Dontrelle For Josh Hamilton Was Discussed
UPDATE, 12-8-07 at 2:47am: More excitement…throw Abraham Nunez into the mix of Marlins third base targets. This team is going places.
FROM 12-7-07 at 11:27am:
MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro posted a new column last night full of good Marlins hot stove chatter.
- The most interesting note is that the Marlins talked to the Reds about swapping Dontrelle Willis for Josh Hamilton, prior to the blockbuster with Detroit.
- With Miguel Cabrera, the White Sox and Rangers were involved during the Meetings before the Tigers jumped in. The Rangers backed out when they couldn’t get an extension window for Cabrera. The Tigers wanted the same but obviously it wasn’t the dealbreaker. The Angels, Dodgers, and Giants were involved before the Meetings, with the Giants offering Noah Lowry.
- Frisaro says there are "strong indications the Marlins will sign Jorge Cantu. He’ll be in the mix at third base.
- The Fish are offering the Phils Scott Nestor for Wes Helms, who’d also compete at the hot corner.
- The Mets have some interest in Alfredo Amezaga, though the Marlins are inclined to keep him.
- Miguel Olivo will be released soon, so throw him into the catcher market with Michael Barrett.
Phillies, Dodgers Not Interested In Inge
According to Jayson Stark yesterday, the Tigers are indeed shopping ousted 29 year-old third baseman Brandon Inge. He says the Dodgers and Phillies have already said no. My guess at the rationale: the Dodgers will go internal and are less concerned with the position, and the Phils want a good hitter at the position.
Inge seemingly peaked in ’06, hitting 27 HRs with fine defense. That earned him a four-year, $24MM extension. He’s got three years and $19.1MM left. His stock is down after posting a .688 OPS last year. Inge was a catcher as recently as 2004, so maybe he can don the tools of ignorance once again. There, his offense wouldn’t look nearly as poor. Still, it’s hard to figure out a team that would pursue him.
Phillies Rumors: Iguchi, Inge, Silva, Ensberg
Sounds like there’s a whole lot of ‘nothin’ going on with the Phillies.
- As you know, the Phils are out on Hiroki Kuroda.
- Yesterday the Phillies made an offer and a second improved offer to Tadahito Iguchi. Iguchi is looking for a three-year deal for around the $16.5MM Kaz Matsui received.
- Todd Zolecki says the Phils have "kicked around" Brandon Inge‘s name; he’s definitely available. The general sentiment is that the Tigers would have to eat some of the $19.1MM owed to Inge over the next three seasons. Plus, the Phillies already tried the defense-first idea at third base.
- Talks with Mike Cameron went nowhere, as the Phillies didn’t want to consider a multiyear deal. Aaron Rowand is also a long shot. Not a very exciting Meetings for Phillies fans.
- Scott Lauber checks in this morning and says Carlos Silva would like to return to the Phillies. The interest isn’t mutual, however, if Silva continues to ask for four or five years.
- Lauber suggests Morgan Ensberg is a strong non-tender candidate and someone the Phils should look at.
Willis/Pudge Spinoff To Mets?
UPDATE, 12-6-07 at 8:13am: Adam Rubin’s source still believes Willis could be flipped to the Mets.
UPDATE, 12-5-07 at 9:21pm: Danny Knobler says the Tigers did briefly consider a three-way scenario that sent Willis and Pudge to the Mets. That permutation was dismissed before anything went public and won’t be revisited.
FROM 12-5-07 at 6:08pm:
According to Sweeny Murti via MetsBlog, the Tigers have looked into the idea of spinning Dontrelle Willis off to the Mets. I’m sure this would thrill the Marlins, who didn’t want to trade within the division. No offer has been made, but it’s been discussed.
The part that doesn’t make sense is the inclusion of Ivan Rodriguez to the Mets as a salary dump. The Tigers, after all, chose to exercise that $13MM option on Pudge.
Odds and Ends: Guzman, Shelton, Garcia, Jones
Rounding up some smaller rumors…
- The Phillies talked to the Pirates today about Nate McLouth, Damaso Marte, and John Grabow. Grabow remains a possibility.
- There’s some ill will between the Marlins and Angels.
- Aaron Rowand, Andruw Jones, and Hiroki Kuroda are all asking for more years than GMs are willing to give.
