Royals Rumors

Odds & Ends: Marlins, Wigginton, Rockies, Wood

By Mark Polishuk | July 15, 2010 at 9:12pm CDT

It was on this day in 1905 that Shirley Povich, one of the great sportswriters of all time, was born in Bar Harbor, Maine. Povich, who passed away in 1998, would've been 105 today and no doubt still would've been keeping an eye on Stephen Strasburg for the Washington Post.

Some news items….

The Palm Beach Post's Joe Capozzi wonders if Edwin Rodriguez's planned lineup changes in Florida are a hint towards a possible trade of Cody Ross or Jorge Cantu.
Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun adds the Padres and Rangers to the list of "potential fits" for Ty Wigginton.
Troy Renck of the Denver Post tweeted a few follow-up points to his story about Colorado's interest in Dan Uggla. Renck mentions right-hander Esmil Rogers and outfielder Matt Miller as possibilities for a trade package with Florida, but "there's no way" that Jhoulys Chacin would be dealt. Renck also thinks the Rockies "will listen" to offers for Franklin Morales, though those offers might not be related to any Uggla deal.
MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince shares some Cleveland hot stove talk in a reader mailbag. Castrovince says that Kerry Wood has drawn "minimal, at best" trade interest, but he notes that Wood could be dealt in late August to a team that didn't want to pay an extra month of Wood's contract.
In another MLB.com mailbag, Bill Ladson "would be shocked" by a Matt Capps trade. The Nationals still have Capps under control for 2011, and with Drew Storen still a rookie and Tyler Clippard not pitching well lately, Ladson doesn't think Washington will want to risk dealing their closer.
It's "all quiet on [the] Ben Sheets trade front," tweets FOXSports.com's Ken Rosenthal, though Sheets' recent success "should change" that.
Aroldis Chapman's inconsistent control means that Chapman probably won't be promoted to the majors until September, writes John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer.
We already know that the Giants have shown some interest in acquiring David DeJesus, and now Hank Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets that a "top Royals talent evaluator" was on hand for the Mets/Giants game at AT & T Park tonight.
Steve Kornacki of Mlive.com looks at what the Tigers need to do in the second half and weighs in on some trade options. Kornacki says that trading for Jack Wilson wouldn't cost much for Detroit, whereas acquiring Dan Haren isn't worth the cost since he doesn't think "the Tigers are good enough to get past the first round of the playoffs. And that’s the only reason to gamble that much for somebody like Haren."
Rice's Anthony Rendon, thought to be a potential first overall pick in the 2011 Amateur Draft, is undergoing ankle surgery on Friday, reports MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo.
Fangraphs' Dave Cameron has the latest installment of his ranking of the players with the most trade value. As he goes from #20 to #16, Cameron cites a defending Cy Young Award winner and two potential Cy winners for this season.

Red Sox, Royals Discussed DeJesus

By Tim Dierkes | July 13, 2010 at 2:33pm CDT

The Red Sox and Royals discussed outfielder David DeJesus about ten days ago and agreed to stay in contact, according to Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. They add, "The Royals are scouting the Red Sox’s minor-league system, but the teams have yet to exchange names." Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald first reported the Red Sox' interest in DeJesus on June 26th. The Padres and Giants seem like good fits for the Royals outfielder as well, though their level of interest is not known.

The Red Sox are not likely to deal for DeJesus unless his price drops, a source tells Alex Speier of WEEI.com. The Royals are currently asking for a lot in return for their right fielder.

As Rosenthal and Morosi note, the Red Sox have dealt with injuries to Jacoby Ellsbury and Mike Cameron this season and could use the versatile DeJesus. Given his $6MM club option, the Sox would have DeJesus, Ellsbury, Cameron, and J.D. Drew under control for 2011. Such depth could prompt a trade of Ellsbury, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. This year, DeJesus is owed an additional $2.12MM.

DeJesus is having a career year so far at age 30, with a .326/.395/.460 line in 370 plate appearances. He's also playing above-average defense. The Royals will wait until closer to the July 31st deadline to decide whether to trade DeJesus, reported ESPN's Buster Olney three days ago.

Kyle Farnsworth’s Trade Value

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 12, 2010 at 6:59pm CDT

Kyle Farnsworth isn't the same pitcher he was five years ago, though he may not be quite as effective as his numbers suggest. The 12-year MLB veteran has evolved into a more hittable pitcher – but not in a bad way. He has career-low walk and strikeout rates this year (2.4 BB/9 and 7.2 K/9) and when batters do put the ball in play, they're hitting more ground balls than fly balls (Farnsworth was a fly ball-strikeout pitcher earlier in his career).

The high ground ball rate is helping Farnsworth keep the ball in the park (two homers allowed) but he is probably going to give up more long balls in the second half since he has an unsustainably-low 5% home run per fly ball rate. The right-hander is stranding more runners than usual and allowing fewer hits on balls in play than he normally does, so his 2.41 ERA has probably been helped by some good fortune.

