Angels Still Looking For Big Bat
The Angels haven't halted their pursuit of a power bat, sources tell Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. Garrett Jones of the Pirates and Derrek Lee of the Cubs are two hitters they are monitoring. However, Morosi's sources could not confirm if Tony Reagins & Co. are in active talks for either player.
This certainly isn't the first time we've heard Lee's name linked to the Halos, as they were said to be targeting him early last month. Lee, who turns 35 in September, has a no-trade clause in his contract but might be willing to waive it for the right team. Lee is in the final season of a five-year, $65MM extension he signed in April of 2006. With a .251/.338/.391 line, he's putting the contract year theory to the test.
Jones broke out in 2009 with a slash line of .293/.372/.567 and 21 home runs in 82 games. The 31-year-old has slipped to .273/.336/.427 with 12 home runs so far this season. Jones, who also plays right field, has started 50 games at first base this season. As a late bloomer, Jones is under team control through 2015.
Rangers After Cantu, Wigginton
SUNDAY, 9:04pm: The Rangers are in "ongoing conversations" with the Marlins regarding Cantu, tweets Rosenthal. He adds that the Marlins are also talking to the Rockies and Giants about the infielder, while Texas remains interested in Wigginton.
2:56pm: Ken Rosenthal tweets that the Rangers are also very interested in Ty Wigginton. Texas sent three scouts to watch Wigginton on Friday night when the Orioles faced off against the Twins.
Like Cantu, Wigginton is a free agent after the season. He's earning $3.5MM in 2010, and has $1.35MM of that left coming to him. Wigginton's lower price tag, versatility, and superior production may make him a more attractive option than Cantu. His OPS checks in at .771 compared to Cantu's .721.
SATURDAY: The Rangers are making a strong push for Marlins infielder Jorge Cantu as the deadline approaches, writes T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com. Texas is in search of a right-handed hitting backup first baseman and the 28-year-old is high on the team's list.
Cantu is set to earn $2MM over the final two months of the season, a price the Rangers can't afford. However, the judge presiding over the club's bankruptcy case told the Rangers earlier this week that he has the power to have MLB extend their line of credit, which would make it possible for them to add payroll.
In recent weeks other teams have been said to have interest in Cantu, including the Giants, Rockies, and Angels.
Roy Oswalt Rumors: Sunday
The Phillies, Yankees, Dodgers, and Cardinals were among the teams that had scouts watching Roy Oswalt's start against the Reds last night. Oswalt didn't exactly dazzle, allowing six runs over five innings, but there still seems to be plenty of interest in the right-hander, according to yesterday's round of Oswalt rumors. Here are today's updates, with the latest notes being added to the top of the list throughout the day:
- With Haren off of the trade market, Houston's asking price for Oswalt will likely be too high for the Cards' tastes, writes Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
- MLB.com's Brian McTaggart writes that Oswalt's pursuit of becoming the all-time wins leader in Houston won't affect his trade status. One win shy of the record, Oswalt says it would be nice to reach the mark, but won't veto a trade to make it happen.
- In an update for FOX Sports, Rosenthal says the Astros are having trouble matching up with the Cardinals and Dodgers, leaving the Phillies as the most logical suitor. However, in a pair of tweets, ESPN.com's Buster Olney reports that the Phils are exploring the possibility of swapping Werth directly for a starter if they can't work out a deal for Oswalt or Dan Haren.
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets that the Phillies, as opposed to the Dodgers and Cards, are best positioned to acquire Oswalt if they move Jayson Werth. However, Rosenthal hears from an executive that Philadelphia's demands in a Werth deal appear to be changing daily.
- Astros president Tal Smith tells Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe that he expects Oswalt to be moved. According to Smith, the Astros' ace is drawing "considerable interest," with at least "three or four" teams attempting to acquire the 32-year-old.
- Cafardo also hears from an Astros official that New York might be too "big time" for the quiet Oswalt, meaning there's a chance the righty may not waive his no-trade clause to play for a Big Apple team.
Angels Acquire Dan Haren
It took some time, but the Angels got even. Two weeks after the Rangers acquired Cliff Lee, the Angels traded for a highly-coveted pitcher of their own, obtaining Dan Haren from the Diamondbacks, according to Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News. In exchange for Haren, the Angels gave up Joe Saunders, Patrick Corbin, Rafael Rodriguez, and a player to be named later (Twitter link). The player to be named later is going to be Tyler Skaggs, barring something unexpected, according to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic (via Twitter).
