Odds And Ends: Taveras, Brewers, Kent
A few notes from around the MLBiverse…
- Troy E. Renck says Willy Taveras prefers to stay with the Rockies, despite being claimed off waivers. Taveras speculates that he was claimed by either the Yankees or the Nationals. Renck says it is unlikely that Taveras will be traded during the season.
- Tom Haudricourt is reporting that the Brewers don’t expect to make any deals prior to tonight’s deadline to acquire players that would be eligible for the post-season.
- Tony Jackson of the LA Daily News is reporting that Jeff Kent’s knee injury could be career-ending. Kent is contemplating retirement following the season. He is not signed for ’09.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.
Taveras Claimed Off Waivers
Willy Taveras has been claimed off waivers. There is no indication that the Rockies are actually going to work out a deal with the team that claimed him but there has been interest in the speedy outfielder from the Nationals, Phillies and Mets.
Molony’s Latest: Fuentes, Red Sox, White Sox
Here’s the latest from MLB.com’s Jim Molony.
- The Red Sox are eyeing Rockies closer Brian Fuentes, though Ken Rosenthal has said Fuentes cannot be traded this month. Plus, the Rockies still intend to make a playoff run in the weak NL West.
- The Red Sox and White Sox had scouts at Wednesday night’s Astros-Reds game. Roy Oswalt pitched that one, but he won’t be traded. The Reds still have some good trade candidates in the bullpen (David Weathers has cleared waivers, Jeremy Affeldt is a free agent after the season).
Fuentes, Taveras Placed On Waivers
3:25pm: Rosenthal says Fuentes’ trip to the bereavement list pretty much kills the chances of a trade.
WEDNESDAY, 10:55am: Troy E. Renck weighs in, suggesting that Taveras might clear waivers. The Nationals like him, but don’t want to add payroll. He expects the Dodgers, Rays, and Cardinals to put in claims on Fuentes (the Dodgers would win). The price remains a premium young starter, even though now the receiving team would get one less month of Fuentes.
TUESDAY: As expected, the Rockies have placed closer Brian Fuentes and center fielder Willy Taveras on waivers. Ken Rosenthal does not expect either player to clear.
As Rosenthal says, the Rockies will still require a return superior to two draft picks for Fuentes. He is certain to sign a multiyear deal elsewhere in the offseason. The Dodgers have first crack among contenders, though a non-contender could put in a claim just for sport.
Taveras is under team control through 2010, unless he is non-tendered before then. The speedy 26 year-old is hitting just .264/.316/.312 in 465 plate appearances.
Odds and Ends: Indians, Livan, Braves, Friedman
Let’s round up today’s random links.
- The Pirates received catcher Robinzon Diaz from the Blue Jays in the Jose Bautista deal. Not too shabby, he should develop into a credible cheap backup.
- Yahoo’s Gordon Edes sees Manny Ramirez playing for the Mets in ’09.
- The point continues to be hammered home – the Indians intend to acquire a proven closer this winter. Brian Fuentes seems a reasonable target.
- RotoAuthority takes a closer look at Cliff Lee.
- Rockies manager Clint Hurdle wants to see if Livan Hernandez fits into their plans for 2009. Hernandez has allowed a remarkable 224 hits in 152 innings – a rate that will rank second in baseball history if he can reach the 162 innings needed to qualify. Even Jose Lima can’t make that claim.
- J.C. Bradbury notes that the Braves’ attempts to extend star players acquired via trade have been largely unsuccessful.
- Outs Per Swing chats with Rays exec Andrew Friedman.
- Danny Knobler surveyed scouts about Francisco Rodriguez‘s stuff.
Rockies To Shop Atkins?
Everyone expects the Rockies to move Matt Holliday for pitching this winter, but Troy E. Renck suggests it might be Garrett Atkins instead. Atkins is expected to make around $8MM in arbitration next year, and with Ian Stewart developing at third and Todd Helton returning to first, Atkins becomes readily expendable.
