Archives for July 2010

Twitter Rumors: Lowell, Ross, Dotel, Heilman

By Tim Dierkes | July 30, 2010 at 2:31pm CDT

A home for today's random Twitter rumors…

The Red Sox might not activate Mike Lowell today because they're trying to trade him, tweets Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe.
The Marlins are getting tons of calls on Cody Ross but aren't inclined to move him, tweets Juan C. Rodriguez of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. ESPN's Jayson Stark says the Marlins are wavering on their stance not to deal Ross, and the Braves are making a push.
The Sox made a run at the Cubs' Sean Marshall and were shot down, tweets ESPN's Jayson Stark. Marshall is having a dominant year out of the Cubs' pen.
Though the Giants have inquired on Orioles lefty Will Ohman, a deal is unlikely according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.
Action has been light on Octavio Dotel so far, tweets Morosi.
The Diamondbacks aren't sure about trading Aaron Heilman, reports Ken Rosenthal, but could move Chad Qualls and Adam LaRoche. SI's Jon Heyman says the D'Backs have gotten nibbles on Qualls but nothing is close yet.
The Indians are getting "significant hits" on Jake Westbrook, says ESPN's Buster Olney. The Cardinals and Yankees have checked in, reports Stark.

Orioles May Be Done Dealing

By Tim Dierkes | July 30, 2010 at 1:36pm CDT

The Orioles shipped Miguel Tejada out of town yesterday, and they might be done dealing according to Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun. Connolly doesn't anticipate more trades, but he ranks the Orioles most likely to go: Ty Wigginton, Will Ohman, and Luke Scott.

The Orioles lost a suitor for Wigginton when the Rangers acquired Jorge Cantu, and they like Wiggy's instruction of young players. Connolly says to forget about starter Jeremy Guthrie being dealt – he's been told it's a near impossibility and that the O's would have to be blown away.

Blue Jays Acquire Mike Jacobs

By Tim Dierkes | July 30, 2010 at 1:10pm CDT

The Blue Jays acquired Mike Jacobs from the Mets for a player to be named later, tweets Andy McCullough of the Newark Star-Ledger. Jacobs, 29, has spent most of the season at Triple A. He's had multiple stints at the level, but this year he's hitting .260/.313/.478 in 371 plate appearances.

Jacobs cleared waivers and accepted a Triple A assignment after being designated in April.

White Sox Acquire Edwin Jackson

By Tim Dierkes | July 30, 2010 at 12:17pm CDT

Edwin Jackson has been traded for the fourth time in his young career, this time by the Diamondbacks to the White Sox for pitchers Dan Hudson and David Holmberg.

The 26-year-old Jackson would be a project for Sox pitching coach Don Cooper, as he has a 5.55 ERA, 8.1 K/9, and 4.3 BB/9 on the season despite throwing a no-hitter in late June. Of course, we're not positive the hard-throwing righty won't be flipped, possibly for Adam Dunn, before Saturday's trade deadline. At any rate, Arizona shed more payroll with the move since Jackson is owed $1.5MM more this year and $8.35MM in 2011 before he'll be eligible to become one of the youngest members of the 2012 free agent class.

Hudson, 23, rocketed up Chicago's farm system last year with "three solid pitches and natural deception," according to Baseball America. He's spent most of this season in Triple A, posting a 3.47 ERA, 10.4 K/9, and 3.0 BB/9 with 13 home runs allowed in 93.3 innings. The D'Backs might be concerned that their revamped rotation is built around flyball pitchers, with Ian Kennedy and Joe Saunders already in the fold, but interim GM Jerry Dipoto told MLBTR, "pitchers with good stuff work just about anywhere" while noting that Kennedy and Hudson miss bats. The D'Backs will have Hudson under team control through 2016 even if they keep him in the Majors the rest of the season.

Holmberg, 19, was drafted in the second round, 71st overall out of high school by the White Sox last year. The southpaw was ranked eighth among Sox prospects by BA heading into the season, with the projection of a "middle of the rotation workhorse at best."

Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports were first to report the teams being on the verge of the deal, with Yahoo's Tim Brown breaking news of the agreement. Jon Heyman, Joe Cowley, and Bob Nightengale also contributed to the story.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Berkman, Dunn, Dodgers

By Mike Axisa | July 30, 2010 at 9:23am CDT

On this date two years ago, Ichiro Suzuki picked up his 3,000th career hit with a first inning single against the Rangers. The hit was his 1,722nd in the big leagues, which came after he racked up 1,278 hits with the Orix Blue Wave in Japan's Pacific League. Including the postseason, the 36-year-old Ichiro has 3,456 career base hits to his credit, a staggering number no matter how you look at it.

Here is the latest from around the baseball blogosphere, a day before the non-waiver trade deadline…

Phoul Ballz spoke to Lakewood Blue Claws manager Mark Parent about Jonathan Villar's inclusion in the Roy Oswalt deal. Parent managed Villar this season.
Pale Hose Pariah looks at the trade value of Lance Berkman and Brad Hawpe.
River Ave. Blues wants to see the Yankees swing a trade for Berkman to be the team's designated hitter.
1 Blue Jays Way breaks down to the Anthony Gose–Brett Wallace swap.
The Process Report tackles the Adam Dunn to the Rays rumor.
Meanwhile, SD Sports Net wants to see the Padres trade for Dunn.
Mike Scioscia's Tragic Illness explains why the Dodgers shouldn't add a starter before the deadline.
Pittsburgh Lumber Co. calculates Paul Maholm's trade value.
Scouting The Sally compares the trade value of top prospects Jesus Montero and Wilmer Flores.
Blogging From The Bleachers breaks down the various Cliff Lee hauls.
Bleacher GM steps into Dave Dombrowski's shoes for a little while.
More Hardball looks back at some terrible trades from the 1990's.

If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here.

Gose-Wallace Trade Reactions

By Tim Dierkes | July 30, 2010 at 8:30am CDT

Baseball America represents the industry consensus, and given the players' respective rankings it follows that most teams value Brett Wallace more than Anthony Gose. That Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos made the swap with the Astros yesterday anyway shows that he values his army of scouts over the industry consensus, as he should. When Anthopoulos came on board he built the largest scouting staff in the Majors and Wallace for Gose represents an interesting test case. More thoughts on the deal…

Anthopoulos explained the trade to MLB.com's Jordan Bastian. He's attempted to acquire Gose from the Phillies multiple times before, and sees him as a potential impact center fielder. Upside over certainty.
ESPN's Keith Law says this trade "could not possibly make less sense to me," and views Wallace as "twice as valuable a prospect as Gose."
Dustin Parkes of Drunk Jays Fans points out that value has been lost by the Jays at some point. His colleague Andrew Stoeten isn't concerned about that, but wonders if the deal is "indicative of an organizational shift regarding the timeline for contention." He also wonders if the Blue Jays feel they are "jumping off on [Wallace] before his value drops."

Odds & Ends: Cardinals, Abreu, Mets, Edmonds

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 30, 2010 at 2:17am CDT

A few assorted links, as the trading finally picks up…

After missing out on Roy Oswalt, the Cardinals are looking elsewhere for pitching, writes Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Mid-level starters like Jake Westbrook or Aaron Cook could be fits for the Cards. The asking price for Cook, says Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, is a bullpen piece and a prospect.
The Angels don't appear to have made Bobby Abreu available, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney (via Twitter).
The Mets finalized their over-slot deal with Erik Goeddel, according to Jim Callis of Baseball America (on Twitter). They agreed to give the 21-year-old righty a $350K bonus. MLBTR first reported an agreement had been reached on July 4th.
The Dodgers designated Jack Taschner for assignment according to Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times (via Twitter).
The Astros released Tommy Everidge to make room for Brett Wallace, according to the Round Rock Express website.
Teams have asked the Brewers about Jim Edmonds, according to Scott Miller of CBS Sports.
GM Doug Melvin tells Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel that things are quiet for the Brewers right now.
The Rangers pursued Roy Oswalt and Prince Fielder aggressively, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (via Twitter).
The Mets asked the Cubs about Tom Gorzelanny, according to Heyman (Twitter link).
The White Sox signed former major leaguer Jon Adkins to a minor league deal, according to Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune.
The Twins, Phillies and Giants are losing interest in Ty Wigginton, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter).
Jason Frasor tells Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star that he hears the latest from MLB Trade Rumors whether he wants to or not, since his friends tell him about the latest rumors.
I talked trades with Rob Shaw and Michelle Steele of Bloomberg Sports. You can check out the video clip at USA Today.