But lucky or not, there aren't a ton of available relievers who induce ground balls, strike out three times as many batters as they walk and have 95 mph fastballs. Farnsworth has about $2MM plus bonuses remaining on his 2010 contract. If he's traded, the 34-year-old can choose to void his team's $5.25MM option for 2011 and collect a $500K buyout.

Kerry Wood, David Aardsma, Jason Frasor, Octavio Dotel and Matt Capps are among the late-inning right-handers who could be traded this year. Some of those players (like Capps) would require better prospects than Farnsworth and others (like Wood) would require a bigger financial commitment, so the Royals should draw interest in Farnsworth this month.

Olney’s Latest: Lee, Mets, Ibanez, Fukudome, DeJesus

By Mike Axisa | July 10, 2010 at 10:54am CDT

In today's blog post at ESPN (Insider req'd), Buster Olney names the winners and losers in yesterday's Cliff Lee deal. Beyond the obvious, he says the Red Sox and Rays win because Lee stays away from the team they're chasing in the AL East while the Athletics and Angels lose because he's going to the team they're chasing in the AL West. Olney also dubs the Phillies losers because yesterday's trade again showed that they didn't receive as much as they could have for Lee when they traded him last winter.

Here are the rest of Buster's rumors…

People within the Mets' front office are working under the assumption that they will not be able to expand payroll. Earlier this week we heard that the team liked the idea of acquiring Ted Lilly and taking on the now $5.55MM left on his deal as a way to move fewer prospects.
The Phillies would prefer to move Raul Ibanez and the $17MM left on his deal to make room for top prospect Domonic Brown, but I can't imagine anyone will bite. Impending free agent Jayson Werth might go instead.
Kosuke Fukudome's stock is falling, but the Cubs are still keeping the eye on the market for his services.
The Royals are telling teams that they are going to hang on to David DeJesus until the trade deadline before deciding whether or not to move the outfielder.

Odds & Ends: Lee, DeJesus, Padres, Drew

By Mark Polishuk | July 9, 2010 at 8:35pm CDT

Some news from around the majors tonight, including a bit more on (you guessed it), Cliff Lee joining the Rangers…

Newsday's David Lennon tweets that the Mariners/Mets negotiations for Lee fell through when Seattle wanted Ike Davis as part of the trade package.
The Mariners were after James Loney or Chad Billingsley from the Dodgers in a possible Lee trade, reports Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times. (Twitter link)
Most teams feel the Royals will wait until closer to the trade deadline before thinking about a David DeJesus trade, tweets ESPN's Buster Olney.
Dan Hayes of the North County Times reports (via Twitter) that the Padres have heard some inquiries about right-handed prospect Keyvius Sampson, among other notable minor leaguers in the San Diego system.
Jamie Samuelsen of the Detroit Free Press says the Tigers are virtually obligated to make a move at the trade deadline.
Blogger El Lefty Malo thinks the Giants should make an offer on Stephen Drew. Not a bad idea, but it's hard to believe that San Francisco would give up Jonathan Sanchez for Drew, as E.L.M. proposes.
Speaking of Drew, MLB.com's Jason Beck thinks that he's "a more realistic target" than Dan Haren in a potential Tigers/Diamondbacks trade.
Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette discusses the Pirates' international scouting system.
Milwaukee GM Doug Melvin says his team isn't in out-and-out "seller" mode, reports MLB.com's Adam McCalvy.
Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com writes that the Cubs could be contenders again in the near future.
And finally, Fangraphs' Matt Klaaseen pokes some fun at the newest members of the Miami Heat by predicting a familiar scenario for some of this winter's top free-agent outfielders.

Odds & Ends: Texeira, Orioles, Willis, Fielder, Giants

By Luke Adams 2 | July 4, 2010 at 10:41pm CDT

Links for Sunday, as the baseball world attempts to come to terms with Omar Infante's All-Star nod….

Kyle Drabek, who was a part of the Roy Halladay deal, threw a no-hitter for the New Hampshire Fisher Cats. This was the first nine inning no-hitter in the history of Toronto's Double-A affiliate, writes Alex Raskin for MLB.com.
Rob Neyer of ESPN (via Twitter) says that he's usually hyper-critical of the Royals organization, but applauds their pickup of Kanekoa Texeira. The Royals claimed the pitcher off of waivers from the M's early last month.
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter) suggests that Mike Lowell could be an option for the Phillies if he gets healthy. He points out that the Phils went hard after him last time he was a free agent.
The Orioles have made 46 personnel moves since Opening Day, writes Peter Schmuck of The Baltimore Sun.
The Marlins had interest in Dontrelle Willis before he was dealt to Arizona, tweets Joe Frisaro of MLB.com. Frisaro hears that the lefty will take his time before deciding his next move.
Kyle Parker, the Rockies' first-round draft pick, visited Coors Field, according to MLB.com's Thomas Harding and Joey Nowak. Colorado hopes to sign the Clemson quarterback, who has three years of football eligibility remaining.
SI.com's Jon Heyman tweets that the Astros have been telling teams they're willing to absorb some salary in a potential Roy Oswalt trade. We heard a couple weeks ago that Houston was entertaining this possibility if it meant landing better prospects.
Heyman and ESPN.com's Buster Olney (both Twitter links) place their bets on the Orioles' managerial search.
Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says not to be surprised if the White Sox make a play for Prince Fielder.
The Giants aren't expected to make a splash on the international free agent market, writes Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News.
Domonic Brown deserves to be labeled "untouchable" by the Phillies, according to this piece at Philly.com.

