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Odds & Ends: Cubs, Phillies, White Sox, Tigers, Lilly

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Links for Saturday evening..

  • The Cubs signed second-round selection Reggie Golden for a bonus of $720K, according to Jim Callis of Baseball America.  Golden, the 65th overall pick in the draft, received a bonus $157K more than MLB's recommendation for his draft position.
  • Scouts from the Astros, Tigers, Rays, Red Sox, and Pirates were all in attendance at Phillies-Rockies today, tweets Jayson Stark of ESPN.
  • During FOX's telecast of Mets-Dodgers, Ken Rosenthal reported that the Phillies have scratched Double-A starter J.C. Ramirez from his Sunday start, though he is not injured.  The move, he says, could be an indication that a trade is in the works.
  • White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen thinks clubs are asking for too much in trade talks, writes Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times.
  • Tigers manager Jim Leyland wants to hang on to his young talent unless the club can get something special in return, writes Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press.
  • Despite some recent reports to the contrary, Cubs officials told Carrie Muskat of MLB.com that there is nothing imminent regarding Ted Lilly.
  • The Mets are "near-certain" to non-tender John Maine this winter, according to Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com.  The right-hander underwent season-ending surgery on his right shoulder yesterday.
  • It's unlikely that the M's move Jason Vargas, a Seattle official told Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter).

Rosenthal On Fielder, Padres, Rockies

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Let's see what Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports has for us in his latest installment of Full Count..

  • White Sox GM Ken Williams is said to be confident about landing either Prince Fielder or Adam Dunn.  Williams continues to talk to the Brewers about Fielder but there doesn't seem to be a match as they seek pitching in return.  Meanwhile, the Nats have told everyone that they'll need to be overwhelmed by an offer to move Dunn.  If the White Sox strike out on the two big-time left-handed sluggers, they're unlikely to reach for a player such as Russell Branyan or Brad Hawpe.  Instead, they'll look to go small and try to improve their bullpen and bench.
  • The Padres are now more focused on offense than pitching, but don't expect them to make a big splash.  The club expects pitchers such as Jake Westbrook to clear waivers rather easily in August.  Ultimately, they're likely to make two or three small acquisitions, bringing in guys that won't cost a lot but will help their squad contend.
  • The Rockies are looking for a right-handed hitting first baseman in Todd Helton's absence.  Jorge Cantu was a possibility but his price was high to begin with and now the Marlins appear to be back in contention.  Ty Wigginton also appears to be out of reach as the O's want a young shortstop in return.  Colorado made an inquiry on Jayson Werth but the Phillies are telling teams that they won't deal him unless they get a major league-ready starter.

Trade Possible, Nats May Try To Extend Dunn Soon

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Adam Dunn is looking for a long-term deal, and if he and the Nationals can’t agree on his value, the team will likely trade him, according to ESPN.com's Jayson Stark. Dunn would stay in Washington if he and the Nationals can agree to the parameters of a deal, even if they don’t formally announce an agreement. The Nats have the chance to keep Dunn in Washington, so they may try to extend him before the trade deadline, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney (via Twitter).

Dunn, 31 in November, has 23 homers and a .933 OPS, so he remains one of the game's elite power hitters. Many have suggested that Dunn's poor defense makes him an ideal candidate to DH, but that hasn't prevented NL teams like the Giants from showing interest. The Nats seem reluctant to deal their top players, including Dunn, but the White Sox are definitely interested.

The White Sox also covet Prince Fielder, but Dunn, Adam LaRoche and Lance Berkman (in that order) are the next players on their list, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (via Twitter).

Odds & Ends: Hamilton, Rangers, Moyer, Wilson

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As Alex Rodriguez takes a step closer to the 600-homer club, here are some news items…

Olney On Hart, Bautista, Soria

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The White Sox would love to trade for a big bat, but rival executives don’t see much depth in their system, according to ESPN.com’s Buster Olney. That may make it tough for GM Kenny Williams to create an enticing offer for Prince Fielder without including Gordon Beckham (that kind of offer just doesn’t seem likely). Here are the rest of Olney’s rumors:

  • Lots of teams are interested in Corey Hart.
  • Yesterday Olney reported that some executives thought Jose Bautista could earn an eight-figure salary through arbitration next year. We crunched the numbers and concluded that it would be a surprise to see him make much more than $6MM. Other officials contacted Olney to say that they would be “stunned” if the slugger made more than $5-6MM in 2011.
  • Rival executives say Joakim Soria’s contract is so team-friendly that it would be difficult for the Royals to trade him. The team has affordable options for 2012, 2013 and 2014.

White Sox And Tigers Have Inquired On Bautista

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The White Sox and Tigers have inquired on Jose Bautista, as have the Braves and the Giants, according to Yahoo's Jeff Passan (via Twitter). The White Sox are pursuing sluggers including Adam Dunn and Prince Fielder, so their interest comes as no surprise. The Tigers could be eyeing Bautista (who can play third base) partly because of Brandon Inge's fractured hand.

Buster Olney reported today that the Blue Jays are demanding elite young players for Bautista, who leads the major leagues with 26 home runs. The right fielder-third baseman has just less than $1MM remaining on his contract this year, though he'll get a substantial raise through arbitration in 2011, his last season before hitting free agency.

White Sox “Trying To Accelerate” Talks For Fielder

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The White Sox are "trying to accelerate" talks with the Brewers for Prince Fielder, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  Unsurprisingly, Rosenthal says the problem is that the Brewers view Daniel Hudson as only a No. 3 or 4 type.  Yesterday ESPN's Buster Olney wrote that the Brewers' "clear preference will be for young power pitching."  Olney tweets today that the Sox "probably can't make a deal unless they offer Gordon Beckham in the package."

