Odds And Ends: Twins, Iglesias, Rockies
More links to read through as the second half gets underway…
- Which AL teams have the easiest route to the playoffs? ESPN.com's Buster Olney says the Twins have a favorable schedule from here on.
- Kiley McDaniel of Baseball Prospectus has the details on the Jose Iglesias deal. The Red Sox awarded the slick-fielding shortstop a $3MM bonus and will pay the remainder of his $8.25MM deal over the next four years.
- ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick says the Rockies need to fortify their bullpen before the end of the month.
- Tune in to The Big 1070 at 3:25 CST and Team 1380 in St. Louis at 6:20 CST, as I'll be talking trades on both stations.
Odds And Ends: Zito, Red Sox, Pedro
Some links for the morning…
- Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News says the Giants have to think about releasing Barry Zito after the season because he's weighing them down.
- ESPN.com's Rob Neyer says the Giants can't afford to release Zito just yet.
- Tony Massarotti of the Boston Globe says the Red Sox could use another lefty specialist in the 'pen.
- Joe Starkey of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports that the Pirates are confident Miguel Angel Sano is a 16 years old, like he says.
- Jamey Newberg updates us on the top 20 Rangers prospects at MLB.com. You have to think the Blue Jays are looking at a version of this list.
- Bruce Jenkins of the San Francisco Chronicle says no one will be watching Matt Holliday more closely than the Giants.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post wonders if Pedro Martinez can have a David Cone-like late career renaissance in Philadelphia.
- And check out the final part of my discussion over at NESN.com for a look at the Yankees, Red Sox and Rays and an under-the-radar trade candidate.
Taking Stock Of Seattle’s Trade Chips
The Mariners are in the playoff hunt with a 46-42 record, though many expected them to be sellers this month. As Gregg Bell of the AP reports, Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu and trade candidate Jarrod Washburn say they want to keep the team together and attempt to win now.
- Miguel Batista – Baker says it makes sense to move Batista, who makes $3.3MM before the end of the year. He could offset salary coming to Seattle.
- Relievers Sean White and Mark Lowe would atract interest and the Mariners may feel they have enough depth to part with one of them, especially with prospect Phillippe Aumont on his way.
- Unless the Mariners fall from contention, Baker suggests it makes sense to hold Erik Bedard, whose value is limited because of his time on the DL.
- Dealing Jarrod Washburn is a "no-brainer" if the M's fall out of it.
- Brandon Morrow, Wladimir Balentien and Jeff Clement could all be moved as well.
Rosenthal On Halladay, Frasor, Rios, Bay
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports hears that the Angels and Cardinals will have a hard time assembling a package enticing enough for the Blue Jays to part with Roy Halladay. One GM said the Angels have "zero chance" at acquiring the Jays ace. Players like Brandon Wood and Howie Kendrick have lost some of their appeal and prospect Jordan Walden finds himself on the DL for the second time this season.
- The Dodgers are interested in Halladay, Jason Frasor and George Sherrill.
- The White Sox would probably have to part with Gordon Beckham to acquire Doc.
- The Jays and White Sox haven't discussed an Alex Rios deal recently, but the White Sox have long been interested in the Jays outfielder.
- Jason Bay is close to setting a cutoff date for negotiations on an extension with the Red Sox.
D’Backs To Have Stable Payroll
Ownership invested $50MM in the D'Backs, so they'll have enough money to maintain their current payroll according to MLB.com's Barry Bloom. The team plans to spread the investment over the next five years to make up for expected drops in revenue.
Odds and Ends: Pedro, Wells, Tepesch, Zito
A few links for your pre-second half entertainment:
- Dave Cameron at Fangraphs is counting down the 50 players with the most trade value. Today, he posted #30-#26.
- ESPN's Jayson Stark recaps the Pedro Martinez press conference, and contends that the newest Phillie will start off on the DL because he didn't want to sign a minor league contract.
