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Phillies No Longer Interested In Fuentes?

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MLB.com’s Trade Talk blog speculates that the Phillies may no longer be pursuing Colorado closer Brian Fuentes, after Philadelphia traded three prospects for Joe Blanton. The blog wonders, "How many chips do (the Phillies) have to play?" Then, the blog hedges its bets:

If an earlier report is correct, the Rockies have asked the Phillies for right-hander Carlos Carrasco or catcher Lou Marson in return for Fuentes, so something could still be possible.

Trade Talk goes on to say that the Rockies would "hit the jackpot if a team came up with a young, talented starter — like, say, the Yankees’ Phil Hughes or Ian Kennedy, or a couple of top Double-A prospects such as the Rays’ Wade Davis or Jeremy Hellickson."

It’s highly unlikely the Phillies will deal Carrasco, the organization’s top prospect, for a set-up man. It’s an absolute impossibility that the Yankees will trade Hughes for Fuentes. The Rays are still considered the front-runners for Fuentes, the blog says.

Coley Ward writes for Umpbump.com and can be reached here.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Fuentes, Holliday, Sherrill

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Ken Rosenthal tops off the day with a column full of rumors.

  • Signing Mark Teixeira as a replacement for Manny Ramirez doesn’t make sense for the Red Sox, who don’t want to take on that kind of mega-contract.
  • The Phillies were recently working on a blockbuster with Colorado that would have netted them Brian Fuentes and Matt Holliday for something like Shane Victorino, J.A. Happ, Carlos Carrasco, and Lou Marson.  Those talks have stalled, and the added payroll might’ve been a problem for the Phillies anyway.
  • Though Frank McCourt denies it, Rosenthal says the Dodgers owned vetoed a CC Sabathia/Casey Blake/Jamey Carroll blockbuster because of a desire to keep trades payroll-neutral.
  • The Rockies, as well as the many suitors for Brian Fuentes, fear he could accept an offer of arbitration and saddle them with an $8MM salary in ’09 instead of two draft picks.  Given Fuentes’ stated desire to close, I find this unlikely.
  • A Pirates scout watched David Price’s last start, though he was likely looking at other members of the Montgomery Biscuits.  The Rays are known to be interested in Xavier Nady.
  • The A’s, stacked with second base candidates, are already getting calls on Adrian Cardenas.  Trading Mark Ellis would make more sense though.
  • Rosenthal believes the Orioles are reluctant to trade George Sherrill because they don’t have a suitable replacement for him in the ninth inning this year.
  • Brewers minor league shortstop Alcides Escobar is untouchable, and his ascent could lead the team to shop J.J. Hardy this winter.

Rockies Rumors: Fuentes, Barmes, Taveras

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Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post has a handful of Rockies rumors today.

  • Saunders believes the Phillies’ spent too much prospect capital on Joe Blanton to be able to acquire Brian Fuentes.  He says the Rays, Yankees, and Mets are still in the mix for Fuentes.
  • The Rays are interested in two other Rockies: Clint Barmes and Willy Taveras.  Unexpected targets…what do you think?  Would Barmes be an upgrade at shortstop?

Pirates Rumors: Nady, Marte, Bay

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New blog to bookmark: PBC Blog.  It comes from Pittsburgh Post-Gazette baseball writers Dejan Kovacevic and Paul Meyer, and already has plenty of good Pirates info up.  On to the hot stove chatter:

  • Kovacevic talked to a Pirates official who disputes the reports that the team’s asking prices for Xavier Nady, Damaso Marte, and Jason Bay are exorbitant.  Kovacevic notes that many of these reports come from New York, and in some cases they’re created as tests for rookie GM Neal Huntington.  Welcome to the club, Neal!
  • Bay is unlikely to be traded, but Nady and Marte are available.  Kovacevic says many teams are in on Nady, and the Braves and Mets even conducted recent conference calls with the Pirates about him.  The Pirates are focused on receiving two quality players for Nady, with an emphasis on pitching.  It’s not a concern yet, but if the Rockies truly shop Matt Holliday it could upset the Nady market.
  • Kovacevic speculates on what it might take for the Pirates to sign Bay to an extension beyond ’09, which may well happen.

Heyman’s Latest: Yankees, Manny, Bowden, Pudge

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SI.com’s Jon Heyman has a new column up.

