Lugo Available; Mets Not Interested
Alex Speier of WEEI.com reports that the Mets are not interested in acquiring Julio Lugo. The Jose Reyes injury leaves them "in dire straits" according to Speier's source, but they are not "desperate" enough to go after Lugo. He's available on the trade market, but has $15MM remaining on his contract between this year and 2010.
Byrd Awaits Calls, Says He’s Ready To Pitch
According to Rob Bradford of WEEI.com, Paul Byrd wants to pitch and believes he can succeed, but says teams haven't been interested in him so far. Since the draft has passed, the Red Sox will not receive a supplemental pick for Byrd, a Type B free agent. Byrd sounds confident in his ability:
Draft Updates: Bonuses, Green, Sanchez, Epstein
The updates keep flowing in as the countdown to the draft continues…
- Baseball America's Jim Callis reports that Tyler Matzek and Shelby Miller are among the players with large- even historic- demands.
- Bill Shaikin of the LA Times reports that Angels scouting director Eddie Bane does not expect the Angels to see any of the players they draft make it to the majors this season.
- Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star says "predraft buzz" has the Royals linked to college shortstop Grant Green.
- MLB.com's Jen Langosch is "beginning to believe" the Pirates will select Boston College catcher Tony Sanchez with the fourth pick. Keith Law says they're considering him.
- As Chuck Finder of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports, Sanchez wants to start playing and says he won't demand a large bonus.
- Theo Epstein told Adam Kilgore of the Boston Globe that fans on the street will tell him who to draft. It may not be the NBA or NFL draft, but the MLB version is gaining prominence.
- Epstein is proudest of selecting Jonathan Papelbon, back in 2003.
- Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun reports that the Orioles are willing to spend on the draft and aren't afraid of choosing high school pitchers.
- The Rockies, with three of the first 34 picks, "need to hit a home run" if you ask Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post. Tracy Ringolsby of Inside the Rockies says the team appears to be leaning towards pitcher Matt Hobgood.
Odds And Ends: Padres, Fukumori, Ortiz
Some links for Tuesday morning…
- Today's chat will be at 2pm CST.
- Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times reports that the Padres know they have to win if they want to stop management from trading players away.
- Adrian Gonzalez says it's too early to tell how long he'll remain a Padre.
- Patrick Newman at NPB Tracker passes on a report saying Kazuo Fukumori will be released by the Rangers. He made four appearances for them last year, but hasn't pitched in the majors this season.
- It's not his eyes, after all. David Ortiz can see just fine according to John Tomase of the Boston Herald.
- ESPN.com's Rob Neyer responds to Eddie's post about the mystery shortstop the Red Sox have interest in, saying it's "probably not" Yunel Escobar.
- Indians GM Mark Shapiro told Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that he believes Neal Huntington made an "understandable" and "wise" decision when he dealt Nate McLouth to the Braves.
- Joe Posnanski does not want to see the Royals trade for Jeff Francouer.
Rosenthal On Spilborghs, Peavy, Aybar
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports hears that teams began calling the Rockies about Ryan Spilborghs last week when Carlos Gonzalez was called up. Here are the details from Rosenthal's column:
- The Phillies, Red Sox and Tigers were among the teams inquiring about Spilborghs.
- The Rockies will likely take their time fielding offers for Spilborghs and their other trade candidates. Jason Marquis, Huston Street and Brad Hawpe could all be dealt, but the Rockies aren't in a hurry to part with them.
- Rosenthal finds it hard to imagine the Padres trading Jake Peavy before the offseason unless the Cubs get permission to take on his contract or a surprise bidder emerges.
- The Angels could trade Erick Aybar for a bat or a reliever and make Brandon Wood their everyday shortstop. The Red Sox, Mets, Royals and Cardinals could use help at short.
- The A's, riding a seven game win streak, are not involved in any trade talks right now.
- The Angels would love to deal Gary Matthews Jr. for another overpaid player, but it's tough to match up bad contracts.
- The Mets made a "blunder" when they paid $36MM for Oliver Perez when they could have gone after, Randy Wolf, who's only guaranteed $5MM.
Red Sox Discussing Shortstop Options
According to Nick Cafardo at the Boston Globe, the Red Sox have "left no stone unturned" in their search for a shortstop. Rounding out the list of names are Omar Vizquel, Jack Wilson, J.J. Hardy, the aforementioned Orlando Cabrera, Bobby Crosby, Jason Donald, Miguel Tejada and a mystery shortstop with the Braves. Ideally, Jed Lowrie would make a speedy return from the DL before they begin making any decisions.
