Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Yankees Rumors

Yankees Sign Ben Broussard

By | at

According to the AP, the Yankees have signed first baseman Ben Broussard to a minor league deal.  He’ll head to Triple A.

Broussard, 31, was acquired along with his $3.85MM salary by the Rangers in December.  89 plate appearances convinced the Rangers to pay Broussard to go away.  Broussard, when he’s going good, can be decent against right-handed pitching.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Hunter, Santana, Quentin

By | at

It’s Sunday again, so we’ve got some tidbits from Ken Rosenthal’s Full Count video:

  • Torii Hunter was courted by the White Sox and Rangers before signing with the Angels this past offseason; however, according to Hunter, he had a meeting scheduled with the Dodgers to discuss taking the spot that Andruw Jones would come to occupy. The Angels signed him, preventing the meeting.
  • As we enter June, the sky is falling in Seattle…
  • Rosenthal doesn’t think there’s a lot of regret in the Yankee organization for not acquiring Johan Santana.  One executive notes Santana’s throwing with increased effort this season yet without increased results.
  • In this piece, Rosenthal commends the White Sox for their deal for Carlos Quentin. Writes Rosenthal, "’I give Kenny credit — he was on Quentin for a while,’ Diamondbacks general manager Josh Byrnes said. ’He believed that the same Carlos Quentin would return now that his shoulder is fixed.’"

By Nat Boyle

Odds and Ends: Royals, Cashman, Tavarez

By | at

4:45pm: Updating the Tavarez item – the Boston Herald reports that he’s accepted a minor league assignment in order to buy the Red Sox more time in trading him.

10:38am: Here’s today’s link collection.

Seven Teams Have Monitored Freddy Garcia

By | at

According to ESPN’s Buster Olney, at least seven clubs have monitored Freddy Garcia’s progress: the Mets, Red Sox, Braves, Yankees, White Sox, Rangers, and Mariners.  It wouldn’t be surprising if even more clubs show up to watch Garcia throw when he is able to audition.  A midseason free agent has major appeal.  The Indians are one additional club rumored to have interest.

Garcia remains a mystery – we don’t know when he’ll be ready, how much money he’ll want, or how effective he’ll be.

Kenshin Kawakami Prefers Red Sox?

By | at

RotoWorld has done some translating of a Japanese Associated Press article.  They learned that Japanese righty Kenshin Kawakami reportedly prefers the Red Sox as his 2009 destination (he’ll be a free agent).  The translation notes that the Yankees and Mets have scouted Kawakami.

Back in November of 2007, I asked Aaron Shinsano and Jackson Broder of East Windup Chronicle for a profile on Kawakami, among others.  Here’s what they wrote:

Kenshin Kawakami – Japan’s highest paid starter for the champion Chunichi Dragons (he made around $3MM) mixes a fastball, cutter, and curveball.  His fastball runs around 87 and his curve is very slow. He’s known as a big game pitcher and always challenges hitters. He was 12-8 with a 3.55 ERA in 2007, but the K/BB ratio was an appealing 6.3 in 167 2/3 IP.  He’s a HR prone strikeout pitcher.  Kawakami has been healthy for the past four seasons.

Yu Darvish E-Ticket Article

By | at

I always enjoy ESPN’s in-depth E-ticket articles.  Jim Caple’s piece on Yu Darvish is no exception.  In case you hadn’t heard, Darvish is the Next Big Thing in Japan.  He’s a 21 year-old ace pitcher.  A few highlights from the article:

  • The commonly kicked-around posting fee for Darvish is $75MM.  Remember, everyone thought Dice-K would require $25-30MM and the fee ended up being $51.1MM.  If Darvish received Dice-K’s six-year, $52MM deal and required an $80MM posting fee, he’d cost $22MM a year.
  • Darvish’s team, the Nippon Ham Fighters, didn’t allow Caple to ask about the MLB possibility.  But the team’s GM has said that he’d probably post a player who requested it.
  • Does Darvish want to come to MLB?  Opinions run the gamut on that question.  A posting this winter is possible but far from certain.
  • Darvish’s father seems to want him to play in New York or Boston, if he comes to MLB.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Lidge, Daniel Cabrera, Bonds, Edmonds

By | at

Ken Rosenthal has a new column up.  I put the Griffey info in a separate post; let’s discuss the rest.

