Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Overbay, Halladay, Peavy, LaRoche
On this date 45 years ago Barry Bonds was born. And even though he hasn't played in a game since September 26, 2007, Bonds has not yet retired. We are one week from the trade deadline, let's take a look at what is being written in the Blogosphere…
- Statistician Magician makes a case for the Braves going after Lyle Overbay.
- The Oriole Report lists the players most likely to be dealt by the O's before the deadline.
- The Phrontiersman feels the Phillies can win without Roy Halladay but still feels Philadelphia should make the deal.
- The Fowl Balls says the Mets made the right decision in passing on Roy Halladay.
- We're The Team To Beat looks at how Jake Peavy's injury is impacting the current trade market, driving up the price for Roy Halladay.
- SoxSpace dissects what the Adam LaRoche deal means for the Red Sox.
- Around the Majors takes a look back at Oakland's offseason moves and what went wrong.
- Hot Foot examines the Mets' expiring contracts.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com. If you have a suggestion for this feature, Cork can be reached here, and followed on Twitter here.
Odds And Ends: Spivey, Kazmir, Washburn
Another round of odds and ends for the afternoon…
- Remember Junior Spivey? He signed with the independent Tucson Toros, according to the AP (via the Arizona Republic).
- ESPN.com's Buster Olney reports that the Rays have been scouting the Angels' minor leaguers extensively. The Angels have interest in Scott Kazmir and the two teams could match up as trade partners. Keith Law says Kazmir has gone backwards for two straight years.
- Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle hears that the Giants can take on a reasonable amount of payroll and expects GM Brian Sabean to make a deal.
- The Phillies are scouting Jarrod Washburn as an alternative to Roy Halladay in case the Seattle lefty becomes available, according to Danny Knobler of CBS Sports.
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports calls Billy Beane the Scott Boras of general managers, and he means it as a compliment. At least one rival GM believes the A's got a great haul for Matt Holliday.
- I'll be talking trades tomorrow morning on The Big Jab at 9:25CST and on 940 ESPN at 10:00CST.
Heyman On Halladay, Holliday, Indians, Nats
9:34am: Heyman says the Yankees inquired about Cliff Lee and were told they'd have to give up Joba Chamberlain or Phil Hughes, plus other players.
8:34am: Jon Heyman of SI.com has the latest on the biggest stars available:
- The Phillies are the frontrunners to acquire Roy Halladay. Heyman says the Jays are expected to ask for one of J.A. Happ and Kyle Drabek, one of Dominic Brown and Michael Taylor, plus others.
- The Brewers may be the Phillies' biggest threat, but they'd probably have to part with Alcides Escobar, and maybe Mat Gamel, too.
- The Mets bowed out of the Halladay talks once Fernando Martinez's name came up.
- There's a "good chance" the Cardinals trade for Matt Holliday, according to one of Heyman's sources.
- Indians GM Mark Shapiro wonders if teams are holding onto their prospects too tightly: "It's almost to the point where there's an over-evaluation of these guys. There's almost an over-correction."
- Heyman says the Nats should trade Nick Johnson, Adam Dunn and Josh Willingham.
Edes On Holliday, Willingham, Sherrill
Yahoo's Gordon Edes hears the Cardinals aren't the only team interested in Matt Holliday. Here are the details:
- The White Sox have some interest in Holliday, according to Edes' colleague, Tim Brown.
- The Tigers have considered Holliday, but probably won't meet Billy Beane's asking price.
- The Phillies have interest in Josh Willingham.
- The Giants may be the favorites to acquire Nick Johnson, now that the Red Sox have Adam LaRoche.
- George Sherrill has many suitors, including the Brewers and White Sox.
- The Cubs and Red Sox would like to add left-handed relievers.
