lincecum, Bedard, Bay

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UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 12:34am: Blair has updated his article to reflect the Jays’ interest in Cain and Lincecum.  He says the Giants spent much of the day watching tape of the two, trying to decide which they prefer.  Putting two and two together, maybe the "interesting offer" Brian Sabean spoke of today was Alex Rios?

FROM 12-3-07 at 8:46pm:

The Globe and Mail’s Jeff Blair has several new rumors in his column tonight.

  • The Jays’ President, Paul Godfrey, is all about bringing in a big-name Canadian player.  Blair rattles off Jason Bay, Erik Bedard, Ryan Dempster, Rich Harden, and Eric Gagne as available Canada natives.  Of course, not all of those guys would be draws.
  • The Jays are indeed in on Bedard, which is a surprise since starting pitching is a strength of theirs.  This idea has been around since at least May though.  Blair talked to one exec who said the Jays are planning to get "aggressive and creative."  It had been previously thought the Jays would have a low-key winter.
  • Blair talks of somehow sending A.J. Burnett to Baltimore in a Bedard deal, which makes little sense for the O’s even if Burnett would like to play there.  In my estimation the O’s could ask for Alex Rios or Dustin McGowan for Bedard.  The Jays could try to push Adam Lind and Shaun Marcum instead but I don’t see that getting it done.  I could see the O’s asking about Travis Snider as well.
  • Blair says the Jays could get Matt Cain or Tim Lincecum "right away" if they’d offer Rios to the Giants.  Blair even says an expanded deal could send Lind and/or Troy Glaus over to San Francisco as well.  Hmmm.
  • Jordan Bastian of MLB.com isn’t hearing any of this stuff – but he did connect the Jays to…Paul Bako.  Blair and Bastian present two very different stories around the same ballclub.

Royals Sign Jose Guillen

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UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 12:31am: After some twists and turns, the Royals got their man on a three-year, $36MM deal.

UPDATE, 12-3-07 at 11:52pm: Not so fast, says the KC Star’s Bob Dutton.  Dutton says talks with Guillen are currently stalled – the Royals don’t want to go past two years.  Instead they’ve been in close contact with Andruw Jones.  They don’t want to exceed two years on him either but will pay extra for the shorter term.  Their offer might not be much more than two years, $32MM though.

Even crazier: if the Royals miss out on Hiroki Kuroda, they could sign Jones and Guillen.

UPDATE, 12-3-07 at 10:50pm: Ken Rosenthal reports that the Royals and Guillen are closing in on a deal.  So Moore must have just been posturing or speaking out frustration tonight.  Or, his comments were a negotiation tactic that worked.  The deal is said to be a three-year pact worth $11-12MM per year.

FROM 12-3-07 at 9:19pm:

MLB.com reports are getting filed left and right.  The latest is Dick Kaegel, who’s saying the Royals have cooled on Jose Guillen.  Dayton Moore made a point to repeat that he’s getting more interested in other opportunities for right-handed power.  And to think, the Royals were dead-set on Guillen as recently as this morning.  Wow, was that this morning?

Translation of Moore’s comments: he is not happy with Guillen.  Perhaps the Royals have an offer out and haven’t gotten an answer.  Guillen might be trying to play the field but there aren’t many other suitors for him currently.

Cubs Looking At Hamilton, McLouth

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The Chicago Tribune’s Paul Sullivan has a new column up discussing a couple of outfielders in the Cubs’ sights aside from Kosuke Fukudome.  Apparently they’re after someone who can handle center field in case Felix Pie falters.

  • Those Josh Hamilton rumors are real – and the Reds are asking for Sean Marshall.  I think the Cubs would pull the trigger on that one.  Jerry Crasnick first suggested this match about five hours ago.  He thought Marshall wouldn’t be enough and I agreed.  Guess we’ll see.  Sullivan notes that Lou Piniella had some contact with Hamilton back when he managed the Devil Rays.
  • The Cubs are also in talks regarding Nate McLouth.  Sullivan thinks McLouth would come cheap – for a reliever like Carmen Pignatiello, Neal Cotts, or Will Ohman.  Damn, that’s cheap.  We learned today that the Giants, Padres, and Marlins like McLouth; Sullivan adds the Braves to the mix as well.

Tigers Willing To Trade Miller In Haren Deal?

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A short note from Yahoo’s Tim Brown: the Tigers were apparently willing to put stud starter Andrew Miller in a deal for Dan Haren.  It’s interesting to hear that the Tigers inquired on Haren.  You have to figure Miller or Cameron Maybin would be a requirement.

Meanwhile Brown reiterates that the D’Backs checked in on both Haren and Joe Blanton.  Arizona may have also checked in on Ian Snell, if you believe lobby fodder.

Dodgers Inquire On Sheets?

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UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 11:38pm: Baker corrects himself – the Mariners talked to the Brewers, but not about Sheets.

UPDATE, 12-3-07 at 9:34pm: Here’s the deal.  Geoff Baker says the West Coast team inquiring on Sheets was the Mariners.  Tom Haudricourt seems positive it was the Dodgers though.  No offer was made; it was just an inquiry.  The Dodgers seemingly don’t need more injury risk though.

UPDATE, 12-3-07 at 6:35pm: Tom Haudricourt spoke to Doug Melvin and learned that he has not spoken to any East Coast team about Sheets.  However Haudricourt believes Melvin may have spoken to the Mariners about him.

FROM 12-3-07 at 12:07am:

Interesting stuff from Sean McAdam of The Providence Journal.  McAdam says the Red Sox are eyeing Dan Haren and Ben Sheets as alternatives to Johan Santana.

Haren, we knew about.  Sheets is an intriguing idea though.  Maybe the buzz on him will pick up this week.  Sheets will earn $11MM in 2008, tops among Brewers (Jeff Suppan’s deal gets scary in ’09).  Given Sheets’ injury history and expiring contract, the price for him might be fairly reasonable (say, A.J. Burnett territory).  Sheets had a full no-trade clause for ’07 and may only be traded to eight selected clubs in ’08.

Tyler Clippard To Nationals For Albaladejo

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A source at the Meetings tells me the Yanks are sending Tyler Clippard over to the Nats in a trade for minor league reliever Jonathan Albaladejo.  Ah here we go, the Washington Post now has this one.

Clippard, a righthanded starter, turns 23 in February.  He’s said to be a "finesse righty with a plus curve."  A move to the NL and a rotation spot means things are looking up for him.

Albaladejo is a 25 year-old who did a nice job in relief at Triple A and with Washington last year.  The Nats had snagged him as a minor league free agent. 

You’ve got to like this move for the Nats, even if it seems small.

Phillies Rumors: Wolf, Feliz, Jenkins

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MLB.com’s Ken Mandel has a Phillies update for us tonight.

  • Pat Gillick’s honesty is refreshing and funny.  On Randy Wolf: "He’s the only guy who’s voiced some concern, but I haven’t heard anyone else voice concern about the ballpark.  He’s always voiced concern. I talked to him last year and talked to him this year, and he always makes some remarks about the park which are quite unfounded."
  • Gillick also weighed in on Kyle Lohse and Carlos Silva, noting their agents want to keep as many clubs involved as possible.  The Phillies expect to sign neither.
  • It’s a bottom priority, but the Phils are considering Pedro Feliz as a third base option.
  • Trot Nixon isn’t on the Phils’ list of outfield targets.  As you know, Geoff Jenkins is under consideration.

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