Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Angels Rumors

L.A. Times: Angels Inquire About Ramirez, Tracy, Ensberg

By | at

We’ve heard Miguel Tejada as well as various mid-tier firstbasemen bandied about as possible trade targets for Bill Stoneman and the Angels.  Mike DiGiovanna’s article for the Los Angeles Times today also indicates that the Halos could pursue various slugging third basemen.

Specifically, DiGiovanna mentions that the Angels have inquired about Aramis Ramirez, Chad Tracy, and Morgan Ensberg.

Ramirez is on fire, hitting .329/.391/.763 this month with nine home runs.  What some folks may not realize is that Ramirez has every reason and the ability to test the free agent market this winter.  He would most certainly top the money he’d make staying with the Cubs under his current contract.  Ramirez has said he wants to stay in Chicago, so we’ll see.

The Angels would have to offer an excellent young player to pry Tracy away from Arizona.  The 26 year-old has slipped a bit to .279/.343/.454 this season, which is below average for his position.  Still he’s locked up for $13.25MM for 2007-09.  That’s more than fair value.

Ensberg turns 31 next month, yet free agency is still a few years off.  He hit the DL on July 10th with a shoulder contusion.  After a torrid April, Ensberg hit just .194/.355/.382.  The Padres have also expressed interest, but this acquisition would be a gamble.   

Shea Hillenbrand Designated

By | at

According to a Blue Jays source of mine, this is how the Shea Hillenbrand designation went down:

"It seems Hillenbrand and a few (word is two) of his teammates were being
mischievious during yesterday’s workout. Gibbons stormed in the clubhouse
like an old den-mother and demanded the pranksters reveal themselves.

Just Hillenbrand stepped forward.

Gibbons blew a gasket. Everyone’s face hung open.

Gibb told Hill to take a shower and leave (on his first day back from adopting
a kid).

As the team left for the field, Hill still suited-up and paced in the
clubhouse, not knowing what to do.

Until an in-house courier hand delivered his walking papers.

He then left."

Alright, this is Tim talking again.  It seems that Hillenbrand’s mischief involved writing "This is a sinking ship" on a chalkboard in the clubhouse.  Good times.

The Padres, Twins, Rangers, and Angels have been connected to Hillenbrand at one time or another.  While the Pads are the concensus favorite, keep in mind that Kevin Towers and J.P. Ricciardi have never completed a trade with one another before.  (As far as I can tell).  But hey, there’s a first time for everything.

Trade Rumor Roundup: 11 Days Left

By | at

Let’s see what we’ve got churning in the rumor mill this morning.

Shea Hillenbrand, a player well-liked by his teammates, was designated for assignment last night.  Kind of reminds me of the Jose Guillen situation a couple of years ago.  Despite the unpleasantness, Bill Stoneman still managed to turn Guillen into Juan Rivera and Maicer Izturis.  Let’s see how J.P Ricciardi does now that manager John Gibbons has forced him into this situation.  As we told you a couple of days ago, Gibbons may follow Hillenbrand out the door.  More on this situation in a bit.   

A Reds message board rumor has Ian Kinsler going to Cincy and Todd Coffey heading to Texas, among some other components.  I don’t know if this has any credence to it, just throwing it out there.  Doesn’t seem logical to me. 

The Jeff Keppinger for Ruben Gotay deal is official.  Score one for Omar Minaya.  In other Royals news, the Royals Authority advises fans not to panic about Luke Hochevar.

We saw what the Tigers would have to give up for Alfonso Soriano.  Apparently, to get Bobby Abreu they’d have to surrender Marcus Thames, Zach Miner, and a lot of money.  I’ll take option A.

Looking for an aging slugger who can maybe still hit lefties?  Sammy Sosa is again making noise about playing again.  This is not good for baseball.

Halos Heaven, a blog I know to have good sources, reports that the Orioles want the Angels to have Miguel Tejada.  Orlando Cabrera and J.C. Romero could be part of a package.

Word on the street is that Baseball Prospectus injury analyst Will Carroll is in talks with ESPN about a possible job.

A TV program encouraging fans to come and boo Dusty Baker?  C’mon, don’t kick a man when he’s down. 

RotoAuthority looks for the game’s true .300 hitters.