Stark On Deadline Deals
ESPN.com's Jayson Stark says this year's deadline will be different than others, since more players will clear waivers, allowing teams to deal until the end of August. Matt Holliday, Jarrod Washburn and Jack Wilson are all "likely to zip through waivers" next month. Here are the rest of Stark's rumors:
- The Phillies are as motivated as ever to acquire Roy Halladay. Their goal is to win the World Series, not make the playoffs.
- The Phils don't want to trade Kyle Drabek or J.A. Happ, but one GM believes they should include Drabek if one of the two has to go.
- The Phillies may have to decide which outfielder to include in a deal: Michael Taylor or Dominic Brown. One scout says there's "nothing not to like" about Taylor.
- Acquiring Cliff Lee would take a "four-for-one, Halladay-esque Package."
- The Dodgers, Angels, Phillies, Rays and Brewers are scouting Lee.
- Both the Blue Jays and Indians want top young arms for their aces, but the Indians aren't demanding big-league ready prospects, as long as they get a high-upside group.
- Expect Lee to be traded close to the deadline, if he's moved at all, because the Halladay saga will need resolution first.
- The Orioles have two prices for George Sherrill. Teams willing to take on his salary have to give up a premium prospect and another prospect, but if the O's have to pay Sherrill, they want a premium prospect and two other players.
- Danys Baez's value has plummeted recently.
- The Braves, unsure of how much Tim Hudson can contribute, are leaning heavily towards keeping Javier Vazquez.
- Adding a reliever is now the Dodgers' top priority.
- The Phillies have some interest in Ryan Spilborghs, Scott Hairston and Ryan Raburn.
- The Reds would like to deal some of their expensive pitchers.
- July 31st is also the deadline for Japanese teams to acquire foreign players for the rest of their season, so if Scott Boras is going to send Stephen Strasburg overseas, this will have to be the week.
- The Cubs are looking at left-handed relievers, including Sherrill, John Grabow and Joe Beimel.
Rosenthal Roundup: Rays Could Make Big Move, Red Sox Out On V-Mart
Ken Rosenthal's latest is seemingly at odds with the report we noted earlier from Bill Chastain that the Rays will not be major players at the deadline.
"The Rays are engaged in a whirlwind of activity, investigating [Cliff] Lee, [Roy] Halladay and numerous other options — 'major, major stuff,' according to one source," Rosenthal writes.
Other notes from Rosenthal:
- The Red Sox deals "should eliminate any chance of them trading for Victor Martinez."
- "The Phillies, Rays, Brewers and Dodgers are on Lee, and the Rangers have expressed continued interest" as well.
- The Angels are targeting Baltimore's George Sherrill and Cleveland's Rafael Betancourt.
- The Rockies are after Baltimore's Danys Baez.
- The Giants want to hold onto Jonathan Sanchez, given Randy Johnson's fragility.
Roy Halladay Rumors: Wednesday
6:49pm: ESPN's Peter Gammons says the Dodgers are still in the mix for Halladay. Pros for the Dodgers are a number of Single-A and Double-A prospects and the willingness to take on Halladay's contract. Cons are a lack of near-ready pitching prospects, and absence of Toronto scouts at Dodger games.
5:02pm: ESPN.com's Tim Kurkjian says he doesn't expect the Jays to deal Halladay because their asking price is "enormously high."
3:40pm: Rockies GM Dan O'Dowd told MLB.com that Halladay is not a fit for his team because the cost would be "devastating" financially and in terms of talent.
12:59pm: Wondering what kind of haul the Jays might bring in? ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick looks back at nine trades for top pitchers and shows that not all blockbusters are created equal.
11:08am: Jon Heyman of SI.com says the Brewers appear to be a threat to acquire Halladay. He's hearing Manny Parra's name and suspects Mat Gamel or Alcides Escobar would have to be involved, too.
11:06am: Ricciardi told ESPN.com's Jayson Stark that talks are expected to intensify early next week. The Blue Jays haven't exchanged names with interested teams yet, but Ricciardi expects to tell teams what he's looking for by Monday.
