Heyman’s Latest: Sabathia, Dunn, Blake
Another column from SI.com’s Jon Heyman.
- The Yankees "appear primed to make a big push" for CC Sabathia when he hits free agency. While Sabathia may prefer the West Coast, he reportedly will not be offering a discount to those teams. He’ll want Johan money.
- Heyman speculates that Adam Dunn could be a nice addition for the Yankees, one that might mostly cost just money. I know he hates playing baseball and all but the lack of interest is perplexing. Brian Cashman and Walt Jocketty have matched up a couple of times for trades, including one that sent Sterling Hitchcock to St. Louis in ’03.
- Heyman believes both the Yankees and Mets might consider Cleveland’s Casey Blake.
Will Carroll’s Latest: Blake, Mike Gonzalez, Fuentes
Baseball Prospectus’ Will Carroll checks in with a slew of rumors.
- Carroll believes Orioles relievers Jamie Walker and Chad Bradford would clear waivers. Bradford isn’t striking anyone out, but he does have a 2.45 ERA by virtue of good control and tons of grounders. He has a reasonable $3.5MM commitment for ’09.
- Casey Blake suitors: Mets, Rays, and Twins.
- Carroll wonders if the Rangers could send an outfielder to Atlanta for closer Mike Gonzalez. MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan also linked the Rangers to Gonzalez. Gonzalez is under team control through ’09; I’d be surprised to see him traded.
- The Marlins are "very aggressively" pursuing Rockies closer Brian Fuentes.
Tim Brown’s Latest: Peralta, McPherson, Putz
Yahoo’s Tim Brown posted a new column this evening.
- The Nationals got an OK return for Jon Rauch, acquiring second baseman Emilio Bonifacio. That could set the pace for reasonable reliever prices.
- The Indians are listening on Casey Blake, Paul Byrd, and Jamey Carroll, as you know. Jhonny Peralta isn’t off-limits either.
- Here’s a new name of interest for the Dodgers: Marlins minor league third baseman Dallas McPherson. He’ll be 28 soon, and carries a .287/.400/.650 line with 32 home runs in 314 Triple A at-bats. This could be the second time McPherson blasts 40 home runs in a minor league season.
- The Red Sox inquired on J.J. Putz, but the Mariners say he’s not available.
Heyman’s Latest: Holliday, Teixeira, Burnett, Blake
10:19pm: Angels GM Tony Reagins laughed at Charley Walters’ Teixeira rumor, blaming it on…"those bloggers."
11:16am: The latest from SI.com’s Jon Heyman.
- The Rockies and Braves will wait until right before the July 31st deadline to decide whether to trade Matt Holliday and Mark Teixeira. The Rox have been more active calling around about Holliday, though. Heyman notes that Rockies GM Dan O’Dowd has spoken to the Mets, Angels, Phillies, and other teams about him. The Rockies are seven games out, while the Braves are six back.
- The Braves are reportedly making a list of trading partners for Tex, including the Red Sox, Angels, Rays, and D’Backs.
- Charley Walters has a rumor: Teixeira to the Angels for Robb Quinlan and Brandon Wood.
- The Yankees haven’t even considered signing Barry Bonds, despite the Hideki Matsui injury.
- Heyman spoke to a "Yankees person" who is fearful of A.J. Burnett‘s contract. I could see an acquiring team pushing for more certainty by buying out or guaranteeing the contract.
- Heyman considers Manny Ramirez‘s $20MM option for ’09 a bargain. For me, it’s not nearly as clear-cut.
- Omar Minaya is "especially" a fan of Cleveland’s Casey Blake. He would be a great fit for the Mets.
- Heyman is still hearing the rumor about the Mariners trying to lure Pat Gillick for an upper management position next year.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Fuentes, Sherrill, Nady, Kemp, Guthrie
New Rosenthal. Let’s take a look.
