Phillies Eyeing Cain, Blanton
Randy Miller had some interesting Phillies rumors yesterday. According to Miller:
The latest has the Phils hoping San Francisco, an NL West pretender, will shop 23-year-old right-hander Matt Cain. Word is the Giants might part with Cain, who is 5-7 with a 4.06 ERA in 20 starts, if offered an intriguing package of young talent.
However, Jayson Stark wrote on Thursday:
We keep hearing people speculate about the Giants trading Matt Cain. But we can’t find a team that has gotten anywhere in its attempts to even get the Giants to discuss him. "I don’t know who got that rumor rolling," said an official of one club. "But they told us, emphatically, no."
Moving on, Miller says the Phils aren’t interested in A.J. Burnett. Buster Olney said the same on Wednesday. Miller also notes that the Phils have interest in lefty relievers John Grabow and Brian Fuentes.
According to ESPN’s Buster Olney, the Phillies’ talks for Joe Blanton are "gaining momentum." Olney believes this deal makes sense, and that it could come together quickly.
Hideo Nomo Retires
Pitcher Hideo Nomo has retired, according to the AP (hat tip to NPB Tracker).
Nomo won 78 games in Japan in five seasons, and then exploited a loophole and retired from Japanese baseball. He was a phenomenon in ’95, coming over as a free agent to win the ROY with the Dodgers as a 26 year-old. He ended up winning 123 big league games.
Manny Drama
Elusive Red Sox outfielder Manny Ramirez opened up to the Boston Herald’s Rob Bradford, implying dishonesty by team management:
"I want to know what’s my situation. I want no more (expletive) where they tell you one thing and behind your back they do another thing. I think I’ve earned that respect, for a team to sit down with me and tell me this is what we want, this is what we want to do."
Ramirez would like to sit down with Red Sox brass after the season and discuss his $20MM club option for ’09 (and perhaps the ’10 option as well).
Team owner John Henry took exception to Manny’s implication, replying:
"I find remarks that we have been anything other than completely straightforward to be personally offensive."
Ramirez is hitting .293/.389/.518, almost identical to last year. But he played in 133 games in ’07 and is on pace to play 150 this year. The little public spat through the Boston Herald really doesn’t change the situation – it’s still a close call for the Red Sox. By the way, Buster Olney’s heard rumblings that Ramirez has changed agents again, from Scott Boras to Legacy Sports Group.
Tigers Willing To Trade Fernando Rodney
Jon Paul Morosi has a new name to add to the reliever market: Fernando Rodney of the Tigers. He says the Tigers "appear willing to include Rodney in trade offers."
Rodney, 31, has a 7.71 ERA in ten appearances this year. His season began in June due to shoulder tendinitis. He dealt with the same injury last year, but surgery was deemed unnecessary. Rodney is averaging 93.8 mph with his fastball this year, right in line with previous years. He’ll be arbitration-eligible after this season and should hit free agency after the ’09 season.
The Shortstop Market Revisited
Next up in our second pass through the Trade Market: shortstops.
- Cristian Guzman, Nationals. He’s having a fine year, hitting .313/.340/.424 in 424 plate appearances. Extension talks with the Nationals have dragged. The Nats might prefer to trade him, while Guzman might prefer to test the free agent market.
- Miguel Tejada, Astros. The Astros have given no signs of kicking off a rebuilding effort, so a trade is unlikely. Plus, Tejada hasn’t hit much since April. He’s signed for ’09 at $13MM.
- Clint Barmes, Rockies. The Rox might be able to spare him, but Barmes has never hit away from Coors and other teams know that. He’ll be arbitration-eligible for the first time after this season.
- David Eckstein, Blue Jays. Whether or not the Jays decide to sell this year, Eckstein is expendable. The Orioles rumors have died down though.
- Jack Wilson, Pirates. I think the Bucs would need to be blown away to move Wilson, since he’d be hard for them to replace. The Dodgers are still in talks, last we’ve heard. Wilson earns $7.25MM in ’09 with an $8.4MM club option for ’10. He also has limited no-trade protection.
- Brent Lillibridge, Braves. He didn’t raise his stock by hitting .212/.276/.288 in Triple A this year.
