About Tim Dierkes
Tim Dierkes is the creator and owner of MLB Trade Rumors. Baseball’s premiere hot stove website receives hundreds of thousands of pageviews per day; read more about it at About MLB Trade Rumors.
Tim worked in the search engine marketing field before taking the website full-time in January of 2008. He currently lives in the Chicago suburbs. Tim is a lifelong Cubs fan, but swears it does not affect his objectivity on MLBTR.
Tim has done many radio interviews, including WGN Chicago, MLB Home Plate on XM, Baseball Prospectus Radio, WLW Cincinnati, and more. Follow Tim on Twitter here and contact him here.
Odds and Ends: Mantei, Foulke, Cairo, Guardado
Here are this morning’s random rumors and links.
- Matt Mantei will throw for the Tigers this week, and hopes to get a minor league deal. The 34 year-old hasn’t pitched in the bigs since 2005 for Boston.
- The D’Backs will watch Keith Foulke throw later this month as he attempts his comeback after a year off. The Indians and Red Sox are other teams Foulke may have special interest in.
- The Mariners signed Miguel Cairo in an effort to push incumbent second baseman Jose Lopez. Cairo has a career line of .267/.315/.367, while Lopez is at .261/.295/.379. Cairo is the lesser of two evils, I guess.
- Andy MacPhail is talking about (or at least posturing that) he’s going to start looking to fill holes via free agency since he’s not getting the right trade offers. I imagine Octavio Dotel is still on the Orioles’ radar to close.
- The Rangers were close to signing Eddie Guardado in December, and now they’re…still close.
Rumor Royalty: Susan Slusser (Athletics)
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 Oakland Athletics to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. Here’s a link to the newspaper’s A’s page. Slusser also contributes to their A’s Drumbeat blog. Slusser has been the A’s beat writer for the Chronicle for over a decade, bringing a refreshing sense of humor to what can be a grueling job. She has answered three questions for MLBTR, and they’ll be running over the next few days.
Other journalists on tap: La Velle E. Neal III (Twins) and Mike DiGiovanna (Angels).
Giants’ Talks With Feliz Stall
According to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle, talks between the Giants and free agent third baseman Pedro Feliz are stalling. The parties have now passed a Giants-imposed deadline, apparently because the Giants wouldn’t go three years on him. Even a two-year offer would be a mistake. Bringing him back in general seems an odd idea.
Schulman suggests that Scott Rolen or Joe Crede could now become trade targets for Brian Sabean. What is this team’s direction?
Hank: Yanks Would Not Exceed Five Years On Johan
Kat O’Brien spoke to Hank Steinbrenner yesterday, and learned that the Yankees’ take on Johan Santana has not changed. They’re still in on him. One new tidbit: Hank said he wouldn’t go past a five-year extension for Santana. Since he’s already signed through 2008, an extension would go through 2013.
Keep in mind that Santana might not waive his no-trade clause if not given the contract he seeks.
Brewers Rumors: DeJesus, Lofton
Tom Haudricourt recently spoke with Brewers’ GM Doug Melvin.
He learned that Melvin spoke with the Royals about David DeJesus at the Winter Meetings, but the Royals have backed off on those talks after signing Jose Guillen. Melvin doesn’t expect DeJesus to be traded. I talked to the Kansas City Star’s Bob Dutton recently about DeJesus’ trade value, if you’re interested.
Meanwhile the Brewers are still considering Kenny Lofton. They’re just debating whether they want to use him in left or move Bill Hall, neither of which appeals to them.
Reds Interested In Josh Fogg
According to John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer, the Reds are interested in free agent starter Josh Fogg.
The righty starter recently turned 31. As Fay notes, he made $3.625MM in 2007. He seems like he might seek three years and $21MM, just a guess. I don’t want to dog the guy but he is below average in most aspects of pitching – allows tons of hits and HRs, doesn’t strike people out. He’s a flyball pitcher too. He does have decent control, though. Not a great fit for the Reds, but it’s slim pickens out there.
Callis On Beane, Draft Order, Fukudome
Take a look at Jim Callis’ Ask BA piece for Baseball America today. This was an interesting mailbag for hot stove fans. Callis touches on:
- Why Billy Beane deserves, but has escaped blame for Oakland’s previously weak farm system
- The new draft order, with adjustments made for free agent signings (Mets and Twins now pick twice in the first round)
- A Kosuke Fukudome scouting report
- Why Edinson Volquez is a tease
Dutton On The Buckner/Callaspo Trade
Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star recently snagged our Rumor Royalty honor for the Royals. It’s a way to acknowledge the best beat writer for each team, the person who brings us the most hot stove material. I do a Q&A with each writer, if they’re willing. Click here and scroll to see all the entries in the Rumor Royalty series.
MLBTR: Do you think swapping a solid-looking starter in Billy Buckner for a young second baseman in Alberto Callaspo was a wise move by Dayton Moore?
Dutton: I think it was a reasonable gamble — but it was a gamble, no question about it. Callaspo’s off-field problems are well-documented, but he’ll get a new slate in Kansas City.
The Royals’ reasoning was this: They have no long-term replacement for second baseman Mark Grudzielanek, who turns 38 at the end of June. Esteban German is a top utilityman but his production tends to fall off when given regular duty. Callaspo was a top prospect throughout his minor-league career.
The Royals also believe Buckner tops out as a No. 4 starter. I’ve got to say that I didn’t see much in his limited big-league time, but I mean that in both ways. His stuff didn’t particularly impress me, but I really didn’t see him pitch a lot. Some folks I respect think he’s got a real chance.
From Arizona’s view, put Buckner on a young, talented team in a rotation that includes Webb, Haren and, probably, Johnson, and there’s a chance he really blossoms. Also, the D-Backs don’t need Callaspo even if he wasn’t a headache.
The question for the Royals, however, is whether it’s worth trading a young, back-of-the-rotation starter for a young second baseman with high-end potential. If you need a second baseman, I think it’s a no-brainer — until you factor in that the second baseman brings some baggage. That baggage makes it a gamble.
Pirates Interested In Brad Thompson?
Scott Wuerz of the Belleville News-Democrat suggests that Cardinals pitcher Brad Thompson is a rumored target for the Pirates. He could be part of a larger package, where players such as Jack Wilson, Matt Morris, and/or Jason Bay could be involved.
Thompson turns 26 soon. The Cardinals tried him as a starter last year, and he posted a 4.66 ERA in that role. He was at 4.91 in relief, but for his career he’s been better coming out of the pen. Thompson lost his groundball mojo a bit in ’07, and as a result his HR rate rose dramatically.
At one point, the Cards and Bucs discussed a Wilson-for-Chris Duncan deal. About a month ago Dejan Kovacevic said he expected Wilson to stay put this winter. Morris was a Cardinals’ target at various times in ’07. There hasn’t been much buzz about the Pirates trading Bay to St. Louis.