Cafardo’s Latest: Jenks, Teahen, Wood, Mulder
Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe has some rumors from around the league. Let's sift through them.
- The Dodgers, Brewers, and Phillies remain interested in Mark Mulder who is finishing his rehab and hopes to entertain offers in a week.
- Cafardo speculates if former Royals GM Allard Baird will deliver Mark Teahen, a former player of his, to the Red Sox. Baird is currently assistant to the GM in Boston.
- The Mets might be able to add about $5 to $6MM in payroll before the deadline.
- Brandon Wood would have to be a part of the package for Roy Halladay if the Angels were to make a serious push.
- There's a "good chance" Kenny Williams is looking into Halladay, says Cafardo. He wonders if Williams, who now has back-of-the-bullpen depth, would trade Bobby Jenks to shave payroll.
- The Red Sox are confident with the pieces they have, even if obtaining Halladay might guarantee them a championship. Regardless, the Jays "would likely not want to deal Halladay within the division," says Cafardo.
Renck’s Latest: Freddy Sanchez, Giants, Rockies
Troy E. Renck has some thoughts on why it doesn't make sense for the Rockies to acquire Roy Halladay if they can't afford to retain his services beyond 2010. In the same piece, he has a few more footnotes:
- Freddy Sanchez will be traded. The Giants could land him for Jonathan Sanchez and a prospect.
- The Giants are "lukewarm" on Matt Holliday but like Jermaine Dye. Brian Sabean recently defused rumors involving Dye.
- If Garrett Atkins is traded, Seth Smith could become Todd Helton's backup at first base. He's been taking throws in batting practice. Renck feels Smith needs to get more at bats if the Rockies want to make the playoffs. Smith is hitting .295 with 1.04 BB/K and an impressive .902 OPS in 70 games.
Roy Halladay Rumors: Sunday
Tired of Roy Halladay rumors yet? Have some more.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post has listed 10 do's and dont's for blockbuster deals.
- Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times says Frank McCourt can make World Series champions out of the Dodgers if by acquiring Halladay and he could start by offering Russell Martin in a package with prospects Devaris Gordon and Josh Lindblom. Shaikin concedes, "This is not to say the Jays would accept Martin, Gordon and Lindblom for Halladay, or even that the Dodgers would offer that package. The coaching staff would be reluctant to lose Martin at this point of the season, and the organization has all but deemed Gordon untouchable."
- The Philadelphia Inquirer's Bob Ford says Citizens Bank Park wouldn't deter Halladay from going to the Phillies.
- Troy E. Renck says the Rockies won't change their business model to acquire Halladay. They are committed to building from within and that a seven-year, $150MM contract after 2010 would not happen. If they can't retain him, then Renck can't advocate giving up a hypothetical package of Ubaldo Jimenez, Ian Stewart, and two top prospects to get him. Dave Krieger of the Denver Post agrees.
- In the same piece, Renck says the Dodgers could land Halladay if they will part with Clayton Kershaw, and that the Phillies remain the favorites. Still, Renck expects Toronto to take Halladay off the block and to instead cut payroll by dealing Alex Rios.
Odds & Ends: Bruce, Ozzie, Indians
Another round of links for those still hanging around on Saturday evening…
- Reds outfielder Jay Bruce broke his right wrist sliding for a ball tonight, and is heading back to Cincinnati to be examined according to MLB.com's Mark Sheldon. The Reds were looking to add a bat before the injury, so it stands to reason that they'd ramp up those efforts now.
- White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said he doesn't "think we’re going to give up three or four players, key players, for the future, just to rent a player for year," according to Mark Gonzales of The Chicago Tribune. Ozzie then admitted that GM Kenny Williams is the one calling the shots when it comes to trades.
- Paul Hoynes of The Cleveland Plain Dealer rounds up the signing bonuses for the Indians second through tenth round draft picks. First rounder Alex White remains unsigned.
Marlins Looking To Add Pieces
MLB.com's Joe Frisaro spoke to Marlins president of baseball operations Larry Beinfest, who said he's looking to add pieces before this month's trade deadline.
"We don't want to take away, we'd like to add," Beinfest said.
