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Archives for January 2008

Reds Have Preliminary Discussions About Blanton

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We’ve heard the rumblings for some time.  Now there’s word from the Cincinnati Enquirer’s John Fay that the Reds have "had some preliminary discussions with Oakland about right-hander Joe Blanton."  The Reds also made some kind of offer for Erik Bedard, but Fay admits that neither trade is likely to occur.  That’s because the Reds won’t trade Jay Bruce and only want to part with one of Homer Bailey, Johnny Cueto, and Joey Votto (though all three are very good prospects).  Note that Billy Beane reportedly wanted Cueto in a Dan Haren deal.

Instead, the Reds are entertaining all sorts of second tier free agents.  Wayne Krivsky runs a tight ship, so it’s tough to narrow down who the Reds have actually talked to.  Fay implies that Livan Hernandez or Jon Lieber could be possibilities.  We do know from previous reports that the Reds have shown interest in Lieber, Runelvys Hernandez, Brett Tomko, Josh Fogg, and David Wells. 

Neal On Johan Santana Talks

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I recently named La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune as Rumor Royalty for the Twins.  He answered a few questions for MLBTR, so let’s kick it off.

MLBTR: Are you sick of the Johan Santana saga yet?  These talks have been dragging for a month after it seemed like something would get done at the Winter Meetings.  Who will cave in – the Twins, Yankees, Mets, or Red Sox?

Neal: Can’t wait for this to end! I think the Twins have sent out signals in recent weeks that they have lowered their demands some in order to get something done. I initially felt that the Red Sox had the best chance to land Santana because I kept hearing how well talks were going. Then I thought the Yankees would step up and make the deal because they have a greater need for a front line starter than Boston. But the Mets have a greater need than the Yankees, and as soon as the Twins indicated that they would accept a deal with the Mets without Jose Reyes being involved the Mets’ chances shot upward.

I don’t blame a team for holding out to get what they want, but Santana will require a hefty contract extension wherever he winds up. A team won’t empty its roster and take on salary. So get what you can and move on.

Rumor Royalty: La Velle E. Neal III (Twins)

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As originally described here, Rumor Royalty is an MLBTR series where I name the one journalist for each team who has done the most for us hot stove junkies.  If the writer is up for it, I ask that person questions for publication on the site.  You can see all of the entries in the series here.

Today we present the honor for the Twins to La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.  You may also know him by the nickname LEN3, which I first saw on Aaron Gleeman’s site.  In addition to filing stories as the Twins’ beat writer, La Velle keeps a blog for the paper.  This has become an invaluable resource, especially for Johan updates.  La Velle kindly answered three Twins questions for MLBTR, which will be appear over the next few days.

Odds and Ends: Adam Jones, Weaver, Jocketty

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You know how it works…random rumors and links to clear out my inbox.

Kotsay Traded To Braves For Devine

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UPDATE, 1-12-08 at 5:01pm: According to ESPN’s Buster Olney, an agreement is in place for the A’s to send Kotsay to the Braves for reliever Joey Devine.  The A’s will also eat $5.325MM of Kotsay’s ’08 salary, leaving the Braves on the hook for only $2MM.  Essentially Billy Beane bought Devine.

UPDATE, 1-11-08 at 3:54pm: MLB.com’s Mychael Urban has a source who believes the Braves would not pay more than $3MM of Kotsay’s $8MM salary.

FROM 1-11-08 at 3:09pm:

David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution just posted his upcoming story in the comments of his blog.  He says Billy Beane called Mark Kotsay this morning, informing him that he is discussing a trade with Atlanta.  The Braves would get salary relief and give up a mid-level prospect, as expected.

Olney’s Latest: Hall, Cameron, Benson

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Buster Olney’s ESPN blog is always a good read.  A few nuggets from today’s posting:

  • Olney wonders whether the Brewers and Dodgers will revisit talks about Bill Hall.  There seems to be this general vibe that Hall is upset about moving positions again, even though he hasn’t said anything publicly.  Plus, he’d have to move back to third as a Dodger anyway.
  • According to Olney: "The Yankees were never seriously engaged in talks to sign Mike Cameron."  However you can’t really say Cameron’s agent used the Yankees to pump up Cameron’s price, since he signed for just one year and $6.2MM.
  • The Phils may send people to watch Kris Benson throw next week.  I believe this would be the second time they’ve observed him, so maybe it’s getting serious.

Brian Roberts Deal Dead?

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A trusted emailer wrote in to tell me about a report today from Bruce Levine of ESPN Radio 1000.  According to Levine, Brian Roberts is no longer available.  The Orioles were apparently asking for Tyler Colvin or Felix Pie plus multiple pitchers, and the Cubs wouldn’t do it.

Levine says the Cubs may turn their attention to the Rangers’ Marlon Byrd or free agent Jon Lieber.

Astros Close On Runelvys Hernandez

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Brian McTaggart of the Houston Chronicle reports that the Astros are close to a one-year deal with starter Runelvys Hernandez.  Hernandez will turn 30 in April.  He spent 2007 in Triple A with the Pirates, Yankees, and Red Sox organizations.

None of this seems terribly interesting, but the article also says Hernandez got on a strict training regimen.  Now that he’s in shape, he’s reportedly hitting 97 on the gun (sounds like agent-speak to me).  I’ll believe it when I see it.  But Hernandez chose the right team in the Astros, as they’re hurting for starting pitching.  It’s not a done deal yet; he’s having some last minute discussions with other clubs.  McTaggart says the Rangers, Pirates, Phillies, and Reds have all shown interest. 

Slusser On The Dan Haren Trade

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Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle was recently named Rumor Royalty for the A’s.  She answered a few questions for MLBTR for the series.

MLBTR: Some have called Billy Beane’s return on Dan Haren "quantity over quality."  Do you agree?  What is your opinion on the Haren haul?

Slusser: My understanding is that the A’s felt that Arizona might be the best match all along for Haren and that they received pretty much exactly what they asked for, so clearly these are prospects the A’s valued highly, Carlos Gonzalez and Brett Anderson in particular. Maybe there’s some belief the A’s should have gotten one of the Diamondbacks’ young big-leaguers, but that was never on the table. I’m not sure they would have done better elsewhere, and they got some quality and certainly quantity – which isn’t a bad thing. Mark Ellis was a throw-in in the Damon deal, essentially; no one really noticed him at the time. He turned out to be the most valuable piece, long-term.

Emil Brown Signs With A’s

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The A’s signed 33 year-old outfielder Emil Brown to a one-year deal today.  Terms are not yet known; Brown made $3.45MM in 2007.

Mychael Urban’s sources say the Brown signing is linked to Oakland’s likely Mark Kotsay trade, a deal that might be finalized on Monday.

Brown had a dreadful ’07, slumping to .257/.300/.347 in 113 games.  Before that, though, he posted a respectable .800+ OPS in 2005-06.  The KC Star recently summed up Brown’s Royals career, including the pellet gun incident.

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