Houston Chronicle: Lidge For Blalock?
Jose De Jesus Ortiz of the Houston Chronicle mentions this morning that the Rangers are asking the Astros about Brad Lidge, and that Hank Blalock could be part of a deal.
Such a trade would really pile on the third basemen for Houston, who already have Morgan Ensberg and Aubrey Huff. Ensberg is on the road to recovery from a shoulder injury, but Huff can play the outfield corners or first base.
Miguel Tejada Trade Update
Next up, Miggy. Tejada got cold feet yesterday, saying that he wanted to stay in Baltimore and didn’t want to move to third base.
Also, the Orioles have rejected the offer of Ervin Santana and Erick Aybar. Seems foolish. According to Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun:
"If the Angels added another prospect to their package of Santana and Aybar, like possibly first base prospect Casey Kotchman, the trade could be completed. It is believed that the Angels’ top two offensive prospects – Double-A shortstop Brandon Wood and second baseman Howie Kendrick – are not available."
Angelos! We are talking about a young, established, effective starter in Santana. Don’t let this one slip away. Jorge Arangure Jr. of the Washington Post adds Nick Adenhart‘s name to the mix as the possible third player coming from L.A. My Angels source had named Adenhart as an untouchable player back on July 13th.
The Astros came in with a fairly weak offer of Morgan Ensberg, Adam Everett, and Fernando Nieve, as Will Carroll mentioned yesterday. Zrebiec tells us that Baltimore turned this one down but is still talking with Tim Purpura. Zrebiec calls Houston one of the favorites at this point.
The Rangers are in the game with Hank Blalock and prospects available, which would create a logjam at third for the Orioles. The Dodgers are offering Cesar Izturis and prospects, and Rafael Furcal‘s name has come up as well.
ESPN: Carlos Lee To Rangers
Breaking news from ESPN’s Keith Law:
"The Milwaukee Brewers are trading slugger Carlos Lee to the Texas Rangers as part of a multi-player deal, ESPN.com learned Friday.
The Brewers are sending Lee, minor-league outfield prospect Nelson Cruz and a player to be named later to the Rangers for relief pitcher Francisco Cordero and outfielders Kevin Mench and Laynce Nix."
Initial opinion: Jon Daniels got the best of Doug Melvin here. Daniels gets a player comparable to Mench in Cruz, only cheaper. He adds a huge addition to the middle of the lineup for the stretch run in Lee. Mench is at a crossroads, Cordero is really just an OK 31 year-old reliever with saves under his belt, and Nix has been long on promise but short on results. It seems that Melvin is trying to stay competitive and get some players for the future for Lee at the same time, so Brewers fans have to respect that.
Interesting side note: according to Baseball Prospectus, Kevin Mench‘s most comparable player is Carlos Lee. I wonder how often a player has been traded for the player most similar to him?
I’ll have fantasy analysis of the trade on RotoAuthority sometime this afternoon.
Trade Rumor Roundup: 8 Days Left
To begin with, this just isn’t true. With the Kearns deal and probably Soriano trade, the 2006 deadline just can’t be classified as a dud. That honor belongs to 2005 for sure. The trading action never matches the buildup, but this year’s still a good one.
Read Ken Rosenthal’s latest. The White Sox are in the Soriano game, the Rangers have interest in Luis Gonzalez, the Braves could add another reliever, Julio Lugo still might become a Blue Jay, and the Brewers look like sellers. In my opinion, some Brewers besides Carlos Lee that could be unloaded: Geoff Jenkins, Corey Koskie, Brady Clark, and Dan Kolb. Koskie will need to recover quickly from his concussion, however.
Still hearing that the Cubs like Willy Taveras, which would definitely fit their m.o. of players who don’t get on base. Phil Rogers also mentions that Seattle’s Rafael Soriano is being asked about. It would be surprising to see the Mariners deal that kind of young talent.
Tons of great rumors coming from Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. He’s got a rundown of the Red Sox, all sorts of teams scouting Humberto Sanchez, and more.
Buster Olney mentioned in his blog today that the Astros are among various teams scouting Elmer Dessens. The Astros are also looking at Damaso Marte.
Unfounded rumor department: Could the Dodgers be after Aramis Ramirez? Ramirez has picked a fantastic time to heat up, and L.A. has some top shelf young talent…is there anywhere Julio Lugo could go besides Toronto? How about the Rockies?
