Royals Rumors

Crasnick On The Bullpen Market

By Tim Dierkes | July 21, 2010 at 11:53am CDT

ESPN's Jerry Crasnick does a nice job profiling the underwhelming market for relievers. The Red Sox, Tigers, Angels, Dodgers, Yankees, Rays, Phillies, and Twins could be looking to make an acquisition. A few tidbits…

The Astros "will gladly talk about Brandon Lyon, but aren't so interested in discussing Matt Lindstrom." Lyon is still owed $12.48MM through 2012.
Crasnick points out that Octavio Dotel is not a pitcher you want facing lefties. How about D.J. Carrasco? He's quietly having another decent year, he's cheap, and he's under team control through 2012. Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review tweeted yesterday that at least five teams have inquired.
Crasnick finds "the consensus" to be that Mariners closer David Aardsma will be dealt before the deadline. The Tigers have been linked to the hard-throwing righty, whose ERA is up several runs this year despite his strikeout and walk rates remaining stable. Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times feels the Mariners would need their socks knocked off to move Aardsma.
Chad Qualls, Clay Hensley, and most of the Brewers' and Royals' pens also merit consideration as trade bait.

Angels Focused On Alberto Callaspo

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 20, 2010 at 4:35pm CDT

The Angels don’t have the resources to trade for a big-name slugger, so they have turned their attention to Alberto Callaspo. GM Tony Reagins is targeting the former Angels minor leaguer, according to Mark Saxon of ESPNLosAngeles.com.

Saxon reports that the Angels “are believed to have offered” Sean O'Sullivan and a fringe prospect for Callaspo, only to have Royals GM Dayton Moore turn the offer down. Callaspo, 27, has a .276/.310/.413 line this season and could play second or (more likely) third for the Angels.

Reagins considered pursuing Adam Dunn, but backed off when he realized that other teams only have “marginal interest” in the pitchers the Angels have in the upper minors. Top prospect Mike Trout is not going anywhere, though teams do have interest in him.

Odds & Ends: Guthrie, Ross, Ranaudo

By Tim Dierkes | July 19, 2010 at 2:08pm CDT

A year ago today, the Brewers acquired Felipe Lopez from the Diamondbacks for prospects Roque Mercedes and Cole Gillespie. Lopez raked after the trade, but was not offered arbitration by the Brewers. Gillespie and Mercedes ranked among Arizona's top 30 prospects heading into the season according to Baseball America, with the former now playing for the big league club. On to today's links…

The Mets scouted Jeremy Guthrie's last start, according to Ed Price of AOL FanHouse. Guthrie could make for an interesting project, as one scout told Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, "He should be better than he is."
The relief trade market is "absolutely terrible," one talent evaluator told ESPN's Buster Olney (Twitter link).
The Padres are not a fit for Marlins outfielder Cody Ross, according to Tom Krasovic of AOL FanHouse. The Padres prefer David DeJesus instead, tweets Dan Hayes of the North County Times.
Astros owner Drayton McLane "seems paralyzed by indecision," writes Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle.
SI's Jon Heyman ranks the 24 best available position players, starting with Prince Fielder.
Red Sox draft pick Anthony Ranaudo is done pitching in the Cape Cod League, reported Brian Foley of The College Baseball Blog yesterday. The consensus among prospect gurus is that Ranaudo had nothing left to prove. An elbow injury and representation by Scott Boras caused Ranaudo to drop to the Sox at #39 in the June draft.
The Mariners should aim to be competitive in 2012, writes Dave Cameron of U.S.S. Mariner.
Former Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi offered a few stories of near-deals on WEEI's The Big Show on Friday.