- The Tigers picked up Freddy Guzman from the Rangers for first baseman Chris Shelton. Maybe Shelton can work his way into the team’s first base mix.
- Interesting note from MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan – the Rangers considered trying to acquire Adam Jones, but Bill Bavasi said, "You don’t want to see Jones kicking your tail for the next 10 years."
- The Mets and roughly five other teams looked at Freddy Garcia’s medical records, according to Joel Sherman. The Rangers are one other interested party.
Rios For Cain Or Lincecum?
UPDATE, 12-5-07 at 6:16pm: Jeff Blair says the Jays’ offer on the table is Rios for Lincecum, straight up.
UPDATE, 12-5-07 at 12:34pm: Brian Sabean wants more than just Rios for Lincecum (yes, the Jays prefer Lincecum based on service time). The Giants want an improved proposal from the Jays, and Toronto could add Robinzon Diaz, Curtis Thigpen, or Brett Cecil. Cecil would have to be a player to be named later since he was drafted in 2007. He signed on June 22nd, so he can’t even be named as a PTBNL until December 22nd.
UPDATE, 12-5-07 at 10:56am: Peter Gammons via Amy Nelson is saying it’s Lincecum for Rios currently rather than Cain.
UPDATE, 12-5-07 at 10:10am: Ken Rosenthal has some more details on these talks. He says the Jays won’t add pitching to their side of the deal. Additionally, they don’t want to move A.J. Burnett. The Jays have a potentially elite rotation for 2008 if they can get Lincecum for Rios.
FROM 12-4-07 at 10:46pm:
The San Francisco Chronicle’s John Shea verifies that the interesting proposal Brian Sabean referred to involved the Jays’ Alex Rios. The Jays want to swap him for Matt Cain. The Jays prefer Cain to Tim Lincecum, as they worry Lincecum might have durability issues.
It almost sounds like Lincecum alone wouldn’t get the Giants Rios, which is surprising. Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi is serious about trading Rios; he laid out to reporters what the Jays’ outfield would look like without him. By the way, the Giants have no interest in taking Troy Glaus in a deal. For their third base vacancy, the Giants are looking at Brandon Inge.
Meanwhile MLB.com’s Chris Haft believes the Jays want Lincecum for Rios. John, Chris – just talk to each other and sort this thing out.
Padres Checked In On Maybin
According to Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune, Kevin Towers and the Padres "took a brief look" at Cameron Maybin before he was dealt to Florida in yesterday’s blockbuster. Towers is apparently a big fan of Maybin, but obviously he couldn’t work anything out.
Dan Haren Rumors: Wednesday
UPDATE, 12-5-07 at 11:20am: Joel Sherman says Stephen Drew, Mark Reynolds, and Tony Pena are also off the table in the Haren talks.
UPDATE, 12-5-07 at 8:09am: Susan Slusser adds that the A’s aren’t being unreasonable with Arizona – they haven’t asked for Justin Upton or Chris Young. Slusser also notes that Billy Beane wouldn’t sit down with the Tigers unless they’d discuss Andrew Miller and Cameron Maybin. That’s when the Tigers turned to the Marlins. Beane downplayed the chances of trading Haren, but what else is he going to say?
FROM 12-5-07 at 12:09am:
Technically it’s Wednesday now, and some of the more rumor-filled threads were getting really long. So I’m happy to start a set of new ones. You can check out Tuesday’s Dan Haren thread here.
According to Jack Magruder of the East Valley Tribune, the D’Backs are willing to discuss a package of Carlos Gonzalez, Emilio Bonifacio, and Brett Anderson for Haren. That the D’Backs could spare these three very talented youngsters without skipping a beat speaks to how deep their farm system is. Magruder’s source says the A’s could ask for a staggering six players.
Jose Valverde, Dustin Nippert, and/or Alberto Callaspo could be involved to give the A’s some MLB-ready talent. From previous reports, we know that Conor Jackson and Max Scherzer will not be involved. Ken Rosenthal had suggested last night that the A’s initial request scared the D’Backs off, but he’s since corrected that information.
The A’s, however, want to wait for something to happen with Johan Santana before trading Haren.
Additionally, Magruder adds that the D’Backs have a touch of interest in Noah Lowry.
