Odds and Ends: Lowe, Arroyo, Chacon
Here’s today’s link roundup.
- Jacque Jones has elected free agency. Does he have anything left?
- Derek Lowe, Scott Boras, Ned Colletti, and Joe Torre had some kind of cryptic meeting.
- Draft nugget: the D’Backs were eyeing Allan Dykstra as their first-round pick until the Padres took him.
- Jason Rosenberg interviewed agent Matt Sosnick.
- Bronson Arroyo commented on the recent trade rumors. I think this rumor, in particular.
- Shawn Chacon, demoted to the pen, is not a happy camper.
- Koji Uehara is also going to the bullpen.
- Brandon Webb was affected by his contract negotiations.
- ESPN’s Keith Law joined the Drunk Jays Fans podcast to chat about the recent turmoil in Toronto.
- Joe Saunders, originally drafted by the Phillies, had a bad experience (as he tells it).
Webb Extension Talks Tabled
According to MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert, the Diamondbacks’ extension talks with ace Brandon Webb are on hold for now. That’s pretty much all that is known. It’s unclear how far the talks got or who killed them.
Webb, 29, has never posted an ERA higher than 3.59 in any season. He is simply a beast. The D’Backs and Webb have plenty of time to work out an extension, since he’s essentially signed cheaply through 2010. Random thought – I wonder if Webb will be affected at all if Orlando Hudson leaves as a free agent after this season.
Possible Replacements For Bavasi In Seattle
John Hickey of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer is reporting that the Mariners already have a list of names that they are considering to replace the fired Bill Bavasi.
Yesterday, we saw several sources that speculated on the next GM. Hickey spoke with a former GM who came up with a list of eight names that could possibly fill the post.
- Kevin Towers, current San Diego Padres GM: Hickey notes that Towers has stuck with San Diego through a recent front office transition and may prefer to stay with the Pads.
- Brian Cashman, current New York Yankees GM: The M’s wanted to talk to Cashman in ’03 but were rebuked. They may get a better chance this time to land a GM that once said "who wouldn’t want [The Mariners] job."
- Kim Ng, Los Angeles Dodgers assistant GM: Was previously a candidate for the Dodgers job and is considered ready to be a GM.
- Jerry DiPoto, Arizona Diamondbacks director of player personnel
- Tony Bernazard, New York Mets vice president of player development: Previously a candidate for the Pirates job, Hickey wonders if Bernazard might want out with the Mets in flux.
- Chris Antonetti, Cleveland Indians VP of baseball operations: Hickey notes that Antonetti may prefer to stay in Cleveland, having previously turned down an offer from the Pirates to interview for their GM post.
- Mike Rizzo, Washington Nationals assistant GM and VP of baseball operations
- Dave Forst, Oakland Athletics assistant GM
Odds And Ends: Bradley, Haren, Griffey, Holliday, Atkins
A few minor notes from the MLBiverse…
- Evan Grant wonders if the Rangers might try to trade Milton Bradley if they fall even farther back in the standings and then try to resign him in the off-season when he is a free agent.
- The D-Backs have begun negotiations with Dan Haren on a contract extension. Haren is signed though ’09 with a $6.75MM team option in ’10.
- Ken Griffey Jr says that he wants to win a championship in Cincinnati.
- With the Rockies playing the Indians, it was inevitable that the Matt Holliday- or Garrett Atkins-to-the-Indians speculation would resurface.
Olney’s Latest: Rockies, Padres, Braves, Sabathia
Today let’s take a look at Buster Olney’s blog.
- Executives from the Rockies and Padres are telling other clubs that they will not be sellers. They’ve climbed back into the race with the recent D’Backs slump. Popular trade rumor names like Brian Fuentes, Greg Maddux, and Randy Wolf may be off the market.
- Olney runs through some scenarios for Mark Teixeira trades, if Frank Wren and the Braves decide to punt on ’08.
- The Rangers have their eye on C.C. Sabathia – maybe now, maybe after he reaches free agency.
Odds and Ends: Fujikawa, Inge, Haren, Jacque
Today’s collection of links…
- SI.com’s Jon Heyman does not believe Omar Minaya’s job is in jeopardy.
- New blog to check out: NPB Tracker. Patrick’s goal is to provide a reliable source of information on Japanese leagues to an American audience. He’s already got a name for us to watch: reliever Kyuji Fujikawa. He’d like to be posted, but that’s up to the Hanshin Tigers.
