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Odds & Ends: Ankiel, Ohman, Tigers, Mets, Rangers

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Links for Sunday, as a handful of players suit up for new teams….

Hart Wants Contract Extension

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Corey Hart is going public with his desire for a contract extension in Milwaukee, according to Adam McCalvy of MLB.com.  Hart, who has been with the Brewers for his entire major league career, remained with the club after being linked to the Giants in the weeks leading up to the deadline.

Hart will be under club control through 2011, but says that he wants to stay with the club for longer:

"They know that," the two-time All-Star said. "I think, obviously, there are different variables. They have to figure out what to do with Prince [Fielder] and whether I'm part of what their long-term [plan] is."

As McCalvy points out, the Brewers haven't had an easy time negotiating with Hart's agent Jeff Berry in the past.  Their most recent duel resulted in the two sides going to arbitration over Hart's contract following the 2009 season.  Berry's client won the hearing, the Brewers' first since 1998.

After flirting with dealing Hart at the deadline, one has to wonder if Milwaukee will look to deal him in the offseason rather than lock him up long-term.

Cafardo On Lee, Edmonds, Dunn, Kelly

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In this week's installment of his Baseball Notes column, the Boston Globe's Nick Cafardo breaks down the winners and losers of the trade deadline. His assessment includes a few surprises, such as praising the inactive Blue Jays for "not settling for pennies on the dollar." Here are the rest of the highlights from Cafardo's piece:

  • This year's deadline could make teams even less willing to include no-trade clauses in future contracts. Players like Derrek Lee and Roy Oswalt took advantage of their clauses, making it difficult, or in Lee's case impossible, for their respective clubs to move them.
  • Having said that, Cliff Lee "has made it clear" he wants a no-trade clause in his next deal, having played for four different clubs in the past two seasons. As the best pitcher available this winter, he should be in a position to make that demand.
  • The Brewers would like to keep Jim Edmonds around past this season if he's healthy and willing to return. It appears, however, that he's leaning toward retirement.
  • Had David Ortiz not turned his season around earlier this year, the Red Sox would have been one of the teams in on Adam Dunn before the deadline.
  • With the Red Sox' starting rotation currently full, a few teams thought Boston may part with Casey Kelly. According to Cafardo, the Sox may try to move Daisuke Matsuzaka when they feel Kelly is major league ready.

Giants Still Active

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2:56pm: It doesn't look like anything will happen with the Giants and Hart, tweets Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.

2:28pm: Lots of familiar names still in play for the Giants, tweets Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle, including perhaps Corey Hart again.

2:17pm: The Diamondbacks, Giants, and Blue Jays have discussed a three-way deal, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.  For the moment I'll leave the speculation to the commenters, but we know the Giants like Kelly Johnson from Arizona as well as Jays relievers and Jose Bautista.  The Jays have had interest in Johnson as well.

Adam Dunn Rumors: Friday

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The latest on Nationals slugger Adam Dunn…

  • The Giants are involved a number of pursuits, but do not seem serious about Dunn, writes Rosenthal. 
  • The White Sox are once again saying that they're out of the Dunn sweepstakes, according to Rosenthal (Twitter links). Barring a mystery team, Rosenthal finds it hard to envision a Dunn trade.
  • The Nationals told teams that Edwin Jackson was key to obtaining Adam Dunn from them, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney. Many teams tried to obtain Jackson, the White Sox got him and now the Nationals say they aren't so sure they want the righty. Obviously, teams are frustrated with the Nationals (all Twitter links).
  • The Nats are becoming frustrated as they try to obtain equal value for Dunn, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney (Twitter links). Rival teams say that Washington's asking price is enormous.
  • Nats GM Mike Rizzo told MASNSports.com's Ben Goessling that he won't lower his asking price for Dunn (Twitter link).
  • Dunn says he'd be comfortable DHing for the rest of the year, according to multiple reporters, including Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post (Twitter link). That is music to the ears of White Sox, Rays and Yankees fans.
  • The Rays are convinced that the Yankees will acquire Dunn, Peter Gammons told WEEI.com. Gammons suspects that if the Nationals trade Dunn, the Yankees will acquire him. The Rays haven't given up hope, since they have had a special assignment scout watching Dunn all week, according to Ed Price of AOL FanHouse (Twitter link). 
  • The White Sox remain in talks with the Nationals for Dunn even after the Edwin Jackson trade, write Rosenthal and Morosi.  Yahoo's Tim Brown tweets that the Nationals want Jackson in a Dunn trade, but the White Sox hope to keep him out of the deal. 
  • The White Sox are focused only on Dunn and not Prince Fielder or Lance Berkman, tweets Bob Nightengale of USA Today.
  • Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports has heard varying opinions about whether the Yankees are truly out on Dunn.
  • Yesterday's Dunn rumors are tough to sort out, rife with conflicting reports.  The White Sox, Yankees, Rays, Giants, and Tigers were linked, though the Tigers might be out.

