Odds And Ends: Halladay, Yankees, Rangers
Links for Tuesday morning…
- Today's chat will take place at 2pm CST.
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports looks ahead to the end of next season when Roy Halladay becomes a free agent if the Jays don't lock him up before then.
- As Diamond Leung notes, the Dodgers traded minor league pitcher Brian Mazone to the Phillies for future considerations. Mazone already spent three years in the Phillies organization.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post speculates on an imagined deal: Luis Castillo for Milton Bradley.
- Peter Abraham of the Journal News reports that the Yankees signed two independent leaguers: third baseman Yurendell DeCaster and lefty Edwin Walker.
- Tony Massarotti of the Boston Globe offers five possible solutions for the Red Sox in case Mike Lowell has to miss much time.
- Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun asks Orioles fans which player they would pluck from the Red Sox roster if possible. Kevin Youkilis and Jon Lester would sure be nice additions.
- Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post answers his readers' trade questions.
- Anthony Andro of the Dallas Morning News reports that the Rangers signed second rounder Tommy Mendonca.
Rosenthal On Tejada, Rockies, Mets
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports argues that the Cubs don't need to make a trade, they just need their hitters to start producing. Here are his most recent rumors:
- Ed Wade says Miguel Tejada's impending free agency is part of the reason the Astros aren't asking him to move from shortstop to third base. Tejada would probably move, but Wade would rather not ask him to.
- The Rockies are looking hard for relief help. They were interested in Joel Hanrahan earlier in the season, but he's much less appealing now.
- LaTroy Hawkins, Chad Qualls and Takashi Saito are all more appealing than Hanrahan, but Rosenthal says they're "longshots."
- The Rockies aren't that interested in Cla Meredith and Danys Baez.
- One GM said the Royals are under pressure to win as many games as possible this year.
- The D'Backs believe Doug Davis has more value as a trade chip because he projects as a Type B free agent. Check out the latest Elias rankings here.
- One official believes the Mets are better off with Daniel Murphy than Nick Johnson.
- When the Cardinals inquired on Matt Holliday they heard the A's aren't looking to move him and would require a strong offer to part with him.
Giants Scouting V-Mart, Dye
Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune reports that the Giants are scouting Jermaine Dye and Victor Martinez. The Indians aren't shopping V-Mart and the White Sox aren't sellers at this point, but the Giants need a bat.
Talkin’ Reds Baseball
Paul Daugherty of the Cincinnati Enquirer believes the Reds need to make a "bold" move to stay in contention, but doesn't think it will necessarily happen.
Odds & Ends: Nationals, Mets, Big Z
A roundup of links for a slow Monday evening in the baseball world…
- According to Chico Harlan of the Washington Post, the Nationals have agreed to terms with second-rounder Jeffrey Kobernus, a second baseman from the University of California. He was handed a $705K signing bonus.
- Brewers prospect Jeremy Jeffress was suspended 100 games Monday for a second violation of the minor league drug program, according to the Associated Press (via ESPN.com). Milwaukee assistant GM Gord Ash said the club is "concerned" about Jeffress, who is one positive test away from a lifetime ban.
- Presented without comment: In a poll taken this afternoon, 57.2 percent of Chicago Tribune readers agreed with Phil Rogers, who opined Monday morning that the Cubs should waive Carlos Zambrano.
- Jay Schreiber of the New York Times wants to hear from Mets fans and want-to-be GMs alike. "Does anyone have any suggestions for the woebegone Mets?," he asks.
- According to MLB.com's Wayne Staats, the Cubs have signed 10 of their top 15 draft picks and 21 of 50 overall. Top pick Brett Jackson, an outfielder out of the University of California, was inked early last week.
- Don't forget about MLBTR's weekly live chats. Ben Nicholson-Smith will be your host Tuesday at 2pm CST.
Brandon Backe: Free Agent
According to MLB.com's Alyson Footer, Brandon Backe has cleared waivers and rejected an assignment to Triple-A Round Rock. He is now officially a free agent.
Tribe In No Hurry To Deal Cliff Lee
Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com has heard that the Indians are in no hurry to deal Cliff Lee and would have to be "completely overwhelmed" by an offer to make it work.
Amaro: Few Pitchers Available
Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. told MLB.com's Todd Zolecki that some pitchers aren't available no matter what prospects he offers up.
"if the guy is not going to go, he's not going to go," Amaro said. "You can give them your entire club."
So far Amaro's offered up prospects in vain and has relied on the inexperienced arms of J.A. Happ and Antonio Bastardo. Now that Bastardo has a strained shoulder, the Phillies will pluck another arm from their system, possibly Carlos Carrasco. Amaro admits he's looking for pitching, but says asking "pretty please" won't land him starters when many other teams need pitching as well.
Odds And Ends: DeRosa, Royals, Jays
The runner-up for Mark DeRosa, thoughts on the Blue Jays and a pair of discussions to listen in on…
- Hal McCoy of the Dayton Daily News says the Reds came in second in the DeRosa sweepstakes.
- Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that DeRosa's already fitting in well with the Cards.
- The Phillies, who are scouring the league for starters, could have interest in Gil Meche and Brian Bannister so, as David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News reports, the Royals scouted Lou Marson and others in Triple A.
- MLB.com's Mark Bowman notes suspicion that the Braves are unhappy with Yunel Escobar's behavior.
- Jeff Blair of the Globe and Mail gets the sense that the Jays are ready to move Vernon Wells and/or Alex Rios for just about anything to free up enough money to keep Roy Halladay after next year.
- Watch my discussion with Sid Rosenberg right here. We talked about the Mets, Matt Holliday and the best pitching available.
- I will also be talking trades on SportsTalkSoup tonight at 10pm CST, so listen in.
Cardinals Now Have Limited Payroll Flexibility
ESPN.com's Buster Olney heard that the Cardinals have limited payroll flexibility now that they've added Mark DeRosa. Since he makes $5.5MM in total this year, the Cards are on the hook for about $2.75MM of DeRosa's contract.
Before the DeRosa dealm, they were considering Matt Holliday, who makes $4MM more than DeRosa between now and the end of the season. They appeared willing to take on his $13.5MM contract. Could the Cards add $4MM to their payroll for the right player?