Rosenthal’s Latest: Sabathia, Blake, Greinke, Tejada
And now…a fresh Ken Rosenthal column.
- An opposing viewpoint: Rosenthal says "any team that acquires C.C. Sabathia would gain an exclusive window to sign him long-term before he reaches free agency." Rosenthal notes that the Brewers and Rays are stacked enough to acquire Sabathia and wouldn’t mind taking draft picks for him after the season.
- Casey Blake is drawing trade interest; his versatility is a plus. Rosenthal likes the fit for the Dodgers, Mets, and A’s.
- An anonymous general manager tossed out this "trade concept": Adam Dunn to the Dodgers for Juan Pierre, Chin-lung Hu, and cash. Thoughts?
- Teams such as the Braves, Phillies, and Brewers have expressed interest in Zack Greinke at some point, but the Royals plan to keep him. He’ll be eligible for free agency after the 2010 season.
- Earlier this year the Cubs inquired on David DeJesus, but now they seem content with their Jim Edmonds–Reed Johnson platoon. Maybe talks will be rekindled after the season?
- The Astros will talk about any player on the roster without a no-trade clause, which would include Miguel Tejada. Does that mean Jose Valverde, Hunter Pence, and Wandy Rodriguez aren’t off limits?
Heyman Weighs In On Sabathia
To review, we learned yesterday from Ed Price that the Indians are making one last effort to sign ace starter C.C. Sabathia. Now SI.com’s Jon Heyman has a new article on the ever-popular topic of Carsten Charles. A summary follows.
- Heyman’s sources believe the Indians will not commit to a fifth guaranteed year in their offer.
- At least a dozen teams are interested, and "every contending team but the Cardinals already has checked in with Cleveland."
- Heyman says Sabathia is believed to be seeking at least $125MM. But he talked to "a person who knows Sabathia" who believes the pitcher won’t try to wring out every last dollar and might not prefer New York.
- More doubt is cast on the idea of the Indians providing a window to sign Sabathia.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Sabathia
A few notes on recent rumors involving C.C. Sabathia from the Blogosphere…
- At the time of the Johan Santana deal with the Mets, many thought the contract would raise the price for Sabathia. The Tribe Time Report wonders if the Santana deal, as well as the Barry Zito deal might actually have been a good thing for the Indians as other teams are more likely to balk at Sabathia’s demands.
- Tribal Pursuit feels many Indians fans will be unhappy with the package of players the team receives for Sabathia, if dealt.
- Waiting For Next Year does not believe the Indians have any leverage in their attempt to sign Sabathia to an extension before the trading deadline.
- Outs Per Swing does not see the Rays mortgaging their future for a rental player like Sabathia.
- Knuckle Curve sees four teams as the most likely destinations for Sabathia, including the Red Sox, Yankees, Cubs and Dodgers.
- Bugs and Cranks has an image of what Sabathia might look like if traded to the Brewers.
Cork Gaines writes for Rays Index and can be reached here.
Odds and Ends: Chacon, Minaya, Inoa
Nothing major cracking on the hot stove this morning, so we’ll kick it off with odds and ends.
- The Padres haven’t finalized the deal with top pick Allan Dykstra due to concerns with his physical.
- Sorry Pirates fans, but the team does not have interest in bringing back Shawn Chacon.
- David Lennon believes Omar Minaya’s job is safe. Minaya could seek an extension after the season (he’s signed through ’09).
- In a non-subscriber article, Baseball Prospectus’ Joe Sheehan gives his take on whether certain teams should be buyers or sellers.
- Saberscouting gives a scouting report on Michel Inoa.
- Henry Schulman asks C.C. Sabathia whether San Francisco will be on his list.
- A case for the Braves to sign Barry Bonds.
- Sam Mellinger continues his look at Dayton Moore’s work in Kansas City.
- Theo Epstein expects Red Sox execs Ben Cherington and Jed Hoyer to become GMs soon.
Stark’s Latest: K-Rod, Burnett, Oliver Perez, Bedard
It’s Thursday, and that means it’s time to dig in and feast on Jayson Stark’s latest rumor-packed column.
- The Braves have shifted their focus from starting pitching to an impact bat in left field. Stark suggests Raul Ibanez, Jason Bay, and Xavier Nady would make sense. Matt Holliday would be too costly; Adam Dunn is not mentioned.
- We have seen the surprising rumor that the Angels could pursue C.C. Sabathia. However, Stark’s sources are in agreement with Bill Plunkett – the Angels are likely to stand pat.
- Francisco Rodriguez wants four years and more than $60MM, a dangerous record-breaking commitment. The Halos aren’t even sure if they’d do three years and a vesting option.
- There have been no recent extension talks between the Angels and Vladimir Guerrero, but his $15MM option for ’09 is an easy call.
- As we’ve written before, A.J. Burnett is like a rental, but worse. He either pitches well and opts out or pitches poorly and you’re stuck with him. Stark adds that despite Burnett’s willingness to pitch for the Cubs, he’s not on their list. The Cubs are still planning a run at Sabathia. The Brewers are also serious about the Cleveland ace.