Odds & Ends: Lowell, Perez, Zambrano, Ross

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Links for Friday, with less than 24 hours before the deadline…

  • The Pirates acquired minor league outfielder Mitch Jones from the Braves, according to MLB.com's transactions page. David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution says the Braves obtained cash in return (Twitter link).
  • The Rangers are the only team that has slight interest in Mike Lowell, according to Sean McAdam of CSNNE.com (via Twitter).
  • The Mets shopped Oliver Perez today, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (Twitter link).
  • The Cubs are resigned to the fact that if they want to trade Carlos Zambrano, it will have to happen in the winter, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney (on Twitter).
  • Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports will believe that Cody Ross is unavailable once the deadline passes tomorrow. Until then he's a skeptic (Twitter link).
  • Teams like Joe Beimel, but are only offering the Rockies non-prospects, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post (on Twitter). The Rockies are shopping Randy Flores.
  • GM Doug Melvin and assistant GM Gord Ash explained to MLB.com's Adam McCalvy that the Brewers look for "plus" fastball velocity, quality breaking pitches, solid arm action and delivery and height in the pitchers they pursue.
  • The Rangers are talking to rival teams to determine if there's interest in Rich Harden or Scott Feldman, according to T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com.
  • The Astros wanted Chad Billingsley in exchange for Roy Oswalt, according to Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times (Twitter link). The Dodgers countered with a four-prospect offer, but the Astros preferred the Phils' offer.
  • The Royals aren't making much progress on deals, according to ESPN.com's Jayson Stark (Twitter link).
  • I answered questions from Neil Keefe and broke down the trade deadline in detail at WFAN.com.

Red Sox Asked About Jim Edmonds

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The Red Sox asked the Brewers about Jim Edmonds, according to MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy. Edmonds isn’t sure that he wants to be traded to a contender, but has received assurances from GM Doug Melvin that the club will present him with potential deals before completing anything.

The 40-year-old is hitting a robust .289/.353/.513 this season with eight homers. Edmonds makes $850K this year and becomes a free agent after the season, so his contract will not be an obstacle for any team. Boston also has interest in other outfielders, including Cody Ross.

Odds & Ends: Cardinals, Abreu, Mets, Edmonds

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A few assorted links, as the trading finally picks up…

Red Sox Have Explored Trades For Many Relievers

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FRIDAY, 1:03am: Theo Epstein has discussed multiple possible trades with former Red Sox assistant GM and current Padres GM Jed Hoyer, according to Peter Abraham and Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. The Globe duo believes Boston could have interest in a reliever like Joe Thatcher, and, given the team's excess of outfielders when Jacoby Ellsbury returns, they may match up with San Diego.

THURSDAY, 12:59pm: Though they're on his no-trade list, the Red Sox asked the Brewers about Trevor Hoffman, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  Rosenthal adds that the Brewers are not inclined to move Hoffman.  Meanwhile they're getting calls on Carlos Villanueva and Todd Coffey.

12:05pm: The Red Sox are leaving no rock unturned in their search for relief help.  They've explored Rafael Perez, Will Ohman, Mike Gonzalez, Matt Capps, Michael Wuertz, Craig Breslow, Sean Marshall, Kerry Wood, David Aardsma, and Kyle Farnsworth, reports Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe.  Cafardo says Scott Downs looks unlikely unless the Blue Jays back down from their top prospect requests.  On a related note, SI's Jon Heyman tweets that the Jays asked the Mets for outfield prospect Kirk Nieuwenhuis and one other player for Downs and were denied. 

Marshall is the interesting name here.  The 27-year-old lefty has had a dominant year in relief, posting a 1.71 ERA, 10.4 K/9, and 2.9 BB/9 in 52.6 innings with one home run allowed.  He's been especially strong against lefties.  Marshall is under team control through 2012 and would presumably be very difficult to pry loose from the Cubs.  Gonzalez is another surprising name, since he's spent most of the season on the shelf with a shoulder injury and is still owed good money.

Cafardo adds that the Red Sox have been shopping reliever Ramon Ramirez, and offers the opinion that a National League team might want to take a look at him.  Ramirez has a 4.57 ERA, 6.5 K/9, and 3.3 BB/9 in 41.3 innings with six home runs allowed and is a potential non-tender candidate after the season.

Fielder & Hart Are Off The Market

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The Brewers have decided that they’re too close to contention to sell, according to ESPN.com's Keith Law. An executive from a club that had interest in a Brewers player explained to Law that Milwaukee has changed its approach to Saturday's deadline. That means Prince Fielder and Corey Hart are no longer available to teams seeking power bats.

The Brewers are 48-55, 9.0 games behind the Reds and even further behind in the Wild Card race. They have a 0.33% chance of making the playoffs in 2010, according to Baseball Prospectus' postseason odds report.

The Brewers didn't make progress with the Giants in their talks about Fielder and Hart, partly because of the wrist injury that has sidelined Hart since Friday. Both players are under team control for 2011, so the Brewers can reignite trade talks after the season.

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