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Archives for July 2008

Kovacevic’s Latest: Pirates, Bay, Grabow

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Dejan Kovacevic brings us the state of the Pirates in a nice piece in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette:

  • As we know, the Pirates don’t want to trade Jason Bay. Kovacevic writes, "’We’ll need to be blown away," one team source said, referring to Bay."  The Braves, Mets, Phillies, and A’s are the latest to inquire.
  • If the Pirates don’t make any more deals, they will of course revisit the possibility in the offseason. Still, any of Bay, Jack Wilson, or John Grabow could remain long-term if the Pirates aren’t offered enough any time between now and next season, or if the Pirates don’t appear to be "legitimately competitive" in the first half next year.
  • The Xavier Nady/Damaso Marte deal was initially reported to revolve around Phil Coke and George Kontos; however, one of those was diagnosed with a damaged labrum, seemingly Coke.
  • Ross Ohlendorf is expected to join the Bucs rotation after three or four starts in Triple-A.
  • A fun fact from Kovacevic: "If the Pirates could have traded Nady and Marte straight up for Jose Tabata last winter, Huntington said, ’We would have done it in a heartbeat.’"

Yankees Eyeing Bannister?

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Should the Jarrod Washburn deal fall apart, the Yankees are exploring an alternative in Brian Bannister for Melky Cabrera.  Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star writes,

"Nothing appears imminent, but the framework for a deal seems to exist because New York has already shown a willingness to part with [Melky] Cabrera. Add this: The Royals nearly obtained Cabrera in a trade-deadline swap two years ago for veteran outfielder Reggie Sanders before Sanders suffered an injury."

In this scenario, David Dejesus moves to left to make room for Cabrera in center.  And Mark Teahen would get back to his natural position at first base.  Cabrera is making $461,200, only $40,200 more than Bannister, and both are set to reach arbitration after this season.

The Yanks prefer Washburn but are in negotiations after the Mariners rejected an offer of Cabrera and Kei Igawa for the lefty veteran.  Seattle might want Brett Gardner as well as for the Yankees to take on all of Washburn’s $14MM contract through next year.

Odds & Ends: Astros, Tigers, Rays

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Some Odds & Ends to reinforce the adage that you can never have enough pitching:

  • Astros will be scouting Freddy Garcia when he throws in Miami on August 5th.  Garcia could become one of the bigger names after the deadline.
  • The Rays continue to look at Brian Fuentes, and feel that pitching may be more of a need than hitting, according to Marc Topkin.  However David Price, Wade Davis, Jeremy Hellickson, and Reid Brignac remain untouchable.  Price could just be the answer.
  • In Detroit, Joel Zumaya has not been the answer to Todd Jones’ struggles of late.  As John Paul Morosi puts it, "Fernando Rodney has been the Tigers’ most consistent reliever lately. But that could be good news or bad news, depending on your perspective."  The Tigers have been busy at the deadline for the past two years, trading Craig Monroe to the Cubs last year and acquiring Sean Casey the year before.

Cubs, Hendry Standing Pat

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According to Dave van Dyck of the Chicago Sports Tribune, Jim Hendry is comfortable with how the Cubs look going forward.

"’You have to stay on top of it,’ Hendry said. ’We got an extra bullpen guy in the trade with Oakland in Chad Gaudin. What you obviously need is for [Kerry Wood] to come back healthy and then everything else usually falls in line. And Samardzija is going to give us a lift.’"

Wood is aiming for Tuesday to be his return date.  Along with Gaudin and Sean Marshall in the bullpen, the emergence of Jeff Samardzija may be all they need.  Says Lou Pineilla, "If he continues to throw the ball [well], it’s almost like trading for a reliever."

On offense, Hendry feels Alfonso Soriano’s bat is only going to get hotter.  He conclusively adds,

"’We aren’t hitting since the break like we want to, but we aren’t going to go out and replace our star players because they’re having a bad week,’ Hendry said. ’And the other players, let’s give them their due, the Ryan Theriots, Mike Fontenots, Reed Johnsons and Henry Blancos. Those people are doing more than their fair share. You don’t upgrade from that.’"

Mets Focus On Raul Ibanez

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Adam Rubin of the New York Daily News brings us insight on the Mets’ interest in acquiring an outfielder, namely Raul Ibanez, before the deadline:

"The Mets scratched a second name off their list of four primary trade targets when Cleveland dealt Casey Blake to the Dodgers yesterday, one day after Xavier Nady landed with the Yankees. Seattle’s Raul Ibanez appears the most logical remaining target, since Pittsburgh seems less inclined to trade Jason Bay after having dealt Nady."

The price tag for Ibanez may be too high for the Mets, but with the Nady and Blake deals being within reason the cost of Ibanez should come down to earth.

