Odds & Ends: Giants, Tigers, Brewers
Some more links as we unwind from yesterday:
- Bob Ryan at the Boston Globe doesn't like the trade deadline, as he thinks it creates an unfair market for richer teams.
- Aaron Rowand is comfortable with the Giants' additions and thinks the lineup can lead to a playoff appearance, reports Andrew Baggarly at the San Jose Mercury-News.
- Lynn Henning at the Detroit News says that the Tigers still have much on their to-do list after acquiring Jarrod Washburn, which would include plugging in some "muscle" into their batting order.
- Kevin Kaduk at Yahoo Sports wonders what the Indians should do with their two planned Victor Martinez stadium giveaways now that he's a goner.
- The Orioles mostly held on to their veteran free-agents-to-be at the deadline, notes Spencer Fordin at MLB.com.
- Adam McCalvy at MLB.com has more on the three-team trade that fell through yesterday, where the Brewers would have acquired a pitcher. One clue to the unnamed pitcher: He reportedly would not have been able to start for the Brewers today.
Tigers Eyeing Luke Scott
Jon Paul Morosi and Ken Rosenthal and FOX Sports say the Tigers may not be done after getting Jarrod Washburn – they "have remained in contact with the Orioles about outfielder Luke Scott." The Tigers technically still have the prospects to pull it off, though the Orioles are asking a lot. Scott is under team control through 2012, and he's hitting .275/.356/.528 on the season.
Orioles Intend To Keep Hendrickson
The Orioles will keep lefty Mark Hendrickson, according to Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi at FOX Sports. They swapped names with the Rockies to no avail, plus the George Sherrill trade made Baltimore less inclined to move a second veteran southpaw.
Hendrickson, 35, has allowed a .253/.301/.414 line to lefties this year. He has about $565K remaining on his contract, plus incentives.
Roy Halladay Rumors: Thursday
5:07pm: Ricciardi tells Ed Price of AOL FanHouse that he's not ruling out a trade. "We're waiting 'til 4 o'clock tomorrow," Ricciardi said.
4:23pm: Jack Curry of the New York Times has additional comments from Ricciardi on Halladay:
"We've got nothing going on. We expect him to be with us."
The Phillies are out, and the other suitors failed to wow Ricciardi.
3:19pm: Rosenthal and Morosi say the Dodgers have enough in their system to make a competitive offer for Halladay, even after acquiring Sherrill. And for Evan Grant's thoughts on the Rangers and Halladay, click here.
However, in another entry Rosenthal and Morosi talk to J.P. Ricciardi and label the Halladay sweepstakes "all but over." Ricciardi's comments indicate the same. Toronto's GM seems intent on keeping Scott Rolen, Marco Scutaro, and others if Doc stays.
2:23pm: Morosi says Halladay is looking unlikely for the Angels, who shot down a Toronto proposal that included Joe Saunders, Erick Aybar, and Brandon Wood.
The Halos are also looking for bullpen help, with names such as Heath Bell and George Sherrill in play (their offer for Mike Wuertz fell short).
1:26pm: Rosenthal and Morosi have a source saying things are "very quiet" on the Halladay front. Still, the Dodgers, Angels, Rangers, Rays, and Red Sox remain interested.
1:14pm: Yahoo's Tim Brown sees the Dodgers and Red Sox as the frontrunners for Doc in what is shaping up as a two-team race. Brown says the only Major Leaguer in the Dodgers' offer is James McDonald, while the Sox will part with Clay Buchholz, one of Justin Masterson, Michael Bowden, and Lars Anderson, and some lesser prospects. My guess is that the Red Sox find a way to get this done, given the quality they're already offering. ESPN's Jayson Stark says one Dodgers prospect who is off-limits is shortstop Devaris Gordon.
Meanwhile, Lynn Henning of the Detroit News says the Jays wanted Rick Porcello, Ryan Perry, and Casey Crosby from the Tigers for Halladay. Henning says the Tigers bowed out upon that request. Henning adds that the Tigers would consider adding Adam Dunn or Josh Willingham but the price is steep on the sluggers as well.