- Rosenthal says the Marlins are in on Brian Fuentes and other top relievers, and they’re more focused on bullpen help than a catcher. The Marlins’ interest in Fuentes was first reported by the Denver Post’s Troy E. Renck on July 9th.
- Sources tell Rosenthal that the Brewers aren’t likely to pay up for a top reliever like George Sherrill. Rosenthal considers the Angels the best fit for Sherrill, but doesn’t say whether they’re actually interested.
- The Braves probably won’t discuss Tim Hudson; they’ll need him for next year.
- Rosenthal wonders whether the Phillies will entertain trades for Brett Myers in the offseason.
- The Phillies inquired on some interesting hitters: Matt Holliday, Xavier Nady, and Matt Kemp.
- The Rockies asked the Orioles about Jeremy Guthrie, but he’s not available.
- The Mets may not consider Casey Blake even of a difference-maker, though Blake is popular on the trade market. The Rays are one team looking at him.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Fuentes, Holliday, Sherrill
Ken Rosenthal tops off the day with a column full of rumors.
- Signing Mark Teixeira as a replacement for Manny Ramirez doesn’t make sense for the Red Sox, who don’t want to take on that kind of mega-contract.
- The Phillies were recently working on a blockbuster with Colorado that would have netted them Brian Fuentes and Matt Holliday for something like Shane Victorino, J.A. Happ, Carlos Carrasco, and Lou Marson. Those talks have stalled, and the added payroll might’ve been a problem for the Phillies anyway.
- Though Frank McCourt denies it, Rosenthal says the Dodgers owned vetoed a CC Sabathia/Casey Blake/Jamey Carroll blockbuster because of a desire to keep trades payroll-neutral.
- The Rockies, as well as the many suitors for Brian Fuentes, fear he could accept an offer of arbitration and saddle them with an $8MM salary in ’09 instead of two draft picks. Given Fuentes’ stated desire to close, I find this unlikely.
- A Pirates scout watched David Price‘s last start, though he was likely looking at other members of the Montgomery Biscuits. The Rays are known to be interested in Xavier Nady.
- The A’s, stacked with second base candidates, are already getting calls on Adrian Cardenas. Trading Mark Ellis would make more sense though.
- Rosenthal believes the Orioles are reluctant to trade George Sherrill because they don’t have a suitable replacement for him in the ninth inning this year.
- Brewers minor league shortstop Alcides Escobar is untouchable, and his ascent could lead the team to shop J.J. Hardy this winter.
Carroll’s Latest: Burnett, Twins, Cardinals
Baseball Prospectus’ Will Carroll has plenty of rumors in his latest post.
- Pat Gillick "doesn’t seem that interested" in going back to work for the Mariners.
- One team asked the Blue Jays to include players to be named later on both sides of an A.J. Burnett deal, to serve as a balance for the pitcher’s uncertain tricky contract. The Jays passed on that idea. By the way, the Toronto Star’s Richard Griffin thinks the Jays will keep Burnett unless offered a player who can improve the ’08 team.
- Carroll wonders whether the Pirates would consider trading Ian Snell. Snell is signed through 2010 with club options for ’11 and ’12.
- Beyond Adrian Beltre, the Twins "have taken a hard look" at Hank Blalock, Garrett Atkins, and Casey Blake.
- The Cards are searching the Triple A ranks for the next Ryan Ludwick. Maybe they were one of the teams inquiring on Nelson Cruz?
Sherman’s Latest: Bay, Nady, Holliday, Fuentes, Blake
The New York Post’s Joel Sherman is working hard today, filing blog posts here and here.
- Multiple teams are in the hunt for a right-handed hitting outfielder: the Mets, Rays, and maybe the Yankees. The Pirates are asking for too much for Jason Bay and Xavier Nady, while the Rockies are waiting to see what Bay costs so they can ask for more for Matt Holliday. The Rays’ might find their solution internally, with Rocco Baldelli.
