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Pie-Greene Rumor Denied

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MAY 7th: Bruce Miles of the Daily Herald discussed the Pie-Greene rumor with Cubs officials, and it was "emphatically shot down."

APRIL 30th: Yesterday Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune wrote of Kevin Towers’ pursuit of a long-term center field option.  Jim Edmonds remains a question mark, and his contract is up after ’08 anyway.

Krasovic says the Cubs "have kept tabs" on shortstop Khalil Greene, while the Padres are still eyeing Felix Pie.  The Cubs’ win-now approach could lead to that move, as Reed Johnson is doing fine in center field so far.  Greene is signed through the ’09 season.  Trading Greene would leave a gaping hole at the position for the Padres though.  Another point is that the Cubs have gotten fine production at shortstop so far this year.

Krasovic notes past center field considerations for the Padres such as Jeremy Reed and Tony Gwynn Jr.  Reed doesn’t seem to have a future in Seattle.  As for Coco Crisp, Towers balked at Theo Epstein’s asking price of Chase Headley.

Mets Discussing Turnbow

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TUESDAY: David Lennon adds that the Mets would only be willing to offer Turnbow a minor league deal.  Meanwhile, Gordon Edes hasn’t heard anything about the Red Sox pursuing him.

MONDAY: According to John Delcos of The Journal News, the Mets are "discussing whether to sign Derrick Turnbow" (hat tip to MetsBlog).  Turnbow seems like a reasonable gamble for the Mets.  Most teams could stand to add relief depth.

Turnbow was designated on Friday; Ken Rosenthal recently suggested that four teams are interested.  The Brewers would have to do something about his $3.2MM salary if they are to strike a deal.

The Brewers are having their own bullpen problems despite a pricey offseason makeover.  Eric Gagne and David Riske, making a combined $14MM this year, have disappointed so far.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Hudson, Turnbow, Laird, Kershaw

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Rumorland Ambassador Ken Rosenthal has posted yet another Full Count video.  Let’s get sifting:

  • Rosenthal thinks Orlando Hudson could be shown the money this offseason if he opts to explore free agency.  Hudson most likely won’t be offered market value by the Dbacks.  Rosenthal posits the Orioles, Cards, Dodgers, and Mariners as potential buyers.
  • 4 unnamed teams are interested in Derrick Turnbow, who is making $3.2MM this year.  According to KR, the Brewers would need to throw money in a deal or get a comparable salary in return – as the saying goes, you trade contracts, not players.  Turnbow needs a fresh start and middle relief is always in demand; however, a lot of teams have better internal options and could see Turnbow as a project for better or worse.
  • Gerald Laird update: Reds, Yankees, and Brewers all passed.  But Rosenthal still expects Laird to end up somewhere and notes that whoever gets him has him through 2010.
  • The Dodgers are planning on "integrating" Clayton Kershaw soon to throw a limit of 150 IP; however this doesn’t (yet) make Esteban Loaiza expendable as they would alternate the two in the rotation, Kershaw starting twice, and then Loaiza twice, and so on.  I say "(yet)" because Rosenthal doesn’t mention that the rotation will get crowded if/when Jason Schmidt returns in early June.  I would expect they’ll explore options, but be content using Loaiza out of the bullpen.  By the way, Kershaw has a 1.40 ERA with 31 K in 25.2 IP for Double-A Jacksonville.

By Nat Boyle

Odds And Ends: Hamilton, Lowry, Brewers, Tejada

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I’m not so happy about kicking off the day with an odds and ends post, but what can I say? I can’t go around making up rumors.

  • Evan Grant talks about how well the Josh Hamilton acquisition has worked out. I say acquisition, because the trade worked out smashingly for the Reds, too.
  • Looks like there won’t be a six-man rotation in San Fran anytime soon. Noah Lowry isn’t throwing anymore, as the pins and needles in his arm have returned. He could miss the entire first half of the season. So much for being a trade candidate.
  • Brewers GM Doug Melvin has said that the team will look for pitching, but not to expect anything. It’s a seller’s market right now. In the meantime, David Bush takes a spot in the rotation, and Jeff Weaver remains an option.
  • Miguel Tejada promised a sick kid he’d hit a homer, and came through. I could never make such a promise. How could you live with yourself if you failed?

Posted by Joe Pawlikowski, who writes for River Ave. Blues, a Yankees blog (though you already knew that, right?). Today is slooooow. Hit me with rumors.

