Heyman’s Latest: Teixeira, Otsuka
Jon Heyman of SI.com has been working the phone lines; here are some notable rumors from his latest column.
- The Braves seemed fairly close to a Mark Teixeira trade yesterday, but the Angels are definitely knee deep in it. They’ll make a solid offer including Casey Kotchman, Ervin Santana, and Major League player. Adam Dunn remains Plan B.
- Heyman says there’s speculation that Akinori Otsuka could need Tommy John surgery, which might compel the Rangers to sign Eric Gagne and/or keep Joaquin Benoit.
- Refresher on Gagne’s 12-team allowable list can be found here. Gagne must consent to a trade to Detroit, and it seems the Rangers asked for Cameron Maybin. Not gonna happen. The Yankees appear to be out on Gagne because he wants to close. I’m skeptical – he wouldn’t pitch as a setup man if they guaranteed his entire contract?
- Seems the Yanks entertained a Morgan Ensberg acquisition. They would’ve used him at first base. Joe Torre nixed the idea because Ensberg hasn’t hit for a long time.
- Heyman’s top five available starters are Matt Morris, Livan Hernandez, Jose Contreras, Jason Jennings, and Kyle Lohse, in that order. That ranking is reasonable. A Jon Garland, Noah Lowry, or Joe Blanton would easily jump to that top of the list if made available.
Mariners Watching Starters
UPDATE: Hickey writes that the Mariners have also scouted Kyle Lohse, Matt Morris, Jason Johnson (thought he went to Japan), and Octavio Dotel. However, a deal seems unlikely because none of those players are worth top Mariner prospects.
According to Jim Hickey of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, the Mariners have been scouting all kinds of available and not-so-available starters lately.
- The Mariners have been scouting the White Sox "religiously" lately. If they saw Javier Vazquez beat the Tigers on Tuesday, they came away impressed. (However, Vazquez can and probably would veto a trade to the AL or NL West). They were on hand to watch Jose Contreras tonight; the Tigers had batting practice with him and his ERA is up to 6.22. Did you hear that? That was the sound of Contreras’ remaining ounce of trade value evaporating.
- As you know, the Ms watched Dontrelle Willis on Monday. Compared to Contreras, Willis pitched well – four earned runs, nearly seven innings.
- The Ms also had a scout on hand to see Livan Hernandez twirl a gem over the Marlins on Tuesday. Hey, at least he takes the ball every fifth day. That has to be worth something.
- Hickey says Seattle has also been monitoring the Astros, perhaps in hope of acquiring Dan Wheeler or Chad Qualls. He speculates that Wandy Rodriguez would be a coup for the Mariners. Wand-Rod has thrown up stinkers in his last two outings but tossed a complete game shutout over the Mets in the game prior. He’s inconsistent like that. The Astros’ #2 starter for 2008 wouldn’t come cheap.
Unfounded Rumor: Mariners Scout Weathers?
UPDATE: SI.com’s Jon Heyman says Weathers has been pulled off the block.
An MLBTR reader had good seats at last night’s Reds game, and he observed about eight scouts watching. Specifically, he saw a Seattle Mariners scout. Apparently the scout got pretty active when David Weathers took the hill. This is reasonable; the Ms are known to be looking for bullpen help.
Weathers picked up a two-inning save last night. He’s having a surprisingly strong year, with some of the best control of his career. His contract runs through 2008, when he will make $2.75MM. However, Will Carroll wrote yesterday that the Reds want to keep Weathers and trade Todd Coffey instead.
Another reason eight scouts might have been watching last night’s Reds-Brewers contest: Kyle Lohse started. He wasn’t too bad, allowing two runs (one earned) in 5.2 innings. The Mariners seem to be monitoring quite a few starters so it wouldn’t surprise me if they had an eye on Lohse.
Unfounded Rumors
Would you think less of me if I busted out the old Unfounded Rumors category? I know the #1 request at MLBTR is More Rumors. So why not toss a few unfounded ones out there? These are 100% unconfirmed, shaky rumors that have crossed my inbox. Believe them at your own risk.
