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Giants Plan To Keep Pitchers

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According to John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle, the Giants are looking to add a bat without trading pitching.  The names mentioned remain Joe Crede and Brandon Inge, but the White Sox and Tigers want hurlers.

The equation doesn’t seem to make sense on the surface – if the Giants won’t trade pitching, and they have no hitters to speak of, how are they going to make an acquisition?

As we learned Thursday, the answer is that the Giants may only be looking to trade undesirable veterans.  Names like Scott Williamson, Randy Messenger, and Dave Roberts have been part of Brian Sabean’s offers for Crede.  Kenny Williams scoffed at this, inquiring about Jonathan Sanchez.  The gap may be too wide to bridge.  I have to side with San Francisco on this one – the demand for Crede and Inge quite low, and the Giants don’t have a strong need for either. Aaron Rowand isn’t holding his breath for a Crede-to-San Fran trade.

Odds And Ends: White Sox, Angels, Crisp, Gillick

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Here are a few links to whet your appetite, including a Brian Roberts sighting. You didn’t think we could go two days without a Robert update, did you?

  • Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune notes that the White Sox are looking for a middle infielder and wonders if they might get involved in the Roberts sweepstakes. However, Rogers wonders if there is anything left in the system to intrigue the Orioles.
  • Scott Miller of CBS Sportsline looks at the recent rash of injuries plaguing the Angels pitching staff and wonders if it was a blessing that they did not trade for Miguel Cabrera. Considering the staff should be healthy by May, this sounds a little like when some try to put a positive spin on the Scott Kazmir trade for the Mets. They really do.
  • Coco Crisp spoke to the media about recent trade rumors and noted that he is not worried about being able to audition for other teams do his injury status saying that he hopes other teams already believe in him and what he is capable of.
  • The Deleware News-Journal interviews Phillies GM Pat Gillick, who is retiring at the end of the year, about his career.

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

White Sox Not Happy With Crede Offers

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We knew that Joe Crede’s name would be an oft-mentioned this spring. Further, we knew that he’d be connected with the Giants, who have infield needs. It appears the two teams have been discussing possible swaps, but the Sox are less than impressed with what’s been offered thus far.

According to Mark Gonzalez of the Chicago Tribune, the Giants have been offering up the likes of recently-cut Scott Williamson, recently-optioned Randy Messenger, and outfielder Dave Roberts, though not all in the same package. On the other end, GM Ken Williams is looking for "one of the Giants’ top prospects and a serviceable young reliever."

The Sox don’t have to trade Crede, since Josh Fields still has options. However, Crede hasn’t looked so hot this spring — or at least that’s the story his batting average tells, as he’s hitting .081. Of course, numbers mean little at this time of year. The White Sox asked about left-hander Jonathan Sanchez, but given the injury to Noah Lowry, that appears less than likely.

The Dodgers are another team mentioned in connection with Crede, as they sent a scout to watch him earlier this week. However, they do have Nomar Garciaparra at the hot corner, with recently-injured Andy LaRoche scheduled to return sometime in May or June.

Posted by Joe, who you can email here, or visit his Yanks blog

Giants Scouting Crede, Inge

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This morning we have reports that the Giants have recently scouted Joe Crede and Brandon Inge.  Even without a decent third baseman in the house, I don’t really see the point of acquiring either guy.

On Sunday, the Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo noted that the Giants could be less likely to acquire Crede given the Noah Lowry injury.  Then on Monday, Kenny Williams mentioned that the two teams he’d discussed Crede with hadn’t impressed with their offers. Williams suggested Crede could be his Opening Day third baseman, despite Josh Fields’ worthiness.

Inge is the other veteran third base option for teams like the Giants and Dodgers.  But Inge bears almost four times the salary commitment, so the Tigers would have to eat some of it.  Or, as one MLBTR reader suggested to me, perhaps the Tigers would take on one of the Giants’ many bad contracts in return.

Blue Jays Sign Armando Benitez

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According to the Toronto Star, the Blue Jays have signed reliever Armando Benitez to a minor league deal.  He’s apparently not in the closer picture (which makes sense, with B.J. Ryan and Jeremy Accardo good to go).

Benitez, 35, struck out 57 in 50.1 innings last year with the Giants and Marlins.  The problem was too many hits, home runs, and walks.  That resulted in an ERA of 5.36.  Benitez’s control has always been poor; he’s succeeded by being tough to hit.  The strong Toronto defense could help in that regard. 

