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Mets Interested In Fuentes

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According to the Denver Post and New York Daily News, the Mets have expressed interest in Rockies closer Brian Fuentes.  Adam Rubin says nothing is imminent.  Troy E. Renck points out that the Rox turned down an offer of Aaron Heilman during the winter.

Fuentes figures to be a hot commodity this summer, so the Rockies may take their time and field offers.  The Mets do have a few decent prospects aside from Fernando Martinez.

Stark’s Latest: Holliday, Lofton, Hudson, Greinke

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Time to delve into Jayson Stark’s latest column for ESPN.

  • The Rockies are 9.5 games out, and if they slip further over the next month they may trade Matt Holliday or Garrett Atkins (not both).  If so, they’d be flexible on the number and ages of the players they’d want in return.  Aaron Cook will not be traded.
  • Stark talked to one team official who speculated the Pirates could keep their outfield intact in the name of a run at .500.  Presumably they’d be doing this for the fans, but diehards would probably prefer a sweet bounty of young players and a better ’09 draft pick.
  • As we’ve discussed here, the Mariners don’t have much to trade.  Raul Ibanez has decent value, but Erik Bedard will probably stay put unless a new GM is installed.    
  • The White Sox "made the most serious run yet" at Kenny Lofton, but he they balked at his $2.5-3MM asking price.  Kenny…c’mon.  We want to see you in baseball this year.
  • Orlando Hudson might’ve signed below-market to play in New York, but the Mets signed Luis Castillo through 2011.  How about the other New York team, in the event of a Robinson Cano trade?
  • One AL exec believes the Royals would be best served to trade Zack Greinke now, and get an influx of even younger talent.

Rockies May Find Podsednik, Taveras Expendable

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On Tuesday, Rockies manager Clint Hurdle hinted that Ryan Spilborghs would begin to receive more playing time in center field.  As a result, Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post says the futures of Scott Podsednik and Willy Taveras are in question.

It might make sense to keep Podsednik around as the resident speedy extra outfielder.  However Pods is hitting just .222/.311/.311 in 103 plate appearances despite a solid April.  Renck says the Cubs might have renewed interest if Jim Edmonds doesn’t work out.  He says the Cubs have a "working list of potential available left-handed bats" as a contingency plan.  One other Cubs-Rockies note – Ken Rosenthal says that despite his initial report, the Cubs do not have interest in Brian Fuentes.

Taveras, 26, is at .233/.288/.272 in 224 PAs.  That’s quite a downturn from last year. He earns nearly $2MM this year and has two more seasons of arbitration-eligibility.  He’s a trade candidate, though it’d be hard to sell much lower.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Kemp, Bradley, Fuentes, Street

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New Rosenthal.  Seems like he just put a column out a few days ago.

  • Rosenthal believes the Dodgers would consider trading a young player (especially Matt Kemp) for a slugger.  He discusses what it would take to get Jason Bay, Magglio Ordonez, Adam Dunn, or Matt Holliday.  This all seems like a bad idea for the Dodgers.
  • There are certainly arguments for the Rangers to keep or even extend Milton Bradley.  But Rosenthal thinks he could net "multiple high-end prospects" if Jon Daniels goes the trade route.  He says the Rangers could shop some of their veterans while also trying to acquire a controllable reliever.
  • Rosenthal’s best guess is that the Pirates will trade Xavier Nady or Jason Bay but not both.  He says Neal Huntington is not under pressure to clear salary.
  • The Cubs are interested in Brian Fuentes, which is a new one.  Rosenthal adds that Jim Hendry plans to pursue the best available starter.
  • The Brewers have many quality minor league trade chips, and they may be looking for a starter.
  • Minimal trade interest in Huston Street, and the A’s have backed off the extension idea.
  • The Yankees are "aggressively" trying to move LaTroy Hawkins.
  • The Dodgers wanted to do an Esteban Loaiza–Juan Uribe swap, but the Sox just waited them out and signed Loaiza.
  • Rosenthal says the Phillies "lack the prospect inventory" to get an impact starting pitcher, which I don’t agree with.  He says they may look for another lefty reliever or bench bat.

