Joel Sherman’s Ten Trade Candidates
Joel Sherman of the New York Post has an article today regarding ten veterans who may be traded this month. He’s packed the column full of insider info beyond the ten players highlighted; check it out.
- Mark Teixeira is now more likely to be dealt than Eric Gagne. Sherman sees the Angels as perhaps the best possibility here; they’d have to include Casey Kotchman. I imagine Ervin Santana‘s stock is down far enough that the Rangers would not settle for the two.
- The Indians appear to be out on Gagne but the Tigers still make sense for all parties. Would Todd Jones graciously step down from his closer post? Detroit’s bullpen has actually been doing well lately.
- The Royals want a righthanded-hitting center fielder in return for Octavio Dotel. Now that’s a tall order. Sherman names Lastings Milledge and Carlos Gomez as two who fit the bill, but such a trade would require young talent like Zack Greinke coming back to the Mets. Just speculating, but Melky Cabrera and Reggie Willits also fit the Royals’ need.
- Apparently the Mariners and Braves are "very interested’ in Dmitri Young. That’s the first I’ve heard of a team besides Atlanta inquiring.
- Oddly, the Devil Rays appear to have some interest in Kyle Farnsworth if the money can be worked out. They like Scott Proctor as well, so keep an eye on that Ty Wigginton rumor. Sherman mentions that the market is heavy with available role players, so look for a lot of boring deals with that type of player. Just kidding, trade rumors are never boring. Sherman tosses out Tadahito Iguchi to the Padres; that’s a fresh one.
- Sherman runs down all of the available relievers we already know about. Throw Kiko Calero in there as a new name.
Yankees Acquire Jose Molina
The Yankees moved to improve their backup catching situation yesterday, acquiring 32 year-old backstop Jose Molina from the Angels for Double A reliever Jeff Kennard.
The Angels will now go with the young catching tandem of Mike Napoli and Jeff Mathis. Mathis is a fine defensive catcher. While the 24 year-old regressed with the bat this year, he could still develop into an adequate regular. Molina was definitely expendable.
The Yankees have been trying to get Molina since at least May. Mike Mussina might miss Wil Nieves, but otherwise the difference should be negligible. Kennard, a nondescript 26 year-old reliever, has posted fine numbers at Double A.
Troy Glaus Available
The general feeling, based on comments from Troy Glaus and J.P. Ricciardi, has been that Glaus is staying put. However, a Toronto Sun article from Bob Elliott quotes an NL scout saying that Glaus is indeed available. The 31 year-old third baseman would be hard to replace, so he won’t come cheap. No reason Ricciardi shouldn’t at least field offers.
Glaus, of course, has a full no-trade clause. When he was last traded, he required an $11.25MM player option for ’09 be added to his deal. At present he will make another $4.4MM this year and $12.75MM in ’08. If he were to concede to another trade, maybe he’d want $26-30MM guaranteed for 2009-10. Just a guess.
The common sentiment is that Glaus would end up back in California if traded. Elliott names the Padres and Angels as teams in need of a power-hitting third-sacker. But let’s give some props to rookie Kevin Kouzmanoff, who is hitting .283/.338/.500 since May 1st. Elliott says the Dodgers aren’t in on Glaus, leaving a return to the Halos are the most feasible scenario. He’d be a perfect addition for the Angels, who are ninth in the league in slugging.
Mike Plugh On Koji Uehara: Part 2
Have you heard about 32 year-old righthanded starter Koji Uehara? He’s a free agent likely to come over from Japan to MLB this winter (no posting fee). I wanted to learn more about him, so I consulted the authority on such matters: Mike Plugh. Mike runs the Uehara Watch blog. He also has Matsuzaka Watch and writes for Baseball Prospectus.
You can read Part 1 of our Q&A here; a few additional questions are below.
Do you know of any specific teams that are expected to pursue Uehara? I’ve read that the Angels like him.
I think the Angels are the team to watch with Uehara, simply because the drafted him out of college many years ago. He almost came to the Majors as a 23-year old, but the lure of the Yomiuri Giants proved too strong to pry him away. There’s a relationship there, albeit one from the distant past. Other than the Angels, I think you’ll see a lot of teams trying to get in on the action. There’s a huge market for Japanese players around the Major Leagues that is only growing. The Mets are very eager to get into Japan again. The Cubs seem to be active as well, and perhaps the Braves. The list may include every MLB club, so it’s a matter of money in the end, just like every other free agent. Would he play for the Mariners with Ichiro in center and Johjima is his backstop? Maybe. A lot of intriguing scenarios are out there.
Tell us a little bit about Koji as a person.
As for his personality, Uehara is very easygoing. He’s a funny guy by all accounts with a good sense of humor. He likes to keep things relaxed, but he’s extremely professional as are almost all Japanese athletes. He has a typically disciplined work ethic and is very focused in practice and on the field. He’d fit in virtually anywhere, although I think he’ll want to play on a winner if given a reasonable choice. He’s over 30 and may have a small window of opportunity to contribute to a championship ballclub.
Teixeira Trade Talk Continues
A host of clubs are currently in on Texas first baseman Mark Teixeira, according to Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News.
We’ve heard the most about the Dodgers and Angels competing to acquire him. However, as Buster Olney notes, both clubs have promising young cheap first basemen. Though Teixeira has the track record, is he significantly better than James Loney or Casey Kotchman? Grant says the Dodgers have been scouting the Rangers and could go for one of their relievers as well. Meanwhile, the Rangers are scouting the Angels.
Grant says additional contenders like Teixeira: the Braves, Red Sox, and Yankees. Kevin Youkilis has been Boston’s first baseman this year. However, they could shift him back to third base and trade impending free agent Mike Lowell for something useful. The Braves and Yankees definitely have room at first base for Tex.