By the way, Benitez’s agent called the White Sox before he signed, but they weren’t able to discuss the possibility.

Cafardo’s Latest: Inge, Marte, Fuentes, Lohse

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TUESDAY: Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post has an update to Cafardo’s Yankees/Fuentes item.  Renck says that while the Yanks have scouted Fuentes, Rockies’ GM Dan O’Dowd says there’s "zero chance" of a trade at this time.  I imagine he wants to see a healthy Luis Vizcaino before considering it.

MONDAY: Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe checks in with plenty of rumors in his Sunday column.

  • The Red Sox checked in on Brandon Inge during the Winter Meetings, but found his contract prohibitive.  Most teams seem to feel the same way.
  • The Yankees are eyeing southpaw relievers Damaso Marte and Brian Fuentes, who’ve seemingly been on their radar for months.  Fuentes makes $5.05MM this year, Marte makes $2MM this year with a $6MM club option for ’09.
  • Cafardo believes the Noah Lowry injury could cause the Giants to swoop in on Kyle Lohse, and could also get in the way of a Joe Crede acquisition.  Lowry’s only supposed to miss two to three weeks though.  Kenny Williams says exactly two clubs have talked to him about Crede, but he’s saying Crede may still be his Opening Day third baseman.

Heyman’s Latest: Crede, Ethier, Teixeira

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SI.com rumor guru Jon Heyman has a new column up; let’s take a gander.

  • Heyman talked to an NL scout who considers Joe Crede a below average third baseman right now.  If that scout’s opinion is the consensus, it makes sense that Kenny Williams is inclined to wait for Crede to build more value.
  • The Rangers pushed hard to acquire Andre Ethier from the Dodgers, both in a Mark Teixeira deal and after L.A. signed Andruw Jones.  If I were a Dodger fan, I’d be angry to see the team put its pride ahead of winning by playing Juan Pierre over Ethier.
  • Heyman talked to a general manager who felt the Braves have no chance of signing Tex.  That GM named the Red Sox, Orioles, Yankees, Giants, Mariners, Dodgers, and Angels as potential suitors.  In a survey of almost 1,700 MLBTR readers, the Yankees were picked as the team most likely to sign Teixeira (followed closely by the Braves).

Odds and Ends: Garland, Linden, A-Rod

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Time to round up various tidbits and rumors.

What’s Next For Brian Anderson?

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White Sox center fielder Brian Anderson has had a roller coaster career, though he’s only 26.  The former first-round pick entered the ’06 season as Chicago’s starting center fielder, but he didn’t hit enough to keep the job.  BA didn’t make much noise in ’07 (aside from comments he made to Scott Merkin).

Now Anderson is making the good kind of noise, hitting .351/.442/.568 in 37 spring ABs.  He’s battled his way into the Opening Day picture, especially with Jerry Owens and Carlos Quentin ailing.  Anderson is leading all players in spring ABs, which would almost indicate a showcase.  All sorts of teams have had interest in the past, including the Marlins and Rangers.  However, Anderson still has two options so there’s no pressing need to trade him.

Odds and Ends: Loretta, German, Belliard, Baldelli

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  • An update to the Ken Rosenthal article discussed earlier suggests that either Esteban German or Ron Belliard would be better, cheaper alternatives for the Dodgers than Joe Crede or Brandon Inge. It would take less to get Belliard or German, they’re paid less, and either of them could back up Jeff Kent, 40, at second base in addition to playing third. Both players are "attracting the Dodgers’ interest" according to Rosenthal.
  • The Baltimore Sun is now reporting that the Orioles have an interest in Mark Loretta. Hopefully this is a sign that the Brian Roberts-to-Chicago saga will soon mercifully come to a conclusion. Loretta apparently isn’t slated for regular duty in a Houston infield that now features Miguel Tejada, Kaz Matsui and Ty Wigginton, which is why he might be in play. The Astros sent a scout to watch the O’s on Sunday.
  • Rocco Baldelli spoke with Joe McDonald of the Providence Journal about his myriad health problems, and dispelled some of the more creative speculation about him. He didn’t, however, address the big decision on his future that the Rays will be forced to make in the coming weeks. As discussed here a couple of days ago, and again in Sunday’s St. Petersburg Times, the decision on whether the team will pick up Baldelli’s 2009 option has to be made by April 1st. The Times suggests the Rays will pass, meaning a $4MM buyout.

Posted by Andrew Stoeten of Drunk Jays Fans.

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