- The Mets might shop Oliver Perez, but I’d be surprised if he draws much interest.
- The Blue Jays were already one of Adam Dunn‘s ten no-trade teams. His no-trade rights switched from full to ten teams on June 15th.
- Bill Bavasi talked to the Reds about bringing Ken Griffey Jr. back to Seattle, but Lee Pelekoudas isn’t interested.
- Interesting Indians players who might be available: Rafael Betancourt, Rafael Perez, and Franklin Gutierrez.
- The Yankees aren’t interested in Erik Bedard, but the Phillies are. The teams have differing opinions on whether Bedard’s surly demeanor would present a problem.
Indians Making Final Effort To Sign Sabathia
Before trading ace starter C.C. Sabathia, the Indians intend to make one final attempt to sign him long-term. Ed Price notes that Sabathia does not want to discuss a contract during the season and the Indians won’t be ponying up Johan money.
The sides last negotiated in February. The Indians offered four years and around $68-72MM, plus a bonus for his ’08 salary. Will the Indians crack and offer a fifth year?
Odds and Ends: Bonds, Davis, Chulk, Ichiro
Time for some random linkage.
- I’ll be on XM Radio today at about 5pm CST – channels 176-189 with Mike Ferrin.
- The Dodgers signed Jerome Williams – remember him?
- Viva El Birdos runs through starting pitchers who might be on the Cardinals’ radar.
- Sam Mellinger of the KC Star takes a look at Dayton Moore’s trade record. Meanwhile, Joe Posnanski explains why the Royals should sign Barry Bonds.
- Ken Rosenthal doesn’t want to let Ed Wade off the hook in the Shawn Chacon dustup.
- Red Reporter thinks the Reds are winning the Edinson Volquez–Josh Hamilton swap.
- Rangers first base prospect Chris Davis is getting the call.
- Russell Branyan has been training his eyes.
- "Unsubstantiated report" – the Phillies might have interest in recently-designated reliever Vinnie Chulk.
- Mariners beat writer Geoff Baker expects the team to shop Ichiro.
- Buster Olney sees the Rays as a sleeper in the C.C. Sabathia derby.
- Omar Minaya defends the Luis Castillo signing.
Molony’s Latest: Sabathia, Teixeira, Lewis
MLB.com’s Jim Molony has a slew of hot stove info today.
- Molony talked to some "industry types" about C.C. Sabathia, and those guys suggested the Cubs and Angels could be the frontrunners.
- The Braves could opt for draft picks rather than a Mark Teixeira trade, even if they fall out of the race. They’re only 4.5 games out though.
- A David Price promotion could lead the Rays to trade Jason Hammel, Edwin Jackson, or Andy Sonnanstine. It’ll only work if Price is promoted before the trade deadline.
- The Cubs have scouted Giants outfielder Fred Lewis but aren’t too serious about it.
- The Marlins are still looking for a veteran catcher. Here’s my take on the trade market at the position.
Latest On C.C. Sabathia
Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer has some notes on coveted ace C.C. Sabathia.
- The Indians still haven’t decided whether to put Sabathia on the market. They can afford to wait a few more weeks.
- Hoynes says a 72 hour negotiation window is "unlikely" but "an exception could be made." On June 19th, Jayson Stark wrote that "the Indians have been telling teams they’re not interested in complicating their lives by opening any negotiation windows."
- The Dolans will be involved on any Sabathia trade, as you’d expect.
Odds and Ends: Lieber, Tavarez, Oswalt
We’ve got mostly smaller stuff today, so let’s kick it off with an odds and ends.
- The Mets designated Claudio Vargas for assignment. I’m a bit surprised, I think he’s still a useful pitcher.
- Pitcher Jon Lieber may retire after the season. 130+ wins, that’s a nice career.
- With Tom Gordon‘s shoulder barking, the Phillies’ desire to add a reliever has intensified. Here’s a look at the relief market.
- When a 2.93 ERA is considered underperforming, expectations were never reasonable. Anyone else get the impression that if Johan Santana‘s record was 10-3 instead of 7-6, there wouldn’t even be a discussion? Joel Sherman believes the Yankees (if under Brian Cashman) would not go six or seven years to sign C.C. Sabathia in light of the Barry Zito and Santana deals. He wonders whether Sabathia could be lured with a shorter term and higher average annual value.
- Julian Tavarez chose to become a free agent, surprising the Brewers.
- Roy Oswalt reminds us that he has a no-trade clause and hasn’t been approached by management about any deals.
- The Adam Dunn-J.P. Ricciardi saga continues.
- I chatted with Ryan Henning about the Twins recently.
- T.J. Simers and Ned Colletti argue about the GM’s trading track record.
- The Pirates are looking for pitching. Brett Tomko anyone? Anyone?
- Evan Grant discusses the Rangers’ trade options in his mailbag.