The deal brings an end to months of speculation surrounding Haren, who became the most desirable hurler on the trade block after the Mariners shipped Cliff Lee to the Rangers. Unlike Lee, Haren's contract extends beyond this season. Haren is under contract for 2011 and 2012 at $12.75MM per season with a club option for 2013 of $15.5MM ($3.5MM buyout). The righthander has a 4.60 ERA with 9.0 K/9 and 1.9 BB/9 in 21 starts thus far in 2010.
Saunders, a former first round pick of the Angels, will change teams for the first time in his career. The lefty owns a career-high 4.62 ERA with 4.8 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 on the season. The 29-year-old will earn a shade over $1MM for the rest of this season, after which point he is arbitration-eligible. The D'Backs will control his rights in 2011, but Saunders will hit free agency after 2012.
Skaggs was the Halos' supplemental first-round selection (40th overall) in 2009. The 19-year-old signed for $1MM in early August. According to Baseball America, Skaggs is armed with a fastball in the 88-91 mph range that could reach 91-93 mph when his upper body matures. Skaggs, in their estimation, projects as a solid mid-rotation starter.
Corbin, who turned 21 on Monday, is a lefthander with "much of his value tied to the development of his fastball", according to Baseball America's Prospect Handbook. At 6'3", the super-athletic hurler can dunk a basketball without a running start. Rodriguez, soon to be 26 years old, saw some time with the varsity squad in 2009, turning in a 5.58 ERA with 10 Ks and 9 BBs in 30.2 innings. Baseball America writes that he "features two plus pitches" at his best.
The Phillies, Cardinals, Tigers, Yankees and Dodgers were among the many teams connected to Haren this summer. The Angels did not appear to be a frontrunner for his services, but GM Tony Reagins pulled the deal off nonetheless. His counterpart, D'Backs interim GM Jerry Dipoto, faced the same challenge Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos faced last winter: his first major trade involved his team's best pitcher.
It was first reported by Bill Plunkett and Dan Woike of the Orange County Register that Saunders was involved in a trade.
Valentine Interested In Cubs’ Managerial Opening
Bobby Valentine says that he is interested in succeeding Lou Piniella as Cubs manager, writes Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune. Valentine discussed the soon-to-be vacant position prior to the Cubs' home contest against the Cardinals:
"As far as the job coming open at the end of the season, anyone that considers himself a manager would think about how attractive this opportunity is, and every once in a while I consider myself a manager," Valentine said.
Valentine, who never spoken with the Ricketts family, appeared to be on the verge of signing on with the Marlins in June before negotiations fell apart. He was also a candidate for the Orioles job before removing his name from consideration.
Sullivan writes that Cubs GM Jim Hendry is known to be high on Valentine and is likely to grant him an interview at some point.
Tigers Looking For Offense, Interested In Dunn
5:02pm: ESPN's Buster Olney says that the Tigers could avoid having to deal top prospects by acquiring someone like Jose Guillen, who's owed a substantial amount of money. As Olney points out, the Tigers haven't minded adding payroll at the deadline in the past.
Olney also notes that the Tigers did have scouts watching Jayson Werth over the weekend.
3:22pm: Alex DiFilippo of MLB.com writes that Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski is adamant about not trading top prospects for a rental player. Specifically, Dombrowski mentioned Andy Oliver and Jacob Turner:
"Other clubs look at us and say, 'Well, they are desperate so maybe they will trade us Oliver and Turner,' " Dombrowski said. "Well we aren't. I'm not meaning to say that anyone is untouchable. I'm not going to give away blue-chip young players for a guy for two months. It just doesn't make sense…"
Given reports of the Nationals' sky-high asking prices for Dunn (they asked for Gordon Beckham from Chicago), one side will have to back down from those demands for a deal to be worked out.
2:24pm: The Tigers suffered a big hit to their 2010 offense when they lost Magglio Ordonez for 6-8 weeks with a broken ankle. Ordonez, 36, was in the middle of a rebound season after seeing a sharp drop in his power numbers in 2009.
MLB.com's Bill Ladson tweets that in the wake of this injury, the Tigers now have "great interest" in acquiring Nationals slugger Adam Dunn to fill the void.
Acquiring Dunn is likely of such great interest not only due to how it would help their own club, but also due to how it could throw a wrench into the plans of a different team. Dunn's biggest suitor has currently been one of the teams that the third-place Tigers are chasing — the first-place Chicago White Sox.
Detroit's offense has been strong this season, as indicated by their .758 team OPS, good for seventh in all of baseball. However, with Ordonez out and rookie Brennan Boesch in the midst of a large slump, it makes perfect sense that the Tigers would like to add some support to Miguel Cabrera on his quest for his first MVP award.
Detroit's been linked to several pitchers, namely Dan Haren, but the Ordonez injury seems to have them on the lookout for additional thump in the lineup as well.
