Mets Trade Rumor: Milledge For Oswalt Or Schmidt
Jon Heyman busts out a big one early Monday morning: the Mets are in "serious talks" for Jason Schmidt or Roy Oswalt. The key to any deal would be Lastings Milledge.
Heyman mentions that Brian Bannister would be needed to pry Oswalt away but not Schmidt. He also says Aaron Heilman could be used to "enhance" a deal.
It seems now that Oswalt really is in play, which is strange given the Astros’ lack of depth behind Roger Clemens. Speaking of which, why not put the Rocket on the block instead?
Soriano Suitors Down To Two
Word from a source is that the teams still standing in the Alfonso Soriano sweepstakes are only the Astros and Angels.
The White Sox, Tigers, and Twins appear to be out of the game, decreasing Jim Bowden’s leverage. Would’ve been nice to play off the AL Central rivals against one another.
Plenty of trade candidates have been connected to the Astros in recent days, including Roy Oswalt, Morgan Ensberg, Willy Taveras, Brad Lidge, and Adam Everett at the Major League level. L.A. seems to be dealing more in prospects, with Erick Aybar likely on the way out.
Carroll: Astros-Rangers Trade?
Will Carroll’s latest rumor mill is churning up a new trade scenario: Brad Wilkerson and Rod Barajas for Brad Lidge, Morgan Ensberg, and Fernando Nieve.
Barajas is most certainly expendable with Gerald Laird hitting .347/.380/.579 in 121 at-bats this year. Barajas will be a member of this offseason’s weak free agent catcher class.
Wilkerson’s been subpar this season even while playing at Ameriquest, so I don’t see how swapping out Ensberg’s bat for his helps the club. Even Barajas’s below-average hitting would be an improvement upon Brad Ausmus, but the Astros just wouldn’t gain enough in the proposed deal. I have to think more players from Texas would be involved.
Roy Oswalt’s Name Enters The Fray
Here’s a new one: could Roy Oswalt be traded in the next 18 hours?
According to the Baltimore Sun:
"Several industry sources confirmed the Orioles and Astros are negotiating dealing Tejada for third baseman Morgan Ensberg, shortstop Adam Everett and Oswalt, 28, who has already won 91 major-league games."
The O’s have said they are looking for established Major Leaguers in return for their superstar shortstop, and Oswalt fits the bill. Baltimore would have to have competitive designs for the 2007 season, as Oswalt is a free agent after that.
According to Value Over Replacement Player, Oswalt has been the fourth best pitcher in the league this season. Last year he ranked fifth in VORP. It’s tough to see how the Astros would win this year with no dependable starters behind Roger Clemens. Perhaps a Rodrigo Lopez type pitcher would come to Houston in the unlikely event Oswalt is dealt.
Houston Chronicle: Lidge For Blalock?
Jose De Jesus Ortiz of the Houston Chronicle mentions this morning that the Rangers are asking the Astros about Brad Lidge, and that Hank Blalock could be part of a deal.
Such a trade would really pile on the third basemen for Houston, who already have Morgan Ensberg and Aubrey Huff. Ensberg is on the road to recovery from a shoulder injury, but Huff can play the outfield corners or first base.
Miguel Tejada Trade Update
Next up, Miggy. Tejada got cold feet yesterday, saying that he wanted to stay in Baltimore and didn’t want to move to third base.
Also, the Orioles have rejected the offer of Ervin Santana and Erick Aybar. Seems foolish. According to Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun:
"If the Angels added another prospect to their package of Santana and Aybar, like possibly first base prospect Casey Kotchman, the trade could be completed. It is believed that the Angels’ top two offensive prospects – Double-A shortstop Brandon Wood and second baseman Howie Kendrick – are not available."
Angelos! We are talking about a young, established, effective starter in Santana. Don’t let this one slip away. Jorge Arangure Jr. of the Washington Post adds Nick Adenhart‘s name to the mix as the possible third player coming from L.A. My Angels source had named Adenhart as an untouchable player back on July 13th.
The Astros came in with a fairly weak offer of Morgan Ensberg, Adam Everett, and Fernando Nieve, as Will Carroll mentioned yesterday. Zrebiec tells us that Baltimore turned this one down but is still talking with Tim Purpura. Zrebiec calls Houston one of the favorites at this point.
The Rangers are in the game with Hank Blalock and prospects available, which would create a logjam at third for the Orioles. The Dodgers are offering Cesar Izturis and prospects, and Rafael Furcal‘s name has come up as well.
