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Padres And Marlins Discussing Maybin

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2:54pm: The Padres have acquired Maybin from the Marlins, pending a physical, reports Tom Krasovic of Fanhouse (via Twitter).

2:09pm: Maybin will be traded and a deal with the Padres is getting close, a source tells Jeff Passan of Yahoo (via Twitter).

12:25am: The Marlins have also discussed Maybin with the Royals, according to Frisaro (Twitter link).

11:54am: The Padres and Marlins are discussing a trade involving Cameron Maybin, tweets MLB.com's Joe Frisaro. It is unclear who or if any other players are involved in the discussions.

Maybin, still just 23, has yet to establish himself in the big leagues after coming over in the Miguel Cabrera–Dontrelle Willis trade in December 2007. He's a .246/.313/.380 career hitter in 610 plate appearances, mostly with the Marlins. UZR loves his defense in center, rating him at +5.1 at the position for his career. 

Maybin is out of options, so he will need to clear waivers to go to the minors starting next season. He does have four years of team control remaining, however. Florida traded Andrew Miller, the other key piece they received in the Cabrera-Willis deal, to the Red Sox yesterday.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Cox, Crawford, DeJesus

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Two years ago today the Athletics acquired Matt Holliday from the Rockies in exchange for Carlos Gonzalez, Huston Street, and Greg Smith. Holliday hit .286/.378/.454 in exactly 400 plate appearances with Oakland before being dealt to the Cardinals for a package led by Brett Wallace at the 2009 trade deadline.

Street has battled injuries but has been solid when on the mound for Colorado, pitching to a 3.30 ERA with 9.5 K/9 and 2.0 BB/9 in 109 innings. Smith has appeared in just eight games for the Rox (all starts), putting up a 6.23 ERA. The real get was CarGo, who will certainly be in the MVP mix after a .336/.376/.598 season with 34 doubles, 34 homers, 26 stolen bases, and a batting title.

The hot stove league will certainly bring us more blockbuster trades, but for now you'll have to settle for this long collection of links, the best the blogosphere had to offer this week…

If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here.

Odds & Ends: Beltre, Counsell, Greinke, Kuroda

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Thursday night linkage..

Royals Rumors: Greinke, Gordon, Francoeur

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Royals GM Dayton Moore told Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star that he doesn't expect to trade Zack Greinke any time soon. “There’s nothing in the works, and I don’t anticipate anything happening real quick unless someone calls and just blows us away," Moore said. "I haven’t made any calls to clubs.” Here's the latest on Greinke and the Royals:

  • The Blue Jays aren't the only AL East team to inquire on Greinke; the Red Sox have also expressed interest.
  • The Blue Jays are one of many teams with interest in Alex Gordon, but Royals officials say they won’t dump the former top prospect for a small return.
  • Moore says “Jeff [Francoeur] is a winning-type baseball player who brings a lot of energy.” It sounds like the Royals have some interest in the free agent, but Moore cautioned that a potential deal would have to work for both sides.
  • Japanese clubs are interested in Phil Humber and Bryan Bullington, but the players would have to approve any deal.
  • The Royals allowed former prospect Chris McConnell to become a minor league free agent over the winter.

 

Blue Jays Have Inquired On Greinke, Gordon

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The Blue Jays have inquired about the availability of Zack Greinke and Alex Gordon, according to Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun. As Jayson Stark of ESPN.com reported yesterday, the Royals are looking for multiple top prospects for Greinke.

The Blue Jays have Shaun Marcum, Brandon Morrow, Ricky Romero, Brett Cecil and Kyle Drabek pencilled in to their 2011 rotation. They could either let Drabek begin the year in the minors or trade a starter of their own if they acquired Greinke.

Gordon could play first or third for the Blue Jays, but it’s unlikely that he would patrol the outfield, where Travis Snider, Vernon Wells and Jose Bautista figure to get most of the playing time.

It’s not surprising to hear that the Blue Jays inquired on Greinke, a former Cy Young Award winner, and Gordon, a former first rounder who has always destroyed minor league pitching, but it doesn’t mean that GM Alex Anthopoulos will make the Royals a serious offer. 

Stark On Greinke, Jeter, Phillies, Uggla

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It's looking more and more likely that MLB will add a second wild card team to each league, according to ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark. He also has the latest rumblings from around the league; here they are:

  • Clubs that have spoken to the Royals say Kansas City would only accept a bunch of front-line players for Zack Greinke. One of those players must be a pitcher with a Greinke-like ceiling, so GM Dayton Moore expects a lot for his ace.
  • Clubs that have checked in with the Royals believe Greinke would veto a deal to any major market East Coast team. However, one official says the pitcher “would at least think about the L.A. clubs.”
  • Joel Sherman of the New York Post recently suggested that the Yankees make Derek Jeter a Yankee for life with a 25-year contract that would keep him involved in the organization once his playing days end, but Stark hears that Jeter’s next deal will be “a baseball contract. Period.”
  • A Phillies source summed up the chances of Jayson Werth returning to Philadelphia concisely: "No chance. None. Zero.
  • "The Phillies are working aggressively to re-sign Jose Contreras, according to Stark.
  • GM Ruben Amaro Jr. told Stark that he has been working the phones this week. "We've made contact with 40 free agents, predominantly bullpen guys." He said. "Left-handed relief is a priority for us."
  • Teams that have contacted the Marlins about Dan Uggla see definite signs that if extension talks don’t go anywhere, the second baseman could soon become trade bait.

