Quiet Deadline For Yankees?
Joel Sherman of the New York Post has the latest on the Yankees, and it sounds like they could have a quiet trade deadline. Sherman says the team is showing no inclination to pursue Roy Halladay or Cliff Lee, and has not engaged in extensive talks for Jarrod Washburn. They're not in on Bronson Arroyo, Doug Davis, or Jon Garland either. Sherman believes the Yanks might be content to let the Red Sox get Halladay:
A person close to the Steinbrenner family said that Cashman has not even asked permission to expand the 2009 payroll nor is there anticipation that ownership would allow a significant financial increase now. This is pertinent because the Yankees do believe that the Red Sox have put Clay Buchholz into a trade offer for Halladay and that Boston just might get the ace righty.
So the first-place Yankees are tightening the purse strings, despite Chien-Ming Wang's season-ending shoulder surgery.
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Heyman On Washburn, Halladay, Red Sox, Rangers
Let's dig into the latest from SI's Jon Heyman.
- The Yankees called the Mariners Saturday to inquire on Jarrod Washburn, and were told at the time that the Ms weren't ready to sell. Perhaps that has since changed, based on today's report from Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi. Here's my question: was Seattle's decision to hold on to Washburn last summer prudent, or did they just get lucky? Heyman says Bronson Arroyo is a "fallback option" for the Yanks should the Reds change course and offer to eat significant salary.
- Heyman gives his take on the Roy Halladay situation, explaining where suitors such as the Phillies, Yankees, Red Sox, Angels, Rangers, and Dodgers sit. Heyman still sees the Phils as the favorite. He says the Dodgers "are more focused on Cliff Lee than Halladay" but don't want to break up their Major League roster. Good luck with that. One Heyman source suggested the Red Sox would need to give up Clay Buchholz, Daniel Bard, and Jed Lowrie (Gordon Edes says Bard is off-limits).
- Heyman also talks a bit about Boston's interest in major bats Victor Martinez and Adrian Gonzalez.
- Heyman finds the Rangers unlikely to acquire Halladay or Cliff Lee, though they have expressed interest. The Rangers won't be restricted, at least by MLB, because of Tom Hicks' financial woes. I don't see why the money owed to Halladay would be an issue for any club. He's a massive bargain.
- The Angles have yet to cop to interest in Rays starter Scott Kazmir. Heyman guesses Tampa Bay would love to be free of Kazmir's contract ($24.8MM through 2011 doesn't seem too burdensome though). Earlier today the lefty was connected to the Rangers and Mets by Joel Sherman of the New York Post.
- Heyman speculates that one reason the Cards would like to extend Matt Holliday is to impress Albert Pujols.
Dan Haren Staying Put
Diamondbacks ace Dan Haren will not be traded, according to Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. A D'Backs official put it bluntly: "We're not trading him. We don't want to change our core."
Haren signed an extension in August of last year taking him through 2012 with a club option for 2013. The 28 year-old leads the NL with a 2.14 ERA in 143 innings.
Back on June 30th, Rosenthal wrote that the Angels inquired on Haren but the D'Backs "declined to engage in serious discussions."
Cardinals Hoping To Lock Up Holliday?
Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch talked to Cardinals chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. about the team's huge acquisition of left fielder Matt Holliday. DeWitt implied that he hopes to sign Holliday to an extension: "We're not looking at this as a one-year deal, I assure you."
Strauss notes that the Cardinals did recently convince a Scott Boras client to forgo free agency, when Kyle Lohse signed a four-year, $41MM extension in September of last year. But keep in mind that while Lohse did not reach free agency, he still did not sign for a penny below market value. (Look at the fate of Randy Wolf, who signed in February for $5MM plus incentives).
Also, past history suggests Holliday might not be looking to squeeze out every last dollar. The slugger signed a two-year extension in January of '08 for $23MM when he probably could have made more money going to arbitration two more times.
Roy Halladay Rumors: Saturday
10:19pm: Heyman tweets that the Yankees might consider giving up Chamberlain for Halladay, but won't entertain both Chamberlain and Hughes.
8:14pm: Ray Parrillo and Jim Salisbury of The Philadelphia Inquirer report that the Phillies "were trying to steer the Blue Jays" towards a package centered around Carrasco and infielder Jason Donald.
7:53pm: Heyman tweets that the Jays suggested to the Yankees today that it would take Joba Chamberlain, Phil Hughes, and two more for Halladay.
7:36pm: Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FoxSports.com report that the Jays countered the Angels offer by asking for a four player package that included Joe Saunders, Brandon Wood, Erick Aybar, and one prospect from the group of Trevor Reckling, Peter Bourjos, and Sean O'Sullivan. They also mention that as many as five teams are talking with Toronto about Halladay.
4:17pm: According to Gordon Edes of Yahoo! Sports, the Angels "did indeed make a run at Halladay, offering Jered Weaver plus the Blue Jays' pick of outfield or infield prospects" Bottom line, it wasn't enough.
3:47pm: Ed Price of AOL Fanhouse has more. Here's his most recent tweet: "Source: 'I'd be shocked' if Phillies reverse course and include Happ [and] Drabek for Halladay. But [second] source [says] Blue Jays 'got to' have both."
3:08pm: ESPN's Jayson Stark reports the Blue Jays have presented similar proposals (or lists of desired prospects) to the Dodgers and Angels. "The ball is in their court," as Toronto GM J.P. Ricciardi said Friday.
2:40pm: Jeff Blair of the Toronto Globe and Mail heard from a Jays scout that "there's one big team yet to make a play for Doc." Blair hints that one "big team" might be the Red Sox.
