Pirates Rumors: Pena, Beltran, Pence
The NL Central race remains tight, but the Pirates are technically above the Cardinals and Brewers at the moment. The latest on these surprise contenders…
- We haven't read much beyond speculation linking the Pirates to Cubs first baseman Carlos Pena, but Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review lists Pena, Carlos Beltran, and Hunter Pence as three bats on which GM Neal Huntington has been "stymied" so far. Huntington explained the roadblocks he's encountered so far, including no-trade clauses and finding a match in value with the other team. The GM explained that he intends to "stay disciplined and stay with teams" in hopes of the asking prices going down.
- ESPN's Buster Olney guesses the Pirates will end up acquiring a second-tier reliever and bat, he explained to Joe Giardina of Pittsburgh Sports Report. Olney has doubts that Beltran would accept a trade to Pittsburgh, and would be shocked if the Bucs meet Houston's asking price for Pence.
- In a tweet, Olney speculates that Colorado's Jason Giambi "would be perfect as a bench addition" for the Pirates.
- Alex Presley's thumb injury increases the Pirates' need for an outfielder, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
Quick Hits: Rangers, Mets, Astros, Guthrie, Phillies
Sunday afternoon linkage..
- Rangers GM Jon Daniels says that heading into the deadline his top priority remains bullpen help, writes MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan.
- We here at MLBTR love the build-up to the trade deadline, but Mets skipper Terry Collins can't wait for it to come and go, writes Christina De Nicola of MLB.com.
- Astros GM Ed Wade says that his front office will be "good listeners" as the deadline approaches, writes MLB.com's Brian McTaggart.
- The Cardinals have now joined the Tigers in pursuit of the Baltimore's Jeremy Guthrie, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. The extent of conversations between the Cards and the Orioles is unknown, but it seems that the club is at least open to the idea of moving Guthrie for the right return.
- The Rays told the Yankees that James Shields isn't available, but other clubs are still hopeful, according to Jon Heyman of SI (via Twitter). Detroit, for example, recently sent two scouts to watch him pitch.
- A very weak left-handed relief market could inspire the Rangers to deal Arthur Rhodes, tweets Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated. The Rangers could use him to land a righty out of the bullpen.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post checks out the track record of teams dealing at the deadline in recent years. His gives the Phillies top honors for their deals in July from 2008-2010.
Cafardo On Clippard, Pence, Upton, Myers
In a conversation with Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe, Red Sox CEO Larry Lucchino echoed John Henry's sentiment from earlier this week: Whether or not Boston makes a move at the deadline, the luxury tax won't be an issue. Lucchino said the Sox have paid the tax before, and would be willing to do so again if the right deal came along. Here are some other highlights from Cafardo's weekly notes column:
- The Rangers have made "a lot of inquiries" on Tyler Clippard. The Braves, Yankees, and Red Sox also have varying levels of interest in the Nationals' setup man.
- According to an Astros source, the team intends to hold on to Hunter Pence. However, Cafardo points out that could change in the offseason, with the new ownership group (and possibly a new GM) in control.
- Some Nationals people believe a change of scenery would greatly benefit B.J. Upton, and are considering "offering the moon" for him.
- There hasn't been a whole lot of interest in Brett Myers yet. "We’ve had a couple of bites from National League teams, but not much else," said an Astros official.
- Athletics lefty Craig Breslow is drawing interest from the Yankees and Red Sox.
Diamondbacks, Astros Discussing Wandy Rodriguez
While no deal is close, the Diamondbacks have discussed a potential Wandy Rodriguez trade with the Astros, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.
With the Astros' new ownership group hoping to trim payroll, the team has made it clear that Rodriguez could be had in the right deal. The left-hander won't come cheap though – Peter Gammons reported a week ago that Houston is asking for as much in return for Rodriguez as the Rockies are for Ubaldo Jimenez.
The Reds are also eyeing Rodriguez, as we heard earlier this week, but an intra-division trade may be more difficult to orchestrate.
Hunter Pence Rumors: Friday
The Astros are asking for multiple impact players in any deal involving Hunter Pence, according to Jon Heyman, Jayson Stark and Buster Olney. Pence earns $6.9MM this year and is due for a raise this offseason, when he could see his salary jump to the $10MM range. He'll earn another raise for the 2013 campaign before hitting free agency that offseason. Here's the latest on Pence, who is one of few impact hitters available:
- The Phillies are targeting Pence, but the price for him is rather high, writes CSNPhilly.com's Jim Salisbury. Houston would probably want a package that begins with Domonic Brown. The Phillies might also have to include another top talent along with him.
- The Reds have discussed Pence, according to John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer.
Stark On Shields, Melky, Soria, Marlins
Astros GM Ed Wade has been determining the market for his players, including Hunter Pence, ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark reports. Incoming owner Jim Crane urged Wade to do so in case appealing offers emerge. Here are the rest of Stark’s rumors:
- Given Wade’s uncertain future in Houston, at least one executive suggests the GM needs to make a "job-saving deal" if he trades Pence.
- The Rays are more likely to trade B.J. Upton than James Shields, though they realize Shields’ value has never been higher (the right-hander won't be going to the Bronx).
- The Phillies remain in contact with the Royals about Melky Cabrera, but the Royals have told teams they’re more likely to deal Jeff Francoeur. Kansas City is asking for a number three starter who’s nearly Major League ready in return for Cabrera.
- Clubs that have inquired on Vance Worley have heard that he’s off of the market.
- The Braves have shown some interest in Heath Bell, whose most aggressive suitors have been the Rangers, Cardinals, Phillies and Angels. The Padres are telling teams that they’ll need to “clearly surpass” the value of two compensatory draft picks in any deal for Bell, though they’re flexible in terms of the type of player they’d accept in return.
