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Rosenthal’s Latest: Roberts, Jones

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Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com has his latest video "Rosenthal’s Full Count" up and running.

  • First, Rosenthal calls Andruw Jones the "early candidate for worst free agent signing" noting that Jones is now batting 7th. Rosenthal goes so far as to say that the Dodgers’ best outfield right now includes Juan Pierre and does not include Jones…The Dodgers are truly lucky to have Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp on the cheap right now ($840K combined), because Jones ($14.1M) and Pierre ($8M) are a lot of dead contract weight for one outfield.
  • And we can thank Rosenthal for keeping Brian Roberts in our lives…Rosenthal notes that as the O’s start coming back to earth after their hot start, they can start thinking once again about their July fire sale. The big name is obviously Roberts and Rosenthal says that the Cubs still want the second baseman. He says the Rockies are also likely to be interested. However, the Indians, who tried to put a package together for Roberts this past off-season, will not be one of the bidders as it would require position shuffling, something not likely to occur in-season…Then again, Peter Angelos may just keep dangling Roberts into next off-season. Once Roberts is traded, Angelos may be worried that there won’t be much reason to talk about the O’s. You guys would miss all the Roberts rumors, wouldn’t you?

Cork Gaines writes for Rays Index and can be reached here.

Odds and Ends: Deeds, Tejada

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Some random tidbits for you; I may add to this post if I find a few more.

  • RotoAuthority analyzes the hottest fantasy baseball pickups from this week.
  • The Twins completed the Craig Monroe deal by sending 25 year-old outfielder Doug Deeds to the Cubs.  He looks like a long shot to make the Majors.  Monroe hasn’t looked like much of a big leaguer lately, either.
  • Richard Justice notes that the Cardinals targeted Miguel Tejada this winter but couldn’t get it done.  As if they needed any more steroid stigma.  It’s interesting to see the Tejada deal looking so good for Baltimore, without Troy Patton factoring in at all.
  • I did a fantasy baseball mailbag over at The Hardball Times.

Stark’s Latest: Roberts, Crisp, Loretta

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ESPN’s Jayson Stark has a new Rumblings and Grumblings column up.  Let’s examine some of the hot stove material.

  • There’s nothing cooking with the Cubs and Brian Roberts.  The O’s still intend to trade Roberts this year, along with pretty much all of their other veterans.  Their hot start is unlikely to halt the farm sale.
  • The Red Sox don’t want to eat any of the $11MM owed to Coco Crisp over the next two years, and for now there are no trades in the works.  Roberts, Crisp, and Joe Crede were three trades we all expected to go down.
  • Once Kaz Matsui and Ty Wigginton are fully healthy, the Astros will look to trade Mark Loretta.  He makes $2.75MM this year, a bit much for a utility guy.  Stark says the Dodgers and Giants don’t appear interested at present, so there’s no obvious suitor.  The Orioles could re-engage if they trade Roberts and don’t get a second baseman back.

Phils Designate Lahey For Assignment

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Earlier today, the Phillies activated closer Brad Lidge from the 15-day DL and, to make room for him on the roster, designated young right-handed reliever Tim Lahey for assignment as foreseen. He’ll now be looking for his fifth job in as many months.

The wandering Lahey has already been part of the Cubs, the Rays, and the Twins. He’s still relatively new to pitching, having been converted by the Twins from catching. He posted a 3.45 ERA in 78 and a third innings at AA New Britain last year, and gave up three runs in three innings at AAA Rochester. Clearly, a bit more seasoning is required for the Princeton alum, but there are plenty of teams with shaky bullpens, and Lahey’s fastball sits in the low-to-mid 90s. "The delivery adds some deception," according to Baseball America, while the Cubs also praised his sinker, buddind slider, and ability to induce grounders. He’s 6’6" and 250 lbs. Due to Rule 5 draft rules, first dibs will go to Minnesota after Lahey clears waivers.