Carroll: Final Offers Made On Tejada
In his the latest Will’s Mill, Will Carroll indicates that the Astros and Angels have put in their final bids for Miguel Tejada. He also mentions that the Astros may turn to Julio Lugo if they can’t get Tejada. In that case they’d have to compete with the Blue Jays. Lugo was released by the Astros in 2003 by Gerry Hunsicker. Chuck LaMar was a bad GM, but you have to give him credit for the Lugo signing and the Kazmir deal. Even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while, right?
Carroll also tells us that not much is leaking out of Boston’s front office, so reporters are left to connect the dots with info from other teams. He leaves us with hope for some action soon enough:
"One of my best sources says the first of the Red Sox deals will happen this afternoon."
Rosenthal: Angels, Astros Make Tejada Offers
Ken Rosenthal’s got the scoop on a sweet offer made to the Orioles for Miguel Tejada: starter Ervin Santana and shortstop Erick Aybar.
The Orioles, characteristically an indecisive team, need to pounce on this offer. Baltimore will not be ready to compete in the AL East for several years, and prime young pitching isn’t offered up every day. Put Santana under Leo Mazzone’s tutelage and he could blossom into a true ace. And Aybar, while overshadowed by the Halos’ other infield prospects, looks to be an above average regular for many years. Not surprising to see Aybar used as a trading chip, but I didn’t expect the Angels to offer up Santana.
As far as the Astros, Rosenthal just states that "prime Major League pieces" were offered. He also mentions the Tigers and Dodgers as players.
Carroll On Tejada-Astros Discussions
Baseball Prospectus author Will Carroll has opened up Will’s Mill for the weekend, and he’ll be burning up the phone lines fishing for all sorts of good trade rumors.
Today he mentions an offer Tim Purpura has given to the Orioles for Miguel Tejada: Adam Everett, Morgan Ensberg, and Fernando Nieve. According to Carroll, Tim Purpura is focused on Tejada and is being urged by Roger Clemens to go get him.
In Everett, the Orioles would be acquiring the game’s best defensive shortstop. His hitting, at .241/.300/.327 this year, lags far behind the average AL shortstop. The average AL shortstop is hitting .286/.342/.423, similar to the work of Eric Chavez or A.J. Pierzysnki this year.
On the 10th of June, Ensberg bruised his shoulder diving for a foul ball. He was hitting .256/.380/.562 at that point, though he hadn’t done much in May or June. In Ensberg’s 18 games after the shoulder bruise, he hit just .158/.422/.263. He drew plenty of walks but the power that resulted in 36 HR last year had vanished. Ensberg took live batting practice yesterday for the first time since being placed on the DL on July 10th.
Nieve, 24, has a mid-90s fastball and a hard slider. He was just sent down to Triple A a week ago because of Brandon Backe, but had been demoted to the bullpen upon Roger Clemens‘s return in late June. It’s just a 15 inning sample, but Nieve did pretty well as a reliever: 8.2 K/9, 2.94 ERA, 1.17 WHIP. As a starter he had a 5.6 K/9, 4.67 ERA, and 1.28 WHIP. It is a fact that many pitchers add several miles per hour to their fastball by switching to relief, and Nieve’s two plus pitches make it easy to envision him as a future closer or top set-up man.
Brad Lidge On The Trading Block?
Both Ken Rosenthal and Richard Justice are hinting at the same idea: struggling closer Brad Lidge could be trade bait for the Astros.
"If general manager Tim Purpura dangles struggling closer Brad Lidge — as he did last off-season in a deal for Tejada — the possibilities could get interesting."
The possibility first popped up in mid-December, though the situation was much different back then. Now, Lidge is pitching badly and his stock has fallen dramatically. Justice, a sportswriter for the Houston Chronicle, indicated in his blog today:
"By the way, Fernando Nieve was sent to Round Rock to pitch late in games. Phil Garner intends to use him late when he returns to the big leagues. That’s probably an indication the Astros expect to trade a closer by Monday’s trading deadline."
However, as RotoWorld points out this afternoon, Lidge is paid decently and wouldn’t interest the teams looking to trade big bats. They theorize that a longshot possibility could be sending him to the Phillies for Bobby Abreu. Houston, of course, is where it all began for Abreu. Perhaps a three-team deal would be necessary to make this work.