"We'd like to improve just like all the other teams looking to improve," Beinfest said. "We recognize, we're heading into the All-Star Break, and we're in the race for the division. So you want to see what's out there to improve yourself the best you can.
"There are so many teams in it, that it's tough to make trades. They don't want to take from their team. They want to add to it. In terms of your prospects, you have a threshold on what to give and not to give."
The Marlins have already said that they will not be moving any of their top prospects for help. Beinfest said the team will "make do" with what they have when it comes to the bullpen, noting that Matt Lindstrom will hopefully be back on a mound in the next week.
Discussion: St. Louis Cardinals
The Cardinals came into today with the best record in the NL Central, yet GM John Mozeliak is still out there looking for ways to improve his team. Newly acquired Mark DeRosa went down with a torn tendon sheath in his wrist just ten plate appearances into his Redbird career, but the team was still looking to add another bat even before he went down. More recently, we've heard that they're very interested in starter Roy Halladay despite having limited payroll flexibility.
What do you guys think the Cardinals should do? They come into today with the third best team ERA in the game at 3.75, but rank just middle of the pack with 394 runs scored. Should they look to add a big bat to protect Albert Pujols, who will only get fewer pitches to hit in the second half, or bring in another arm to solidify the pitching staff? Do they have the resources to do both?
Odds & Ends: Berroa, Futures Game, Yankees, Pedro, Rolen
There's no such thing as too many links…
- Most fans expressed their displeasure with the move in our comments, but Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus defends the Mets' signing of Angel Berroa.
- ESPN's Keith Law tell tells you everything you need to know about the prospects playing in this year's Futures Game, and then some. The game is tomorrow at 1pm CST.
- Yankees scouting director Damon Oppenheimer comfirmed to NoMaas' Lane Meyer that the team has signed two draft picks, including seventh rounder Sean Black. Black was the highest unsigned pick in the 2006 draft, heading to Seton Hall instead of signing with the Nationals as the 59th overall selection.
- MLB.com's Todd Zolecki reports that Pedro Martinez "has said the parties are negotiating a deal," referring to his representatives and the Phillies.
- Jeff Blair of The Globe and Mail says he's "hearing some interest in (Scott) Rolen." He mentions that there are a dozen scouts at tonight's Blue Jays game, including two from the Dodgers.
Pirates Sign Lithuanian Pitcher
According to Dejan Kovacevic of The Pittsburg Post-Gazette, the Pirates have signed 16-yr old righthander Dovydas Neverauskas of Lithuania. The 6'-3", 170 pounder is the first European amateur the club has ever signed. It doesn't look any player from Lithuania has ever played in the big leagues according to Baseball-Reference.com, but please correct me if I'm wrong.
The Pirates also inked 18-yr old catcher Dylan Child to a deal out of Australia.
Seattle Acquires Jack Hannahan
CSNBayArea.com reports that the A's have traded infielder Jack Hannahan to the Mariners for minor league righthander Justin Souza. Hannahan was hitting .193-.278-.303 in 134 plate appearances this year, not to mention spending some time in the minors.
Souza, 23, was Seattle's ninth round selection in the 2006 draft, and had a 3.35 ERA working mostly as a starter in Double-A. He was not one of the Mariners top 30 prospects coming into the season according to Baseball America.
Odds & Ends: Stanton, Halladay, Sonnanstine
Even more links on a slow rumors day…
- Joe Capozzi of The Palm Beach Post spoke to Marlins GM Larry Beinfest about top prospect Mike Stanton. Beinfest wouldn't say as much, but it sounds like Stanton is untouchable in trade talks.
- ESPN's Keith Law tweets that a Roy Halladay trade was unlikely two days ago, but seems even less likely now after some conversations.
- Andy Sonnanstine has been placed on the minor league disabled list with mononucleosis according to Joe Smith of The St. Petersburg Times. If he's out for a while, could it impact the club's ability to make a deal given the lessened pitching depth?
- Southpaw reliever Alan Embree is out for the season with a broken tibia according to MLB.com's Cheng Sio. Just two games back of the wild card, will the Rockies look to add a reliever?
- Maury Brown at The Biz of Baseball has a complete list of 2009 All Star bonuses.