But since 99% of deadline rumors don’t happen anyway, why not put ’em out there for discussion?
- Word is that FedEx was at Reggie Sanders‘ house today, packing up his stuff. Not sure where he’s headed. This one will have more substance if Sanders is nowhere to be found for tonight’s game against the Yankees.
- If the Cubs somehow traded for Adam Dunn, where would they put him? Hard to imagine.
- Some folks have suggested that the Cubs will acquire Xavier Nady, but Bucco Blog shoots it down.
- Dontrelle Willis has been awful this month; there are whispers that he may need Tommy John surgery. Willis did experience forearm tightness in June, which is often a precursor to or euphemism for elbow problems. Despite his performance and the proclamations that he’s not available, a Mariners’ scout watched him on Monday.
- One rumor that is picking up a lot of steam is that I will be joining MetsBlog Radio tonight at 6pm CST to talk rumors for a half hour.
What To Do In Cincy?
Bet you thought this post was going to be about Adam Dunn, eh? Nope – it’s all about me. Specifically, my wife and I snagged some tickets for a Cubs-Reds game in Cincinnati in September. Good seats at Wrigley have become so expensive that I decided it would be easier to just follow the team to Great American Ballpark.
It’s my first time to Cincinnati. We’ll be spending about two days there. Any advice? What hotel should we go for, what should we eat, what should we not eat, what sights should we see? Someone told me Skyline Chili is overrated, is this true? Can I park my car at my hotel and then just walk everywhere? These are my burning questions. Feel free to leave a comment or email me at dierkes@gmail.com if you have any insight.
Latest From Baseball Prospectus: Jacque, Snell
Will Carroll and John Perrotto have teamed up at BP to join the rumor mill, and yesterday’s post is free to nonsubscribers. Some highlights:
- Carroll reports that the Cubs could swap Jacque Jones and a prospect for Jeff Conine. Perhaps such a move would be in tandem with Adam Dunn leaving Cincinnati. The Cubs might want to hold on to Jones though; he’s playing well lately.
- Carroll heard a far out Alex Rodriguez to the Dodgers rumor, but doesn’t buy it. Neither do I – the Yankees don’t seem to be selling. Carroll says Brian Cashman and Co. will wait until the last second to make a buyer/seller decision. There’s a slight chance Jorge Posada becomes available if they choose the latter.
- Perrotto confirms a rumor that surfaced a week ago, that Ian Snell could be had for the right bat. Perrotto would know, as he spent time as a Pirates’ beat writer. Jarrod Saltalamacchia or Matt Kemp are two possible targets for the Bucs.
- The Tigers may be looking for relievers, and some possible names on the radar include Chad Qualls, Dan Wheeler, Brad Lidge, Salomon Torres, Damaso Marte, Shawn Chacon, and Chad Cordero. That’s most of the market right there, though Lidge seems likely to stay put. And don’t forget that the Tigers have internal reinforcements on the way.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Nats After Dunn
Ken Rosenthal’s got a new column up; let’s dive in.
- Fun new rumor: the Nationals are pursuing Adam Dunn. Huh? Makes no sense on the surface. Jim Bowden’s possible motivation would be to sign Dunn long-term and make him the cornerstone of the franchise. If he fails at that, all would not be lost given the draft pick compensation. Rosenthal says the market for Dunn beyond Washington is a bit foggy – the Twins, Angels, Yankees, Red Sox, and Padres could all get involved but none stand out.
- Rosenthal adds some color to my recent Nationals post. He mentions that Ron Belliard is a name that might interest the Mets, an idea that has come up before. Rosenthal says the Mets will not do a Lastings Milledge for Chad Cordero trade.
