Giants Scouting Crede, Inge
This morning we have reports that the Giants have recently scouted Joe Crede and Brandon Inge. Even without a decent third baseman in the house, I don’t really see the point of acquiring either guy.
On Sunday, the Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo noted that the Giants could be less likely to acquire Crede given the Noah Lowry injury. Then on Monday, Kenny Williams mentioned that the two teams he’d discussed Crede with hadn’t impressed with their offers. Williams suggested Crede could be his Opening Day third baseman, despite Josh Fields‘ worthiness.
Inge is the other veteran third base option for teams like the Giants and Dodgers. But Inge bears almost four times the salary commitment, so the Tigers would have to eat some of it. Or, as one MLBTR reader suggested to me, perhaps the Tigers would take on one of the Giants’ many bad contracts in return.
Astros To Pass On Lohse
This morning, Brian McTaggart of the Houston Chronicle suggested the Astros’ rotation picture looked like this:
1. Roy Oswalt
2. Brandon Backe
3. Wandy Rodriguez
4. Woody Williams
5. Shawn Chacon as the frontrunner, with Chris Sampson, Felipe Paulino, Runelvys Hernandez, Jack Cassel, Mark McLemore, and Brian Moehler in the mix
Now Paulino is out a month with a pinched nerve. Williams has been destroyed this spring. So now it’s looking like Oswalt/Backe/Rodriguez/Chacon/Sampson.
Not exactly playoff quality nor likely to stay healthy all year. However, Ed Wade said today he doesn’t see Kyle Lohse as a fit for around $4MM. Scott Boras called him up last week to pitch his client. Wade has been quite open in the press about his free agent discussions.
Given the uncertainty around everyone besides Oswalt and Rodriguez, Wade might do well to reconsider Lohse if he has room in the budget. Otherwise, Jeff Blair says the Cardinals, Rangers, and Giants have Lohse on the radar (but not the Jays).
Cafardo’s Latest: Inge, Marte, Fuentes, Lohse
TUESDAY: Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post has an update to Cafardo’s Yankees/Fuentes item. Renck says that while the Yanks have scouted Fuentes, Rockies’ GM Dan O’Dowd says there’s "zero chance" of a trade at this time. I imagine he wants to see a healthy Luis Vizcaino before considering it.
MONDAY: Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe checks in with plenty of rumors in his Sunday column.
- The Red Sox checked in on Brandon Inge during the Winter Meetings, but found his contract prohibitive. Most teams seem to feel the same way.
- The Yankees are eyeing southpaw relievers Damaso Marte and Brian Fuentes, who’ve seemingly been on their radar for months. Fuentes makes $5.05MM this year, Marte makes $2MM this year with a $6MM club option for ’09.
- Cafardo believes the Noah Lowry injury could cause the Giants to swoop in on Kyle Lohse, and could also get in the way of a Joe Crede acquisition. Lowry’s only supposed to miss two to three weeks though. Kenny Williams says exactly two clubs have talked to him about Crede, but he’s saying Crede may still be his Opening Day third baseman.
Stark’s Latest: Davis, Valdez, Roberts, Lofton
ESPN’s Jayson Stark checks in with a blog entry jam-packed with rumorage.
- Stark says the Giants are shopping Rich Aurilia, Ray Durham, Steve Kline, Randy Winn, Tyler Walker, Rajai Davis, and Merkin Valdez. The vets we knew about; the last two are a surprise. Probably stems from both being out of options.
- Brian Roberts update: Stark talked to a club official who’s in touch with the Cubs and O’s. That guy expects a deal to be done next week. Plus, Stark sees the O’s as an active suitor for Kyle Lohse at the right price.
- Stark confirms the rumblings that the Rays have checked in on Kenny Lofton. Lofton could be a nice bargain this year for a couple mil.
