Stark’s Latest: Sabathia, Bedard, Phillies, Freel
It’s Thursday, and you know what that means. Time for another installment of Jayson Stark’s Rumblings and Grumblings at ESPN.com.
- Stark runs through a laundry list of candidates for the Mariners’ and Mets’ manager and GM vacancies.
- The Indians will not be giving a negotiation window for a team hoping to sign C.C. Sabathia while acquiring him.
- Erik Bedard is "now officially on the market." Bedard’s value has diminished since the Mariners acquired him, however.
- The Phillies have already inquired on Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, Bronson Arroyo, and Jarrod Washburn. Stark sees Bedard joining that group, but believes it’d require Carlos Carrasco and Antonio Bastardo.
- Ryan Freel is drawing strong interest; Stark names the Phillies, Braves, Mets, and Marlins as suitors.
- Ken Griffey Jr. apparently still wants to finish his career in Seattle.
- Stark agrees with Ken Rosenthal – Mark Teixeira is not available. Nor is Ben Sheets, by the way.
- The Marlins are looking for center field, catcher, and bullpen help. Stark believes they’d be willing to give up a near-arb Josh Willingham type for players with less service time.
- The Yankees seem open to bringing back Jason Giambi next year, after they buy out his option. Giambi is currently third in the AL in OPS at .979.
Molony’s Latest: Minaya, Oswalt, Arroyo, Redding
MLB.com’s Jim Molony tackles the hot stove in today’s article.
- Molony says Omar Minaya is on the hot seat, though others feel his job is relatively safe.
- Roy Oswalt is not available, but he was recently scouted by the Angels, Braves, Mets, and Phillies.
- The Yanks have scouted C.C. Sabathia and Bronson Arroyo but haven’t made any offers. I just don’t see how Arroyo could be effective back in the American League.
- The Phillies are still looking for a lefty reliever. Looking at my Trade Market post, Alan Embree, George Sherrill, Brian Fuentes, Eddie Guardado, Damaso Marte, John Grabow, Ron Mahay, or Jeremy Affeldt could fit the bill. It still doesn’t seem like a pressing need to me, though.
- Molony speculates that Tim Redding could be a popular name on the trade market. Redding has a 4.10 ERA, but it’s propped up by a .258 BABIP (as a team, the Nationals have a .307 BABIP).
Rosenthal’s Latest: Teixeira, Liriano, Garcia, Willingham
Ken Rosenthal has a new hot stove article up.
- Rosenthal leads with some Mark Teixeira-Angels speculation, but admits the Braves aren’t considering trading him and the Angels are content with their team. The Halos’ .706 team OPS ranks 12th in the AL; something should be done.
- All kinds of Mariners turmoil. They could look to acquire a center fielder given the move back to right for Ichiro. Releases of Richie Sexson and Jose Vidro could be on the agenda. And chemistry problems abound, with Ichiro and Kenji Johjima at the center.
- The Ms might consider Chris Antonetti and David Forst for the GM job, but both could choose to wait for the position to open up on their current teams. Antonetti seems likely to stay put, based on his comments and actions.
- Adam Dunn likes the Reds’ future and wants to stay.
- If the Twins keep Francisco Liriano in the minors a bit longer, he will lose his shot at becoming a Super Two player.
- Past reports have named the Mets, Red Sox, Braves, Yankees, White Sox, Rangers, Indians, Mariners, and Tigers as clubs interested in Freddy Garcia. Rosenthal adds the Rays to the mix.
- On Sunday, Peter Gammons said the Red Sox "might look at a count worker like the Marlins’ Josh Willingham" if David Ortiz needs surgery. Rosenthal agrees that the Sox "indeed might be interested" but believes the Marlins want to hang on to him (even though he reaches arbitration after this season).
- The Cardinals "made a quick inquiry" on Michael Barrett but backed off when Yadier Molina’s injury turned out to be day-to-day.
Braves Interested In Randy Winn?
According to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle, the Braves are one team with "apparent interest" in Giants right fielder Randy Winn. Winn can play all three outfield positions. Lately the Braves have been using Brandon Jones in left, Gregor Blanco in center, and Jeff Francoeur in right. Matt Diaz will be out several more weeks with a knee injury, while Mark Kotsay has a lower back issue.