Latest Erik Bedard Rumors: Tuesday
UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 11:36pm: Geoff Baker says that a Bedard trade with the Mariners would likely involve Wladimir Balentien, Adam Jones, and Brandon Morrow.
UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 11:06pm: The Dodgers met with the Orioles to talk Bedard today. Ned Colletti has pretty much deemed Broxton untouchable, and no deal is close.
UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 10:19pm: John Fay says the Reds are seriously pursuing Bedard. Wayne Krivsky won’t reveal much, but Fay thinks Bailey, Votto, and another prospect might interest the Orioles.
UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 10:16pm: The Mets again offered Heilman, Gomez, and Humber for Bedard, perhaps thinking that offering it twice would be helpful. MLB.com’s Marty Noble says the Mets may reconfigure their offer, replacing Humber with Pelfrey or Mulvey.
UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 4:10pm: Joel Sherman confirms the Cubs’ interest, so that’s officially 11 teams in on Bedard. Sherman says the Yankees and Mets are unlikely to snag the southpaw ace, and names the Dodgers as the frontrunner. Peter Angelos is letting Andy MacPhail run the show but doesn’t want Bedard traded within the division. Sorry Yankees and Blue Jays.
UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 3:10pm: Nick Cafardo notes that Cubs GM Jim Hendry and Andy MacPhail had lunch today, which leads him to believe they may have discussed Bedard. A bit of a stretch since Hendry and MacPhail used to work together. Then again the Cubs did pursue in a Mark Prior/Miguel Tejada deal a few years back. The Cubs would represent the 11th team in on Bedard.
UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 3:01pm: Buster Olney says the Jays continue to talk with the Orioles about Bedard, noting that the Jays have the young pitching. Bedard would certainly represent the Canadian draw they’ve been looking for.
UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 2:16pm: There is growing buzz that the Dodgers may get Bedard. ESPN’s Amy Nelson has a source saying a deal may be close. Matt Kemp and Jonathan Broxton would be the main pieces of a trade. Readers are reporting in that WFAN is saying the same.
UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 9:32am: The Mets are still hawking Gomez, trying to get Bedard. Joel Sherman adds the Tigers to the list of teams after Bedard, bringing the total to ten. He says the Tigers and Phils are getting creative trying to get Bedard. The Tigers don’t need to get that creative – they can offer Cameron Maybin and Andrew Miller.
FROM 12-4-07 at 8:45am:
How many teams are after Erik Bedard? The tally yesterday included the Phillies, Cardinals, Yankees, Mets, Mariners, Angels, Dodgers, and D’Backs – that’s eight. The Baltimore Sun’s Jeff Zrebiec and Dan Connolly check in with the latest on the Orioles’ ace.
- There’s been a ton of trade interest in Bedard (as you might expect). Andy MacPhail is still talking about signing him to an extension, but no one really buys it. The package he’ll get in trade should rival what the Twins get for Johan.
- The Dodgers, Mariners, and Mets have been pursuing Bedard the most aggressively. More meetings with the Mets should occur today. The Mariners could make an intriguing offer built around Adam Jones and Brandon Morrow.
- A new team is added to bring the tally to nine: the Reds are interested. However, Jay Bruce is off the table.
Crasnick’s Latest: Hamilton, Figgins, Andruw, Inge
Jerry Crasnick filed more rumors ripe for discussion.
- The Reds may consider trading Josh Hamilton, but not to an NL Central team. There was nothing to the Hamilton-Cubs rumor anyway, according to Bruce Levine. And now officials from both teams have debunked it.
- The Cubs actually want to add two left-handed hitting outfielders, for some reason. Beyond Kosuke Fukudome, Geoff Jenkins remains on the radar. Jim Hendry likes Chone Figgins, but the Angels would ridiculously ask for Aramis Ramirez in that one.
- Scott Boras is still saying Andruw Jones isn’t looking for a one or two-year deal.
- The Rays have checked into Shawn Green, Geoff Jenkins, and Cliff Floyd. No truth to the rumor that Green is considering retirement.
- Brandon Inge hits the market, though he’s got three years and $19.1MM left on his deal. Plenty of clubs are in the market for a third baseman assuming the Tigers will eat some of the contract. Inge probably won’t be moving back behind the plate, by the way.