Odds And Ends: Giants, Maddux, Grudzielanek, Arias
A few post-deadline notes from the MLBiverse…
- Brian Sabean is confident that he will be able to sneak some of his veteran players (Rich Aurilia, Omar Vizquel, Randy Winn, Bengie Molina, etc.) through waivers in the coming month for the purpose of making a trade. Chris Haft feels that the large number of teams remaining in contention will make that very difficult.
- Kevin Towers does not sound optimistic about the possibility of trading Greg Maddux in the next month noting that such a move would be "dicier" and any trade would still require the Dodgers to "step up and give us the prospect package [the Padres want]."
- Bob Dutton reports that the Royals will still try to move Mark Grudzielanek.
- The Astros claimed relief pitcher Alberto Arias off waivers from the Rockies. Arias had been DFA’d on Tuesday and the Astros will send him to triple-A.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here .
Marlins Pushing For Laird
12:09pm: ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick sees Laird staying put, at least until the offseason.
11:22am: Rosenthal says the Fish are pushing for Laird, but won’t give up an MLB-ready starter for him. Mike Hindman wonders if the Rangers are demanding Ryan Tucker, putting a wrinkle into the Manny talks.
10:02am: The Marlins can cross Ivan Rodriguez off their list of catching targets, though they did make a concerted effort according to ESPN’s Jayson Stark. They obviously couldn’t part with a veteran reliever; in fact they just acquired one in Arthur Rhodes.
Stark says the Marlins are still looking for catching help. He believes Bengie Molina will stay put, but Gerald Laird, Ramon Hernandez, Gregg Zaun, and others are still out there.
Twins Rumors: Bonser, Beltre, Roberts, Monroe
La Velle E. Neal III and Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune have the latest Twins buzz.
- The Twins would like to trade Boof Bonser to make room for Francisco Liriano. The Giants and Rangers might be interested.
- Targets for the Twins: relief help, third base, and second base.
- Talks for Adrian Beltre are not dead. The Mariners are eyeing Nick Blackburn, Scott Baker, Kevin Slowey, Glen Perkins, and Denard Span. The Twins aren’t biting. Sounds like the Mariners want a premium arm for Beltre from the Twins or Giants, but those teams see it as more of a salary dump.
- The Twins asked about Brian Roberts but couldn’t get anywhere.
- The Rays might be looking at Craig Monroe as a bench option.
Twins Looking For A Second Baseman?
According to Bob Dutton of the KC Star, the Twins are in the market for a second baseman. Alexi Casilla has a serious thumb injury. Dutton mentions Mark Grudzielanek, Rich Aurilia, and Brian Roberts as possibilities. Roberts, however, may be off the market. Dutton says the Twins could use Boof Bonser and Craig Monroe as bait.
Here’s a look at the trade market for second basemen.
Mike Jacobs Pulled From Lineup
9:56pm: The early pull raised a few eyebrows, amid the Bengie Molina speculation. It remains speculation for now though.
9:18pm: Just heard from Will Carroll that the Marlins’ Mike Jacobs was pulled from the lineup this evening. Could just be a defensive substitution though.
Stark’s Latest: Aurilia, Fuentes, Orlando Cabrera
New collection of rumors from ESPN’s Jayson Stark…
- The Twins have asked the Giants about Rich Aurilia. They’ve been dangling Boof Bonser for a position player; would they trade him back to San Francisco for Aurilia?
- On the Phillies’ radar: John Grabow, Will Ohman, Arthur Rhodes, and Jack Taschner.
- A Brian Fuentes trade remains doubtful.
- The White Sox will trade Orlando Cabrera for the right pitcher. The Sox aren’t generating much interest in their prospects.
Rangers Rumors: Laird, Greinke, Bonser, Masset
Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram has Rangers rumors for us today.
- Wilson sums up the suitors for catcher Gerald Laird: Yankees, Reds, Marlins, and Brewers. The Giants could also jump in if they trade Bengie Molina. Wilson heard that the Rangers are not shopping Laird, though.
- The Rangers inquired on three pitchers recently: Zack Greinke of the Royals, Boof Bonser of the Twins, and Nick Masset of the White Sox. Greinke would be near-impossible to pry loose, though Chris Davis would be an interesting offer.
Giants Like Adrian Beltre
According to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle:
The Giants like Adrian Beltre, believing he would thrive in the more fastball-oriented National League, but a source said they have not exchanged names with the Mariners.
Schulman explains that Giants GM Brian Sabean is open to acquiring players who can help in 2009. Hank Blalock was also on the radar, but now he’s back on the DL. The Rangers told a white lie to the public regarding Blalock’s injury earlier this week. The Rangers had their eye on Jonathan Sanchez, but I doubt the Giants would’ve entertained a one-for-one swap even for a healthy Blalock.
The Giants could also try the free agent market this winter. Available third basemen include Casey Blake, Joe Crede, and Dallas McPherson.
The Marlins seemingly would swap first baseman Mike Jacobs for catcher Bengie Molina, but the Giants aren’t interested. They’re also reluctant to trade lefty Jack Taschner, who is under team control through 2011.
Red Sox Have Little Interest In Tejada
10:39pm: Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle says the Red Sox have "almost no interest" in Tejada. Other teams are considering Tejada, but a trade is unlikely.
8:18pm: It’s possible the Tigers are also in the mix for Tejada. They are among many teams scouting the Astros (the Nationals, Mets, Rangers, and Giants are others).
7:04pm: According to ESPN’s Enrique Rojas, the Red Sox and Astros have discussed shortstop Miguel Tejada. Rojas is not sure how far the trade talk has progressed. Tejada seemed open to the idea in a quote given to Rojas.
Tejada is hitting .281/.318/.420 in 431 plate appearances this year. The Astros are hoping a move to the #2 spot in the order will continue to revive his bat. Tejada is owed about $4.6MM more this year, plus $13MM in ’09. It was revealed in April that Tejada is 34 years old rather than 32 as was previously thought.
Theo Epstein and Ed Wade have matched up on trades before, when Wade was working for Phillies. One of those was Jeremy Giambi for Josh Hancock back in ’02.
Mets Unlikely To Acquire Outfielder
Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes about the Mets’ unsuccessful search for a corner outfielder.
The Mets find the prospect price too high on players such as Raul Ibanez and Jason Bay. They don’t seem to care for Adam Dunn or Brian Giles. They don’t like Randy Winn‘s contract or lack of power. And Manny Ramirez is unlikely for numerous reasons.
While the Mets are fans of Ibanez, they’ve made all of their interesting prospects untouchable. The Mets may prefer to use some of those prospects in offseason deals. For now they will stick with the red-hot Fernando Tatis and other internal options.