Carroll On Tejada-Astros Discussions
Baseball Prospectus author Will Carroll has opened up Will’s Mill for the weekend, and he’ll be burning up the phone lines fishing for all sorts of good trade rumors.
Today he mentions an offer Tim Purpura has given to the Orioles for Miguel Tejada: Adam Everett, Morgan Ensberg, and Fernando Nieve. According to Carroll, Tim Purpura is focused on Tejada and is being urged by Roger Clemens to go get him.
In Everett, the Orioles would be acquiring the game’s best defensive shortstop. His hitting, at .241/.300/.327 this year, lags far behind the average AL shortstop. The average AL shortstop is hitting .286/.342/.423, similar to the work of Eric Chavez or A.J. Pierzysnki this year.
On the 10th of June, Ensberg bruised his shoulder diving for a foul ball. He was hitting .256/.380/.562 at that point, though he hadn’t done much in May or June. In Ensberg’s 18 games after the shoulder bruise, he hit just .158/.422/.263. He drew plenty of walks but the power that resulted in 36 HR last year had vanished. Ensberg took live batting practice yesterday for the first time since being placed on the DL on July 10th.
Nieve, 24, has a mid-90s fastball and a hard slider. He was just sent down to Triple A a week ago because of Brandon Backe, but had been demoted to the bullpen upon Roger Clemens‘s return in late June. It’s just a 15 inning sample, but Nieve did pretty well as a reliever: 8.2 K/9, 2.94 ERA, 1.17 WHIP. As a starter he had a 5.6 K/9, 4.67 ERA, and 1.28 WHIP. It is a fact that many pitchers add several miles per hour to their fastball by switching to relief, and Nieve’s two plus pitches make it easy to envision him as a future closer or top set-up man.
Brad Lidge On The Trading Block?
Both Ken Rosenthal and Richard Justice are hinting at the same idea: struggling closer Brad Lidge could be trade bait for the Astros.
"If general manager Tim Purpura dangles struggling closer Brad Lidge — as he did last off-season in a deal for Tejada — the possibilities could get interesting."
The possibility first popped up in mid-December, though the situation was much different back then. Now, Lidge is pitching badly and his stock has fallen dramatically. Justice, a sportswriter for the Houston Chronicle, indicated in his blog today:
"By the way, Fernando Nieve was sent to Round Rock to pitch late in games. Phil Garner intends to use him late when he returns to the big leagues. That’s probably an indication the Astros expect to trade a closer by Monday’s trading deadline."
However, as RotoWorld points out this afternoon, Lidge is paid decently and wouldn’t interest the teams looking to trade big bats. They theorize that a longshot possibility could be sending him to the Phillies for Bobby Abreu. Houston, of course, is where it all began for Abreu. Perhaps a three-team deal would be necessary to make this work.
Trade Rumor Roundup: 4 Days Left
What’s cooking this morning in the world of MLB trade rumors?
Gotham Baseball’s Mark Healey spoke to all sorts of baseball sources; here’s his latest Rumor Mill. New developments: the Mets could pursue various Rockie pitchers, and the Yanks crave John Smoltz.
My Mets guy indicates that the Wilson Betemit for Scott Linebrink deal that’s been bandied about could go down at the last minute. What? He hears things outside of the Mets.
SportsBlah sorts through the Alfonso Soriano rumors.
Jimmy Gobble was scratched from his start last night. Let the rampant rumormongering begin. Actually, KC just switched him with Runelvys Hernandez to break up the southpaws in the rotation.
As the days go by, Doug Melvin sounds more and more like he’ll trade Carlos Lee.
RotoAuthority gives the fantasy take on Shin-Soo Choo, Ben Broussard, Scott Kazmir, and many more recent developments.
All the newspapers are reporting that the Yankees have deemed Scott Proctor "untouchable." I know good relief help is hard to find, but should a 29 year-old middling reliever at the peak of his value really be deemed untouchable? Especially the way Joe Torre is abusing him.
Hadn’t heard of the Mets’ interest in Juan Cruz and Jose Valverde until Dan Graziano mentioned it this morning. Could be a great buy low situation for a real live arm in Valverde. Cruz I think could be tough to pry away.
