Rosenthal On White Sox, Pedro, Baker
The latest from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports…
- The White Sox are still trying to figure out their center field situation, but they are not involved on pricey veterans such as Juan Pierre and Gary Matthews Jr.
- Fantasy alert: Rosenthal names David Aardsma as the likely leader for the Mariners closer job, with Chad Cordero and Brandon Morrow lingering.
- The Dodgers "continue to balk at Pedro Martinez's $5MM asking price."
- Rockies utility man Jeff Baker, who is out of options, is drawing interest from the Phillies, Astros, and Pirates. Rosenthal suggests recently-demoted Kyle Kendrick as a possible target for Colorado, assuming the Phils can move Geoff Jenkins or Matt Stairs to clear a spot. Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post says the Yankees are unlikely to acquire Baker.
- The Blue Jays have been scouting shortstops Chin-Lung Hu, Juan Castro, and others in hopes of finding someone they can stash at Triple A for insurance.
- Was Willy Taveras a bad move for the Reds? Rosenthal says rival executives think so.
Gammons On Matthews, Teahen, Harang, Peavy
12:07pm: John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer asked Reds GM Walt Jocketty about Gammons' Harang note. Jocketty said, "I'm not going to comment on something when he doesn't know what he's talking about."
9:19am: ESPN's Peter Gammons had a new blog post yesterday discussing available players.
- Gammons names Geoff Jenkins ($8MM remaining, limited no-trade), Brian Giles ($9MM remaining, full no-trade), Gary Matthews Jr. ($33.5MM remaining, full no-trade), Marcus Thames ($2.275MM salary), Nick Johnson ($5.5MM salary), Jason Repko, and Jeff Baker as players being dangled. Gammons links Matthews to the Yankees but admits his contract will be an issue.
- Mark Teahen has drawn interest from the Astros, Red Sox, and Yankees.
- Gammons says the Reds "have let teams know that they will wait and see whether they need to move Aaron Harang during the season." It'd be a shame to see the Reds break up that rotation. Harang has about $36MM coming to him over the next three seasons if his 2011 option is exercised.
- Brewers third baseman Bill Hall expects his team to pursue Padres ace Jake Peavy if available this summer. Unlike C.C. Sabathia, Peavy is more than a rental.
Rosenthal On Jeter, Jenkins, Keppinger
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports posted a new column last night.
- Rosenthal wonders if the eventual emergence of Yankees shortstop prospects Ramiro Pena and Eduardo Nunez will prompt the team to ask Derek Jeter to change positions in the future. Neither player ranked among the Yankees' top 30 prospects in the Baseball America 2009 Handbook, however. Jeter's current contract runs through 2010.
- Rosenthal says Boston's talks for catchers Miguel Montero and Jarrod Saltalamacchia "remain stalled because of those clubs' respective asking prices."
- Rosenthal believes the Phillies are unlikely to trade Geoff Jenkins or Matt Stairs.
- The Reds are considering trading infielder Jeff Keppinger, and Rosenthal wonders if the Astros would be a fit. He also speculates on Juan Uribe for Houston. John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer talked about the Keppinger possibility on Friday.
Pudge Passes Physical
According to Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the Houston Chronicle Ivan Rodriguez passed his physical for the Astros to finalize his one year deal. Pudge says all the right things about joining his new team.
Odds & Ends: Wade, Baker, Catalanotto
Links for Friday…
- RotoAuthority advises how to manage information during your fantasy draft.
- Something's not right with Corey Koskie, and the Chicago Tribune's Paul Sullivan says he'll decide about his future by Saturday.
- Former Blue Jays assistant GM Bart Given has a blog, and it's pretty good from what I've read (hat tip: Drunk Jays Fans).
- Sidearmer Mark Worrell, acquired by the Padres for Khalil Greene, needs Tommy John surgery according to Bill Center of the San Diego Union Tribune.
- Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune says the White Sox "traded infielder Sergio Santos to San Francisco for future considerations." Santos was picked 27th overall by the D'Backs in the 2002 draft.
- Chico Harlan of the Washington Post wonders whether $5MM first baseman Dmitri Young will be willing to accept an assignment to Triple A.
- MLB.com's Alyson Footer says Astros GM Ed Wade never lied to her and doesn't owe her an apology about Ivan Rodriguez. Wade just changed his mind after talking to Footer.
- Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune doesn't see the Cubs releasing $4MM reliever Luis Vizcaino.
- Tracy Ringolsby of Inside The Rockies believes Jeff Baker is the team's most likely infielder to be dealt. ESPN's Jayson Stark mentioned Baker yesterday as a trade candidate, and the Denver Post's Troy E. Renck has wondered if he'd fit for the Yankees or Astros.
- MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan says the Rangers have discussed Frank Catalanotto with other clubs but found no takers. Catalanotto has $6MM coming to him.
