Trade Rumor Roundup: 4 Days Left
What’s cooking this morning in the world of MLB trade rumors?
Gotham Baseball’s Mark Healey spoke to all sorts of baseball sources; here’s his latest Rumor Mill. New developments: the Mets could pursue various Rockie pitchers, and the Yanks crave John Smoltz.
My Mets guy indicates that the Wilson Betemit for Scott Linebrink deal that’s been bandied about could go down at the last minute. What? He hears things outside of the Mets.
SportsBlah sorts through the Alfonso Soriano rumors.
Jimmy Gobble was scratched from his start last night. Let the rampant rumormongering begin. Actually, KC just switched him with Runelvys Hernandez to break up the southpaws in the rotation.
As the days go by, Doug Melvin sounds more and more like he’ll trade Carlos Lee.
RotoAuthority gives the fantasy take on Shin-Soo Choo, Ben Broussard, Scott Kazmir, and many more recent developments.
All the newspapers are reporting that the Yankees have deemed Scott Proctor "untouchable." I know good relief help is hard to find, but should a 29 year-old middling reliever at the peak of his value really be deemed untouchable? Especially the way Joe Torre is abusing him.
Hadn’t heard of the Mets’ interest in Juan Cruz and Jose Valverde until Dan Graziano mentioned it this morning. Could be a great buy low situation for a real live arm in Valverde. Cruz I think could be tough to pry away.
There was just no reason to try to start Roger Clemens trade speculation. The Astros, five games back in the wildcard, have invested way too much to suddenly wave the white flag.
Bidding war for…Cory Lidle? Looks like Toronto has the lead so far; Lidle starts tonight.
Buster Olney mentioned today in his blog that the White Sox are willing to discuss trades for Freddy Garcia. He also indicates that the Red Sox are working on a large, creative deal with more than two teams.
Add the Mariners and Cardinals to the Yankees for Shawn Green’s interested parties. He can veto a deal to any of these three teams and is happy in Arizona.
L.A. Times: Angels Inquire About Ramirez, Tracy, Ensberg
We’ve heard Miguel Tejada as well as various mid-tier firstbasemen bandied about as possible trade targets for Bill Stoneman and the Angels. Mike DiGiovanna’s article for the Los Angeles Times today also indicates that the Halos could pursue various slugging third basemen.
Specifically, DiGiovanna mentions that the Angels have inquired about Aramis Ramirez, Chad Tracy, and Morgan Ensberg.
Ramirez is on fire, hitting .329/.391/.763 this month with nine home runs. What some folks may not realize is that Ramirez has every reason and the ability to test the free agent market this winter. He would most certainly top the money he’d make staying with the Cubs under his current contract. Ramirez has said he wants to stay in Chicago, so we’ll see.
The Angels would have to offer an excellent young player to pry Tracy away from Arizona. The 26 year-old has slipped a bit to .279/.343/.454 this season, which is below average for his position. Still he’s locked up for $13.25MM for 2007-09. That’s more than fair value.
Ensberg turns 31 next month, yet free agency is still a few years off. He hit the DL on July 10th with a shoulder contusion. After a torrid April, Ensberg hit just .194/.355/.382. The Padres have also expressed interest, but this acquisition would be a gamble.
Trade Rumor Roundup: 6 Days Left
What’s new in the world of trade rumors?
It wasn’t just Humberto Sanchez missing a start – Tigers prospect Jair Jurrjens is skipping two starts because of a stiff neck. While it certainly seems that recent trade winds could be at play here, it may just be a case of bad luck for Detroit. Both players can still be dealt despite the minor injuries.
A few more nuggets concerning the White Sox’s efforts to acquire Alfonso Soriano surfaced in newspapers today. Phil Rogers notes sources indicating that Scott Podsednik, and not Brian Anderson, would be part of a package for Soriano. In addition, Sam Borden of the New York Daily News suggests that Jim Bowden requested Double A pitcher Lance Broadway but was rebuffed.
