Yankees Eyeing A.J. Burnett?
Back on July 10th, ESPN’s Jayson Stark said it was "dubious that Toronto would even talk to [the Yankees] about A.J. Burnett." Presumably this is because the Yankees and Jays are division rivals. It should be noted, though, that J.P. Ricciardi and Brian Cashman matched up on a July ’02 trade that sent Raul Mondesi to New York for prospect Scott Wiggins.
Yesterday, CBSSports.com’s Danny Knobler wrote:
Blue Jays general manager J.P. Ricciardi told Toronto reporters that he now doesn’t expect to trade A.J. Burnett. But Burnett’s Friday night start at Tampa Bay attracted more than a dozen scouts, including two from the Yankees. Several of the scouts in attendance didn’t stay for the rest of the weekend series, a clear indication that they were in town strictly to watch Burnett.
So while we have nothing concrete, there are signs that the Yankees are looking at Burnett. The Cubs reportedly had a guy watching him, too. He and Justin Duchscherer are the two best remaining starters who could conceivably be pried loose via trade.
Cubs Rumors: Fuentes, Greene
Cubs beat writer Bruce Miles of the Daily Herald has a new blog post up.
- Miles’ Cubs sources "emphatically" denied interest in Padres shortstop Khalil Greene. And as we noted Monday, the San Diego Union-Tribune killed that rumor several hours after they posted it.
- Jim Hendry is in the market for a reliever, and Miles expects him to be one of many GMs inquiring on Colorado’s Brian Fuentes. Roughly a dozen teams are eyeing the lefty, so the Rox should get something good.
- Miles mentions the possibility of the Cubs pursuing an extra bat, presumably of the bench variety.
Odds and Ends: Sexson, K-Rod, Halladay
Random links for the day…
- We’ll have our weekly live chat here today at 2pm CST.
- R.J. Anderson of DRays Bay writes the Rays Comprehensive Trade Post.
- Brian Cashman confirmed interest in Richie Sexson.
- Danny Knobler quotes Francisco Rodriguez as saying that the Angels offered him three years, $34MM in November.
- Josh Hamilton called all his friends to tell them he was a Cub, then had to call them all back.
- People in Pedro Alvarez‘s neighorhood expect him to sign.
- Blue Jays ace Roy Halladay wants to see the team make some progress.
- Viva El Birdos would like to see the Cardinals acquire Jarrod Washburn.
- Ichiro’s profane, annual AL All-Star team pep talk.
Cubs Inquired On Khalil Greene?
10:01pm: The below-referenced article has been pulled from the Union-Tribune website, so I assume it turned out to be untrue.
3:26pm: According to Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union Tribune, the Cubs recently inquired on Padres shortstop Khalil Greene. The Padres prefer not to sell low on Greene, however.
The Cubs have been linked to Greene in the past, and the Padres were asking about Felix Pie about a year ago. Perhaps Pie has lost the untouchable label with his .264/.315/.442 performance at Triple A. He’s hitting better lately, though.
Greene is on the first year of a two-year, $11MM deal. He’s said he wants to stay in San Diego, though Kevin Towers once suggested he might prefer to be on the East Coast near his family. Greene’s had a rough year with a .216/.264/.329 line in 375 plate appearances.
Week in Review
Here’s a look back at the biggest stories MLBTR covered for the week of July 6 – 13:
- The Brewers completed a deal for C.C. Sabathia, sending Matt LaPorta and other prospects to Cleveland in return. Sabathia’s looked great so far, and LaPorta’s already making an impact in the Indians minor league system. Looks good for both teams right now if you ask this guy.
- The Cubs answered their division rival quickly, landing Oakland ace Rich Harden along with Chad Gaudin in exchange for Matt Murton, Sean Gallagher, Eric Patterson, and Josh Donaldson. Harden was brilliant in his debut. I think this could be another win-win trade, if Harden stays healthy.
- It was once again made clear that no one has interest in Barry Bonds, even at this juncture of the season. Seems like we’ve heard this once or twice before…
- It was a long time coming: The Mariners released Richie Sexson. Could the Yankees be interested?
- With likely season-ending injuries to both Eric Byrnes and Moises Alou (possibly career-ending in Alou’s case), both the D’Backs and Mets are in the market for corner outfielders. Raul Ibanez should be appealing to both clubs, though the Mariners may not be interested in trading him, Jim Riggleman says. Carlos Beltran voiced his support of acquiring Ibanez. I personally don’t see why Seattle wouldn’t pull the trigger, but I’m not a Major League GM, I suppose.
