Padres Working On Trade For A Starter
The Padres have already signed Greg Maddux and Randy Wolf this winter, but GM Kevin Towers isn’t done. He’s expecting to finish a trade before the Padres leave Nashville. Tom Krasovic thinks it might be Mark Prior or Josh Towers.
Both are said to be non-tender candidates, but surely the Cubs and Jays can work out deals rather than lose the pitchers for nothing. Prior is the high risk high reward guy, Towers is the opposite.
Rangers Rumors: Bay, Gagne, Fukudome
T.R. Sullivan has the Rangers goods for us this evening. Wow, did MLB.com send 30+ reporters out to Nashville?
- The Rangers are still pursuing Eric Gagne to return as their closer (and then maybe they’d flip him again). The interest is mutual.
- The team is also considering LaTroy Hawkins, Shawn Chacon, Luis Vizcaino, Trever Miller, and Octavio Dotel. Basically, most of the relief market. Problem is, the Rangers don’t want to give more than one year to any of these guys.
- The Rangers are moving toward filling center field internally after exploring options. Carlos Gomez, Felix Pie, and Carlos Gonzalez proved unavailable or too pricey (though if all the Mets wanted for Gomez was Gerald Laird, Daniels should’ve pounced).
- Daniels has shifted gears to a corner outfielder. Kosuke Fukudome remains on the radar.
- The Rangers had a preliminary conversation with the Bucs about Jason Bay.
- The team isn’t focused on getting pitching for once, but Daniels is still perusing medical reports on Bartolo Colon, Freddy Garcia, and Jason Jennings.
- Daniels said he’s not shopping Hank Blalock.
Nationals Shopping Lopez, Kearns
According to Bill Ladson of MLB.com, the Nationals are shopping shortstop Felipe Lopez and outfielder Austin Kearns. Two targets: Mike Pelfrey of the Mets and Kevin Slowey of the Twins.
It wouldn’t be surprising to see Omar Minaya flip Pelfrey for someone with more immediate value. While the Mets could use Kearns in right field, he’s not the type of return one envisions for Pelfrey. Maybe for a Phil Humber though. Kearns will earn $5MM in ’08, and $8MM in ’09 plus a $10MM club option for ’10 with a $1MM buyout. The 27 year-old hit .266/.355/.411 this year.
The match for Slowey seems better – Lopez could play short for the Twins and Kearns might be able to handle center. However, trading Slowey and Matt Garza in the same offseason seems unlikely, and even less likely if Johan Santana is moved. If Lopez’s defense is truly improved, maybe the Rays would have interest.
Another guy who could work for the Rays is Cristian Guzman. Ladson says the Cubs were rumored in on Guzman but that one was shot down.
Crasnick’s Latest: Encarnacion, Hamilton, Jenkins
ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick has been working hard all day to get us some good rumors. Here’s the latest.
- The Reds want to acquire a starter, but they spent all their money on Francisco Cordero. The plan is to trade a young player for a cheap starter. Joey Votto and especially Jay Bruce would be near impossible to acquire. However the Reds will listen on Josh Hamilton and Edwin Encarnacion. They never seemed to like Encarnacion. Crasnick thinks the Cubs could work for Hamilton but they’d need to pony up more than Sean Marshall. Would Rich Hill be too much? It’s been said in the past that the Rangers inquired on Hamilton. The Giants, meanwhile, would love to pry Encarnacion loose – Noah Lowry anyone?
- The Phillies and Rays spoke to Geoff Jenkins‘ agent today, and the Padres and Rangers have their eye on him as well. A poor free agent market for corner outfielders may result in a two or even a three-year deal for Jenkins.
Cubs May Shop Murton, Like Ibanez
UPDATE, 12-3-07 at 5:53pm: Geoff Baker checks in with some more info about the Cubs’ interest in Ibanez. He is apparently their fallback option behind Fukudome. Baker notes the frightful possibility of using Ibanez in right field. One trade idea I hadn’t considered is swapping Ibanez for Mark Prior.
FROM 12-3-07 at 9:48am:
Jim Hendry may view 26 year-old outfielder Matt Murton as expendable, if only because he’s not the left-handed hitter the Cubs crave.
Murton has a respectable career line of .296/.365/.455 in 289 games. While it would be nice to see his power develop a bit, he’s a decent option in right field. Outside of Kosuke Fukudome, the Cubs might end up acquiring an outfielder who is no better than Murton, just because of handedness. Even though he’s been solid it doesn’t seem that the price tag on Murton would be terribly high.
Meanwhile, Gordon Wittenmyer notes that Brian Roberts and Raul Ibanez remain on the Cubs’ wish list. Murton would be useful for the O’s but it would take a lot more to get Roberts.
Levine’s Latest: Rowand, Prior, Hudson, Swisher
Bruce Levine of ESPN 1000 went on air a few hours ago with some interesting tidbits regarding the Chicago teams. This was before the Sox acquired Carlos Quentin so I’m not sure what kind of effect that has on this info.
- The White Sox are still very much in the mix for Aaron Rowand, but they really don’t want to give him five years. By the way Jerry Crasnick mentioned today that the Phillies may be willing to stretch to four years on Rowand or at least three years plus a vesting option.
- The Cubs are having all sorts of trade discussions involving Mark Prior. The Rangers and Padres are said to be two interested parties.