- Holliday as a replacement for Manny Ramirez this winter? Right now it’s just a couple of execs speculating to Sherman.
- The Rockies want either Jon Niese from the Mets or Ian Kennedy from the Yankees for Brian Fuentes, but the two New York clubs aren’t having that.
- Nolan Ryan doesn’t want to punt on ’08 with the Rangers.
- Sherman wonders if the Marlins could match up with Texas on a catcher.
- Juan Rivera is not available at this point.
- Casey Blake is likely to be traded, partially because the Indians probably wouldn’t offer him arbitration after the season. The Mets and Yankees are said to have "at least mild interest."
Week in Review
Here’s a look back at the biggest stories MLBTR covered for the week of July 6 – 13:
- The Brewers completed a deal for C.C. Sabathia, sending Matt LaPorta and other prospects to Cleveland in return. Sabathia’s looked great so far, and LaPorta’s already making an impact in the Indians minor league system. Looks good for both teams right now if you ask this guy.
- The Cubs answered their division rival quickly, landing Oakland ace Rich Harden along with Chad Gaudin in exchange for Matt Murton, Sean Gallagher, Eric Patterson, and Josh Donaldson. Harden was brilliant in his debut. I think this could be another win-win trade, if Harden stays healthy.
- It was once again made clear that no one has interest in Barry Bonds, even at this juncture of the season. Seems like we’ve heard this once or twice before…
- It was a long time coming: The Mariners released Richie Sexson. Could the Yankees be interested?
- With likely season-ending injuries to both Eric Byrnes and Moises Alou (possibly career-ending in Alou’s case), both the D’Backs and Mets are in the market for corner outfielders. Raul Ibanez should be appealing to both clubs, though the Mariners may not be interested in trading him, Jim Riggleman says. Carlos Beltran voiced his support of acquiring Ibanez. I personally don’t see why Seattle wouldn’t pull the trigger, but I’m not a Major League GM, I suppose.
- Tim updated both the first base and catcher markets in the Trade Market Series.
- The Twins had internal discussions on Adrian Beltre. A third base upgrade would certainly be nice, but they’re not known for making big moves at the deadline. Could Bill Smith change that reputation in his first year as GM?
Stark’s Latest: Burnett, Nady, Greinke, Burrell
FRIDAY: We have an update to Stark’s column – he is now saying that Burnett does have veto power over 15 teams.
THURSDAY: Let’s take a look at Jayson Stark’s latest over at ESPN.com.
- The Phillies and Yankees both made failed runs at CC Sabathia. The Phils wouldn’t include Carlos Carrasco or Lou Marson, while the Yanks insisted on a negotiating window. The Phils are looking at Erik Bedard and A.J. Burnett by default, while neither of those pitchers makes sense for the Yankees. The Yanks checked in on Aaron Harang, but that’s a moot point since he’s ailing.
- Despite the Dodgers’ run at Sabathia, they’re apparently not looking at other starters.
- Ken Rosenthal recently wrote that Burnett had veto power over 15 teams, but Stark’s source says it’s just a handful of teams. It’ll be tough to convince Burnett not to opt out of his contract after the season, unless he’s hurt.
- The Braves still haven’t made the buy/sell decision. If they buy, Xavier Nady is the top target. If they sell, Mark Teixeira is the best chip. Apparently Scott Boras is talking about $23MM per year for Tex this winter.
- The Giants are pretty clearly not trading Matt Cain.
- The Orioles, making a run at .500, don’t seem motivated to move George Sherrill or othe top veterans.
- The Brewers’ Plan B beyond Sabathia was Zack Greinke, rather than Rich Harden. Ken Rosenthal recently said the Royals were "decidedly uninterested in moving Greinke," however.
- Stark says it "wouldn’t be out of the question" for the Cubs to pursue a lefthanded starter like Randy Wolf, despite the Harden acquisition.
- Extension with the Phillies for Pat Burrell did not get very far.