- Tim updated both the first base and catcher markets in the Trade Market Series.
- The Twins had internal discussions on Adrian Beltre. A third base upgrade would certainly be nice, but they’re not known for making big moves at the deadline. Could Bill Smith change that reputation in his first year as GM?
More On Harden, Sabathia Trades
I’ve got some odds and ends related to the Rich Harden and CC Sabathia trades.
- The Cub Reporter had an interesting post yesterday, stating that Harden can demand a trade after this season under the old CBA. The Cubs could always sidestep that by declining Harden’s $7MM option and going through the arbitration process with him. I ran this by a source close to the situation, and he said the Cubs are not worried about Harden demanding a trade.
- Bruce Miles talks about the "great personal and working relationship" between GMs Jim Hendry and Billy Beane.
- Susan Slusser says Beane never inquired on the Cubs’ top draft pick from 2007, third baseman Josh Vitters. She says the A’s did not consider it appropriate to ask for a player they had no chance of getting.
- Slusser adds that "there is thought among other clubs that the A’s might deal Matt Murton or Eric Patterson."
- Authors at the Hardball Times did a roundtable about both trades.
- Squawking Baseball praises Beane’s boldness.
- The Royals spoke internally about Sabathia, but it never got to the point of a discussion with the Indians.
Rich Harden Links
It’s only July 9th, and we’ve already seen two huge names moved. Today let’s round up the Rich Harden links.
- Susan Slusser says the A’s weren’t discussing Harden with any other teams. Jim Hendry was persistent for weeks, while Billy Beane has had his eye on Sean Gallagher for years (however, Buster Olney says this deal was pulled together within the last two days). Chad Gaudin was included in the deal as insurance for Harden. Slusser wonders whether Joe Blanton could be next to go.
- Rob Neyer is reminded of the Mark Mulder trade, and thinks the A’s might even be better this year from this deal. Similarly, Dave Cameron thinks the deal favors the A’s.
- Keith Law notes that no available pitcher had better stuff than Harden and that Gaudin is "an outstanding second player." He thinks the move to Oakland will help Gallagher and that Harden was at risk of breaking down at any time. He seems to consider it a fairly even swap.
- Joel Sherman sees a Kerry Wood/Mark Prior parallel here.
- The Phillies didn’t get involved due to Harden’s injury history.
Cubs, A’s Sign First Round Picks
According to Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune, the Cubs signed their first round pick Andrew Cashner today for $1.53MM. Cashner was the first reliever off the board at #19.
Additionally, the A’s inked first rounder Jemile Weeks, a college second baseman. He gets a $1.91MM bonus.
This site has done a nice job compiling a list of which draft picks have signed and for how much. By my count, 13 of the 30 first rounders have signed.
CC Sabathia Links
The CC Sabathia trade is complete, but there’s still some good info floating about.
- Michael Silverman says the Brewers wanted players such as Michael Bowden, Lars Anderson, Jed Lowrie, and Josh Reddick from the Red Sox in various Sabathia scenarios.
- The Dodgers apparently talked about dealing Matt Kemp and one of Jonathan Meloan/James McDonald for Sabathia, Casey Blake, and Jamey Carroll.
- Baseball Prospectus’ Joe Sheehan analyzes the trade.
- Turns out Sabathia prefers CC over C.C.
- The agent for Brewers prospects Michael Brantley and Taylor Green believes both are in play as the player to be named later in the Sabathia deal.
- MetsBlog reports that Mark Shapiro approached Omar Minaya, suggesting the Mets had the necessary players to make a trade for Sabathia. Matthew Cerrone believes the Mets would’ve had to give up Fernando Martinez and two pitching prospects.
- The Phillies were the Indians’ backup plan in case the Milwaukee deal fell through. The Phillies weren’t a great fit because the Indians preferred a young power hitter to a young pitcher.
- The Yankees had interest, but the price was too high for Brian Cashman. That price may have included Phil Hughes. The Yanks reportedly required a signing window in any Sabathia deal, also.
- Cubs GM Jim Hendry says nothing’s changed for his team.
- Brewers fans are ecstatic to have Sabathia.
Jim Hendry – GM Trade History
MLBTR contributor Brendan Bianowicz tackled Cubs GM Jim Hendry for his latest GM Trade History spreadsheet. Previous GMs: