Cafardo Rumors: Wigginton, Ibanez, Rodney
A few rumors we missed from Nick Cafardo’s Sunday column…
- The Indians would want a young closer type in return for catcher Kelly Shoppach.
- The Tribe has Houston’s Ty Wigginton on the radar as a third base possibility. But then who would play third for the Astros?
- The Yankees have been calling around aggressively, even inquiring on Roy Oswalt and Lance Berkman. They’re not available.
- The Mets are said to be eyeing Raul Ibanez for left field.
- The Tigers are dangling setup man Fernando Rodney, hoping to acquire a better closer. Jon Paul Morosi believes the Tigers might aim for a reliever they control for a year or two, as their in-house options should be ready by 2010.
- A conflict might arise with the Angels hoping to sign Mark Teixeira quickly while Scott Boras plans to let the market develop.
Rockies Shopping Holliday, Atkins, Taveras
9:11pm: According to David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Braves are not interested in Taveras after all.
10:47am: According to Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post and Tracy Ringolsby of the Rocky Mountain News, the Rockies are shopping Matt Holliday, Garrett Atkins, and Willy Taveras.
Holliday, a Scott Boras client, is set to earn $13.5MM in 2009 before reaching free agency. Ringolsby says the Yankees, Red Sox, Rays, Angels, Mets, and Phillies have shown interest. Renck has the Cardinals as a lurker. The Nats may also be interested. The Rockies will target young pitching in return.
Atkins is under team control for 2009 and 2010. Ringolsby has the Yankees, Red Sox, Rays, Angels, Mets, Phillies, White Sox, and Twins as interested parties. Renck sees the Indians as another possibility.
Taveras is also under team control through 2010. Ringolsby says the Royals, Yankees, White Sox, and Braves are in on him, while Renck adds the Nationals.
Rangers To Shop Catchers, Blalock
According to MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan, Rangers GM Jon Daniels will open up discussions to acquire starting pitching at next week’s GM meetings. Specifically, Daniels could deal from his catching surplus or trade Hank Blalock. The Rangers will first need to pick up Blalock’s $6.2MM option for 2009. One thing to keep in mind about Blalock is that his ability to play third base regularly is in question.
Sullivan names all kinds of potential targets and trading partners – the Mariners, Giants, Rays, Marlins, Reds, Red Sox, and many more. Juan C. Rodriguez of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported this morning that the Rangers (and Indians) inquired on Scott Olsen.
Odds and Ends: Rivera, Floyd, Peavy
Links for Tuesday…
- The Red Sox added pitcher Virgil Vasquez while losing infielder Gil Velazquez.
- Dave Cameron has another free agent bargain: Juan Rivera.
- The Astros made their first Taiwanese signing: 22 year-old righty reliever Chia-Jen Lo.
- Japanese reliever Ryota Igarashi hopes to try MLB eventually (but not in 2009).
- Viva El Birdos figures the Cardinals will check in on Kenshin Kawakami.
- Bud Selig has praise for Padres owner John Moores.
- Rays Index passes along a report that Cliff Floyd‘s injury could end his career. This could open up some free agent possibilities.
- River Ave. Blues says the latest Jake Peavy news is the nail in the coffin for the Yankees.
- MLB.com’s Anthony Castrovince is not a big fan of the rumors.
Marlins Raise Payroll Limit To $40 Million
Mike Berardino of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel talked an industry source who says Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria has authorized a payroll of up to $40MM for 2009. This means they won’t be forced to trade any of their 16 arbitration-eligible players. Greg Cote first suggested this on September 30th, and Buster Olney reiterated it on October 15th.
However, Berardino confirms Olney’s note from Friday: Kevin Gregg, Mike Jacobs, and Scott Olsen are available. The Marlins discussed sending Jacobs to the Royals for righty Carlos Rosa, but the Fish are worried about Rosa’s August forearm soreness. A thought: why would the Royals consider trading pitching for Jacobs? Berardino names the Mariners and Blue Jays as other interested parties, and considers the Indians a fit. The Giants have also been named as a suitor.
Berardino wonders if the Rangers will pursue Olsen, perhaps offering a catcher. I don’t believe Olsen would succeed in Texas.
Expected to remain in Florida: Dan Uggla, Cody Ross, and Alfredo Amezaga. Berardino says the front office is divided on Jeremy Hermida‘s potential. Four teams have asked about Hermida. Josh Willingham may be available, but his back is worrisome.
Royals And Indians Not Talking Teahen
MONDAY: Royals GM Dayton Moore emphatically denied the rumor, calling it a "flat-out lie." OK then.
SUNDAY: Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star writes some surprising news, as it seems the Indians and Royals are discussing a swap of Mark Teahen for an outfielder. It’s not often you see two teams in the same division make a trade, but both sides seem to have interest.
Dutton lists the three potential targets as Franklin Gutierrez, Ben Francisco, and minor leaguer Trevor Crowe. All three are capable of playing center field, which would allow the Royals to move David DeJesus to left field on a full-time basis.
