Tim Brown’s Latest: A’s, Yankees
Yahoo’s Tim Brown has a new post up, with some trade rumors we’ve heard before and some we haven’t.
- Clearly the A’s are sellers, and they’re offering up Mike Piazza, Joe Kennedy, and Bobby Kielty. Brown names the Twins as the club most interested in Piazza. He also feels the Yankees, Angels, Mariners, and Red Sox would be good fits. But where would Piazza play on the Red Sox?
- The Red Sox were apparently close to a deal for Kielty, a 31 year-old switch-hitting extra outfielder. He hasn’t played much center since ’02, so maybe the Sox have relaxed that requirement. Kielty was supposed to be moved in a three-team deal that would have sent Wily Mo Pena somewhere. The deal has stalled, but it’s really starting to look like Pena is on the move.
- The Yankees and Rangers are still discussing Mark Teixeira. My guess is that Brian Cashman just wants to see if this can be done without involving Phil Hughes or Joba Chamberlain. Failing that, the Yanks have Ty Wigginton and Shea Hillenbrand on their list. Wiggy would be a useful addition. Joe Maddon would still find a way not to play Jonny Gomes though.
Graziano On Greinke, Pettitte
Good stuff today from Dan Graziano of the Newark Star-Ledger. Here’s my summary:
- Beyond the Cubs, Graziano lists the Braves, Dodgers, and Diamondbacks as teams interested in pitcher Zack Greinke. If the initial asking price for Octavio Dotel was as high as reported, I can’t imagine what Dayton Moore would want for Greinke.
- Graziano’s Dotel suitors: Cubs, Dodgers, and Brewers. The Red Sox, Rockies, and Indians have been mentioned by other sources. Quite a market for this guy.
- David Weathers is seen as the poor man’s Dotel/Gagne. Let’s see if Wayne Krivsky can get something useful for him. Stormy makes another $2.75MM in ’08 before his contract is up.
- The Mets are mostly focused on a power relief arm, as Roy Oswalt and Dontrelle Willis are said to be unavailable. I have no idea why Willis keeps getting lumped in with Oswalt; they are nowhere near equal. Graziano says the Mets still like Javier Vazquez but the White Sox keep trying to pawn off Jose Contreras instead.
- The Braves are trying to deal for southpaw reliever C.J. Wilson of the Rangers. The 26 year-old has an undeserved 2.81 ERA right now. His control has been worse this year, so he’d have to remain unhittable to be effective.
- The Mariners inquired on Andy Pettitte, but the Yankees aren’t giving up yet.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Lohse, Hunter, Contreras
The latest trade and signing rumors from Ken Rosenthal:
- Rosenthal believes Alex Rodriguez‘s ability to play shortstop could increase the number of suitors. Take a look at the free agents – there may not be a single viable option at short this winter. Still, the number of suitors for Rodriguez is severely limited by his massive contract requirement. Not too many clubs aside from the Yankees and Red Sox can get in on $240MM over eight years or whatever. The lack of available, reasonably priced shortstops could compel the Braves and Orioles to aggressively shop Edgar Renteria and Miguel Tejada.
- As a 29 year-old free agent starter with decent stuff, Scott Boras could sell Kyle Lohse as the next Gil Meche this winter. Meche’s work in the season’s first three months would only aid the wishcasting. I put up a little Lohse history here, writing that his deal will likely fall somewhere between Jason Marquis and Meche. Other free agent starters who will be under 30 for the 2008 season: Carlos Zambrano, Jason Jennings, Joe Kennedy, and Byung-Hyun Kim.
- Rosenthal believes the Rangers will bid on Torii Hunter this winter unless they acquire a proven center fielder this summer. He mentions that Jon Daniels set his sights on Shane Victorino but the Phils would rather trade Michael Bourn. Unless the Rangers get a proven guy they will still go after Hunter.
- The Mariners scouted Jose Contreras and Matt Morris recently, but both were lousy. I still think Jennings could sneak in there as the best available starter, but he too hasn’t pitched well in July. Definitely seems like the Mariners will snag some kind of starter.
- Rosenthal disputes Evan Grant’s report of the Brewers and Indians showing interest in Kenny Lofton. The Brewers are getting Bill Hall back soon and the Indians have some outfielders on the road to recovery as well. Perfect, this frees him up for the Cubs!