12:59pm: A Rosenthal/Morosi source with knowledge of the Jays' thinking discusses a package of Dodgers minor leaguers that could catch Toronto's attention in a Halladay deal.
12:21pm: Joe McDonald of the Providence Journal sees the Dodgers in the lead for Halladay, with the Rangers in the mix and talks with Boston calming down.
9:09am: Tony Massarotti of the Boston Globe feels the chances of the Red Sox acquiring Halladay are "remote," and believes that Boston has yet to increase their initial offer for him. And in an earlier column, Sean McAdam of the Boston Herald said the Blue Jays and Red Sox have not been in contact over the last three days.
8:37am: SI's Jon Heyman says the Dodgers balked at the Blue Jays' asking price for Halladay and are moving on to Orioles closer George Sherrill. Check out yesterday's Sherrill info here.
Meanwhile, Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun finds Halladay unlikely to be traded. ESPN's Buster Olney says there are "no active talks" at present.
7:55am: We'll start with a review of yesterday's Roy Halladay rumors. The Phillies acquired Cliff Lee instead, cutting into J.P. Ricciardi's leverage for Doc. Ricciardi now has the Red Sox, Yankees, Rangers, Dodgers, and possibly Angels and Rays to work with. The Blue Jays' GM is thinking about keeping Halladay for 2010, based on his comments to Joel Sherman of the New York Post. On to a few new links…
- Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi at FOX Sports say the Jays are not requiring the Dodgers to include Clayton Kershaw or Chad Billingsley. Instead, they'd just take five or six of the team's top prospects.
- Mark Feinsand and Bill Madden of the New York Daily News say Ricciardi is trying to get the Yankees and Red Sox into a bidding war. Kind of cliche, J.P. The authors imply the Yanks may be more focused Jarrod Washburn, who obviously wouldn't require as big a bounty.
- Halladay's plan for today, according to Jim Salisbury of the Philadelphia Inquirer – lock himself in his hotel room. Might want to unplug the TV and disable the Internet. Doc is understandably drained from pitching last night amid all the rumors.
Rockies Interested In Hendrickson, Downs, Nick Johnson
4:54pm: Tracy Ringolsby of FOX Sports says the Rockies also have an eye on Washington's Nick Johnson as a bench bat. A .410 OBP bench bat.
11:00am: Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post wrote earlier today that the Rockies "increased their pursuit" of Orioles southpaw Mark Hendrickson (.253/.303/.422 against lefties this year). Renck confirms that the Rox balked at the asking price – Eric Young, Jr. – for John Grabow and Joe Beimel. By the way, in case you missed it, Renck notes that the Rockies signed 43 year-old righty Mike Timlin to a minor league deal.
Via Twitter, Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun throws another name into the mix for Colorado: Blue Jays closer Scott Downs. Downs, signed through 2010, would certainly exact the highest price of all the relievers linked to the Rockies.
Dodgers Acquire George Sherrill
3:09: Ed Price confirms that the Dodgers acquired Sherrill. Rosenthal and Morosi do, too. Bell is a well-regarded 22 year-old power prospect, though Baseball America is unsure whether he can stick at third base. BA projects Johnson as "a big league reliever or back-end starter."
2:44pm: MLB.com's Ken Gurnick reports that the Dodgers acquired George Sherrill for Josh Bell and righty Steve Johnson.
2:40pm: Yahoo's Gordon Edes says the Orioles are "on the verge of trading Sherrill to the Dodgers for Scott Elbert and Josh Bell." Sherrill, 32, is under team control through 2011. He has a 2.40 ERA with 20 saves in 41.3 innings this year. Fantasy leaguers, time to pick up Jim Johnson.
2:03pm: Ed Price of AOL Fanhouse (via Twitter) has a source saying Sherrill's a Dodger, but he is working to confirm the info. ESPN's Jayson Stark's source says there's no agreement, however. The Dodgers are making a push for him this afternoon, but there are at least eight interested clubs.
Stark adds that the Dodgers want two relievers, with Toronto's Jason Frasor on the radar.
