Mets Rumors: Bay, Holliday, Cameron, Delgado
A team insider suggests to Adam Rubin of the New York Daily News that Jason Bay and Matt Holliday may be too expensive for the Mets to consider. Rubin hears that the Mets expect to trade for a left fielder or spend on a second-tier free agent, since the top outfielders on the free agent market may be too pricey.
A source close to Mike Cameron tells Rubin that the one-time Met wouldn't likely consider returning, since he wants to play center field (the Mets, of course, have Carlos Beltran in center). Gary Sheffield will not return to the Mets, according to Rubin.
The club intends to use Daniel Murphy at first base in 2010, but they have not ruled out bringing free agent first baseman Carlos Delgado back. The slugger would have to be willing to accept a low-cost, one-year deal, but Delgado won't likely see multi-year offers this winter.
The Mets are interested in signing Bengie Molina, but they may look elsewhere if he demands more years than they're willing to commit to.
Cubs Rumors: Harden, Grabow, Zambrano
It's not all about Milton Bradley. Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune has some more Cubs rumors as the GM Meetings continue…
- Free agent Rich Harden wants to return to the Cubs. His agent is likely to meet with Cubs GM Jim Hendry soon.
- The Cubs are expected to sign lefty reliever John Grabow to a two-year deal with an option for 2012.
- Agent Barry Praver says there's been no talk of waiving Carlos Zambrano's no-trade clause.
- The Cubs are likely to move Kosuke Fukudome to right, so they will be looking for a center fielder.
Rangers Would Consider Dealing For Bradley
More teams are calling the Cubs about Milton Bradley and, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, the Rangers might be one of them. Team officials told Sherman they would consider bringing Bradley back if the Cubs were willing to take on a considerable chunk of the $21MM he'll make over the course of the next two seasons. Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune says that's unlikely.
Jon Heyman of SI.com says the Cubs have to deal the outfielder – some of Bradley's teammates won't even speak with him. We heard about a potential three-way deal yesterday, but Toronto does not appear to have interest in Bradley. ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick reports that the Jays have serious doubts about adding Bradley to their clubhouse.
The Rangers, who are considering moving Josh Hamilton to a corner outfield spot, may lose Marlon Byrd to free agency this offseason.
Jays Looking For Quality Over Quantity In Any Halladay Deal
The Blue Jays will look for quality over quantity if they deal Roy Halladay this winter, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post. As one Blue Jays official says, the team will obtain two draft picks if they let Doc walk after 2010, so top young talent is a must in any trade.
"We would rather have one above-average impact guy than eight ordinary guys," the official said.
That's hardly a surprise, given that the Jays were demanding multiple top prospects for Halladay this summer, when names like Clay Buchholz, Derek Holland, Justin Smoak and Kyle Drabek popped up in trade talks. Executives tell Sherman that the Jays aren't likely to obtain as much for their ace now as they could have this summer.
Halladay, who will earn a base salary of $15.75MM next year, will hit free agency after the season, so Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos can't demand as much as his predecessor, J.P. Ricciardi.
However, this year's class of starting pitchers falls off after John Lackey, so executives expect the Jays to field strong offers for the 2003 Cy Young Award winner. And Anthopoulos has committed "unprecedented" resources to scouting, so it may make sense for the club to deal Halladay and spend in other areas.
Trades Of The Decade: Manny To Dodgers, Bay To Red Sox
It's not hard to tell when Manny's unhappy. And a year and a half ago, Manny had had enough. He wanted out of Boston and it wasn't long before he pushed the team's traveling secretary over and told ESPNDeportes "the Red Sox don't deserve a player like me."
So it was hardly surprising that Theo Epstein dealt Manny Ramirez on July 31st, 2008. But it looked as though Manny was headed to the Marlins, so when the Dodgers acquired him in a three-way deal, it was a surprise. The blockbuster was unexpected for a number of reasons; Jason Bay, who would replace Ramirez in front of the Green Monster, was supposed to be headed to the Rays.
Happy or not, Manny was in the midst of a typically productive season when the Red Sox sent him to Hollywood – he was hitting .299/.398/.529 with 20 homers. As Joe Torre told USA Today at the time, it's hard to resist a player like Manny.
"I don't think there's a manager in baseball who wouldn't say they're interested," Torre said.
The Dodgers' interest paid off. Manny finished the year on a tear, hitting close to .400 and reaching base in almost half his plate appearances en route to a 1.232 OPS in the National League.
Jason Bay didn't match those numbers in Boston – who could? – but his OPS approached .900 and the Red Sox made the playoffs. Perhaps most importantly, the Red Sox had a left fielder who could produce without distracting those around him. As a bonus, the Red Sox had Bay under control for just $7.5MM in 2009, whereas Ramirez was set to explore free agency.
