Latest On Mark Buehrle
It’s all Mark Buehrle, all the time here at MLBTradeRumors. The latest:
- Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times says a lot of the recent confusion stems from semantics. Sure, Buehrle’s agent and Kenny Williams haven’t spoken. However, intermediaries from both sides have been in contact about a four-year contract extension. It appears that if the White Sox leave Florida tonight without a deal in place, Williams will move forward and trade Buehrle. Cowley says the Mets, Braves, and Dodgers would all be in contention for him. However, I would not be shocked if talks were to extend into the weekend.
- On the other hand, Buehrle’s agent Jeff Berry was very clear yesterday afternoon: "There are no ongoing discussions. I don’t know what else to say other than there are no ongoing discussions. Maybe the White Sox are trying to gain the interest of other teams."
- The reports of Buehrle signing a 4/50 contract were definitely premature. But Buehrle does prefer Chicago over even St. Louis and Ozzie Guillen thinks he’ll stay.
- Scot Gregor could see an agreement happening today.
- Barry Rozner seems to indicate that Jerry Reinsdorf has approved four years, and that a sign and trade could be an option.
- An official with a team looking to acquire Buehrle was told he’s off the market. The extension should be in the $50-60MM range.
- Yahoo’s Tim Brown says Kenny Williams asked for Mike Pelfrey from the Mets and Jon Lester from the Red Sox for Buehrle.
Buehrle Extension Possible
UPDATE: Ozzie Guillen makes some comments that seem to hint that extension talks are ongoing. And Ken Rosenthal’s sources generally believe the Sox are close to signing Buehrle.
UPDATE: Now Gonzales says the White Sox sent their assistant GM to St. Petersburg, where Mark Buehrle’s agent is. So there could be some talks after all.
I don’t know who to believe anymore. It’s starting to sound like Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times has been fed some bad information. The Sun-Times had the Red Sox as frontrunners for Mark Buehrle, and then today broke the story of an impending contract extension instead.
The Chicago Tribune has been singing a different tune the whole time, and now Mark Gonzales reports that there are no extension talks. Gonzales spoke to Buehrle’s agent.
Fun stuff, all this manipulation and deception. 4/50 sounded too good to be true; perhaps the same person has been feeding bad information to Joe Cowley and 670 The Score. A White Sox spokesman would not confirm the report from The Score.
Jacque Jones Update
Jacque Jones is still a Cub, with yesterday’s Marlins deal quashed. Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune writes that Tribune owner Sam Zell was not the reason the trade died, contrary to other reports. Money caused the snag, but not Zell. Sullivan says talks with the Marlins are unlikely to be revisited.
On a side note, all of the Tribune baseball writers are blogging! They must be thrilled.
Gordon Wittenmyer of the Sun-Times says Cubs GM Jim Hendry has had recent talks with the Padres, Rangers, White Sox, and others. Jones had a pinch-hitting appearance in today’s game, grounding out to Todd Helton.
White Sox Buehrle Extension Close?
UPDATE: Readers are writing in saying 670 AM The Score in Chicago is reporting that Buehrle is "likely" to sign an extension for four years and "around" $50MM.
In a surprising turnabout, White Sox starter Mark Buehrle is off the trading block. Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times has the exclusive – the two sides might agree on a contract extension by week’s end. It’s possible that Buehrle has reduced his demand from five years to four. Would 4/60 get it done? Cowley says the White Sox remain Buehrle’s #1 choice for the future, by a long shot. Even over the Cardinals, apparently.
While the White Sox may lock up Buehrle, they’re still looking to trade Tadahito Iguchi and Jermaine Dye. Additionally, Jose Contreras or Javier Vazquez may be shopped. In Vazquez, the Sox would still probably own the best starter on the trading block. The Astros and Braves were known to be scouting last night’s White Sox-Devil Rays game.
Teams Scouting Yankee Pitching Prospects
According to Jim Baubach of Newsday, Yankee farmhands Ian Kennedy and Joba "The Hutt" Chamberlain have become quite popular. The stands become packed with scouts each team either pitches for the Yanks’ Double A Trenton club.
The White Sox sent one of their top pro scouts to watch the Trenton Thunder recently, despite the Yankees’ insistence that Kennedy and Chamberlain are not available.
All sorts of other teams have been scouting both pitchers, including the A’s, Rockies, and Orioles. Chamberlain is the upside choice, while Kennedy is the back-rotation command guy.
Latest Mark Buehrle Trade Rumors
Mark Buehrle is a popular man right now, and I’ve decided to cover today’s trade rumors in a bullet point format.
- Barry Rozner of the Daily Herald thinks the Dodgers would be a fine fit for Buehrle, given the loss of Jason Schmidt and their bevy of top prospects. Given that ten teams are looking at Buehrle and we’ve only confirmed five, talks may already be occurring between Ned Colletti and Kenny Williams.
- Ozzie Guillen tries to defend against detractors: "A lot of people say, ‘Oh, they quit. Oh, they should make an offer to Buehrle.’ They did, I think." The Daily Southtown notes that the offer was a meager three years, $30MM. The Sox made that offer at the height of Buehrle’s ineffectiveness.
- The New York Post says the Mets will only trade for Buehrle if they get a 72-hour window to sign him. Rosenthal said on Friday that that’s not happening. The Mets’ urgency to acquire a starter is related to how Pedro Martinez looks in coming weeks.
