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Molony’s Latest: Francoeur, Bay, Blalock

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MLB.com’s Jim Molony has a new column up.

  • The Braves will listen to offers for Jeff Francoeur and Will Ohman, and maybe Mark Teixeira if the Braves struggle in the next week.  The Royals are said to be interested in Francoeur.  Mike Gonzalez is unavailable.
  • The Braves have scouted Jason Bay and Xavier Nady, in case they decide to become buyers.
  • The Phillies had an exec scouting the Pirates recently.  The Phils are looking for a lefty reliever.  The Phillies also may be looking at relievers on the Jays and Orioles.
  • Molony rattles off Freddy Garcia suitors: Astros, Cardinals, Phillies, Rangers, Red Sox, Royals, Tigers, Mets, White Sox and Yankees.  The Royals might be a new one.
  • At least five teams are in on Casey Blake, including the Twins.  However the Twins seem to prefer Hank Blalock.  I like the Blalock idae for the Twins.
  • Molony sees A.J. Burnett staying put.

Yankees Looking At Catchers

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Dan Graziano of the Newark Star-Ledger says the Yankees have inquired on four catchers: Gerald Laird, Paul Lo Duca, Miguel Olivo, and Rod Barajas.

  • Laird, 28, is expected to rejoin the Rangers Saturday after his hamstring injury.  He’s a Boras client with a $1.6MM salary this year.  He’s under team control through 2010, and Ken Rosenthal says the Rangers want young pitching for him.
  • Lo Duca, 36, will be a free agent after the season.  He’s got about $1.9MM left on his contract this year.  He understands that he’s a strong trade candidate.
  • Olivo, 30, is splitting time with John Buck in Kansas City.  Olivo has hit lefties quite well.  He has a $2.7MM club option for ’09.  Rosenthal says the Royals are "aggressively shopping" him.
  • Barajas, 32, is slumping currently.  He has a $2.5MM club option for ’09.  Eddie Bajek took a stab at projecting the Elias rankings for catchers, and Barajas seems to be right on the border of Type B status. However, he might choose to accept an offer of arbitration.  Peter Abraham says that the Blue Jays might be reluctant to trade within the division.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Laird, Washburn, Nady, Bay

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Ken Rosenthal has more new material.  I’ve updated the post, as Rosenthal updated his.

  • The Yankees are looking for catching – Rosenthal and Jon Heyman do not agree with Peter Abraham. Rosenthal says the Yanks have expressed interest in Gerald Laird and Miguel Olivo.  The Rangers want young pitching for Laird, however.
  • Jarrod Washburn’s limited no-trade protection includes the Yankees.  He might want compensation to waive that, putting him out of the Yanks’ price range.  Washburn, a Boras client, wouldn’t mind pitching in New York though.  The Mariners are looking for young pitching for him.  It sounds like the Yankees aren’t willing to eat the entire contract and send good prospects.
  • The Yankees may explore other trades, and are said to have interest in A.J. Burnett and Bronson Arroyo.
  • The Nationals were apparently locked in on a second baseman for Jon Rauch, perhaps explaining why they traded him for just Emilio Bonifacio.  The jury is still out on the speedy young infielder.
  • The White Sox explored a scenario where they would’ve acquired Brian Roberts from Baltimore, traded Orlando Cabrera to the Dodgers, and moved Alexei Ramirez to shortstop.  That obviously didn’t work out.  The Sox may be currently trying to decide whether to part with third baseman Josh Fields, their best trade chip and third baseman of the future.
  • Suitors for Xavier Nady, such as the Rays, Yankees, and Phillies, are balking at Pittsburgh’s asking price.  The Bucs continue to insist they’re being reasonable.
  • Interestingly, the A’s are still talking to the Pirates about Jason Bay.  Rosenthal says a trade seems unlikely.
  • The Cardinals had scouts in Baltimore yesterday, and their interest in George Sherrill is well-known.  But they might not match up with the Orioles’ needs.

The Lefty Reliever Market

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Let’s take a look at some of the left-handed relievers on the market.

George Sherrill, Orioles

Brian Fuentes, Rockies

Damaso Marte, Pirates

  • 33 years old, $6MM club option for ’09 with a $250K buyout.  Type A status likely.
  • Known suitors: Red Sox, Tigers, Mets, Yankees, Phillies, Cardinals, Rays
  • Asking price: Perhaps a package exceeding the value of two draft picks

Ron Mahay, Royals

  • 37 years old, signed for ’09 at $4MM. 
  • Known suitors: Cardinals, Yankees, Rays
  • Asking price: Unknown, but Royals intend to keep him. Rany Jazayerli wonders if trading Mahay now would discourage future free agents from signing with KC.

John Grabow, Pirates

  • 29 years old, under team control through ’09.  Elbow stiffness last year.
  • Known suitors: Tigers, Phillies, Cardinals
  • Asking price: Less than that of Marte

Eddie Guardado, Rangers

Alan Embree, Athletics

  • 38 years old, $3MM club option for ’09.  Type A status possible, but may choose to accept offer of arbitration.  Embree wouldn’t be surprised if he was traded.
  • Known suitors: None
  • Asking price: Unknown

Jeremy Affeldt, Reds

  • 29 years old, free agent after season.  Type B status possible, could accept offer of arbitration.
  • Known suitors: Yankees, Rays, Astros, Phillies last offseason
  • Asking price: Unknown

Ray Durham Trade Reactions

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Yesterday, the Giants traded second baseman Ray Durham to the Brewers for minor leaguers Darren Ford and Steve Hammond.  They were ranked 21st and 27th among Brewers prospects heading into the season, according to Baseball America.  Today let’s look at reactions to the trade.

