Rockies Rumors

Odds And Ends: Halladay, O’Day, Scott, Giambi

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | August 25, 2009 at 9:56am CDT

Some links for the morning…

Be here at 2pm CST for this week's chat.
Jamey Newberg compares Roy Halladay and Derek Holland since July 31st and shows that the Rangers are looking good even though they didn't deal for Doc.
Joel Sherman of the New York Post says designating Darren O'Day for assignment was an "under-the-radar mistake" by the Mets.
MLB.com's Spencer Fordin says the Orioles are trying to evaluate Luke Scott at first base to see if he can play there long-term. No one's hitting him anything, so the O's are having trouble reading his ability.
Jason Giambi tells Troy Renck of the Denver Post that he has no problem playing in the minors or coming off the bench for the Rockies.
Curt Schilling said on WEEI in Boston that he's not surprised to hear Billy Wagner is passing up the chance to enter a playoff race.

Rosenthal On Mets, Cubs, Yankees, Hawkins

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | August 25, 2009 at 9:08am CDT

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports wonders how Mets GM Omar Minaya and Cubs GM Jim Hendry will untangle themselves from their respective messes. Both execs have overpaid for players in the recent past, but both can point to recent successes. Here are the details:

The Mets are expected to lower their payroll from the $150MM range next season.
The Rockies obtained Carlos Gonzalez from the A's in last winter's Matt Holliday trade and, for all of Holliday's heroics in St. Louis, Gonzalez is out-slugging Holliday by 142 points since the A's flipped him to the Cards.
A Yankees official says it's "very likely" the team will bring Johnny Damon back after the season if he's willing to take a paycut.
Like their cross-town rivals, the Yanks are expected to be operating on a lower payroll next year.
The Yankees figure to be in the mix for Matt Holliday, Jason Bay, or both.
Alex Gonzalez could have vetoed the trade that sent him to Boston.
The Astros placed LaTroy Hawkins on waivers and Rosenthal expects the Rockies, Cardinals and Dodgers to at least consider him.

Odds and Ends: Garland, Ordonez, Pettite, Peavy

By Brian Shephard | August 24, 2009 at 10:27pm CDT

Links from around the league on a slow Monday night…

Keith Law of ESPN says that the Rockies should consider picking up Jon Garland.
In the Detroit Free Press, Jamie Samuelsen argues that the Tigers should keep Magglio Ordonez in the lineup to maintain credibility with future free agents.
When asked whether Andy Pettitte will be brought back by the Yankees next year, ESPN's Buster Olney writes that "given how he's throwing, I'm sure it will happen."
And the White Sox's new acquisition, Jake Peavy, could start on Saturday against CC Sabathia and the Yankees, writes Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune.

Odds And Ends: Giambi, Wagner, Oswalt, Snyder

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | August 24, 2009 at 3:12pm CDT

Another round of links…

Ed Price of AOL FanHouse reports that the Rockies officially announced the signing of Jason Giambi to a minor league deal.
Kiley McDaniel of Baseball Prospectus says some clubs watch Latin American teams in the Little League World Series to establish preliminary lists of interesting players.
Billy Wagner pitched an inning for the Mets today and Gameday says he hit 95 mph. He threw nine of his 19 pitches for strikes and picked up two strikeouts, walking one without allowing a hit. The Red Sox were surely watching the outing since they have another day to work out a deal with the Mets for Wagner.
Roy Oswalt tells MLB.com's Brian McTaggart that time is running out and he wants the Astros to win soon, while he's around with Carlos Lee, Lance Berkman and possibly Miguel Tejada.
As MLB.com's Steve Gilbert reports, Chris Snyder is glad to have signed an extension when he did.

Rockies To Sign Russ Ortiz

By Nat Boyle | August 23, 2009 at 10:01am CDT

Thomas Harding of MLB.com reports the Rockies will announce the signing of veteran Russ Ortiz. Along with the signing of Jason Giambi, the Rockies have significantly increased their veteran presence for the stretch run.

Ortiz was released by the Astros after posting a 5.57 ERA in 23 games, 13 starts. After signing with the Yankees and going 2-1 with a 1.59 ERA in Triple A, he opted out when he wasn't promoted. Ortiz wanted to pitch for a contender and signing with the Rox gives him that chance.

Rockies Sign Jason Giambi

By Mike Axisa | August 23, 2009 at 7:30am CDT

9:30am: The AP is confirming the Rockies have signed Giambi.

Saturday 8:01pm: Tracy Ringolsby of Inside The Rockies says that "Giambi is ready to join Triple-A Colorado Springs where he will be given regular at-bats with the idea of being activated by the Rockies when the active rosters expand to 40 players on Sept. 1." He also mentions that the Rockies made a run at Tony Clark earlier in the year, but he balked at the idea of spending time in Triple-A.

