Stark’s Latest: Keppinger, Baker, Phillies
ESPN.com's Jayson Stark has a new blog post up. Some of this is old news, but probably worth revisiting…
- The Reds are dangling infielder Jeff Keppinger, with the Red Sox and Astros as possible suitors.
- The Red Sox and Astros have also checked in on Colorado's Jeff Baker, along with the Phillies. But, the Rockies are reportedly demanding a "quality young starter" in return.
- The Mets expressed interest in Ronny Paulino before he was dealt to the Giants (then moved swiftly to the Marlins).
- The Phillies continue to shop around for a right-handed reserve outfielder.
Taschner To Phils; Paulino To Fish; Correa To SF
SATURDAY, 2:01am: The Giants quickly turned Paulino around in a trade to the Florida Marlins for right-handed pitcher Hector Correa, MLB.com reports.
Correa, 21, has a career 8-10 record with a 4.52 ERA in 34 games (29 starts) in the minor leagues.
Paulino will likely be the backup catcher to John Baker. Paulino, 27, hit .278 in 304 games with Pittsburgh from 2005 to 2008.
FRIDAY, 9:08am: According to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle, the Phillies acquired lefty reliever Jack Taschner today for catcher Ronny Paulino. The Phils had acquired Paulino from the Pirates on December 10th.
Taschner, 31 in April, allowed lefties to hit .279/.339/.394 line last year. They knocked him around in '07 even worse, so he's not the perfect fill-in for J.C. Romero.
Rosenthal On Melky, Matthews, Pedro, Ohman
As usual, good stuff from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports…
- Rosenthal says the Yankees are open to moving Melky Cabrera, and opines that the White Sox would be a perfect fit. Trading Cabrera would open up the Yankees' outfield picture for sure, but leave them shakier in center with Brett Gardner and Nick Swisher. Rosenthal also says the White Sox have expressed some interest in a deal to acquire Gary Matthews Jr., assuming the Angels pay "the vast majority of the $33MM remaining on the final three years of his contract."
- Pedro Martinez reached out to the Royals before they signed Sidney Ponson, but KC couldn't afford him. Would Pedro have been a better signing than Horacio Ramirez and Willie Bloomquist? Martinez's friends are telling him his $5MM asking price is unrealistic. Rosenthal says that if Pedro drops it down to $1-2MM, he can probably get the Dodgers and other teams involved.
- The Marlins are looking for relief help. They like Will Ohman but not his $2MM asking price.
- The A's thought they were close to a $1.7MM deal for Joe Beimel before he went to the Nats for $300K more.
- Catcher Ronny Paulino, acquired by the Phillies from the Pirates in December, is available. Rosenthal considers the Marlins a possible fit.
Rockies Hope To Trade Torrealba, Baker
Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post writes today about the Rockies desire to trade catcher Yorvit Torrealba and infielder Jeff Baker.
Torrealba was signed in November of '07 after coming close to a deal with the Mets. The Rockies had reached the World Series with Torrealba behind the dish, and Chris Iannetta had yet to emerge. Now, though, the Rox would love to move Torrealba and the $4MM owed to him for '09. Renck says they shopped him hard this winter but came up empty. The Rockies like Sal Fasano as the backup catcher and don't have much use for Torrealba.
Baker, 27, hit .268/.322/.468 in 333 plate appearances for the Rockies last year, crushing lefties while struggling away from Coors. Baseball Prospectus likens Baker to former Padre Archi Cianfrocco, circa 1994. Baker has spent time at first base, second base, third base, left field, and right field in his career. Yesterday Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports said the Phillies, Astros, and Pirates were interested. Rosenthal suggested Phillies pitcher Kyle Kendrick as a possible target for the Rockies, but Phils GM Ruben Amaro Jr. doesn't see that as a fair trade. Renck says the Pirates and Astros have interest in Baker while the Yankees, Braves, and Phillies have a need. Baker is trying to bounce back from elbow soreness this spring.
Rosenthal On White Sox, Pedro, Baker
The latest from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports…
- The White Sox are still trying to figure out their center field situation, but they are not involved on pricey veterans such as Juan Pierre and Gary Matthews Jr.
- Fantasy alert: Rosenthal names David Aardsma as the likely leader for the Mariners closer job, with Chad Cordero and Brandon Morrow lingering.
- The Dodgers "continue to balk at Pedro Martinez's $5MM asking price."