Mark Teixeira Roundup

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More on the Mark Teixeira front:  Carroll Rogers of the Atlanta Journal Constitution names four guys the Braves have been reportedly targeting in deals for Teixeira.  Nobody new appears, but it’s good fodder for conversation:

Kevin Youkilis: Ortiz is healthy and Youkilis has been arguably the Red Sox MVP so far this season, not far off from Teixeira in production. Both sides deny it. Mixed reviews from MLBTR readers. Can we put this to rest?

James Loney: Keith Law reported yesterday on the Dodgers as a good fit with the caveat that Loney would have to either be included in the deal or default to the bench. If included, Loney would be a good a catch for the Braves. At age 24, he’s getting paid $411,000 to hit .301 and drive in a team-high 57 RBI. He won’t hit free agency until 2013. Far be it from me to predict what the Dodgers will do, but Loney has to be at least somewhat untouchable.

Conor Jackson:  These rumors have been dispelled for now.

Casey Kotchman: Maybe the only intriguing possibility on this list, Kotchman is 25 and not eligible for free agency until 2012. The Angels dangled him and Joe Saunders in a deal for Teixeira before the Braves one-upped them.  The Halos’ offense has picked it up this month and Scioscia’s saying they don’t need help. Still, with the addition of Teixeira, the Angels would be scary.

Teixeira To D’Backs Unfounded

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"A D-Backs executive called the speculation ’rumors without any real basis.’ An attempt to obtain Teixeira, who is a free agent after 2008, would fly in the face of the D-Backs way of operating, which is to build for the future on a conservative, mid-market budget."

Conor Jackson and Chad Tracy were two names mentioned as pieces, but with Teixeira set to make upwards of $20MM per year next season and CoJack not even in arbitration yet, it never made a whole lot of sense.  Chad Tracy and prospects Jarrod Parker and Dallas Buck were suggested to be in consideration by Peter Gammons but apparently that is a non-story.

From Jack Magruder of the East Valley Tribune, there appears to be no substance to Arizona’s interest in Mark Teixeira as reported by Ken Rosenthal yesterday.

Odds And Ends: Gammons, Stark, Giles, Royals

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And still more minor notes from around the MLBiverse…

First from Peter Gammons:

  • Gammons says that the Marlins will not part with Anibal Sanchez for Brian Fuentes and will instead go after Arthur Rhodes.
  • The Cardinals now appear to be the favorite for Fuentes.
  • No teams seem willing to pay the asking price for Jason Bay.
  • The Indians will pay the remainder of Casey Blake’s $2MM salary.

Next from Jayson Stark:

  • The Mets are also showing interest in Randy Winn, but one official from another club feels Winn is just a backup plan.

A couple of random notes:

  • Bud Black says Brian Giles does not want to be traded and prefers to stay with the Padres.
  • Kevin Murphy notes that the Royals haven’t fared too well in the trade market the last few years.

Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.

Odds And Ends: White Sox, Bonds, Mariners, Orioles, Rangers

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A few more minor notes from around the MLBiverse…

  • Ken Williams says "the climate is awful" in regards to the trade market.
  • Despite reports that the Yankees were discussing the possibility of signing Barry Bonds, Brian Cashman hints that Bonds is not in the plans for the Bombers.
  • Several scouts feel that the Mariners’ interim GM is in a very tough situation. The scouts think that Seattle may be better suited to wait until the offseason to make deals, but Lee Pelekoudas may not be the GM after the season, forcing him to make an impression now.
  • Andy MacPhail says he is spending a lot of time on the phone with other teams, but he said the Orioles are not close to making any deals.
  • Ron Washington would like to see the Rangers trade for a leadoff hitter, lefty relievers and starting pitching, but knows that a potential deal is unlikely. GM Jon Daniels said that the Rangers won’t be sellers, but they are also not interested in moving their top prospects for rental players.

Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.

More From Stark: Mets, Dodgers, Indians

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Jayson Stark brings us a few more tidbits from the Hot Stove…

  • The price for Raul Ibanez may be too high for the Mets as Stark reiterates what we heard previously, that Fernando Martinez and Jon Niese are not available…Ken Rosenthal added Robert Parnell to that list of untouchables.
  • The Mets may no longer be in the running for Brian Fuentes as they are not willing to part with Aaron Heilman.
  • Stark says other relief pitchers the Mets have shown some interest in include Cla Meredith, Chad Bradford and Jeremy Affeldt.
  • The Dodgers are said to be interested in several relief pitchers, including Fuentes, George Sherrill, David Weathers and Alan Embree, but they are not interested in Huston Street. The other possibility is Greg Maddux, who would allow the Dodgers to move another starter to the bullpen.
  • The Indians’ primary goal now is to deal Paul Byrd.

Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.

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