Odds & Ends: Sano, Kieschnick, Strasburg

A few links for Thursday night:

  • In a Q&A, Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette discusses the Pirates' chances of signing Dominican prospect Miguel Angel Sano, how they might replace Adam LaRoche at 1B if he is traded, and whether they might seek frontline starting pitching via trade. 
  • Todd Coppernoll at Brewersfan.net has an interview with former major leaguer Brooks Kieschnick, the first player to hit a home run as a pitcher, a pinch hitter, and as a DH. This is a fascinating account of the rise and fall of a ballplayer. Key quote: "I knew my career was in trouble the minute the Cubs drafted me." 
  • Jonathan Mayo at MLB.com makes his predictions for the top 10 picks in June's First-Year Player Draft. Not surprisingly, Stephen Strasburg tops the list.
  • Jim Callis at Baseball America says that Strasburg leaving Wednesday's game with back cramps is not cause for alarm. 
  • Callis also offers his predictions for which players will fall in the draft due to signability concerns. He puts OF Donavan Tate, RHP Jacob Turner, and LHP Matthew Purke on the top of the list. Tate and Turner are Scott Boras clients and Purke is advised by Select Sports Group.

Jake Peavy Will Not Accept Trade to White Sox

6:10pm: Ken Rosenthal argues that Peavy's decision to nix the deal was justified, saying,  "If I were Jake Peavy, I would not go to the White Sox."

Rosenthal thinks back to the offseason, when the Padres "blew two chances" to trade Peavy. "The Braves clearly offered a better package than the White Sox. The Cubs' deal might have turned out better, too." He writes tha the longer the Padres take to deal Peavy, the less they will get in return.

Rosenthal has doubts about the White Sox's ability to compete in the future, and he says that this may have been on Peavy's mind when he rejected the trade.

5:53pm: Jon Heyman writes that Peavy will speak to the media shortly after 6pm CST. He also mentions that the White Sox were asked by the Padres earlier in the day if they had "any ideas on how to persuade" Peavy to accept the deal.

5:41pm: Joe Cowley and Toni Ginnetti of the Chicago Sun-Times are reporting that sources close to Peavy say that he has notified the Padres that he will not accept a trade to the White Sox.  Peavy talked it over with his family and decided not to make the move.  Manager Ozzie Guillen admitted he was surprised the Sox were willing to take on the $60MM commitment.

5:25pm: Via Twitter, Jon Heyman reports that the White Sox will not try to convince Peavy to agree to the deal by committing to pick up the $22MM option in his contract for 2013. This is still in Peavy's hands.

1:27pm: Gonzales has more from Linebrink about his conversation with Peavy.  Linebrink didn't see the AL/NL thing as a big concern for Peavy.

Also, Diamond Leung passes along a Ned Colletti interview with Dan Patrick today.  The Dodgers GM spoke to Towers about a Peavy trade as recently as a month ago but the asking price was too high.  Meanwhile the Red Sox have not been involved, according to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe.

12:47pm: Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune says Peavy will likely not be traded to the White Sox, presumably because he'll veto the deal if it reaches that point.  Krasovic notes that in addition to Poreda and Richard, Lance Broadway has been discussed.

Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times explains why the trade would make sense for the Sox and why it wouldn't.

12:21pm: Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says beyond Poreda and Richard, the Padres would choose two players to be named later from a list of four.  Axelrod explained the situation to Rosenthal:

"Approval or disapproval is not necessarily black or white.  Depending on what is involved could make it more desirable or less desirable. There may be certain things he has to have as conditions. We're not near the point of talking about that, what he would want to see adjusted if he were to approve."

11:52am: ESPN's Jerry Crasnick talked to Axelrod, who gave the impression that Peavy is leaning against accepting the trade:

"If I had to make a bet on it, I would guess that Jake would say he's not ready to take that step today.  But he wouldn't necessarily preclude it at any time in the future."

Peavy maintains his strong preference for the NL.

11:31am: Brock talked to Peavy's agent Barry Axelrod.  Axelrod hasn't spoken to Peavy yet today, but was asked by the Padres "about Jake's feeling about the possibility of (playing for) the White Sox."

