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Red Sox Scouting Eckstein?

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UPDATE: A few Cardinal fans have emailed me, suggesting that Hrabosky’s comments about Eckstein may have been misconstrued as a trade rumor.  Apparently he was just discussing scouting and how Eckstein was a talent from the Boston system.  I have to be careful with broadcast rumors I did not hear myself; my aplogies.

Tonight, color commentator Al Hrabosky mentioned on the FSN Midwest broadcast that the Red Sox were scouting David Eckstein.  Eckstein led off tonight in the Cardinals’ defeat of the Brewers.

Eckstein is hitting .298/.339/.362 this year for the Cardinals, not too far from career levels.  He’s spent some time on the DL this year with back pain.  The elfish 32 year-old is part of a weak free agent crop for shortstops that also includes Omar Vizquel, Juan Uribe, and Cesar Izturis (most likely).

The Red Sox, however, are locked in with Julio Lugo through 2010.  Lugo hasn’t been hitting much in the past week but his bat finally came alive this month with an .875 OPS.

Red Sox Continue Discussions For Dye

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UPDATE: The Chicago Tribune cites two factors for the non-trade – a disagreement over the players involved and Dye’s lack of desire to go to Boston.  The Hartford Courant adds that Kenny Williams demanded either Clay Buchholz or Jacoby Ellsbury.

UPDATE 2: Could the Phillies be the third team, working Michael Bourn into the mix somehow?

Ken Rosenthal has updated this post with some information regarding Boston’s ongoing pursuit of Jermaine Dye.

Apparently Dye was willing to waive his no-trade clause for some performance bonuses and a guarantee of playing five days a week.  A third club would’ve been needed to somehow facilitate the deal Kenny Williams wanted.  Rosenthal says talks are ongoing.

Tough to figure out how the Red Sox would pull off the five days a week thing.  Dye has rarely played any positions other than the outfield corners.  (Though he did play a game each at first base and shortstop in ’05 when the Sox were in a pinch).

If you consider Dye eligible to play first base, left field, right field, and DH, you can envision him starting five times a week.  Kevin Youkilis’s homer tonight notwithstanding, he and J.D. Drew haven’t done a whole lot lately.  Their playing time could be squeezed a bit, while Manny and Papi could use the extra rest.  The problem?  Dye is no picture of health himself and using him at multiple positions each week would probably increase the likelihood of injury.

Dye almost seems like a luxury for the Red Sox; why would they expend any serious effort to get him?  Perhaps they aim more to keep him away from the Yankees or Angels.  Dye could certainly be squeezed onto the Yankees’ roster as easily as Boston’s. Another motivation for Theo Epstein could be that he thinks he can give up players worth less than the draft picks he’d get for Dye.  Kenny Williams is no fool though, so maybe that’s how the third team got roped in.

Stark’s Latest: Teixeira, Dotel

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Jayson Stark has updated his big ol’ rumor post over at ESPN.com.  Some highlights:

  • Stark believes Mark Teixeira to the Braves or Angels is "almost certainly going to happen."  The Angels’ willingness to offer Joe Saunders instead of Ervin Santana is seen as a big plus.  Meanwhile the Braves want the Rangers to tack C.J. Wilson onto their trade but Texas is resisting.  Stark’s update counteracts Will Carroll’s latest; Will recently wrote: "It’s looking more and more like Mark Teixeira is going to stay a Ranger."  You decide.
  • Toss a few more scenarios into the Octavio Dotel mix:  to the Red Sox for David Murphy, or to the Mariners for Wladimir Balentien.  Big difference there.
  • Stark calls Mark Loretta a "very big name to watch."  Hmmm, maybe this trade deadline is lamer than I realized.
  • OK, the market is now open on Houston’s relievers. 
  • The Marlins would be happy to trade Armando Benitez or Byung-Hyun Kim.  Both would need to shake off major control problems to be of any use.
  • Stark says to forget about trades of Daniel Cabrera, Joe Blanton, Richie Sexson, Livan Hernandez, Dontrelle Willis, Todd Helton, Aaron Rowand, and Noah Lowry.  C’mon now, that’s no fun.  Something tells me the rumors on some of this group won’t disappear, so it’s all good.