A’s Acquire DeJesus For Mazzaro, Marks

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The A’s acquired David DeJesus from the Royals for right-hander Vin Mazzaro and left-hander Justin Marks, the teams announced today. Royals GM Dayton Moore says Mazzaro will join the team’s rotation and Marks will start the season at high Class A Wilmington. 

Mazzaro, 24, posted a 4.27 ERA in 122 1/3 innings for the A's this year with 5.8 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9. He became expendable when Oakland won the bidding for Japanese right-hander Hisashi Iwakuma earlier in the week. If the A's reach a deal with Iwakuma, he'll join Brett Anderson, Trevor Cahill, Gio Gonzalez and Dallas Braden in the team's rotation.

DeJesus batted .318/.384/.443 in 394 plate appearances this year, but he missed the final two months of the season because he required surgery on his right thumb. The 30-year-old, who has spent all of his eight-year career with the Royals, has experience in left, center and right. He joins Rajai Davis, Coco Crisp, Ryan Sweeney, Conor Jackson and Jack Cust in a crowded Oakland outfield that could clear up if Jackson and Cust are traded or non-tendered.

Marks, 22, posted a 4.87 ERA as a starter in the lower minors in 2010. The 2009 third rounder posted 9.5 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 as he picked up his first significant experience as a pro.

DeJesus will earn $6MM in 2011 and qualify for free agency after the season. Mazzaro may qualify for arbitration as a Super Two next winter, but he cheap for now and won't hit free agency until after the 2015 campaign.

Brian Bannister Becomes A Free Agent

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Brian Bannister is officially a free agent, according to the Royals. Kansas City reinstated Jason Kendall and David DeJesus from the 60-day DL and made room by outrighting Bannister to Triple-A and designating right-hander Brian Anderson for assignment. Bannister refused his assignment and became a free agent.

Bannister, 29, pitched to a 6.34 ERA in 127 2/3 innings last year. His walk rate rose to 3.5 BB/9 and his strikeout rate dropped to 5.4 K/9, so it's not surprising that the Royals let him go. If they had offered arbitration, Bannister would have made something like $2.3MM, his 2010 salary. When Mike Axisa identified Bannister as a non-tender candidate last month, 71% of MLBTR readers correctly predicted that the Royals would cut him loose.

Anderson, a longtime outfielder in the major leagues, started making the transition to the mound this year. He logged 17 1/3 innings across three levels in the Royals system, striking out 17 and walking 5.

Non-Tender Candidate: Kyle Davies

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Kyle Davies was a well-regarded young pitcher in the summer of 2007, when the Royals acquired him from the Braves for a few months of Octavio Dotel.  Since then Davies has had an extended opportunity in Kansas City.  Over 469 2/3 innings spread across 86 starts, he sports a 5.15 ERA, 6.2 K/9, 4.1 BB/9, and 1.11 HR/9.  He also logged another 104 innings at Triple-A.

Davies, 27, just hasn't made much progress in the bigs.  The best that can be said is that he's been healthy and is good for 170-180 innings with an ERA around 5.00.  That has value, in that it's better than the production of most fifth starters, but you'd prefer to pay the league minimum for it.  Davies, however, could make more than $2MM as a third-time arbitration eligible player.

Davies is still young, and he throws relatively hard with a 92.6 mph average fastball this year.  With improved control and a move to the NL, you can picture him as a solid #4 starter.  In that sense Davies is more of a trade candidate than a non-tender possibility.  Still, you have to wonder if the Royals will give him one more shot given their rotation uncertainty.  Zack Greinke could be traded, though he'd likely bring back a Major League ready arm.  Brian Bannister is a non-tender candidate, and Bruce Chen is a free agent.  If the Royals do give up on Davies and Bannister, they'll probably have to add at least one free agent starter.

Your turn: will Davies be non-tendered?  Click here to make your prediction and here to view the results.

Royals Claim Lance Zawadzki

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The Royals claimed infielder Lance Zawadzki off of waivers from the Padres, according to a team press release. Kansas City outrighted Jai Miller to Triple-A and the outfielder will become a free agent tomorrow afternoon. It's the second consecutive day the Royals have made a waiver claim; GM Dayton Moore claimed Joaquin Arias from the Mets yesterday.

Zawadzki, 25, appeared in 20 games for the Padres in May and June. He spent most of the season in the upper minors, where he played second, third and short and batted .225/.291/.316. Miller, 25, batted .236/.300/.345 in 60 big league plate appearances this year. He has a .239/.322/.401 line in eight minor league seasons.

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