10:11am: ESPN's Peter Gammons says Beckham is not part of the deal.  CBS' Danny Knobler says it would be Poreda, Richard, and one or two others.  The others would also be pitchers, says Knobler.  Yahoo's Gordon Edes says the White Sox have agreed to send four pitching prospects including Poreda and Richard.

ESPN's Bruce Levine talked to White Sox pitcher and former Peavy teammate Scott Linebrink, who gave Peavy a 50-50 chance of accepting the deal.

9:39am: MLB.com's Corey Brock and Scott Merkin say Poreda and Clayton Richard are believed to be part of the deal.

9:19am: Jon Heyman says the White Sox and Padres have agreed to a Peavy trade, and await the pitcher's approval.  MLB.com's Corey Brock agrees.  Ken Williams, always operating under the radar.  Now we get to see just how much Peavy hates the AL.

Peavy is owed an additional $8.35MM this year, $15MM in '10, $16MM in '11, $17MM in '12, and a $4MM buyout for '13.  Total: $60.35MM guaranteed through 2012.  It is surprising to see the White Sox willing to take on such a commitment to a pitcher.

No idea if he's involved, but yes, the Sox could trade Gordon Beckham in this deal as a player to be named later.

9:09am: Via Gonzales on Twitter: "Waiting for approval from Peavy on SD trade, according to source."

6:51am: Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune is reporting that the Padres are in discussions to send Jake Peavy to the White Sox.

According to Padres personnel, Peavy met with Padres manager Bud Black late Wednesday night to discuss a trade overture from the Sox.

It is apparently a four-player offer, which would presumably gut Chicago's farm system.  Peavy would have to approve any trade and according to Krasovic Peavy is telling people that the trade is "something to think about."  However, Krasovic says Peavy "may have reservations about pitching for Ozzie Guillen." 

MLB.com's Corey Brock asked Peavy about the rumor.  He said, "I only know what you guys [media] know."  Brock expects the Padres would require a frontline pitcher like Aaron Poreda.  Scot Gregor of the Daily Herald makes the Poreda link as well, but finds Peavy's contract prohibitive.  Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune says the Padres had a scout watching the White Sox last weekend in Toronto.  Meanwhile, SI's Jon Heyman says Peavy still prefers the West or Midwest and the NL.  Heyman likes the Cubs or Brewers.

Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here Tim Dierkes also contributed to this post.

New Writers

We've added three new writers to the staff: Howard Megdal, Mike Axisa, and Eddie Schmid.  Thanks to all those who applied.  We are all filled up now.  I apologize if I was not able to reply to you.  It was painful to have to turn down so many quality writers.  I am keeping the applications on hand in case something opens up down the road.

2010 Options: Cincinnati Reds

Let's take a look at the 2010 options facing the Reds.

  • Ramon Hernandez – $8.5MM club option with a $1MM buyout.  The 33 year-old backstop is off to a .286/.351/.361 start, and he's been better in May.  Still, it probably makes sense to turn to Ryan Hanigan full-time next year rather than exercise Hernandez's option.
  • Alex Gonzalez – $6MM mutual option with a $500K buyout.  Gonzalez wasn't signed for his bat, which is good since he's been awful offensively this year.  The 32 year-old missed all of 2008 with a knee compression fracture.  It's a small sample but he's been below-average defensively this year according to metrics like plus/minus and UZR.  This option will likely be declined, though prospect Chris Valaika hasn't shown anything in Triple A yet.
  • David Weathers – $3.7MM club option with a $400K buyout.  Weathers, 39, wisely accepted the Reds' offer of arbitration back in December.  In January, the team hammered out his one-year deal with an option.  Weathers' control has been poor this year and if it continues I expect the Reds to decline.

Jack Wilson-Yuniesky Betancourt Not Happening

THURSDAY: Baker has an update: the Pirates find Betancourt too pricey.  Baker is surprised by this, but it seems reasonable to me that they would not want to take on an additional $4MM+ for that kind of project.

