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Archives for May 2008

No Santana, No Regrets for Red Sox

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Earlier this morning, MLBTR noted how Ken Rosenthal doesn’t think the Yankees have regrets over not landing Johan Santana despite their would-have-been trade pieces now struggling or injured.  Today’s Boston Globe discusses the Red Sox similar feelings.

Chad Finn not only brings us an amusing baseball card of a young Lou Pineilla, but also shares his relief that Boston did not give up Jacoby Ellsbury, Jon Lester, Justin Masterson, and/or Jed Lowrie for Johan (consequently setting the record for a trade involving the most players with first names beginning with the letter "J").

Referencing Buster Olney’s blog, Finn concedes to Olney that this years version of Santana is still better than 95% of the starters in the bigs.  Still, he harkens back to this piece from November in which he suggested Santana was beginning to decline and should be dealt for a monstrous booty (as he was) and feels he may have been right with recent grumblings from scouts as reported by Olney:

"Sources say his shoulder showed some wear and tear, which is not unusual for a pitcher of Santana’s age. This is not to say Santana is not an effective pitcher now, but all of this information makes you wonder how effective he will remain during the course of his multiyear deal... Said an AL scout who has seen Santana this month: ’His stuff isn’t even close to what it was [with the Twins].’"

No hot stove news here, but it’s still a much-discussed topic in rumorland.  And as it stands, it seems all three teams (Mets included) have, so far, made good in this situation.  In his NL conquest Santana, known for stronger second halves, has a 3.36 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, yet a 7.8 K/9 down from a career 9.4.

By Nat Boyle

Mark Ellis: Stay Or Leave?

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Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reiterates Mark Ellis’ desire to stay with the A’s beyond 2008 but notes, "Testing free-agent waters might be extremely lucrative for Ellis, who is an elite defensive player."

Tim recently sifted through the 2B market and thinks it would take something substantial to acquire Ellis. I don’t see the A’s, who are 27-23, making any sudden moves – at least not with lower profile quantities like Ellis.  Come the off-season Mark Ellis, who turns 31 next week, may be torn between signing for a lot less to stay or following Orlando Hudson who could nab more than 4 years/$30MM, if not extended by Arizona.  These guys are comparable talent-wise – boasting elite defense (edge to Hudson) and decent offense – and if either stays with their team the other could reap the rewards in free agency.

By Nat Boyle

Weaver Staying? Turnbow Not Going Anywhere.

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Tom Haudricout of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports Jeff Weaver has a 6.52 ERA in 29 innings in Triple-A Nashville and can ask for his release next Sunday if he doesn’t see an opportunity with the Brewers as realistic.  Weaver had no spring training, so he’s still in rough form.  Whether or not that form improves has yet to be determined.  The Brewers currently have two struggling starters in Dave Bush and Seth McClung who just replaced Carlos Villanueva in the rotation.

In that same piece, we find that Derrick Turnbow has "suffered a near-total command meltdown" in Nashville.  In 6 outings, he has pitched 4 1/3 innings, allowed five hits, seven earned runs, and a jaw-dropping 15 walks!  Still, there’s no plans for his release. Writes Haudricourt,

"’As long as we’re paying him what we’re paying him, there’s no sense in doing that,’ [Brewers GM Doug] Melvin said. "It’s not like he’s taking somebody’s job.’" 

Turnbow is owed $3.2MM.

By Nat Boyle

Rosenthal’s Latest: Hunter, Santana, Quentin

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It’s Sunday again, so we’ve got some tidbits from Ken Rosenthal’s Full Count video:

  • Torii Hunter was courted by the White Sox and Rangers before signing with the Angels this past offseason; however, according to Hunter, he had a meeting scheduled with the Dodgers to discuss taking the spot that Andruw Jones would come to occupy. The Angels signed him, preventing the meeting.
  • As we enter June, the sky is falling in Seattle…
  • Rosenthal doesn’t think there’s a lot of regret in the Yankee organization for not acquiring Johan Santana.  One executive notes Santana’s throwing with increased effort this season yet without increased results.
  • In this piece, Rosenthal commends the White Sox for their deal for Carlos Quentin. Writes Rosenthal, "’I give Kenny credit — he was on Quentin for a while,’ Diamondbacks general manager Josh Byrnes said. ’He believed that the same Carlos Quentin would return now that his shoulder is fixed.’"

By Nat Boyle

Cleveland GM Shapiro Ready To Talk Trades

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The Cleveland Plain Dealer’s Joe Maxse writes that Indians GM Mark Shapiro will soon be talking to every team in an effort to upgrade his roster. The Tribe have gotten off to a surprisingly slow start in April and May and currently have a 22-26 record, 4 1/2 games behind the first-place Chicago White Sox.