In the Braves’ case, though, there would truly be nowhere for Jarrod Saltalamacchia to play if he wasn’t included in the deal. The Braves are in an odd place, with two excellent young starting catchers on the roster. Atlanta’s strongest need right now is starting pitching, however. The Baseball Opinion connects the dots and finds a Javier Vazquez acquisition possible.
Grant believes noncontenders such as the Orioles and Giants could be interested in Teixeira as well. The Giants could use some star power if they cut ties with Barry Bonds after the season. Brian Sabean now has the job security to think about the post-Bonds Giants. The Orioles would be bringing in their hometown boy and could make a corresponding trade of Miguel Tejada.
A’s May Trade Piazza Instead of Johnson
If Mike Piazza can’t catch – and it looks like he can’t – the A’s pretty much have to unload Piazza or Dan Johnson once the former is ready to play.
Susan Slusser notes that possibly interested teams, such as the Twins, Yankees, and Angels, may prefer to go after Piazza. The cost would mainly be in salary, whereas the cheap and league average Johnson will require a decent player in return. So the question for Billy Beane is which does he want more? Relief from the remaining $3.88MM on Piazza’s contract or a solid prospect and an open spot for Daric Barton?
The A’s are not usually sellers at the trading deadline, so we don’t have much precedent. I like a Johnson move a little bit more.
Odds and Ends
Some random links I’ve come across, best categorized as Odds and Ends.
- Tim Marchman of the New York Sun discusses why the Yankees can’t practically pull off any kind of fire sale. Bobby Abreu is the one big name they can move, though Andy Pettitte is worthy of consideration. Marchman likes the Angels, Diamondbacks, and Dodgers as fits for Abreu.
- Shea Hillenbrand was waived today; insert "ship is sinking" reference here. I guess Bill Stoneman couldn’t find a taker for Hillenbrand even while eating most of his remaining salary. Now the Angels will foot the bill while some team picks up the opinionated DH for the league minimum. The Twins are often cited as a team in need of a DH, but Hillenbrand might disrupt the clubhouse chemistry. And of course, the Yankees have been connected to him since this winter.
- RotoAuthority lays out a plan for starting your own keeper fantasy baseball league.
- Torii Hunter would consider playing for the White Sox, for what it’s worth. It’d take a franchise-record contract to sign him.
- Indians reliever Fernando Cabrera is a fine candidate to be traded to a rebuilding team. The Tribe can’t option him to the minors without losing him, but his performance isn’t helping the team and he’s taking up a roster spot. As a 25 year-old with a K/9 over 10 in 129 career innings, there should be plenty of interest. Swapping him for a seasoned reliever like Octavio Dotel, Eric Gagne, or Al Reyes makes sense to me. By the way, the Indians’ Rafael Betancourt is quietly one of the five best relievers in baseball this year.
Mets Interested In Dye, Relief Help
According to Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune, the Mets have interest in White Sox right fielder Jermaine Dye. The Mets had also been monitoring Mark Buehrle, but he’s officially off the market now. Gonzales seems to indicate that the Buehrle extension will lessen the Mets’ interest in Dye. Dye’s been awful this season, perhaps limited by his strained quad.
Gonzales’s source also mentioned that Omar Minaya is hunting for bullpen help. A few days ago David Lennon noted that the Mets have an eye on Hector Carrasco. The 37 year-old should be traded somewhere by Friday.
As far as more effective available relievers, Peter Gammons rattled off the usual names in a recent blog entry (Akinori Otsuka, Eric Gagne, Octavio Dotel, Salomon Torres, Brad Lidge, Dan Wheeler, and Chad Qualls). Matthew Cerrone of MetsBlog considers Otsuka the perfect fit, though the price could be Lastings Milledge. Another name in Gammons’ list, Brad Lidge, may be unavailable based on Ken Rosenthal’s info. Gammons mentioned one intriguing pitcher that’d certainly be worthy of surrendering Milledge: Zack Greinke. Seems crazy that the Royals would give him up, but he’ll be a hot commodity if they do shop him.
Rosenthal On The Angels
Ken Rosenthal weighs in on the Angels’ offense today, speculating about a Ken Griffey Jr. acquisition. Other ideas for that "big bat": Miguel Cabrera, Morgan Ensberg, Garrett Atkins, Troy Glaus, Adam Dunn, Pat Burrell, or Mark Teahen. None seem likely and many seem foolish. Can you really see Stoneman making a major acquisition? I feel a GM Trade Profile coming on, once I finish Omar’s.
The Halos are fifth in the AL in OBP and eighth in slugging; it’s not like they’re the Twins. Still, as Rosenthal says, one more slugger could make them World Series favorites. You can think of a million reasons why a Barry Bonds trade would never happen, but he would boost the offense immensely. Other ideas: Carlos Pena or Dmitri Young.
Hillenbrand To Be Designated For Assignment
UPDATE: Sure enough, the Yankees are in "serious talks" to acquire Hillenbrand.
Ah, finally a rumor of the non-Buehrle/Jacque variety. Unfortunately all I’ve got is the latest on Angels (former) DH and malcontent Shea Hillenbrand.
Hillenbrand is to be designated for assignment on Friday, giving Bill Stoneman ten days to trade or release him. Another year, another DFA. I imagine there’s a slight chance of pawning him off on the Yankees, who seem to have an odd infatuation with Hillenbrand. Once they experience him firsthand, that’ll change. How about Hillenbrand and salary relief for Kyle Farnsworth? Not that the Angels need him, but the Yankees sure don’t want him.
Hillenbrand at $6.5MM was a bad idea from Day 1. On the plus side, it’s only money. The Giants traded away Jeremy Accardo for a couple months of Hillenbrand last year (though to be fair, they received Vinnie Chulk too.)