Odds & Ends: Brewers, Yankees, Braves
On this day last year, the Brewers acquired second baseman Ray Durham from the Giants for two prospects, and almost exactly a year later they landed Felipe Lopez for two more. Who will it be in 2010?
- Evan Brunell at the Hardball Times likes the Brewers' Felipe Lopez acquisition and thinks a starter could make the Brewers legit playoff contenders.
- Marc Carig at the Newark Star-Ledger reports that Hal Steinbrenner is "open to all possibilities" for the Yankees at the trade deadline.
- Peter Gammons thinks the Red Sox need to pursue a bat most of all. "The Dodgers will acquire pitching. The Giants will get a bat. Florida may get a closer. The Cubs will also do something," he believes.
- Dave Cameron at Fangraphs recaps the site's list of 2009 player trade values.
- Mark Bowman at MLB.com takes a deep look into the Braves' current position, and believes how they perform in their upcoming series will be a large indicator as to whether they buy or sell pieces before the deadline. Bowman thinks there's a chance the Braves could be done making major moves.
- Tom Krasovic posits that the Padres must stop offering no-trade clauses in their contracts, as such clauses have backfired with many players, a list potentially including Jake Peavy with his recent DL stint.
Brad Penny’s Future
The Red Sox have a surplus of starting pitching, and ESPN.com's Buster Olney says it's possible they'll deal Brad Penny for a Grade B prospect in the next couple weeks. We've heard very little about Penny in the last month, but he could fit on a team like the Brewers, who are short on starters.
Odds And Ends: Smoltz, Cards, Rangers
Some links as we begin a week of non-stop rumors…
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post says John Smoltz, Jonathan Sanchez and Jason Schmidt, who all start tonight, will have an impact on their teams' deadline decisions. Red Sox officials want to see how much they can count on Smoltz, Sanchez can quiet teams' concerns about his control with a good start and Schmidt can provide the Dodgers a back-of-the-rotation arm.
- Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch says Troy Glaus and Khalil Greene are both advancing to Triple A for the next stage of their respective rehab assignments.
- Evan Brunell of the Hardball Times finds the Padres-Orioles trade baffling from the Padres' perspective.
- Texas Rangers Trades interviews MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan and the chat is worth a read.
- Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram lists 11 pitchers the Rangers could potentially trade for, including Roy Halladay.
Odds & Ends: Lugo, Holliday, Red Sox, Draft
Some spare links on a busy Saturday morning …
- Adam Rubin of The NY Daily News says an AL official indicated that the recently DFA'd Julio Lugo has been working out at the Mets complex in the Dominican Republic, and expects the team to sign the shortstop once he clears waivers and is released.
- Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports says Matt Holliday won't say if he wants to be traded or remain an Athletic, but he does have a preference.
- Red Sox GM Theo Epstein says he doesn't think his team has one glaring weakness, but at same time thinks there are opportunities to get better, according to Adam Kilgore of The Boston Globe.
- Considering some of the contracts we've seen players receive in the last few months, the union might concede "financially harnessing the signing system for both draftees and international players" in the next CBA so their players get what they want, according to Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus.
- The Padres are calling up top prospect Mat Latos to start Sunday, reports Corey Brock of MLB.com. They are looking to find more playing time for their young players.
- ESPN's Jorge Arangure Jr. wrote about the increasingly competitive market for representing Cuban amateurs.
Diamondbacks Rumors: Byrnes, Lugo, Davis
Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic says a team source indicated that the Diamondbacks could revisit the idea of an Eric Byrnes–Julio Lugo swap now that Lugo's been designated for assignment. Byrnes is currently on the disabled list with a broken hand. The two teams had discussions about such a swap in the offseason, but the talks went nowhere.
Meanwhile, lefthander Doug Davis says he senses "they might come after me for an extension" according to Piecoro. Davis said they're not ready to starting talking terms, but GM Josh Byrnes confirms the talks. Davis' agent Steve Canter decined to talk about specifics according to MLB.com's Steve Gilbert, but he did say Davis is "player of interest to the organization."
Davis' name has popped up in trade rumors the past few weeks.
Bay, Red Sox Put Extension Talks Aside
3:53pm: Adam Kilgore of the Globe says Theo Epstein characterized his offer as "aggressive," and has no hard feelings towards Bay. It looks like talks will resume after the season.
3:37pm: Amalie Benjamin of the Boston Globe says the Red Sox and Jason Bay won't discuss a contract extension until after the season. The two sides had been talking since May, and the Red Sox made an offer about a week ago, but the talks will stop until the season ends, at which point the Red Sox have 15 days of exclusive negotiating rights with Bay.
9:18am: During the All-Star break Jason Bay's agent spoke with the Red Sox about extending his client's stay in Boston, but talks didn't develop significantly, according to Alex Speier of WEEI.com. However, the two sides would like to keep the free agent-to-be on the Red Sox.
Cubs, Cards & Mets Asked About Lugo
The Cubs, Cardinals and Mets have shown some interest in Red Sox shortstop Julio Lugo, according to Steve Buckley of the Boston Herald. The Red Sox will have to pay all of the $13.5MM remaining on Lugo's deal if they release him, so they're likely to pick up the vast majority of the contract in any trade.
Odds And Ends: Holliday, Lugo, DeRosa
Some links for the afternoon…
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says the A's want two highly regarded prospects in any deal for Matt Holliday.
- Rosenthal believes the Braves have too much pitching not to make a serious run at the playoffs.
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports hears that Mark DeRosa will test his wrist to see how much pain it gives him before deciding if he needs surgery. The Cards hope to activate him within a few days.
- Multiple teams have inquired about Julio Lugo, according to Amalie Benjamin of the Boston Globe. The Red Sox designated him for assignment earlier today.
- DRaysBay hosts a roundtable discussion with bloggers for each AL East team.
- I'll be talking trades on 107.5 The Game in about ten minutes. Click here to listen in.
Heyman On Halladay, Francoeur, Brewers
Jon Heyman of SI.com hears the Blue Jays have told the Yankees and Red Sox they're unlikely to trade Roy Halladay within the AL East and haven't even returned a call the Yankees placed about Halladay over a week ago. That leaves the Phillies and, now, the Dodgers as frontrunners to acquire the Jays ace. Here are the details and a few stray rumors:
- One executive believes that any Blue Jays-Phillies swap would have to begin with the supposedly untouchable Kyle Drabek, who impressed in this week's Futures Game.
- At least one exec believes the Jays would want to pluck a player from the Dodgers major league roster in any deal.
- The Dodgers don't necessarily have enough minor league talent to tempt the Jays.
- One Jays person said Cardinals top prospect Brett Wallace may not be enough to acquire Doc.
- The Jays are not insisting that teams take on the Vernon Wells contract in a potential deal.
- The Yankees and Red Sox have become more protective of their minor leaguers, so they're not likely to overwhelm the Jays with offers.
- The Yankees tried to trade for Jeff Francoeur last offseason.
- The Brewers could still make a run for a star pitcher.
- As SI writer Tom Verducci notes, the Dodgers would like to acquire a top reliever such as Chad Qualls or George Sherrill.
Red Sox DFA Julio Lugo
The Red Sox designated Julio Lugo for assignment according to Rob Bradford of WEEI.com. The move is not surprising, as Lugo did not travel to Toronto with the Red Sox, who need roster space for players returning from injury.
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports hears that the Red Sox consider Lugo a "sunk cost" and would expect very little in return for him in any trade. Lugo will likely be released if the Red Sox can't trade him.
The 33-year-old has a .352 OBP and fields well enough, so he figures to draw some interest.