Which organization could use him the most? We all know Detroit’s bullpen is a glaring weakness, but it’s not clear that Lahey could be polished enough to help them this year. However, their farm system is pretty depleted right now, so it’s not too far-fetched.  The Indians, Braves, White Sox, and Brewers have also had bullpen meltdowns during this young season, and perhaps one of them would like to have some insurance at the Triple A level.

Sarah Green writes for the Boston Metro and UmpBump.com and can be reached here.

Cubs, Sox Still Like Crisp

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Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe writes that the Cubs and White Sox "have shown the most consistent interest" in center fielder Coco Crisp.  Nothing appears imminent, as the teams haven’t found any kind of match on players.  Cafardo says the Cubs have found the asking price prohibitive.  A week ago, Peter Gammons suggested Sean Gallagher and/or Matt Murton could be in the mix.

The Cubs are currently using Felix Pie and Reed Johnson in center; the White Sox used Alexei Ramirez on Opening Day.  As the season progresses we could see the Sox try Nick Swisher, Brian Anderson, and Jerry Owens.

Crisp himself named the Cubs, White Sox, A’s, and Padres as clubs he’s heard rumored for his services.

Rosenthal’s Latest: DeWitt, Murton, Vargas, Hatteberg, Pena, Baek, Piazza

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Ken Rosenthal has his latest column up at FoxSports.com. As usual he is not shy about stirring up rumors. Let’s take a look at what the rumor-guru has to say:

  • Rosenthal notes that the Dodgers will go with Blake DeWitt at third base who has never played a game above AA. This comes after the Dodgers failed to acquire either the Astros’ Mark Loretta, who was unavailable and the Royals’ Esteban German, who was too expensive. The Royals were asking for the Dodgers’ third best prospect, shortstop Chin-Lung Hu.
  • He indicates that the Padres and the Rays are pursuing Matt Murton but the Cubs are holding out for a top pitching prospect in return, knowing Murton will be a starter on another club. Rosenthal quotes one GM as saying that the price "is way too high as of now". As many as five teams have shown interest in Murton.
  • The Mets are among a dozen teams that have inquired about Brewers pitcher Claudio Vargas, who will not be in the rotation to begin the season. [Update: Sorry about this one. I had forgotten that the Brewers released Vargas earlier this week]
  • The Reds have put Ryan Freel on the market, but more teams appear to be interested in Scott Hatteberg. However, Rosenthal indicates that it is unlikely for the Red to trade Hatteberg even if Joey Votto is named the starter.
  • The Tigers, Reds and Orioles all tried to acquire backup catcher Brayan Pena from the Braves, but the Braves do not appear interested in letting him go
  • Rosenthal says that Pat Gillick’s history in Seattle may have played a part in the Phillies inability to land M’s reliever Cha Seung Baek, who is out of options but made the roster as a reliever.
  • Finally, Rosenthal notes that Mike Piazza is still working out with hopes of landing a gig at some point in ’08. Rosenthal thinks that Piazza may have to come to the realization soon that his career may be over.

Cork Gaines writes for Rays Index and can be reached here.

Odds And Ends: Lahey, Gibbons, Freel

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A couple minor notes this morning…

  • The Phillies claimed reliever Tim Lahey off of waivers from the Cubs. Lahey was the top pick in the Rule 5 draft from the Twins’ system. The Cubs had to expose Lahey to waivers prior to offering him back to the Twinkies. Rule 5 rules still apply with the Phillies, so Lahey must remain on their 25-man roster all season or be offered back to Minnesota.
  • John Fay notes that after the Reds latest round of cuts the roster sits at 26 which could open the door for a trade. He doesn’t offer any potential names, but Ryan Freel still seems like the most logical choice.  By the way, LEN3 notes that the Reds called the Twins about Freel and the Twins weren’t interested.
  • Peter Schmuck thinks that the Orioles might be reluctant to cut Jay Gibbons while Major League Baseball continues to renegotiate the league’s drug policy. Gibbons is facing a 15-day suspension for use of PEDs but many believe the suspension will be lifted under the new agreement which ironically is supposed to stiffen penalties. Schmuck feels that if Angelos decides to keep Gibbons, it could undermine Andy MacPhail’s efforts to rebuild the Orioles.