Shea Hillenbrand Designated
According to a Blue Jays source of mine, this is how the Shea Hillenbrand designation went down:
"It seems Hillenbrand and a few (word is two) of his teammates were being
mischievious during yesterday’s workout. Gibbons stormed in the clubhouse
like an old den-mother and demanded the pranksters reveal themselves.
Just Hillenbrand stepped forward.
Gibbons blew a gasket. Everyone’s face hung open.
Gibb told Hill to take a shower and leave (on his first day back from adopting
a kid).
As the team left for the field, Hill still suited-up and paced in the
clubhouse, not knowing what to do.
Until an in-house courier hand delivered his walking papers.
He then left."
Alright, this is Tim talking again. It seems that Hillenbrand’s mischief involved writing "This is a sinking ship" on a chalkboard in the clubhouse. Good times.
The Padres, Twins, Rangers, and Angels have been connected to Hillenbrand at one time or another. While the Pads are the concensus favorite, keep in mind that Kevin Towers and J.P. Ricciardi have never completed a trade with one another before. (As far as I can tell). But hey, there’s a first time for everything.
Rumor Roundup
Here are some trade rumors from the last day or so that we haven’t covered. All come from various newspapers or other published reports.
Yesterday ESPN’s Jayson Stark reported some Bobby Abreu interest coming from the Brewers. It was a longshot from the start given Abreu’s contract. Today it’s been revealed that Doug Melvin hasn’t even spoken to Pat Gillick on the topic, and the rumor was placed by a rival GM. Any guesses who?
Something seems to be brewing between the Yankees and Royals, and Reggie Sanders is the name that makes sense. The Royals would do well to unload the 38 year-old right fielder’s $5MM commitment for ’07. A deal could also include reliever Elmer Dessens, who’s signed through next season. For the second trading deadline in a row, Brian Cashman seems to be taking a more level-headed approach.
Another option for the Yanks is Kevin Mench of the Rangers. Mench has been jerked around a bit this year by Buck Showalter and could come at a reduced price. I recently outlined a couple of possible career paths for Mench over at RotoAuthority. His career may be at a fork in the road; he should take it.
According to Ken Rosenthal, the Mariners have become a major player for Alfonso Soriano. Bill Bavasi has stumbled with some questionable signings, but Seattle remains just four games out in a weak division. Don’t forget that Bavasi loves to deal with Kevin Towers more than any GM, so he may try to match up with the Padres somehow.
Teams Still Interested In Kerry Wood
Just got word from a solid source, an insider who had previously indicated the Devil Rays’ interest in Ervin Santana back in December. This time, he’s got some info concerning oft-injured Cubs pitcher Kerry Wood.
Word is that despite Wood’s awful health record, Jim Hendry is shopping him and has received some interest. The Rangers would like to add Wood and may give up John Danks or Thomas Diamond to get him.
Danks, a 21 year-old southpaw, has made some progress in his second stint in Double A. His strikeout rate is way up and his control has improved, though his home run prevention has worsened. Danks is mentioned as a potential #2 starter one day by Baseball America, and should earn a promotion to Triple A this year if he can further improve upon his 4.41 ERA and 1.39 WHIP.
Diamond is a 23 year-old righty with a mid-90s fastball and a good changeup. He’s also done better in his second stint at Double A Frisco, managing a 4.15 ERA despite his 1.48 WHIP. Diamond has whiffed over 11 batters per nine innings, but his walks per nine has soared past 6. Diamond and Danks are ranked #2-3 in strikeouts in the Texas League, behind only Juan Gutierrez in the Astros’ system.
Wood would have to approve a trade to any club, and the Rangers seem more likely than another possible suitor: the Yankees. I’m told the Yanks are poking around as well, but don’t have details on any offers. Given that Wood’s $13.5MM option will most certainly be bought out for 2007, a trade to Texas would be contingent on a restructured agreement for 2007 with Wood.
Wood is no lock to be traded, and could turn into an effective, healthy pitcher if used in the bullpen. The Cubs are certainly open to the idea of retaining Wood for 2007 at a discounted price.
Clemens Signs, Nevin to Cubs
The long expected Roger Clemens signing with Houston has finally been made official. One less distraction; the sideshow is finally over. Until Clemens decides there’s a slight chance he pitches in 2007. The Astros are 6.5 games back and Clemens should provide a several-win boost over the likes of Fernando Nieve.
