Rockies Rumors

Rockies Sign Villarreal

By Tim Dierkes | August 14, 2008 at 11:11am CDT

According to Jack Etkin of the Rocky Mountain News, the Rockies signed reliever Oscar Villarreal to a minor league deal today. The Rox will have Villarreal under contract for ’09, mostly paid for by the Astros. I hadn’t realized Villarreal signed with the Mariners after being designated by Houston. He opted out of that contract when the Ms didn’t bring him to the Majors by August 8th.

Villarreal’s strikeout and groundball rates slipped this year, leading to a 5.02 ERA in 37.2 innings. He’s been worked pretty hard at times in his career.

Heyman’s Latest: Lucchino, Manny, Rangers

By Tim Dierkes | August 11, 2008 at 4:02pm CDT

I wanted to let the Dunn trade cool off a bit before diving into Jon Heyman’s latest.

Heyman "people in high places in baseball" who believe Red Sox president/CEO Larry Lucchino might leave after the season, possibly for the Dodgers. He’s still butting heads with Theo Epstein apparently.
Heyman doesn’t buy the idea that Scott Boras orchestrated Manny Ramirez’s departure from Boston. He also doesn’t buy the idea of Ramirez playing in New York.
Nolan Ryan would like Tom Hicks to sell the Rangers to him, but Hicks has shown no willingness to do so.
Players such as George Sherrill, Brian Fuentes, and Raul Ibanez are not expected to clear waivers. No surprise there.

Odds and Ends: Kielty, Ellis, Bonds, Poreda

By Tim Dierkes | August 11, 2008 at 11:40am CDT

Time to for today’s link collection.

The Twins signed Bobby Kielty to a minor league deal. The former Twin was released by the Red Sox in July. When he’s going good, he can hit lefties pretty well.
Peter Magowan is glad the Giants didn’t successfully pull off an attempted trade for Manny Ramirez before the ’07 season. However, as Henry Schulman notes, that might’ve prevented the Barry Zito contract.
The Reds haven’t talked to the agents for any of their potential free agents, and no decision has been made on Adam Dunn.
Susan Slusser wonders if the D’Backs will try to acquire second baseman Mark Ellis in the wake of Orlando Hudson’s season-ending injury, though manager Bob Melvin does not expect an acquisition.
It’s a moot point since they’re not interested, but Astros manager Cecil Cooper would quit if the team signed Barry Bonds.
Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune notes that the Rockies asked for ’07 first-rounder Aaron Poreda for Brian Fuentes. Instead, Rogers believes he could get a big-league look.
Ken Davidoff talks to agent Joe Bick about how Brian Giles went about choosing the teams on his no-trade list.
The Rangers made their first Korean amateur signing, inking a high school righty named Tae-kyeong Ahn. They also signed Dominican outfielder Esdras Abreu, among others.

Week In Review: 8/3 – 8/9

By Steve Adams | August 10, 2008 at 5:02pm CDT

Here’s a quick look back at some of the bigger stories on MLBTR over the past week:

D’Backs ace Dan Haren signed a very affordable extension with the team, which would keep him in Arizona through 2012 with an option for 2013. Great deal for the D’Backs and their fans.
Brian Giles was claimed off waivers by the Red Sox, which is now believed to have been an effort to block the Rays from acquiring him. Giles blocked the trade to Boston with his no-trade clause.
The Rockies acquired Livan Hernandez from the Twins. Minnesota won’t receive a player in return, but unloads Hernandez’s remaining $1.5MM on his contract, as well as his 5.48 ERA. Seems fine to me.
Fifteen teams watched a throwing session from Freddy Garcia. Here are a few reactions.
Relievers on the move: The Cubs DFA’ed Scott Eyre, and traded him to the Phillies the next day. The Rays acquired Chad Bradford from the Orioles, and DFA’ed Al Reyes in order to make room for him. In a rare inter-division trade, the Royals traded Horacio Ramirez to the White Sox. Huston Street was claimed, but is staying put.
Position players on the move: Felipe Lopez signed with the Cardinals, the Mariners released Jose Vidro, and the Marlins signed Paul Lo Duca in addition to claiming Brad Ausmus off waivers. No word on whether or not a deal will be worked out for Ausmus yet.
A few glimpses into 2009? Rafael Furcal hopes to re-sign with the Dodgers. Bobby Abreu hopes to be wearing Yankee pinstripes again, and the Nationals hope Willie Harris is a part of the organization again as well.
Tim made a list of waiver trade candidates for both the American League and National League and compiled a list of players who were known to have cleared waivers in 2007. Remember, these are just players who would likely clear waivers, whether because of their talent level or contractual status. Teams often place big-name players on waivers that they have no intention of trading.