Red Sox Have Explored Trades For Many Relievers

By Tim Dierkes | July 30, 2010 at 1:03am CDT

FRIDAY, 1:03am: Theo Epstein has discussed multiple possible trades with former Red Sox assistant GM and current Padres GM Jed Hoyer, according to Peter Abraham and Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. The Globe duo believes Boston could have interest in a reliever like Joe Thatcher, and, given the team's excess of outfielders when Jacoby Ellsbury returns, they may match up with San Diego.

THURSDAY, 12:59pm: Though they're on his no-trade list, the Red Sox asked the Brewers about Trevor Hoffman, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Rosenthal adds that the Brewers are not inclined to move Hoffman. Meanwhile they're getting calls on Carlos Villanueva and Todd Coffey.

12:05pm: The Red Sox are leaving no rock unturned in their search for relief help. They've explored Rafael Perez, Will Ohman, Mike Gonzalez, Matt Capps, Michael Wuertz, Craig Breslow, Sean Marshall, Kerry Wood, David Aardsma, and Kyle Farnsworth, reports Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. Cafardo says Scott Downs looks unlikely unless the Blue Jays back down from their top prospect requests. On a related note, SI's Jon Heyman tweets that the Jays asked the Mets for outfield prospect Kirk Nieuwenhuis and one other player for Downs and were denied.

Marshall is the interesting name here. The 27-year-old lefty has had a dominant year in relief, posting a 1.71 ERA, 10.4 K/9, and 2.9 BB/9 in 52.6 innings with one home run allowed. He's been especially strong against lefties. Marshall is under team control through 2012 and would presumably be very difficult to pry loose from the Cubs. Gonzalez is another surprising name, since he's spent most of the season on the shelf with a shoulder injury and is still owed good money.

Cafardo adds that the Red Sox have been shopping reliever Ramon Ramirez, and offers the opinion that a National League team might want to take a look at him. Ramirez has a 4.57 ERA, 6.5 K/9, and 3.3 BB/9 in 41.3 innings with six home runs allowed and is a potential non-tender candidate after the season.

Morosi On Giants, Downs, Myers, Tigers

By Luke Adams 2 | July 30, 2010 at 12:10am CDT

Let's check out the latest updates from Jon Paul Morosi at FOX Sports….

The Giants continue to search for a left-handed reliever, with Jeremy Affeldt and Dan Runzler injured. While we've heard the club had been eyeing lefties such as Will Ohman and Scott Downs, Morosi indicates that, like every other team that has inquired on Downs, the Giants weren't enthused by Toronto's asking price. CSNBayArea.com's Mychael Urban (via Twitter) reports that the Giants are "working hard" to complete a trade tonight, though there's no indication of whether it would be for bullpen help or another piece.
Starters like Ted Lilly and Brett Myers appear unlikely to be traded to Minnesota. The Twins would need to overpay to pry Myers away from the Astros.
The Tigers aren't looking to make a blockbuster deal, but could still make minor moves to upgrade their roster. The club doesn't want to "overexpose" their young players, which played a part in their acquisition of Jhonny Peralta. A bullpen addition is still a possibility for the Tigers, who were scouting the Blue Jays on Wednesday night.

Rangers Inquired On Josh Johnson

By Luke Adams 2 | July 29, 2010 at 11:46pm CDT

While the Rangers and Marlins were working out the trade that sent Jorge Cantu to Texas, the Rangers also took a chance to "reach for the sky" and inquired on the availability of Josh Johnson. According to MLB.com's Joe Frisaro, the Rangers were willing to offer their top three prospects, but were told the Marlins' ace is "unmovable."

Johnson, 26, signed a four-year extension worth $39MM with Florida in January, virtually eliminating him as a possible trade chip for the near future. Given his performance this year, which includes a 1.72 ERA over 141.1 IP, Johnson figures to be even more untouchable now than he was at the time of the extension.

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