- The Dodgers have jumped to the forefront on Octavio Dotel, with Takashi Saito ailing. According to Rosenthal, the Royals aren’t demanding the very specific bounty Joel Sherman claimed. Instead, they just want a near MLB-ready player. Rosenthal says Tony Abreu is out of reach but Chin-Lung Hu might not be. He suggests moving Hu to second base to accomodate Tony Pena Jr., which should probably be reversed. It appears the Indians wouldn’t surrender Franklin Gutierrez or Ben Francisco for Dotel. I’d give one up, personally.
- I didn’t know this: Jermaine Dye can veto a deal to four clubs. With his solid play, interest is picking up. As are Kenny Williams’ demands; he wants an elite prospect. The Indians and Red Sox have inquired; the Cubs might make sense too. I thought we had ruled out the Red Sox earlier though.
- The Padres are looking for bench help, perhaps in the name of Ryan Klesko, Mike Piazza, Mark Loretta, or Mike Lamb. Couple of prodigal sons there. Would Piazza be happy as a pricey bench player? Rosenthal says Matt Stairs isn’t available. Why not?
Rosenthal On Teixeira, Dunn
I neglected to mention a Ken Rosenthal article from yesterday, chock full of rumory goodness as always.
- Rosenthal believes the Yankees need a backup plan in case they are not able to retain Alex Rodriguez. Wilson Betemit definitely makes sense in that he’d be useful even if they do keep A-Rod. Rosenthal basically names every third baseman you can think of. The most likely option, to me, is to simply sign Mike Lowell as a free agent. Would he switch sides? Perhaps, if the Red Sox don’t make an offer or try to lowball him.
- The Braves apparently won’t give up Yunel Escobar or Jarrod Saltalamacchia to get Mark Teixeira. Neither of ’em. No doubt John Schuerholz will spend the next ten days trying to get Jon Daniels to settle for less.
- The Reds have a "co-Dunn-drum," as Rosenthal puts it. Now that’s good stuff. The basic codunndrum here is that no team that can afford Adam Dunn wants him. Rosenthal likes the Tigers as a dark horse. I know Dunn isn’t much with the glove, but I’m surprised the market isn’t stronger for him right now.
- Dan Wheeler is more likely than Chad Qualls to be moved, because he’s closer to free agency (after 2008).
- Rosenthal believes the Royals could not even acquire a Tony Abreu from the Dodgers for Octavio Dotel. Previously it had been said that the Dayton Moore was asking for Matt Kemp or James Loney. And Duke Snider plus Sandy Koufax.
- Bronson Arroyo does not appear to be available. Jose Contreras or Matt Morris: which is the lesser of two evils?
Melvin On The Dunn Rumor
Brewers GM Doug Melvin had a funny comment on yesterday’s bogus Adam Dunn to Milwaukee rumor:
"I’m taking more calls deflecting these kinds of rumors than I’ve had talking to GMs. There are freaking geeks who get…off on this kind of stuff."
How did this game of telephone get started? According to Mark Sheldon at MLB.com, a Cincinnati radio guy posted the trade as a rumor on his blog, and then apparently Sportsradio 1250 in Milwaukee announced it as a completed deal. ESPN then picked up that radio report, but killed the rumor after Jerry Crasnick spoke to Melvin.
Dunn To Brewers Rumor Quashed
Radio rumors are among the most dubious, because I can’t confirm unless I heard the report myself or a trusted person communicated it to me. So when I heard of a few thirdhand reports of an Adam Dunn to Milwaukee radio rumor, I remained skeptical.
I still haven’t talked to anyone to learn which specific person at SportsRadio 1250 initiated this rumor, but it doesn’t seem completely fabricated given that ESPN picked it up. The scenario:
The Reds would trade Adam Dunn to the Brewers for Tony Gwynn Jr., Matt Wise, and an unknown infield prospect. Wise is solid, and Wayne Krivsky likes relievers. But the bounty still seems too small for the best available slugger. The other red flag is that Wise and Gwynn continued to play in today’s game after the rumor surfaced.
Fortunately, Jerry Crasnick spoke to Doug Melvin and confirmed that there’s nothing to this trade rumor.