There was just no reason to try to start Roger Clemens trade speculation. The Astros, five games back in the wildcard, have invested way too much to suddenly wave the white flag.
Bidding war for…Cory Lidle? Looks like Toronto has the lead so far; Lidle starts tonight.
Buster Olney mentioned today in his blog that the White Sox are willing to discuss trades for Freddy Garcia. He also indicates that the Red Sox are working on a large, creative deal with more than two teams.
Add the Mariners and Cardinals to the Yankees for Shawn Green’s interested parties. He can veto a deal to any of these three teams and is happy in Arizona.
L.A. Times: Angels Inquire About Ramirez, Tracy, Ensberg
We’ve heard Miguel Tejada as well as various mid-tier firstbasemen bandied about as possible trade targets for Bill Stoneman and the Angels. Mike DiGiovanna’s article for the Los Angeles Times today also indicates that the Halos could pursue various slugging third basemen.
Specifically, DiGiovanna mentions that the Angels have inquired about Aramis Ramirez, Chad Tracy, and Morgan Ensberg.
Ramirez is on fire, hitting .329/.391/.763 this month with nine home runs. What some folks may not realize is that Ramirez has every reason and the ability to test the free agent market this winter. He would most certainly top the money he’d make staying with the Cubs under his current contract. Ramirez has said he wants to stay in Chicago, so we’ll see.
The Angels would have to offer an excellent young player to pry Tracy away from Arizona. The 26 year-old has slipped a bit to .279/.343/.454 this season, which is below average for his position. Still he’s locked up for $13.25MM for 2007-09. That’s more than fair value.
Ensberg turns 31 next month, yet free agency is still a few years off. He hit the DL on July 10th with a shoulder contusion. After a torrid April, Ensberg hit just .194/.355/.382. The Padres have also expressed interest, but this acquisition would be a gamble.
Trade Rumor Roundup: 6 Days Left
What’s new in the world of trade rumors?
It wasn’t just Humberto Sanchez missing a start – Tigers prospect Jair Jurrjens is skipping two starts because of a stiff neck. While it certainly seems that recent trade winds could be at play here, it may just be a case of bad luck for Detroit. Both players can still be dealt despite the minor injuries.
A few more nuggets concerning the White Sox’s efforts to acquire Alfonso Soriano surfaced in newspapers today. Phil Rogers notes sources indicating that Scott Podsednik, and not Brian Anderson, would be part of a package for Soriano. In addition, Sam Borden of the New York Daily News suggests that Jim Bowden requested Double A pitcher Lance Broadway but was rebuffed.
Didn’t get to hear Tim Purpura on the radio yesterday personally, but it seems he may have inadvertently indicated that Willy Taveras is not in the team’s future center field plans. I imagine plenty of teams would have interest in Taveras despite his .280/.319/.331 line in 905 career ABs. On the plus side, Taveras truly is an excellent defender according to The Fielding Bible. They actually think he deserved the Gold Glove last year over Jim Edmonds.
Harold Reynolds got the axe from ESPN today; Deadspin has the thirdhand info.
Dayton Moore did well with reliever Elmer Dessens in a trade back to the Dodgers.
Many thanks to all those who visited MLBTradeRumors.com yesterday. June 24th was our best-ever day for traffic, beating out December 8th. Keep on comin’ back for all the latest trade rumors; I love writing about this stuff.
Trade Rumor Roundup: 8 Days Left
To begin with, this just isn’t true. With the Kearns deal and probably Soriano trade, the 2006 deadline just can’t be classified as a dud. That honor belongs to 2005 for sure. The trading action never matches the buildup, but this year’s still a good one.
Read Ken Rosenthal’s latest. The White Sox are in the Soriano game, the Rangers have interest in Luis Gonzalez, the Braves could add another reliever, Julio Lugo still might become a Blue Jay, and the Brewers look like sellers. In my opinion, some Brewers besides Carlos Lee that could be unloaded: Geoff Jenkins, Corey Koskie, Brady Clark, and Dan Kolb. Koskie will need to recover quickly from his concussion, however.
Still hearing that the Cubs like Willy Taveras, which would definitely fit their m.o. of players who don’t get on base. Phil Rogers also mentions that Seattle’s Rafael Soriano is being asked about. It would be surprising to see the Mariners deal that kind of young talent.
