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Archives for December 2007

Padres Rumors: Nady, Barrett, Jenkins, Prior

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Padres rumor guru Tom Krasovic has a new article up at the San Diego Union-Tribune.

  • The Padres are open to trading 24 year-old catcher Nick Hundley.  Hundley did not crack Baseball America’s Padres top ten prospects for ’08 after hitting .247/.324/.475 at Double A.  Kevin Towers would’ve sent him to the Astros for Luke Scott, and still could send him to Pittsburgh for Xavier Nady.
  • Krasovic says that if the Padres are to deal Michael Barrett for a few prospects, it’s likely to happen soon.  The Pirates are said to be interested so maybe a deal involving Nady and some prospects could go down.
  • The Padres’ offer to Geoff Jenkins will likely to be inferior to that of the Phillies.  So Jenkins would have to be sold on the city.  He’s from California and went to USC, notes MLBTR reader Nathaniel S.
  • The Friars expressed interest in another USC alum, Mark Prior (as have 11 other teams).  The New York Daily News reiterated the Mets’ and Yankees’ interest in him this morning.

Mailbag: Bedard, Roberts, Konerko, Johan

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Feel free to submit a mailbag question at mlbtraderumors@gmail.com.

If you’re the Orioles, do you take Jones/Clement/Morrow or Bailey/Votto/Hamilton for Erik Bedard? – Mark

I would take the Seattle group.  Of all six players named, I think Jones is the most valuable and the closest to a sure thing.  The Mariners may be the favorite for Bedard, according to John Hickey.

Any shot the Yanks send some pitching to the White Sox to get Konerko to start at 1B?  Maybe dump guys like Igawa or Moose, plus a mid-level prospect?  What’s left on Konerko’s contract? – Jason

Konerko is owed $12MM annually through 2010.  He’s a bargain and an asset right now, not a salary dump.  The White Sox are built to contend in 2008 and have no viable replacement for Konerko, so I’d be very surprised to see him traded.

Is Brian Roberts still on the Cubs’ radar?  Or did they back off a bit after the Mitchell Report? – Tim

From what I can tell (and my best guess) is that the Mitchell Report did nothing to change the price to acquire Roberts or the Cubs’ interest.  The general consensus seems to be that Roberts got a raw deal being named in the report.  As an aside, I’m not sure why the Cubs view second base as a need.

Where do you see Johan Santana playing in 2008? – Billy

I think he’s wearing a Boston uniform in ’08.  A package of Ellsbury, Lowrie, Masterson, and a fourth player seems excellent to me for one year of Johan. 

What’s your opinion on the Jim Edmonds trade, and who do you think the Cardinals are going to go after with the extra money? – Alex

The move only freed up $6MM, but it definitely seemed financially motivated.  I think the cash goes toward a questionable free agent signing like Kyle Lohse.  Viva El Birdos has a new post up on this very topic, if you really want to get into it.  UPDATE: Just noticed via VEB that Edmonds actually requested the trade.

With the O’s looking to build their farm system and get younger, why haven’t we heard anything about them trading Melvin Mora? – Brad

We have, it’s just that he has little to no trade value.  At best they could get some salary relief.

If the Brewers chose to take offers on Ben Sheets, what sort of bounty could they expect in return?  Is his value higher than Haren and Bedard? – Andy

Sheets’ value is much less than Haren and Bedard.  For one thing you only get one year of him as opposed to three of Haren and two of Bedard.  He’s also more expensive in ’08 than those guys, and the biggest health risk of the three.  I think he could net two or three B type prospects, but the Brewers are best served hanging on to him.

We Mets fans are getting  very antsy…where is Omar Minaya and what is he thinking? – Steve

Steve is correct, as I have gotten many emails like this.  Minaya seems willing to sacrifice his best prospects, and maybe the price for Joe Blanton will be a bit more reasonable to him than Haren.  His best prospects are outfielders, though, and I wonder whether Oakland has enough of those.  I imagine Minaya is quietly kicking the tires on tons of starters.  My guess is that he winds up signing a guy like Silva or trading for one of the Brewers’ starters.

What do you think about Kenny Williams’ comments that fans know too much and GMs see fan reactions to trade rumors and get scared away from completing deals’?  Do you take that quote personally? – Kris

I don’t take it personally but definitely find it interesting.  That some GMs would give more weight to public perception than making the best deal is surprising.  If that’s really the case why don’t they just do a better job keeping things under wraps?  That wouldn’t be good for MLBTR but it seems possible. 

Reds Still Searching For A Starter

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John Fay writes of the Reds’ continued search for a starting pitcher.  That’s Wayne Krivsky’s focus; his main limitation is that Jay Bruce is untouchable.

The Reds couldn’t get Dan Haren because they wouldn’t give up young starter Johnny Cueto.  The focus remains on Erik Bedard; the Reds seem willing to offer Homer Bailey as a starting point.  Fay indicates that the Dodgers lead for Bedard, which is odd given their current six-deep rotation.

I have a feeling the hot stove is going to turn to Joe Blanton now.  The Reds may be in the thick of it, especially if they’d give up Bailey for him.  What do you think, would that be a wise move?

Mariners Targeting Blanton?

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So far this winter, we haven’t heard much about the Mariners getting involved for Joe Blanton.  However, Buster Olney says today that "it appears they are in the thick of the trade bidding" for the 27 year-old righty.  Blanton has a career ERA of 4.10 with a below-average K/9 of 5.24 and better-than-average BB/9 of 2.37.

Olney believes Adam Jones would be required for Seattle to acquire Blanton.  Along with Jones, Carlos Gonzalez, Daric Barton, Kurt Suzuki, and Travis Buck could be the makings of a solid, cheap offensive core for Oakland.  Olney believes the Mets and Reds could be other clubs eyeing Blanton.

