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With Alou Out, Mets Looking At Ibañez

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The possible career-ending injury to Moises Alou means the Mets have to look at the trade market for a replacement, and baseball sources are telling Newsday’s Anthony Rieber the Mariner’s Raul Ibañez is a possibility.

Joel Sherman of the NY Post reports that if the Mets are willing to take some money, "they might be able to use a Double-A corner player such as Mike Carp, Nick Evans or [Daniel] Murphy to complete a deal."

Ibañez is in the last year of his contract and can become a free agent next year. The Mariners have the worst record in baseball and are in the cusp of full sell-mode.

Ibañez has been one the most consistent players in the M’s roster, but at 36 and in the current trade market he’s more of a commodity than a franchise player.

The Manhattan-native played with Carlos Beltran in Kansas City.

"He’s a great guy," Beltran told Rieber. "Love him as a person, as a player. Great guy, great guy. I think he’s a great, great player. A player no one really talks about, but he always does his job. Driving in 80, 90, 100 runs, hits 25, 30 home runs, plays hard."

Alejandro A. Leal writes for UmpBump.com. Comments? Rumors? Email me: alexo05 (at) umpbump (daught) com.

Olney Rumor Bag: Eckstein, Teixeira

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Another Saturday, another edition of Buster Olney’s weekly blog; along-side the deafening Sabathia discussions, we find some hidden gems:

According to the Baltimore Sun, the Orioles are pondering making a deal for David Eckstein. The Blue Jays have a well-stocked infield that has made the veteran short stop and former World Series MVP expendable. 

The Orioles have also been inquiring about Juan Uribe of the White Sox and Felipe Lopez of the Nationals.

Mark Bradley of the Atlanta-Journal Constitution thinks the Braves should trade Mark Teixera. Although some veteran leaders think the team is still in the division race, the Bravos do sit 7 games behind Philadelphia and have been hampered by injury all year.

Teixeira signed a one year-deal in January and can become a free agent next year, but he would prefer not to be traded this year.   

Alejandro A. Leal writes for UmpBump.com. Rumors? Comments? Email me alexo05 (at) umpbump (dot) com.

Rockies Trade Talk: Torrealba, Taveras, Podsednik, Herges

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Tracy Ringolsby of the Rocky Mountain News reports the Marlins have inquired on the availability of Rockies’ catcher Yorvit Torrealba, and outfielders Willy Taveras and Scott Podsednik.

Torrealba has been on Marlins radar and there’s continuing speculation that they will be buyers come July 31st. 

Meanwhile, St. Louis inquired on pitcher Matt Herges to provide a veteran pressence in their bullpen.

Brewers Offering LaPorta In Possible Sabathia Deal

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Brewers GM Doug Melvin told Tom Haudricourt of the Milwakee Journal Sentinel the team is in pursuit of C.C. Sabathia and has an offer on the table.

Haudricourt thinks the Brewers’ offer includes top prospect Matt LaPorta, minor-league third baseman Taylor Green and probably another prospect, perhaps outfielder Lorenzo Cain, but Melvin would not specify which players are included in the offer.

Cleveland GM Mark Shapiro doesn’t plan to overhaul his team before the trade deadline or in the off season but, according to Melvin, he’s listening to offers from other teams for Sabathia.

"Cleveland is in control of this, not us," said Melvin, who wouldn’t reveal the names of players he has on the table. "They told us they’re talking to other clubs, too. You never know how these things are going to work out.

"I’ve talked to Cleveland. We’ve discussed players. They’re trying to make the best deal they can. At least we’ve got players they’re willing to discuss. But I don’t anticipate anything happening in the next couple of days."

Alejandro A. Leal writes for UmpBump.com. Rumors? Comments? Email me alexo05 (at) umpbump (dot) com.

Shapiro: Rebuilding Is Not Part Of Indians’ Future

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UPDATE 1:35 pm: The Indians have signed veteran right-handed pitcher Jeff Weaver, reports mlb.com.

This move could be seen as the first in many minor and major tweaks Shapiro will make to bring his team back into contention for next year.

A curious note, as Tom Haudricourt mentions, Weaver was actually part of the Brewers’ Triple A affiliate this year, and let him go due to a 2-4 record and a 6.22 ERA in nine games. Had he pitched well enough, the Brewers might not be pursuing Sabathia.

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Though 2008 is not playing out how the Cleveland Indian’s front office envisioned, plans to rebuild are not in the radar, says GM Mark Shapiro.

Speaking to MLB.com beat writer Thor Nystor, Shapiro emphasized the quick rebound teams like the White Sox and Twins had from last year to now, but alluded keeping an open mind to any and all possibilities to make sure that the team is in contention next year.

The loudest trade speculation swirls around staff Ace and Cy-Young winner C.C. Sabathia, but Shapiro didn’t offer any insight into his future and said the team had not made a laundry list of players that could be traded.

More than anything, the Indians’ struggles are a consequence to injury, with Victor Martinez being out early this year, and Travis Hafner, Fausto Carmona and Jake Westbrook seeing significant time on the DL (Westbrook could miss part of next year as well).

Shapiro is confident the team will contend with some minor tweaks and once the full roster is healthy. But he did acknowledge lingering uncertainty around Hafner’s injury, even though he doesn’t think it’ll affect any decision the team makes in the next month. Anything after that, though, is wide open.