Tons of great rumors coming from Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. He’s got a rundown of the Red Sox, all sorts of teams scouting Humberto Sanchez, and more.
Buster Olney mentioned in his blog today that the Astros are among various teams scouting Elmer Dessens. The Astros are also looking at Damaso Marte.
Unfounded rumor department: Could the Dodgers be after Aramis Ramirez? Ramirez has picked a fantastic time to heat up, and L.A. has some top shelf young talent…is there anywhere Julio Lugo could go besides Toronto? How about the Rockies?
Astros Talking About Miguel Tejada
MLBTradeRumors has learned that the Astros are in talks with Baltimore for Miguel Tejada. I don’t have much more detail than that, but it comes from a trusted source. Houston has been reluctant to offer up outfielder Hunter Pence, who currently has 22 home runs in Double A. It’ll be interesting to see how this one plays out. The Astros previously expressed interest back in January.
A couple more tasty Tejada nuggets: The Reds kicked the tires on the superstar shortstop, but a deal couldn’t be completed without including stud pitcher Homer Bailey. In my opinion, if the Reds are really going for the gold this year, they should’ve pulled the trigger. Also, the reason the Angels are resisting a Tejada deal: Mike Scioscia. Scioscia doesn’t want Tejada bringing his…influence…into the clubhouse.
Astros Acquire Aubrey Huff
The Astros finally got their bat, and they didn’t have to give up their top prospects. Read all about their trade for Aubrey Huff at MLB.com.
If you recall, the Astros have had Huff on their radar as far back as January of this year. The D-Rays got decent prospects in the trade, but Huff’s value has been declining for a while now.
Ben Zobrist is a solid but not spectacular shortstop prospect. He may be ready to try Triple A for the first time with his new club. He kind of reminds me of Craig Counsell after reading about him a bit. Good guy to have around, gets on base, but not a star. The B.J. Upton as a shortstop experiment has officially ended because of Zobrist, and Upton should be in the bigs to stay by August if he takes to third base.
Talbot projects as a tolerable fifth starter perhaps; he’ll give up a good share of hits but stay around the plate. He’s got a 1.36 WHIP in Double A right now.
Looking at the numbers, the Astros might stand to gain one game in the standings from this trade when it’s all said and done. That could be the difference with the team currently 3.5 games out of the wild card.
I was just reading an excellent chapter in Dayn Perry’s book Winners. The biggest post-trading deadline gain ever from an outfielder was Jermaine Dye for the 2001 A’s, and that accounted for maybe two extra wins. Best ever trading deadline acquisition? Doyle Alexander for the 1987 Tigers, who went 9-0 with a 1.53 ERA after the trade. Of course, a young nobody named John Smoltz went the other way. Still, no trading deadline acquisition has ever contributed more than Alexander (Randy Johnson included).
Clemens Signs, Nevin to Cubs
The long expected Roger Clemens signing with Houston has finally been made official. One less distraction; the sideshow is finally over. Until Clemens decides there’s a slight chance he pitches in 2007. The Astros are 6.5 games back and Clemens should provide a several-win boost over the likes of Fernando Nieve.
The Cubs are 11 games under .500, 12.5 out of first, but they’re not giving up. Jim Hendry just swapped Jerry Hairston for Phil Nevin, a clear win now type move for a team with little chance of winning now. Cubs fans shouldn’t mind the deal, given that the Rangers should take on most of Nevin’s salary. Would’ve been nice if Hendry could’ve pulled this off a month ago though.
Finally, Pat Burrell was curiously absent from the Philadelphia lineup given all the trade rumors swirling about. Burrell makes plenty of sense for the Yanks if they can get him, but they can’t afford to give up any decent starting pitching.
Latest On Clemens
Back on February 15th, I posted about a source out of Houston close to former Astros GM Gerry Hunsicker. That same source has another update on Roger Clemens for us this morning.
Apparently, Hunsicker still feels that Clemens will sign with Houston on or shortly after May 1st. The Yankees and Red Sox were never seriously in the running for Roger, and Texas was a long shot at best. Clemens’s approach to his return was designed to guarantee him the most money possible.
On the off chance that Clemens retires, the Astros are expected to trade for a starting pitcher.