Odds and Ends: Gallardo, NPB, Braves

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Today’s link collection…

  • Check out the latest MLB Roundup video.  The crew hands out April awards, assesses Billy Beane’s gameplan, and looks at Jeff Ma’s third-place Tout Wars team.
  • RotoAuthority helps Yovani Gallardo owners pick up the pieces and find a replacement (he has a torn ACL).  The Brewers have guys they can plug in but Gallardo seemed primed for a stellar season.  They’ll keep an eye on the trade market.
  • Mike Hampton could retire, but it’s highly unlikely that he’ll abandon the rest of his ’08 salary.
  • Nippon Professional Baseball might shorten the tenure needed for free agency, except for those looking to go overseas.  Players hoping to jump from Japan to MLB would still have to serve nine years or be posted.
  • In the sidebar of this article, Ken Rosenthal suggests that Frank Wren will explore the trade market for starting pitching but won’t overpay for mediocrity.  Tracy Ringolsby wonders whether the Braves will consider re-acquiring Kevin Millwood.

Turnbow Designated

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FRIDAY, 9:34am: It’s official – Turnbow has been designated for assignment.

FRIDAY, 8:53am: Adam McCalvy says the Brewers will call up outfielder Joe Dillon today, leading to speculation that Turnbow will be designated.

THURSDAY: Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel wonders whether the Brewers will decide to eat Derrick Turnbow’s $3.2MM salary and release him.

Not only is Turnbow unhappy, but he’s been rocked in eight appearances this year.  He probably needs a fresh start.  I am not a fan of the "relief ERA" metric, but the Red Sox, Mariners, and Rangers fare poorly by it.  In reality, there are probably a dozen teams that would like to try to straighten Turnbow out.  Control, of course, is his main issue.

Odds and Ends: Bonds, Zito, Bush

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Today’s link compilation.

  • Dusty Baker spoke to Barry Bonds on the phone a few weeks ago, and came away feeling that Bonds does not miss baseball.
  • A mere ten million bucks, a team can eat that.  But, as Andrew Baggarly says, "They don’t make mouths big enough to eat the roughly $112.5 million that Barry Zito is guaranteed."  Zito could be exiled to the bullpen.
  • Dave Bush went unclaimed by the other 29 teams because with option waivers, the team can pull the player back if claimed.
  • Jim Callis tosses out some options for the Astros with the 10th pick, noting that the team is likely to adhere to slotting guidelines.
  • Peter Abraham runs through the available catcher options for the Yankees now that Jorge Posada is DL-bound.

Gabe Gross Traded To Tampa

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In a quick, surprise move, the Brewers have traded outfielder Gabe Gross to the Rays for 23-year-old Class-A right hander Josh Butler. There is no word on Tampa Bay’s roster move to make room for Gross, who can play all three outfield positions. Presumably, it will be Justin Ruggiano, but I suppose it could be Nathan Haynes.

Gross has 48 plate appearances in the young season, but is hitting only .179/.303/.205. That’s just extra base hit, a double. He does have eight walks to seven strikeouts, which is a plus. But certainly not enough to keep him around once Mike Cameron returns from his suspension in a few days.

Butler has struggled in three starts in High-A ball this year, posting a 6.35 ERA. He was the 46th overall pick in the 2006 draft. The Baseball America handbook says he has a 92 to 95 mph fastball with outstanding movement, hard overhand curve, and a good change.

Posted by Joe Pawlikowski.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Gross, Rios, Perez

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The tireless Ken Rosenthal has another column up today. Not a whole ton in the way of trade rumors, but let’s see what we can salvage from the article.

  • The A’s could be a team interested in trading for the Brewers’ Gabe Gross, who is the likely casualty once Mike Cameron returns from suspension. Gross can play all three outfield positions, and it’s not clear whether the A’s view him as a roving fourth outfielder, or a replacement for Emil Brown.
  • Rosenthal notes that the Blue Jays are following the lead of David Eckstein, hustling like crazy to first base. This, he notes, keeps fielders on their toes and makes them more apt to commit an error. The only one not buying in, apparently, is Alex Rios. How is this significant? Well, Rios just signed a six-year, $64MM contract before this season. Not exactly the impression you want to be making.
  • The Mets’ Oliver Perez one a solid year away from cashing in this winter. Young, hard-throwing lefties are always in demand. He’s on his way now, sporting a 2.49 ERA through four starts, striking out just a hair under a batter an inning. Now, if he can only find a pitching coach who can teach him to throw strikes — he has 12 walks in those innings, which is less than a 2:1 ratio.

Posted by Joe Pawlikowski, who writes for River Ave. Blues, a Yankees blog.

Turnbow Unhappy

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According to Tom Haudricourt, reliever Derrick Turnbow had his agent contact Brewers GM Doug Melvin about his current mop-up role.  Turnbow has been marginalized following this winter’s acquisitions of Eric Gagne, David Riske, and Salomon Torres.  He’s not requesting a trade, but he’s not happy.

An uncharacteristic bout of good control in 2005 allowed Turnbow to save 39 games and earn a three-year extension the following spring.  He’s paid $3.2MM this season, the last of the deal.  If my calculations are correct, he still won’t be a free agent until after the ’09 season.  Turnbow has whiffed a ton of hitters over the last two seasons, but he can’t find the plate.  The Tigers and Braves are a couple of possible suitors if Melvin decides to shop him.

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