Odds and Ends: Sabathia, Loretta, Patterson
You know the drill, here’s a roundup of some rumor nuggets. I’ll update the post continuously throughout the day.
- Corey Patterson wants a multiyear deal, which probably isn’t something the Rangers want to do.
- The Indians met with C.C. Sabathia‘s agent on Thursday, but have yet to submit an extension proposal. That will happen this month, most likely.
- Check out how excited Pirates Rule 5 pick Evan Meek was. Pretty cool.
- The Astros expect Mark Loretta to accept their offer of arbitration. The deadline is midnight tonight for players to decide. Despite what Ed Wade says I doubt they really want a $4MM utility player.
- David Wells, Jon Lieber, and Brett Tomko are the types of names the Reds are considering. Tomko came up a Red but went to Seattle in the Griffey deal. Boomer is also a former Red.
- The Padres signed Shawn Estes, but it sounds like they’ve only made an offer to Milton Bradley.
- Andy MacPhail didn’t say no when asked whether he had interest in Eric Gagne and Octavio Dotel. Didn’t say yes, either.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Santana, Fuentes, Heilman
The execs may be on a plane home right now, but the writers are still filing all sorts of rumors. Here’s Ken Rosenthal’s latest piece.
- Rosenthal says the Mets did not talk to the Twins about Johan Santana today, which is surprising. But they did talk earlier this week, at which point the Twins gave the Mets a list of players they liked. The Mets were fine with everyone on the list, which probably included Carlos Gomez and Mike Pelfrey. Rosenthal adds that the Mets are the only NL team firmly in the mix for Santana, and shipping him to the other league might be a factor for the Twins.
- The Giants turned down an offer of Delmon Young for Tim Lincecum before Young was sent to the Twins. This leaves skepticism that the Giants will accept three years of Alex Rios after turning down five of Young.
- The Mets made a straight up offer of Aaron Heilman for Brian Fuentes. As far as I can tell Heilman doesn’t reach free agency until after the 2010 season, so the Rockies would be doing pretty well here. Plus, they could plug him into the rotation. Oddly the dealbreaker was the Rox asking for Scott Schoeneweis as well. I thought the 34 year-old had negative trade value. Rosenthal adds that the Tribe took a glance at Fuentes as well.
- The Rox offered Jamey Carroll for Josh Barfield, which is pretty lopsided even with the year Barfield had. Of course the Indians declined.
Padres To Acquire First Rule 5 Pick, Take Barton?
UPDATE, 12-6-07 at 1:12am: Chris Kline at Baseball America believes the Padres may buy the first pick from the Rays and take Barton.
UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 9:50pm: Damn it, looks like the Rays don’t want Barton after all. Baseball America has that tip plus other Rule 5 rumors.
UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 11:59am: Looks like we were on to something here, as Baseball America also thinks the Rays will grab Barton with the first pick.
FROM 12-2-07 at 7:59am:
The Rule 5 draft is coming up on Thursday, and the Rays have the first pick. They might be able to find something good – Josh Hamilton and Joakim Soria were selected last year. In ’06 the Rays sold their first pick to the A’s for $100K. Anyway, A reliable source has informed MLBTR that the Rays are eyeing 25 year-old outfielder Brian Barton from the Indians for the first pick. Barton was once fairly highly regarded, but the Tribe chose not to protect him this year.
Of course with the Rule 5 the selection has to stay on the Major League roster all year. Barton may be polished enough to do so without causing harm, as he’s posted solid numbers in Double A. Barton is a center fielder by trade. Acquiring him makes sense for Tampa Bay given their subtraction of Delmon Young and Jason Pridie.
Barton may be near MLB-ready but some have questioned his ceiling. Said Baseball Prospectus’ Kevin Goldstein: "He’s always been old for his level and many scouts see him as a mistake hitter and minor league performer as opposed to a player with long-term major league value."
Bay To Indians Talks Revived, Then Dead Again?
UPDATE, 12-5-07 at 2:24pm: The Indians and Pirates haven’t even talked about Bay since the Meetings began.
UPDATE, 12-5-07 at 10:58am: Buster Olney says these talks are dead.
FROM 12-5-07 at 7:35am:
According to Dejan Kovacevic, the Indians felt pressured when they saw the division-rival Tigers trade for Miguel Cabrera. Their response was to restart their conversations with the Pirates for outfielder Jason Bay.
A five-player trade is being discussed, apparently expanding upon the rumor originally reported by ESPN’s Steve Phillips. The Bucs would send Bay and catcher Ronny Paulino for Franklin Gutierrez, Kelly Shoppach, and Cliff Lee. Looks like the Pirates are seeking MLB-ready guys, though they wanted prospects from the Rangers yesterday. Late last night it was also said that the Padres had jumped into the fray for Bay.
It’s decent value for Bay, who should really only be traded this winter if the Pirates feel his decline is for real. It’s not surprising to see the Tribe in on Bay, since the Pirates’ GM came from their organization.
Cardinals Rumors: Rolen, Fogg, Lee, Millwood
UPDATE, 12-5-07 at 1:55pm: Heyman says the impasse between the Cards and Brewers in the Rolen talks was the second player coming over with Chris Capuano. He thinks the two teams will revisit these discussions in the future.