Rowand Still Hoping For Crede To Giants
The indefatigable Aaron Rowand continues his Joe Crede-campaign, hoping the Giants will make a deal for him now that the Dodgers have entered the picture. In an article in the Chicago Sports Tribune, Roward argues that Crede has played the last few seasons with a bad back and, now healthy, will put forth his best season yet.
”I’m just the middle man,” Rowand said when asked how hard he has been pushing to be reunited with his close friend. ”I’m not playing recruiter. It’s not like I’m going to [the front office] and saying, ‘Get him.’ They asked me, and obviously everyone knows what he can do on the baseball field. I told them, ‘You’re asking a guy that is biased, but I’ll give you my answer.’ God knows I want to play with Joe again.”
Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun Times chimes in,
"While the Sox haven’t even come out and said whether they’ll trade Crede this spring, all signs point to the third baseman’s departure. Now that the Los Angeles Dodgers have shown interest in Crede, Williams can sit back and wait for the best offer."
MLBTR discussed the Dodgers interest yesterday, and readers seem to agree with Mr. Rowand: acquiring Crede is a great move for either team.
By Nat Boyle
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Brandon Inge
Oh Brandon Inge…Has it really only been two years since Inge belted 27 home runs and endeared himself to Tigers fans everywhere by transforming himself from a utility player into an everyday Major League third baseman? In doing so, Inge became the poster-child for the resurgent Detroit franchise that took only three years to go from 119 losses to the World Series. And now? We are certain that there are still Tigers fans out there that love Inge, but we are having a hard time finding them. Inge, who has three years and $19MM left on a contract he signed prior to the ’07 season, was obviously upset when he lost his job after the Tigers traded for Miguel Cabrera. And despite an opportunity to receive 300+ at bats as a utility player on a contender (and receive $6.2MM while doing so) he is apparently unhappy about having to play catcher (though he feels that he was misquoted).
Now it seems like trading Inge may be the best solution for both sides with Inge landing a starting job on another team and the Tigers able to skim $6.2MM off the books for a player that was not going to start. The only question now is: Who is willing to give up a player (or two) for 30-year old Inge with a $6.2MM price tag, no seasons with an OPS+ greater than 100 since 2004 and bad facial hair? Let’s take a look at what is being written in the Blogospere…
If there is a topic you would like to see covered in "Baseball Blogs Weigh In" please let me know HERE.
- A League of Her Own thinks the Cubbies should ship Ryan Dempster and Jason Marquis for Inge. Boy, Cubs fans really don’t like Marquis right now.
- The Cub Reporter doubts that the Cubs will land Inge, as the team seems to be all talk this off-season…Anybody want a Brian Roberts update?
- Mike Scioscia’s Tragic Illness lists about 437 reasons the Dodgers should not be interested in Inge, noting that the Dodgers would end up downgrading at third base, paying more salary to do so and weakening their bullpen in the process. And yeah, they don’t like his facial hair either.
- Bugs & Cranks thinks Inge should just shut up and accept hit utility role on a good team.
- Mack Ave. Tigers has finally had enough of Inge and doesn’t want a guy on the Tigers that doesn’t care about winning.
- The Detroit Tigers Weblog wonders if Inge’s decision to start talking to reporters is a way to try and expedite a trade, but notes that his words are not endearing himself to any potential trade partners.
- Mets Fever sees the Mets and Tigers as a good match up. If the Mets can’t land Marcus Thames, then maybe Inge would fill their needs.
- Fanhouse thinks the Giants might make a good trade partner for the Tigers as Inge could be a better fit than Joe Crede whom the Giants have recently inquired about.
Cork Gaines writes for Rays Index and can be reached here.
Odds and Ends: Johnson, Ponson, Nady
Ever lose a contact in the bathroom and scour for it for hours? That was my morning. Good times. On to the links.
