Giants Like Kotchman And Mathis
Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News writes that the Giants recently inquired with the Angels about first baseman Casey Kotchman and catcher Jeff Mathis. Baggarly speculates that the Halos might like the idea of a reunion with Bengie Molina (owed $12MM over the next two seasons).
Of course, the value of the two Angels players far exceeds that of Molina. No deal is close; Angels GM Tony Reagins was frank about that. The Giants don’t have much in the way of valuable trade chips. They’ve got overpriced, undesirable veterans plus a strong core of young pitching that they need to keep.
The Angels theoretically could part with Kotchman if they think Kendry Morales is ready (or if they wanted to shift Garret Anderson or Juan Rivera over to first, though neither has played there). Mathis could be traded now; a separate deal with the Giants could make sense.
Odds and Ends: Rivera, Hamels, Sherrill
Here’s today’s gathering of links.
- John Shea examines the Giants’ roster crunch, which would be greatly relieved by trading Dave Roberts and Steve Kline.
- Adam Rubin implies that the Angels want too much from the Mets for Juan Rivera – Jon Niese or Bobby Parnell. A deal seems unlikely.
- Cole Hamels, accused by a heckler of being a cross between Casey Fossum and Shawn Camp. BURNED!
- Buster Olney is hearing from other teams that the Orioles may shop 30 year-old newly anointed closer George Sherrill this summer.
- Joe Christensen believes that we’ll learn about Joe Nathan‘s future with the Twins by week’s end.
- Brock For Broglio posted an interesting interview with Voros McCracken. This quote from McCracken caught my eye: "One of the things that kind of bugged me with the Red Sox was a somewhat implied expectation that I’d come up with something like DIPS on a regular basis."
Odds and Ends: Jerome Williams, Linden, Lo Duca
Below you’ll find the day’s random rumors and links.
- Remember Jerome Williams? He’s begging the Giants or any other team to give him a shot, "even if it means in A-ball" according to John Shea. The 26 year-old Hawaiin couldn’t find any success last year with Washington. He started out pretty strong with the Giants back in 2003-04.
- Todd Linden can get out of his minor league deal with Oakland if offered a deal in Japan, which is a possibility.
- Paul Lo Duca has choice words for the Mets, rejecting the notion that they were ever interested or that he demanded three years.
- The Astros still have Mark Loretta on the radar.
- The Brewers don’t seem to have any trades in the works.
- He deems it "pure speculation," but Buster Olney wonders whether the Angels should call the A’s about Joe Blanton.
- Support for my contention that RBI Baseball is better than today’s baseball video games.
Angels In Need Of Another Arm?
At the end of his most recent column Ken Rosenthal posits a nightmare scenario for the Angles, going back to 2001 when the Mariners cracked out to a 20-4 start to seize the AL West crown before May Day. With John Lackey and Kelvim Escobar on the shelf for at least 4-6 weeks, should the Angels be concerned going into 2008? Is a move to pick up an extra starter in order?
The team is looking at filling 14-16 starts. With a surplus of outfielders the Angels are certainly in position to make a move. They could opt for a back of rotation innings eater like the Brewers Chris Capuano or the Reds’ Matt Belisle. Or, the team could really make a splash and dive head first into the Joe Blanton sweepstakes. David Bush might fill out the rotation nicely, through April and beyond.
Another possibility is a move toward the scrap heap, which got a slight upgrade this past week with the addition of Horacio Ramirez. Think Horacio might like a shot at the April 11 contest up at Safeco? How about reuniting brothers Jeff and Jared Weaver for one last sentimental run? And then there’s always the possibility of getting Southern Cali comfort David Wells off the couch for a month or two of solid work.
The LA Times sees General Manager Tony Reagins looking in-house to try and bridge the gap. Lefty Joe Saunders and righty Ervin Santana become your No. 3 and 4 starters, and Dustin Moseley, who made eight starts for the team in 2007, becomes your No. 5. Pencil in young gun Nick Adenhart for an outside shot at getting some innings, if not as a starter possibly as a long-reliever.
Aaron Shinsano writes for East Windup Chronicle.
Odds And Ends: White Sox, Angels, Crisp, Gillick
Here are a few links to whet your appetite, including a Brian Roberts sighting. You didn’t think we could go two days without a Robert update, did you?
- Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune notes that the White Sox are looking for a middle infielder and wonders if they might get involved in the Roberts sweepstakes. However, Rogers wonders if there is anything left in the system to intrigue the Orioles.
- Scott Miller of CBS Sportsline looks at the recent rash of injuries plaguing the Angels pitching staff and wonders if it was a blessing that they did not trade for Miguel Cabrera. Considering the staff should be healthy by May, this sounds a little like when some try to put a positive spin on the Scott Kazmir trade for the Mets. They really do.
- Coco Crisp spoke to the media about recent trade rumors and noted that he is not worried about being able to audition for other teams do his injury status saying that he hopes other teams already believe in him and what he is capable of.
- The Deleware News-Journal interviews Phillies GM Pat Gillick, who is retiring at the end of the year, about his career.
Cork Gaines writes for Rays Index and can be reached here.
Rangers Were Close To Acquiring Johan
SI.com’s Jon Heyman checks in with some inside info from the What Might’ve Been file. He says the Rangers and Twins were close to an agreement on the players involved in a trade that would’ve sent Johan Santana to Texas. The Twins pulled the plug when Santana was noncommital about whether he’d approve a trade to the Rangers. They felt that this would’ve decreased his market value (instead the Twins ended up overplaying their hand and accepting the second or third-best offer).
