Brian Roberts Rumors
Yesterday, SI.com’s Jon Heyman wrote that the Cubs-Orioles Brian Roberts trade talks still have a little life, and the O’s are scouting various young Cubs. On Sunday Jim Salisbury said the Orioles only needed to decide which pitchers they want to complete a deal.
Today, Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times checks in with the latest. To begin with, Mark DeRosa‘s heart complications seem under control, and won’t force the Cubs’ hand.
Wittenmyer adds that the ball is indeed in Baltimore’s court, and their scouts will need at least a week to observe various Cubs. He says the Orioles are requesting Ronny Cedeno, Sean Gallagher, and two more top youngsters. That steep price could cause the Cubs to turn to Coco Crisp or Marlon Byrd. However, neither the Red Sox nor the Rangers seem to value either as a fourth outfielder.
Theo Epstein WEEI Interview: Crisp, Santana
WEEI recently posted an interesting interview with Red Sox GM Theo Epstein. Epstein was frank with his answers and didn’t duck questions. A few points of interest:
- Epstein observed a "horrible free agent market, bereft of talent." The one surplus he noted was center field, which he feels resulted in the lack of a trade market for Coco Crisp (the best defensive center fielder in the game last year, according to Epstein). Epstein said he learned his lesson with Jay Payton and does not want to be forced to trade Crisp as he was Payton. He won’t deal Crisp from a "position of weakness." Michael Silverman believes a team will have to have its center fielder significantly injured for a market for Crisp to develop. Or, a prospect like Felix Pie or Colby Rasmus will have to prove not ready or be traded.
- As for Johan Santana, the Red Sox were "in it, with limits." Epstein said he left the Twins with two solid offers, but Bill Smith wanted a package that would’ve been "completely irresponsible." He felt that Boston’s offer was better than that of the Mets.
Odds and Ends: Choo, Inge, Lohse, Francona
Let’s round up some rumors and links.
- Not only is Shin-Soo Choo out of options, but he’s recovering from Tommy John surgery and may have to join the South Korean military.
- Brandon Inge sat out a demanding drill on Friday, causing Tom Gage to wonder if trade talks are ongoing. Dave Dombrowski spoke on the topic recently, saying all the right things about Inge.
- Kyle Lohse is not interested in a minor league deal or playing in another country. He’s still waiting by the phone though.
- Funny anecdote involving J.P. Ricciardi’s son.
- Terry Francona was extended through 2011, with club options for ’12 and ’13.
- Kenny Williams and Billy Beane: opposites attract. Given their strong relationship, perhaps the Sox could look to acquire Mark Ellis during the season if the current options fall through.
- Wow – Scott Rolen would’ve accepted a trade to the Phillies. The Phils discussed him internally but decided not to pursue it.
- The Giants briefly considered Sean Casey, who is "really good at life" according to Aaron Boone.
Manny Switches To Boras
This should be interesting. Just in time for his contract year, Manny Ramirez has ditched agents Scott Parker and Greg Genske in favor of Scott Boras. As Jon Heyman notes, this is not necessarily a bad thing for Boston since they’re on fine terms with Boras. Manny recently spoke to the press about his $20MM option after the season, but didn’t really add new information.
There will be a lot of Boston media chatter about Manny’s situation this year, and now plenty of Boras Hall of Fame type rhetoric as well. But really, it’s a very simple situation. The Red Sox don’t have to make a decision until after the season, and they don’t owe it to Ramirez to do so. If his new workout regime helps him stay healthy for 140+ games, the Sox will probably exercise the option. They’ll certainly have other options, but Adam Dunn, Pat Burrell, and Bobby Abreu won’t sign for one year.
Odds and Ends: El Duque, Rays, Botts, Cruz
Today’s linkage…
- RotoAuthority tries to decide what to do with the fourth pick in a fantasy draft.
- The rumor about the Royals moving to the NL seems unfounded.
- Sean McAdam says the Red Sox will keep an eye on the free agent pitching market, but don’t intend to spend much.
- El Duque has all sorts of problems, which I won’t go into. Maybe he’s just down on his luck, but he indicated a 50/50 chance of this being his last season. He’ll earn $6.5MM, and PECOTA calls for a 4.08 ERA in 98 innings.
- DRays Bay talked to team owner Stu Sternberg. Sternberg mentioned that he reads Rays Index, the blog of MLBTR contributor Cork Gaines.
- Evan Grant compares Rangers Jason Botts and Nelson Cruz, one of whom will not be with the team by Opening Day. They are among many on our Out of Options – 2008 list, which is growing by the hour.
Odds and Ends: Crisp, Stewart, Meyer
Let’s round ’em up!
- I’m doing a fantasy baseball mailbag feature at The Hardball Times. Check out the first entry.
- Nothing really new from Coco Crisp…if he loses the center field battle, he’ll probably prefer a trade.
- The Brewers are close to a minor league deal with Russell Branyan, who might have a hard time sniffing the big league roster anytime this season.
- The Toronto Star relays from J.P. Ricciardi that the Blue Jays no longer have an offer on the table for Shannon Stewart.