- Of course the Cubs still have Kosuke Fukudome in their sights. But they also have their eye on Oakland’s Nick Swisher and Arizona’s Orlando Hudson. Both are switch-hitters, by the way.
Rockies Eyeing Burke, Ohman, Capuano
Tracy Ringolsby of the Rocky Mountain News has a list of available players the Rockies like. He names Chris Burke, Mark Redman, Steve Trachsel, Will Ohman, and Chris Capuano as the targets.
Trachsel and Redman we know about; they are two among a slew of starters the Rockies are considering. Capuano is new to the list, however. They’ll have some competition from the Cardinals on him.
Burke is an option for second base and a player the Rox liked a year ago for the Jason Jennings deal. Now he’ll come ultra-cheap. Mark Loretta is considered a long shot.
The Rockies like Ohman, who the Cubs consider expendable. It’s strange, though, because the Rockies are currently shopping a better southpaw reliever in Brian Fuentes. Fuentes wants to close, so Dan O’Down will listen to offers. But it doesn’t make sense that a team would surrender a young, eighth-inning ready reliever for Fuentes.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Roberts, Barrett, Piazza
Ken Rosenthal is presumably in Nashville doing what he does best – collect trade rumors by the dozen. His latest column is an excellent example. What’s the over/under on Rosenthal scoops over the next four days? I’ll set it at 10.
- Rosenthal says the Mets are unwilling to extend the contract of GM Omar Minaya, who is signed through 2009. The lack of job security could compel Minaya to mortgage the future, and the Lastings Milledge trade was a good example. Carlos Gomez, watch out. Here’s MLBTR’s look at Omar Minaya’s Mets trade profile.
- The Astros, Giants, and Cardinals aren’t really in the running for Miguel Cabrera, so they don’t need to wait for that shoe to drop to go after Miguel Tejada. However it sounds like all three clubs don’t have the talent even for a Tejada trade. Jon Heyman mentioned today that the Orioles do have interest in Adam Everett and Michael Bourn of the Astros.
- Here’s a good one: Peter Angelos favorite Brian Roberts might be available. The Mets and Astros inquired but moved on, but Roberts might be just what the Cubs are looking for. The Baltimore Sun’s Jeff Zrebiec recently told us that he doesn’t expect Andy MacPhail to move Roberts unless he’s "totally overwhelmed."
- The Marlins, Rays, and Orioles have interest in Michael Barrett. In the case of Baltimore, the interest indicates the availability of Ramon Hernandez. If Barrett can find a multiyear deal from one of those teams, he may decline the Padres’ offer of arbitration. It’s a catch-22, though, because that would make Barrett much less signable in terms of draft pick compensation.
- If Barrett does decline, the Padres might bring Mike Piazza back.
- The Nationals keep asking for Rickie Weeks for Chad Cordero, and the Brewers keep saying no.
- The Braves are big fans of Coco Crisp, and could have a passing interest in Corey Patterson. But they certainly wouldn’t mind going with internal options in center next year.
- Aaron Rowand is definitely getting that five-year deal – a Mystery Team has already offered one. The Yanks could pursue him if they trade the Melk Man.
- Deja vu – the Yanks and Mets both like Octavio Dotel, again. It’s known that Octavio loves New York.
Carl Crawford Not Available
Not a huge surprise, since Carl Crawford‘s availability was questionable in the first place. But Dave van Dyck of the Chicago Tribune affirms that Crawford can’t be had now that the Rays have dealt Delmon Young.
The Cubs’ focus remains a left-handed hitting outfielder. Their top priority is Kosuke Fukudome, who is very likely to try his hand at MLB. Who else might the Cubs consider?
Reasonable options in my estimation include Raul Ibanez, Ryan Church, Milton Bradley, Randy Winn, Gary Matthews Jr., Luke Scott, Geoff Jenkins, David Dellucci, and Shawn Green.
Kosuke Fukudome Rumors
Kosuke Fukudome is expected to make an official announcement soon on whether he will come to the Major Leagues for the 2008 season. Per Fukudome’s agent, it’s highly unlikely he stays in Japan. He wants only a three-year contract, no more. So who’s after him?
- Cubs: They’re still after him, and Lou Piniella doesn’t see why the failure to sign his acquaintance Kaz Matsui would have any bearing on it. The Cubs have a vacancy in right field plus perhaps a need to spell Felix Pie in center. They also could use a nice dose of OBP. Fukudome is a perfect fit.
- White Sox: The Sox have openings in left and center and a strong need for OBP. Aaron Rowand and Torii Hunter are out of the picture, leaving Fukudome as a prime target. It’s been said that the Cubs are prepared for a crosstown bidding war.
- Padres: The Friars have already contacted Fukudome’s agent. Kevin Towers has publicly expressed his interest. Fukudome could play left or center for the Padres.
- Rangers: With a center field spot up for grabs, the Rangers have "serious interest."
- Giants: In late October, it was said that they were "seriously interested."
- Yankees, Red Sox: They’ve both scouted him, for what it’s worth. Little doubt he could play a better center field than Johnny Damon, but it’s hard to see where he could fit in with Boston since they’ve already got four starting outfielders.
- Mets: They have a right field vacancy, but I haven’t seen too many published reports indicating they’re after him (as of now, I can’t find any). Wouldn’t surprise me to see Omar jump in here though.
Did I miss anyone?