Cubs Rumors

Odds And Ends: Yankees, Cubs, Red Sox

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | June 18, 2009 at 1:18pm CDT

Odds & Ends: Cubs, Brewers, Twins

By Eddie Schmid | June 17, 2009 at 8:25pm CDT

Some notes from around the horn as another top potential trade piece, Erik Bedard, hits the DL:

Dave Cameron at Fangraphs gives a neat Pitch/FX examination of Mark DiFelice's stellar year.
ESPN relays an AP report on the Cubs sale, with a rep from the Ricketts family calling stories that the conversations were stalling "untrue."
Ken Davidoff at Newsday believes the market for starting pitching is thinning, as he sees Jarrod Washburn as the top option available.
The Twins signed a couple draft picks today, including second-round pick P Billy Bullock, says Tyler Mason at MLB.com.
The Indians also inked five more of their draftees today, says Dennis Manoloff at the Cleveland Plain-Dealer.
A Pirates 26th-round high school draftee, one Matt Dermody, struck out every batter he faced in a six-inning perfect game. His teammate threw a no-hitter immediately after in the double-header.

Pedro In Talks With Cubs, Rays?

By Eddie Schmid | June 17, 2009 at 6:13pm CDT

The Associated Press talked to Pedro Martinez, who says he has had discussions with the Cubs and Rays.

"There's a good chance I'll be signing soon, but there still isn't anything firm," Martinez said.

This fits in with reports last week that Pedro had worked out with the teams, though Marc Topkin at the St. Petersburg Times talked with a Rays official who said it was "very unlikely" anything would come of it. Martinez also said he wants to pitch for a contender, because he needs the "emotion of competition."

Where will he land? Keep up with all the latest coverage of Pedro Martinez here.

Odds And Ends: Cubs, Matsui, Mets

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | June 16, 2009 at 12:17pm CDT

Odds & Ends: Donald, DeRosa, Tigers, Boras

By Mike Axisa | June 14, 2009 at 12:58pm CDT

Three years ago today the Diamondbacks cut ties with righthander Russ Ortiz. With $22MM remaining on the four year, $33MM deal he signed before the 2005 season, Ortiz became the highest paid player ever to be released by a Major League team.

On to the links…

Despite his knee injury, Jason Donald remains one of the Phillies' best trade chips according to Scott Lauber.
Derrick Goold writes that Mark DeRosa's trade value is rising with the team's recent hot streak.
The Detroit Free Press polled it's readers, and 32.7% want to see the Tigers trade for a bullpen arm to stay in contention.
Bill Shaikin writes about master negotiator Scott Boras and his affect on the draft.
Kurt Streeter reports that 36-year-old Jose Lima is still hoping to make it back to the big leagues. Lima Time is currently 1-1 with a 3.16 ERA for the independent Long Beach Armada, and last pitched in the big leagues for the Mets in 2006.
ESPN's Jorge Arangure tweets that the Padres are targetting Dominican outfielder Jose Alberta Pena.
Miami linebacker Glenn Cook was surprised when the Cubs drafted him in the 48th round because he hasn't played baseball in six years.

Odds And Ends: Draft, Francoeur, Crede

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | June 12, 2009 at 12:10pm CDT

Odds And Ends: Arnett, El Duque, Crow

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | June 12, 2009 at 9:49am CDT

Links for Friday morning…

Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that the Brewers are close to signing first rounder Eric Arnett.
Ready for next year's draft? MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo is, with ten players to watch in 2010, including Cameron Bedrosian, the son of Steve Bedrosian, who won the 1987 NL Cy Young Award.
Jamey Newberg walks his readers through the five step plan the Rangers used to set the team up to contend for years.
Tyler Kepner of the New York Times looks at the big picture and determines that a lot has changed since 2004. More specifically, the Red Sox have a "stranglehold" on the Yankees.
Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times says Milton Bradley is a "$30MM elephant in the room" because of his hitting struggles.
Dave Sheinin of the Washington Post believes Felix Hernandez can and will become even better.
Joel Sherman of the New York Post hopes Orlando Hernandez succeeds in Texas. What a great story that would be.
Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star reports that Aaron Crow's in line for a $3-4MM bonus before the August 17th signing deadline. The deadline doesn't apply to college seniors, but Crow didn't go back to college for his senior year, so he has to sign by the 17th, like most players.

