Heyman On Halladay, Pedro, Ackley, Andruw
SI.com's Jon Heyman hears that the Blue Jays could keep Roy Halladay, especially since Toronto fans would not be receptive to a deal that sends their ace elsewhere. If the Jays do deal Halladay, they say they're looking for two premium prospects who will be ready for the majors next year and two other prospects who are further away from making big league contributions. Here are the details and the rest of Heyman's rumors:
- One executive says the Phillies, Giants and Angels have the best shots at acquiring Halladay.
- The Yankees and Mets have both spoken with the Blue Jays.
- It seems odd for teams to set some prospects off limits when the Jays are making Halladay available, but teams like the Rangers and Giants could conceivably deal for Doc and hold onto one or two of their top prospects.
- Executives haven't heard that the Blue Jays are trying to unload Vernon Wells' salary in a combined deal with Halladay.
- No executives believe teams would take Wells under any circumstances. They have "no shot" at moving him, according to one executive.
- Heyman credits Pedro Martinez's agent, Fern Cuza, for some impressive deals but doubts the report that suggested the Phillies will pay Pedro $4MM, unless it's prorated.
- Scott Boras met Mariners people to discuss second-overall pick Dustin Ackley, but the two sides made little progress.
- Heyman praises Andruw Jones for turning down offers from the Braves and Yankees to sign in Texas with coach Rudy Jaramillo.
Roy Halladay Rumors: Friday
For all of the Pedro Martinez rumors, Roy Halladay remains the best pitcher available. Here's the latest buzz surrounding the ace ace of a Jays team that's now fallen below .500:
- The Rangers have enough money coming off the books in 2010 to afford Halladay then, so his 2009 salary could be the team's biggest obstacle, according to Jamey Newberg. If the Rangers can afford Halladay this year, Newberg says the Rangers could give up Neftali Feliz or Justin Smoak- not both- along with Taylor Teagarden and others. But Derek Holland and Martin Perez are untouchable for Newberg.
- MLB.com's Todd Zolecki suspects that the Phillies would part with Jason Knapp, Dominic Brown or Kyle Drabek in the right deal if it meant adding Halladay.
- He only spoke in general terms, but Cards GM John Mozeliak told Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch "there is always a chance to do a deal."
- Jim Donaldson of the Providence Journal doesn't think Halladay's worth the price for the Red Sox.
Roy Halladay Rumors: Thursday
All of this morning's Roy Halladay rumors:
- Could the Red Sox make a play for Halladay? Sure, but Tony Massarotti of the Boston Globe says "they won't."
- Nick Cafardo of the Globe says the Red Sox hadn't inquired about Halladay as of late yesterday afternoon.
- Sean McAdam of the Boston Herald says the Red Sox would have to be prepared to surrender Clay Buchholz and two other top prospects to acquire Halladay.
- Josh Beckett told Rob Bradford of WEEI.com that he'd like to pitch in the same rotation as Halladay, but thinks the Red Sox have enough talent to win already.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post believes the Jays would need "near-perfect health and near-peak production" to contend next year, so their best chance to obtain more than draft picks for their ace could be right now.
- Halladay's one of the best, but as Joe Berkery reminds us, Doc struggled mightily before finding his place in the majors.
- Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun lists the Angels and Brewers as the leaders to acquire Halladay.
- Andy Martino and Jim Salisbury of the Philadelphia Inquirer report that the Phillies have been in regular contact with the Jays about Halladay and are "serious players."
- They may be the favorites, but Sherman hears that the Cardinals and Rangers have real interest, and the Angels do too.
The Rangers And Roy Halladay
According to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan, the Roy Halladay trade talks have reached the Rangers' clubhouse. The club in Texas has quite a few financial hurdles stemming from owner Tom Hicks' money issues, but that hasn't calmed the players' excitement at the possibility of landing the Toronto ace.
"I'd love to have him here," outfielder Marlon Byrd said Wednesday. "I don't know what price it would take to get him, but I'd love to have him. We're a contender. Hopefully we're on his list."
"You always want people who you feel could help the ballclub," outfielder Josh Hamilton added. "It's not my decision to make, so I don't know. But I want whatever would help this ballclub win games and get to the postseason. I'll leave that decision up to the front office."
As for the front office? "We're going to look to improve the club every way we can," general manager Jon Daniels told Sullivan. "I'll leave it at that."
It seems like a real long shot, unless the Rangers can dump salary. With Hicks looking to sell the team, it's hard to see how they could have $7MM available this season and $15.75MM open in 2010.