The Cubs are 11 games under .500, 12.5 out of first, but they’re not giving up. Jim Hendry just swapped Jerry Hairston for Phil Nevin, a clear win now type move for a team with little chance of winning now. Cubs fans shouldn’t mind the deal, given that the Rangers should take on most of Nevin’s salary. Would’ve been nice if Hendry could’ve pulled this off a month ago though.
Finally, Pat Burrell was curiously absent from the Philadelphia lineup given all the trade rumors swirling about. Burrell makes plenty of sense for the Yanks if they can get him, but they can’t afford to give up any decent starting pitching.
Royal Rumblings
Today’s KC Star reports this morning that the Royals, with the first waiver wire claim, will probably snag Tony Graffanino to plug into a utility role once again. They have a spare $4-5MM with which to do so. Take that, Mets!
Furthermore, a new Royals source of mine (yes, they do exist) mentions that lefties Jimmy Gobble and Jeremy Affeldt are currently on the trading block. Mike Wood may also be available. According to the source, a deal might happen before the end of the week.
Affeldt is probably the most intriguing of the bunch. The 26 year-old has a 4.53 career ERA and 6.9 K/9 in 329 innings. He’s currently slotted in as the Royals’ fourth starter after relieving exclusively in 2005. According to RotoWire, the return of Mark Redman and Zach Greinke may push him back out of the rotation.
Back in November, Affeldt’s name was tossed around in Kevin Mench rumors. The Rangers could still use a starter, especially one with Affeldt’s extreme groundball tendencies. Although they already have a host of injury-prone starters in the current rotation. The Royals seem fairly committed to Emil Brown and his atrocious left field defense, but you have to figure they’d want Mench if at all possible. He could hit twice as many homers as Brown. Mench’s $2.8MM salary could probably be squeezed into the payroll for 2006.
Gobble? Well he’s fairly young and he won nine games once. He looked kind of promising when he was called up in 2003. Wood? It was nothing short of a miracle that he managed a 4.46 ERA with a 1.57 WHIP. Maybe he can keep it under 5 this year but I doubt it.
MLB Free Agents 2007: Eric Gagne
Recently I got to thinking about Eric Gagne. 30 years old. An unstoppable relief ace from 2002-04 (a 1.79 ERA and 13.3 K/9 over 247 innings. Imagine if he did that in one season as a starter! Roto Immortality.) Tommy John surgery in 1997 plus another cleanup type surgery last summer. A $10MM salary for 2006 with a $12MM option for 2007.
With Scott Boras as his agent, Gagne may elect to void that ’07 option. Or the Dodgers may simply choose not to exercise it. The Dodgers are one probably the only team in baseball with two established "closers" on the roster. No, Jose Mesa and Braden Looper don’t count. Danys Baez is an excellent backup that will allow the Dodgers to limit Gagne’s innings this season. But should a decent setup man emerge from Yhency Brazoban, Franquelis Osoria, and Jonathan Broxton, the Dodgers may just send Gagne packing this summer.
So which contending teams have questionable closers?
Red Sox. I have to assume Epstein doesn’t see Papelbon as a long-term reliever/closer candidate. He’ll probably be in the rotation by July, and Keith Foulke may give out by then. The pen has some depth, but lacks a relief ace. Many folks see Craig Hansen closing out games by year’s end, and I don’t disagree. Still, if he stumbles a bit in his first Major League season, the Sox could take a crack at Gagne.
White Sox. Bobby Jenks and Dustin Hermanson are wild cards right now. With only Neal Cotts and Cliff Politte as dependable options, Kenny Williams could go after the cream of the crop in Gagne. His trading chips will probably have to come from his Major League roster this time.
Rangers. Should Francisco Cordero happen to go down this year, I’m not sure if Texas will be content to give the ball to Akinori Otsuka, Joaquin Benoit, or Frank Francisco in the 9th inning.
Braves. This really wouldn’t be their style, though Gagne would really solidify the relief corps.
Phillies. What’s Plan B if Tom Gordon‘s elbow gives out? The Phils need Ryan Madson in the rotation and probably don’t trust Arthur Rhodes.
This is all just speculation, but watch the rumors fly this summer if Baez and Gagne are both pitching well and an injury to a starter or position player creates a need for the Dodgers.
Thanks to The Closer Watch for the current bullpen depth charts.