Angels Enter Mix For Fuentes
When we last checked, nine teams had expressed interest in Rockies closer Brian Fuentes at some point: the Marlins, Yankees, Mets, Red Sox, Phillies, A’s, Cubs, Cardinals, and Rays. Today Ken Rosenthal adds a tenth team to the mix: the Angels. The Rays are considered the frontrunner.
Rosenthal did a phone interview with Fuentes, asking about his geographic preference once he becomes a free agent. Fuentes notes that he’s a West Coast guy, but most importantly he wants to remain a closer.
Heyman’s Latest: Bay, Rivera, Chacon
New column from SI.com’s Jon Heyman.
- Fresh Jason Bay rumors: the D’Backs and Cardinals are in pursuit. The Mets and Rays have kicked the tires as well. Heyman believes the Pirates want Emilio Bonifacio from the D’Backs, and maybe Colby Rasmus from the Cards. At any rate, the price will be steep with Bay signed for ’09.
- Juan Rivera is a "surprise target" of the Mets, though they’ve had interest in him since March. Rivera will be hard to acquire, though, because he’s gaining playing time for the Angels.
- Heyman believes Shawn Chacon will win his grievance and get paid his full salary.
Angels Content With Roster
The Angels haven’t had substantial trade talks in recent weeks, and GM Tony Reagins likes his club. The Angels are first in the AL West, six games ahead of the A’s.
The Angels rank 12th in OBP and 10th in SLG. This puts them 11th in the AL with 4.29 runs per game. Garret Anderson, Gary Matthews Jr., and Erick Aybar have not contributed offensively. You can let Aybar off the hook, but an upgrade at DH/LF would be nice. Fortunately Anderson and Matthews have shown flashes of competence, as their hefty contracts probably mean the Angels are stuck with them.
The Angels’ rotation looks great, and the bullpen is respectable.
Week In Review
Continuing with Tim’s new tradition, here’s my take on some of the top rumors of the week from June 29 – July 6:
- The C.C. Sabathia sweepstakes is nearing an end, with the Brewers’ Matt LaPorta package being the frontrunner. We’ll let everyone know the full story as soon as possible.
- The Phillies extended Brad Lidge to a three-year contract. Lidge looks like his old self – great deal for Philadelphia. Looks like this means Brett Myers will remain in the rotation if he can get back on track.
- We heard a lot about the Rays’ growing interest for Colorado closer Brian Fuentes. They could be preparing an offer. Troy Percival has been good, but injury prone, and you almost hate to move Dan Wheeler from the eighth inning where he’s been so good all year.
- The shortstop market is hot, as the Dodgers, Orioles, and Jays would all like to upgrade. The Dodgers are interested in Jack Wilson, while the Orioles are looking at David Eckstein and possibly Juan Uribe or Felipe Lopez. The Jays could look to move A.J. Burnett and his contract for an upgrade there as well. Interesting that Toronto wants an upgrade over Eckstein, while Baltimore looks at him as an upgrade…
- The Indians finally cut Joe Borowski loose, designating him for assignment. Was this too little too late? They tried to sneak Craig Breslow through waivers earlier this year. I’m guessing they’d rather have the 1.42 ERA he’s posted this season than Borowski’s 7.56, but the Twins are enjoying Breslow’s benefits.
- Could the Angels add Matt Holliday? Seems unlikely with the stockpile of large contracts they already have in their outfield if you ask me.
- The A’s signed Michel Inoa for $4.25MM on Thursday.
- The Padres will be sellers this July. The onslaught of injuries have made this a frustrating season for San Diego. If you’d been able to see Adrian Gonzalez‘s monster numbers through July 1 before the season started, who would’ve believed this team wasn’t contending? Wow.
- For those who are interested, Tim looked at this past years’ offseason moves and compiled an All-Star lineup of free agent hitters signed prior to the 2008 season. That’d be a heck of a team to try to beat right now…
Rosenthal: Angels Looking Into Holliday
The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, residing in Orange County, California, are currently the second-worst run producers in the American League. That they have the second-best win percentage in the junior circuit is a testament to their superb pitching staff, led by John Lackey and his 1.44 ERA, though with about 40 fewer innings than most of the team’s other starters.