THURSDAY, 11:43am: Morosi and Rosenthal say the Dodgers are pursuing both Sherrill and Roy Halladay. They may only be able to acquire one, since some of the same prospects are being discussed in each case. The writers say the O's prefer Josh Bell to Blake DeWitt for Sherrill. Baseball America loves Bell's raw power but wonders if he'll be able to stick at third base.
WEDNESDAY, 7:10pm: Morosi and Rosenthal say that you can count the White Sox in as a team interested in Sherrill, though it's unclear if the teams have made contact. It's speculated that Josh Fields might go to the Orioles in a deal, as they're looking for help at third base pending the departure of Melvin Mora.
2:44pm: As many as eight teams are pursuing George Sherrill, according to Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. Two or three of the teams are actively engaging the O's in trade talks.
The Angels are interested, as are the Dodgers, whose prospects appeal to Baltimore. Joel Sherman of the New York Post hears that the Dodgers are focused on trading for Sherrill now that Cliff Lee's off the market.
Teams Inquiring On Guthrie
Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi are saying that multiple teams have put in calls for Orioles RHP Jeremy Guthrie. However, their source says that the Orioles are "unlikely" to move him, and the Orioles would likely have to be overwhelmed to make a deal.
Guthrie, a former Scott Boras client, makes only $650k this season. He's been a bit disappointing, though, putting up a 5.21 ERA.
Odds & Ends: Bradley, O’s, Mariners
Some more interesting nuggets we've mined as we reel from the madness today:
- Paul Sullivan at the Chicago Tribune got comments from Cubs GM Jim Hendry, who called rumors that Milton Bradley could head to the Tigers "unfair to the player."
- Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun hears that Danys Baez, Aubrey Huff and Melvin Mora, who are all about to become free agents, have attracted minimal interest on the trade market.
- The Mariners signed second round pick Rick Poythress, who'll be immediately shipped to the AA affiliate, reports Geoff Baker at the Seattle Times.
- ESPN's Jerry Crasnick takes a look at some of the all-time hyped prospects who have turned out to be busts.
- In a similar piece to Crasnick's, Yahoo's Jeff Passan looks at how once-hot prospect Brandon Wood has seen his value as a trade chip diminish.
Dodgers After George Sherrill
TUESDAY: Paul Hoynes reported earlier that the Dodgers might be shifting efforts from Cliff Lee to Sherrill, and Gordon Edes at Yahoo agrees. Edes says the Dodgers could package Elbert as well as third baseman Blake DeWitt to fill in the Orioles' immediate needs. He also lists the Phillies among four other teams interested in Sherrill.
MONDAY: Ed Price of AOL Fanhouse tweets that the Dodgers "are in hard on" Orioles closer George Sherrill. The O's, in turn, have been looking at LHP prospect Scott Elbert, "but have reservations about him." Elbert missed just about the entire 2007 season with shoulder surgery, but has recovered nicely to strike out 20 batters in 17.1 big league innings.
The Dodgers have been looking for pitching help for some time, and they added a key lefthander to the roster today, activating Hong-Chih Kuo from the disabled list.
Odds & Ends: Harang, Brewers, Orioles
Here are some fresh links from only the most verified sources on the Internet:
- Mark Gonzales at the Chicago Tribune reports that White Sox GM Kenny Williams spoke with Josh Fields' agent. Gonzales wonders if Fields might be on the outs.
- Andy Martino at the Philadelphia Inquirer gets a rundown of the Phils' big prospect names being tossed around in a potential deal for Roy Halladay from Baseball America's Ben Badler.
- Mark Sheldon at MLB.com reports that Aaron Harang has a limited no-trade clause, but Harang had this to say: "I don't know which teams I put. I put them down a couple of years back."
- Brewers GM Doug Melvin is still in buying mode, he tells Tom Haudricourt at the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.
- Steve Melewski at MASN Sports talked to O's president Andy MacPhail about Miguel Angel Sano. No offers yet, apparently.
- Roch Kubatko at MASN says that there are "rumblings" that the Orioles might have interest in the Dodgers' 3B prospect Josh Bell, potentially as a piece in a George Sherrill deal.