Teahen would likely return to his natural position, third base, after spending the past two seasons in the outfield where he has struggled offensively. Teahen’s best season at the Major League level came as a third baseman in 2006, when he hit .290/.357/.517 in 439 plate appearances. The Indians are looking for a replacement at third base, with Andy Marte having failed to live up to expectations and Casey Blake’s departure.
Crowe could potentially be the best fit. He’s a swtich-hitter who posted a .381 OBP between Class-AA and Class-AAA this season, and will turn 24 in November. The Royals could certainly use a strong OBP player in their lineup. Teahen would be a very affordable solution for Cleveland, as he’s arbitration-eligible this season but will likely be in the $3MM range for 2009.
Odds and Ends: Building A Bullpen, GM Gossip
It’s a bit of a slow day for rumors, what with Game 3 of the World Series and all. Nonetheless, here are a few tangential tidbits for the afternoon:
- Sean McAdam of the Boston Herald notes that the Tampa Bay Rays don’t save their best relievers for the 9th inning; Dave Pinto says it’s "a feather in his cap" that manager Joe Maddon can get his pitchers to excel in such undefined roles. If you can get players to buy into it, it’s a cheap and effective way to build a bullpen — witness the 2007 Indians. If not, it’s a wreck — witness the 2003 Red Sox.
- John Romano of the St. Petersburg Times asks: does former GM Chuck LaMar or current GM Andrew Friedman deserve the credit for Tampa Bay’s success this year?
- Canadian teams are feeling the pinch as the Loonie falls in value, writes Don McGowan. As if the Blue Jays didn’t have enough to worry about!
Sarah Green writes for the Boston Metro and UmpBump.com.
Heyman’s Latest: Manny, Holliday, Peavy
SI.com’s Jon Heyman has a new rumor-packed article up.
- Heyman suggests the battle for the three elite free agents – Mark Teixeira, Manny Ramirez, and C.C. Sabathia – will mostly be fought by the New York and Los Angeles clubs. Heyman talked to one GM who believes the country’s economic situation will not affect the big names but could be bad for the lower-tier guys.
- Heyman’s potential Manny suitors: the Mets, Yankees, Blue Jays, Orioles, and Phillies. The Phillies’ interest will depend on whether Pat Burrell stays. I’m not sure why the Orioles would be in the mix.
- The Rockies are "very likely" to trade Matt Holliday. The Rox would be willing to sign Holliday for five years and $100MM, but that won’t cut it. The team’s focus in a trade will be a young starter. Heyman echoes a Ken Rosenthal thought from a few months ago: surprising small-market teams may enter the Holliday bidding.
- Heyman has the Mets, Rangers, and Indians as teams looking at Brian Fuentes. The Mets are the favorite to sign him in the three-year, $36MM range.
- Jake Peavy has already turned down one American League team. Heyman believes hes particularly opposed to the Rangers and has mixed feelings about the Yankees. Peavy is reeling from the Padres’ decision to shop him.
- Heyman has unkind words for Luis Gonzalez, who may not be welcomed back to the D’Backs based on his "uneasy relationship" with Stephen Drew and Chris Young.
- Heyman does not think MLB has any evidence against Nationals GM Jim Bowden in the scout skimming scandal.
- Heyman gives Ruben Amaro a slight edge over Mike Arbuckle to replace Pat Gillick as Phillies GM.
- George W. Bush as baseball’s next commissioner? "Many have long believed" that Bush would like to be Bud Selig’s successor.
Cafardo’s Latest: Lowe, Maddux, Peavy
Here’s a look at the latest column from Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe.
- Interestingly, the Red Sox are reportedly Derek Lowe‘s preferred destination. It’s unknown whether the Sox intend to add a starter this winter, but they may lose free agent Paul Byrd (and will have to decide on Tim Wakefield‘s $4MM option). Cafardo names a dozen other clubs interested in Lowe: the Yankees, Mets, Tigers, Indians, Cardinals, Cubs, Angels, Braves, Phillies, Rangers, Astros, and Blue Jays.
- Bill Mueller, 38 in March, admits he’d like to play again. Medically, it’s a long shot because he’d need to regrow cartilage in his knees.
- One of Greg Maddux‘s teammates feels he’ll retire. Maddux could return to the Padres as a player/coach (specifically, he’d prefer a bench coach gig).
- The Brewers as a sleeper for Jake Peavy? They’re not on his list, but he’s named other midwest clubs.
- Cafardo believes catchers Bengie Molina and Ramon Hernandez will be available this winter. Makes sense, given the weak free agent market at the position.
Indians Exercise Carroll’s Option
THURSDAY: According to MLB.com’s Anthony Castrovince, the Indians exercised Carroll’s $2.5MM option for ’09.
MONDAY: ESPN’s Buster Olney says it’s looking more and more likely the Indians pick up Carroll’s option.
SUNDAY: According to Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, the Indians will re-sign infielder Jamey Carroll this week. They have a $2.5MM club option on him, but it seems that they may be hammering out a deal for less.
Carroll, 35 in February, hit .277/.355/.346 in 402 plate appearances. He spent time at second and third base this year.