Teams Looking At Ty Wigginton

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UPDATE: You can toss the Cubs into the mix for Wigginton.

One role player drawing a lot of interest is Tampa Bay’s Ty Wigginton.  He plays hard, he’s versatile, he delivered his own baby, and he’s at .274/.325/452 in 372 ABs. 

Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times says the Dodgers, Twins, Red Sox, and Yankees are in on Wigginton.  Wiggy might have a starting role for the former two teams.  Andrew Friedman may be compelled to find a deal before the deadline, because at $4MM plus Wigginton is a nontender candidate for the D-Rays next year.

Names like Scott Proctor and Scott Baker have surfaced as possible returns for Wigginton, but the general impression seems to be that the Devil Rays would need to improve their offer to get one of them.

Red Sox Sign Brady Clark

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The Red Sox just signed outfielder Brady Clark, per WEEI.  That probably puts them out of the Bobby Kielty sweepstakes.  Excitement!  Clark, a righthanded hitter, might be able to draw a few walks and play all three outfield positions.

Slightly more interesting is that this may portend a trade of Wily Mo Pena soon.  Pirates, White Sox, somewhere else?

Molony On Jennings, Slowey

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Jim Molony’s column today at MLB.com has many good trade rumors that I haven’t seen elsewhere.  Let’s discuss.

  • Molony says at least a dozen scouts watched Jason Jennings toss a quality start last night.  He needed it; I was beginning to think he wasn’t right.  Still, the performance probably isn’t enough to cause some team to offer a package for Jennings superior to two draft picks.
  • The Diamondbacks and Pirates had a scouting presence at the Astros-Dodgers game.  Interesting players appearing in the contest included James Loney, Andre Ethier, Wilson Betemit, Mark Loretta, Morgan Ensberg, Jason Lane, Chad Qualls, Dan Wheeler, and Brad Lidge. You connect the dots, I have no idea.
  • The Red Sox suggested sending Joel Pineiro to the A’s for Bobby Kielty in a swap of unwanteds; they were rebuffed.
  • The Phillies and Braves watched Matt Morris allow four runs in six innings on Tuesday.  They also may have been monitoring Steve Kline, who also pitched.
  • A Devil Rays scout watched the Twins in Toronto on Tuesday.  Ty Wigginton is thought to be a target for Minnesota.  Perhaps the Rays’ scout fancied Scott Baker, who started for the Twins and went seven innings.  Baker would be a stupendous return for Wiggy, in my opinion.
  • The Phillies had their assistant GM scouting Kevin Slowey’s start on Saturday.  Molony suggests Minnesota might want Pat Burrell.  That would involve a ridiculous amount of salary relief and a lack of Slowey.  Slowey allowed one run in six innings in the game.
  • UPDATE: Just realized that the above pair of bullets seem to have originated from La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.  The scout watching the Twins on Tuesday was Lee Elia.  Not sure why Molony didn’t cite this source, but I suppose he may have come across the info independently.

Mark Teixeira Trade Update

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The Mark Teixeira talks are really heating up, with the Braves, Dodgers, Angels, Yankees, and Red Sox all involved.  Ken Rosenthal has updated this column, and Evan Grant has new info as well.

The Braves still appear to be in front.  The names going to Texas would include Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Elvis Andrus, and one of Matt Harrison or Kyle Davies.  A very nice package, but to get three solid prospects the Rangers would have to pair Teixeira with a reliever.  The Braves have their eye on Eric Gagne, C.J. Wilson, and Ron Mahay, with the latter most likely.  It’s unclear whether Gagne can be traded to the Braves without his consent.

The Dodgers counter with James Loney, Andre Ethier, and a pitcher not named Clayton Kershaw. 

The Angels will give Casey Kotchman as well an outfielder like Terry Evans or Nate Haynes.  Kevin Goldstein considers Evans a prospect, Haynes not so much (he turns 27 soon).  You may remember the Angels got Evans for Jeff Weaver last year.  Rosenthal thinks the Halos will have a tougher time being a division foe, and could turn to Adam Dunn or Jermaine Dye.  There’s definitely a Dodgers rivalry element in play as well.

