Coco Still Possibility For Cubs, White Sox
Two suitors for the affable Coco Crisp, both in the Windy City.
According to Chris De Luca at the Chicago Sun Times,
"The Cubs and Red Sox have had talks centering on Crisp in recent weeks, though the subject was broached by Boston, sources say, and evidently the Red Sox were not interested when the Cubs dangled outfielder Matt Murton. Talks could resume during spring training, however, depending on the Red Sox’ need for starting pitching — an area where the Cubs are expected to have some surplus with Ryan Dempster or Jason Marquis getting nudged out of the rotation."
And also from the same source,
"They, too, could find themselves in the market later in camp if Jerry Owens doesn’t pan out in center. Manager Ozzie Guillen has long admired Crisp, but the White Sox don’t figure to have a surplus of starting pitching by the end of spring training."
On a related side note, I caught the BoSox/Twins preseason game on Friday night and got a chance to watch Twins CF incumbent Carlos Gomez unload a scud missile from centerfield to get Dustin Pedroia at homeplate. With Gomez in house, I can see why rumors of the Twins as an option for Coco have cooled. Thoughts?
Piniella Wants Hendry Back In ’09
This is a couple of days old, but Lou Piniella wants the Cubs to give GM Jim Hendry a contract extension.
"He’s on the last year of his contract," Piniella said. "He has done a heck of a job here. I’ve seen where other GMs have been extended. Why not ours?"
The renewal of Hendry’s contract is complicated by the pending sale of the Cubs. Piniella is worried that the sale could be dragged out, leaving the team without a general manager next off-season. On the other hand, any prospective buyer of the Cubbies may prefer to hire their own GM. If a deal is not reached on a new owner soon, this could potentially affect how the Cubs handle trades during the season and how they deal with free agents, player contracts and potential trades next winter.
Tim profiled Jim Hendry last May.
Hairston Key To Pads’ OF Dealings
The Padres still may need more outfield help. Centerfielder Jim Edmonds and rightfielder Brian Giles both are well into the brittle phases of their careers.
Sean Devaney of the Sporting News has Kevin Towers casting his left field lot with Scott Hairston – for the time being. Look for more chatter about Jason Bay, Matt Murton and any other available outfielder if Hairston fails to lock the job down within three weeks. It’s unclear whether Gabe Gross (who is out of options) is currently of interest. Kenny Lofton could be a free agent possibility.
Would Towers be willing to part with relievers Wilfredo Ledezma (LH) or Clay Hensley (RH) alone or part of a package to fill an outfield hole?
Hairston put in a nice month’s-worth of games with the Pads last year, slugging .644. That spurt was uncharacteristic of the 27-year-old’s major league career, though.
Angelos Gives MacPhail Permission To Move Roberts
This morning it was reported that the Cubs had two scouts at the Orioles’ spring game yesterday to watch Brian Roberts.
Now, several people have written in to let us now that Bruce Levine of ESPN 1000 is reporting that Peter Angelos has given Andy MacPhail the green light to trade Roberts. It has long been rumored that Angelos might have been holding up the trade to the Cubs because of his personal affection for Roberts. With Angelos’ blessing, this deal may finally happen in the next few days.
Of course, if this deal doesn’t get done soon, Tim is going to have to change the name of this site to BrianRobertsTradeRumors.com.
By Cork Gaines
Brian Roberts Auditions For Cubs’ Scouts
Brain Roberts angered pitcher Mark Hendrickson yesterday by stealing a couple of bases. The Florida Marlins starter in Friday’s spring game apparently thinks baserunners should lay low during the exhibition season.
The Cubs, though, had two scouts in the stands. The New York Times positioned the larceny as Roberts strutting (or shall we say galloping) his stuff for his potential future employers.
Brian Roberts Rumors
Jeff Zrebiec and Roch Kubatko of the Baltimore Sun are on top of the Brian Roberts rumors. Let’s discuss.