While Shapiro concedes that major trades don’t usually occur so early in the season, he’s already apparently ready to consider all options:

"We will get on the phone with every team in the league, although sometimes a trade of magnitude comes down the road. We will explore everything at this point."

The question then becomes "What could Shapiro do". The Indians’ pitching staff has been fantastic in 2008, only allowing roughly 3.8 runs per game. But the offense has been lacking, scoring 4.1 per game.  Thus far, Grady Sizemore has been the only starter pulling his weight offensively. But does the Cleveland lineup even have any movable parts right now?

Posted by Paul Moro

Esteban Loaiza DFA’d – Kershaw Called Up

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It’s a DFA kind of day, I suppose. To make room for the much-anticipated call-up of 20-year old lefty Clayton Kershaw, the Los Angeles Dodgers designated Esteban Loaiza for assignment today. The team now has ten days to either trade him or release him unless Loaiza accepts a demotion to AAA Las Vegas.

In his final year of a three-year deal worth over $21MM, Loaiza is guaranteed at least $7MM in 2008, plus has a $375K buyout on a 2009 option. Picked up by the Dodgers after he was waived by Oakland back in August, Loaiza’s struggles in the Bay Area followed him down to LA, where he compiled a 6.94 ERA in twelve appearances. The 36-year old righty has been on the DL since early May due to a shoulder problem.

Posted by Paul Moro

Jorge Sosa Officially Released

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Designated for assignment by the New York Mets back on May 13th, Jorge Sosa was officially released yesterday (bottom of the page) after the team was unable to find any takers on the trade market. Once he was DFA’d, it was a given that he and his $2MM salary would at least clear waivers. Sosa ended up declining an assignment to AAA New Orleans and is now a free agent.

Since joining the Mets prior to the 2007 season, Sosa was primarily used as the longman out of the bullpen, during which time he compiled a 4.89 ERA. But a rough start to 2008 (7.06 ERA) was compounded by a logjam of relievers in the New York bullpen, and the team was unable to justify keeping him on the roster.

Paul Moro writes for UmpBump.com and can be reached here.

Odds And Ends: Ramirez, Tavarez, Brewslow, Pena

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Thankfully, the calendar will soon flip to June, and trade rumors will start to heat up. To tide you over until then, here are a few notes from around the league.

  • Sean McAdam wonders if Manny Ramirez’s current slump will affect the team’s decision to exercise his $20MM option for 2009. Manny sounded rather confident last month that the team would pick it up. And while it’s nearly a given that he’ll recover from this month, the Red Sox could read it as a sign of decline. Still, the chances of the option being picked up are still high.
  • A few days after accepting an assignment to AAA Pawtucket, Julian Tavarez has instead opted for free agency.
  • Couple of transaction notes. Braves C Brayan Pena has been activated from the DL, and immediately designated for assignment. Indians reliever Craig Breslow was also DFA.

Posted by Joe Pawlikowski, who writes for River Ave. Blues, a Yankees blog, and can be reached here.

Indy Leaguer Swapped For 10 Bats

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Okay, so this has nothing to do with the major league trade market, but it’s a slow morning, and it’s kind of entertaining. John Odom was the 44th round pick of the San Francisco Giants in 2003. After three unimpressive seasons — which seem to involve some injury — he was released this spring. He latched on with the Calgary Vipers, and independent league team. And then he was traded to the Laredo Broncos for 10 Prairie Sticks Maple Bats.

The story actually isn’t that straight foward, though. Canada wouldn’t let him into the country because of a criminal record. He was in a fight as a 17-year-old, and thought the matter was expunged. So instead of continuing to work to get Odom across the border, the Vipers shipped him to Laredo

The real sting is that the original deal involved "Laredo’s best hitter," but the hitter refused to move to Canada. Things run a bit differently in the independent leagues. And so the bats deal was concocted. Still, it would have been much more entertaining if a bag of balls had been at stake.

Posted by Joe Pawlikowski, who writes for River Ave. Blues, a Yankees blog, and can be reached here.

What We Cover

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Since I started this website in November of 2005, I’ve pretty much just covered the topics I wanted to.  Here’s where we stand currently.

Topics MLBTR Covers

  • Trade rumors and completed deals
  • Free agent rumors and signings
  • GM hirings/firings
  • Amateur draft (trying this out for the first time, and liking it)

Topics MLBTR Does Not Cover

  • Manager hirings/firings (just never interested me)
  • Callups and demotions, unless they have direct hot stove implications
  • Injuries, unless they have direct hot stove implications
  • Steroids
  • Miscellaneous baseball news (for example stadiums, uniforms, no-hitters, milestones, off the field incidents)

I wouldn’t say I’ve never dabbled in these topics, but for the most part I avoid them.  My take is that people want MLBTR to aggregate articles in a specific niche, and stick to what we do best.  I made the exception for the June draft because it does interest me and readers wanted it.

What do you think, should we change any aspect of our coverage?

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

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