Pedro Martinez Worked Out For Rays, Cubs

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | June 11, 2009 at 8:03pm CDT

8:03pm: Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe reports that "a source close to Pedro Martinez indicated" that the Cubs have watched him throw as well. According to Cafardo, the source indicated that "both teams have begun to at least explore how much money it would take" to add Martinez to their rosters.

Carfardo adds that Martinez was throwing his fastball at around 94 mph.

7:32pm: Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times confirms that a Rays staffer watched Pedro throw 20 fastballs, but writes, "Word is that it is 'very unlikely' anything will come of it." Topkin adds that Pedro's workout "may have been as much about getting his name out there as anything."

5:23pm: Multiple news outlets are reporting that the Rays watched Pedro Martinez work out. MLBTR does not normally link to material on Listin Diario (Spanish) or Herald de Paris, but both suggest the Rays watched the free agent righty work out.

Michael Weber, a producer for WTSP 10 in St. Petersburg reports through Twitter that the Rays confirmed they had someone "watch Pedro" (Hat Tip: Rays Index).

Marc Lancaster of the Tampa Tribune writes: "I've heard that one of the Rays' officials in the Dominican who has known Pedro for a while just watched him work out, but it doesn't sound like the team expects anything to come of it."

Check out Rays Index for the full chronology and analysis. My question: could Martinez perhaps contribute out of the bullpen?

Draft Roundup: Late Picks, Strasburg, Purke

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | June 11, 2009 at 3:28pm CDT

Time to pass along some more links, including some noteworthy selections late in the draft…

The Philadelphia Daily News notes that the Phillies drafted Robert Amaro, the nephew of GM Ruben Amaro Jr.
Tom Groeschen of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports that the Cubs drafted high schooler Joey Jocketty, the son of Reds GM Walt Jocketty.
There's another Porcello in the Tigers organization. MLB.com's Jason Beck reports that the Tigers drafted Jake Porcello, Rick's brother.
MLB.com's Rhett Bollinger writes that the Angels drafted Asaad Ali, the son of Muhammad Ali, in the 40th round.
ESPN.com's Rob Neyer responds to MLBTR's discussion, and says the Nationals have to determine how much it would cost to sign Stephen Strasburg before they know how to proceed. He adds that it's impossible to know how much goodwill the Nats would lose with their fans if they don't sign him
Randy Galloway of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram argues the Rangers "absolutely have to sign" first round pick Matt Purke. The only question, is: who pays?

Odds & Ends: Zambrano, McLouth, Indians

By Eddie Schmid | June 6, 2009 at 9:58pm CDT

On this day in MLBTR history: In '08 the Dodgers picked up former ROY Angel Berroa from the Royals, while the Rangers, in a valuable lesson of history repeating itself, DFA'd Sidney Ponson.

A hearty helping of links, cooked up and served (semi-) fresh:

Paul Sullivan at the Chicago Tribune got Lou Piniella's take on Carlos Zambrano's prophecy of retirement at the end of his current contract: "I like it. We'll see how he feels next week."
In an open letter to fans, Pirates GM Neal Huntington outlines his reasons for dealing Nate McLouth. This comes on the heels of some hefty criticism from fans, as reported by Laura Keeley at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Paul Hoynes at the Cleveland Plain-Dealer notes that Indians GM Mark Shapiro has been working the phones lately as the team's injuries mount.

« Previous Page

Load More Posts

Show all

Headlines

Cubs Rumors

Navigation

MLBTR INFO

Connect