Rosenthal On Iannetta, Athletics, Bautista

By Tim Dierkes | July 19, 2010 at 1:21pm CDT

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports kicks off his latest column with a look at Alex Rodriguez's $30MM worth of home run incentives. The chase isn't generating the buzz the Yankees anticipated when they re-signed A-Rod. On to Rosenthal's rumors…

Talks are on again between the Red Sox and Rockies regarding catcher Chris Iannetta. The Rockies would want to improve their big league club with an in-season deal, so perhaps we'll hear heightened Iannetta buzz during the offseason if Miguel Olivo is retained.
The Nationals do not seem to have chosen a course with Adam Dunn in terms of trading or extending him now.
The Athletics have no intention of trading Coco Crisp or Mark Ellis, as both players have club options for 2011.
Yankees catcher Francisco Cervelli is "a frequent trade target of rival clubs," but the team likes having depth at the catcher position.
As part of the Yunel Escobar–Alex Gonzalez talks, the Braves and Blue Jays discussed Jose Bautista. For now, the Braves still have time to evaluate Nate McLouth's recovery from a concussion. MLB.com's Mark Bowman wrote today that the Braves have considered David DeJesus, Cody Ross, Corey Hart, and Josh Willingham as potential trade targets.

Isringhausen To Audition For Reds

By Tim Dierkes | July 19, 2010 at 9:20am CDT

Appearing on KFNS 590 The Fan with Doug Vaughn this morning, free agent reliever Jason Isringhausen said he has a tentative plan to audition for the Reds tomorrow. Isringhausen added that he expects to hear back from the Cardinals this week and implied that his agent has been in contact with the Yankees, Rays, and Royals.

Isringhausen admitted it'd be weird to pitch for the Reds against the Cardinals this summer as the teams battle for the NL Central. Walt Jocketty's Reds already count Scott Rolen and Russ Springer as organization members. Izzy, of course, tallied 217 saves in seven seasons for the Cards from 2002-08. Isringhausen's last appearance in the Majors came in June of 2009 with the Rays, after which he went down for Tommy John surgery. He said he's currently throwing three times a week and working on a changeup. He expects he'd need a couple of weeks in the minors to get ready.

Passan On Fielder, DeJesus, Oswalt

By Tim Dierkes | July 19, 2010 at 8:09am CDT

The latest from Yahoo's Jeff Passan…

The Rays "won't go near" Prince Fielder due to a potential $16MM salary in 2011, says one Passan source. So far any Rays-Fielder connection has been purely speculative, though the team has a history of chasing big names at the trade deadline. To play devil's advocate to Passan, they could theoretically acquire Fielder now and trade him again in the offseason.
Passan feels that the White Sox and Giants could match up on a Fielder trade, or the Brewers could wait until the offseason to trade their slugger.
The Royals' steep asking price for David DeJesus: "a major league-ready prospect, along with at least one midlevel prospect or a pair of lower-level players." Another take on their asking price tweeted by Dan Hayes of the North County Times: an "ML-ready pitcher and a top prospect."
Passan wonders if the Yankees will pursue Roy Oswalt, as they're "about the only team that could fit the $23 million left in his contract for the next year and a half onto their budget." Indeed, ESPN's Buster Olney tweeted today that the Yanks "have an advantage in that they're one of the few teams willing to take on payroll." We'll have to see whether the Yankees actually inquire on Oswalt and/or Ted Lilly in the coming days.

Mets Tried To Swap Perez For Meche

By Mike Axisa | July 16, 2010 at 9:58pm CDT

Oliver Perez is currently on the disabled list with a knee issue, but that hasn't stopped Mets' GM Omar Minaya from trying to unload the enigmatic lefty. ESPNNewYork.com's Adam Rubin reports that the Mets approached the Royals about swapping Perez for Gil Meche, but were told no thanks. Talks with other teams have gone nowhere.

Perez, still just 28, hasn't pitched since the end of May because of the injury, though the team didn't exactly want him on the mound anyway. He had been sent to the bullpen after allowing 24 runs and walking more batters (28) than he struck out (27) in his first seven starts, and continued to pitch poorly in mop-up duty after the demotion. The injury was suspicious enough that the league decided to investigate, which is understandable after he refused a minor league assignment not long before.

Both Perez and Meche will earn the same $12MM this year and next, so the money would have been a wash if a trade did occur. Perez started a rehab assignment last Saturday, so the team has 30 days from then to activate him. It's hard to imagine any team taking on Perez without the Mets eating a significant portion of the money owed to him.