- Turns out Oakland’s Dan Meyer has a fourth option, meaning he’s likely to lose the fifth starter battle to Dana Eveland.
- I can’t help it…I love the Juan Gonzalez story. I’m rooting for him for no apparent reason.
- Mark Teixeira didn’t offer much info regarding extension talks with the Braves. He did refute that report about building a home in Atlanta and another about a rift with Scott Boras.
- Peter Abraham thinks the Yanks should trade Hideki Matsui.
Odds and Ends: Papelbon, Bonds
Your collection of links and rumors…
- Interestingly, Pirates GM Neal Huntington put out a statement for Pirates’ fans. He explains why the Pirates have been inactive this winter, and I agree with the logic. This team doesn’t need to be wasting money on mediocre free agents.
- Justin Huber is out of options, so he’ll either make the Royals or end up elsewhere.
- Athletics Nation paints a picture in which the A’s are buyers at this year’s trade deadline. A parallel universe with a healthy Rich Harden, if you will.
- The Red Sox are exploring a multiyear deal for Jonathan Papelbon, according to Gordon Edes of the Boston Globe.
- With 20/20 hindsight, Viva El Birdos rewrites how they might have conducted the Cardinals’ offseason moves.
- No one wants Barry Bonds. He’s in game shape, but one exec Andrew Baggarly talked to has heard no rumors at all. Baggarly has talked to some baseball officials who believe Bonds might play in Japan in 2008. Now that would be something.
Odalis Perez Signs With Nationals
12:45pm: It’s official; the Nats have signed Perez to a minor league deal. He certainly picked the right team to attempt to bounce back to relevancy. He gets $850K if he makes the team.
12:23pm:Gordon Edes of the Boston Globe says it appears likely Perez will sign with the Nats. I imagine both offers were of the minor league variety.
TUESDAY, 9:02am:The Nats have an offer on the table for Perez, as do the Red Sox. You’d think he’d prefer the opportunity in Washington.
MONDAY, 7:49pm: In January, the Mets met with Odalis Perez. They scouted him in the Dominican Republic. The Mets later signed Tony Armas Jr. In February, Perez worked out for the Phillies, whose interest was characterized as "lukewarm." The Phils later signed Kris Benson. A third NL East team has entered the picture – MLB.com’s Bill Ladson says the Nationals have serious interest in the southpaw.
Perez might have to settle for a minor league deal, maybe with incentives to reach $2-3MM. The 30 year-old pitched 137 innings of 5.57 ball for the Royals last year.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Joe Blanton
After letting Barry Zito walk last year and trading Danny Haren in December, the A’s appear to be entertaining offers for Joe Blanton. While the Reds and the Dodgers appear to be the most aggressive suitors, Ken Rosenthal speculated that Blanton would be a good fit for the Twins or the Rays and Buster Olney named several other clubs that could be interested in acquiring the right-hander. Blanton, 27, is still three years from free agency, and will make $3.7MM this season. With pitchers and catchers due to report this week, let’s take a look at reactions to the Blanton rumors from the blogosphere.
- Athletics Nation is surprised that Blanton has not been moved yet. They expect that a deal is more likely now that Johan Santana has been traded, and the free agent market is drying up.
- Redleg Nation thinks the Reds should be willing to part with Homer Bailey or Johnny Cueto in addition to Joey Votto for a proven pitcher.
- On the other hand, Red Reporter believes the Reds should only take Blanton if they do not have to surrender one of their top prospects.
- Pinstripe Alley wouldn’t mind the Yankees acquiring Blanton as long as the trade does not require Joba Chamberlain or Phil Hughes. The would be willing to part with Alan Horne or Austin Jackson from the lower levels.
- Rays Anatomy believes that Blanton is an asset that the Rays could use (an innings eater), but ultimately does not think the trade makes sense for the Rays. They are hesitant With so many pitching prospects knocking on the Rays’ door and do not want to part with prospects such as Wade Davis, Jake McGee or Desmond Jennings.
- Over the Monster does not see the Red Sox giving up Coco Crisp for Blanton as that would be a deviation from their plan to develop pitchers in their system. Rather, they think it is more likely that the Sox sign a free agent or move Julian Tavarez to the rotation.
Do The Red Sox Care About Blanton?
With Joe Blanton seemingly the best available starter, the logical question is whether the Red Sox will now go after him. Curt Schilling‘s doctor believes he may never pitch again if he doesn’t have surgery.
The Globe and Mail’s Jeff Blair believes:
Theo Epstein has already laid some groundwork with the Oakland Athletics Billy Beane for a deal involving Joe Blanton, remnants of discussions the clubs had about Dan Haren before Haren was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks.
However, The Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo wrote today that the Sox "merely kicked the tires on Erik Bedard and Dan Haren."
Ken Rosenthal suggested that Epstein might acquire more pitching depth, but didn’t mention Blanton. Personally I do not see Epstein going the Blanton route. Blanton doesn’t seem like the type of guy who would thrive in the AL East, though his price will be significant. If anything, I’d expect Epstein to target a guy with good stuff, like Gil Meche, Ben Sheets, or Ian Snell (rather than the suggestions I have seen of Kyle Lohse or Jason Marquis).