Heyman speculates that the Rangers could’ve offered Eric Hurley and/or Edinson Volquez, for starters. A Taylor Teagarden and various high-ceiling types could’ve been in there too, I imagine. Would’ve been interesting to see Minnesota get Teagarden and shift Joe Mauer to third base in ’09.
The Rangers hoped to pair Johan with Torii Hunter, but Hunter couldn’t pass on the Angels’ offer. Five years, $90MM is the kind of offer he had to pounce on.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Roberts, Horacio, Willits
Rumor guru and baseball insider Ken Rosenthal has a new column at FOX Sports. Let’s discuss.
- Rosenthal does not see the Cubs taking on the salaries of both Brian Roberts and Coco Crisp, even if they shed their Jason Marquis commitment. Roberts remains the focus.
- Horacio Ramirez‘s agent says seven clubs have already expressed interest in his client. Perhaps he meant to say 0.7.
- Rosenthal runs through many Rocco Baldelli replacement options for the Rays: Reggie Willits, Kenny Lofton, Gabe Gross, and Reed Johnson. Only Willits seems the perfect fit, and the Angels aren’t making him available. Willits and his .393 career OBP could be headed to Triple A.
- The Phillies are looking for middle relief help; Rosenthal suggests a possible match with Arizona. Or, how ’bout signing Bob Wickman? Is he officially retired?
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Barry Bonds
The biggest name remaining in the free agent market is one Barry Lamar Bonds. The most recent rumored destinations for the all-time home run champ have been the Rays, Mets and even Japan. The Rays say there was never any serious consideration and the Mets say they are not interested.
The biggest question mark concerning Bonds is whether his production at age 43 is worth the circus that follows, both in the clubhouse and in the media. Yesterday at my home base, Rays Index, I contacted Chone Smith of Anaheim Angels All The Way, and creator of the CHONE projection system. Smith had used his projection system to predict that the final regular season standings. The Rays are projected to win 89 games and finish third in the AL East, based on a considerable improvement in pitching and defense. The Mets are projected to win 92 games.
In an effort to estimate Bonds’ on-field impact, we asked Smith to substitute Bonds into the Rays and Mets lineups and rerun his projections. With Bonds in the lineup, both the Mets and the Rays improved by 3 games in the standings and approximately 30 net runs (As an Angels fan, Smith kindly refused to run the same projection for the Mariners or the A’s, lest those teams start thinking Bonds is a good idea).
If the Rays are indeed an 87-89 win team (PECOTA projects 88 wins), then Bonds might be a difference-maker. While signing Bonds may indeed be a headache, the difference between 89 wins and 92 wins for the Rays could be the difference between the 2007 Brewers (just missed) and the 2007 Rockies (World Series). And the difference between 92 wins and 95 wins for the Mets could be the difference between the 2007 Mets (one game short) and the 2007 Phillies (one game not short).
To quote one commenter from Rays Index, "Media scrutiny is only hard if you suck. If you’re good, it’s fun."
Let’s take a look at what else is being said about Bonds in the Blogosphere…
If there is a topic you would like to see covered in "Baseball Blogs Weigh In" please let me know HERE.
- Squawking Baseball thinks the Angels could be a solid fit for Bonds.
- Baseball Musings will miss Bonds if he doesn’t play this year, and lists several teams that should consider signing him.
- Amazin’ Avenue explores "The Bonds Market" and express their desire for the Mets to sign the aging slugger, calling the apparent blackballing "disgraceful".
- Mike’s Mets doesn’t see Bonds as a clubhouse cancer and thinks he would be good for the Mets, but does not think he will fit from a financial perspective.
- Bugs & Cranks feels that the Dodgers would have a much better shot at winning the NL West if they signed Bonds.
Cork Gaines writes for Rays Index and can be reached here.
Odds and Ends: Baldelli, Salcedo, Piazza, Rivera
Time for today’s linkage.
- RotoAuthority looks for some fantasy baseball sleepers at second base.
- Rocco Baldelli has a rare muscle condition that does not allow his body to recover after a short workout. He’ll hit the DL but won’t retire. The Rays will likely decline his option but maybe they’ll re-sign him at a lower price.
- The Indians are in the running for 16 year-old shortstop Edward Salcedo, but the Boras client remains unsigned.
- IGN has their own What Might’ve Been type series, and recently they took a look at the Mike Piazza trades of 1998. Haven’t heard much on Piazza these last few weeks.
- The Angels seem likely to keep Juan Rivera, as he could be their left fielder in ’09 and ’10.
- I’m been devouring The Worst Team Money Could Buy, a book by Bob Klapisch and John Harper chronicling the ’92 Mets. I am a bit too young to remember that team. It’s a hilarious look at that trainwreck, with all sorts of off-the-record quotes. You really get a feel for what it’s like following the Mets beat, too.
Braves Interested In Juan Rivera?
Juan Rivera is in a tough place – he doesn’t have an opportunity to prove he can be a healthy and effective outfielder despite heading into his contract year. He’s been very respectful to the Angels about his situation though. Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times recently speculated that Rivera would have a starting role on teams like the Braves, Mets, or Giants. Rivera’s best year was ’06, when he hit .310/.362/.525 in 124 games. But then Rivera broke his leg in winter ball in December of that year and it’s been a long time coming back. Ken Rosenthal suggested Sunday that Reggie Willits was not available but the Angels want to trade Rivera.
Yesterday evening, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution said the following regarding Rivera:
After talking to a couple of people today, I think there’s something to the Juan Rivera thing. I believe the Braves do have interest, just not sure if there’s a match….
Rivera would be a nice addition for Atlanta, though Matt Diaz deserves his shot in left field. But Rivera could also push out Scott Thorman and serve as Mark Teixeira‘s backup.