Odds & Ends: Wood, Cards, Uggla, Guillen, Lilly

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 16, 2010 at 4:48pm CDT

Links for Friday, after an impressive start from trade candidate Ted Lilly…

Peter Gammons said on WEEI that he hears the Red Sox don't have interest in Kerry Wood.
Five Cardinals writers confront the following question at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Has Cards GM John Mozeliak emerged from the shadow of his predecessor, Walt Jocketty?
Joey Votto and Ryan Zimmerman are among the ten MLB players with the most trade value, if you ask Dave Cameron of FanGraphs.
Cardinals GM John Mozeliak did not deny interest in Kelly Johnson and Dan Uggla while chatting to Jim Bowden of Sirius XM Radio (Twitter link).
The Rockies are not discussing Dan Uggla with the Marlins, according to Tracy Ringolsby of FOX Sports (via Twitter).
2005 first rounders Justin Upton and Ryan Braun are 11th and 12th, respectively, on Dave Cameron's list of the MLB players with the most trade value.
The Giants have a better chance of obtaining Jose Guillen than David DeJesus, according to MLB.com's Chris Haft. The Giants have said they'd prefer to avoid rental players, but Guillen could presumably be had.
Cubs GM Jim Hendry met with Ted Lilly yesterday to discuss the left-hander's future, according to Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune. Lilly, a (projected Type A) free agent after the season, makes $12MM this year and has no-trade protection.
Bobby Jenks told the Chicago Sun-Times that he is relieved not to spot his name in trade rumors – at least for now.
Former MLB manager Don Baylor tells Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun that he would like the chance to interview for the upcoming managerial opening in Toronto.

Yankees Covet Dunn, Soria

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 16, 2010 at 3:11pm CDT

The Yankees would love to have Adam Dunn and Joakim Soria, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter). But the Yankees' interest in the two stars doesn't mean those players will be in pinstripes any time soon. After all, many teams would love to have them both and the Nationals and Royals would demand a lot in any deal.

In fact, Rosenthal reports that the Nationals have an "exorbitant" asking price for Dunn. The 30-year-old, who becomes a free agent after the season, is one of the more appealing first baseman available, along with Prince Fielder. As usual, Dunn is on pace for a 40-homer season (he leads the NL with 22). He makes $12MM this season and profiles as a Type A free agent, so the Nationals could obtain picks for Dunn if they don't trade him.

ESPN.com's Buster Olney reported earlier in the week that Dunn may be losing interest in an extension with the Nats. At River Ave. Blues, MLBTR's Mike Axisa makes the case that the Yankees should acquire Dunn, even though he's only under contract for 2010.

The Royals would need to be "overwhelmed" to part with Soria, who makes $3MM this season and is under team control through 2014. He has 25 saves already and has posted 11.1 K/9 this season, which makes him one of the more appealing relievers available. The Yankees have had inconsistent performances from righties Joba Chamberlain, Chan Ho Park and David Robertson, which no doubt contributes to their interest in Soria.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Dodgers, Giants, Fielder, Lee

By Mike Axisa | July 16, 2010 at 9:38am CDT

On this date in 2001, Fred McGriff invoked his no-trade clause to block a deal that would have sent him from the last place Devil Rays to the first place Cubs. The Crime Dog was born and raised in Tampa, but he relented and agreed to the deal 11 days later. Tampa Bay received Manny Aybar and Jason Smith in return for McGriff, who was unquestionably the greatest player in franchise history at the time.

Hear are some links with the deadline rapidly approaching…

Mike Scioscia's Tragic Illness scouts the starting pitcher and relief pitcher market for the Dodgers.
Bleacher Report says the Giants would be filling one hole and creating another if they trade for Corey Hart.
Disciples of Uecker feels it is unrealistic to expect the Brewers to retain Prince Fielder long-term.
1 Blue Jays Way chimes in on the Yunel Escobar–Alex Gonzalez swap.
Meanwhile, Beyond the Box Score wonders how much Yunel Escobar's bad attitude cost the Braves.
Royals Review takes a quick look at the trade history between the Royals and Yankees.
El Lefty Malo tries to nail down Jonathan Sanchez's trade value.
Yankeeist looks at some solutions for the Yankees' DH vacancy.
Gear Up For Twins Baseball has some suggestions to help improve the Twins.
River Ave. Blues wants to see the Yanks go for the kill and acquire Adam Dunn.
Sports: A Game of Inches analyzes the Cliff Lee non-trade to the Yanks and his eventual move to the Rangers in a four part series (parts one, two, three, four).

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

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