Relief Rumors: Capps, Jays, Dotel
Bullpen help is always in great demand as the deadline approaches, and 2010 is no exception. With all of the relief rumors circulating today, let's take a look at some of them:
- Earlier today, we heard that the competition for Scott Downs was heating up, but that some executives think the Jays are asking too much. Ken Rosenthal tweets that the Jays are asking a lot for all three of their available relievers — Downs, Kevin Gregg, and Jason Frasor. The Dodgers inquired but are now looking elsewhere as a result of those demands.
- Buster Olney has heard that several executives think the Nationals will trade Matt Capps. The Washington closer is having a strong rebound season, but makes $3.5MM and will be in line for a large raise through arbitration prior to the 2011 campaign. With the strong results seen from Tyler Clippard and Drew Storen this year, the Nats have quality in-house options to replace Capps. GM Mike Rizzo recently said he's not shopping Capps, but he's getting lots of calls.
- Troy Renck of the Denver Post writes that the Rockies had a scout at Octavio Dotel's last outing, but they're concerned about his durability and switching from a closer to setup role. According to Renck, teams are monitoring the Pirates to see if they'd make Evan Meek or Joel Hanrahan available as well.
Nats Notes: Pitching, Capps, Dunn, Willingham, Harris
MLB.com's Bill Ladson talked with Nationals GM Mike Rizzo about the upcoming trade deadline. Let's run down an abbreviated version:
- Rizzo is pleased with his rotation's performance in spite of losing Jason Marquis for nearly all of 2010 thus far. Still, starting pitching is his biggest priority in any potential trades. As he points out, you can never have too much good young pitching.
- Rizzo says he doesn't make any calls attempting to shop Matt Capps, Adam Dunn, or Josh Willingham. He does, however receive a lot of calls on the trio, which he says he's not surprised by:"There is a reason everyone is asking for those three players: They are good players."
- Asked about a possible extension for Dunn, Rizzo was brief in saying that they're in talks and have been since Spring Training, but that's all he was going to say. The White Sox have been pursuing Dunn for weeks, and as of today it looks like the Tigers have joined the fray as well.
- The Nationals have received calls about Willie Harris, and he's available, but not being shopped. Rizzo specifically mentions Harris' presence in the clubhouse as a positive.
Orioles Notes: Wigginton, Trade Market, Guthrie
MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli has some deadline-oriented quotes from Orioles president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail. Let's take a look:
- MacPhail doesn't think that Ty Wigginton's recent three-game suspension for bumping an umpire in an argument will affect his trade value. Wigginton is currently appealing the suspension, which could reduce it by 1-2 games. He's been linked to several teams, most recently the Rangers.
- MacPhail feels the market is a little slow because a lot of teams are completely focused on some of the big name pitchers out there (obviously referring to Dan Haren and Roy Oswalt).
- Baltimore isn't looking to move Jeremy Guthrie, though he's available. His contract situation (controlled through 2012) means they'd have to get a "significant return" to move him. Guthrie has been linked to many teams and said he would enjoy pitching in San Diego, though he loves Baltimore.
Odds & Ends: Reds, Happ, Edmonds, Rangers, Tigers
Links for Sunday, as Jim Thome cranks his 576th career home run….
- Reds GM Walt Jocketty tells MLB.com's Mark Sheldon that he's actively talking to clubs, but nothing is imminent.
- MLB.com's Corey Brock offers his opinion (via Twitter) of how the Padres should prioritize their needs at the deadline: a starting pitcher and middle infield depth.
- CSN's Jim Salisbury tweets that the Astros, Rays, Giants, and Pirates all have scouts at today's Phillies game. Both J.A. Happ and Jayson Werth are appealing to other teams.
- Jim Edmonds implied that he's leaning toward retiring at season's end, writes Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
- A close friend of Josh Byrnes tells Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe that the former Diamondbacks GM has no shortage of job offers. Within the column, Cafardo also speculates on the availability of players such as Joakim Soria, Livan Hernandez, and Mike Gonzalez.
- Rangers president Nolan Ryan reiterated that a right-handed first baseman was at or near the top of the club's wish list, according to Richard Durrett of ESPNDallas.
- Jim Leyland tells Mark Snyder of the Detroit Free Press that Dave Dombrowski hasn't informed him of any trade targets during the last two weeks. Specifically, Leyland hasn't heard anything about Ted Lilly or Mike Lowell from the Tigers' GM.
- Referring to trade rumors or contract years as a "distraction" is overblown, according to MLB.com's Alyson Footer.
- Frank Fitzpatrick of the Philadelphia Inquirer has six tips for Ruben Amaro Jr. to keep in mind as the trade deadline approaches, while John Tomase of the Boston Herald would like to see Theo Epstein exercise restraint this week.