- Rosenthal mentions the same teams I did for Kevin Millar, but sees an August deal as a possibility. Waiting until August doesn’t seem to make sense for the Orioles, as things get trickier then.
- The Padres could trade Scott Linebrink in order to make payroll room for a starter. Or they could just sign Brian Lawrence. I discussed some other options for the Friars here.
Indians, Brewers Interested In Lofton
Kenny Lofton is the perfect mercenary. He’s been with a million different teams, and has 84 games of playoff experience. Even at age 40, he provides an OBP spark atop the lineup. He makes $6MM this year for the Rangers, so there’s about $2.6MM left on his contract. He gets another $100K if he’s traded.
According to Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News, Lofton has "drawn significant interest from Cleveland and Milwaukee." Other teams are checking him out as well. It’d be fun to see Lofton back with the Tribe, the team he’s best known for. He actually came up as an Astro though.
As a Cubs fan I’d welcome Lofton back to Chicago. After abandoning the Alfonso Soriano experiment, the Cubs have employed Angel Pagan, Jacque Jones, and Felix Pie in center. None have hit particularly well. I would’ve signed Lofton this winter, working Pie in carefully.
Grant’s column also mentions Sammy Sosa, who is drawing a little bit of interest. With his OBP down to .294, Sosa is being sold as a lefty-masher instead of a regular. Grant believes the Twins and Yankees might find him useful.
Teixeira Trade Talk Continues
A host of clubs are currently in on Texas first baseman Mark Teixeira, according to Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News.
We’ve heard the most about the Dodgers and Angels competing to acquire him. However, as Buster Olney notes, both clubs have promising young cheap first basemen. Though Teixeira has the track record, is he significantly better than James Loney or Casey Kotchman? Grant says the Dodgers have been scouting the Rangers and could go for one of their relievers as well. Meanwhile, the Rangers are scouting the Angels.
Grant says additional contenders like Teixeira: the Braves, Red Sox, and Yankees. Kevin Youkilis has been Boston’s first baseman this year. However, they could shift him back to third base and trade impending free agent Mike Lowell for something useful. The Braves and Yankees definitely have room at first base for Tex.
In the Braves’ case, though, there would truly be nowhere for Jarrod Saltalamacchia to play if he wasn’t included in the deal. The Braves are in an odd place, with two excellent young starting catchers on the roster. Atlanta’s strongest need right now is starting pitching, however. The Baseball Opinion connects the dots and finds a Javier Vazquez acquisition possible.
Grant believes noncontenders such as the Orioles and Giants could be interested in Teixeira as well. The Giants could use some star power if they cut ties with Barry Bonds after the season. Brian Sabean now has the job security to think about the post-Bonds Giants. The Orioles would be bringing in their hometown boy and could make a corresponding trade of Miguel Tejada.
Braves Still Interested In Teixeira?
We’ve seen the Braves connected in Mark Teixeira rumors before; in late June Kat O’Brien included the Braves in a sizeable list of interested teams. Speculation for quite a while now has placed catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia in the discussion.
David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution says the Teixeira-to-Atlanta rumor was still making the rounds at the All-Star Game. He seems to be speculating when he says Jon Daniels would require Salty and another young player, but that sounds about right. Perhaps the Braves wouldn’t be daunted by Teixeira’s free agency after 2008. They could definitely let him walk and collect some valuable draft picks. That’d bypass a lot of the Boras factor, though they’ll still have to arrive at a 2008 salary.
Braves’ first basemen have amassed an ugly .211/.264/.374 line in 318 ABs, most of it coming from Scott Thorman and the since-departed Craig Wilson. But if they went with Saltalamacchia exclusively from here on out, would he be significantly worse than Teixeira?
The Braves are fourth in the NL in OBP and sixth in slugging, with Andruw Jones perhaps primed for a much better second half. The bigger need is in pitching, specifically the starting rotation. Atlanta’s 4.60 rotation ERA is just 10th in the NL, and they have to be at least slightly worried about John Smoltz.
The problem is that Teixeira is definitely on the market, while an ace starter may not be. Javier Vazquez might be the best pitcher available.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Andruw, Lidge, Gwynn Jr.
Ken Rosenthal has a new Full Count video up at FOXSports for your viewing pleasure.
- Rosenthal believes that despite Andruw Jones‘s lousy May and June, he’ll still cash in this winter as the best available center fielder. He’ll still provide more offense than Torii Hunter in the long run.