Just yesterday, Rosenthal tweeted that the Sox were not on Fielder due to financial concerns and the difficulty matching up.  The market for Fielder appears to be picking up, as evidenced by Rosenthal's tweet today that the first baseman is generating more calls than Corey Hart.  MLBTR provided a full profile of the Fielder market yesterday.

White Sox Focused On Dunn, Not Fielder

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TUESDAY, 12:07pm: The Sox are focused on Dunn, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, and they're not in on Prince Fielder or Lance Berkman.

MONDAY, 11:15pm: White Sox GM Kenny Williams has been trying “desperately” to acquire Adam Dunn from the Nationals, according to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times. Cowley’s source says the White Sox don’t want to move Carlos Quentin or Gordon Beckham to acquire Dunn, but would move any minor leaguer, and would trade Dayan Viciedo or Daniel Hudson. But Williams still finds that Nats GM Mike Rizzo is asking a lot, according to Cowley’s source.



"The problem Kenny is finding out is that Rizzo is acting like Dunn is Ryan Howard,'' the source said.


Though the White Sox appear to have interest in Dunn, Williams said that he isn’t optimistic about completing deals this summer.


"If I'm being honest and completely transparent right now of the price that is being asked for some of the players that we've inquired about, for us, it's more detrimental to our present and our future than we'd like,” Williams said.

The White Sox could definitely use an upgrade at DH, but as Williams pointed out, the team could still add a player in August. The White Sox acquired Alex Rios from the Blue Jays in an August 2009 waiver claim.

The Prince Fielder Market

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Earlier this month we learned that the Brewers are listening to offers for first baseman Prince Fielder.  One school of thought is that Fielder's value is at its highest since, as one GM told ESPN's Buster Olney, "he can impact two pennant races."  Another is that Brewers GM Doug Melvin can get more teams involved in the offseason and drive up the price.  At any rate, let's summarize the current Fielder situation.

Contract

Fielder, a Scott Boras client, signed a two-year, $18MM extension in January of 2009.  $4.34MM remains on that contract through the end of the season, and then Fielder will be arbitration-eligible for 2011.  One exec I spoke to feels the slugger could earn around $15-16MM in '11 before reaching free agency and seeking $100MM+ on a multiyear deal.

Performance

Fielder's power is down overall this year, as he's hitting .265/.396/.509 and striking out more than ever.  However, he's slugging .618 since June 1st – more in line with his '09 performance.  And even though doubles and triples are down, Fielder leads the NL with 23 home runs.

Asking Price

In today's blog Olney writes that "the Brewers' clear preference will be for young power pitching."  The deal would have to be built around a household name – a hurler found on Baseball America's midseason top 50 prospects list or a flamethrower who was recently promoted.  I'm guessing the Brewers would want a top 100 prospect as well, and those two players would form the foundation of the deal.

Interested Teams

  • White Sox: GM Kenny Williams says "only a small group of players" can help him, and many baseball writers feel that Fielder is probably on Williams' list.  Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel notes that the Brewers scouted Daniel Hudson last night.  Is Hudson the type of player you can build a Fielder deal around?  It may be a moot point, as Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets that the Sox are "not on Fielder." 
  • Rays: They certainly have the goods, with pitchers such as Jeremy Hellickson and Wade Davis.  However, a source of Yahoo's Jeff Passan says the Rays "won't go near" Fielder, perhaps because of his likely 2011 salary.
  • Giants: With Madison Bumgarner or Jonathan Sanchez, Passan feels the Giants could swing a Fielder deal.  They've also got Zach Wheeler, who is further away but rates very highly.  On the other hand, ESPN's Buster Olney tweeted on July 3rd that there had been no recent trade talks between the teams.  That same day Olney opined that he didn't think the Giants could acquire Fielder without Matt Cain.
  • Angels: It's believed they prefer a rental at first base, since Kendry Morales will be ready for the '11 season.  For what it's worth, Torii Hunter would like to see the Angels acquire Fielder or Adam Dunn.
  • You could dream up various other scenarios, though we haven't seen anything about the Mets, Dodgers, or Rangers being interested in Fielder.  Things could open up in the winter, as a surprise team could splurge for a year of Fielder in the way that the Athletics acquired Matt Holliday.

Passan On Fielder, DeJesus, Oswalt

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The latest from Yahoo's Jeff Passan…

  • The Rays "won't go near" Prince Fielder due to a potential $16MM salary in 2011, says one Passan source.  So far any Rays-Fielder connection has been purely speculative, though the team has a history of chasing big names at the trade deadline.  To play devil's advocate to Passan, they could theoretically acquire Fielder now and trade him again in the offseason. 
  • Passan feels that the White Sox and Giants could match up on a Fielder trade, or the Brewers could wait until the offseason to trade their slugger.
  • The Royals' steep asking price for David DeJesus: "a major league-ready prospect, along with at least one midlevel prospect or a pair of lower-level players."  Another take on their asking price tweeted by Dan Hayes of the North County Times: an "ML-ready pitcher and a top prospect."
  • Passan wonders if the Yankees will pursue Roy Oswalt, as they're "about the only team that could fit the $23 million left in his contract for the next year and a half onto their budget."  Indeed, ESPN's Buster Olney tweeted today that the Yanks "have an advantage in that they're one of the few teams willing to take on payroll."  We'll have to see whether the Yankees actually inquire on Oswalt and/or Ted Lilly in the coming days.
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