- Friend of MLBTR Susan Slusser notes that the Giants had two scouts watching the A’s on Wednesday. One guy they might have been eyeing is first baseman Dan Johnson. It seems that Johnson, who is out of options, may be able to linger around on the A’s roster until at least mid-April given the expanded rosters for the Japan series. And since Slusser’s article we’ve learned that Daric Barton‘s hand injury is more serious than initially thought. That could buy Johnson even more time if the A’s aren’t ready to trade him.
- The Cardinals, Mariners, Royals, and Diamondbacks, Astros, and Rangers were among teams with scouts watching Sidney Ponson touch 94mph today. He’s stopped drinking and lost some weight; who knows, maybe he can help an NL club.
- Peter Abraham views Joba Chamberlain‘s recent comments with a little skepticism.
- MLB.com’s Marty Noble calls a Mets trade for Xavier Nady "quite unlikely," though an anonymous Mets player likes the idea.
Sox To Wait On Crede Trade?
SI.com’s Jon Heyman gives his take on the White Sox-Giants Joe Crede trade talks:
The White Sox apparently haven’t been enamored by what the Giants have to offer for third baseman Joe Crede. A Giants person conceded, "We badly need bats,” but they aren’t to the point where they’ll give up any of their better pitchers to get them. One possibility could be hard-throwing reliever Jonathan Sanchez, though it appears now that Crede may not be traded until closer to this summer’s deadline.
White Sox GM Kenny Williams has previously said that Josh Fields will play third base in 2008, whether in the Majors or at Triple A. He doesn’t have much left to learn there, however. Ken Rosenthal explored a scenario that would allow the Sox to play both Crede and Fields at the corners – a trade of Paul Konerko before the veteran’s 10 and 5 no-trade rights kick in.
There is no reason that the Giants should feel motivated to include the promising Sanchez to acquire one year of Crede. The 25 year-old southpaw has a "sneaky fastball and plus change-up," according to Baseball America. He’s whiffed more than a batter per inning in his 92-inning big league career.
Odds and Ends: Lowry, Mantei, Inge
Link time!
- The White Sox had a scout watching Noah Lowry‘s disaster yesterday. Maybe that affected him.
- Todd Zolecki says Ruben Amaro Jr. is the frontrunner for the Phillies’ GM job next year, with Mike Arbuckle the other main candidate. Meanwhile, Bob Ford thinks the Phils should’ve paid $200K for Cole Hamels‘ happiness.
- Looks like Matt Mantei’s comeback attempt may come to an end. Despite Jim Leyland’s comments, you have to think Dave Dombrowski will troll the market for relievers. Leyland also talked about how he’s not going to force Brandon Inge to catch.
- Jeff Sackmann discusses some clubs that would stand to gain around three wins by signing Barry Bonds.
- Jonathan Papelbon‘s contract is likely to be renewed today, and he’s probably not getting $900K.
- Tom Haudricourt offers up a primer on renewals, arbitration, free agency, all that stuff.
Odds and Ends: Ponson, Inge, Papelbon
Let’s round up some Monday morning links.
- The Cardinals are taking another look at Sidney Ponson. Insert your own punchline in the comments.
- Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun could see the O’s making a minor trade for a veteran second baseman if they acquire Ronny Cedeno but not Eric Patterson in a Brian Roberts deal with the Cubs.
- Brandon Inge is trying his best to talk his way out of town. The Dodgers’ recently reported nibble hasn’t been publicly shot down, so that’s a plus.
- South Side Sox thinks speedy infielder Eugenio Velez is the type of player the White Sox could desire for Joe Crede.
- Jonathan Papelbon wants $900K in his last year before arbitration eligibility. Ryan Howard set a scary precedent last year. If Papelbon doesn’t get offered something close, he’d rather make a statement and be renewed near the minimum.
- Buster Olney suggests Dan Johnson and Doug Mientkiewicz could be possibilities for the Mets in their quest for a backup first baseman. Olney speculated on Nick Johnson, Scott Hatteberg, Richie Sexson, Tony Clark, and Kevin Millar the day before.