Didn’t get to hear Tim Purpura on the radio yesterday personally, but it seems he may have inadvertently indicated that Willy Taveras is not in the team’s future center field plans. I imagine plenty of teams would have interest in Taveras despite his .280/.319/.331 line in 905 career ABs. On the plus side, Taveras truly is an excellent defender according to The Fielding Bible. They actually think he deserved the Gold Glove last year over Jim Edmonds.
Harold Reynolds got the axe from ESPN today; Deadspin has the thirdhand info.
Dayton Moore did well with reliever Elmer Dessens in a trade back to the Dodgers.
Many thanks to all those who visited MLBTradeRumors.com yesterday. June 24th was our best-ever day for traffic, beating out December 8th. Keep on comin’ back for all the latest trade rumors; I love writing about this stuff.
Trade Rumor Roundup: 8 Days Left
To begin with, this just isn’t true. With the Kearns deal and probably Soriano trade, the 2006 deadline just can’t be classified as a dud. That honor belongs to 2005 for sure. The trading action never matches the buildup, but this year’s still a good one.
Read Ken Rosenthal’s latest. The White Sox are in the Soriano game, the Rangers have interest in Luis Gonzalez, the Braves could add another reliever, Julio Lugo still might become a Blue Jay, and the Brewers look like sellers. In my opinion, some Brewers besides Carlos Lee that could be unloaded: Geoff Jenkins, Corey Koskie, Brady Clark, and Dan Kolb. Koskie will need to recover quickly from his concussion, however.
Still hearing that the Cubs like Willy Taveras, which would definitely fit their m.o. of players who don’t get on base. Phil Rogers also mentions that Seattle’s Rafael Soriano is being asked about. It would be surprising to see the Mariners deal that kind of young talent.
Tons of great rumors coming from Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. He’s got a rundown of the Red Sox, all sorts of teams scouting Humberto Sanchez, and more.
Buster Olney mentioned in his blog today that the Astros are among various teams scouting Elmer Dessens. The Astros are also looking at Damaso Marte.
Unfounded rumor department: Could the Dodgers be after Aramis Ramirez? Ramirez has picked a fantastic time to heat up, and L.A. has some top shelf young talent…is there anywhere Julio Lugo could go besides Toronto? How about the Rockies?
Astros Talking About Miguel Tejada
MLBTradeRumors has learned that the Astros are in talks with Baltimore for Miguel Tejada. I don’t have much more detail than that, but it comes from a trusted source. Houston has been reluctant to offer up outfielder Hunter Pence, who currently has 22 home runs in Double A. It’ll be interesting to see how this one plays out. The Astros previously expressed interest back in January.
A couple more tasty Tejada nuggets: The Reds kicked the tires on the superstar shortstop, but a deal couldn’t be completed without including stud pitcher Homer Bailey. In my opinion, if the Reds are really going for the gold this year, they should’ve pulled the trigger. Also, the reason the Angels are resisting a Tejada deal: Mike Scioscia. Scioscia doesn’t want Tejada bringing his…influence…into the clubhouse.
Astros Acquire Aubrey Huff
The Astros finally got their bat, and they didn’t have to give up their top prospects. Read all about their trade for Aubrey Huff at MLB.com.
If you recall, the Astros have had Huff on their radar as far back as January of this year. The D-Rays got decent prospects in the trade, but Huff’s value has been declining for a while now.
Ben Zobrist is a solid but not spectacular shortstop prospect. He may be ready to try Triple A for the first time with his new club. He kind of reminds me of Craig Counsell after reading about him a bit. Good guy to have around, gets on base, but not a star. The B.J. Upton as a shortstop experiment has officially ended because of Zobrist, and Upton should be in the bigs to stay by August if he takes to third base.
Talbot projects as a tolerable fifth starter perhaps; he’ll give up a good share of hits but stay around the plate. He’s got a 1.36 WHIP in Double A right now.
Looking at the numbers, the Astros might stand to gain one game in the standings from this trade when it’s all said and done. That could be the difference with the team currently 3.5 games out of the wild card.
