Padres Leading For Prior, Rangers Out
UPDATE, 12-21-07 at 11:02am: The Rangers took a look at Prior’s meds, and they are "completely out" on him according to T.R. Sullivan. Rosenthal had said they were aggressively pursuing him.
FROM 12-21-07 at 9:55am:
Yesterday we outlined the 14 teams involved in the Mark Prior Derby. Last night, Buster Olney provided an update to the situation.
Olney’s article was published around 8:15pm CST, and he said Prior may choose his new team within 24-48 hours. So perhaps we will know by Saturday evening.
According to Olney, the Padres "appear to be the frontrunner." They’ve apparently offered Prior a package heavy in incentives, and of course they have the draw of being near his home. Olney does believe one of the other dozen or so teams could jump in and get Prior with an aggressive offer, though. The Astros seem to be a good possibility.
The Mark Prior Derby
Let’s do a recap on the Mark Prior Derby, which is getting more confusing each day. Jerry Crasnick has added some good info this afternoon. Prior wants a one-year deal and hopes to be on a big league mound before the end of May.
- Yankees – They’ll probably pass, per Hank Steinbrenner.
- Red Sox – Named only by Jayson Stark.
- White Sox – Named only by Stark.
- Mariners – Named by Stark, denied by Jim Street.
- Mets – Named by Stark, Crasnick, Ken Rosenthal, Ed Price
- Cardinals – Named by Stark, Crasnick, Rosenthal, Matthew Leach
- Padres – Named by many, made an offer according to Crasnick. Prior went to USC but would have to take less money to play in San Diego
- Astros – Named by many, made an offer according to Alyson Footer
- Giants – Named only by Stark
- Reds – Named by Stark, Crasnick. Prior previously played under Dusty Baker
- Nationals – Named by Stark, Crasnick, Bill Ladson
- Rangers – Named by Crasnick but not Stark, aggressively pursuing according to Rosenthal
- Marlins – Named only by Crasnick
- Indians – Named only by Crasnick
One more and we’re at half of all baseball teams linked at some point. The Phillies and Pirates are not interested, and it’s probably safe to count the Cubs out.
Odds and Ends: Giles, Chacon, Durbin
Here are today’s random rumor tidbits.
- The Rox are interested in Marcus Giles for their second base opening. Giles was awful last year, they should just try something internal. Other Rockies notes: contracts with Kip Wells and Luis Vizcaino aren’t quite finalized, and they may ink Victor Zambrano to a minor league deal. UPDATE: Wells, plus Mark Redman, are done deals.
- The Pirates still have their eye on Shawn Chacon and Chad Durbin. That”ll put butts in the seats. Also, Jake of Bucco Blog weighs in on a new Pirates hire.
- Speaking of Durbin, did he comment on this blog and suggest he’s headed to the NL? I’m not sure.
- Drays Bay talked to Gerry Hunsicker. Seth Speaks talked to Pat Neshek.
- New prize added to our Hot Stove Hysteria contest – three months free of Scout.com access.
- Things are mostly quiet with the Brewers, but this Tom Haudricourt blog post notes tepid discussions for Scott Rolen, Hank Blalock, and Andre Ethier.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Prior, Bedard, Haren
The rumor mill is picking up today, thanks in no short part to Ken Rosenthal. Check out his latest column.
- Rosenthal believes the Padres are Mark Prior‘s first choice, but as usual they won’t pay as much as other teams. Both Texas clubs are in the lead for Prior currently. Rosenthal also names the Cards, Mets, and Yankees are suitors, as we knew. The Pirates, by the way, have not inquired.
- Talks for Erik Bedard have slowed down, because the Orioles aren’t impressed with the offers. The Mariners, Reds, and Mets are the top contenders. Rosenthal indicates that the Reds may be overvaluing Homer Bailey, compared to the perception of other clubs.
- Interesting late-game suitors for Dan Haren: the Rockies and Braves. You wonder, then, whether they’ll also inquire on Bedard.
- Rosenthal notes that the Chris Burke acquisition could be a sign that the D’Backs won’t re-sign Orlando Hudson. Burke will have to show something first though.
- The Orioles don’t seem likely to flip Luke Scott; they like his style. The guy could hit 30 bombs this year, in the opinion of Ron Shandler and Co.
- The Twins are up to 39 on their 40 man roster, so they’ll have to be creative to take back four players in a Johan Santana deal. It could mean including a player with Johan.
Phillies Interested In Cameron, Benson
ESPN’s Jayson Stark wrote recently that the Phillies have expressed interest in center fielder Mike Cameron, now that the Padres are out of the mix. Pat Gillick, who had Cameron back in Seattle, may have warmed to the idea of a two-year contract. Back on December 6th Todd Zolecki said the Phils didn’t even want to go that far. Stark says the White Sox and Rangers are other contenders for Cameron.
Also, both the Phillies and Padres remain on the trail of Geoff Jenkins, according to Zolecki. His choices have been narrowed down to those two clubs since Friday.