Cork Gaines writes for Rays Index and can be reached here.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Matt Murton

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Yesterday, Tim asked the question, "Who Wants Matt Murton?" As we await the answer to that question, only one thing is clear, the Cubs don’t. Surprising for a player that is only 26 and PECOTA projects to have an .821 OPS, 19.8 VORP and 2.4 WARP in 2008 assuming he can find a team that will give him big league at bats. With only two years of service time, Murton is still a year from arbitration and four years from free agency, so he should be able to command a solid relief pitcher in return. Let’s take a look at what is being said about Murton in the Blogophere.

  • Hire Jim Essian wonders how Murton ended up in this position and finds it hard to believe that Jim Hendry hasn’t been able to swing a deal yet if they knew that Murton was not part of the equation.
  • Cobra Brigade sees the way the Cubs have handled Murton as just another example of how the Cubs don’t know how to handle pretty much anything. They believe that Murton could be a solid contributor with an AL club as an everyday left fielder.
  • Snobs vs Slobs is not really sure why the Cubs essentially dropped Murton for Reed Johnson, noting that Johnson is an average defensive outfielder and not nearly the bat of Murton.
  • Mets Fever feels that Aaron Heilman is too big a price for Murton.
  • Talking Chop believes that Murton could be a nice addition to the Braves, filling the need for an experienced bat with pop off the bench.
  • DRays Bay acknowledges that the Rays would prefer a switch-hitting center fielder, but doesn’t think they could find one that hits as well as Murton.

Cork Gaines writes for Rays Index and can be reached here.

Who Wants Matt Murton?

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26 year-old Cubs outfielder Matt Murton is very much available now that they’ve signed Reed Johnson.  PECOTA gives Murton a .295/.359/.462 projection for ’08; ZiPS says .289/.360/.465.  Here are the league averages from 2007:

AL left fielder: .275/.335/.426
NL left fielder: .278/.358/.478

AL right fielder: .288/.359/.465
NL right fielder: .275/.344/.442

These numbers are presented in the form of batting average/on-base percentage/slugging percentage.  You can see that Murton is comfortably in the league average offensive range for a corner outfielder.  He’ll be arbitration-eligible for the first time after this season.  Let’s look at some trade possibilities.  (As for what the Cubs would want in return – I’ll guess a lefty reliever or just a prospect or two).

  • Rays – DRays Bay suggests Murton could help in right field, not a bad idea.
  • Padres – The Justin Huber acquisition makes this less likely.
  • Rangers – They rejected a Murton for Marlon Byrd proposal, and now the Cubs don’t need Byrd.
  • Orioles – He was connected to them until they acquired Luke Scott and Adam Jones to fill out their outfield.
  • Red Sox – The Cubs no longer have a need for Coco Crisp, even if the Sox had mild interest in re-acquiring The Big Murt.  Murton wouldn’t start in Boston anyway.  Still, Buster Olney says there’s still some chatter that the Red Sox will go after him.
  • Athletics – Some folks think Billy Beane will pluck Murton simply because he’s underrated.  The A’s don’t seem to have any kind of opening for him.
  • Braves – Murton doesn’t project as much of an upgrade over Matt Diaz.
  • Mets – Could make sense for a team thinking about running Fernando Tatis out in left.  Longer-term, Murton could be an oft-used fourth outfielder, spelling Moises Alou and Ryan Church.
  • Giants – Would be a nice low-pressure place to see what Murton can do, but they’re already loaded with outfielders.
  • What are your thoughts on a good fit for Murton?

Roberts-Cubs Deal Off The Table

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I think we can finally put this one to rest, at least for a few months.  Andy MacPhail told reporters that "a Brian Roberts deal with the Cubs is off the table," according to Paul Sullivan.  You can argue the semantics – dead, impasse, off the table – but it doesn’t look like anything’s happening anytime soon.  Sullivan doesn’t see it reviving before July.

Since the Orioles couldn’t match up with the Cubs, it might make sense for MacPhail to start engaging other teams about Roberts.

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