They’d like to add a bat before the trading deadline, though there are a few problems with that. Take, for instance, Ken Rosenthal’s report that they are interested in Rockies left fielder Matt Holliday. In order to fit him into the scheme, the Angels would have to somehow unload Gary Matthews Jr, who is owed $33 million from 2009 through 2011. That’s not an easy proposition, considering the 2006 fluke is hitting just .239/.318/.361.
According to Rosenthal, this Matthews situation means that the Angels would have to go even further with their prospects and cash in order to make a deal. This might indicate that the team will stand pat and rely on its pitching going forward. Former GM Bill Stoneman was never one for a mid-season move, and his replacement Tony Reagins has expressed similar sentiments.
The Rays could also look into acquiring Holliday, which would round out a stellar outfield. They have more than enough on the farm to get something done. Both teams could also look into Jason Bay, Xavier Nady, Ken Griffey Jr., or Adam Dunn.
Rockies Rumors: Holliday, Fuentes, Torrealba
The Rockies have been even worse than the Padres – 19 games under .500, 10 games out in a lousy division. According to Tracy Ringolsby, they’ll decide at the All-Star break whether to officially become sellers.
Let’s start with closer Brian Fuentes, whose ERA jumped from 2.56 to 3.94 last night. Reports had the suitors at the Yankees, Mets, Red Sox, Phillies, and A’s. Ringolsby says to cross the A’s off the list and add the Rays, Cubs, and Cardinals. Ken Rosenthal tossed the Cubs into the mix on June 12th, but then changed that report. Troy E. Renck adds the Cardinals to the list.
Ringolsby rattles off teams interested in Matt Holliday: Cardinals, Rays, Angels, Dodgers, and Royals. Definitely some new names in there. Holliday is hitting .332/.415/.538 in 299 plate appearances (.309/.401/.472 on the road). Ringolsby says the A’s will "kick the tires" on Holliday but are more likely to pursue Willy Taveras.
We also have RotoWire, which reports that catcher Yorvit Torrealba told the Tigers’ radio network that he wants to be traded. After nearly signing with the Mets, Torrealba inked a two-year, $7.25MM deal with the Rockies. He is hitting as badly as expected: .252/.291/.387 in 180 PAs. He’s thrown out only 24% of runners, up slightly from last year. Torrealba has been splitting time with Chris Iannetta since May.
Odds & Ends: Rivera, Sabathia, Mark Sweeney
Some Odds & Ends for this Sunday morning:
- Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times proposes the Dodgers offer middle reliever Cory Wade or Single-A fireballer Javy Guerra for OF Juan Rivera. Despite already having a logjam in the outfield, Rivera would provide the power the Dodgers need. As he sees it, the Angels have a propensity for stockpiling arms and Rivera is only gathering dust behind Gary Matthews Jr. Fun fact from Shaikin: it’s been 32 years since the last Dodgers/Angels trade.
- The Baltimore Sun’s Peter Schmuck tells Orioles fans not to expect C.C. Sabathia to be signed by the O’s this offseason.
- Tony Jackson of the Los Angeles Daily News says Mark Sweeney may draw the short straw when Rafael Furcal and Nomar Garciaparra return from the DL within the next week. The Dodgers would release the 38 year old.
- Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times notes all indications are that the Rays will be making some moves before the deadline. They have the payroll flexibility, prospect depth, and would be happy to pickup draft picks from any big free agent they can’t re-sign. They’re looking for a veteran starting pitcher, a late inning reliever, and a right handed hitting outfielder.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Beltre, Washburn, Escobar, Duchscherer
Ken Rosenthal brings us his latest Full Count video:
- Rosenthal thinks the Mariners should consider dealing Adrian Beltre along with Erik Bedard by the deadline. The A’s and Dodgers would be interested in the 29 year old. Also, Jarrod Washburn‘s stock is rising.
- If Kelvim Escobar makes a strong return to the Angels rotation, Jon Garland could wind up on the trading block. As it stands, Escobar is slated for relief duties initially.
