Odds and Ends: Giles, Chacon, Durbin
Here are today’s random rumor tidbits.
- The Rox are interested in Marcus Giles for their second base opening. Giles was awful last year, they should just try something internal. Other Rockies notes: contracts with Kip Wells and Luis Vizcaino aren’t quite finalized, and they may ink Victor Zambrano to a minor league deal. UPDATE: Wells, plus Mark Redman, are done deals.
- The Pirates still have their eye on Shawn Chacon and Chad Durbin. That”ll put butts in the seats. Also, Jake of Bucco Blog weighs in on a new Pirates hire.
- Speaking of Durbin, did he comment on this blog and suggest he’s headed to the NL? I’m not sure.
- Drays Bay talked to Gerry Hunsicker. Seth Speaks talked to Pat Neshek.
- New prize added to our Hot Stove Hysteria contest – three months free of Scout.com access.
- Things are mostly quiet with the Brewers, but this Tom Haudricourt blog post notes tepid discussions for Scott Rolen, Hank Blalock, and Andre Ethier.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Prior, Bedard, Haren
The rumor mill is picking up today, thanks in no short part to Ken Rosenthal. Check out his latest column.
- Rosenthal believes the Padres are Mark Prior‘s first choice, but as usual they won’t pay as much as other teams. Both Texas clubs are in the lead for Prior currently. Rosenthal also names the Cards, Mets, and Yankees are suitors, as we knew. The Pirates, by the way, have not inquired.
- Talks for Erik Bedard have slowed down, because the Orioles aren’t impressed with the offers. The Mariners, Reds, and Mets are the top contenders. Rosenthal indicates that the Reds may be overvaluing Homer Bailey, compared to the perception of other clubs.
- Interesting late-game suitors for Dan Haren: the Rockies and Braves. You wonder, then, whether they’ll also inquire on Bedard.
- Rosenthal notes that the Chris Burke acquisition could be a sign that the D’Backs won’t re-sign Orlando Hudson. Burke will have to show something first though.
- The Orioles don’t seem likely to flip Luke Scott; they like his style. The guy could hit 30 bombs this year, in the opinion of Ron Shandler and Co.
- The Twins are up to 39 on their 40 man roster, so they’ll have to be creative to take back four players in a Johan Santana deal. It could mean including a player with Johan.
Orioles, Pirates Eyeing Dotel
UPDATE, 12-19-07 at 9:28am: The Bucs also have their eye on Dotel, but are wary of the price and years.
FROM 12-18-07 at 11:13am:
The Orioles don’t have a closer, and Octavio Dotel is the best of the remaining name-brand stoppers. He’s at least better than Armando Benitez, Keith Foulke, and Bob Wickman (assuming he doesn’t retire).
Normally I wouldn’t support the idea of a non-contending team dropping $6-8MM annually for maybe two years on a guy like Dotel. But Dayton Moore showed us last year that this strategy can net a decent player at the deadline (he picked up Kyle Davies). However since Dotel will probably want two years, he’ll be riskier than he was for Moore. The Royals handled Dotel pretty carefully and his value was high when they dealt him.
Pirates Looking For Catching Help
Ronny Paulino. The Pirates’ backstop turns 27 in April and sports a career OPS of .730 (NL average for the position in ’07 was .712). Paulino nailed 26.7% of baserunners in ’07 and 36.2% in ’06. For his gamecalling skills I’ll defer to devoted Pirate fans, but he’s got to be improving after two years behind the dish. In short, there’s no reason to spend money at the catcher position for 2008.
That is exactly what the Pirates are planning, however. The names on the radar:
- Johnny Estrada – free agent with few remaining skills, will cost between $3.5-4MM
- Miguel Olivo – free agent hits for pop and guns runners down, will cost around $3MM
- Damian Miller – aging backup with little left, will cost around $2MM
- Michael Barrett – intriguing buy low trade possibility, but could cost $4.5-5MM
I don’t really support any of these moves, but I can at least see the logic in acquiring Barrett on the cheap and hoping to cash in on a rebound year. But bringing in a vet to split time with Paulino doesn’t seem good for his development.