"If that uncertainty carries into the off-season, then it has a dramatic effect on our ability to build this team," Shapiro told Nystor.

Alejandro A. Leal writes for UmpBump.com. Rumors? Comments? Email me alexo05 (at) umpbump (dot) com.

Odds and Ends: Bedard, Griffey, Minaya

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A very nutritious Odds and Ends for lunch:

Alejandro A. Leal writes for UmpBump.com.

Phillies Trade Strategy Mired By Parity

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Scott Lauber of the Delaware News-Journal writes in the Phillies/baseball blog about the team’s trade strategy in the looming trade-deadline season.

He spoke to Phillies Assistant GM Ruben Amaro Jr. and GM Pat Gillick, both of whom reiterated the notion that it’ll be tough to trade this year because of the parity among some clubs. There are 15 teams with a .500 record or better, which means some of those teams may still be in contention in mid July. Of course, it also means some of those teams will be out of it by the trade deadline.

To wit: The Brewers reportedly have told teams that they aren’t willing to move Ben Sheets, even though they’re 6-1/2 games behind the Cubs in the NL [Central]. Of course, one losing streak could force them to change their strategy. Within the past week, Gillick has dispatched scouts to evaluate Cleveland’s C.C. Sabathia, Cincinnati’s Bronson Arroyo and Toronto’s A.J. Burnett, a former pupil of pitching coach Rich Dubee in Florida.

This echoes what Buster Olney wrote in his blog about some of the teams contending in the C.C. Sabathia Sweepstakes and how some of them may think they’re in it, but may actually be testing the waters.

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Speaking of Ruben Amaro Jr., Doc at Balls, Sticks & Stuff writes that a new book by Bob Gordon introduces Amaro Jr. as "currently the club’s general manager." Last year, the actual, current GM, Pat Gillick, said he may step down at the end of the season. Typo? Food for thought?

Alejandro A. Leal writes for UmpBump.com. Rumors? Comments? Email me, alexo05 [at] umpbump [dot] com.

Olney’s Latest: Sabathia, Sexson

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Must-read alongside your bowl of Cocoa Pebbles is Buster Olney’s Saturday morning blog post:

If the C.C. Sabathia trade rumors were a horse race, he writes, as of today these teams would be the favorites:

  1. Milwaukee Brewers
  2. Chicago Cubs
  3. Los Angeles Dodgers
  4. Texas Rangers
  5. Boston Red Sox

The problem is, he notes, some of these teams may or may not be in contention by the trade deadline; and/or could be bluffing.

On more serious note, all the recent managerial changes in Seattle have clouded Richie Sexson’s future with the Mariners. Olney points us to Seattle Times writer Larry Stone’s notebook, and the not-so-secret rumblings that Sexson’s days with the M’s may be numbered.

Stone reports the Mariners may be thinking about releasing Sexson or DFAing him. Before Friday’s game with the Braves, when asked if he expected to be with the team after the weekend series, Sexson told reporters:

"I don’t know. I’m just going to play. I really can’t worry about that, and I’m not going to worry about that. I know if things don’t work out here, there’s a lot of other teams out there. I know I can still play the game. I’m not worried about never playing again. It doesn’t concern me."

Alejandro A. Leal writes for UmpBump.com. Rumors? Comments? Email me: alexo05 [at] umpbump [dot] com.

Burnett Wouldn’t Mind Playing For Cubs

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SUNDAY, 9:09pm: Burnett clarified his comments, explaining that his focus and loyalty still lies with the Jays.  Burnett also pointed out that it’s no lock that he’ll opt out of his contract at year’s end.

SUNDAY, 10:30am: Wittenmyer continues working the Burnett angle today, getting quotes from the player indicating that he’d welcome a trade to the Cubs.  The Jays are six games out of the wild card, though, so they’ll probably want to hang on to Burnett for now.

SATURDAY: Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times writes that the Cubs might want to take a second look at A.J. Burnett as the Jays are expected to shop him all throughout the next several weeks until the trade deadline.

Last night’s Cubs-Jays game served as a bittersweet "scouting foray" as Burnett pitched five effective innings, striking out seven. Pitching for the Cubs was Sean Gallagher, who according to Wittenmeyer, wasn’t on anyone’s radar to be the club’s fifth starter in June.

After Rich Hill’s struggles and demotion, the first-place Cubs are increasingly being mentioned in trade speculation.

Burnett is slated to make $12MM in ’09 and ’10; and can opt out of his contract at the end of the season.

By Alejandro A. Leal and Tim Dierkes

Odds And Ends: Rangers Outfielders, Trade Misconceptions

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A little Odds and Ends for lunch can’t hurt.

  • A Rangers insider tells Jeff Wilson of the Star-Telegram that the team should sign Josh Hamilton, Milton Bradley and David Murphy long term.GM Jon Daniels tells Wilson he’s been "thinking about that since spring training."
  • JC of the Sabernomics blog gives fans a few tips of what not to say come trade-deadline time.

    —Trading bad players. The most popular fan solution to poor performance is to ship the guy out in a trade, especially if the player was once much better. If he’s not good, then you can’t get much for him unless other teams are dumber than the fans suggesting the trade

  • Shelly Duncan was DFAd by the Yankees. His second assignment this year.
  • Newly-signed draft pick Reese Havens, a short stop, will shift to second base as he’s blocked by a fellow named Jose Reyes in the Mets infield.

By Alejandro A. Leal

 

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