Angels, Rockies Renew Todd Helton Discussion
Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times reports that Dan O’Dowd and Bill Stoneman have renewed the Todd Helton trade talks that died at the winter meetings.
Even if Helton’s contract was pared down to $45MM over the next five seasons, the Angels are concerned about the first baseman’s health. It seems that the Rockies could still snag Casey Kotchman and Erick Aybar in the deal – a sweet bounty in itself. Kotchman is healthy again and Aybar would give the Rox a shortstop surplus. Perhaps Aybar, a genius with the leather, could convert to center field.
Helton would have to approve a trade to L.A. Meanwhile, the Denver Post has basically the same info, but is careful to label a trade a "longshot."
Jennings To Houston
Ken Rosenthal reports that the Astros have acquired Jason Jennings and Miguel Asencio from the Rockies. In return, the Rockies will get Willy Tavares, Jason Hirsh, and Taylor Buchholz.
Apparently Kenny Williams wasn’t lying when he said there was nothing to the rumor that the White Sox were going to acquire Hirsh and company for Jon Garland.
Clearly, the Rockies made out like bandits on this deal. I liken it to the trade that sent Adam Eaton to Texas last year. The main difference is that the Astros did not a get an Otsuka-like player back in the deal.
Astros’ Options Remain Wide Open
One way or another, Tim Purpura is going to acquire a decent starting pitcher.
The Houston Chronicle reports that Purpura is still in touch with the White Sox, but has a host of other active scenarios as well. In the article, Purpura goes to great lengths to confirm that starter Taylor Buchholz is healthy without actually confirming that he could be involved in a trade. It remains possible that the Astros trade for Jon Garland.
They won’t, however, acquire both Garland and Andy Pettitte. The Astros still have a one-year, $12MM offer out there. The Yankees have already blown that away, even offering to add a second year. It seems clear that Pettitte will only stay in Houston for geographical reasons. Richard Justice
Check out Jose de Jesus Ortiz’s take on the whole Garland thing yesterday. He initially reported the deal was close, based on info from Astros President Tal Smith.
Troy Renck of the Denver Post suggests that the Astros could take another run at Jason Jennings, perhaps offering Jason Hirsh, Willy Taveras, and Dan Wheeler. As I said earlier, that far outweighs Freddy Garcia‘s price and they are comparable pitchers.
Angels Decline Helton
According to the LA Times, the Angels have declined an offer from the Colorado Rockies for Todd Helton. The deal may have sent Chone Figgins, Casey Kotchman, and Erik Aybar to Coors.
Apparently the Angels had concerns about Helton’s age and health, and perhaps his $141-million contract had a bit to do with it. The Rockies were apparently willing to pick up some of the tab, but it didn’t seem to be enough for the Angels to "risk" it on Helton.
I’m not sure when the Angels will ever trade away their young prospects. They have held onto all of them for a while now, even when the Tejada, Manny, and other big bat rumors were swirling around the MLB. I wonder what it’s going to take for them to part with any of them.
By Adam Howe
Rockies/Cubs/Pirates Three-Way?
Calm down, this is a family trade rumor site. I am referring to Steve Phillip’s latest, found via RotoWorld.
The idea: Jason Jennings to the Cubs; Jacque Jones, Carlos Marmol, Paul Maholm to the Rockies; Brad Hawpe to the Pirates.
If this one is legit, Dan O’Dowd lied to Brad Hawpe‘s agent.
Astros, Rockies Interested In Juan Rincon
Charley Walters of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press writes that the Astros and Rockies are talking to the Twins about righty reliever Juan Rincon. The Venezuelan will be 28 this January. Rincon has always shown good command and kept the ball in the park; he’s seemingly a lock for 75 innings and an ERA around 3.
Struggling with a groin injury, Rincon posted a 1.60 WHIP in the second half and lost his job as the eighth inning setup man in September. Also, he had surgery to remove bone chips in his pitching elbow in October of 2005 and soreness lingered into the start of the season. Back in May of ’05, Rincon earned a 10 game suspension for performance-enhancing drugs. He lost an appeal of the suspension.
