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Rosenthal’s Latest: Dunn, Wheeler, Izzy

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Ken Rosenthal posted a new column last night, and has updated it very recently.  I’ve already spoken about the Teixeira stuff, but there’s other good material in there too.

  • Some of the wilder speculation out there has been that the Twins might trade Torii Hunter or Johan Santana if they decide they’re out of it.  Various Baseball Prospectus reports put the Twins’ playoff chances between 5-10%.  Rosenthal debunks the idea that Minnesota would shop Hunter without first making him an offer, and keeping Santana for at least 2008 makes sense.  Plus, Santana has a no-trade clause. 
  • Rosenthal does have some Twins for us who might be traded: Luis Castillo and Carlos Silva.  Castillo has already been connected to the Mets in rumors, though Silva is a new one.  One could definitely envision Silva’s style working in the National League (I know, I say that a lot).  There was a recent Silva to Atlanta rumor, though Silva’s agent seems to have debunked it.
  • Rosenthal says Dontrelle Willis is not available.  Perhaps he and Tim Brown will engage in fisticuffs over this disagreement. 
  • The Diamondbacks have kicked the tires on Adam Dunn.  He might make sense as a rental – the D’Backs playoff changes sit between 16-27%, worth fighting for.  No doubt they’ve got a stable of young players to offer.
  • Rosenthal says the Astros have yet to receive interest on the Lidge/Wheeler/Qualls troika, while Jayson Stark said yesterday that the Astros hadn’t opened shop on them.  Thunderdome match #2, Rosenthal vs. Stark.  Assuming Ken survives Tim Brown.  Anyway, word is that the Rockies have their eye on Wheeler. 
  • Parties interested in Zack Greinke: Diamondbacks, Dodgers, Braves, and Cubs.  This gels with Dan Graziano’s findings.  Of course, trading a player like Greinke requires an equally talented youngster in return.
  • The Royals may not be able to do better than Cleveland’s Ben Francisco as a bounty for Octavio Dotel.  More on him in a separate post.
  • Trades of Joe Blanton and Huston Street are "highly unlikely."  So you’re saying there’s a chance?
  • The chances of the Cardinals trading Jason Isringhausen are described as "remote."  The Cards would have a hard time replacing him next year; he’s got a reasonable $8MM option.  He also has no-trade protection, so he’d probably want a better extension if he was to accept a trade.

Molony’s Latest: Willis, Encarnacion, Sowers

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MLB.com’s Jim Molony has his daily rumor summary up; check it out.  New rumors:

  • Molony’s sources say the Marlins are now listening to offers for Dontrelle Willis.  Might as well – what if the Mariners decide to offer Adam Jones?  Many folks remain enamored of Willis’s talent, if not his recent numbers.
  • The Cardinals could shop Russ Springer or Juan Encarnacion.  Springer is unlikely to be traded, however, because he has his son going to a specific school in St. Louis and the Cardinals respect that.  Encarnacion is hitting decently at .293/.329/.471; it might be high time to unload the $6.5MM he’s owed next year.
  • Something seems to be going on in Cleveland; GM Mark Shapiro has been in Buffalo watching Jeremy Sowers and Aaron Laffey.  Laffey was nearly called up recently.  Not much talk about trading Sowers previously, but he might be an interesting chip.  He’s similar to Kevin Slowey. They might find success in the NL.
  • The Tigers sent scouts to watch Joe Koshansky and Ian Stewart of the Rockies (rumor originated in the Denver Post).  Not sure how those two teams match up, but a cheap Koshansky might be worth a look for Detroit at first base next year.  Unless Carlos Guillen moves over.

Rockies Hunting For Relief Help

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Playoff odds reports put the Rockies’ chances at 6-8% currently, but they still view themselves as buyers.  After all, they’re still just 4.5 games out of the Wild Card and 5.5 games out in the NL West.

Though a crude metric, the Rockies’ bullpen currently ranks 12th in the NL with a 4.42 ERA.  Among contenders in the league, only Philadelphia has been worse.  Brian Fuentes seems at least another week or two from returning.   According to Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post, Rockies GM Dan O’Dowd has been burning up the phone lines looking for a reliever.  Renck says the Rockies have inquired on Jon Rauch, Chad Cordero, Akinori Otsuka, Julian Tavarez, and Manny Delcarmen.

