Bay Wants To Stay
Jason Bay continues to play like his old self, and with 12 days to the non-waiver trade deadline, interest in the Pirates’ slugger is at an all-time high.
Speaking to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review’s Rob Biertempfel, Bay expressed satisfaction with his performance:
"I feel like I’ve gotten back to that guy who I’ve been in the past, and that’s gratifying. But there’s also some trade-talk stuff that comes with it. It’s a Catch-22. I knew coming in that it would be this way."
The teams that Biertempfel mentioned as showing interest in the left fielder include The Mets, Braves, Rays and Diamondbacks, but Bay was poised when asked if he had any particular interest in a destination:
"There really is nowhere in particular that I really want to go," Bay said. "I don’t want out (of Pittsburgh). I like the familiarity, and I like the direction the team is headed."
According to Biertempfel, the Pirates could still decide to give Bay an extension and build around him.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Fuentes, Holliday, Sherrill
Ken Rosenthal tops off the day with a column full of rumors.
- Signing Mark Teixeira as a replacement for Manny Ramirez doesn’t make sense for the Red Sox, who don’t want to take on that kind of mega-contract.
- The Phillies were recently working on a blockbuster with Colorado that would have netted them Brian Fuentes and Matt Holliday for something like Shane Victorino, J.A. Happ, Carlos Carrasco, and Lou Marson. Those talks have stalled, and the added payroll might’ve been a problem for the Phillies anyway.
- Though Frank McCourt denies it, Rosenthal says the Dodgers owned vetoed a CC Sabathia/Casey Blake/Jamey Carroll blockbuster because of a desire to keep trades payroll-neutral.
- The Rockies, as well as the many suitors for Brian Fuentes, fear he could accept an offer of arbitration and saddle them with an $8MM salary in ’09 instead of two draft picks. Given Fuentes’ stated desire to close, I find this unlikely.
- A Pirates scout watched David Price‘s last start, though he was likely looking at other members of the Montgomery Biscuits. The Rays are known to be interested in Xavier Nady.
- The A’s, stacked with second base candidates, are already getting calls on Adrian Cardenas. Trading Mark Ellis would make more sense though.
- Rosenthal believes the Orioles are reluctant to trade George Sherrill because they don’t have a suitable replacement for him in the ninth inning this year.
- Brewers minor league shortstop Alcides Escobar is untouchable, and his ascent could lead the team to shop J.J. Hardy this winter.
Pirates Rumors: Nady, Marte, Bay
New blog to bookmark: PBC Blog. It comes from Pittsburgh Post-Gazette baseball writers Dejan Kovacevic and Paul Meyer, and already has plenty of good Pirates info up. On to the hot stove chatter:
- Kovacevic talked to a Pirates official who disputes the reports that the team’s asking prices for Xavier Nady, Damaso Marte, and Jason Bay are exorbitant. Kovacevic notes that many of these reports come from New York, and in some cases they’re created as tests for rookie GM Neal Huntington. Welcome to the club, Neal!
- Bay is unlikely to be traded, but Nady and Marte are available. Kovacevic says many teams are in on Nady, and the Braves and Mets even conducted recent conference calls with the Pirates about him. The Pirates are focused on receiving two quality players for Nady, with an emphasis on pitching. It’s not a concern yet, but if the Rockies truly shop Matt Holliday it could upset the Nady market.
- Kovacevic speculates on what it might take for the Pirates to sign Bay to an extension beyond ’09, which may well happen.
Odds and Ends: Nady, LaHair, Garcia, Bonds
Baseball is back today, but rumors are a bit light. We’ll kick it off with odds and ends.
- Susan Slusser reports "rumblings" around Justin Duchscherer. As you know, Duke hopes to sign an extension with the A’s but they’ll wait until after the season.
- The Nationals signed second round pick Destin Hood.
- Matt Holliday has heard rumors about a trade to the A’s. I believe this originated as Ken Rosenthal speculation on June 22nd.
- Xavier Nady doesn’t want to be traded, and has been "visibly bugged" by the recent rumors. Still, he and Damaso Marte are the most likely trade candidates for the Pirates.
- D.J. Carrasco actually does have an option left, so the White Sox can demote Carrasco or Adam Russell to Triple A but keep both.
- Ryan Divish heard a rumor that first baseman Bryan LaHair will get the call to the Majors. What will the corresponding roster move be for the Mariners?
- Jon Paul Morosi takes a look at the Tigers’ most tradeable prospects, noting that several are currently injured.
- A Freddy Garcia update. His agent says they might be receptive to a multiyear deal, but prefer one year. He previously said a club option was not in the cards.
- NPB Tracker looks at the pros and cons of Barry Bonds signing with the Softbank Hawks.
- Jim Moore thinks the Mariners should trade Ichiro.
Braves Still Undecided On Teixeira
Braves third baseman Chipper Jones expects the team to shop Mark Teixeira if they fall out of contention. However, according to MLB.com’s Mark Bowman, that decision hasn’t been made yet.
Bowman says the early offers for Teixeira have been inferior to the two draft picks the Braves could receive if Tex walks as a free agent. Bowman adds that GM Frank Wren hasn’t reached a buy/sell decision with his team, which is 6.5 games out in the NL East. Wren would like to add an outfielder he controls beyond ’08, but doesn’t like the price for Jason Bay or Xavier Nady.
Heyman’s Latest: Holliday, Fuentes, Teixeira
Jon Heyman of SI.com posted a new column yesterday.