Rincon made about $700,000 in 2006; he’ll be a free agent after the 2008 season. As RotoWorld mentioned, a fine fit would be third baseman Morgan Ensberg.
Jacque Jones For Jason Jennings?
Ken Rosenthal reports that the Cubs have discussed a trade with the Rockies: Jacque Jones for Jason Jennings. The Rox would then spin off Jones in another deal.
While I am not a huge fan of Jennings (I project his ERA at 4.62 next year), this would be a fine move for the Cubs if complemented by a Julio Lugo signing. At the least Jennings would be likely to eat up 200 innings and go deep into games.
My guess is that Jim Hendry would need to include another player to make this work, given the scarcity of decent cheap pitching. It’s a good time to trade Jones, who has two years left on his deal for just $9MM total. He had his best season since 2002 last year.
Brian Bannister Available?
Word from my Mets source is that the team is in a holding pattern until Tom Glavine makes his decision. He feels that the club will end up with either Glavine or Barry Zito and fill the other spots internally.
There is a chance Brian Bannister is traded for a solid reliever to replace Chad Bradford. Interested parties include the Rockies and Mariners. He mentioned the D’Backs as well, but their interest may have waned now that Doug Davis has been acquired.
Tuesday tidbits
Nothing in the news that is too breathtaking today, but there have been enough things worthy of mention that I thought I’d throw them all into one thread.
Here’s a fun trade possibility: the Red Sox are interested in Chad Cordero (uh, who wouldn’t be?) and may be dangling Wily Mo Pena, whom Jim Bowden is known to…how should I put this?…really like. Bowden hasn’t acquired a toolsy outfielder for a couple of weeks now, so if the Sox found a way to sweeten the deal, perhaps Trader Jim would take the bait.
The Yankees have been quiet lately, but they may soon make an offer to bring back Ted Lilly. They have also been linked to Shea Hillenbrand and Rich Aurilia to fill a spot at first base.
The Rockies signed Jeff Francis to a four-year deal for $13.25M, which takes him through his arbitration years. He’s still only 25, and if nothing else, he’s proven he can eat innings. He may still turn into more than that. Even if he’s no more than a 5th starter, he’ll be worth close to that amount, and the Rockies will probably want to exercise their ~$7M option for his first year of free agency in 2011.
According to the LA Times, who I would link to if they didn’t require registration, Carlos Lee isn’t interested in the west coast, which would rule out the Dodgers, Angels, and Giants. You gotta admit, it would’ve been pretty funny if El Caballo signed in LA and he and Juan Pierre played side by side for the next five years. By the end of those deals, Vin Scully would’ve said "double to the left-field gap" more times than he did in his first twenty years of broadcasting.
The Reds sent more than half of Jason LaRue‘s salary along with him in yesterday’s trade. I didn’t think it was a horrible deal for the Royals in the first place (though, admittedly, do they really need a mediocre stopgap catcher to help get them to 70 wins?) but this makes it a better one. More coverage at Royals Review. (You didn’t know there was a Royals blog, did you?)
By Jeff Sackmann
2007 Colorado Rockies
Time to break down the Rockies for 2007. Many thanks to the fine Rockies blog Purple Row, a helpful resource.
Dan O’Dowd’s contract obligations:
C – Chris Iannetta – $0.38MM
C – Yorvit Torrealba – $1MM
1B – Todd Helton – $16.6MM
2B – Kaz Matsui – $1.5MM
SS – Troy Tulowitzki – $0.38MM
3B – Garrett Atkins – $0.38MM
IF – Jamey Carroll – $0.7MM
IF – Clint Barmes – $0.38MM
LF – Matt Holliday – $0.7MM
CF –
RF – Brad Hawpe – $0.38MM
OF – Cory Sullivan – $0.38MM/Jeff Baker – $0.38MM
SP – Jason Jennings – $5.5MM
SP – Jeff Francis – $0.38MM
SP – Aaron Cook – 3.05MM
SP – Byung-Hyun Kim – $2.5MM
SP –
SP – Ubaldo Jimenez – $0.38MM
RP – Brian Fuentes – $3.5MM
RP – Jeremy Affeldt – $1MM
RP – Denny Bautista – $0.38MM
RP – Ramon Ramirez – $0.38MM
RP – Manuel Corpas – $0.38MM
RP – David Cortes – $0.38MM
RP –
By my estimate the Rockies have $40.6MM locked up before raises, so let’s say $45MM for now. Holliday alone could see his salary increase by $4MM in arbitration. They entered the 2006 season with a $41.2MM payroll.