- Brandon Inge is up for full-time catching in ’09, even if it’s not his preference.
- The D’Backs discussed an extension with Dan Haren, but talks broke off. They could rekindle. He’s signed cheaply through 2010 already.
- The Tigers would’ve been interested in Barry Bonds if they didn’t have Gary Sheffield, according to Jim Leyland.
- Jacque Jones has cleared waivers but hasn’t decided whether to accept a minor league assignment from the Marlins.
- RotoAuthority looks at Chase Headley from a fantasy perspective.
- Pretty interesting comments from Bill Bavasi on Erik Bedard. Watch video of Bavasi’s press conference here.
Draft Day Roundup
The draft is just four hours away. We’ll be live-blogging it here at MLBTR. Here are today’s draft links.
- Baseball America’s brand new top 30 projections.
- According to Keith Law, Mariners doctors gave the thumbs up on Tanner Scheppers and the team could take him at #20.
- Law says the Nationals seem to be debating between Kyle Skipworth and Aaron Crow at #9.
- Law adds that first baseman Yonder Alonso has an $8MM rumored asking price, which could cause him to drop. Alonso is roughly the 11th-best player in the draft, combining various expert rankings.
- Speaking of huge demands, Buster Posey‘s people are floating $12MM. Perhaps for that reason, the Rays will go with Tim Beckham.
- The Pirates seem a near-lock to take Pedro Alvarez at #2.
- Jonathan Mayo is "fairly certain" the Reds will take Gordon Beckham at #7.
- Nick Piecoro tosses out some possibilities for the D’Backs at #26.
- Tom Haudricourt has three names for the Brewers at #16.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Hunter, Santana, Quentin
It’s Sunday again, so we’ve got some tidbits from Ken Rosenthal’s Full Count video:
- Torii Hunter was courted by the White Sox and Rangers before signing with the Angels this past offseason; however, according to Hunter, he had a meeting scheduled with the Dodgers to discuss taking the spot that Andruw Jones would come to occupy. The Angels signed him, preventing the meeting.
- As we enter June, the sky is falling in Seattle…
- Rosenthal doesn’t think there’s a lot of regret in the Yankee organization for not acquiring Johan Santana. One executive notes Santana’s throwing with increased effort this season yet without increased results.
- In this piece, Rosenthal commends the White Sox for their deal for Carlos Quentin. Writes Rosenthal, "’I give Kenny credit — he was on Quentin for a while,’ Diamondbacks general manager Josh Byrnes said. ‘He believed that the same Carlos Quentin would return now that his shoulder is fixed.’"
By Nat Boyle
Odds and Ends: Kershaw, Medders, Tavarez
Hopefully they’ll let you leave work early today in anticipation of the holiday weekend. Before you go, here are some random links.
- RotoAuthority takes a look at Clayton Kershaw, who may be called up soon.
- Brandon Medders was DFA’d to make room for Doug Davis. Not to be mean, but the 28 year-old reliever doesn’t do anything particularly well.
- The Glendon Rusch signing takes the Rockies out of the Julian Tavarez sweepstakes. Jayson Stark said the Brewers made a run at Tavarez a week ago.
- Paul Sullivan suggests that Jim Edmonds may be on a short leash in Chicago.
- Jon Heyman grades last winter’s trades.
- We’ve filled the Sunday afternoon writing gig…many thanks to all who applied.
Stark’s Latest: Young Players, Giles, DeJesus
Jayson Stark’s latest Rumblings and Grumblings column is chock full of information.
- Stark rattles off Dan Uggla, Ryan Howard, Cole Hamels, B.J. Upton, Justin Upton, Russell Martin, Zack Greinke, Prince Fielder, Felix Hernandez, Jeff Francoeur, Jonathan Papelbon, Kevin Youkilis, and Dustin Pedroia as youngsters who do not have long-term deals in the works. With Uggla and Greinke, the opposition seems more on the team’s side. With Hamels and Howard neither side wants a long-term deal. With the rest, the player is resisting.
- The Padres’ top trading chip is probably Brian Giles, though a deal would further deplete a weak offense.
- The A’s are willing to deal, with pitching considered the surplus. Billy Beane might be able to snag one good prospect for Rich Harden.
- There’s some doubt as to whether the Rockies will make Matt Holliday this year’s Mark Teixeira as we approach the deadline.
- Teams other than the Royals are speculating that center fielder David DeJesus might be available.
- The Marlins and Hanley Ramirez battled over a no-trade clause…and the Fish won. He has none.