Renck points out that the third basement free agent market is sorely lacking, boosting Atkins value in a trade. Atkins can also play first base, making him a valuable player for ball clubs like the Twins and Angels. From those teams, Renck lists Glen Perkins, Kevin Slowey, Nick Adenhart, and Ervin Santana as young pitchers with huge upsides that could be a good fit. Santana, however, has realized that upside so I wouldn’t consider him on the list.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Kotsay, Fuentes, Glavine, Smoltz
On August 18th, Rosenthal mentioned Mark Kotsay had cleared waivers, and that Brian Fuentes had not yet been placed. Here’s an update, from today’s Inside Pitch video:
- The Brewers and Red Sox are both showing interest in Kotsay. The Brewers would only pursue a trade if Ryan Braun‘s ribcage injury worsens, and so far he looks more than fine. The Sox made a play for lefty-hitting Brian Giles before Giles vetoed the deal, so it makes sense that they’d exert similar effort toward Kotsay. Even more so now that J.D. Drew has a herniated disc.
- Fuentes is expected to be put on waivers this week, a process that’s not usually made public, let alone announced, so the Rockies must be keen to see if they can do better in a trade than the two first round draft picks they get by keeping Fuentes. According to Rosenthal, as things stand, the Dodgers currently have waiver priority. If they pass for salary reasons, the Phillies could be a roadblock for the Mets.
- Rosenthal also mentions a delicate situation in Atlanta: Tom Glavine and John Smoltz both want to pitch next year, and Glavine only wants to pitch for the Braves. The Braves are faced with re-signing the inevitable Hall of Famers without being as reliant on their health as they were this year, or letting them go despite their long history with the team. Toss Mike Hampton‘s arm into the mix as well.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Howard, Burrell, Burnett
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports has a new column up today.
- With Ryan Howard looking at maybe a $14MM salary in his second year of arbitration, the Phillies could shop him this winter. Rosenthal lays out a scenario where they trade Howard and use some of those young players to acquire Matt Holliday. In this scenario Pat Burrell could be re-signed to play first base. I was surprised to see that a club official sees the chances of retaining Burrell as better than 50-50.
- If A.J. Burnett opts out, he will again favor teams such as the Nationals, Orioles, and Cardinals. Rosenthal thinks the Yankees and Mets are possible as well. And it’s still possible the Jays convince Burnett to stay by adding to his ’09 and ’10 salaries.
- Rosenthal frowns upon the Mariners’ double-failure to unload Jarrod Washburn‘s contract.
Heyman’s Latest: Bowden, Helton, Maddux, K-Rod
Let’s take a look at the latest from SI.com’s Jon Heyman.
- Despite the headline "Nats GM in trouble," Heyman says Jim Bowden has the support of his bosses. They do not blame him for Aaron Crow and are not concerned with his possible connection to the scout skimming scandal.
- Heyman suggests the Rockies could shop first baseman Todd Helton this winter if he demonstrates a healthy back in September. Here’s the thing – if Helton was a free agent and you had to give him a three-year deal, what would you pay? $5MM a year maybe? Are the Rockies going to eat $40MM? Helton might have to be swapped for another bad contract.
- Heyman sees Ryan Dempster getting four years and $48MM, and Oliver Perez snagging $60MM over five. Are they worth that?
- People close to Greg Maddux are saying he wants to pitch next year. Heyman also sees John Smoltz and Tom Glavine back in ’09.
- "Some are expecting" the Reds to be big players in free agency this year. The Reds figure to be in the market for catching and outfield help. Manny Ramirez would be interesting.
- Heyman wonders if the Mets will be players for Francisco Rodriguez this winter.
Odds And Ends: Lane, Taveras, Cubs, Reyes
Round three from the MLBiverse…
- The Red Sox have signed former Astros outfielder Jason Lane to a minor league deal.
- Troy E. Renck says that Willy Taveras could be moved this winter and speculates that the Nationals might be a good fit if Lastings Milledge is moved from center field.
- Paul Sullivan says the Cubs are not likely to make many changes this winter with only four key free agents. One of those free agents, Ryan Dempster, said that he would prefer to stay with the Cubs.
- Omar Minaya says Al Reyes turned down a major league job with another organization to take the minor league deal with the Mets.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.