Odds & Ends: Reds, Dodgers, Rangers
Links for Wednesday evening, with more to come…
- MLB.com's Mark Sheldon reports the Reds are nearing deals with their top two picks, pitchers Mike Leake and Brad Boxberger. "It's going very well with both of those guys," Reds scouting director Chris Buckley said Wednesday.
- According to Pedro Moura of the Los Angeles Daily News, outfielder Mitch Jones has cleared waivers and accepted an assignment to Triple-A Albuquerque. He was DFA'd by the Dodgers about a week ago.
- T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com reports the Rangers have released 29-year-old minor leaguer Nate Gold, who was batting .256 with two home runs and 15 RBI in 25 games for Triple-A Oklahoma City.
Odds And Ends: Kepler, Rangers, Hairston
More links for the afternoon…
- MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo reports that the Twins awarded Max Kepler a bonus of about $800k. That's close to the record for a European player.
- Ben Klayman of Reuters reports that the Rangers are likely to make financial information available to potential buyers. Owner Tom Hicks would like to see bids for the team by mid-August, but negotiations won't necessarily be complete by the end of the season.
- Byron Kerr of MASN.com argues that the Nyjer Morgan acquisition shows why the Nats need to award Mike Rizzo the permanent GM job.
- Ben Badler of Baseball America reports that the Rockies signed five international players, including Dominican shortstop Rosell Herrera.
- Dave Cameron of FanGraphs says the Scott Hairston deal was an "easy win" for the A's.
- MLB.com's Corey Brock says the move could work for the Padres in the future.
Heyman On Street, Indians, Pedro, Davis
Jon Heyman of SI.com lists his mid-season award winners, led by Albert Pujols and Joe Mauer. Here are Heyman's latest rumors:
- Huston Street alone is worth more on the trade market than Matt Holliday. Dan O'Dowd must be happy with his return, which also included Carlos Gonzalez.
- Jhonny Peralta, Kerry Wood and Carl Pavano are all available.
- Indians GM Mark Shapiro believes he can still get a fair return for Cliff Lee if he deals him a year from now, a few months before the lefty is scheduled to become free agent.
- One executive says the Royals are "pushing" Brian Bannister as a trade candidate. However, they're reluctant to deal Gil Meche and Joakim Soria.
- Pedro Martinez intends to sign soon. We know the Phillies are scouting him. Could there be a match in Philly? The Rays are "thought to be in the mix," while the Yankees are not, even with Chien-Ming Wang's injury.
- There's apparently been "little progress" between the Brewers and D'Backs regarding Doug Davis.
- Nolan Ryan is part of one group trying to buy the Rangers.
Cliff Lee Rumors: Monday
Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that Indians GM Mark Shapiro would not specifically discuss possible trades involving Cliff Lee or Victor Martinez. Instead, Shapiro repeated that the Indians seek pitching in any deals, particularly young, controllable pitchers who are close-to-major-league-ready.
Rangers Ink More International FA’s
We learned yesterday that the Rangers signed two top international free agents, and MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan has a few more for us that were made official today. In addition to Venezuelan SS Luis Sardinas and SS Jurickson Profar of Curacao, the Rangers added LHP Daniel De La Torre of Mexico, outfielder Chris Garia of Curacao and shortstop Luis Mendez of Venezuela.
Sullivan tells us Garia is speedster who was clocked in at 6.2 seconds for the 60-yard dash, but "not a big prospect." There's some video of Profar here. Both of the Curacao natives played in an international tournament hosted by fellow native and Rangers OF Andruw Jones, says Daniel Paulling at MLB.com.
International Free Agent Signings: Saturday
These signings will trickle in throughout the day, so let's keep track of the notable ones in a single post. Keep checking back in for updates.
- Baseball America's Ben Badler reports that the Padres have signed Dominican centerfielder Yoan Alcantara. ESPN's Jorge Arangure says he received a $135,000 signing bonus. Alcantara is said to be a good athlete with plus speed and a plus arm.
- Arangure tweets that the Rockies signed Dominican shortstop Rosmel Herrera for $550,000.
- Andrew Baggarly of The San Jose Mercury News says that the Giants signed righthander Marvin Barrios out of Panama to a six-figure bonus.
- Badler has another: The Rangers have signed Venezuelan shortstop Luis Sardinas. No word on the exact financial details, but he's expected to receive a singing bonus over $1MM.
- MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan reports that the Rangers have signed 16-yr old Jurickson Profar out of Curacao. Profar stared in the 2004 Little League World Series, and is a legitimate prospect both at short and on the mound.