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Archives for July 2009

Odds & Ends: Holliday, Kearns, Pirates, Padres

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A few more Friday night links…

  • AOL Fanhouse's Jeff Fletcher tweets that the Braves are "not involved with the A's on Matt Holliday."
  • Bill Ladson of MLB.com mentions that there doesn't seem to be any takers for Austin Kearns, who has gotten just 17 plate appearances in the team's last 22 games.
  • Pirates GM Neal Huntington says that the contract extension talks with Jack Wilson and Freddy Sanchez need "to be resolved quickly, one way or the other," according to Rob Biertempfel of The Pittsburgh Tibune-Review.
  • Andy Marks of The Star Banner notes that the Padres aren't close to signing fourth rounder Keyvius Sampson, who was a borderline first round talent in last month's amateur draft.
  • ESPN's Keith Law wrote about some players we'll see on Thursday's Cape Cod League All Star Game. The Cape is the nation's premier amateur summer league, and features some of the very best players available in next year's draft.

Halladay Could Demand A Trade After The Season If Traded

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Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reminds us of a rarely used rule that could possibly come into play if Roy Halladay is moved before this year's trade deadline. If a player signed a multi-year extension before October 2006 and is traded during the life of the contract, the player can then demand a trade during the offseason. If the team falls to trade the player by March 15th, he becomes a free agent. Halladay signed a three year, $40MM extension in March of '06.

Javier Vazquez is the only player to take advantage of this rule in recent years, when he demanded a trade out of Arizona following the 2005 season. Since he already has a no trade clause it's unlikely Halladay will end up with a team he doesn't want to play for, but he could use this rule as leverage to get a contract extension after the season. That last part is just speculation on my part, though.  

Odds & Ends: Pirates, Sano, White Sox, Blue Jays

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Here's some links to check out as you celebrate the return of a full slate of baseball games…

  • Jon Paul Morosi of FoxSports.com says something doesn't add up about the Pirates reported interest in signing Jack Wilson and Freddy Sanchez to contract extensions. He wonders if the team will make low-ball offers that the players have no choice but to reject just so they can say "The players refused our offers and left us with no choice but to trade them away and improve our organization's future."
  • Twins vice president of player personnel Mike Radcliff is in the Dominican Republic to take a look at Miguel Angel Sano, according to Charley Walters of The Pioneer Press.
  • Mark Gonzales of The Chicago Tribune notes that when asked about the team's interest in acquiring Roy Halladay, White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said ""I don't think were going to give up half the organization for one player."
  • Dave Cameron at FanGraphs has reached the top ten in his series of post about the 50 MLB players with the most trade value.
  • The Blue Jays have signed their fourth round pick according to Bob Elliott of The Toronto Sun.

Rangers Release Orlando Hernandez

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The Rangers have released righthander Orlando Hernandez according to T.R Sullivan of MLB.com. Yesterday we learned that Hernandez was likely to opt for free agency once his out clause kicked in on Monday, but the Rangers beat him to it.

El Duque had pitched effectively in 11 innings of relief with Triple-A Oklahoma City, but he didn't show enough velocity or command for Texas to think he was big league ready.

GM: Astros Will Not Be Buyers

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In the midst of a five-team race for the NL Central title, GM Ed Wade told Sirius XM Radio that the Astros will not be buyers this July. They are just 3.0 games behind the division-leading Cardinals, with a record of 45-44.

Miguel Tejada, LaTroy Hawkins, Jose Valverde and Ivan Rodriguez all become free agents after the season, so the Astros will have pieces to consider selling if they fall out of the race in the next two weeks.

Bay, Red Sox Put Extension Talks Aside

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3:53pm: Adam Kilgore of the Globe says Theo Epstein characterized his offer as "aggressive," and has no hard feelings towards Bay. It looks like talks will resume after the season.

3:37pm: Amalie Benjamin of the Boston Globe says the Red Sox and Jason Bay won't discuss a contract extension until after the season. The two sides had been talking since May, and the Red Sox made an offer about a week ago, but the talks will stop until the season ends, at which point the Red Sox have 15 days of exclusive negotiating rights with Bay.