6:10pm: Susan Slusser of The SF Chronicle hears that Jason Giambi is "getting close to signing with a contender to be add some bench power, and the team I'm hearing is Colorado." She mentions that the Rockies' interest is unconfirmed. Giambi was released by the Athletics earlier this month while he was on the disabled list, hitting just .193-.332-.364 in 83 games. I would think it's safe to assume he's healthy if teams are interested in signing him.

Not that the sample size is substantial, but Giambi is a career .283-.356-.509 hitter in 59 career plate appearances off the bench. Any team that signs him will only be responsible for the pro-rated minimum.

Rosenthal’s Full Count Video: Wagner, Holliday, Brewers

By Mike Axisa | August 22, 2009 at 5:26pm CDT

Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com has a new Full Count video up. Let's dive in…

Don't expect the Mets to just give away Billy Wagner as a salary dump. He'll have "actual trade value" this winter, and his $8MM club option would not be outrageous money on a one year deal if he's healthy.
Even if his team declines the option, they could offer him arbitration and receive two high draft picks if he signs elsewhere since he projects to be a Type-A free agent. Wagner would be much more than a six-week rent in that case.
Matt Holliday's performance with the Cardinals has undoubtedly boosted his stock as an impending free agent. One GM still thinks Jason Bay is a comparable player on the open market, but Holliday is better defensively, younger, and better at hitting breaking balls than Bay.
The real question is how each player will age, which is impossible to say at this point.
The Brewers have yet to place veterans like Mike Cameron and Trevor Hoffman on trade waivers, but with the team now out of contention, Rosenthal asks "why not?"
GM Doug Melvin is disinclined to make such deals because he knows the return may not be significant, but Hoffman in particular would be attractive. The Rockies have already discussed him internally.
Craig Counsell, Braden Looper, and Jason Kendall could have value as well.
Earlier this season there was talk that Mark Mulder and Ben Sheets could help teams in the second half, but that hasn't happened. Sheets has decided that the risk of a setback isn't worth the reward of an accelerated return, but he should be healthy for next season.
Mulder has only thrown 12.2 IP over the last two seasons, but he's been working with his former pitching coach Rick Peterson and supposedly wants to pitch this season.

Odds & Ends: Padres, Rockies, Second Basemen

By Eddie Schmid | August 22, 2009 at 11:03am CDT

Some links to peruse this morning:

Joel Sherman at the New York Post asked seven top team executives who they'd rather have manning second base over the next five years: Dustin Pedroia or Robinson Cano? Click over for the results.
Bill Center at the San Diego Union-Tribune hears that the the Padres are interested in keeping impending free agent backstop Henry Blanco.
The Rockies' newly-signed lefty phenom Tyler Matzek said a "gut feeling" led him to ink his $3.9MM deal with the team with only 10 minutes left till deadline, forgoing his career at the University of Oregon, according to the Associated Press. My gut says that $3.9MM is kind of a lot of money, but that could be just me.

Odds And Ends: Zambrano, Sheffield, Rockies

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | August 21, 2009 at 9:06am CDT

Links for the morning…

Chris De Luca of the Chicago Sun-Times believes the Cubs need Carlos Zambrano, even if he hasn't endeared himself to everyone.
Joel Sherman of the New York Post suspects that baseball is about to retire Gary Sheffield. After all, it will be hard for a "41-year-old, oft-injured malcontent" to find work.
Bruce Jenkins of the San Francisco Chronicle looks at the Rockies and sees a team without glaring weaknesses.
Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times lists the best and worst free agent signings the Cubs have made since 2000.
Sure, the Yankees and Red Sox are big spenders, but, as this Boston Globe piece shows, they develop lots of talent, too.

Odds & Ends: Padilla, Riggleman, Cabrera, Twins

By Brian Shephard | August 20, 2009 at 10:08pm CDT

Some links to wrap up your Thursday night…

Scott Miller of CBSSports.com notes that Vicente Padilla brings hefty baggage with him to Los Angeles. He points out that the circumstances are similar to the arrival of one Manny Ramirez last year.
The Nationals will conduct a search for a permanent manager in the offseason, according to Bill Ladson of MLB.com. Jim Riggleman, the interim manager, will be a candidate for the job.
R.J. Anderson at FanGraphs discusses the success of of Everth Cabrera, whom the Padres swiped from the division-rival Rockies in the Rule V Draft.
And the Twins signed a German player with a family background in ballet, according to John W. Miller of the Wall Street Journal.

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