Gammons’ Latest: Sabathia, Dunn, Harden
ESPN’s Peter Gammons has a new blog post up.
- The Indians are "thoroughly scouting" eight teams that may be interested in C.C. Sabathia, including the Yankees, Red Sox, Cubs, and Dodgers (the Mets may be another). Gammons agrees with Ken Rosenthal that Mark Shapiro may trade Sabathia soon to maximize his value. Gammons does not see the Yanks jumping in with Phil Hughes or a multi-prospect offer, unless Chien-Ming Wang‘s injury forces their hand. He does not think the Cubs or Phillies have the goods, but suggests the Rangers as a dark horse.
- If the Cubs don’t have enough for Sabathia, Plan B could be Randy Wolf, Greg Maddux, or even Erik Bedard. The Padres and Mariners have been informed of the Cubs’ interest.
- Gammons seems to indicate that Mark Teixeira could be available if the Braves fall out of the race (although Tex is not mentioned by name).
- The Dodgers may have been open to trading Brad Penny, but his shoulder injury puts the kibosh on that.
- Adam Dunn‘s whifftastic ways scare the Red Sox, who might pass even if David Ortiz needs surgery. Gammons suggests Josh Willingham would be a better fit.
- Rich Harden could be a huge acquisition, one of the game’s most dominating pitchers. It’s the same story though – will any team be willing to meet Billy Beane’s asking price given Harden’s injury history?
Indians Sign First Round Pick Chisenhall
According to Justice B. Hill of MLB.com, the Indians signed their first round pick Lonnie Chisenhall for $1.2MM. Chisenhall, a left-handed hitter, played mostly shortstop in college but the Indians view him as a third baseman.
Chisenhall may have dropped to #29 partially because of a burglary incident last year. On draft day, only 17% of MLBTR readers polled thought the Indians made the right choice. That may just be because Chisenhall was not a household name.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Dunn, Sabathia, Teixeira
Ken Rosenthal has a new Full Count video up.
- Adam Dunn‘s no-trade protection narrows from all teams to ten teams today. Dunn told Rosenthal he’d like a resolution soon rather than another round of rumors. He’d be open to an extension with the Reds, but the team has not made contact. Will Walt Jocketty attempt to re-sign Dunn before shopping him?
- Tough situation for the Indians – at 6.5 games out, they’re not ready to give up. However, Mark Shapiro could maximize the return for C.C. Sabathia by trading him now rather than late July. As many have noted, Sabathia is more than just a rental given the certain Type A draft pick compensation.
- Rosenthal says the Braves (also 6.5 games out) are even less likely to concede than the Indians. So don’t look for another summer of Mark Teixeira rumors. The Braves may be buyers, hunting for a left fielder and a young controllable starting pitcher.
Sherman’s Latest: Sabathia, Fielder, Marte
The New York Post’s Joel Sherman has a host of rumors in his new column.
- Sherman believes the Indians are leaning toward trading C.C. Sabathia. He names the usual suspects (Yankees, Red Sox, Cubs) but also throws the Brewers into the mix based on the opinion of an "AL talent evaluator."
- Speaking of the Brewers, Sherman believes Prince Fielder will be available "almost definitely in the offseason" and perhaps even this summer. Doug Melvin says he’s not exploring it but never rules out anything. The presence of Mat Gamel and Matt LaPorta plus Fielder’s unwillingness to sign long-term could lead to a deal. Fielder figures to jump up to at least $7-8MM upon reaching arbitration for the first time.
- The Yankees have Damaso Marte atop their list, but the Pirates want something better than two draft picks in return. He’s looking like a Type A free agent.
- Walt Jocketty wants to "clean house." The usual players are named, but Sherman also mentions Bronson Arroyo as a possibility.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Sabathia, Durham, Bedard
A few random musings from the Blogosphere…
- In the wake of the recent C.C. Sabathia-to-the-Yankees rumors, River Ave. Blues lays down a few ground rules for commenting on trade rumors.
- Bottom 9 insists that the Indians have the pitching to stay in the race and Sabathia is not going anywhere.
- Indians Confidential is also emphatic that Sabathia is not going to be traded and is still holding out hope that the Indians and Sabathia can agree to a long-term extension.
- Yankees Chick is not anxious to trade away Robinson Cano and/or Melky Cabrera but notes that if the Yankees are going to make a playoff push the pitching staff needs an upgrade.