The Rox appear to have a capable tandem behind the plate with rookie Iannetta and 28 year-old Torrealba. However, the team is still concerned with Torrealba’s strained shoulder, which dates back to September. There has been talk of importing either Bengie Molina or Rod Barajas to split time with the promising but green Iannetta.
First base is set through 2011 with Helton. His ’06 offensive performance ranked 12th among first basemen. Maybe not worth the price, but not many guys can give you a .400 OBP. He is taking up 35% of the payroll, however. Helton has an out clause after ’07, but I don’t see him abandoning $69MM for four seasons.
The middle infield is good to go, with Tulo and Matsui seemingly the main guys and Carroll playing the utility role. Atkins trailed only Miguel Cabrera for the best offensive season for a third baseman in 2006. He progressed beyond expectations by hitting a robust .329/.409/.556 in almost 700 PAs.
Can’t go wrong with Holliday and Hawpe at the corners, especially for the price. I’m not sure what the plan is for 25 year-old outfielder Jeff Baker, but some projections like him quite a bit for next year. He may steal some time from Hawpe, according to Clint Hurdle.
Of course the big need for this team is center field. A slew of candidates have been mentioned: Aaron Rowand, Dave Roberts, Chris Burke, Jay Payton, Darin Erstad, Brady Clark, Steve Finley, Coco Crisp, and even Clint Barmes. The only free agent I haven’t seen connected in print to Colorado is Kenny Lofton.
If O’Dowd prefers, that CF could come via trade. Jason Jennings is generating some buzz, and reports say that the Rockies are listening to offers. He averaged over 6.6 innings per start this season and posted a 3.78 ERA. He’ll be just 28 in 2007. However, free agency is around the corner and Jennings could easily post a 4.50 ERA in ’07 based on his peripherals.
Jennings is still a hittable pitcher with subpar command right now. I would shop him aggressively for the next month and definitely trade him before the season begins. Last winter, Kevin Towers’s Adam Eaton situation was comparable to this. He snagged Chris Young and Adrian Gonzalez in that deal. It’s a shame Jennings didn’t win nearly as many games as he deserved to, or his market value would be even higher.
Elsewhere in the rotation, the Rockies have talked about several guys to fill out the last slot: Josh Fogg again, Rodrigo Lopez via trade, Carl Pavano trade, or free agents Bruce Chen or John Thomson. Thomson wouldn’t cost much and he came up through the organization. The Rox sent Thomson to the Mets in an ’02 trade for Jay Payton.
For the sixth starter type spot, hard-throwing 23 year-old Ubaldo Jimenez could work after a fine 13 start effort at Double A this year. Chin-Hui Tsao, rehabbing from rotator cuff surgery, could work his way back into the mix.
The pen has some live arms, but the Rockies are looking for help. Many players have the team’s interest: Octavio Dotel, David Riske, Dan Kolb, LaTroy Hawkins, Scott Williamson, Scott Schoeneweis, Justin Speier, and even Eric Gagne. Look for a low-level signing or two.
To sum it up, the Rockies have a center fielder and a couple of relievers in their sights. I have my doubts that the Rockies would lock Jennings up for four or five years at $10-12MM annually, so a trade this year seems likely. Pretty much every team wants pitching, and there are plenty good young CFs available.
Matt Holliday is Rockie property through 2009, though he hired Scott Boras this year and will probably go year-to-year for the duration of his Rockie career. The Rox had looked to lock him up last winter until he switched to Boras.