MONDAY: According to Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times, the Pirates and Mariners have discussed swapping shortstops Jack Wilson and Yuniesky Betancourt.  Let's break down the details.

  • Wilson, 31, is hitting .254/.289/.310 in 77 plate appearances this year; he missed time with a sprained finger.  He's owed another $5.59MM this year plus a $600K buyout for 2010, for a total of about $6.2MM.  He has a limited no-trade clause that applies to six teams.  Wilson approached the Bucs in March about a possible extension.  John Dewan of The Fielding Bible rated him as the third-best defensive shortstop in the game.
  • Betancourt, 27, is hitting .264/.290/.368 in 132 plate appearances this year.  Earlier this month, manager Don Wakamatsu benched Betancourt to send him a message.  In his book, Dewan rated Betancourt the fourth-worst defensive shortstop in baseball.  Under his contract signed in April of 2007, Betancourt will earn $1.53MM more this year, $3MM in 2010, $4MM in 2011, and a $2MM buyout in 2012 for a total of about $10.5MM. 
  • Given the $4.3MM difference in guaranteed money, I can't see why the Pirates would entertain a deal like this.  Betancourt would be more appealing if he was not locked up.  Even then, he's a project.

Stark On White Sox, Bedard, A’s, Penny

A new Rumblings and Grumblings column from ESPN's Jayson Stark

  • Even if they don't acquire Jake Peavy, the White Sox are apparently "open for business."  Stark takes that to mean names such as Jermaine Dye, Jim Thome, Paul Konerko, Octavio Dotel, and A.J. Pierzynski could hit the market.
  • The Mariners are not quite yet at the point of making Erik Bedard available.  They figure to price him like an ace if they do so.
  • If A's GM Billy Beane decides to fold on 2009, he could make veterans such as Matt Holliday, Orlando Cabrera, Jason Giambi, and Russ Springer available.
  • It's very unlikely that the D'Backs shop Brandon Webb this summer, since he'll be coming off a shoulder injury.
  • Indians GM Mark Shapiro seems to be leaning toward hanging on to Cliff Lee for now.  Shapiro may look to add pitching by trading Mark DeRosa or an outfielder.
  • The Red Sox are "actively listening" on Brad Penny.  My opinion: the Phillies, Indians, White Sox, or Mets could make sense.

Brewers Acquire Jody Gerut For Tony Gwynn Jr.

1:58pm: According to Craig Elsten of 619 Sports, the Brewers acquired Jody Gerut from the Padres for Tony Gwynn JrMLB.com's Corey Brock confirms it.

Gerut, 31, had a fine comeback year in '08 but is off to a .221/.248/.381 start in 121 plate appearances this year.  He's played center and right field for the Padres.  His defense rates as a plus.  Since he has decent service time he's up to a $1.775MM salary.

Gwynn cleared waivers in April, so the Padres could've had him for nothing at that time.  He didn't hit much in Triple A last year.

1:24pm: Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel passes along a tweet from Brewers assistant GM Gord Ash:

The Brewers will have a press release on a player transaction in the next hour.

That message was posted at about 1pm CST.  Haudricourt says it is not Jake Peavy.

Mets Interested In Mark DeRosa

According to Ed Price of AOL Fanhouse, the Mets have been talking to the Indians about acquiring Mark DeRosa.  With Jose Reyes' injury last night, Price says "now that move makes even more sense."

What would it take to get DeRosa, who is hitting .255/.322/.427 in 174 plate appearances this year?  First off I'd guess full relief of the $4.1MM still owed to him.  Beyond that the rumor yesterday was pitching that could help the Indians this year.

Braves Talk: Infante, Francoeur

MLB.com's Mark Bowman has a new blog post about the Braves' current situation.

  • Utility man Omar Infante is out six to eight weeks after Manny Corpas broke a bone in his hand with a fastball.  There is a trickle-down effect on the trade market – the Braves have less depth now, and probably can't move a guy like Kelly Johnson.
  • Bowman adds that the Braves are likely to shop Jeff Francoeur, but the prospects are grim given his performance in recent times.  The Braves are still hurting for power at the corner outfield spots.