Another coup for the Red Sox, but the deal could hardly have worked out better for Ned Colletti's Dodgers. The Red Sox paid Manny the $7MM remaining on his deal as he dominated the NL and charmed Dodgers fans in the process. From the homers, to the jerseys to the wigs, Mannywood took over Chavez Ravine.
Meanwhile, the Pirates acquired four players for Bay. GM Neal Huntington obtained Bryan Morris and Andy LaRoche from Dodgers and the Red Sox added Craig Hansen and Brandon Moss.
Dejan Kovacevic reported this spring that the Pirates had the chance to obtain Cliff Lee, Franklin Gutierrez and Kelly Shoppach from the Indians for Bay and Ronny Paulino before they sent their left fielder to Boston. That would have been a haul to remember, but the Pirates still obtained value for Bay.
LaRoche started to hit last year and he plays a strong third base, according to UZR/150. Moss, Hansen and Morris haven't shown nearly as much promise since the Pirates acquired them, however. The Pirates might get more value from LaRoche than they would have by holding onto Bay until free agency, though the latter choice would've netted them two draft picks.
Recent Trades
Remember all the trades that went down this summer? Now that the World Series is over, we have lots of deals to track once again. We'll be monitoring all the rumors this offseason, and when trades become official, we'll add them to this list, which will be under the 'Features' sidebar. Here's a look at the moves we've seen so far:
- The Pirates acquired Akinori Iwamura from the Rays for Jesse Chavez on November 3rd.
- The Red Sox acquired Jeremy Hermida from the Marlins for two minor league lefties on November 5th.
- The White Sox acquired Mark Teahen from the Royals for Chris Getz and Josh Fields on November 6th.
- The Twins acquired J.J. Hardy from the Brewers for Carlos Gomez on November 6th.
- The D'Backs acquired Aaron Heilman from the Cubs for a pair of minor leaguers on November 19th.
- The Red Sox acquired infielder Tug Hulett from the Royals for cash or a player to be named later on November 25th.
- The Rays acquired catcher Kelly Shoppach from the Indians for a player to be named later on December 1st.
- The A's acquired Jake Fox and Aaron Miles from the Cubs for Jeff Gray, Ronny Morla and Matt Spencer on December 3rd.
- The Nationals acquired reliever Brian Bruney from the Yankees for Rule 5 pick Jamie Hoffmann on December 7th.
- The Rangers acquired lefty reliever Clay Rapada from the Tigers for a player to be named later or cash considerations on December 7th.
- The Tigers, D'Backs and Yankees completed a blockbuster on December 8th. The Tigers obtained Max Scherzer and Daniel Schlereth from the D'Backs and Phil Coke and Austin Jackson from the Yankees. The Yankees obtained Curtis Granderson from the Tigers. And the D'Backs obtained Ian Kennedy from the Yankees and Edwin Jackson from the Tigers.
- The Orioles acquired Kevin Millwood and $3MM from the Rangers for Chris Ray and Rule 5 pick Benjamin Snyder on December 9th.
- The Astros acquired Matt Lindstrom from the Marlins for minor leaguers Robert Bono and Luis Bryan and Rule 5 pick Jorge Jimenez on December 9th.
- The Rays acquired reliever Rafael Soriano for reliever Jesse Chavez on December 10th.
- The Red Sox acquired pitcher Boof Bonser from the Twins for a player to be named later on December 10th.
- The White Sox acquired Juan Pierre and cash from the Dodgers for two players to be named later on December 15th.
- The Blue Jays, Phillies and Mariners completed a three-team blockbuster on December 16th. The Phils acquired Roy Halladay, prospects Phillippe Aumont, Tyson Gillies, Juan Ramirez and $6MM. The Mariners acquired Cliff Lee and the Blue Jays acquired prospects Travis D'Arnaud, Kyle Drabek and Michael Taylor.
- In a separate, but related deal, the Jays sent Taylor to Oakland for Brett Wallace.
- The Mariners sent Carlos Silva and cash to the Cubs for Milton Bradley on December 18th.
- The Yankees acquired Javier Vazquez and Boone Logan from the Braves for Melky Cabrera, Mike Dunn and Arodys Vizcaino on December 22nd.
- The Blue Jays acquired Brandon Morrow from the Mariners for Brandon League and minor league outfielder Johermyn Chavez on December 22nd.
- The Mariners acquired Casey Kotchman from the Red Sox for Bill Hall, cash and a minor leaguer on January 7th.