- Ken Davidoff of Newsday says that while the Mets and Yankees are confirmed among the ten interested clubs, neither plans to offer "serious prospects" for Buehrle. That seems to mean that Lastings Milledge, Philip Humber, Mike Pelfrey, Joba Chamberlain, and Phil Hughes are out. Davidoff shows that Omar Minaya and Kenny Williams have clearly been talking, and confirms Omar’s interest in Jose Contreras.
- Joel Sherman thinks the Mets are in on Buehrle for two reasons: in case the price surprisingly plummets, and to raise the price for Atlanta.
- Adam Rubin says all veteran Sox pitchers are available – except Jon Garland.
- You may have noticed that Kenny Williams recently issued a nondenial of the Buehrle-to-Boston rumor, saying "Not today." The Red Sox weren’t amused by that, and a deal is not close. The Boston Globe agrees, adding that Boston won’t part with Clay Buchholz or Jacoby Ellsbury. Nonetheless, Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post thinks the Red Sox are the favorite for Buehrle, and they’d sign him to a contract extension.
- Bryan Burwell of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports on chatter that the Cardinals have offered Anthony Reyes, John Rodriguez, and one prospect for Buehrle. Burwell would make the deal, even if that prospect is Bryan Anderson.
- GM Doug Melvin in response to Ken Rosenthal’s Buehrle-to-Brewers rumor: "This is the month for Internet rumors." Damn straight, Doug. Actually, July and December are the big ones. Melvin says he hasn’t talked to Kenny Williams, in reality. Maybe Melvin wouldn’t part with Yovani Gallardo or Ryan Braun for Buehrle, but another prospect has emerged in Manny Parra. Parra tossed a perfect game in Triple A last night.
Yankees Interested In Buehrle, Dye?
According to George King of the New York Post, the White Sox have been scouting Yankee Double A pitchers Ian Kennedy and Joba Chamberlain. King says to "expect the Yankees to be interested" in Mark Buehrle and Jermaine Dye, which is not the same as saying the Yankees have inquired.
Jon Heyman of SI.com has a source saying the White Sox are seeking Kennedy, Chamberlain, or Phil Hughes. Heyman’s source also believes that the trio is unavailable.
My friend and I were trying to figure out how a Dye acquisition would work for New York, assuming Bobby Abreu is not included in the deal. Maybe Dye in left, Hideki Matsui in center, and Abreu stays in right? And then Johnny Damon plays first base or DH? The alternative would be Matsui at first base, but only if Damon is healthy. It seems a long shot.
The Yanks do have room for Buehrle in place of Kei Igawa, though Igawa has earned a second chance. And such an acquisition would shut Phil Hughes out if he were to return in mid-August. All in all I can see the Yankees poking around because the Red Sox are interested, but I don’t see them getting Buehrle or Dye. They could be after a number of other lesser White Sox players.
Meanwhile, the Red Sox are treating Buehrle as a want and not a need. Theo Epstein is in the catbird seat, and my guess is he won’t make a deal if Kenny Williams requires Clay Buchholz. Sean McAdam says Buchholz and Jacoby Ellsbury are "strictly off-limits."
Curt Schilling‘s health is the wild card; if he turns out to have a major problem within the next few weeks the Red Sox could step up their efforts.
Mets After Jose Contreras
The Mets have kicked the tires on Mark Buehrle, but Jose Contreras may be a more likely acquisition according to the Newark Star-Ledger. The Mets would prefer not to trade younger players for a rental, and may turn to Contreras because he’s signed through 2009. I’m sure Kenny Williams would have no problem with that. I think Contreras would handle a return to New York well. Lastings Milledge would be more than enough for Contreras, in my mind.
Dan Graziano’s article also confirms that the Braves and Red Sox have been pushing hard for Buehrle. He says there was "no indication last night that the Yankees were interested in Buehrle." Of course, Boston’s interest could change that.
The Phillies, meanwhile, have inquired on both Dontrelle Willis and Buehrle and found the price unreasonable. They’re going to need to acquire a starter one way or another.
Jacque Jones Trade Near?
According to Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times yesterday, the Cubs are trying to trade another position player by Monday so they can add a 12th pitcher.
That position player probably is our good friend Jacque Jones. Wittenmyer named the Padres, Rangers, and White Sox as interested parties. Bruce Miles adds the Mets to the mix. The Cubs would have to eat some of the $7.2MM or so remaining on Jones’ contract, which runs through 2008. Another option would be to move shortstop Cesar Izturis, who has about $2.6MM left on his deal (assuming his ’08 option is bought out).
Buster Olney yesterday mentioned that the Cubs were one of the teams in one Milton Bradley, in addition to the Yankees and Padres. Bradley is still fair game, and the Cubs may be looking to replace Jones with him.
Red Sox Emerge As Top Buehrle Suitor
Here’s something we didn’t see coming. According to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times, the Red Sox have emerged as the frontrunner for southpaw Mark Buehrle. They’ve jumped ahead of the Braves and Mets on the strength of their farm system.
Cowley says talks between Buehrle and the White Sox regarding an extension are basically dead. Now Boston has taken center stage, even sending assistant GM Allard Baird to watch Buehrle’s last start (a typical fine effort from him).
Cowley believes a major motivation for the Red Sox is keeping Buehrle away from the Yankees. The Red Sox would apparently give him a five year extension. Possible targets for Kenny Williams: Clay Buchholz, Michael Bowden, Jacoby Ellsbury, and Jed Lowrie. In my opinion: two of those guys, done deal. Buchholz is arguably the best pitching prospect in the minors, and would make White Sox fans forget about Buehrle fairly quickly.
Williams plans to sit back and listen to all offers first, of course. According to Cowley, at least seven teams have made serious contact.