Rockies Rumors: Holliday, Fuentes
Let’s dig into those recent Rays-Rockies rumors.
- Southpaw reliever Brian Fuentes has been linked to the Marlins, Yankees, Mets, Red Sox, Phillies, A’s, Cubs, Cardinals, and Rays. Troy E. Renck wrote Saturday that the Rays are the most aggressive suitor, noting that the Rockies like Wade Davis and Jeremy Hellickson. Trading either for Fuentes does seem crazy and unlikely. Nonetheless, MLB.com Rays beat writer Bill Chastain verifies the Rockies’ interest in Davis.
- As for Matt Holliday, Chastain says the Rockies want David Price. While Price is probably untouchable, we have seen top prospects like Cameron Maybin, Elvis Andrus, Carlos Gonzalez, and Matt LaPorta traded in recent months.
Rays Preparing Offer For Fuentes?
In this piece by Troy E. Renck, the Rays have had scouts at Coors Field over the weekend and are preparing to make an offer for Brian Fuentes.
"Tampa Bay is preparing to make the most aggressive play for the Rockies’ closer, according to a major-league source… Opposing executives who have spoken with Tampa Bay say the Rays are determined to bolster their bullpen in an attempt to create separation between them and the Red Sox."
The Rockies have been seeking "one quality player", says Renck, in return for Fuentes. The Rays could offer either Double-A RHP starters Wade Davis or Jeremy Hellickson, both of whom the Rockies have expressed interest in.
Davis, 23, has made 18 starts for Double-A Montgomery with a 3.98 ERA over 101.2 IP with a 6.64 K/9. Hellickson, 21, has been having an outstanding season in Montgomery Double-A and Vero Beach Single-A ball, going 7-2 with a 2.85 ERA with 87 K in 85 IP. He has struggled some since being promoted to Double-A.
Acquiring Fuentes would take an option away from Boston as well as provide the Rays with another lefty reliever and increased depth at closer should Troy Percival remain incapable.
Rockies Trade Talk: Torrealba, Taveras, Podsednik, Herges
Tracy Ringolsby of the Rocky Mountain News reports the Marlins have inquired on the availability of Rockies’ catcher Yorvit Torrealba, and outfielders Willy Taveras and Scott Podsednik.
Torrealba has been on Marlins radar and there’s continuing speculation that they will be buyers come July 31st.
Meanwhile, St. Louis inquired on pitcher Matt Herges to provide a veteran pressence in their bullpen.
Stark’s Latest: Harang, Bedard, Hardy, Weeks, McLouth
Brand new column from ESPN’s Jayson Stark.
- Stark explains why he feels the trade deadline is overrated. I guess it all depends on what you expect from it.
- You may recall Walt Jocketty’s Reds untouchables list from a few weeks ago. It did not include Aaron Harang. While the Reds might listen on Harang, there wouldn’t be any kind of discount.
- The Mariners have pushed Erik Bedard to the backburner, focusing on shopping other veterans. They’re also not dying to move Raul Ibanez at the moment.
- The Brewers might be willing to include J.J. Hardy or Rickie Weeks in a trade. In our chat today, a commenter wondered whether some kind of Hardy-A.J. Burnett swap could work.
- The Tigers are looking ahead, inquiring about various shortstops they might be able to use in ’09 and beyond. Perhaps if they find one they’ll decline Edgar Renteria‘s option.
- Add the Marlins to the list of Brian Fuentes suitors. One source from another team said the cost for Fuentes is "one good piece."
- Stark agrees with recent indications that the Royals aren’t dying to move Ron Mahay. Nonetheless, the Yankees, Marlins, Phillies, and Tigers are named as interested parties.
- Pirate outfield chatter: some teams are calling on Nate McLouth, though the Bucs prefer to move Jason Bay or Xavier Nady. Despite earlier reports, Stark says the Bucs could consider trading both. The Rays are "especially interested" in Bay.
- Stark talked to one club official who hasn’t heard any indications that the Phillies are willing to trade Shane Victorino. Also possibly off-limits: Double A catcher Lou Marson.