Tips for better living.

Astros Talking About Miguel Tejada

By | at

MLBTradeRumors has learned that the Astros are in talks with Baltimore for Miguel Tejada.  I don’t have much more detail than that, but it comes from a trusted source.  Houston has been reluctant to offer up outfielder Hunter Pence, who currently has 22 home runs in Double A.  It’ll be interesting to see how this one plays out.  The Astros previously expressed interest back in January.

A couple more tasty Tejada nuggets: The Reds kicked the tires on the superstar shortstop, but a deal couldn’t be completed without including stud pitcher Homer Bailey.  In my opinion, if the Reds are really going for the gold this year, they should’ve pulled the trigger.  Also, the reason the Angels are resisting a Tejada deal: Mike Scioscia.  Scioscia doesn’t want Tejada bringing his…influence…into the clubhouse.

Rumor Roundup

By | at

Another day, another rumor roundup.  Let’s throw everything fresh into the mill.

The Orioles are thinking about taking on one of Philly’s huge outfielder contracts, for some reason.  I guess this could help next year’s push for third place.  Baltimore is one of baseball’s most baffling teams to me.  Abreu rumors have been floating around the Orioles since at least November.

The Cubs and Yankees may have something cooking, with Scott Williamson the likely candidate to be dealt.  If the reliever market is really so inflated, why don’t the Cubs trade Howry and Eyre?

The Pirates are offering up all sorts of non-difference makers, but Mike Gonzalez could actually get them something decent.  The 28 year-old southpaw has a 2.27 ERA in 39 innings this season.  Fantay leaguers should start thinking about Matt Capps as his successor.

Trade rumor All-Star Ken Rosenthal is getting into the game more lately, with a full plate of whisperings posted an hour ago.  Jose Vidro could become a Giant, and the D’Backs would love to trade Shawn Green (of course).

Unfounded rumors: Billy Beane may be shopping Mark Ellis and Jason Windsor, with possible interest in Brian Roberts…the Angels could be after David Dellucci…teams are calling the Mets about Alay Soler…Dallas McPherson is definitely on the block…there’s a decent chance Jon Lieber ends up a Yankee…the Mets and Nats are still talking about Livan Hernandez.

Angels Trade Rumors: Alfonso Soriano and More

By | at

I spoke to my Angels source recently, and he had all sorts of good info about the team.

A recent hot surge has landed the Halos just two games out in the AL West.  Because of this, GM Bill Stoneman is upping his demands and won’t cave in and send any of his future stars to the Nationals for Alfonso Soriano.  The Angels are pleased with 28 year-old Juan Rivera and think he’s developing into a big bat in his own right.  Rivera is hitting .277/.337/.505 on the season and has had a blistering July.  Baseball Prospectus considers him most similar to Lou Piniella at the same age, though Rivera has more power.

Most of the Angels’ top prospects are untouchable: Nick Adenhart, Jose Arredondo, Howie Kendrick, Joe Saunders, and Brandon Wood won’t be moved (click their names to view their minor league stats this season).  A couple of excellent young players who could be used in trades this month or in the offseason: Jeff Mathis and Erick Aybar.  Aybar’s big league showcase didn’t generate the interest Stoneman wanted, and a Mathis became expendable with the emergence of Mike Napoli.

Some other players who have a good chance of being dealt are Brendan Donnelly, J.C. Romero, and Dallas McPherson.  On McPherson, my source says he "would’ve been the centerpiece of a Soriano trade had he not been hurt."  Mathis, Aybar, and McPherson will bring a fine bounty eventually, whereas the two relievers will be used more to acquire spare parts.

Jeff Weaver Traded To Cardinals

By | at

Breaking word is that Jeff Weaver has been dealt to the Cardinals for minor league outfielder Terry Evans plus cash considerations. 

Evans is a 24 year-old outfielder currently hitting .307/.369/.640 in 75 ABs for the Cards’ Double A affiliate. He struggled in High Class A last year, but mastered the level in two months this season.  He’s been described as the "out of nowhere prospect who mashed his way out of A ball" by Viva El Birdos. 

Weaver is expected to join the team in Houston.  News of this trade comes courtesy of Fox Sports Midwest.  A week ago, I wrote about how Weaver has had terrible luck and his strikeout and walk rates are similar to expectations.