Grant does not mention the Red Sox or Yankees.  Rosenthal sees the Red Sox involved because of David Ortiz’s knee and Kevin Youkilis’s slump.  The Yanks appear to be showing just their obligatory interest, as they seem unlikely to offer the best package.

Tim Brown’s Latest: Willis, Hillenbrand

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Yahoo’s Tim Brown has some new material up:

  • So is Dontrelle Willis available or isn’t he?  Brown says Marlins GM Larry Beinfest is privately talking about him with other clubs.  Brown rattles off the Yankees, Dodgers, Mariners, Diamondbacks, and Indians as interested parties.  Nonetheless, I think the time has passed for the Marlins to get a truly impressive bounty for their ace.
  • Shea Hillenbrand will sign with either the Padres or one other unknown NL team.  Maybe to the Nationals as Dmitri Young’s replacement?
  • Yes, Bobby Kielty has been DFA’d and the Red Sox are considering him.  Typically, the 31 year-old switch-hitter is able to draw a few walks and hit lefties.  He can handle the corner outfield positions but hasn’t played center with any regularity since 2002. 

Red Sox Scout Las Vegas 51s

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According to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe, the Red Sox sent Allard Baird to scout the Dodgers’ Triple A affiliate when they were in Tacoma earlier this week.  The 51s are back in Vegas now.

Cafardo says the Red Sox like third baseman Andy LaRoche, and that the Dodgers are looking for relief help.   Hard to picture how the Red Sox would fill that need though.  Some other interesting names on the 51s’ roster: Tony Abreu, Chin-Lung Hu, and Jonathan Meloan. 

How do these two teams match up?  The Dodgers don’t have much need for Wily Mo Pena.  And why would the Dodgers trade LaRoche to Boston for prospects?  Maybe it’s a prospect-for-prospect scenario.

Mark Teixeira Update; Halos After Konerko?

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Here’s the latest on Texas first baseman Mark Teixeira as well as a new one involving Paul Konerko.

  • Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News expects Teixeira to be traded.  He seems to think that Jon Daniels can convince John Schuerholz to give up Jarrod Saltalamacchia and a pitching prospect for Teixeira.  Meanwhile, Mark Bowman of MLB.com confirms discussions are in progress and believes Salty is pretty much a necessity in the deal.  Buster Olney considers the Braves and Yankees as the only real serious suitors for Tex.  Olney’s sources make a Teixeira trade seem quite likely. 
  • Will Carroll doesn’t think the Rangers would be getting enough for Teixeira in Salty, Elvis Andrus, and a pitching prospect.
  • Grant sees the Dodgers as less likely due to the fine play of James Loney.
  • Interestingly, the Angels may have switched gears to Paul Konerko.  There’s that big, fresh name I was hoping to see.  The Angels tried hard to sign Konerko after the 2005 season.  He had been viewed as Chicago’s most stable position player entering 2008.  He has a limited no-trade clause, but Peter Yoon and Mike DiGiovanna think he would waive it to come to L.A.  The market has changed since November of 2005, and $12MM annually for Konerko seems like a bargain.  He’s locked in through 2010, and his salary would not top Vlad’s (said to be a concern of Arte Moreno when considering A-Rod).  No doubt it would take at least two of the Angels’ best young players – Casey Kotchman and Nick Adenhart?
  • A couple of ESPN baseball guys have differing viewpoints on Konerko’s availability – Buster Olney thinks he can be had, while Jayson Stark would be shocked to see him traded.  Will Carroll sides with Stark on the issue.
  • Tyler Kepner of the New York Times states something many of us have already deduced: the Yankees can’t acquire Teixeira if they insist on keeping both Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain.  And keeping that pair seems to be the plan.
  • The Boston Globe says the Red Sox are one of five or six teams in on Teixeira.  Amalie Benjamin doesn’t offer any further information though.   
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