9:18am: During the All-Star break Jason Bay's agent spoke with the Red Sox about extending his client's stay in Boston, but talks didn't develop significantly, according to Alex Speier of WEEI.com. However, the two sides would like to keep the free agent-to-be on the Red Sox.

Earlier in the year WEEI.com reported that Bay was seeking a three or four year deal worth about $14MM per season. The Red Sox, however, pointed to Adam Dunn's two-year $20MM deal as a point of reference for the discussions. The market for outfielders hasn't settled since then and that has contributed to the slow pace of the talks.

Bay, who will head this year's class of free agents with Matt Holliday, hasn't imposed any deadlines on the negotiations and appears to want to stay in Boston.

Cubs, Cards & Mets Asked About Lugo

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The Cubs, Cardinals and Mets have shown some interest in Red Sox shortstop Julio Lugo, according to Steve Buckley of the Boston Herald. The Red Sox will have to pay all of the $13.5MM remaining on Lugo's deal if they release him, so they're likely to pick up the vast majority of the contract in any trade.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Lee, Halladay, Holliday, Zito

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On this date one year ago, the Phillies traded three minor leaguers to the A's for Joe Blanton. He would go on to make 13 starts for the Fightins, finishing 4-0 with a 4.20 ERA. With only two weeks remaining before this season's trade deadline, let's take a look at what is being written in the Blogosphere…

  • MLB Notebook says it is time for the Indians to move Cliff Lee.
  • The Ghost of Moonlight Graham breaks down the needs of the contenders as we approach the deadline.
  • Drunk Jays Fans explains why Roy Halladay should be traded and why he will still be a Blue Jay in August.
  • Talking Chop breaks down the Matt Holliday to Atlanta rumors.
  • The Fowl Balls says the Yankees need to get Roy Halladay and is willing to part with Joba Chamberlain, Austin Jackson and others. Just not Phil Hughes.
  • Viva El Birdos breaks down what it would cost the Cardinals to land Roy Halladay in terms of players and money.
  • The Voice of Yankees Universe looks at some big names that could be moved and have an impact on the AL East.
  • Jorge Says No! looks at whether Barry Zito's contract was the worst ever given to a pitcher.
  • We're the Team to Beat wonders why Omar Minaya is still calling the shots for the Mets.

Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com. If you have a suggestion for this feature, Cork can be reached here, and followed on Twitter here.

Odds And Ends: Holliday, Lugo, DeRosa

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Some links for the afternoon…

  • Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says the A's want two highly regarded prospects in any deal for Matt Holliday.
  • Rosenthal believes the Braves have too much pitching not to make a serious run at the playoffs.  
  • Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports hears that Mark DeRosa will test his wrist to see how much pain it gives him before deciding if he needs surgery. The Cards hope to activate him within a few days.
  • Multiple teams have inquired about Julio Lugo, according to Amalie Benjamin of the Boston Globe. The Red Sox designated him for assignment earlier today.
  • DRaysBay hosts a roundtable discussion with bloggers for each AL East team.
  • I'll be talking trades on 107.5 The Game in about ten minutes. Click here to listen in.

Chapman, Darvish And Strasburg

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Aroldis Chapman, Yu Darvish and Stephen Strasburg "represent the best pitching talent in the world that is not yet in the major leagues," so ESPN.com's Keith Law grades the trio of pitchers. Here's his take on each one:

  • Aroldis Chapman is a 21-year-old lefty who just defected from Cuba. He relies on a fastball that touches 100 mph and has the makings of a good slider. That combination could make him a top reliever and better secondary stuff could help him realize his ceiling and become a top starter.
  • Yu Darvish is a 22-year-old righty who pitches in the NPB and has said he doesn't think about pitching in the States. He relies mostly on a low-90s fastball and a slider, but has other pitches. Right now, Law says Darvish could do better in the majors than the other two pitchers because of his deeper repertoire and experience against top competition.
  • When the Nats selected Stephen Strasburg first overall in last month's draft, they got a pitcher who can touch 100 mph and throws a power curve. Law suspects that minor leaguers won't hit the 20-year-old righty, so he may have to learn in the majors. Of the three pitchers, Law says Strasburg is the best long-term choice to become an elite starter.

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