  • Rosenthal suggests that Brad Lidge would be harder to replace than Pat Burrell, and for that reason the Phillies will make a bigger effort to re-sign him.  I imagine Phillies fans would prefer that course of action.  The problem?  The Phillies have little chance of offering four years, according to Jayson Stark.
  • The Rangers will face a delicate situation in coming years: moving Michael Young to a different position.  The chain reaction could make Hank Blalock available.  Blalock has a club option for ’09 at $6.2MM.
  • Aside from Rick Porcello replacing Kenny Rogers at some point, the questionable Detroit rotation is set and signed through 2010.
  • One scout seems to think Daniel Cabrera has turned the corner and shouldn’t be traded.  He’ll become a free agent after the 2010 season and earns $2.875MM this year.
  • Though it might be seen as a desperation move, the Tigers don’t have much to lose by signing Barry Bonds.  Gary Sheffield endorsed it.
  • Rosenthal says the Rays and Jays are teams with "possible interest" in Jim Edmonds but are likely to pass.  That leaves the Cubs.
  • Will Jason Giambi find a job next year after the Yankees decline his option?  He plans to try.
  • The Red Sox asked about Mark Loretta during Spring Training as "infield insurance."  Rosenthal suggests the Sox consider Omar Vizquel, a defensive upgrade over Julio Lugo.

Odds and Ends: Bay, Roberts, Cliff Lee

By | at

And here we have some random links I’ve collected over the past day or so.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Wells, Griffey, Olney, Tavarez, Edmonds

By | at

A lot of links today, so let’s get to what is being said about some trade and signing possibilities in the Blogosphere…

  • The Darth Boss George Brigade wants Hank Steinbrenner to sign David Wells to prove that Hank is indeed his father’s son.
  • River Ave. Blues says the Yankees are too smart to sign Wells and then goes on to list about 87 pitchers that should be given a shot in the Highlanders’ rotation before Wells.
  • Redlegs Rant feels that Ken Griffey Jr. is behind the recent stories that speculate on him being traded.
  • Mariners Central speculates on some of the names that it might take to land Ken Griffey Jr., noting that the M’s are not likely to part with either of their top two prospects, Wladimir Balentien and Jeff Clement.
  • The Tribe Time Report sees plenty of holes in Buster Olney’s recent theory that Garret Atkins would be a good fit for the Indians.
  • Brewers Nation agrees with Olney that the Brewers should trade Ben Sheets.
  • Sox & Pinstripes doesn’t want to just give away Julian Tavarez but they also note that the bullpen needs help and Tavarez isn’t the answer.
  • Batter’s Box says Brad Wilkerson should fit in well with the rest of the Jays lineup, which also lacks the ability to hit for average or power.
  • One writer at Fanhouse doesn’t understand why Kevin Towers is so disappointed in the play of Jim Edmonds. They feel it was pretty obvious that the Pads were getting a player well past his prime.

Cork Gaines writes for Rays Index and can be reached here.

David Wells A Possibility For Yankees?

By | at

Mike Puma of the New York Post has comments from free agent lefty David Wells and Hank Steinbrenner indicating a third tour with the Yankees is possible.  Boomer’s interest is obvious, while Steinbrenner seems intrigued.  Before Brian Cashman gets involved and discussions occur, the Yankees will see how Darrell Rasner and Kei Igawa fare.  Wells had some choice words for Joe Torre, so don’t expect him back in L.A.

How does Wells stack up with Rasner and Igawa, according to Baseball Prospectus’ PECOTA projection system? 

Wells – 4.80
Igawa – 5.15
Rasner – 5.24

Not much of a difference in the projected ERAs, but Wells would be a fun story.  He managed to make 29 starts last year, but at 5.4 innings per he’d definitely give the bullpen a workout.  Then again, Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy were averaging about four.  Fun fact – Roy Halladay is averaging 8.14 innings per start this year.  Only Halladay and C.C. Sabathia averaged more than seven innings per start last year.

Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top