Royals Trade Edwin Bellorin To Astros

By Zachary Links | July 4, 2010 at 6:52pm CDT

The Royals have traded minor league catcher Edwin Bellorin to the Astros for cash considerations, tweets Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star. The club promoted backstop Manuel Pina from Double-A to the club's Triple-A affiliate in his place.

After spending the first six years of his professional career in the Dodgers' farm system, Bellorin was with the Rockies' Triple-A affiliate from 2007 through 2009. During that span he made eight big league appearances with the club. With Triple-A Omaha in 2010, the 28-year-old hit just .162/.231/.185.

Bloomquist Drawing Interest

By Steve Adams | July 4, 2010 at 1:57pm CDT

Royals' super-utility man Willie Bloomquist is drawing attention from multiple clubs, according to the Kansas City Star's Bob Dutton.

After a terrible start to the season, which Bloomquist attributed to offseason knee surgery, his bat has begun to heat up, with 14 hits in his last 37 at-bats. Add that to his speed, defensive versatility (he's appeared everywhere except pitcher and catcher in 2010 already), and affordable contract, and Bloomquist would be a welcome addition for many clubs.

Dutton names the Red Sox and Phillies as teams that could use a boost in the infield, which makes sense in light of injuries to Dustin Pedroia and Chase Utley. Additionally, Dutton names the Yankees as a possibility, with GM Brian Cashman recently saying he'd like to improve his bench. Remember also that the Rockies are on the lookout for versatile pieces, with Troy Tulowitzki recently landing on the disabled list as well.

Bloomquist is finishing out a two-year, $3.1MM deal signed with Kansas City back in January of 2009. He's owed roughly $850K for the rest of the season. His batting line sits at a mere .247/.291/.397, though as previously mentioned, it's trending upward. And while he hasn't been a standout defensive player at any of his many positions throughout his career (according to UZR/150, that is), the combination of these assets make him a valuable piece that likely wouldn't be too difficult to pry away from the Royals.

Bloomquist notes that he'd like to stay in Kansas City for another five or six years if possible, and manager Ned Yost shares that sentiment, but it shouldn't be a surprise to see him in a new uniform come August 1.

Odds & Ends: Dunn, Phillies, Crisp, Molina, Fielder

By Mike Axisa | July 3, 2010 at 7:18pm CDT

Saturday linkage..

Adam Dunn had hoped to hammer out an extension before the All-Star break to avoid trade talk, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
The Rays' director of scouting in the Dominican Republic believes that Yoel Araujo can develop into a "five-tool type player", writes Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times.
The Phillies initially called up Brian Bocock over Cody Ransom because Ransom was experiencing knee trouble, writes MLB.com's Todd Zolecki. Earlier today, the club DFA'd Bocock and promoted Ransom.
ESPN's Buster Olney speculates that Coco Crisp and the Padres could be a great potential trade match (Twitter links). San Diego tried to sign Crisp this past offseason.
Bengie Molina didn't find out he was traded to the Rangers until his teammates told him, according to Henry Schulman of The San Francisco Chronicle.
Andrew Baggarly of The San Jose Mercury News spoke to Barry Zito, who indicated that the team's rift with Prince Fielder following last year's elaborate walk-off homerun celebration wouldn't be an issue if they acquired the slugger. Olney tweets that there has been no recent discussion between the two teams about Fielder.
Brayan Pena told Jeffrey Flanagan of FSKansasCity.com that he hopes to retire as a Royal.
Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic spoke to Diamondbacks managing general partner Ken Kendrick about the dismissal of Josh Byrnes, who said he consulted "respected baseball people" from around the league and heard that the team's farm system is devoid of top-shelf talent.

Minor League Transactions: Fogg, Berroa, Campillo

By Luke Adams 2 | July 2, 2010 at 9:10pm CDT

Baseball America's Matt Eddy brings us the latest round of minor league transactions, with a few noteworthy moves to mention. Let's take a look….

The Phillies released Josh Fogg, who they had signed just before the season started. Fogg got knocked around at Double-A Reading, allowing 13 earned runs and 27 baserunners in just 10.1 IP.
Angel Berroa was let go by the Giants, after he hit .205/.247/.307 in 94 Triple-A plate appearances. His release came two months after the team had inked him to a minor league deal.
After serving a 50-game suspension for a drug violation, Adam Bostick was released by the Royals. The club also parted ways with Jorge Campillo, who posted a 3.91 ERA in 158.2 innings for the Braves in 2008.
The Twins signed D'Angelo Jimenez, who had been playing in the Mexican League. The 32-year-old, who always displayed strong on-base skills, last appeared in the majors in 2007 with Washington, hitting .245/.379/.373 in 128 plate appearances.
The Reds released left-hander Daryl Harang, Aaron Harang's younger brother.

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