Rosenthal’s Latest: K-Rod, Maddux, Wolf, Street

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Rumor guru Ken Rosenthal is at it again.

  • Angels GM Tony Reagins is doing his due diligence on available hitters.  Rosenthal admits his own suggestion of a Mark Teixeira/Will Ohman blockbuster acquisition is unlikely.
  • Rosenthal believes Francisco Rodriguez’s expected asking price to be five years, $75MM.  The Angels would not bite on that.
  • Greg Maddux only wants to be traded to a West Coast team.  He might accept a trade back to the Dodgers, if Ned Colletti and Kevin Towers want to go down that road.
  • The Orioles would trade George Sherrill if someone wants to overpay.  Tons of teams are looking for lefty relievers, and many are available.  Rosenthal notes that the Orioles have plenty of players likely to clear waivers, making August trades quite possible.
  • The Dodgers are apparently interested in Toronto shortstop John McDonald.  Talks for Cristian Guzman and Jack Wilson have stagnated.  An extension is more likely than a trade for Guzman.
  • Randy Wolf and Cla Meredith are the most popular Padres in trade talks.  Wolf’s no-trade clause doesn’t include the teams that like him, so that won’t be an issue.  If the Friars were to move Kevin Kouzmanoff, they’d ask for a young outfielder back.
  • Even with their second base surplus, the A’s want to sign Mark Ellis to an extension.
  • A Milton Bradley deal is unlikely, but the Rangers are getting calls on Marlon Byrd and Nelson Cruz.  In return, they might be looking for young starting pitchers.
  • The Royals are said to be "actively shopping" Miguel Olivo and Mark Grudzielanek.  However, it’s been suggested that the Royals might not have the catching depth to move Olivo.
  • Rosenthal’s list of Huston Street suitors: Mets, White Sox, Dodgers, and Brewers.

Royals To Stand Pat

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Bob Dutton of The Kansas City Star doesn’t expect the Royals to move anyone before the deadline because all of their pieces are under contract beyond this season and/or integral to their plan to contend in the future.

The Royals 2-prospect pricetag is too steep for Jose Guillen who’s signed through 2010 and leads the team in HR and RBI.  Gil Meche has a no-trade clause and even so, the Royals feel he’s a key piece to their future chances.  Even though the team isn’t discussing any long term deals with him, Zack Greinke is under control through arbitration through 2010 and the Royals are in no rush there.  David Dejesus’ contract, at $14.3MM for the next 3 years, is too good to trade away.  And Ron Mahay is under contract through next year and filling a void left by Jimmy Gobble who continues to get worse.

Mark Grudzielanek remains the only name the Royals could deal, but there doesn’t seem to be much demand.  Writes Dutton,

"’It will probably have to be a need-based thing for somebody,’ a club official said. ’Somebody loses a second baseman and really needs to go get one. Otherwise, I don’t see it happening.’"

Odds and Ends: Roberts, Clark, Vidro, Manny

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Time for today’s link collection.

Bonds Rumors

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6:18pm: Hideki Matsui had a setback, and a reporter asked Yankees GM Brian Cashman about Bonds.  I’ll let you click the link and read Cash’s somewhat rambling answer.

5:44pm: More on Bonds: MLB officials denied any collusion regarding his lack of employment.  By the way, Borris wouldn’t comment on whether Bonds would consider playing outside of the Majors (Japan, for example).

8:57am: Last month, Barry Bonds’ agent Jeff Borris told the AP that he had offered his client’s services to all 30 teams for the league minimum.  Borris said just yesterday that he "talked to every club numerous times."  Not true, according to Joe Posnanski of the Kansas City Star.  Posnanski spoke to Royals GM Dayton Moore, who said the Royals had not been called about Bonds or offered his services.

It is probably a moot point – no team wants to go anywhere near Bonds.  Borris has acknowledged that Bonds is highly unlikely to play this year.

Sherman’s Latest: Adenhart, Burnett, Niese, Ibanez

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Joel Sherman of the New York Post has been digging up rumors left and right – here, here, and here in recent days.  Let’s discuss.

  • The Angels have "hinted at a willingness to build a deal around pitching prospect Nick Adenhart."  This would apparently involve Mark Teixeira or Matt Holliday.
  • The Phillies made an initial offer last week for A.J. Burnett, and the Jays were thoroughly unimpressed.  The Phillies won’t discuss prospects Carlos Carrasco, Lou Marson, or Greg Golson in trades.
  • The Yankees have zero interest in Burnett.
  • The A’s are willing to move Joe Blanton.  He’s not perfect, but he can eat innings and is under team control through 2010.
  • Six games out of the wild card with a league-best offense, the Rangers don’t look like sellers.
  • At least ten teams watched Mets’ Double A starter Jon Niese pitch Saturday.  He’s their top trade chip given the unavailability of Fernando Martinez.
  • The Pirates have their eye on the Yankees’ Ross Ohlendorf, if the Yanks become buyers for players like Damaso Marte or Xavier Nady.
  • Three Raul Ibanez suitors are named: the Diamondbacks, Dodgers, and Red Sox.
  • At least nine teams are monitoring Freddy Garcia: the Yankees, Mets, Astros, Rangers, Royals, Red Sox, Phillies, Tigers, and White Sox.  We’ve seen the Braves, Rays, and Cubs mentioned too.  Garcia’s agent isn’t up for an ’09 option with his client.  A-Rod is said to be pushing for the Yankees to sign him. 
  • Sherman notes a rumor around the game that has Pat Gillick becoming Mariners president next year, and Brian Cashman coming on as his GM.
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