Royals Rumors

Cubs Rumors: Teahen, Edmonds, Marquis

By Tim Dierkes | November 25, 2008 at 2:48pm CDT

Earlier today I spoke with a source familiar with the Cubs’ thinking, and dug up enough info for a fresh post.

While Mark Teahen is a player of interest for the Cubs, they certainly won’t be trading Mike Fontenot and Sean Marshall for him. The Cubs don’t consider Teahen the middle of the order bat they require.
Royals outfielder David DeJesus also interests the Cubs, but the source has the impression Dayton Moore would have to be overwhelmed to trade him. There seems a good chance DeJesus stays put this winter.
The Cubs aren’t keen on bringing Jim Edmonds back for 2009.
There are no perfect fits for the right field vacancy, and the Cubs are willing to sacrifice some defense to add that middle of the order lefthanded hitter.
The Cubs are hoping a market forms for Jason Marquis, and are willing to eat salary "within reason." They would be content with Marquis as their fifth starter if nothing surfaces. I couldn’t get any specifics, but the Cubs do feel that they have reasonable options to clear payroll other than trading Marquis.
Teams around baseball are wary of certain Type A/B free agents accepting offers of arbitration. Expect the Cubs to figure out where Kerry Wood stands before deciding whether to offer.

Odds and Ends: Kawakami, Griffey, Greinke

By Tim Dierkes | November 25, 2008 at 1:05pm CDT

Links for Tuesday…

The weekly chat has been moved to Wednesday at 2pm CST this time.
I’ll be on Seth Stohs’ radio show tonight around 8pm CST.
From NPB Tracker: Kenshin Kawakami has switched to Dan Evans as his agent, while Koji Uehara wants a rotation spot and multiple years.
Ken Griffey Jr.’s agent, Brian Goldberg, has been in contact with nine teams (six AL, three NL). The Mariners were one of the AL teams.
It’s been over a decade since the White Sox signed a free agent from another team for more than $20MM.
Justin Morneau would like the Twins to add one more bat.
East Windup Chronicle has scouting reports on Rinku Singh and Dinesh Patel.
Things are quiet with the Dodgers – no recent talks for Manny Ramirez, "no real movement" on C.C. Sabathia.
Rany Jazayerli questions the Royals’ nonchalance toward signing Zack Greinke.
Nothing is close with the Tigers and Joe Beimel, and the team will not make an offer to Junichi Tazawa (partially to preserve their relationships in Japan).
The Brewers signed Jason Bourgeois to a minor league deal. Bourgeois, 27 in January, hit .286/.335/.404 in Triple A this year.
Quietly, the Indians signed reliever Greg Aquino. He pitched well in Triple A this year but missed time with a hamstring strain.

Cubs Rumors: Ibanez, Abreu, Teahen

By Tim Dierkes | November 25, 2008 at 11:19am CDT

Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times has a couple of new Cubs articles up, here and here.

Manager Lou Piniella would prefer the Cubs acquire a middle of the order hitter over a leadoff man, if only one can be acquired.
Piniella had kind words for possible free agent target Raul Ibanez.
Piniella continued to dismiss the idea of the Cubs pursuing Jake Peavy (despite recent comments from Padres GM Kevin Towers).
He’d like to give Mike Fontenot more playing time in 2009, which would help balance the lineup. In the spring the Cubs will see if Fontenot can chip in at shortstop.
The idea that the Cubs can only move Alfonso Soriano down in the order if they acquire a known leadoff man lives on.
Anthony McCarron of the New York Daily News reported on Friday that the Cubs had expressed interest in Bobby Abreu. Wittenmyer says that’s not true.
Wittenmyer also reports a lack of movement on the Mark Teahen front, suggesting Phil Rogers’ recent report of Kansas City’s focus on Sean Marshall and Fontenot "continues to ring of hollow speculation."

Astros Acquire Lumsden

By Tim Dierkes | November 24, 2008 at 4:36pm CDT

According to MLB.com’s Jim Molony, the Astros acquired lefty pitching prospect Tyler Lumsden from the Royals for a player to be named later or cash considerations. The Royals had designated him for assignment a few days ago; he was knocked around at Triple A this year. Baseball America liked his stuff coming into the season, but noted his poor command.

Rogers’ Latest: Royals/Cubs, Peavy, Phillies

By Steve Adams | November 23, 2008 at 4:08pm CDT

Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune has an interesting piece covering many topics throughout MLB:

The Royals are specifically eyeing Sean Marshall and Mike Fontenot as targets while discussing a trade for Mark Teahen with the Chicago Cubs. We’ve heard some conflicting reports recently about whether or not this trade was actually being talked about. Teahen could fill the Cubs’ right field vacancy, but his offensive struggles since moving to the outfield have been well-documented.
Houston could still be a dark-horse candidate for Jake Peavy. Roy Oswalt has been telling Peavy the two of them could make Houston contenders together. I can’t see a sensible package coming from Houston without opening new holes, however.
The Phillies don’t plan on making any drastic moves, despite Chase Utley and Pedro Feliz undergoing surgery.
The Dodgers and Tigers are both interested in Orlando Cabrera.

