Today is an exciting day for me, as MLB Trade Rumors is featured in an article by Chris De Luca in the Chicago Sun-Times. Check it out!
Archives for 2008
Tigers Eyeing Taschner
The Brewers, Mets, Phillies, Marlins, and Cardinals have been linked to Giants’ lefty Jack Taschner in the past. Today, MLB.com’s Trade Talk blog says the Tigers have been observing him as well. However, the Tigers have fallen to 7.5 games out in the AL Central (they might shave that to 6.5 today if the bullpen can hold a four-run lead).
Taschner, 30, has struggled this month after a solid stretch in May and June. Control has always been an issue. Taschner is under team control for quite a while.
Manny Ramirez Speculation: Phils, D’Backs, Mets
Theo Epstein told Tim McCarver he’d try to trade Manny Ramirez if he’d waive his 10-and-5 no-trade rights. If Ramirez were to be dealt, I’m guessing he’d either require an extension or reassurance that his $20MM option would not be picked up so he could reach free agency. Here’s some reverb from Epstein’s remarks:
- Ken Rosenthal doesn’t see a good match anywhere. He notes that Manny got himself into this odd contractual situation in the first place.
- Jon Heyman says the Mets have no interest in Manny. His string of bad behavior this year has been undoubtedly a turnoff. They’d rather pursue Raul Ibanez.
- The Boston Herald’s Tony Masarotti doesn’t think the team needs "to find a Hall of Fame-caliber player to replace him anymore because Ramirez no longer is a Hall of Fame-caliber player." He even cites David Murphy as a more productive outfielder since April.
- Joel Sherman and Mike Puma speculate on Manny to the Phillies, noting how Charlie Manuel and Ramirez have remained close since Manuel was his hitting coach in Cleveland. They go on to list Arizona as having interest as well.
Kovacevic’s Latest: Pirates, Bay, Grabow
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?
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
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
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
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
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
"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.