- Rany Jazayerli discusses the Royals' signing of Sidney Ponson and release of Jimmy Gobble.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Bucs, Jays, Pedro, Pudge, Phils, Twins
On this date 72 years ago, in what may have been the biggest trade in Negro League history, Josh Gibson and Judy Johnson were traded from the Pittsburgh Crawfords to the Homestead Grays for $25K and two players. Earlier this week, Pudge Rodriguez, one of the greatest catchers of this generation, became the latest big-name free agent to find a home. Let's take a look at what is being written in the Blogosphere…
- Pirate Revolution takes a look at some players that could become available for the Pirates in the next two weeks as teams trim their rosters, including Jeff Niemann.
- The 2012 payroll commitments in the AL East do not sit well with Drunk Jays Fans.
- MLB Notebook attempts to calculate exactly how much teams should be willing to give Pedro Martinez.
- Jorge Says No! says the Astros and Pedro are a good match and the recent signing of Pudge is an indication that the Astros are going for it this season.
- The Ghost of Moonlight Graham says Pudge "fooled" the Astros into giving him $1.5MM.
- The Fightins try to dispel the myth that Raul Ibanez was a poor defensive addition to the Phillies.
- Twins Geek takes a look at the Twins incredible shrinking payroll.
- Fire Brand of the American League says the release of Josh Bard has much bigger implications for the Red Sox than might be evident on the surface.
- Sully Baseball takes a look at the Cleveland Indians all-time homegrown team versus their all-time acquired team.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com. If you have a suggestion for this feature, Cork can be reached here.
Odds And Ends: Tejada, Manny, White Sox
A few links for Thursday night…
- Good news for the Astros: The AP (via ESPN) reports that a federal prosecutor recommended that Miguel Tejada get probation, but no prison time for his involvement with PEDs.
- MLB.com's Ken Gurnick passes along a memorable Manny Ramirez quote: "No more cricket. I'm not signing to play cricket. Well, I can be a free agent after this year, so we'll see. But don't ask me about cricket."
- Scot Gregor of the Daily Herald writes that the White Sox need to make a deal for a center fielder who can bat leadoff. He thinks GM Kenny Williams is "probably close" to making a deal. Gregor doesn't like Jim Edmonds or Juan Pierre for the job, but he doesn't rule out Kenny Lofton.
- This isn't a rumor, but MLB.com's Mark Sheldon has a quirky anecdote. Micah Owings and Norris Hopper hit home runs with the same bat today. I might be more surprised that Hopper hit one.
- Ivan Rodriguez is looking forward to joining the Astros, according to this article in the Detroit Free Press.
- Padres CEO Sandy Alderson says it was a huge mistake to let Joakim Soria slip away through the Rule 5 draft in this article by Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune.
Brewers Not Talking Trades
Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel checked in with Brewers GM Doug Melvin and heard that the Brewers aren't talking trades with any team. Jayson Stark heard rumblings that the Yankees could be interested in Mike Cameron again, but Melvin said: "We're not talking trade with any team now."
Melvin said he spoke on the phone in general terms today without bringing Cameron's name up. Melvin also said the Astros haven't inquired about trading for a third baseman.
Stark On Cameron, Ohman, Jenkins
ESPN's Jayson Stark has a new blog post up.
- The Astros plan to give Chris Johnson a chance to win the third base job, but Stark says Juan Uribe, Jose Bautista, and Jeff Baker "could still show up on their shopping list in the next two weeks."
- Stark heard "rumblings the Yankees are poking around again on Mike Cameron's availability." Back in December, the Yanks and Brewers were pretty close on a deal.
- Eric Milton is looking decent and appears to be the frontrunner for the Dodgers' fifth starter job (given Pedro Martinez's asking price).
- Will Ohman seeks a one-year, $1.75MM deal with easily-reachable incentives for another million. He also prefers the West Coast, and Stark believes the Padres and Giants are more likely than the Dodgers. Like the Dodgers, the Phillies and Marlins have interest at a lesser price. Stark has also heard the Phils connected to Giants lefty Jack Taschner.
- Shawn Camp, Geoff Geary, John Buck, and Geoff Jenkins are currently available. The Phillies would eat almost all of the $8MM owed to Jenkins.
Heyman On Pedro, Pudge, Andruw
SI.com's Jon Heyman has a new column.
- Heyman believes the Mets offered Pedro Martinez a $1-2MM base salary, but he's still looking for $5MM. Not happenin'. ESPN's Jayson Stark suggests Pedro is asking for $6-8MM.
- Heyman takes Astros GM Ed Wade to task for seemingly lying to MLB.com beat writer Alyson Footer about the team's pursuit of Ivan Rodriguez. The Pudge deal will be official once his physical is complete.
- Andruw Jones must decide by Friday whether to stay with the Rangers (presumably he'd head to Triple A if he does not opt out). In talking to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan, Andruw said he doesn't know yet and needs to talk to Scott Boras.