Odds And Ends: Lowell, Vazquez, Tazawa

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | November 22, 2008 at 10:46am CDT

Links for Saturday…

Ken Rosenthal comes up with a few possible suitors for Mike Lowell if the Red Sox sign Mark Teixeira. He lists the Dodgers, White Sox, Tigers and Brewers as possible fits.
Nick Piecoro likes Ramon Vazquez as a fit for the D-Backs.
Highly coveted Japanese pitcher Junichi Tazawa pitched a complete game shutout in Osaka, walking no one and striking out 10.
John Van Benschoten will move on from the Pirates and try to sign with another team.
Luke Hudson will also leave his old club, moving on from the Royals instead of accepting an assignment to AAA.
Bobby Crosby is out of the loop amid the rumors swirling about Rafael Furcal.
Mike Scarr takes a look at the market for middle infielders.

Heyman’s Latest: Lowe, Teixeira, Guillen

By Tim Dierkes | November 21, 2008 at 8:02pm CDT

SI.com’s Jon Heyman recently published several new blog posts.

Free agent outfielder Garret Anderson has a new agent: Scott Boras. Click here for our full list of Boras clients.
Rangers starters Vicente Padilla and Kevin Millwood are drawing interest from the Braves, Dodgers, and Mets. Padilla is owed $12MM in 2009 with a 2010 option for the same ($1.75MM buyout). Millwood gets $23MM over the next two seasons and has a limited no-trade clause.
Heyman says rather than battle for A.J. Burnett, the Red Sox and Yankees may duke it out for Derek Lowe. Other suitors for Lowe: the Mets, Braves, Phillies, Giants, Mariners and Dodgers. There he goes naming the Mariners again as a player for a major free agent…interesting. The Giants are a new one as well, though Heyman says Lowe may prefer to head back east.
Heyman agrees with info from Nick Cafardo, that the Red Sox and Tigers have discussed swapping Julio Lugo for Dontrelle Willis.
Dodgers GM Ned Colletti admitted to interest in C.C. Sabathia. Colletti said he’s waiting to hear from Scott Boras regarding Manny Ramirez, even though the Dodgers pulled their two-year, $45MM offer.
It hasn’t happened yet, but the Angels plan to make a "very serious" offer to Mark Teixeira. A competing exec guessed eight years, $160MM. Remember, that’s a non-Angels exec making a guess. Heyman tosses a new team into the mix for Tex: the Mariners.
The Royals are "quietly shopping" Jose Guillen. Guillen, 33 in May, hit .264/.300/.438 in 633 plate appearances this year while playing below-average defense. He’s owed $24MM for the 2009-10 seasons.
Competing execs tell Heyman the Mets appear open to trading Ramon Castro or Brian Schneider. The Mets would then presumably sign a free agent catcher.

Odds and Ends: Weathers, Montero, Springer

By Tim Dierkes | November 21, 2008 at 3:25pm CDT

Links for Friday…

MLB.com’s Anthony Castrovince says the Indians signed Andy Cannizaro and Damaso Espino to minor league deals.
MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon says the Reds are still talking to David Weathers’ agent, despite the reliever’s comment about flipping the page.
RotoAuthority looks at Blue Jays outfielder Travis Snider, from a fantasy baseball point of view.
Mum’s the word from C.C. Sabathia and his agents.
Rany Jazayerli likes the Royals’ acquisition of Coco Crisp and respects Dayton Moore’s bullpen-building skills.
Click here to download an mp3 of me chatting with Greg Schaum of KCSP 610 about the Royals last night.
Nick Piecoro says the Diamondbacks haven’t been able to find a match on a trade for Miguel Montero, despite discussions with the Red Sox and other teams.
The Cardinals spoke to Russ Springer’s agent recently, but he’s drawing interest from several clubs.
The Phillies won’t make a move in response to the Chase Utley injury, but one blog believes Jerry Hairston Jr. now makes more sense.
John Van Benschoten, the 8th overall pick in the 2001 draft, chose minor league free agency over re-signing with the Pirates.
Sidney Ponson’s grievance against the Orioles will finally be heard next month.

Odds and Ends: Phillies, Blake, Pedro

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | November 20, 2008 at 7:35pm CDT

Odds and Ends: Wade, Crisp, Holliday

By Tim Dierkes | November 20, 2008 at 12:35pm CDT

Links for Thursday…

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Bruce Miles of the Daily Herald wonders if Kerry Wood might accept an offer of arbitration from the Cubs.
Hal Steinbrenner officially took over control of the Yankees from George.
Former Dodgers GM Fred Claire takes a look at Jeremy Affeldt’s motivations in signing early with the Giants.
Check out recent fan chats with Astros GM Ed Wade and agent Scott Boras. Wade still hopes to sign Randy Wolf and Doug Brocail and doesn’t seem keen on trading Jose Valverde. Some fans didn’t seem to realize that just holding payroll steady will pose problems for the Astros.
Joe Posnanski discusses the Royals’ acquisition of Coco Crisp.
Nick Cafardo wonders if the Crisp trade sets up other moves for the Red Sox. They’ll explore signing Rocco Baldelli, according to Amalie Benjamin.
Sox Machine reflects on Nick Swisher’s time with the White Sox.
A’s owner Lew Wolff would prefer to keep Matt Holliday all year.
Tom Haudricourt wonders if the Brewers will pursue David DeJesus if they trade Mike Cameron.
MetsBlog’s Matthew Cerrone lists which teams have been connected to the top free agent starting pitchers.
Chad Finn wonders if the Red Sox are considering trading David Ortiz.
Alan Schwarz has a nice article on Junichi Tazawa.

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