FROM 12-5-07 at 7:29am:
As usual, Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has all the insight into the Cardinals’ situation.
- It doesn’t look like Scott Rolen is going anywhere before the Meetings end, and GM John Mozeliak may have to start the season with him. The talks with the Brewers were disheartening, apparently. The Cards don’t think there should be a discount. There is a glimmer of hope in that Mozeliak may talk again with the Dodgers about Rolen today.
- On the starting pitching front, the Cardinals are being realistic. That means they’re looking into signing Josh Fogg. Fogg will probably get a three-year, $21MM deal or so. Other starters on the radar include Cliff Lee and a new name, Kevin Millwood. Millwood will earn $8.5MM in ’08, $11MM in ’09, and $12MM in ’10. He has a limited no-trade clause, and the club may be able to void the deal after ’09 if he misses certain innings targets.
- Seems odd that the Cards are pursuing guys like the above but are willing to deal Anthony Reyes. As we learned yesterday, the Indians and Padres like the young hurler. The Phillies have coveted him for a while as well.
Indians Asked About Miguel Cabrera
Anthony Castrovince has a few notes about the Indians this evening.
- For Miguel Cabrera, the Marlins asked for Asdrubal Cabrera, Adam Miller, and then some. Obviously the Tribe said no thanks.
- There’s not much going on with the Indians and Jason Bay. And rumors of their interest in Alex Rios proved false.
- Cliff Lee has been linked to the Mariners, Pirates, and Blue Jays. However no one has given the Indians an actual offer for Lee.
- Castrovince suggests the Indians may explore a long-term deal for Fausto Carmona this spring.
Crasnick’s Latest: Lee, Wells, Bay
ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick just cranked out a bunch of good stuff.
- The Indians have talked to the Cardinals about sending Cliff Lee over for Anthony Reyes and catcher Bryan Anderson.
- The Giants could trade for Ben Broussard, but want to see if he’s non-tendered first.
- Kip Wells is being marketed as a setup man, since things didn’t work out as a starter. Who knows, he puts a few mph on the heater in relief and maybe he takes off.
- Crasnick kills the Bay for Shoppach/Lee rumor…didn’t seem right to begin with.
Marlins/Tigers Cabrera/Willis Blockbuster
UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 2:41pm: Joe Capozzi agrees – separate deals if anything.
UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 1:29pm: MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro has a source indicating that the Tigers are interested in Willis or Cabrera and not necessarily both.
UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 12:23pm: According to Danny Knobler, the Tigers feel they’re being used by the Marlins to jack up the price for other teams like the Angels. The trade talks between Detroit and Florida are characterized as discussions rather than trade negotiations. Knobler says Dombrowski doesn’t want to trade Maybin, but I can’t see this happening otherwise.
FROM 12-4-07 at 11:02am:
Ken Rosenthal has an update with a whopper of a trade rumor.
- The Marlins and Tigers are talking about a monster deal that would send Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis over to the Tigers for Andrew Miller, Cameron Maybin, and others. Dave Dombrowski has always worked well with the Marlins, his former team.
- Rosenthal confirms Bob Dutton’s assertion – the Royals signing Jose Guillen may not stop them from getting Andruw Jones too.
- The O’s are trying to move Ramon Hernandez. They could sign Michael Barrett if they move him, or else get Jeff Mathis or Mike Napoli from L.A. in a Tejada deal.
- The Tribe hasn’t decided whether to trade Cliff Lee, though there’s been plenty of buzz so far.
Odds and Ends: Cliff Lee, Edwin Jackson
You know the drill…
- Nick Piecoro checks in on his blog. Apparently the D’Backs discussed swapping Carlos Quentin for Cliff Lee before sending him to Chicago. As much as he might’ve liked to it seems like Josh Byrnes couldn’t get a starter for Quentin.
- Geoff Baker links the Mariners to Lee, Ben Sheets, Mark Prior, and Edwin Jackson based on yesterday’s buzz. The Sheets one has since been questioned, since the Dodgers were identified as the West Coast team that inquired. Prior could be part of a Raul Ibanez trade, but the Cubs are first focusing on Fukudome. As for Jackson, the Rays would want more than just Ben Broussard.
- John Fay believes the Reds will have to part with Jay Bruce or Homer Bailey to get a frontline starter.
Rios For Franklin Gutierrez and Cliff Lee?
UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 10:03am: Per Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun: no match for the Indians and Jays on Rios. I knew Gutierrez/Lee didn’t sound right.
FROM 12-4-07 at 9:46am:
Joel Sherman has a new column up with some fresh rumors.
- The Indians and Blue Jays are reportedly talking about a swap that would send Alex Rios to the Tribe for Franklin Gutierrez and Cliff Lee. Seriously? That seems like a lousy deal for the Jays. How long until a debunking on this one?
- The Jake Peavy signing is a cause for optimism as the Indians seek to re-sign C.C. Sabathia.
- As you know, the Cubs are all about getting a left-handed hitting right fielder, and Kosuke Fukudome is the best available. Adam Dunn was also on their radar (in right field??) but those talks died. Sherman says if the Cubs don’t get Fukudome they could move on to Johnny Damon (in right field??).