The Phils will be among many teams watching Kris Benson throw tomorrow. Benson is a popular bargain option; we’ve known that the Yankees, Cardinals, Royals, and Marlins may be watching on Monday as well. Nick Cafardo says ten teams will observe Benson, adding the Rockies and Dodgers as new ones. We’re still three short!
The Phils also could give a minor-league deal to Sidney Ponson. I’ll let you add your own punchline there.
Rangers Signing Fukumori
UPDATE, 12-13-07 at 10:20am: Rosenthal confirms this signing; it kind of flew under the radar. Pretty cheap at $1.5MM per year.
UPDATE, 12-12-07 at 1:57pm: My Japanese-speaking friend says that this article indicates Fukumori signed with Texas for two years and $3MM. The $1.5MM salary is about twice what he made in ’07. Fukumori also had offers from the Pirates and Rays.
FROM 12-12-07 at 9:08am:
According to Evan Grant, the Rangers are "on the verge" of signing Japanese reliever Kazuo Fukumori. It would be a two-year deal.
As many as 10 teams were said to be interested in Fukumori, including the Yankees, Nationals, Royals, and Red Sox. Ken Davidoff recently spoke to a scout who described Fukumori as "not bad."
Rangers Acquire Broussard, Non-tender Otsuka
Quick note from Geoff Baker – the Mariners sent first baseman Ben Broussard to the Rangers for minor league infielder Tug Hulett. Makes sense; the Mariners clear $3.5MM+ from the payroll and actually get something in return. The Rangers get a cheap stopgap first baseman who won’t embarrass them.
We may never hear from Hulett again, but he’s better than the nothing the Mariners would’ve gotten for non-tendering Broussard.
The Rangers also non-tendered Akinori Otsuka. Last we’d heard he was throwing pain-free in October, but maybe the Rangers learned he needed Tommy John after all. (Hat tip to Rangerfans.com).
Padres Deep In Talks For Bay
UPDATE, 12-12-07 at 3:56pm: Krasovic jumps in to say that the Padres definitely won’t be trading Headley to the Bucs (and probably not at all). The Pirates and Padres have been talking a lot, and some kind of deal involving some of the players below could definitely happen.
UPDATE, 12-12-07 at 12:01pm: Buster Olney is reporting that the Padres are "deep into discussions" with the Pirates about a multiplayer trade in which Bay would be the centerpiece.
FROM 12-12-07 at 9:30am:
Tom Krasovic checks in with all sorts of fresh Padres rumors, as he often does. Below are the ones that haven’t come up elsewhere on the site today.
- The Padres and Pirates might have mutual ground for some kind of multiplayer deal. Names like Matt Morris, Jason Bay, Xavier Nady, and/or Nate McLouth are possible future Padres. The Bucs could go for Michael Barrett and/or Padres’ top prospect Chase Headley. My challenge to you: create a reasonable multiplayer trade scenario between these two clubs in the comments.
- Krasovic says the Padres "explored a trade" for the Cardinals’ Anthony Reyes. The Indians and Phillies have also been linked to the youngster before.
- As you might expect, Morgan Ensberg will probably be non-tendered today. He made $4.35MM in ’07, and the Friars don’t want to pay him anything like that.
- Akinori Otsuka is another non-tender candidate, and the Padres could seek to bring him back if so. Otsuka has been throwing pain-free since late October, though, so the Rangers will probably retain him.
Levine On Fukudome
Interesting stuff from ESPN 1000’s Bruce Levine this morning regarding Kosuke Fukudome.
- The Rangers offered the most money.
- The White Sox were not outbid – they offered about the same as the Cubs. However, Fukudome did not want to displace Jermaine Dye from right field.
- Fukudome was just intrigued by the Cubs, and liked the idea of being their first Japanese player.
Latest Johan Santana Rumors
UPDATE, 12-11-07 at 2:54pm: Jon Heyman puts the Red Sox, Yankees, and Mets as the three leading suitors for Johan. Matthew Cerrone, however, believes the Rangers, rather than the Yanks, are the third leading suitor.
FROM 12-11-07 at 8:52am:
Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune has the latest buzz surrounding the Johan Santana trade talks.
The Red Sox and Twins talked yesterday, and the Twins are leading toward Jacoby Ellsbury rather than Jon Lester. Jed Lowrie and Justin Masterson would also be included, and the sides are trying to figure out a fourth player.
The Yanks and Twins haven’t talked much lately, but apparently Kei Igawa‘s name has come up in the talks. He can’t have much trade value in the Twins’ eyes.
Christensen implies that the Mets might be trying to finish second here, staying involved for the sake of PR.
Christensen also notes that the Twins are fond of Jered Weaver, and the Angels could jump in if they decide to use their trade chips on another starter.
Also, the idea of the Twins including another player on their end has come up. In the past Joe Nathan has been mentioned, but Christensen is referring more to Twins’ prospects. They don’t have much in the system though.