Rosenthal On Teixeira, Dunn
I neglected to mention a Ken Rosenthal article from yesterday, chock full of rumory goodness as always.
- Rosenthal believes the Yankees need a backup plan in case they are not able to retain Alex Rodriguez. Wilson Betemit definitely makes sense in that he’d be useful even if they do keep A-Rod. Rosenthal basically names every third baseman you can think of. The most likely option, to me, is to simply sign Mike Lowell as a free agent. Would he switch sides? Perhaps, if the Red Sox don’t make an offer or try to lowball him.
- The Braves apparently won’t give up Yunel Escobar or Jarrod Saltalamacchia to get Mark Teixeira. Neither of ’em. No doubt John Schuerholz will spend the next ten days trying to get Jon Daniels to settle for less.
- The Reds have a "co-Dunn-drum," as Rosenthal puts it. Now that’s good stuff. The basic codunndrum here is that no team that can afford Adam Dunn wants him. Rosenthal likes the Tigers as a dark horse. I know Dunn isn’t much with the glove, but I’m surprised the market isn’t stronger for him right now.
- Dan Wheeler is more likely than Chad Qualls to be moved, because he’s closer to free agency (after 2008).
- Rosenthal believes the Royals could not even acquire a Tony Abreu from the Dodgers for Octavio Dotel. Previously it had been said that the Dayton Moore was asking for Matt Kemp or James Loney. And Duke Snider plus Sandy Koufax.
- Bronson Arroyo does not appear to be available. Jose Contreras or Matt Morris: which is the lesser of two evils?
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.
Olney: Braves Interested In Arroyo
ESPN’s Buster Olney heard a rumor: the Braves are interested in Bronson Arroyo. Olney believes the Reds would demand Jarrod Saltalamacchia. Personally, I think Salty can bring someone better. And using him at first base isn’t the worst idea in the world, if no one knocks John Schuerholz’s socks off.
Arroyo is the definition of an innings eater, and he’s signed at about market rate. On second thought, $10MM a year for him might be slightly below-market. Atlanta got a good look at Arroyo last night, as the 30 year-old hurler had his best start of the season (seven scoreless innings). Arroyo has been solid in his last five starts, though he did get to face the Cardinals and Giants.
So, are there any Braves fans out there who would trade Salty for Arroyo?
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.
All Eyes On Contreras
Buster Olney says that Jose Contreras may be the best available starting pitcher at the moment, which speaks to how weak the market is. Olney lists the Cubs, Braves, Marlins, Indians, and Phillies as teams on hand to watch his six inning, five run performance Sunday night in Baltimore.
To call Contreras the best available indicates that Javier Vazquez is off the market. Contreras’s challengers still include Matt Morris, Dontrelle Willis, and Jason Jennings. If the Pirates were to inexplicably consider trading Ian Snell, he’d easily jump to the forefront. That he’s even available is a dubious rumor at this point.
As for Contreras, his junk might work over in the NL. Maybe that’s why four of the five teams watching his start reside in that league. Olney’s scout said he was working at 87-91, though he did touch 94 last night.
Contreras makes another $4MM this year, $10MM in ’08, and another $10MM in ’09. That shouldn’t scare off too many clubs. Maybe the Marlins. With a 2-4% chance at making the playoffs this year the Marlins would be acquiring Contreras more for 2008-09.
Braves Want Young Impact Pitcher For Salty
Back on June 24th, Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette mentioned that the Pirates inquired as to the availability of catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia. At that point the required bounty was thought to be a frontline starting pitcher like Mark Buehrle.
Today, Kovacevic clarifies: the Braves want an impact-caliber young pitcher. That makes sense. The Pirates have a couple of those: Tom Gorzelanny and Ian Snell. They’d have to give one up to get Salty. Such a trade would be excellent for Atlanta but wouldn’t really seem to move the Pirates forward.
While shaky in terms of confirmation, we do have one report that indicates the Pirates could trade Snell this month. Snell is 25, healthy, and a long ways from free agency. He’s been the eighth best pitcher in the National League this year according to VORP. Better than Roy Oswalt, Brandon Webb, Carlos Zambrano, or Cole Hamels. It’s been quite a breakout season for Snell, and he’s improved his efficiency greatly. He averaged 5.81 innings per start in ’06 and increased that all the way to 6.76 per start this year.
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.
Will Griffey Be Dealt?
To hear Reds GM Wayne Krivsky tell it, "There’s a lot of misinformation out there." We’ll try not to contribute to that. But here’s the latest on Ken Griffey Jr.
Hal McCoy of the Dayton Daily News believes Junior will only go to Chicago or Atlanta; apparently the Mariners aren’t interested right now. Griffey would have to be interested too, given his trade veto power. When McCoy says Chicago, I assume he means the Cubs. The White Sox seem unlikely, but you never know.
The chatter was reignited on Tuesday, when Peter Gammons quoted Griffey talking about how it made sense for the Reds to trade him now. Griffey’s agent, Brian Goldberg, seemed to indicate that the quote from Griffey may have been taken slightly out of context.
Goldberg also mentions in that article that the Reds called Griffey to shoot down a rumor that had him going to the Brewers. That one was new to me, but it sounds like there’s nothing to it.
Griffey would certainly be a helpful addition in right field at Wrigley. However, as Greg Couch writes, the team’s direction with player acquisitions and contracts is an open question right now. Ken Rosenthal, back on June 24th, said the Cubs were not involved in a trade for Griffey. Jayson Stark debunked the Atlanta rumor a few days before that.
Another major wrinkle for any Griffey trade is that he’s knocking on the door of 600 home runs and could pass Sammy Sosa this year for fifth all-time. The Reds would hate to miss out on that good publicity.
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.
Andruw Campaigns For A Starter
Andruw Jones, perhaps emboldened by his recent hot streak, is openly campaigning for the Braves to acquire a starting pitcher. Even if John Smoltz comes back strong, one more veteran would fit in nicely behind Tim Hudson and Chuck James.
According to David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Braves were in on Mark Buehrle but Kenny Williams wanted Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Yunel Escobar for him. That would have been quite a bounty for a rental.
The names I think we’ll be hearing in trade rumors this month as far as starters: Matt Morris, Kyle Lohse, Jason Jennings, Jon Garland, and Jose Contreras. There should be a few more second or third tier type guys as well (Odalis Perez, Steve Trachsel, Joe Kennedy, Wade Miller, Josh Fogg, Brett Tomko). I would not be surprised to see Oakland become sellers in short order, but they don’t have much starting pitching to trade with Rich Harden and Esteban Loaiza injured.