- Edgar Renteria, Tigers. He’s been awful, and his ’09 option may be declined. It’s for $11MM with a $3MM buyout.
- Khalil Greene, Padres. Greene has also been terrible. He’s signed for ’09 at $6.5MM.
- Chin-lung Hu, Dodgers. He figures to either be the team’s shortstop of the future or a prime trade chip.
- Omar Vizquel, Giants. He’s been a big negative with the bat this year; he might be finished. The Red Sox are not interested.
- Juan Uribe, White Sox. Uribe has been perilously close to a trade or release for months. His hitting has continued to deteriorate, and he’s played very little shortstop this year.
- Ronny Cedeno, Cubs. Cedeno is only 25, and he’s performed well at Triple A. Lou Piniella has given him very little playing time this month; he could be a useful trade chip.
Odds and Ends: Rasmus, Ozuna, Giles
Time to run down today’s links.
- SI.com’s Jon Heyman heard the Cardinals "might even consider parting with top outfield prospect Colby Rasmus."
- Here’s a feature on Baseball Prospectus’ Nate Silver in University of Chicago Magazine.
- According to Bud Selig, the idea of an international draft won’t be debated until the next collective bargaining agreement, which will start in 2012.
- I did a Q&A with The Chuck Knoblog.
- Pablo Ozuna is a free agent.
- Paul DePodesta explains why the Padres intend to keep Brian Giles.
- RotoAuthority has some disabled list hitters to consider picking up for your fantasy team.
- Jeff Zrebiec discusses the Orioles’ trade candidates.
Pat Gillick – GM Trade History
Next up in our GM Trade History series, the Phillies’ Pat Gillick. Thanks to Brendan Bianowicz for putting these spreadsheets together. Download Gillick’s here.
Walters With A Twins Scenario
Charley Walters of the St. Paul Pioneer Press tosses out a trade scenario:
It will be interesting whether the Twins try to package Michael Cuddyer and Livan Hernandez in a trade for a slugging third baseman before the July 31 deadline, saving $20 million in guaranteed money to Cuddyer and $2.5 million to Hernandez. Denard Span ($390,000) would replace Cuddyer in right field, and Francisco Liriano ($400,000) would replace Hernandez in the starting rotation.
Will Carroll said the Twins are looking at players like Adrian Beltre, Hank Blalock, Garrett Atkins, and Casey Blake. But I can’t see the Mariners, Rangers, Rockies, or Indians biting on a Hernandez/Cuddyer offer.
Marlins Inquire On Ivan Rodriguez
Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald writes of the Marlins’ pursuit of a catcher, which has been going on for several weeks now.
The Fish would like to find an upgrade on Matt Treanor, who is currently on the DL with a hip strain. However, they’re not impressed by available backstops Paul Lo Duca, Yorvit Torrealba, and Dave Ross. Jackson adds an interesting name – the Marlins asked the Tigers about Ivan Rodriguez, but he’s not available at this time. They could always sign him in the offseason if the price is right.
We revisited the trade market for catchers about a week ago. Two names I haven’t heard much for the Marlins are Gregg Zaun and Rod Barajas of the Jays.
Carroll’s Latest: Burnett, Twins, Cardinals
Baseball Prospectus’ Will Carroll has plenty of rumors in his latest post.
- Pat Gillick "doesn’t seem that interested" in going back to work for the Mariners.
- One team asked the Blue Jays to include players to be named later on both sides of an A.J. Burnett deal, to serve as a balance for the pitcher’s uncertain tricky contract. The Jays passed on that idea. By the way, the Toronto Star’s Richard Griffin thinks the Jays will keep Burnett unless offered a player who can improve the ’08 team.
- Carroll wonders whether the Pirates would consider trading Ian Snell. Snell is signed through 2010 with club options for ’11 and ’12.
- Beyond Adrian Beltre, the Twins "have taken a hard look" at Hank Blalock, Garrett Atkins, and Casey Blake.
- The Cards are searching the Triple A ranks for the next Ryan Ludwick. Maybe they were one of the teams inquiring on Nelson Cruz?