I was just reading an excellent chapter in Dayn Perry’s book Winners. The biggest post-trading deadline gain ever from an outfielder was Jermaine Dye for the 2001 A’s, and that accounted for maybe two extra wins. Best ever trading deadline acquisition? Doyle Alexander for the 1987 Tigers, who went 9-0 with a 1.53 ERA after the trade. Of course, a young nobody named John Smoltz went the other way. Still, no trading deadline acquisition has ever contributed more than Alexander (Randy Johnson included).
Clemens Signs, Nevin to Cubs
The long expected Roger Clemens signing with Houston has finally been made official. One less distraction; the sideshow is finally over. Until Clemens decides there’s a slight chance he pitches in 2007. The Astros are 6.5 games back and Clemens should provide a several-win boost over the likes of Fernando Nieve.
The Cubs are 11 games under .500, 12.5 out of first, but they’re not giving up. Jim Hendry just swapped Jerry Hairston for Phil Nevin, a clear win now type move for a team with little chance of winning now. Cubs fans shouldn’t mind the deal, given that the Rangers should take on most of Nevin’s salary. Would’ve been nice if Hendry could’ve pulled this off a month ago though.
Finally, Pat Burrell was curiously absent from the Philadelphia lineup given all the trade rumors swirling about. Burrell makes plenty of sense for the Yanks if they can get him, but they can’t afford to give up any decent starting pitching.
Latest On Clemens
Back on February 15th, I posted about a source out of Houston close to former Astros GM Gerry Hunsicker. That same source has another update on Roger Clemens for us this morning.
Apparently, Hunsicker still feels that Clemens will sign with Houston on or shortly after May 1st. The Yankees and Red Sox were never seriously in the running for Roger, and Texas was a long shot at best. Clemens’s approach to his return was designed to guarantee him the most money possible.
On the off chance that Clemens retires, the Astros are expected to trade for a starting pitcher.
Astros/Red Sox Deal Cooking?
Buster Olney tosses a little trade rumor nugget out in today’s blog:
"By the way: the Red Sox had multiple scouts tracking the Houston Astros on Thursday, at a time when the Astros are looking for a starter (Matt Clement? Wells? Arroyo?)"
Let’s see here…what might the Red Sox want in return? Jason Lane to replace Trot Nixon? Seems that if the Sox need anything, it’s a corner infielder in the event Mike Lowell doesn’t pan out. I can’t really find a good match just perusing the Major League rosters. Perhaps a three-team deal is in the works or it’s something more minor.
If the Pirates want Arroyo back, Craig Wilson would be a decent fit given that Youkilis can play third…the Pirates have two vacancies in their rotation but a host of candidates to fill them.
2007 MLB Free Agents: Andy Pettitte
New York papers are abuzz with Andy Pettitte talk, so I thought I’d get in on the act. Pettitte opened up to reporters yesterday, saying that retirement after the 2006 season is an option if his elbow can’t handle any more.
Pettitte turns 34 this June and will make $17.5MM this season in the last year of his backloaded three-year contract. One article mentioned that before the 2004 season, Pettitte asked his agent to limit the contract to three years. Given that obvious uncertainty and Pettitte’s desire to be with his family, retirement is entirely feasible even with the lefty on top of his game.
Yankees fans, of course, would love Pettitte to return to his old stomping grounds. The team could use another mercenary ace starter, whether it be midseason or for 2007. If it was a one-year contract for 2007, Pettitte could probably find a team to come close to the record $18MM Roger Clemens received last year with Houston.
Here’s the issue with any major Yankees trade: if they want to acquire a star player, they have a very limited set of players to deal. Off the top of my head, Philip Hughes, Robinson Cano, and maybe Matt DeSalvo (though he’s 25 now). Why would the Astros surrender Pettitte for anything less? (And don’t try to sell me on Eric Duncan‘s performance in the AFL or something). Same goes for Barry Zito, Doug Davis, or whatever other reinforcements the Yankees might pursue if Johnson/Mussina/Chacon/Wang/Pavano doesn’t hold up (and it’d be a miracle if those five held up). Jaret Wright is a joke, Aaron Small a fluke. I think the Yanks will be in the market for a starter this summer and Hughes will have to go.