- The Padres continue to field calls on Mike Adams, who will be tougher to obtain than Bell.
- The Yankees, Phillies and Diamondbacks appear to have checked in on Joakim Soria.
- The Red Sox are looking at everything, but aren’t approaching the deadline with much urgency, one AL executive told Stark.
- Rival teams expect that the Dodgers will trade Jamey Carroll and there are indications that Rafael Furcal is drawing interest as well.
- The Marlins, who hope to build momentum before opening their new stadium in 2012, are in a “holding pattern,” Stark reports. They’ve shown interest in third basemen.
- Rival teams report that the Phillies say they won’t move Domonic Brown or top pitching prospect Jarred Cosart. Jonathan Singleton is available in the right deal, but the Phillies don’t expect to trade him for a rental player.
- Stark reminds us that commissioner Bud Selig ruled out contraction at the All-Star Game.
Heyman On Astros, Adams, Matsui, Yankees
Incoming Astros owner Jim Crane has ordered a decrease in payroll from $76MM to $60MM, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com. Here’s the latest on Houston’s deadline plans and other notes from around MLB:
- The Astros are looking for at least three pieces for Hunter Pence. They’d probably demand young, MLB-ready talent, so a deal appears unlikely.
- Houston is shopping Wandy Rodriguez and Brett Myers harder than Pence
- Padres GM Jed Hoyer told Heyman that he’d have to be “blown away” to trade Mike Adams and that he’d prefer to keep the setup man.
- The Rangers are in talks with the Padres about Heath Bell, who is also drawing interest from the Cardinals, Angels and Reds.
- No one has called the A’s about Hideki Matsui and Oakland isn’t looking to trade Grant Balfour.
- The A’s are taking calls on Michael Wuertz, Brian Fuentes and Craig Breslow.
- The Yankees’ wish list includes a right-handed bat along with a lefty reliever and a starter. Perhaps the newly-signed Marcus Thames will help the Yankees at some point in 2011.
NL Central Notes: Reds, Wandy, Bourn, Gomez
The Brewers lead the NL Central by half a game, but they lost their center fielder to injury last night. Here's the latest from the division…
- "There is some urgency, but not tremendous urgency" said Reds GM Walt Jocketty to MLB.com's Mark Sheldon when asked about making a trade before the deadline. "I still have a lot of confidence that we're good enough to win, but if there is a chance to upgrade the club, we would try to pursue it."
- MLB.com's Peter Gammons spoke to three AL clubs who have "no interest" in Wandy Rodriguez of the Astros, fearing the NL-to-AL switch (Twitter links).
- Stephen Goff of the Houston Astros Examiner hears that Michael Bourn's name isn't coming up much on the trade market, though writers continue mentioning the speedy outfielder as a trade candidate (Twitter link).
- Brewers GM Doug Melvin told Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that he may look for center field help to restore outfield depth (Twitter link). Carlos Gomez fractured his left clavicle last night.
- Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times suggests Cubs GM Jim Hendry may be best-suited to lead the organization after 2011. Some baseball insiders believe former Diamondbacks GM Josh Byrnes and current Dodgers GM Ned Colletti would be near the top of the Cubs' list of possible replacements, Wittenmyer writes. Reports linking the Cubs to longtime executive Pat Gillick and White Sox assistant GM Rick Hahn have been shot down, according to the Sun-Times.
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports hears that incoming Astros owner Jim Crane hasn’t told current GM Ed Wade to keep any particular player.
- Hunter Pence is likely staying in Houston, since the Astros aren’t seeing multi-player offers they like, according to Peter Gammons of MLB Network (on Twitter). Gammons explains that the market for Wandy Rodriguez is hurt because AL teams are wary of NL pitchers.
Hunter Pence Rumors: Thursday
There are a number of teams looking for a bat before the trade deadline, and Hunter Pence of the Astros is one of the best available. The outfielder is hitting .316/.361/.484 with 11 homers this season. Let's round up all the day's rumors involving him right here…
- SI.com's Jon Heyman hears that Houston's asking price for Pence is so prohibitive that teams are sure he'll remain with the Astros (Twitter link).
- A source tells Mike Silverman of The Boston Herald that Pence "won't be moved." (Twitter link)
- Earlier today we heard that the Phillies would like to frame any potential trade for Pence around right-hander Vance Worley.
Olney On Wandy, Phillies, DeJesus, Cardinals, Mets
In addition to all the talk about a potential Hunter Pence trade, ESPN's Buster Olney notes the Astros are "making it clear" that they're willing to trade Wandy Rodriguez in today's Insider-only blog post. The left-hander has caught the eye of the Reds, but Houston will reportedly want as much for Rodriguez as the Rockies would want for Ubaldo Jimenez.
Here are the rest of Buster's rumors…
- Olney hears that the Phillies would prefer to frame any offers for Pence around right-hander Vance Worley (Twitter link). Worley owns a 2.02 ERA in ten starts and two relief appearances for Philadelphia this season.
- The Pirates have talked internally about pursuing David DeJesus, but it's unclear how aggressive they plan to get in trade talks (Twitter link).
- The Cardinals have cast a wide net in their search for bullpen help, and other clubs expect St. Louis to land a right-handed reliever before the deadline (Twitter link).
- There is growing confidence in the Mets' organization that the Bernie Madoff case "is veering in favor of the Wilpons," which could allow them to re-establish full control of the team. There is also some unhappiness with how David Einhorn has taken the spotlight without having a deal to become minority owner finalized.