- Rockies utility man Jeff Baker, who is out of options, is drawing interest from the Phillies, Astros, and Pirates. Rosenthal suggests recently-demoted Kyle Kendrick as a possible target for Colorado, assuming the Phils can move Geoff Jenkins or Matt Stairs to clear a spot. Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post says the Yankees are unlikely to acquire Baker.
- The Blue Jays have been scouting shortstops Chin-Lung Hu, Juan Castro, and others in hopes of finding someone they can stash at Triple A for insurance.
- Was Willy Taveras a bad move for the Reds? Rosenthal says rival executives think so.
Rudy Seanez Pondering Future
Diamond Leung is no longer writing for the Riverside Press-Enterprise, but he's blogging about baseball at Diamond Notes. Today he has an update regarding free agent reliever Rudy Seanez.
Seanez, 40, is still considering playing in 2009. He turned down an offer to return to the Phillies, and has interest from the Padres and others. Fun fact, Seanez owns a Cold Stone Creamery with his family. Delicious yet pricey.
Seanez has already pitched for the Padres in roughly 14 different stints. Last year with the Phils he had some control problems but still managed a 3.53 ERA in 43.3 innings.
Gammons On Matthews, Teahen, Harang, Peavy
12:07pm: John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer asked Reds GM Walt Jocketty about Gammons' Harang note. Jocketty said, "I'm not going to comment on something when he doesn't know what he's talking about."
9:19am: ESPN's Peter Gammons had a new blog post yesterday discussing available players.
- Gammons names Geoff Jenkins ($8MM remaining, limited no-trade), Brian Giles ($9MM remaining, full no-trade), Gary Matthews Jr. ($33.5MM remaining, full no-trade), Marcus Thames ($2.275MM salary), Nick Johnson ($5.5MM salary), Jason Repko, and Jeff Baker as players being dangled. Gammons links Matthews to the Yankees but admits his contract will be an issue.
- Mark Teahen has drawn interest from the Astros, Red Sox, and Yankees.
- Gammons says the Reds "have let teams know that they will wait and see whether they need to move Aaron Harang during the season." It'd be a shame to see the Reds break up that rotation. Harang has about $36MM coming to him over the next three seasons if his 2011 option is exercised.
- Brewers third baseman Bill Hall expects his team to pursue Padres ace Jake Peavy if available this summer. Unlike C.C. Sabathia, Peavy is more than a rental.
Rosenthal On Jeter, Jenkins, Keppinger
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports posted a new column last night.
- Rosenthal wonders if the eventual emergence of Yankees shortstop prospects Ramiro Pena and Eduardo Nunez will prompt the team to ask Derek Jeter to change positions in the future. Neither player ranked among the Yankees' top 30 prospects in the Baseball America 2009 Handbook, however. Jeter's current contract runs through 2010.
- Rosenthal says Boston's talks for catchers Miguel Montero and Jarrod Saltalamacchia "remain stalled because of those clubs' respective asking prices."
- Rosenthal believes the Phillies are unlikely to trade Geoff Jenkins or Matt Stairs.
- The Reds are considering trading infielder Jeff Keppinger, and Rosenthal wonders if the Astros would be a fit. He also speculates on Juan Uribe for Houston. John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer talked about the Keppinger possibility on Friday.
Curt Schilling Retires
Pitcher Curt Schilling announced his retirement today via a blog post at 38 Pitches. He finishes with a 3.46 ERA and 216 wins in 3,261 innings for the Orioles, Astros, Phillies, Diamondbacks, and Red Sox. He also won 11 postseason games with a 2.23 ERA in 133.3 innings.
Stark On Cameron, Ohman, Jenkins
ESPN's Jayson Stark has a new blog post up.
- The Astros plan to give Chris Johnson a chance to win the third base job, but Stark says Juan Uribe, Jose Bautista, and Jeff Baker "could still show up on their shopping list in the next two weeks."
- Stark heard "rumblings the Yankees are poking around again on Mike Cameron's availability." Back in December, the Yanks and Brewers were pretty close on a deal.
- Eric Milton is looking decent and appears to be the frontrunner for the Dodgers' fifth starter job (given Pedro Martinez's asking price).
- Will Ohman seeks a one-year, $1.75MM deal with easily-reachable incentives for another million. He also prefers the West Coast, and Stark believes the Padres and Giants are more likely than the Dodgers. Like the Dodgers, the Phillies and Marlins have interest at a lesser price. Stark has also heard the Phils connected to Giants lefty Jack Taschner.
- Shawn Camp, Geoff Geary, John Buck, and Geoff Jenkins are currently available. The Phillies would eat almost all of the $8MM owed to Jenkins.