- Rivera’s Cutter speculates that the Yankees could just trade for Sabathia as a rental and let him leave after the season and take the free agency compensation draft picks.
- Viva El Birdos would like to see the Cardinals upgrade at second base and believe Ray Durham would be a nice alternative if Brian Roberts is unattainable.
- Phillies Nation is not convinced that Erik Bedard would be a nice addition to the Phillies rotation, noting that Bedard has been awful away from the pitcher-friendly Safeco Field.
Cork Gaines writes for Rays Index and can be reached here.
Heyman’s Latest: Griffey, Garcia, Sabathia
SI.com’s Jon Heyman has a new column up.
- Ken Griffey Jr. is reportedly telling friends that the Rays are his preference if he is to be traded. He’d be close to his Orlando home, always a major consideration for him. Heyman says Junior would prefer to be dealt after the All-Star game. It’s not known whether the Rays have interest in Griffey, though. Jayson Stark suggested yesterday that Griffey could sign there as a free agent next year.
- Freddy Garcia hit 85 mph in a recent session. It’s been suggested he could be in the Majors by late August.
- Heyman talked to a "hopeful competing GM" who expects C.C. Sabathia to be traded.
Yankees-Sabathia Chatter
Tyler Kepner of the New York Times believes Victor Martinez‘s injury "will probably lead to a trade of the ace left-hander C.C. Sabathia." He says the Yankees will have "strong interest" if Sabathia becomes available. Kepner also expects the Cubs and Red Sox to be in the mix.
As for a return, Kepner suggests the Yankees could match the Indians’ needs of pitching and infield help. He does not see Robinson Cano as a possibility, though.
According to Baseball America, the Yankees have three Top 100 prospects aside from Joba Chamberlain: Jose Tabata (#37), Austin Jackson (#41), and Ian Kennedy (#45). Others on the fringe of the Top 100 when BA compiled the rankings in March: Alan Horne, Jeff Marquez, and Jesus Montero. Some of these players have seen their stock drop, however. What do you think it’d take to get a deal done?
Odds and Ends: Gibbons, Skipworth, Viciendo
Let’s catch up with some more links.
- Jay Gibbons took my advice! He’ll join the independent Atlantic League.
- Mark Shapiro is still holding out hope that the Indians can contend.
- The Marlins are close to signing Kyle Skipworth, the sixth overall pick.
- The Phillies released Steve Kline. Might be time to hang it up.
- MLB told teams not to contact Dayan Viciendo until his situation is resolved. The Reds may look into it after that.
- Peter Abraham ponders scenarios for the Yankees to acquire C.C. Sabathia.
Meche Available?
WEDNESDAY: Jon Heyman of SI.com says Meche is "expected to be shopped by the Royals at the trade deadline," tossing out the Cubs as a possibility. Who knows. On a related topic, Buster Olney says "some folks within the industry" believe the Cubs would be C.C. Sabathia‘s most aggressive suitor if he becomes available.
TUESDAY: Yesterday, ESPN’s Peter Gammons said the Cubs are "sifting through names that could be available," mentioning starters A.J. Burnett, Gil Meche, Randy Wolf, Paul Byrd, Joe Blanton, Erik Bedard, and Aaron Cook. Gammons notes that the Cubs tried to sign Meche in the winter of ’06 (as did the Jays).
The Kansas City Star’s Bob Dutton spoke to Meche as well as a club official. It doesn’t seem that the Royals will shop Meche, and he wouldn’t necessarily waive his no-trade clause for Chicago anyway. Dutton’s club source indicated that Meche is expected to be a big part of the next winning Royals team. Meche earns $11MM this year, $11MM in ’09, $12MM in ’10, and $12MM in ’11.
Odds and Ends: Wolf, Indians, Ensberg
Random items for today…
- MLBTR live chat, today at 2pm CST. Right after I finish my corned beef sandwich.
- RotoAuthority takes a look at the fantasy value of Randy Wolf.
- On Sunday I joined the guys from Drunk Jays Fans for part of their podcast. A button to listen to the show can be found here.
- Paul Hoynes says the Indians’ Mark Shapiro will need "at least a month to narrow the field of suitors for players such as C.C. Sabathia and Paul Byrd to see if he really wants to trade them."
- RotoWorld says the Yankees have released Morgan Ensberg.