1:04pm: According to MLB.com's Jordan Bastian, the Phillies have formally rejected the Blue Jays' proposal. Philadelphia is reportedly opposed to giving up both Drabek and Happ.
12:43pm: Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi at FOX Sports are reporting that the Angels have "intensified their bid" for Halladay. The Jays are said to be asking for one player from the Halos' major-league roster and "another who could make an impact in 2010."
Additionally, Jays officials are said believe Halladay's past two brilliant outings make their recent offers "reasonable." Sources don't believe a deal will be completed this weekend.
10:46am: Jayson Stark at ESPN says that the Phillies are now balking at the Blue Jays' asking price, which was formally presented Thursday as J.A. Happ, Kyle Drabek and Dominic Brown. It's believed they're hoping to substitute Carlos Carrasco for one of Happ or Drabek, particularly Drabek.
9:25am: Talks might be heating up. Jon Heyman at SI says "there's no way he stays" with the Blue Jays, as discussions with the Phils have become "intense." MLB.com's Jordan Bastian saw Halladay emerge from the clubhouse in uniform, though, so nothing's imminent for now.
3:30am: Check out the latest from Jim Salisbury of the Philadelphia Inquirer. He says that while the Jays want Drabek, Happ, and Brown for Halladay, they did send assistant GM Tony LaCava to watch Phils prospect Carlos Carrasco pitch.
Salisbury adds that the Phillies have interest in Cliff Lee, Erik Bedard, and Jarrod Washburn as backup plans, and will scout Lee Sunday.
12:20am: We learned yesterday that Toronto GM J.P. Ricciardi is in serious discussions with four teams about ace pitcher Roy Halladay. The Phillies are known to be the favorite. A piece of info to kick off the Saturday post from Jeff Blair of the Globe and Mail:
Know this: Halladay has told people that the Phillies are his preferred choice if he were to be traded. The Blue Jays want pitchers J.A. Happ and Kyle Drabek and one of two outfield prospects: Michael Taylor or Dominic Brown.
That's important, given Halladay's full no-trade clause. Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports agree that Halladay would approve a trade to Philly.
The Phillies and Yankees were in Toronto last night scouting Halladay's gem against the Rays, according to MLB.com's Jordan Bastian. Rosenthal and Morosi say "Ricciardi has yet to engage" the Yanks in trade talks though.
Despite the rumors, Doc told Bastian and other reporters after the game he feels like he's going to remain a Blue Jay. He doesn't feel the urgency for a trade on his or the team's part. Halladay also clarified his stance on free agency, for which he's eligible after the 2010 season.
Elias Rankings
At the end of each season, The Elias Sports Bureau ranks all MLB players numerically based on a bunch of stats. Every player is categorized in one of five position groups and by league. The rankings cover a two-year time period. They are used to determine whether free agents are Type A, Type B, or neither. If you'd like a reminder on how draft pick compensation works, read up here.
Eddie Bajek of Detroit Tigers Thoughts reverse-engineered the Elias Rankings last year. Eddie's incredible work was made possible in large part due to information provided by ESPN's Keith Law. Eddie is now providing the rankings exclusively to MLB Trade Rumors. Today's snapshot covers the beginning of the 2008 season through July 23rd of 2009. So the rankings will obviously change over the next few months.
Keep in mind that if players change leagues, they are ranked in their new league. So Matt Holliday and Rafael Betancourt are ranked in the NL, Adam LaRoche in the AL. Holliday remains a Type A; Betancourt just barely makes the Type B cut, and LaRoche misses the Type B cut. As for the Mariners pitchers under scrutiny, Erik Bedard is a B with a shot at A and Jarrod Washburn is entrenched as a B (not sure how they'd look in the NL though).
Click here to see the latest Elias Rankings.
Red Sox Scout Indians-Mariners Game
MLBTR has learned tonight that the Red Sox had a scout in attendance for tonight's Indians-Mariners game. The Indians topped the Ms 9-0 behind a nice performance from Aaron Laffey and four home runs from the offense.
The purpose behind Boston's scouting mission is unknown. But the logical connection is Indians catcher Victor Martinez. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports wrote Thursday that the Red Sox "continue to scout and express interest in Martinez even after acquiring first baseman Adam LaRoche." However, at the time Rosenthal considered a Martinez trade a longshot. The Rays also have an eye on V-Mart, based on reports earlier this week from SI's Jon Heyman.
Rockies To Promote Jhoulys Chacin To Majors
11:50am: The Denver Post reports that Chacin will join the Rockies tomorrow as a reliever. Here's Baseball America's take on the young pitcher.
THURSDAY, 11:46am: Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports that the Rockies pulled Chacin from last night's start to promote him to the majors, possibly as a reliever. The right-hander has allowed 87 hits and walked 35 in 103.1 innings at AA, striking out 86.
WEDNESDAY, 11:42pm: According to Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus, the Rockies pulled pitching prospect Jhoulys Chacin from his start tonight "as a precaution for possible, future organizational moves." Chacin tossed one inning for the Double A Tulsa Drillers, tallying just nine pitches.
Chacin, a 21 year-old righty, ranks as the Rockies' top prospect according to Baseball America. BA wrote in praise of his fastball and changeup in their latest Handbook.
Thinking about a possible Roy Halladay connection? Rockies GM Dan O'Dowd didn't seem keen on the idea, talking to MLB.com this morning. Elsewhere in the rumor mill, SI.com's Jon Heyman recently linked Colorado to a slew of relievers (including Chad Qualls and George Sherrill).
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