Astros Could Get In On Izturis
Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the Houston Chronicle says Cesar Izturis‘ agent Peter Greenberg spoke with Astros GM Ed Wade to gauge his interest in Cesar Izturis, Freddy Garcia, and Bobby Abreu. Wade confirmed that Abreu is not a fit for the Astros. Izturis could be, though, if they manage to trade Miguel Tejada. The Orioles are known to be making progress on a deal with Izturis.
Astros Not Interested In So Taguchi
8:28pm: Alyson Footer says the Astros are not interested in Taguchi.
12:44am: According to Kyodo News, So Taguchi‘s agent Alan Nero says the Astros are interested in his client. He’s talked to five teams about the free agent outfielder.
Astros Pushing Tejada
Yahoo’s Jeff Passan talked to one GM who said the Astros are pushing Miguel Tejada hard. Problem is, there are no apparent suitors right now. Also, while Ed Wade will make every effort not to trade Jose Valverde, he wouldn’t rule it out.
Twins Rumors: Kouzmanoff, Wigginton, Cantu
6:38pm: Phil Miller says the Twins’ young pitching is quite popular at the Meetings.
12:04pm: The latest from La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune:
- The Twins have discussed Kevin Kouzmanoff, Ty Wigginton, and Jorge Cantu internally. It’s not known whether they’ve actually inquired.
- Jack Wilson is still on the Twins’ radar.
- Several teams have asked about Boof Bonser.
Twins, Indians Not Interested In Tejada
8:31pm: MLB.com’s Anthony Castrovince says Mark Shapiro shook his head when the Tejada rumor was brought up. Maybe someone on the Astros’ side floated all this rumored interest in the shortstop.
8:15pm: Twins assistant GM Rob Antony suggested with facial expressions and body language that they’re not in on Tejada, according to Phil Miller.
7:00pm: Yahoo’s Jeff Passan says the Indians have also discussed a Tejada trade with the Astros. The Indians’ interest depends on how much they spend on a closer.
As for the Twins…LEN3 says, "Miguel Tejada is NOT an option."
6:57pm: MLB.com’s Alyson Footer says the Twins expressed interest in Tejada. The Astros would like to get one of the Twins’ young starters, and would be willing to eat salary.
Footer adds that interest in Ty Wigginton is "abundant," with the Twins again a possible match. She nixes the idea of the ‘Stros acquiring Ramon Hernandez from Baltimore.
4:10pm: According to Phil Miller of the St. Paul Pioneer Press:
Can’t vouch for its veracity – not sure I really believe it myself — but I just heard in the gossip scrum that is forming at the edge of the Bellagio lobby that there was at least a phone call between the Astros and Twins regarding Miguel Tejada, the long-ago MVP shortstop.
Coming from a "gossip scrum," it’s hard to know what to make of it. But, Miller felt it was worthy of publishing.
Astros Will Not Trade Valverde
7:30pm: Ed Wade assured reporters today that Valverde will not be traded.
11:04am: According to Ken Rosenthal, the Astros are willing to trade Miguel Tejada. Teams are interested in him as a shortstop and third baseman. Rosenthal figures the Twins, Dodgers, Giants, and Angels could be matches. He adds that the Astros realize they’d have to eat some of Tejada’s $13MM for ’09. Richard Justice figures it’d require eating at least half.
Rosenthal says the Astros are not inclined to trade closer Jose Valverde. And Justice figures Ty Wigginton could be tough to move as his salary climbs toward $10MM.
Astros Claim Fulchino
I first heard about this via Jesse Spector of the New York Daily News a few hours ago; trying to find time to mention it. The Astros claimed righty Jeff Fulchino off waivers from the Royals.
Rangers Could Still Trade Another Catcher
3:58pm: Both Peter Gammons and Ken Rosenthal are saying the Rangers could still trade another catcher (for a young starter). Gammons cites Salty specifically.
10:48am: WEEI’s Alex Speier takes a look at the market for catching.
- Dodgers GM Ned Colletti is on record saying he’s "probably not" interested in Jason Varitek.
- The Red Sox, Reds, Marlins, and Astros continue to hunt for catching.
- Speier talked to an official who believes the Rangers would have to be overwhelmed to trade a second catcher. Keeping in mind that Max Ramirez may have to move out from behind the plate, it may make sense to just let Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Taylor Teagarden compete for the job.
- The Red Sox have talked to the Indians about Kelly Shoppach; the Reds like him as well. The Indians would want a big league second baseman, third baseman, or closer back for Shoppach. The Indians have not entertained offers for Victor Martinez.
- The D’Backs would like a second baseman or pitching for Miguel Montero or Chris Snyder.
Odds and Ends: Rays, Greene, Wigginton
Links for Friday…
- The Rays signed three to minor league deals: Jason Childers, Jeremy Cummings, and Chris Richard.
- I chatted on the phone with Jesse Spector of the New York Daily News yesterday.
- ESPN’s Keith Law suggests the best fits for the top five free agents.
- Dave Cameron thinks the Cardinals did well on the Khalil Greene trade. Viva El Birdos also likes it.
- Richard Justice feels the Astros will trade Ty Wigginton. Maybe the Twins could be a match. By the way, the Astros signed Matt Kata to a minor league deal.
- Rany Jazayerli is happy with Royals owner David Glass.
Odds and Ends: Renteria, Burnett, Delmon
Interesting linkage this Thursday evening:
- ESPN’s Keith Law gives a thumbs up on the Giants’ signing of Edgar Renteria.
- Jesse Spector examines comparables for A.J. Burnett.
- Tracy Ringolsby of the Rocky Mountain News suggests the Rockies could be a fit for Delmon Young. Young doesn’t seem to be in Ron Gardenhire’s preferred starting outfield.
- Tony Massarotti at the Boston Globe points out that Junichi Tazawa‘s signing may help mitigate the loss of a draft pick in the event that the Red Sox were to sign a Type A free agent that had been offered arbitration (examples would be Derek Lowe or Mark Teixeira).
- The Dodgers will likely acquire their 2009 starting shortstop via trade, writes Bill Shaikin of the LA Times. Renteria has been signed by the Giants, Rafael Furcal is too expensive, Orlando Cabrera has been offered arbitration, and the rest of the free agents just aren’t that good.