Perrotto’s Latest: Waivers, Extensions, Garcia, Braves

By Steve Adams | August 10, 2008 at 2:46pm CDT

John Perrotto over at Baseball Prospectus has his Every Given Sunday column up:

Perrotto lists off several people which he believes are the most likely to be made available if and when they clear waivers. While the list is comprised of a lot of the usual suspects this August (Greg Maddux, Jarrod Washburn, Paul Byrd, Randy Winn), Perrotto lists some other names that we haven’t seen as much: Francisco Cordero, Tyler Walker, Todd Jones, Jose Bautista, and Doug Mientkiewicz. Perrotto also says that he feels Aubrey Huff has the best chance to be traded of any impact bat available.
Perrotto states that the Rockies would like to sign both Garrett Atkins and Matt Holliday long-term. If unsuccessful, they will both be on the trading block this offseason.
The Pirates would like to sign Nate McLouth and Ryan Doumit long-term as well, buying out their arbitration years.
Perrotto lists the Yankees as the front-runners to sign Freddy Garcia. The Mets and Rays are also suitors for Garcia, though I personally don’t think Garcia makes sense for the Rays.
The Yankees have "little interest" in pursuing Manny Ramirez this offseason, despite possible reports that Manny would like to play for them.
The Twins would still like to add a late-inning reliever this season to boost their bullpen as the AL Central race winds down.
The Braves’ top priority this offseason is pursuing a front-line starter, Perrotto says. He lists possible candidates as: C.C. Sabathia, Ben Sheets, Ryan Dempster, Derek Lowe, and Jon Garland. Seems a bit odd to consider the last three "front-line," though Dempster has certainly been impressive this season.

Odds And Ends: Guerrero, Sheffield, Wells, Lincecum

By Joe Pawlikowski | August 10, 2008 at 10:04am CDT

Here are a few tidbits from around the ’Net this morning.

Vlad Guerrero wants to spend the rest of his days with the Angels. The question is, will the Halos pony up for a deal for the slugger’s latter years? They hold a $15 million club option ($3 million buyout) for next year, Vlad’s age-33 season. Will they work out an extension this off-season, or will they let Future Vlad and Future Reagins figure it out after ’09?
Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe mentions a player who wouldn’t mind being traded: Gary Sheffield. The 39-year-old hasn’t enjoyed his time at DH, saying that he needs to play the field to be a vocal leader. A few obstacles stand in the way, including his limited no-trade clause, his chronically ailing shoulder, and the $19 million owed to him over the next two years. He’d easily clear waivers, though, and might have already. Tampa Bay, anyone?
The Rockies have DFA’d Kip Wells to make room for Livan Hernandez. Wells had a 5.27 ERA over 27.1 innings for the Rockies.
Looks like Tim Lincecum is content going with year to year contracts, according to his agent. The Giants have a monopoly on his services through the 2013 season.
With Carlos Lee likely out for the season, Richard Justice urges the Astros to sign Barry Bonds.
With the August 15th draftee signing deadling approaching, the Pirates have a major league deal on the table for first round pick Pedro Alvarez.

Jarrod Washburn Placed on Waivers

By Sarah Green | August 9, 2008 at 11:48am CDT

3:32: I’m a bit confused by these two reports, as I thought there was an automatic waiting period of three business days. Either there’s something I’m missing (entirely probable) or there’s a discrepancy here. I’ll keep looking for something definitive.

1:09pm: The Seattle Times is reporting that Washburn has cleared waivers.

11:48am: Jarrod Washburn was put on waivers yesterday by Seattle. They’ll expire on Tuesday. Are the Yankees still interested? Ken Rosenthal didn’t think so, but that was last week. Last we heard, the Mariners wanted quite a bit, and the Mets, Rockies, and White Sox had also been mentioned as possible suitors.

Washburn turns 34 in less than a week, and has a 4.76 ERA this year. Next year, he’s owed $10.35MM. Maybe the Mariners have decided to come down their asking price.

Odds and Ends: Manny, McDonald, Bradford, Bowden

By Tim Dierkes | August 8, 2008 at 9:31am CDT

Collection o’ links…

Craig Monroe has cleared waivers and become a free agent.
ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick talks to Pirates GM Neal Huntington about his deadline deals.
Pirates players Chris Duffy and Franquelis Osoria cleared waivers and will head to Triple A.
Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi says manager Cito Gaston will be back next year.
Yesterday Dan Shaughnessy wrote a few sentences about the commissioner’s office investigating Manny Ramirez’s final hours with the Red Sox. It’s become a national story. More on the situation from the L.A. Times.
Sean McAdam wonders if the Red Sox could acquire Toronto shortstop John McDonald. He’d have to get past ten other AL teams first.
In regards to the Chad Bradford deal, Andy MacPhail said, "I can use the dough." MacPhail said the Orioles will receive a prospect, to be determined in the offseason.
Jack Etkin of the Rocky Mountain News believes Rockies reliever Kip Wells is expendable.
Tracy Ringolsby heard speculation that Nationals VP of baseball operations Mike Rizzo could replace GM Jim Bowden.

Reds Wanted Spilborghs For Fogg

By Tim Dierkes | August 7, 2008 at 10:37am CDT

According to Tracy Ringolsby of the Rocky Mountain News back on August 1st, the Rockies tried to acquire Cincinnati starter Josh Fogg but the Reds asked for outfielder Ryan Spilborghs in return. Troy E. Renck does not believe Fogg will clear waivers this month.

Fogg, 31, has a 7.57 ERA in 54.2 innings for the Reds this year. He’s been a bit better since returning from a long DL stint for back spasms. Fogg had to wait around until February to sign a one-year, $1MM deal with the Reds, which he probably regrets. Fogg apparently turned down a preliminary one-year offer from the Rockies soon after the World Series.

Spilborghs, 29 in September, is hitting .314/.420/.497 in 224 plate appearances this year. He crushes lefties. However, he has not played since July 8th due to an oblique strain. Spilborghs is under team control for quite a while. He’s worth much more than Fogg, even with teams getting desperate for starters.

Rockies Acquire Livan Hernandez

By Tim Dierkes | August 6, 2008 at 9:52pm CDT

9:52pm: ESPN’s Peter Gammons has a blog post contradicting a piece of info from Ringolsby. Gammons says the Mets did not put in a waiver claim on Hernandez. They prefer in-house options.

4:04pm: Ken Rosenthal says Livan is now officially a Rockie. The Rockies will pay the rest of his contract. August is a fine time for teams to unload millions owed to mediocre veteran pitchers.

WEDNESDAY, 9:52am: Some additional information from Tracy Ringolsby of the Rocky Mountain News: the Rockies will make a waiver claim on Josh Fogg in the unlikely event the Twins pull Hernandez back. The Twins might be trying to wrangle a player out of the Rockies in addition to the salary relief.

Ringoslby says the Mets and possibly the Cardinals also made claims on Hernandez.

TUESDAY: According to Ken Rosenthal, the Rockies won their waiver claim on Livan Hernandez. Apparently the Rox beat out another NL team with a better record. Apparently no American League team put in a claim.

At the least, the Twins will dump off Hernandez just to be free of his contract. At most, they might be able to snag some kind of fringe prospect. Hernandez is owed another $1.5MM, plus incentives.

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