Rosenthal’s Latest: Cashman, Fuentes, Braves, Fielder
Time for a new Ken Rosenthal column.
- Rosenthal reminds us that, among other things, Adam Dunn played with a broken hand for a couple of months in ’05. So maybe he does like baseball. It’s not fair to criticize a player’s passion simply because he doesn’t make the right facial expressions or throw tantrums (not saying J.P. Ricciardi did this, but many fans do).
- Mark Teixeira might be looking for eight years and $160MM. Rosenthal says not to count his hometown Orioles out, though they aren’t the most likely suitor.
- Brian Cashman "seems likely to sign a contract extension" with the Yankees. Omar Minaya’s job is safe.
- The Rockies might trade Brian Fuentes even if they’re in contention. Add the Rays to the list of teams interested in him. The Rox still like the Mets’ Aaron Heilman, by the way.
- The Braves are out of the starting pitching market, content with internal options.
- If the Brewers are to shop Prince Fielder, they’ll likely wait until the offseason. Could be a fun rumor to follow this winter.
- Orioles relievers Jamie Walker and Chad Bradford both can be had (both are signed through ’09).
A’s, Four Others Interested In Fuentes
At third place and seven games out, the Rockies are not a lock to become sellers. If they do throw in the towel, closer Brian Fuentes figures to become a hot commodity.
Back on June 15th, multiple sources reported the Mets’ interest in Fuentes. The Yankees have liked him for years. The Red Sox and Phillies have been known Fuentes fans for a while now also. Yesterday, Joel Sherman of the New York Post added one more suitor: the A’s. Ken Rosenthal recently suggested the A’s could be buyers, perhaps chasing big fish like Matt Holliday, Jason Bay, or C.C. Sabathia. The A’s are just three games out of the wild card behind the Rays.
Holliday Trade Unlikely
Troy E. Renck and Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post write that a Matt Holliday trade is unlikely, at least during the season. The Rockies are telling teams they’re not looking to move their left fielder. The team is currently eight games out, but GM Dan O’Dowd isn’t ready to pack it in.
Additionally, O’Dowd makes a good point in that Holliday’s value won’t be diminished much if he waits until the offseason. Holliday is signed for the ’09 season at $13.5MM. It may be true that teams sometimes make desperate in-season trades. But it’s also true that the offseason brings out a certain irrationality in many clubs. Everyone’s healthy and you can talk yourself into thinking you have a good team. And it’s easier to write off an "off year" for a player if it’s not in progress.
Rockies Sign First Round Pick Friedrich
The Rockies signed their first round pick, Christian Friedrich, for $1.35MM yesterday.
Friedrich, a college lefty, was considered roughly the 13th-ranked talent by experts heading into the draft. The Rockies had to have been surprised to see him available at #25.
Odds And Ends: Bradley, Haren, Griffey, Holliday, Atkins
A few minor notes from the MLBiverse…
- Evan Grant wonders if the Rangers might try to trade Milton Bradley if they fall even farther back in the standings and then try to resign him in the off-season when he is a free agent.
- The D-Backs have begun negotiations with Dan Haren on a contract extension. Haren is signed though ’09 with a $6.75MM team option in ’10.
- Ken Griffey Jr says that he wants to win a championship in Cincinnati.
- With the Rockies playing the Indians, it was inevitable that the Matt Holliday- or Garrett Atkins-to-the-Indians speculation would resurface.
Olney’s Latest: Rockies, Padres, Braves, Sabathia
Today let’s take a look at Buster Olney’s blog.
- Executives from the Rockies and Padres are telling other clubs that they will not be sellers. They’ve climbed back into the race with the recent D’Backs slump. Popular trade rumor names like Brian Fuentes, Greg Maddux, and Randy Wolf may be off the market.
- Olney runs through some scenarios for Mark Teixeira trades, if Frank Wren and the Braves decide to punt on ’08.
- The Rangers have their eye on C.C. Sabathia – maybe now, maybe after he reaches free agency.
Mets Interested In Fuentes
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
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
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
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.