- Anthony Rieber of Newsday.com argues that the Yankess are in a unique position to land Roy Halladay – if they are willing to eat the contract of Vernon Wells.
- In the latest in a series of short videos on college prospects, ESPN's Keith Law scouts Missouri RHP Nick Tepesch.
- And Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News argues that it is time for the Giants to attempt to trade Barry Zito or release him in the off-season.
Discussion: When Is “Now” For The Blue Jays?
In this article at SI.com, Joel Sherman argues that the Blue Jays cannot realistically expect to make the playoffs in the AL East anytime soon and thus should start building for the future by trading ace Roy Halladay.
"To have any kind of sustained run," Sherman writes, "the Blue Jays have to turn Halladay into three or four significant pieces that will help the next really strong Toronto team, which is 2011 at the earliest."
On the slowest American (and Canadian?) sports day of the year, I'm looking to start a little discussion. Do you agree with Sherman's assessment of the Jays' playoff chances? In the brutal AL East, what should the Blue Jays' long-term strategy be? Should they stop with trading Halladay, or is completely rebuilding an option?
Orioles Hoping To Deal Before Deadline
According to Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun, "The Orioles are one of only a handful of teams entrenched as sellers." Here's a summary of his breakdown of what the Orioles can offer:
- George Sherrill "has been the most popular target." The Orioles have him under control for two more years and are looking for a pitcher with "closer" value in return.
- The Marlins "still look like the best fit" for Sherrill. They need a bullpen arm and have "a number of corner infield prospects that intrigue the Orioles."
- Danys Baez "is probably the most likely Oriole to be moved." Zrebiec notes that the Orioles will have to eat "a good portion" of his contract if they want to get anything substantial in return.
- Melvin Mora is available, but has a blanket no-trade clause. According to Zrebiec, Mora "may want a team to pick up his 2010 option in order to approve a trade."
- The compensatory draft picks the Orioles might get if Aubrey Huff left via free agency "may be worth more to the club than what they could get for him in a trade."
Zrebiec quotes Orioles President of Baseball Operations Andy MacPhail as saying, "I would hope that we'd do something [before the deadline], I really would. But as I've said before, we're not a farm system for contending teams."
Dodgers Looking For Arms
GM Ned Colletti "is on his annual Trade Deadline search for pitching help," according to Ken Gurnick of MLB.com.
According to Gurnick, Colletti "will inquire about" Roy Halladay, although the package of players required to net the Toronto ace would probably need to start with Clayton Kershaw.
The Dodgers also seek a reliever to replace the injured Ronald Belisario in the seventh-inning role. Gurnick writes that "management isn't convinced it has a replacement for Belisario in-house."
Finally, Gurnick says that the Dodgers are in the market for a fifth starter "along the lines of another Randy Wolf."
Olney On The Battle For Young Talent
Baseball's becoming younger and teams are changing the way they operate, as ESPN.com's Buster Olney shows. In the steroid era, teams relied on players older than 30 for their production. With the help of Baseball Prospectus, Olney shows that teams have become much more reliant on younger players. Here are the reasons why teams rely on young talent and the effect this reliance has around the league:
- Players are cheapest for their first six years in the majors, before they become free agents.
- As Oakland GM Billy Beane says, "everybody" is now working to develop their own talent.
- Even Yankees GM Brian Cashman prefers to develop his own players.
- Since teams are heavily invested in their top minor leaguers, they're providing them with better nutrition and more ways to stay in shape.
- Teams are willing to spend considerably more on amateur players, internationally and in the draft.
- There's now less information sharing between rival organizations, as the competition for talent has increased.
- Some teams, like the Red Sox, are sending multiple scouts to watch players since they want to be more confident in their evaluations.
- Teams have adopted a "broader use of statistics in evaluating players."
- Teams will poach the best coaches from other organizations to maximize their return on every player.
- There's more of a personal emphasis on players than before.