Rangers Interested In Guardado
T.R. Sullivan talked to Jon Daniels, who said the Rangers are interested in bringing back Eddie Guardado.
Astros Not Interested In So Taguchi
8:28pm: Alyson Footer says the Astros are not interested in Taguchi.
12:44am: According to Kyodo News, So Taguchi‘s agent Alan Nero says the Astros are interested in his client. He’s talked to five teams about the free agent outfielder.
Delmon Young Rumors
8:22pm: Doesn’t sound like the Rays will acquire Delmon Young, but Aaron Gleeman does believe the Twins will move him.
5:49pm: Renck said below that the Rockies had not spoken to teams about Atkins, though LEN3 says they’ve talked to the Twins about him. Seems that the price is too high for the Twins, anyway.
4:40pm: MLB.com’s Kelly Thesier talked to a source who said it’s highly unlikely the Rays reacquire Young.
3:18pm: Troy Renck says the Rockies have not spoken to teams about Atkins. But it should be noted that Stark has only speculating with the Rockies portion of the below rumor.
10:53am: ESPN’s Jayson Stark is now speaking of "indications Monday night that Tampa Bay was still talking to the Twins about a deal that would bring outfielder Delmon Young back to the Rays." Stark speculates that it could be a three-team deal where the Rays ship out Andy Sonnanstine or Edwin Jackson, maybe to Colorado as a means of getting Garrett Atkins to Minnesota. Stark had a source yesterday saying the Rays would "never" take Young back, but that has apparently changed.
Yesterday, there was quite a bit of chatter about the Phillies doing their homework on Young. And keep in mind the Rockies had interest too.
Royals Moving Closer To Signing Reliever
According to Bob Dutton, Dayton Moore admitted the Royals are moving closer to signing a reliever. Dutton believes their preference is Kyle Farnsworth.
Also, Moore shot down rumors involving Zack Greinke, David DeJesus, Mark Teahen, and Jermaine Dye.
Raul Ibanez Rumors: Tuesday
8:09pm: Rosenthal says Mets officials met with Ibanez at a Bellagio restaurant today. He says the Angels, Phillies, Braves and Nationals are also in on Ibanez, though the Braves’ interest is mild.
11:25am: ESPN’s Jayson Stark says the Phillies, Mets, and Cubs are in the lead for Raul Ibanez, with the Braves and Angels on the periphery.
Orioles Rumors: Garland, Izturis, Ohman
8:07pm: Jerry Crasnick says Michael Barrett and Gregg Zaun could be options for the Orioles to help transition Matt Wieters to the bigs.
8:03pm: Andy MacPhail spoke of good progress toward signing a shortstop, presumably Izturis.
4:59pm: A small Garland update from Kubatko.
2:34pm: Roch Kubatko believes the Orioles are down to Izturis for shorstop, and two years $6.5MM would get it done.
8:50am: A few stray Orioles rumors from Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun:
- The O’s had recent talks with Jon Garland‘s agent. They’ll meet with the agents for Koji Uehara and Kenshin Kawakami this week.
- Negotiations for free agent shortstop Cesar Izturis have picked up.
- The Orioles expressed interest in free agent lefty reliever Will Ohman.
Ramon Hernandez Traded For Ryan Freel
7:52pm: Scott Miller says the Orioles are sending $3MM to the Reds, not $1MM as previously reported. Kubatko says it’s $2MM.
4:34pm: MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon adds that the Orioles will receive prospects Brandon Waring and Justin Turner and will send $1MM to the Reds.
2:39pm: Rosenthal says an agreement has been reached to send Hernandez to Cincy for Freel and two prospects. The Orioles are sending over $1MM, so the deal requires approval of the commissioner’s office. I can see how this might work out for both clubs; each player had worn out his welcome.
By the way, Tom Haudricourt rejects the idea that the Brewers were interested.
2:29pm: The Orioles would send cash to Cincy to offset Hernandez’s salary. This deal might be announced soon. Walt Jocketty said "we’ll have something" later when questioned.
1:56pm: John Perrotto believes a Hernandez for Freel deal will be announced today.
TUESDAY, 12:30pm: Seems that a deal for Hernandez is close, though Roch Kubatko says the Brewers jumped into the mix. Kubatko still thinks Hernandez will be traded to the Reds.
MONDAY, 9:37pm: Walt Jocketty slyly lifted his eyebrows when asked about this rumor, according to MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon.
7:11pm: Rosenthal says the Reds would also kick in a prospect in this deal, but want the O’s to pay a significant portion of Hernandez’s salary.
6:01pm: John Fay of the Cincy Enquirer says he’s heard the Hernandez for Freel rumor from both sides.
12:21pm: According to Roch Kubatko of MASN Online, one of the teams interested in catcher Ramon Hernandez would like to swap contracts. The team would send the Orioles a utility guy who can play the infield and outfield.
Kubatko goes on to note that the Reds and Astros are looking for catching. Connecting the dots, Kubatko may have been talking about Ryan Freel above. Hernandez has $9MM left on his contract, while Freel has $4MM.
Manuel Gets Contract Extension
Scott Lauber reports that Phillies manager Charlie Manuel received an extension that runs through 2011.
Rays Met With Giambi
Marc Topkin says the Rays met with Jason Giambi Monday night, and even found photo evidence to prove it.
Astros Pushing Tejada
Yahoo’s Jeff Passan talked to one GM who said the Astros are pushing Miguel Tejada hard. Problem is, there are no apparent suitors right now. Also, while Ed Wade will make every effort not to trade Jose Valverde, he wouldn’t rule it out.