Of that list, only Rauch or Cordero are clearly available and would help the team.  Otsuka is hurt, Delcarmen is cheap and an essential part of the Boston bullpen, and Tavarez isn’t a great pitcher.  However, both Rauch and Cordero are flyball pitchers and may not succeed at Coors Field.  Given the high price for either, the Rockies don’t have any attractive options.

Ty Wigginton For Scott Proctor?

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According to George King and Joel Sherman of the New York Post, the Devil Rays are willing to send Ty Wigginton to the Yankees for Scott Proctor.  The Yanks are willing to trade Proctor because they believe Joba Chamberlain can jump up from Double A and fill in capably.  Chamberlain is flat-out nasty.

Given his previous interest in Wilson Betemit, it looks like Brian Cashman is focused on adding a versatile player who is under control for several more years.  A bonus for Wigginton is that he bats right-handed.  Betemit is a switch-hitter but hasn’t done much from the right side.

It’s unclear how the Devil Rays would use Proctor, but I’m guessing they’d leave him in relief.  Having a decent guy who can pitch 80 solid innings in the AL East for a few seasons is a stronger need than starting pitching right now.  The Rays quietly have a ton of quality pitching in the Majors or in the pipeline.  This is a team with a $24MM Opening Day payroll this year – imagine if they bumped it to $75MM and added three star players to complement the current group.

Another note from the column is that the Rockies like the idea of taking Kyle Farnsworth off the Yankees’ hands, but don’t want to pay too much of his remaining salary.  Farnsy makes another $2.2MM this year and $5.5MM in ’08.  In my opinion, the Rockies should go for it if the Yankees will eat half.

McAdam On Red Sox Trade Possibilities

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Yesterday, Sean McAdam of The Providence Journal posted an article discussing trade possibilities for the Red Sox.  Let’s discuss.

  • It seems that the Red Sox will add a bullpen arm despite the fine work of Manny Delcarmen.  Apparently they want someone with experience.  Eric Gagne doesn’t seem likely, nor does Brad Lidge.  Instead, Chad Qualls, Dan Wheeler, and maybe Salomon Torres or Scott Linebrink could be acquired.  The focus is said to be on the Houston relievers.  Wheeler seems like a solid buy-low option.  You can add Octavio Dotel to the radar as well.  And let’s throw Brian Fuentes into the mix.  UPDATE: Today, McAdam added Damaso Marte as a reliever the Red Sox like.  He says the price for Torres is "way too high" at present.  And according to the Boston Globe, Drayton McLane will not even consider moving Lidge.
  • The Sox would get involved on a top-flight starter like Roy Oswalt or Dontrelle Willis.  Calling Willis "top-flight" is a stretch, but that’s what McAdam said.  They also like Jon Garland, if they can pry him loose for a reasonable price.  Other available starters don’t seem markedly better than internal options.
  • The Royals would love to pawn Reggie Sanders off, but the Red Sox don’t have interest.  Instead, they could reacquire Kevin Millar or even go after Jermaine Dye.  Is Dye really a perfect fit, though?  Wouldn’t his acquisition make he and J.D. Drew part-time players?  That wouldn’t be good for the clubhouse.  UPDATE: McAdam says today that this playing time issue will indeed thwart a trade.  On the Millar front, the Boston Globe debunks that rumor on the basis that the Sox want someone who can play center field.
  • Speaking of people who can play center field, the Boston Herald mentions Randy Winn and Dave Roberts as possibilities.  The fans would love a Roberts acquisition, I imagine. 
  • The trade Mike Lowell/acquire Mark Teixeira scenario is highly unlikely.
  • The Boston Globe is saying that the Red Sox are "actively shopping" Wily Mo Pena.  I discussed Wily Mo in a post yesterday.  The Boston Herald today said that he might be the trading chip for a deal with Houston.

Rockies Interested In Torres

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Pirates’ reliever Salomon Torres has backed off his trade request, saying he wants to remain with the team for the rest of his career.  The positive feelings may have been sparked by an earlier-than-expected end to his rehab stint.  If healthy and reasonably effective Torres could be the Pirates’ most popular trading chip despite his newfound desire to stay.

According to Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, the Rockies have been interested in Torres for a while.  Torres has been worked hard in recent years, but he’s signed through ’08 at a reasonable rate. 

Reds Could Trade Arroyo

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Just a small note in Nick Cafardo’s recent column: the Reds could trade 30 year-old starter Bronson Arroyo.

Last year, Arroyo took the National League by storm by posting a 3.29 ERA in a whopping 240 innings.  He led all of baseball with 3851 pitches thrown.  Either the league started figuring him out this year, or the workload caught up to him and contributing to his declining strikeout rate.  Maybe a little of both.