As noted earlier, the Sox inquired on Cabrera but apparently aren't interested.
What should the Sox do? Just speculation–could the Braves' shortstop be Yunel Escobar or is it someone else?
Odds And Ends: Huff, Ackley, Strasburg
Some more links to pass along…
- Steve Melewski of MASN.com reports that Orioles president Andy MacPhail is "open" to talking with Aubrey Huff about a possible extension. Huff, a free agent at the end of the year, has been the subject of many trade rumors.
- ESPN.com's Rob Neyer agrees with a suggestion Howard made on this site yesterday: Jon Rauch would be a good fit for the Rays.
- Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that Cards GM John Mozeliak was among those watching as two college hitters worked out at Busch Stadium this morning. Josh Phegley and A.J. Pollock took some swings in front of the Cardinals' scouting staff.
- As Ian Browne of MLB.com points out, the Red Sox have drafted well in recent years even when they haven't had early selections.
- MLB.com's Jim Street writes that it would be shocking for the Mariners to pick someone other than Dustin Ackley.
- As ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick reports, Angels scouting director Eddie Bane is amazed by Scott Boras because he intimidates, but "never says a price."
- Tim Keown of ESPN the Magazine passes along one scout's thoughts on Stephen Strasburg: "He'd be a front-of-the-rotation guy for almost every team right now."
Heyman On Strasburg, D’Backs, Penny
Jon Heyman of SI.com anticipates some memorable negotiations between the Nationals, Scott Boras and Stephen Strasburg. Here's what Heyman heard about Strasburg along with the rest of his rumors:
- Boras is still expected to demand $50MM for Strasburg.
- Think that's a lot? Some think Strasburg would command $100MM as a free agent.
- Executives generally guess he'll end up signing for more than $20MM, but not by much.
- One NL exec said he expects the deal to reach $30MM.
- Strasburg could always pitch in Japan or for an independent team if he doesn't sign, but Heyman imagines he'd much rather join a major league franchise immediately.
- The Pirates could draft catcher Tony Sanchez with the fourth pick.
- The D'Backs could deal Chad Qualls and Tony Pena at the deadline.
- Boston seems "in a hurry" to deal Brad Penny.
- One Red Sox person was not impressed by what he saw from Jeff Francoeur.
- It's probably too early for the Rangers to release Vicente Padilla.
Olney On Economy, Penny, Strasburg
Buster Olney said on ESPN Radio that the struggling economy could limit the number of trades we see this summer as fewer clubs are willing to take on contracts. Here are the details:
- Since a limited number of teams can add salary, Olney suspects "very cheap players" could be the ones to move.
- Teams are willing to give up less impressive prospects for expensive players, so the A's could be limited if they decide to deal Matt Holliday. However, they don't have to deal, so they can stand pat and collect picks after the season.
- Olney says there's a good chance Brad Penny's moved within the next couple weeks. It won't be this week unless Penny gives his permission, since he can't be dealt before June 15th.
- The Indians are starting to ask themselves who they'll be dealing with if they decide to shop Mark DeRosa and others.
- Olney wonders if the Nats will offer Stephen Strasburg a record deal- say $18-20MM- immediately and stick with that offer until the August 15th signing deadline.
Olney fleshes his ideas out in today's column, saying that teams like the Mariners and Padres may see less impressive bids for Erik Bedard and Jake Peavy as the perceived value of cheap, young players continues rising. Teams like the Yankees and Red Sox want to keep their young talent, so they don't drive up the prices for players who could be moved. The Padres could simply keep Peavy instead of accepting a second-rate return for him.
Odds And Ends: Mariners, Rangers, Smoltz
Here are a few links to kick the week off…
- Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times says the Mariners would risk losing fan interest if they deal players like Erik Bedard before the Mariners fall far out of the playoff race.
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reports that Rangers GM Jon Daniels is looking to the trade market for a bullpen upgrade.
- WEEI.com's Rob Bradford reports that John Smoltz is open to pitching out of the bullpen and may be asked to skip occasional starts. This could be one way of managing the starting pitching surplus in Boston.
- Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle wonders whether Kevin Frandsen, now in Triple A, would be open to starting fresh with a different club.
- Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star believes the Royals are better off than they were a few years ago, but says they'll have trouble realizing their goal of contending in 2010.
- Michael Hunt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says Tom Glavine isn't good enough to help the Brewers and Jake Peavy isn't cheap enough.