That wouldn't leave much time before Tuesday's self-imposed deadline, but Ricciardi said it's a soft deadline.
Ricciardi says four teams are "really, really serious" about Halladay. The Phillies are believed to be one of his top suitors and Ricciardi confirmed that the Jays will scout Kyle Drabek's upcoming start.
8:33am: Here's what we heard yesterday: the Yankees and Mets aren't major threats to acquire Roy Halladay; the Cards are still involved; the Phillies are considering other options and may have told the Jays Kyle Drabek is off-limits; the Jays have imposed a pre-deadline of July 28th on the negotiations and GM J.P. Ricciardi says a trade is becoming "unlikely."
- Yahoo's Gordon Edes says the Phillies want Halladay more than Cliff Lee, but bellieve the Jays are asking for too much.
- Sportsnet.ca has a clip of Ricciardi saying a deal is unlikely.
- The Phillies won't publicly admit they're pursuing Doc, but Ray Parrillo of the Philadelphia Inquirer hears they're still interested.
- Tracy Ringolsby of FOXSports suggests the Blue Jays have to consider trading Halladay because Ricciardi hasn't committed money to the right players.
Odds And Ends: Gonzalez, Giambi, Mets
Some links for the morning…
- MLB.com's Corey Brock reassures Padres fans, telling them that Adrian Gonzalez and Heath Bell are staying put for now.
- But Gonzalez told Chris Jenkins of the San Diego Union-Tribune that he understands his team's predicament: "To a certain extent, I don't disagree with the people who say the best thing for the Padres is to go out and get a bunch of people for me."
- Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker passes along a report saying the Seibu Lions are trying to acquire Triple A pitcher Jonah Bayliss from the Blue Jays.
- Rich Hoffman of the Philadelphia Daily News says the Phillies depend on their scouts and believe only what they see for themselves.
- MLB.com's Mychael Urban wonders if Jason Giambi might shut it down for the season.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post wonders if Nick Evans and Daniel Murphy are even major league bench players.
- The Brewers were among the teams scouting Cliff Lee last night, according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Rosenthal On Penny, Yankees, Dodgers, Rays
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says the Red Sox are open to dealing Brad Penny, even with Tim Wakefield and Daisuke Matsuzaka on the DL. They could add a bat or a prospect for Penny, but it's unlikely they'll actually move him. Here are the rest of Rosenthal's rumors:
- The Yankees could use some rotation depth, as it makes sense to keep Phil Hughes and Alfredo Aceves in the 'pen, but you can rule out a Carl Pavano acquisition. As one Yankee official says, the players would "go crazy" if the Yanks added Pavano.
- Rosenthal says Russell Martin wouldn't qualify as the centerpiece of a Roy Halladay trade because he's faltered offensively and the Jays have J.P. Arencibia in the minors.
- The Phillies could trade Rodrigo Lopez if Pedro Martinez takes over in the rotation.
- The Rays are interested in Halladay and Cliff Lee, even if they don't have financial flexibility. However, a trade seems highly unlikely.
Edes On Lee, Feliciano, Pirates
Yahoo's Gordon Edes says the Phillies and Dodgers are interested in Cliff Lee, but the Indians aren't anxious to move him. Not only would it mean trading Cy Young Award winners in back-to-back years, it would diminish the team's chances at contending next season. Here are the rest of Edes' rumors:
- The Dodgers would have interest in Pedro Feliciano if the Mets become sellers.
- The Brewers scouted Brad Penny over the weekend, but a trade seems unlikely now that Tim Wakefield's on the DL.
- At least one NL executive believes the Pirates are ready to move almost anyone. Zach Duke, Paul Maholm, Matt Capps, John Grabow, Freddy Sanchez, Adam LaRoche and Jack Wilson could all be targets.
- It looks like the Reds would listen to offers for Francisco Cordero. However, he has no-trade protection and an big contract.
- The Red Sox had a scout watch Nick Johnson this weekend.