The Cubs had two scouts watching Roberts play yesterday, so this thing is still alive and kicking. The Sun gets the impression that the Mark DeRosa heart surgery does add some urgency for the Cubs. Perhaps this means they’ll concede a little bit extra on their offer.
The authors reiterate Ronny Cedeno and Sean Gallagher as part of the deal. They say the O’s might want Jose Ceda or Donald Veal as the third player, and could ask for a fourth as well. It’s been said that the Cubs are unwilling to part with Ceda. We’re probably a few weeks from completion but a deal seems plenty possible.
Gammons’ Latest: Bonds, Murton
ESPN’s Peter Gammons has a new blog post with some hot stove info.
- Gammons has a quote from Andrew Friedman that should be the final word on Barry Bonds to Tampa Bay: If I didn’t entertain ideas, be it a signing of a great hitter like Bonds or a trade, I should be fired. But that is past. Let’s take Friedman at his word and rule Bonds out for the Rays.
- Gammons notes that the Cubs have discussed Matt Murton with the Rangers and Red Sox, but he alone wouldn’t get them Marlon Byrd or Coco Crisp. Murton was drafted 32nd overall by Boston in ’03, and then traded to the Cubs a year later in the Nomar Garciaparra deal. Murton would remain pretty well blocked in Boston though.
Brian Roberts Rumors
Nothing groundbreaking on the Brian Roberts front, but here’s the latest from Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun. Zrebiec says the O’s won’t send their scout to watch the Cubs until next week. It’s still looking like Ronny Cedeno, Sean Gallagher, and one or two others. Zrebiec adds:
Both sides remain optimistic that a deal could get done.
This is obviously dragging, but the Orioles have no incentive to rush.
Blocked Prospects: Eric Patterson
Time for a new series here at MLBTR called Blocked Prospects. We’ll name some position players with Double A or better experience who seem to be buried on their current team’s depth chart.
One such player is Cubs second baseman/center fielder Eric Patterson, who turns 25 in April. Patterson hit .297/.362/.455 in Triple A last year. Baseball America applauds his speed and surprising power, but isn’t keen on his defense. Patterson is able to draw a walk, something his brother Corey never figured out. Patterson is behind Mark DeRosa, Mike Fontenot, Ronny Cedeno, Sam Fuld, and Felix Pie in the eyes of the Cubs; repeated tardiness last year didn’t help.
With a .268/.332/.422 projection from Baseball Prospectus, Patterson’s bat would be league average at second base or center field. He could make sense as Brian Roberts‘ replacement in Baltimore. He could be useful in Minnesota, where center field and second base are unsettled. Patterson could provide competition for Jose Lopez in Seattle. The Giants need any kind of position-playing talent, though their outfield is more than full. San Diego is somewhat feasible, especially since Kevin Towers and Jim Hendry often match up for deals. What kind of future do you see for Eric Patterson?
Odds and Ends: Spiezio, Pavano, Gross, Jackson
Links, rumors…
- Scott Spiezio is in trouble with the law, and the Cardinals decided to release him for it. Joe Ostermeier notes that the Cards now have about $20MM in dead money on the payroll for ’08.
- Evan Grant believes the Rangers would want Jose Ceda or Donald Veal in a deal for Marlon Byrd.
- Call it informed speculation, but Mike Berardino wonders whether Carl Pavano could end up back with the Marlins eventually.
- Ken Rosenthal recently wrote that the Padres were eyeing Gabe Gross. Tom Haudricourt found out that Kevin Towers never inquired on the Brewers outfielder, but that doesn’t mean the Friars weren’t eyeing him.
- Ken Davidoff makes a case for why the Astros should sign Roger Clemens.
- Sadly, the Rockies pulled the plug on a deal with Neifi Perez at the last minute.
- We hear "best shape of his life" often in Spring Training, but not with the newly signed Bartolo Colon. The Red Sox have some history pursuing Colon, as noted by Rob Bradford.
- Conor Jackson switched agents.