  • Given Richie Sexson’s expected part-time role, the Yankees are in the market for an everyday outfielder to replace Hideki Matsui’s bat.  Barry Bonds is not under consideration.  Heyman tosses out names such as Matt Holliday, Xavier Nady, Jason Bay, and Adam Dunn, while noting that the price on most is too high (the Pirates deny this).
  • Heyman is still saying the Cardinals will consider trading Colby Rasmus, despite various denials.
  • The Yanks are also looking to add a #3-4 starter type.  Here’s a look at the market.
  • Manny Ramirez probably isn’t going to get what he wants – free agency, an extension, or a trade. 
  • The Nationals are supporting GM Jim Bowden despite his recent problems.  Heyman reported rumblings last month that Bowden "could be in trouble."
  • Despite the Marlins’ interest, the Tigers are unlikely to trade Ivan Rodriguez.  Jon Paul Morosi agrees, while noting that Pudge’s salary might be too high for Florida anyway.

Cubs Rumors: Fuentes, Greene

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Cubs beat writer Bruce Miles of the Daily Herald has a new blog post up.

  • Miles’ Cubs sources "emphatically" denied interest in Padres shortstop Khalil Greene.  And as we noted Monday, the San Diego Union-Tribune killed that rumor several hours after they posted it.
  • Jim Hendry is in the market for a reliever, and Miles expects him to be one of many GMs inquiring on Colorado’s Brian Fuentes.  Roughly a dozen teams are eyeing the lefty, so the Rox should get something good.
  • Miles mentions the possibility of the Cubs pursuing an extra bat, presumably of the bench variety.

Odds and Ends: Nady, LaHair, Garcia, Bonds

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Baseball is back today, but rumors are a bit light.  We’ll kick it off with odds and ends.

Phillies Eyeing Cain, Blanton

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Randy Miller had some interesting Phillies rumors yesterday.  According to Miller:

The latest has the Phils hoping San Francisco, an NL West pretender, will shop 23-year-old right-hander Matt Cain.  Word is the Giants might part with Cain, who is 5-7 with a 4.06 ERA in 20 starts, if offered an intriguing package of young talent.

However, Jayson Stark wrote on Thursday:

We keep hearing people speculate about the Giants trading Matt Cain. But we can’t find a team that has gotten anywhere in its attempts to even get the Giants to discuss him. "I don’t know who got that rumor rolling," said an official of one club. "But they told us, emphatically, no."

Moving on, Miller says the Phils aren’t interested in A.J. Burnett.  Buster Olney said the same on Wednesday.  Miller also notes that the Phils have interest in lefty relievers John Grabow and Brian Fuentes.

According to ESPN’s Buster Olney, the Phillies’ talks for Joe Blanton are "gaining momentum."  Olney believes this deal makes sense, and that it could come together quickly.

Marlins Inquire On Ivan Rodriguez

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Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald writes of the Marlins’ pursuit of a catcher, which has been going on for several weeks now.

The Fish would like to find an upgrade on Matt Treanor, who is currently on the DL with a hip strain.  However, they’re not impressed by available backstops Paul Lo Duca, Yorvit Torrealba, and Dave Ross.  Jackson adds an interesting name – the Marlins asked the Tigers about Ivan Rodriguez, but he’s not available at this time.  They could always sign him in the offseason if the price is right.

We revisited the trade market for catchers about a week ago.  Two names I haven’t heard much for the Marlins are Gregg Zaun and Rod Barajas of the Jays.

Carroll’s Latest: Burnett, Twins, Cardinals

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Baseball Prospectus’ Will Carroll has plenty of rumors in his latest post.

  • Pat Gillick "doesn’t seem that interested" in going back to work for the Mariners.
  • One team asked the Blue Jays to include players to be named later on both sides of an A.J. Burnett deal, to serve as a balance for the pitcher’s uncertain tricky contract. The Jays passed on that idea.  By the way, the Toronto Star’s Richard Griffin thinks the Jays will keep Burnett unless offered a player who can improve the ’08 team.
  • Carroll wonders whether the Pirates would consider trading Ian Snell.  Snell is signed through 2010 with club options for ’11 and ’12.
  • Beyond Adrian Beltre, the Twins "have taken a hard look" at Hank Blalock, Garrett Atkins, and Casey Blake.
  • The Cards are searching the Triple A ranks for the next Ryan Ludwick.  Maybe they were one of the teams inquiring on Nelson Cruz?
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