- To acquire Rich Harden, a package "would have to at least approach last year’s Dan Haren extravaganza." So, look for him to stay put. Harden’s velocity was down yesterday, by the way.
- Brett Myers‘ future with the Phillies could hinge on whether they re-sign closer Brad Lidge.
- Still no buzz around Adam Dunn.
- C.C. chatter: don’t write off the Indians’ attempt to sign him to an extension. "One friend" sees Sabathia as more likely to land on the West Coast than the east if he doesn’t re-sign.
Odds and Ends: Torrealba, Teixeira, Butler
Time to round up some linkage.
- The Brewers’ GM, assistant GM, and manager had a long private chat today.
- 2002’s #1 overall pick, Bryan Bullington, was designated for assignment today by the Pirates. Still can’t believe this guy was picked first overall.
- Andy Phillips‘ journey continues: he’s back with the Reds.
- The Rockies will honor Yorvit Torrealba‘s request by listening to trade offers for him. His stock is low, and the Marlins aren’t interested despite their plan to add a catcher.
- Mark Teixeira would prefer not to be traded this year. By the way, the Braves are at least considering sending Jeff Francoeur to the minors.
- Sam Mellinger explains why the Royals should not trade Billy Butler.
Gammons On The Cubs’ Starter Pursuit
ESPN’s Peter Gammons has a new blog entry up, with the focus on the Cubs’ desire to add a starting pitcher. Gammons talked to a Cubs official who said, "We almost certainly will do something. But we really don’t want to give up Sean Gallagher at this point."
Here’s a quick rundown of the candidates:
- C.C. Sabathia – Cubs don’t believe they have enough to get him.
- Rich Harden – Gammons doesn’t specifically say the Cubs are interested, just that they’re monitoring Oakland.
- Randy Wolf – The Cubs have interest, and Gammons says Wolf would waive his no-trade to go to a contender. Plus, Wolf treated the Cubs well when they courted him in the 2006-07 offseason. Gammons adds that the Padres still like Matt Murton. History has shown that Jim Hendry and Kevin Towers work well together on trades.
- A.J. Burnett – The Cubs "also keep looking" at him. Last Thursday, Gammons’ colleague Jayson Stark hadn’t found "any indication that the Cubs have even batted his name around."
- Aaron Cook – Gammons says the Cubs would love him, but Rockies’ GM Dan O’Dowd said earlier this month, "We’re not doing anything with Cookie."
- Bronson Arroyo, Kevin Millwood – Gammons says the Cubs have "kicked around" these names.
Rockies Rumors: Holliday, Fuentes, Torrealba
The Rockies have been even worse than the Padres – 19 games under .500, 10 games out in a lousy division. According to Tracy Ringolsby, they’ll decide at the All-Star break whether to officially become sellers.
Let’s start with closer Brian Fuentes, whose ERA jumped from 2.56 to 3.94 last night. Reports had the suitors at the Yankees, Mets, Red Sox, Phillies, and A’s. Ringolsby says to cross the A’s off the list and add the Rays, Cubs, and Cardinals. Ken Rosenthal tossed the Cubs into the mix on June 12th, but then changed that report. Troy E. Renck adds the Cardinals to the list.
Ringolsby rattles off teams interested in Matt Holliday: Cardinals, Rays, Angels, Dodgers, and Royals. Definitely some new names in there. Holliday is hitting .332/.415/.538 in 299 plate appearances (.309/.401/.472 on the road). Ringolsby says the A’s will "kick the tires" on Holliday but are more likely to pursue Willy Taveras.
We also have RotoWire, which reports that catcher Yorvit Torrealba told the Tigers’ radio network that he wants to be traded. After nearly signing with the Mets, Torrealba inked a two-year, $7.25MM deal with the Rockies. He is hitting as badly as expected: .252/.291/.387 in 180 PAs. He’s thrown out only 24% of runners, up slightly from last year. Torrealba has been splitting time with Chris Iannetta since May.
