Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports leads his latest column with an imagined conversation between Astros owner Drayton McLane and GM Ed Wade, in which Wade attempts to educate McLane on the realities of Roy Oswalt's trade value. Rosenthal's hot stove notes…
- Like most people, Rosenthal can't see the Reds splurging on Oswalt. He finds the Mets "an even less serious contender" due to limited finances.
- Rosenthal points out that Carlos Zambrano hasn't shown himself to be worthy of replacing anyone in the current Cubs' rotation. At the moment, the Cubs appear to have a surplus.
- Rosenthal notes that the Majors' current home run kings – Jose Bautista, Paul Konerko, and Ty Wigginton – could be available at the trade deadline. Who would've predicted these three would top the leaderboard on May 24th? With Kelly Johnson tied for fourth? The Jays acquired Bautista in August of '08 without much fanfare, sending catcher Robinzon Diaz to Pittsburgh. The Pirates designated Diaz for assignment last November.
- Austin Kearns would be a nice match for the Giants, suggests Rosenthal. The 30-year-old outfielder is hitting .304/.377/.487 in 130 plate appearances for the Indians this year. Nate Schierholtz hasn't been much worse, though he's dealing with a bruised shoulder at the moment.
- Rosenthal feels that the Nationals will strike a deal to keep Adam Dunn in Washington before he reaches free agency.
If the Mets have such limited finances, then why did they spend $2M for Gary Matthews Jr?
Well it’s 1m this year, 1m next year. What is the veteran minimum? Around 800k or something, so even if they brought a guy in off the street they would have to pay him that much.
A guy off the street could hit better.
The Cubs need to trade a pitcher badly. I think Lilly should be the one to go if he gets hot. No one will want Zambrano, and they will need Dempster for next year. Same with Gorzo. I also don’t see Silva getting a great return either. He’s a good pitcher right now but he has to prove himself for a whole season because of how bad he was in Seattle.
Regardless of their budget, they should still try to get a little younger because they have a slim chance of making the playoffs next year and need to clear a little payroll so they can make some moves next year.
The Cubs need to sell whomever they can at this point. The team is doing nothing & they’re in a such financial dire straights that any salary relief will be of great help going forward.
How is Austin Kearns an upgrade? another non-power bat. Giants should look into Berkman or even Dye at this point.
Jermaine Dye is done. It’s over for Jermaine Dye.