Padres Rumors: Nady, Barrett, Jenkins, Prior
Padres rumor guru Tom Krasovic has a new article up at the San Diego Union-Tribune.
- The Padres are open to trading 24 year-old catcher Nick Hundley. Hundley did not crack Baseball America’s Padres top ten prospects for ’08 after hitting .247/.324/.475 at Double A. Kevin Towers would’ve sent him to the Astros for Luke Scott, and still could send him to Pittsburgh for Xavier Nady.
- Krasovic says that if the Padres are to deal Michael Barrett for a few prospects, it’s likely to happen soon. The Pirates are said to be interested so maybe a deal involving Nady and some prospects could go down.
- The Padres’ offer to Geoff Jenkins will likely to be inferior to that of the Phillies. So Jenkins would have to be sold on the city. He’s from California and went to USC, notes MLBTR reader Nathaniel S.
- The Friars expressed interest in another USC alum, Mark Prior (as have 11 other teams). The New York Daily News reiterated the Mets’ and Yankees’ interest in him this morning.
Pirates Pulled Out Of Bay To Cleveland Deal
Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has some new information for us regarding an aborted Jason Bay deal. Kovacevic says the Bucs made a decision through the entire chain of command that Franklin Gutierrez, Kelly Shoppach, Cliff Lee, and a minor league pitcher wasn’t enough for Bay and Ronny Paulino.
This situation has been confusing to follow from the start, with plenty of conflicting information floating about. For instance, the Cleveland Plain Dealer’s Paul Hoynes said on Wednesday that Lee and Shoppach were never involved in these talks – the Bucs wanted three to five of the Indians’ top prospects. Before that there was that whole business about whether talks had occurred at the Winter Meetings and been revived.
Rockies To Sign Luis Vizcaino?
Dejan Kovacevic says the Bucs fell "just short" of getting free agent reliever Luis Vizcaino. That may mean the Rockies, the other team pursuing him, reached an agreement. We’ll have to see if the Rockies beat writers check in soon. Vizcaino had been looking for a three or four-year deal.
Rangers Signing Fukumori
UPDATE, 12-13-07 at 10:20am: Rosenthal confirms this signing; it kind of flew under the radar. Pretty cheap at $1.5MM per year.
UPDATE, 12-12-07 at 1:57pm: My Japanese-speaking friend says that this article indicates Fukumori signed with Texas for two years and $3MM. The $1.5MM salary is about twice what he made in ’07. Fukumori also had offers from the Pirates and Rays.
FROM 12-12-07 at 9:08am:
According to Evan Grant, the Rangers are "on the verge" of signing Japanese reliever Kazuo Fukumori. It would be a two-year deal.
As many as 10 teams were said to be interested in Fukumori, including the Yankees, Nationals, Royals, and Red Sox. Ken Davidoff recently spoke to a scout who described Fukumori as "not bad."
Vizcaino Close With Bucs, Rox
Ken Rosenthal is reporting that Luis Vizcaino is close to signing a multi-year deal with either the Pirates or the Rockies. The righty reliever rejected arbitration the Yankees offer of arbitration.
I’m not quite sure why the Pirates are looking to sign a middle reliever to a multi-year deal. He makes far more sense for the Rox, who figure to contend next year. They’re looking to replace LaTroy Hawkins, and could probably get similar production from The Viz.
After posting ERAs under 4.00 from 2004 through 2006, Vizcaino topped that threshold this year. While he was solid for three months of the season, he was absolutely atrocious for the other three.
–Joe
Bay, Pads Talks “Completely Untrue”
We hear rumors earlier in the day that the Padres and Pirates were in "deep talks" regarding Jason Bay. Now, Dejan Kovacevic says that no such talks have occurred. This comes after the revelation that Chase Headley wouldn’t be involved in any deal.
The only talks between the two clubs, according to Kovacevic, have regarded catcher Michael Barrett. According to the source "those talks didn’t expand beyond Barrett."
–Joe