The Brian Fuentes Situation
Let’s review the Brian Fuentes reports floating about. The Rockies closer has saved 13 games in 17 opportunities this year.
- On Friday, Tracy Ringolsby of the Rocky Mountain News wrote, "The Rockies would want two quality prospects, but they won’t deal him until Manny Corpas can return to the closer role or they concede the division and wild card." Corpas is having his best month of the year, with a 3.86 ERA. But Taylor Buchholz has been untouchable all year, so I don’t see why this should be a sticking point.
- Buster Olney agrees; he’s heard that the Fuentes Sweepstakes will begin if the Rox don’t start playing better over the next few weeks. The Rockies are nine games out in the NL West.
- On June 24th, Ken Rosenthal sang a different tune. He said, "The Rockies remain willing to move closer Brian Fuentes regardless of whether they climb back into contention." One reason for their willingness to trade Fuentes: they’d be hesitant to offer him arbitration after the season and then have him accept. Rosenthal said the Rockies "remain intrigued by Mets righty Aaron Heilman."
- The list of known suitors remains at five: Yankees, Mets, Red Sox, Phillies, and A’s. Sean McAdam wrote today that Hideki Okajima‘s struggles may cause the Red Sox to step up their pursuit.
Olney’s Latest: Wolf, Lohse, Sabathia, Fuentes, Oswalt, Bailey
Buster Olney has a new column up. Let’s take a look:
- He suggests Randy Wolf as a "possible trade chip" with the Padres looking increasingly out of it this year. One problem: Wolf has veto power over trades to 14 teams. He’s been decent this year, with a 4.13 ERA and 89 strikeouts in 98 innings, but nothing to get too excited over.
- Gossip item: the Mets could have had Kyle Lohse for what the Cardinals are paying ($4.25MM), only Omar Minaya passed.
- Olney doesn’t see much in the speculation about the Angels wanting C.C. Sabathia. With Kelvim Escobar‘s rehab going well, great first-half performances from Joe Saunders and Ervin Santana, and John Lackey likely to improve going forward, why should they make a push for C.C.? Olney sees the Brewers and the Cubs as more interested parties. (Ken Rosenthal mentioned the Brewers and the Rays as C.C. suitors yesterday.) Later in the post, Olney notes that Sabathia has a 1.96 ERA in his last fourteen starts. Yowza.
- How the Rockies fare over the next two weeks could determine what becomes of Brian Fuentes.
- Olney can’t decide whether the Orioles should buy or sell. What do you think?
- Roy Oswalt won’t get traded, with Olney linking to the Houston Chronicle’s Richard Justice for his evidence. (Oswalt has, of course, been talking like he’d prefer to be somewhere else.) Also working against a deal for Oswalt: his continued experiments with pitching to contact (to keep the ol’ pitch count down) haven’t been going very well this year, either. His K/9 has been declining for years, of course, but it may have reached a point of no return this season. Whatever happens, I’m sure the ‘stros would prefer to move him at peak value, not right now when he has a 4.77 ERA.
- Homer Bailey, back in Triple A Louisville, isn’t getting any love from the scout quoted here, who says he threw "batting practice fastballs." Bailey was 0-3 with a 8.73 ERA in the majors this year after a hotly anticipated call-up. Given the bounty of young arms they already have, the Reds would probably prefer to trade him…but alas, his value has dropped the way his curveball used to.
Sarah Green writes for UmpBump and the Boston Metro and can be reached here.
Rockies Scout A’s-Phillies Series
According to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle, the Rockies had two scouts at the recent A’s-Phillies series. The Rox are currently eight games out in the NL West despite a 32-47 record.
The following Rockies have popped up in past rumors: Matt Holliday, Brian Fuentes, Garrett Atkins, Kip Wells, and Willy Taveras. Fuentes has been linked to both the A’s and Phillies. Ken Rosenthal wrote on Tuesday that the Rockies are willing to trade Fuentes regardless of whether they’re in the playoff race.