In February of this year, Wayne Krivsky signed Arroyo to a contract extension for 2009-10.  Under his previous contract he’ll get $3.95MM in ’08, and the Reds added a $2.5MM signing bonus to that.  He’ll make $9.5MM in ’09, $11MM in ’10, and has an $11MM club option for ’11 with a $2MM buyout attached.  So basically think $29MM for 2008-10.  It’s not terrible but not a bargain; $10MM is probably the going rate for a guy like Arroyo these days.  Not bad for a guy waived by the Pirates in ’03. 

Woody Paige considers Arroyo one option for the Rockies, but finds it unlikely.  The only past Arroyo trade rumor I know of was back in December of ’05, when he was rumored to be going to Seattle for Jeremy Reed.  The Mariners remain in the hunt for a starter, but Arroyo probably isn’t viewed as much more than an innings-eater by most clubs.  Some other teams possibly looking for a starter include the Braves, Padres,  Phillies, Brewers, Dodgers, and Diamondbacks.

Rockies Inquired On White Sox Starters

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In June, the main trade buzz around the Rockies was that they had interest in Octavio Dotel.  Today, Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune added some intriguing names also on Colorado’s wish list: Mark Buehrle, Jose Contreras, and Jon Garland.  Obviously Buehrle is off limits now.

It wasn’t too long ago that Dan O’Dowd expressed his interest in adding a White Sox hurler.  Apparently talks stalled when Kenny Williams wanted southpaw starter Franklin Morales or third baseman Ian Stewart from the Rox.  Morales has frontline stuff and is trying to hone his control at Double A Tulsa.  He missed some time in May with a strained hamstring, but recovered and made the Futures Game.  Stewart, playing at Triple A, made the team as well.  He started off slow in the power department but smacked seven home runs in June.  The Rockies may have a longjam soon with both Stewart and Garrett Atkins at the hot corner. 

Garland would be a useful addition for Colorado.  I imagine Williams would only trade Garland if O’Dowd gave in on Morales or Stewart.  Maybe the teams could agree on Contreras for Ubaldo Jimenez instead.  Jimenez has a lot of talent but has shown poor control for most of his minor league career, especially in ’07.  Such a swap still seems advantageous to Chicago but I could imagine Williams asking for Jimenez.  Pitching coach Don Cooper has a knack for fixing control problems.

Rockies Could Lose Kaz Matsui

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I compiled the 2008 Free Agents list back in March of this year, knowing at the time that a handful of surprisingly valuable players would surface throughout the season.  In 2006 it was Gary Matthews Jr.  This year, it’s Kaz Matsui.  (By the way, the list is fully up-to-date now so check it out.)

Troy E. Renck and Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post have an article up today discussing Matsui and his impending free agency.  To hear Matsui tell it, he actually craved the challenge of a one-year contract.  Otherwise, he might get lazy.  I guess it was complacency that caused that .652 OPS in 2005.

Matsui can earn up to $2.45MM this year if he hits his incentives.  Not sure if he will, as he only played 18 games total in April and May because of back spasms.  Matsui has been a new man since joining the Rockies, hitting .325/.366/.480 in 302 ABs.  He’s been the player the Mets thought they signed.  However, the split has been .372/.420/.524 at Coors and .280/.315/.439 on the road.  The latter line is a more reasonable expectation if he is to sign elsewhere as a free agent.  If Matsui wants $4MM or so annually, the Rockies will probably pass.

It seems likely that Matsui stays in the U.S., though the Rakuten Golden Eagles pursued him as a free agent last November.  If he stays, competition should be slim – Luis Castillo and Tadahito Iguchi may be the only other available regulars at second base.  That assumes Jeff Kent’s option vests and the Padres retain Marcus Giles at $4MM.  The former seems likely but Giles has been questionable at just .242/.313/.338. 

Teams Scouting Yankee Pitching Prospects

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According to Jim Baubach of Newsday, Yankee farmhands Ian Kennedy and Joba "The Hutt" Chamberlain have become quite popular.  The stands become packed with scouts each team either pitches for the Yanks’ Double A Trenton club.

The White Sox sent one of their top pro scouts to watch the Trenton Thunder recently, despite the Yankees’ insistence that Kennedy and Chamberlain are not available. 

All sorts of other teams have been scouting both pitchers, including the A’s, Rockies, and Orioles.  Chamberlain is the upside choice, while Kennedy is the back-rotation command guy.

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