- Rockies GM Dan O’Dowd is quietly calling other teams about Matt Holliday scenarios. One that was "floated," perhaps by Colorado, involved Holliday, Willy Taveras, Fernando Martinez, and Carlos Beltran. The Mets don’t want to trade Beltran, nor does the player want to waive his no-trade clause. The Holliday-Mets scenario is deemed a long shot. Meanwhile, Troy E. Renck says the Red Sox, Yankees, and Mets are "all panting after" Holliday.
- As you know, Brian Fuentes is likely to be traded.
- Heyman talked to a GM who expects Mark Teixeira to stay put. That does seem likely; the Braves are 6.5 games out.
Braves Offered Teixeira For Youkilis, Hansen?
10:28pm: Red Sox GM Theo Epstein said there is nothing to this rumor.
3:28pm: Gordon Edes of the Boston Globe expects the Red Sox to engage in further conversations with the Braves about Teixeira leading up to the deadline.
8:29am: Several readers have written in regarding a rumor from ESPN’s Peter Gammons during last night’s broadcast. Reportedly Gammons said the Braves offered Mark Teixeira to the Red Sox for Kevin Youkilis and Craig Hansen, but the Sox declined.
Given Youk’s superior numbers and team control through 2010, hanging on to him makes sense. But it is interesting to see that the Braves might be shopping Teixeira already.
Sherman’s Latest: Adenhart, Burnett, Niese, Ibanez
Joel Sherman of the New York Post has been digging up rumors left and right – here, here, and here in recent days. Let’s discuss.
- The Angels have "hinted at a willingness to build a deal around pitching prospect Nick Adenhart." This would apparently involve Mark Teixeira or Matt Holliday.
- The Phillies made an initial offer last week for A.J. Burnett, and the Jays were thoroughly unimpressed. The Phillies won’t discuss prospects Carlos Carrasco, Lou Marson, or Greg Golson in trades.
- The Yankees have zero interest in Burnett.
- The A’s are willing to move Joe Blanton. He’s not perfect, but he can eat innings and is under team control through 2010.
- Six games out of the wild card with a league-best offense, the Rangers don’t look like sellers.
- At least ten teams watched Mets’ Double A starter Jon Niese pitch Saturday. He’s their top trade chip given the unavailability of Fernando Martinez.
- The Pirates have their eye on the Yankees’ Ross Ohlendorf, if the Yanks become buyers for players like Damaso Marte or Xavier Nady.
- Three Raul Ibanez suitors are named: the Diamondbacks, Dodgers, and Red Sox.
- At least nine teams are monitoring Freddy Garcia: the Yankees, Mets, Astros, Rangers, Royals, Red Sox, Phillies, Tigers, and White Sox. We’ve seen the Braves, Rays, and Cubs mentioned too. Garcia’s agent isn’t up for an ’09 option with his client. A-Rod is said to be pushing for the Yankees to sign him.
- Sherman notes a rumor around the game that has Pat Gillick becoming Mariners president next year, and Brian Cashman coming on as his GM.
Odds and Ends: Vizquel, Saito, Burnett, K-Rod
So many links, so little time.
- Barry Bonds‘ agent, Jeff Borris, says the prospects of his client playing this year look bleak.
- The Tigers made their first Taiwan signing, adding outfielder Tang Chao-Ting.
- Aside from Jim Bowden’s other problems, he’s having a hard time finding common ground with the Nationals’ top five draft picks.
- Interesting post at NPB Tracker contrasting Masa Kobayashi with Yasuhiko Yabuta and Kazuo Fukumori.
- The White Sox will have to choose between pitchers D.J. Carrasco and Adam Russell soon.
- Troy E. Renck heard "simmering buzz" that Omar Vizquel could retire right now, but Vizquel debunked it.
- 19 year-old Tigers starter Rick Porcello probably won’t see big league time this year, but 19 year-old Mets outfielder Fernando Martinez has a chance.
- The Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo notes that outfielder Brandon Moss is a top trade chip for the Red Sox, but they don’t want to deal him. Also, check out Cafardo’s Q&A with Globe readers here. All sorts of informed Red Sox hot stove speculation in there. They’re looking at lefty relievers and shortstops.
- Takashi Saito‘s elbow injury is worrisome – I wonder if they will put in a call on a Jon Rauch type or just ride it out with Jonathan Broxton. At least ten teams are interested in Rauch.
- Ron Gardenhire’s wish list for the Twins: a lefty-mashing hitter and maybe bullpen help.
- Should the Orioles consider signing A.J. Burnett this winter, if he reaches free agency? They’ve flirted with him before.
- Another available lefty reliever to add to the list: the Braves’ Will Ohman.
- Kurt Streeter believes the Angels should offer K-Rod four years and $55MM.
- Pure speculation – could the White Sox quietly enter the market for a starter?
- The MLB Trade Rumors daily email is currently broken…sorry about that. We’re working on it.
Maddux Possibilities
Steve linked to this MLB.com article yesterday, but I wanted to give it a bit more exposure. Braves beat writer Mark Bowman talked to Greg Maddux, who as you know has a full no-trade clause. When asked where he could see himself playing in August and September, Maddux named the Braves and Dodgers. He said he’d likely approve a trade to Atlanta.
Neither team may be interested, however. Bowman says the Braves are looking for offense and prefer to develop their young pitchers. And Maddux himself doesn’t think the Dodgers need pitching (after all, they’ve got Clayton Kershaw in the minors).
We learned on Friday that Padres GM Kevin Towers has informed Maddux of which teams are interested, and Maddux will take the break to consider his options. Would he be up for Philadelphia or St. Louis? Are those teams interested?