Special thanks to the St. Louis Swarm Softball organization for passing this along.

HalosHeaven: White Sox Interested In Figgins

By | at

Interesting post by our good friends at Halos Heaven.  I can vouch that the author of this site has several solid, independent sources close to the organization.

A lot of interest in utility superstar Chone Figgins, who is hitting just .253/.322/.347 this year.  Figgins draws a walk about 9% of the time, which is fine for a leadoff hitter if he can hit .290.  Halos Heaven notes that if Ozzie Guillen elects Orlando Cabrera (.305/.364/.436) to the All-Star game, the relationship between the two teams could improve enough to facilitate a trade.

The Angels view Figgins as more expendable than Adam Kennedy, who has become the clubhouse leader.  I’m told Kennedy desperately wants to stay in Southern California, and will offer the Padres or Dodgers a huge discount after this season.  It does seem that Kennedy could block Howie Kendrick for the rest of the season.

The latest on Jeff Weaver is that he’ll be gone before the All-Star break, possibly back to the Dodgers.  The Angels will eat his entire salary to get a decent bat in return.   

Jeff Weaver’s Value Plunges

By | at

My best Angels source indicates that scouts from as many as eight teams were in attendance Tuesday night to watch Jeff Weaver pitch.  Weaver didn’t rise to the occasion, taking his tenth loss after allowing six runs in just two innings to the Rockies.

Weaver’s been an absolute mess this year, thwarting Scott Boras’s attempt to replicate his success with Kevin Millwood.  Boras didn’t find the right multiyear deal for Millwood before the 2005 season, so he settled for one year with the Indians.  After Millwood had a career year, Boras got him a massive five-year contract.  Weaver makes $8.3MM this year in a deal that seemed wise at the time.

The 29 year-old righty has given up a ridiculous number of hits this year in conjunction with way too many home runs.  His strikeout and walk rates have remained fairly stable.  Can any of his problems be attributed to team defense and/or bad luck?  Weaver’s .332 BABIP exceeds his team’s .293 mark, so some of those extra hits could be random. 

Another stat to check out is home runs per flyball.  Ron Shandler’s work tells us that "pitchers do not have much control over the percentage of fly balls that turn into home runs."  This figure tends to be about 10%, whereas Weaver is at 16.8% in 2006.  That mark is the 9th worst in the game (browsing this list helps explain the unexpected misfortunes of several fine hurlers this season).  Pitchers do control the number of flyballs they allow overall, and Weaver’s 2006 level does not differ dramatically from career norms.

Maybe this is a stretch, but if we substitute Weaver’s hit and HR rates with league average levels but hold everything else constant, his expected ERA comes all the way down to 3.84 with a 1.28 WHIP.  That’s right about where we expected him to be this season, and it would’ve been a bargain.  I have to think several teams realize that Weaver has not pitched as badly as it seems.  Acquiring Weaver still makes sense for savvy teams like the Red Sox or Cardinals.

Ervin Santana Trade Hinges On Saunders, Colon

By | at

Today comes word from Halos Heaven that any deal of righty Ervin Santana will hinge on the performances of Bartolo Colon and Joe Saunders. 

Slowed by a couple of surgeries in his career, Saunders is putting it together in Triple A for the first time.  He’s got a 2.51 ERA and 1.12 WHIP in 13 starts this year.  He’d slot into the rotation in place of Santana.  The Angels can deal from their strength, as this rotation could become:

Bartolo Colon
John Lackey
Kelvim Escobar
Jered Weaver
Joe Saunders

That is a deep group, with Jeff Weaver serving as a tolerable sixth starter for the rest of the season.  He’s been decent in two starts this month, but could end up in the ’pen.  The Halos can have Saunders and Jeff Weaver competing for the fifth starter spot.

Halos Heaven mentions Carl Crawford, Torii Hunter, and Vernon Wells as targets of Bill Stoneman.  Stoneman has also had Alfonso Soriano, Manny Ramirez, Miguel Tejada, and Miguel Cabrera in his sights for months. It certainly seems that the Angels, currently five games back in the West, will acquire a big bat before the trading deadline.

Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top