- The Blue Jays acquired Zach Jackson from the Indians for a player to be named later on January 9th.
- The A's acquired Kevin Kouzmanoff and Eric Sogard from the Padres for Scott Hairston and Aaron Cunningham on January 16th.
- The Blue Jays acquired Merkin Valdez from the Giants for cash on January 20th.
- The Mets acquired Gary Matthews Jr. and cash from the Angels for Brian Stokes on January 22nd.
- The Yankees acquired Greg Golson from the Rangers for Mitch Hilligoss and cash on January 26th.
- The Reds acquired Aaron Miles and a player to be named later or cash from the A's for Adam Rosales and Willy Taveras on February 1st.
- The Rangers acquired Edwar Ramirez from the Yankees for cash considerations on March 9th.
- The A's acquired Edwar Ramirez from the Rangers for Gregorio Petit on March 24th.
- The Red Sox acquired Kevin Frandsen from the Giants for a player to be named later or cash on March 26th.
- The Rangers acquired Andres Blanco from the Cubs for a player to be named later on March 27th.
- The Orioles acquired Steven Lerud from the Royals for a player to be named later on March 27th.
- The Marlins acquired Nate Robertson and cash from the Tigers for Jay Voss on March 30th.
- The Rangers acquired Ben Snyder from the Giants for Edwin Escobar on April 1st.
- The Rays acquired Virgil Vasquez from the Pirates for a player to be named later on April 2nd.
- The Royals acquired Luis Mendoza from the Rangers for cash considerations on April 2nd.
Epstein: Red Sox Bought Low On Hermida
Red Sox GM Theo Epstein says he bought low on a player with considerable promise when he acquired Jeremy Hermida.
"He hasn't fulfilled his potential yet," Epstein said of the former top prospect. "We acquired him today to see if he can fulfill that potential."
It's impossible to predict whether Hermida can become a star, but Red Sox saw "positive indicators" that suggest the 25-year-old can improve upon the .259/.348/.392 line he posted for the Marlins this year.
Hermida hit .284/.398/.436 throughout the minors, with plate discipline and flashes of power. As recently as 2007, he posted an .870 OPS in the majors, so Hermida has succeeded in the big leagues before.
The Red Sox consider Hermida an average defender in either left or right field. According to UZR/150, Hermida has slightly below average range and a slightly below average arm. Ultimately, the Red Sox wanted to see if a change of scenery can improve Hermida's production.
"It was a chance to get a guy with unfulfilled potential for a reasonable cost," Epstein said.
The Red Sox have Hermida under team control for two seasons. The outfielder has missed time due to a variety of injuries, but the Red Sox say he doesn't have lingering structural problems.
Rays Deal Iwamura To Pirates For Chavez
6:15pm: The deal is official, as per a press release by the Pirates. The deal is Chavez for Iwamura straight-up.
4:34pm: ESPN's Buster Olney tells us the Rays will receive reliever Jesse Chavez in return. Chavez, 26, posted a 4.01 ERA in 67.3 innings this year as a rookie, with a 6.3 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9. He throws hard – his average fastball was 94.5 mph. Chavez is under team control through 2014.
Kovacevic believes the Pirates "will probably get another player in the Iwamura deal." He notes that Iwamura would be the Pirates' highest-paid player.
3:35pm: Topkin says Iwamura is headed to the Pirates, and the deal will be announced tonight. MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch does not believe the Bucs will surrender an established player. I'm a bit surprised they're willing to take Iwamura on at that salary, not that he's bad value.
3:04pm: Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette tweets that he's hearing the Pirates are part of the Iwamura trade talks. MLB.com's Joe Frisaro believes the Marlins would have interest, but not if they had to assume Iwamura's entire contract.
2:41pm: Roger Mooney of the Bradenton Herald believes Iwamura is headed to an NL club.
12:45pm: Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times hears that the Rays are on the verge of trading Akinori Iwamura. Topkin's source, who's not with the Rays, says the team close to acquiring Iwamura is not the Dodgers or Cubs.
The Rays have until one day after the end of the World Series to pick up Iwamura's $4.85MM option or buy him out for $550K. The Rays don't need Iwamura thanks to Ben Zobrist's emergence, but it's not surprising that other teams have interest in the Japanese infielder. The 30-year-old has a career line of .281/.354/.393 and he plays a solid second base, according to UZR/150.
Odds & Ends: Schueler, Dunn, Yankees, Strasburg
Some links for Tuesday…
- The Nationals hired former White Sox GM Ron Schueler as a special assistant to Mike Rizzo, according to a team press release.
- Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos must decide in the coming days whether to proceed with a payroll of about $80MM or ask ownership for more money, according to MLB.com's Jordan Bastian.
- Phil Wood of MASN.com doesn't think it makes sense for the Nats to trade Adam Dunn away.
- ESPN.com's Rob Neyer says the Yankees will probably want to become younger this offseason, even if it's just a marginal change.
- Former Rockies assistant GM Chris Rice tells Irv Moss of the Denver Post how "exciting and tense" the expansion draft was before the team's inaugural season.
- As Danny Knobler of CBSSports points out, the Phillies' decision to go after Cliff Lee instead of Roy Halladay looks smart right now.
- Harry Pavlidis of The Hardball Times looks at Stephen Strasburg's performance in the Arizona Fall League and says the top pick "is proving to be everything he was hyped to be."
- MLB.com's Matthew Leach guesses that Matt Holliday will not return to the Cardinals in 2010.
- Richard Durrett of ESPNDallas.com reports that the Rangers could decide today whether Thad Bosley, Rusty Greer, Clint Hurdle or Gerald Perry will become the team's next hitting coach.
- Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that the Twins outrighted Brian Buscher to Triple A. He can become a minor league free agent 16 days after the World Series. Aaron Gleeman doesn't expect Buscher to remain in the organization.
Trades Of The Decade: Pierzynski For Nathan, Bonser, Liriano
Trading A.J. Pierzynski made sense. Joe Mauer was thriving in the upper minors, so the Twins had a cheap, young catcher ready to contribute. They had even less payroll flexibility than they do now, and Pierzynski was about to become expensive.
Twins GM Terry Ryan obtained prospects Boof Bonser and Francisco Liriano for Pierzynski, but as Ryan told the Minneapolis Star Tribune at the time, Joe Nathan was the centerpiece of the trade.
"We feel good about Nathan coming back," Ryan said. "He's a major league guy who has been tested and who is talented."
The Giants called on Nathan 78 times in 2003 and he responded with a big year. The righty struck out 83 batters in 79 innings, allowing just 51 hits and 33 walks for a 2.96 ERA. Nathan's tenure with the club ended badly, however. He allowed three runs to the Marlins in the NLDS before storming off the mound.
Some thought Nathan had closer potential, but Sabean wasn't convinced.
"Whether someone is going to be a closer or a front-line starter is a lot of speculation," Sabean told the San Francisco Chronicle. "That is not necessarily the organization's view of the world."
The Giants had Yorvit Torrealba around, but they admired Pierzynski's play so much they couldn't pass up the chance to make a trade.
"It's not often you can send a reliever and two prospects away for a front-line, All-Star, left-handed hitting catcher," Sabean said.
That left-handed hitting catcher interested a variety of clubs. The Cubs, Padres and Orioles were among the teams who saw lots to like in the backstop. At 26, Pierzynski had a lifetime average of .301 and a career OPS of .788. He had just established career highs in every offensive category of consequence and was under team control for three more seasons.
Pierzynski hit .272/.319/.410 with 41 extra base hits for the Giants in 2004, but he didn't fit in with his new club. An anonymous teammate called him a "cancer" and a number of Giants told the Oakland Tribune that they wouldn't mind seeing him traded. Pierzynski remained on the team for the rest of the season, but his tenure by the Bay ended months later when the Giants non-tendered him.
In 2006, when Liriano seemed capable of replacing Johan Santana atop the Twins' rotation and Bonser looked like a solid starter, too, this trade seemed even more lopsided that it does today. Liriano had just struck out 144 batters in 121 innings en route to a 2.16 ERA. Bonser, a 2000 first rounder, had just pitched 100 innings of 4.22 ERA ball.
But Liriano underwent Tommy John surgery in 2006 and he hasn't matched his initial success since. Bonser's performance fell off in 2007, he was bumped from the rotation in 2008 and he missed 2009 because of shoulder surgery.
Meanwhile, Nathan has improved in Minnesota. He has never had an ERA above 2.70 or saved fewer than 36 games with the Twins. He's made three All-Star appearances since Sabean sent him to the AL and has kept his WHIP below 1.00 in five of his six seasons in the Junior Circuit.
At the time of the trade, Bruce Jenkins of the San Francisco Chronicle wrote that "Giants fans won't miss Joe Nathan," calling the deal a "steal" for Sabean. Nothing seems further from the truth now, but the deal didn't appear lopsided in 2003. The Giants gave up a reliever with a history of shoulder problems and two unproven, but promising prospects for an affordable catcher who should have been entering his prime.
Still, the deal is a blemish on Sabean's record and a major reason the Twins have won three division titles since.