The Mariners are still scrambling for two starters after missing out on Hiroki Kuroda.  According to Larry Stone, they’re still after Erik Bedard.  Carlos Silva and Kyle Lohse might also become targets if the bigger names fall through.

Phillies Interested In Cameron, Benson

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ESPN’s Jayson Stark wrote recently that the Phillies have expressed interest in center fielder Mike Cameron, now that the Padres are out of the mix.  Pat Gillick, who had Cameron back in Seattle, may have warmed to the idea of a two-year contract.  Back on December 6th Todd Zolecki said the Phils didn’t even want to go that far.  Stark says the White Sox and Rangers are other contenders for Cameron.

Also, both the Phillies and Padres remain on the trail of Geoff Jenkins, according to Zolecki.  His choices have been narrowed down to those two clubs since Friday.

The Phils will be among many teams watching Kris Benson throw tomorrow.  Benson is a popular bargain option; we’ve known that the Yankees, Cardinals, Royals, and Marlins may be watching on Monday as well.  Nick Cafardo says ten teams will observe Benson, adding the Rockies and Dodgers as new ones.  We’re still three short! 

The Phils also could give a minor-league deal to Sidney Ponson.  I’ll let you add your own punchline there. 

Pirates Pulled Out Of Bay To Cleveland Deal

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Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has some new information for us regarding an aborted Jason Bay deal.  Kovacevic says the Bucs made a decision through the entire chain of command that Franklin Gutierrez, Kelly Shoppach, Cliff Lee, and a minor league pitcher wasn’t enough for Bay and Ronny Paulino.

This situation has been confusing to follow from the start, with plenty of conflicting information floating about.  For instance, the Cleveland Plain Dealer’s Paul Hoynes said on Wednesday that Lee and Shoppach were never involved in these talks – the Bucs wanted three to five of the Indians’ top prospects.  Before that there was that whole business about whether talks had occurred at the Winter Meetings and been revived.

Dodgers Sign Kuroda

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UPDATE, 12-15-07 at 6:26pm: Crasnick has an update: it’s for $35-36MM over three years.  So he’s no bargain.  $35.3MM, to be exact.

UPDATE, 12-15-07 at 3:52pm: Ken Rosenthal checks in, noting that the Dodgers and other clubs were willing to go to four years on Kuroda but he preferred three.

UPDATE, 12-15-07 at 2:25pm: Tony Jackson of the L.A. Daily News reports that the Dodgers have signed Kuroda to a three-year deal worth between $36-40MM, pending a physical.  The Dodgers will go with Brad Penny, Chad Billingsley, Derek Lowe, Kuroda, and Jason Schmidt if he’s healthy.  Esteban Loaiza might have to move to the bullpen for now.

UPDATE, 12-15-07 at 11:32am: Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times says Ned Colletti had multiple conversations with Kuroda’s agent yesterday, and the two sides made "significant progress."  The Dodgers still appear to be offering three years and $30MM.  Hernandez adds that Arizona continued talking to Kuroda’s agent as well – the addition of Dan Haren apparently doesn’t diminish their interest.

FROM 12-14-07 at 9:50pm:

After all the ruckus about Hiroki Kuroda earlier this week, his agent said today that he still has not reached a decision.  The decision is "very close," and may come by the end of the weekend.  The Mariners, Dodgers, Diamondbacks, and Royals have offers out.

No word yet on whether the D’Backs will pull their offer after snagging Dan Haren.  I know they’re going with the three-year payroll plan, so they can probably still fit Kuroda in.

Tony Clark Won’t Be Back With D’Backs

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MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert talked to free agent first baseman Tony Clark recently, learning that the Diamondbacks have pulled their two-year offer to him off the table in light of their recent moves.

The acquisition of Chris Burke eliminated the bench spot that might’ve gone to Clark.  While a few teams mentioned the idea of a full-time role, Clark hasn’t received other concrete offers.

The Rangers have acquired Ben Broussard, so they’re probably out on Clark.  The Rays will get their leadership from Cliff Floyd.  The Twins probably don’t have room for Clark anymore.  The Dodgers may still have their eye on him, but beyond that his opportunities are shrinking fast.

Padres Acquire Jim Edmonds

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UPDATE, 12-15-07 at 3:18pm: Krasovic has learned that the Cards sent $2MM over to the Padres in the Edmonds deal.  Kevin Towers apparently pushed for more salary relief but settled there.

FROM 12-14-07 at 10:32pm:

According to Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune, the Padres have agreed to trade minor league third baseman David Freese to the Cardinals for Jim Edmonds.  The Cards will also send more than a million in cash to offset some Edmonds’ $8MM salary. 

Freese is mildly interesting for a prospect who’ll be 25 in April.  He’s yet to reach Double A but he did draw 69 walks this year.  Baseball America says there’s a chance he’s moved off third eventually (and notes that he’s done some catching in an instructional league).

Edmonds is an OK one-year play for the Padres.  He dipped to a .325 OBP and .403 SLG last year as a 37 year-old, and only got into 117 games due to back/leg/groin/hamstring/shoulder/toe injuries.  It still might make sense to let Scott Hairston handle the lefties.  Edmonds seemingly waived his no-trade clause to go to San Diego.   

Joe Strauss says the Cards will first consider internal options in center.  Top prospect Colby Rasmus is 21 and hasn’t seen Triple A yet.  Rick Ankiel is also a possibility.  Guys like Mike Cameron, Kenny Lofton, Corey Patterson, Nate McLouth, or Coco Crisp could be external options.

Viva El Birdos weighs in on this deal; check it out.

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