Ty Wigginton For Scott Proctor?
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
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
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
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
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
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
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.
Rockies Inquire About Octavio Dotel
Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post mentioned today that the Rockies have inquired about Royals’ closer Octavio Dotel. This confirms Ken Rosenthal’s report from Friday. Rosenthal had also mentioned that the Indians were looking into Dotel.
The Rockies’ interest in a rental reliever like Dotel indicates to me that they won’t be trading Brian Fuentes this year. Renck spoke of that possibility today in his mailbag, noting that the Phillies, Red Sox, and Yankees have interest in Fuentes if the Rox make him available. The Rockies are 5.5 games out of the divison lead and 4.5 games out of the Wild Card. It would be exciting to see them as buyers at the deadline.
Rosenthal’s Latest
Ken Rosenthal has a new column up. A summary appears below.
- Rosenthal thinks the Tigers are unlikely to acquire Eric Gagne or Akinori Otsuka, perhaps preferring to look at internal options. That’s a shame, as I think they really need to add someone.
- The White Sox won’t be granting a 72 hour negotiating window if they trade Mark Buehrle. Strictly a rental. That could limit the market for him, but Kenny Williams will come up with at least one quality prospect.
- The Dodgers don’t seem likely to trade for Adam Dunn or Jermaine Dye, but could go after Mark Teixeira. Dye seems most likely to end up in the NL West somehow, but only if he is healthy and hitting.
- Possible Dontrelle Willis suitors: the Rockies or Diamondbacks. They’ve got the young trading chips, and the need in the present day. The Rox could offer Aaron Cook plus prospects, and the D’Backs could try Livan Hernandez and youngsters. If the D’Backs dare offer up Justin Upton, the Marlins would jump. Of course, D-Train needs to be healthy and the Marlins would need to fall out of contention.
- Barry Bonds‘s agent really doesn’t see a trade happening. Well, no one does, but it’s fun to speculate. Rosenthal thinks only the Yankees could accomodate him.
- Aside from the Pirates and Padres, the Astros, Cardinals, and Rangers could go after Milton Bradley.
- Rosenthal has a GM source who thinks the Reds could wait until this winter, exercise Adam Dunn’s $13MM option for ’08, and then trade him. Dunn, however, would gain no-trade protection until June 15, 2008 and then be able to block 10 teams thereafter.
- Troy Glaus isn’t going anywhere. Even if the Jays wanted to trade him, his contract is prohibitive.
- The Indians or Rockies could trade for Octavio Dotel for bullpen depth. Dotel is developing into a fine trading chip for Dayton Moore, just as planned. The Tribe has had interest in Dotel in past offseasons.
Helton Hints At Approving Yankee Trade
Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post has some quotes from Todd Helton that seem to indicate he’d at least consider approving a deal to the Yankees. Said Helton: "I have never said publicly that I wouldn’t go to any team."
That technically puts the Washington Nationals in play. Just kidding. Renck then asked Helton specifically about the Yankees, and he replied: "They’d have to want me first." He makes a good point. But maybe the urge to play for a winner is getting to Helton; it seems like he’d go to New York if they could work something out.
Helton’s contract remains among the worst in baseball. I don’t know who Michael Moye is, but props to him for negotiating this beast. Helton makes $16.6MM annually through 2010. Then he makes $19.1MM in 2011 and gets a $4.6MM buyout in 2012. Or would Helton require the acquiring team to exercise the $23MM option for 2012 as compensation for allowing the trade?
Back in January, the Rockies wouldn’t pitch in more than $36.6MM. At that point, Helton was owed $90.1MM through 2011 (that assumes no concession for waiving the no-trade). Based on the talks with Boston, the Rockies will pay off about 40% of this thing and not require much in the way of young players in return. The Rockies have already paid Helton about $7.07MM this season. So they’d still probably be open to kicking in $33MM toward Helton’s remaining contract.
An acquiring team would be looking at $57MM for 4.57 seasons of Helton (if he is traded today). That equates to an annual salary just under $12.5MM. If Helton hit the free agent market after this season as a 34 year-old, could he get a four-year, $50MM deal? I believe he could. I’m starting to think a Helton deal may be reached this summer, as his contract is not ridiculous if the Rockies pay 40% of it.