Odds and Ends: Bowden, Strasburg, Draft

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Today’s link collection.

Jayson Stark’s Latest

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Jayson Stark’s latest column is up and as usual he dips into the rumor-mill several times…

  • Indians: According to other clubs, Cleveland is starting to float C.C. Sabathia’s name, but are making it clear that they are not ready to trade him. Stark says the Indians are scouting the Red Sox heavily. One executive says that it is hard to imagine somebody giving up prospects for a guy that will almost certainly test the free agency waters. That same executive says they would have a hard time giving seven years to a pitcher as big as Sabathia.
  • Tigers: One AL executive says the Tigers don’t have any prospects of value left, but wonders if they won’t do something crazy in the trade market because of their "all in" payroll. Stark wonders if they would be willing to trade Jeremy Bonderman or a big bat for an arm.
  • Braves: Atlanta might be more interested in bringing back Kevin Millwood as opposed to Greg Maddux, but Stark says that is very unlikely.
  • Rockies: In addition to Matt Holiday and Brian Fuentes, there is a slim chance that Aaron Cook would be made available, but his salary goes up $1MM per year if he is dealt.
  • A’s: Apparently the bounty sought by Oakland for Joe Blanton ("three young building-block players") has not been lowered since last summer.
  • Royals: The Royals have already started listening to offers for a number of players but one executive says that list does not include their relief pitchers and those are the pieces of highest interest.

Cork Gaines writes for Rays Index and can be reached here.

Odds and Ends: Lane, K-Rod, Adam LaRoche

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Random linkage…

The Holliday Situation

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Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post talks about how opposing executives are waiting to see if the Rockies will make Matt Holliday available.  The Rockies have talked with Scott Boras about extending their slugger past ’09, but both sides are mum on the state of those discussions.  Presumably, the Rockies would exhaust that avenue before putting Holliday on the market.

ESPN’s Buster Olney lays out the options for Dan O’Dowd: shop Holliday this summer and aim for a Teixeira-like bounty, sign Holliday to a staggering extension now, or let him play out the string while hoping he finds the free agent market disappointing.  Olney opines that Holliday "is worth more to the Rockies than he is to any other team."

Teams are always going to be wary of trading for a Colorado slugger.  If I was in charge, I’d deal Holliday for 75% of the Teixeira return.  What would you do?

The Yankees And Brian Fuentes

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Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post advises:

Keep an eye on the Yankees’ interest in Brian Fuentes, whom they have liked for years. New York needs a reliable late-inning setup man to replace Joba Chamberlain, who joins the rotation Tuesday.

Keep in mind that Renck is not saying discussions have occurred recently.  But Fuentes would certainly be a nice addition for the Yanks.  He has a 2.78 ERA and 2.63 K/BB in 22.2 innings this year.

Surely the Rockies are looking for a young player or two in return.  The trades of Octavio Dotel and Eric Gagne last year might be comparables.  Dotel required Kyle Davies, a promising pitcher who had not experienced much big league success.  The Gagne package was headed by raw prospect Engel Beltre, and also included useful MLB-ready pieces in Kason Gabbard and David Murphy.

Also keep in mind that if the price for Fuentes is too high, Brian Cashman can turn to familiar target Damaso Marte of the Pirates.

Odds and Ends: Alvarez, Zimmerman, Vizcaino, Hawkins

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Some random musings around the league:

  • As MLBTR noted before, Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette also believes the Pirates will take Pedro Alvarez if the Rays pass on him.
  • Ryan Zimmerman may be looking for David Wright money (six years, $55MM), but the Nationals may be willing to pay him Ian Kinsler money (5 years, $22MM), according to Dave Sheinin of the Washington Post.
  • In this piece by Tony Jackson on the LA Daily News, 39 year-old Jose Vizcaino may try to make a comeback in 2009.  He’s currently a special assistant with the Dodgers.
  • Troy Renck suggests the Rockies could be interested in LaTroy Hawkins if he continues to struggle for the Yankees.

By Nat Boyle

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