- The Nationals are still asking for the moon in trade talks. If Jim Bowden does start acting reasonable, Dmitri Young, Chad Cordero, Jon Rauch, and Ryan Church could be dealt. Word via Bill Ladson of MLB.com is that only the Braves have inquired on Young.
- Brad Lidge is expected to remain an Astro. The main reason: Drayton McLane still doesn’t think his team is out of it. Most simulations a 2% chance or less of reaching the playoffs. If the Astros finally do acknowledge reality, they’d prefer to trade relievers other than Lidge (ie, Dan Wheeler or Chad Qualls).
- The Rangers and Brewers were close to a trade: Akinori Otsuka to the Brewers for Tony Gwynn Jr. Rosenthal seemed to dislike it, but I think it made sense for the Crew. Regardless, Bill Hall‘s injury thwarted the deal as Gwynn will be needed to man center.
- The new plan for the Brewers is to call up 29 year-old Grant Balfour, who’s dominated in the minors. He endured elbow and shoulder woes before undergoing Tommy John surgery in May of ’05. In the midst of his TJ recovery, Balfour developed the need for shoulder surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff and labrum. This guy would be pumping gas if he’d been born a few decades earlier. After the surgeries, the Twins cut Balfour and the Reds snagged him. Balfour rehabbed with the Reds but never made it to the bigs; the Brewers claimed him off waivers in October of ’06. He’s all the way back; Johnny Estrada was singing his praises back in February.
Teixeira Pines For Orioles
The Mark Teixeira-Orioles love affair continued tonight, as the Rangers welcomed Baltimore to town tonight for a series. Said Tex about the Orioles:
"In a year and a half, we’ll have some fun conversations. Baltimore, obviously in the future, is a place I’d love to look at."
Of course, he also said the typical cliches about being a Ranger and wanting to win in Texas. But you don’t often see a player under contract for an additional year and a half so openly talking about playing for another club. Teixeira also spoke of his willingness to chat with top Orioles draft pick Matt Wieters to help facilitate a deal. Both players have Scott Boras as their agent, and both went to Georgia Tech.
You may recall that 40% of the Orioles’ 25-man roster will reach free agency after the 2009 season. The O’s could backload a Teixeira contract to squeeze him in for the ’09 season. It is expected that the Orioles would have considerable competition from at least the Yankees.
Teixeira hopes to rejoin the Ranger lineup one week from now, leaving Jon Daniels two weeks to trade him before the deadline. There hasn’t been much buzz on him lately.
More Of Gagne’s List Revealed
We keep learning bits and pieces of Eric Gagne‘s 12-team allowable trade list; it’d be nice if someone would just leak the entire thing. The latest:
Gagne can be traded to the Yankees, Mets, Angels, and nine other clubs without his consent.
If Gagne is to be traded to the Tigers, Indians, Phillies, Red Sox, or thirteen other unknown clubs, he must consent. That means additional concessions on the part of the acquiring team.
Rob Bradford’s recent post added the Red Sox to the latter list. While Gagne nonetheless seems keen to the idea of pitching in Boston, he sounds a little wary of being demoted to a set-up role. He and Jon Papelbon would be a lights-out late inning combination, either way. The Red Sox were in on Gagne this offseason, and he’s proven his health with the Rangers recently.
T.R. Sullivan mentioned yesterday that the Diamondbacks, Cubs, Red Sox, and Yankees are the top suitors for Gagne. He seems a near-lock to be dealt in July.
Gagne/Otsuka Suitors
Teams are lining up to pluck away the top two members of the Rangers’ bullpen, and Jon Daniels is in "listening mode."
MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan has the scoop: the Diamondbacks, Cubs, Red Sox, and Yankees are the top suitors for Eric Gagne. The Mets, Braves, Phillies, Tigers, and Brewers are focused on Akinori Otsuka. And the Tribe likes both relievers.
Benefits of Gagne: he can be unhittable and he’ll give you two good draft picks after the season. Plus he seems to be finally healthy. The Indians, despite their interest, are not on Gagne’s list of 12 teams he can be dealt to without his consent.
The benefit of Otsuka is that you have him through 2009. That’s why the Rangers are more likely to hang on to him. Conversely, a team like the Mets would prefer him because he’s not a rental.