- 30 year old Justin Duchscherer could be Billy Beane’s best trade piece. His sparkling 1.99 ERA in combination with his being signed through this year for only $1.2MM make him a very palatable option.
Olney’s Latest: Wolf, Lohse, Sabathia, Fuentes, Oswalt, Bailey
Buster Olney has a new column up. Let’s take a look:
- He suggests Randy Wolf as a "possible trade chip" with the Padres looking increasingly out of it this year. One problem: Wolf has veto power over trades to 14 teams. He’s been decent this year, with a 4.13 ERA and 89 strikeouts in 98 innings, but nothing to get too excited over.
- Gossip item: the Mets could have had Kyle Lohse for what the Cardinals are paying ($4.25MM), only Omar Minaya passed.
- Olney doesn’t see much in the speculation about the Angels wanting C.C. Sabathia. With Kelvim Escobar‘s rehab going well, great first-half performances from Joe Saunders and Ervin Santana, and John Lackey likely to improve going forward, why should they make a push for C.C.? Olney sees the Brewers and the Cubs as more interested parties. (Ken Rosenthal mentioned the Brewers and the Rays as C.C. suitors yesterday.) Later in the post, Olney notes that Sabathia has a 1.96 ERA in his last fourteen starts. Yowza.
- How the Rockies fare over the next two weeks could determine what becomes of Brian Fuentes.
- Olney can’t decide whether the Orioles should buy or sell. What do you think?
- Roy Oswalt won’t get traded, with Olney linking to the Houston Chronicle’s Richard Justice for his evidence. (Oswalt has, of course, been talking like he’d prefer to be somewhere else.) Also working against a deal for Oswalt: his continued experiments with pitching to contact (to keep the ol’ pitch count down) haven’t been going very well this year, either. His K/9 has been declining for years, of course, but it may have reached a point of no return this season. Whatever happens, I’m sure the ‘stros would prefer to move him at peak value, not right now when he has a 4.77 ERA.
- Homer Bailey, back in Triple A Louisville, isn’t getting any love from the scout quoted here, who says he threw "batting practice fastballs." Bailey was 0-3 with a 8.73 ERA in the majors this year after a hotly anticipated call-up. Given the bounty of young arms they already have, the Reds would probably prefer to trade him…but alas, his value has dropped the way his curveball used to.
Sarah Green writes for UmpBump and the Boston Metro and can be reached here.
Stark’s Latest: K-Rod, Burnett, Oliver Perez, Bedard
It’s Thursday, and that means it’s time to dig in and feast on Jayson Stark’s latest rumor-packed column.
- The Braves have shifted their focus from starting pitching to an impact bat in left field. Stark suggests Raul Ibanez, Jason Bay, and Xavier Nady would make sense. Matt Holliday would be too costly; Adam Dunn is not mentioned.
- We have seen the surprising rumor that the Angels could pursue C.C. Sabathia. However, Stark’s sources are in agreement with Bill Plunkett – the Angels are likely to stand pat.
- Francisco Rodriguez wants four years and more than $60MM, a dangerous record-breaking commitment. The Halos aren’t even sure if they’d do three years and a vesting option.
- There have been no recent extension talks between the Angels and Vladimir Guerrero, but his $15MM option for ’09 is an easy call.
- As we’ve written before, A.J. Burnett is like a rental, but worse. He either pitches well and opts out or pitches poorly and you’re stuck with him. Stark adds that despite Burnett’s willingness to pitch for the Cubs, he’s not on their list. The Cubs are still planning a run at Sabathia. The Brewers are also serious about the Cleveland ace.
- The Mets might shop Oliver Perez, but I’d be surprised if he draws much interest.
- The Blue Jays were already one of Adam Dunn‘s ten no-trade teams. His no-trade rights switched from full to ten teams on June 15th.
- Bill Bavasi talked to the Reds about bringing Ken Griffey Jr. back to Seattle, but Lee Pelekoudas isn’t interested.
- Interesting Indians players who might be available: Rafael Betancourt, Rafael Perez, and Franklin Gutierrez.
- The Yankees aren’t interested in Erik Bedard, but the Phillies are. The teams have differing opinions on whether Bedard’s surly demeanor would present a problem.