Winn, 34, is hitting a respectable .298/.359/.447 in 288 plate appearances. Winn’s line would look better in center field, but Blanco has a tidy .375 OBP going. Winn makes $8MM this year and $8.25MM in ’09. He can block trades to ten teams. I imagine Brian Sabean would settle for a marginal prospect if a team would take on all of Winn’s contract.
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.
Gammons’ Latest: Sabathia, Dunn, Harden
ESPN’s Peter Gammons has a new blog post up.
- The Indians are "thoroughly scouting" eight teams that may be interested in C.C. Sabathia, including the Yankees, Red Sox, Cubs, and Dodgers (the Mets may be another). Gammons agrees with Ken Rosenthal that Mark Shapiro may trade Sabathia soon to maximize his value. Gammons does not see the Yanks jumping in with Phil Hughes or a multi-prospect offer, unless Chien-Ming Wang‘s injury forces their hand. He does not think the Cubs or Phillies have the goods, but suggests the Rangers as a dark horse.
- If the Cubs don’t have enough for Sabathia, Plan B could be Randy Wolf, Greg Maddux, or even Erik Bedard. The Padres and Mariners have been informed of the Cubs’ interest.
- Gammons seems to indicate that Mark Teixeira could be available if the Braves fall out of the race (although Tex is not mentioned by name).
- The Dodgers may have been open to trading Brad Penny, but his shoulder injury puts the kibosh on that.
- Adam Dunn‘s whifftastic ways scare the Red Sox, who might pass even if David Ortiz needs surgery. Gammons suggests Josh Willingham would be a better fit.
- Rich Harden could be a huge acquisition, one of the game’s most dominating pitchers. It’s the same story though – will any team be willing to meet Billy Beane’s asking price given Harden’s injury history?
Rosenthal’s Latest: Dunn, Sabathia, Teixeira
Ken Rosenthal has a new Full Count video up.
- Adam Dunn‘s no-trade protection narrows from all teams to ten teams today. Dunn told Rosenthal he’d like a resolution soon rather than another round of rumors. He’d be open to an extension with the Reds, but the team has not made contact. Will Walt Jocketty attempt to re-sign Dunn before shopping him?
- Tough situation for the Indians – at 6.5 games out, they’re not ready to give up. However, Mark Shapiro could maximize the return for C.C. Sabathia by trading him now rather than late July. As many have noted, Sabathia is more than just a rental given the certain Type A draft pick compensation.
- Rosenthal says the Braves (also 6.5 games out) are even less likely to concede than the Indians. So don’t look for another summer of Mark Teixeira rumors. The Braves may be buyers, hunting for a left fielder and a young controllable starting pitcher.
Braves Sign Jorge Julio
According to Tim Pearrell, the Braves have signed reliever Jorge Julio to a minor league deal. Julio may not contribute much at the big league level, but Frank Wren is probably just trying to add depth. Fortunately, Mike Gonzalez may finish his rehab assignment soon.
Brandon Jones Trade Showcase?
We don’t know for sure, but David O’Brien suggests the Braves may have called up left fielder Brandon Jones to showcase him for a trade. Bobby Cox’s explanation for demoting Josh Anderson in favor of Jones didn’t seem to make sense.
Jones, 24, was hitting .263/.335/.379 in 190 ABs at Triple A Richmond. Jones was not able to win the Braves’ fourth outfielder job out of Spring Training. Baseball America rated him as the Braves’ fourth best prospect, suggesting he’s the team’s future left fielder.
Braves Purchase Brian Lawrence’s Contract
32 year-old righty Brian Lawrence made six starts for the Mets last year and 16 in Triple A. He’d missed all of ’06 due to rotator cuff and labrum surgery. Before that, he’d been a useful innings eater.
This year Lawrence found himself playing independent ball for the Camden Riversharks playing alongside familiar names such as Ryan Drese and Jamal Strong. He posted a 3.21 ERA in eight starts. Today, the Braves purchased Lawrence’s contract and assigned him to Triple A.