Rosenthal’s Latest
Ken Rosenthal posted a new article this afternoon. A good read as usual, though not chock full of new rumors.
- Rocco Baldelli remains the Devil Rays’ best trading chip; they hope to see the 25 year-old return and re-establish the trade value he had in 2006. Many are already saying the Rays waited too long on Baldelli, but let’s see what they get for him before making that judgment.
- Reggie Willits has hit his way into a starting job for the Angels. Nice to see an Angel drawing walks 12% of the time. That will enable Willits to remain effective after his batting average regresses. Rosenthal says third base is the clear position for upgrade for the Angels. Garrett Atkins is desired, and Rosenthal would consider Brandon Wood a reasonable bounty. If I’m Dan O’Dowd, I’m making that deal. Meanwhile, Bill Shaikin believes the Blue Jays would ask for Wood for Troy Glaus, but would settle for Ervin Santana and 1B/3B/DH Matt Brown. Shaikin’s source says J.P. Ricciardi is not yet prepared to trade Glaus, however.
- Rosenthal speculates that the Braves would like to add a big-time starter to get away from the current plan of "Hudson and Smoltz and pray for lightning bolts." Sorry, that was the best weather rhyme I could come up with. He mentions Rich Harden and Dontrelle Willis, accompanied by the obligatory Jarrod Saltalamacchia rumor. Poor Salty.
Renck’s Latest
Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post has a host of trade rumors in his recent column. Let’s break it down:
- Time to restart those Todd Helton rumors, as the first baseman is hitting a robust .360/.473/.533. Renck thinks a trade to Detroit is unlikely, but that the Yankees, Red Sox, or Braves could make a play for him this summer. The Yanks came up recently via Mark Healey. Maybe with Helton’s strong start, the Rockies can get their part of Helton’s $90MM contract down to $30MM.
- Renck likes the Rockies, Braves, and Red Sox as suitors for Rocco Baldelli. Rocco hopes to return in early June from a strained left hamstring. I wouldn’t expect a deal until at least late June.
- The Astros apparently are not making Chris Burke available despite his demotion. That’s a shame, because the Rockies like him. The Rox are hoping to see Kaz Matsui return from a back strain this week, so we’ll see how that goes first.
- The Angels still have interest in Garrett Atkins but talks haven’t been serious. Seems odd that Dan O’Dowd would sell low on Atkins at this point, but I guess it depends on the return and the Rockies’ projections for him.
Troy Percival To Attempt Comeback
UPDATE: I spoke too soon – the comeback is on. It sounds like Percival wants a late inning role on a contender.
Another comeback almost as interesting as Rickey’s is Troy Percival‘s. Though a decision on the comeback was supposed to come down today, we haven’t heard anything yet. Mike Scioscia urges caution, saying that he has a lot to overcome before he’s ready for the big league grind again.
Top Angels’ relievers Francisco Rodriguez and Scot Shields had amusing reactions, but their presence really locks up the late innings for the Halos. A healthy Percival could possibly supplant Darren Oliver or Hector Carrasco as a long man, as both have been horrible this year. It’s conflicting – this is Troy Percival, so we want to see him as an Angel. But we also want to see him pitching the ninth.
Percival Comeback?
According to Ken Rosenthal, former Angels and Tigers closer Troy Percival may make a comeback attempt. Percival’s agent says the chances are 50/50, and that he was clocked at 97 recently. As Rosenthal says, someone will give him a shot if he does come back. Percival will likely decide today, and he’ll call the Angels first.
Percival turns 38 in August. He received an ill-advised two-year, $12MM deal from Detroit prior to the 2005 season, and ended up pitching 25 innings over the life of the contract.
I want to somehow work in Percival’s hilarious exchange with Sam Walker and his associate in the book Fantasyland, but it’s unprintable. Check it out though.
Yanks Interested In Jose Molina
The Yankees, not thrilled with Wil Nieves as Jorge Posada’s backup, have expressed interest to the Angels in Jose Molina.
Molina turns 32 in June; he’s caught 348 big league games to date. He was a Cubs farmhand until he release in 2000. To part with him, the Angels would have to have full confidence in the tandem of Mike Napoli and Jeff Mathis. Napoli’s hitting like a backup this year, while the 24 year-old Mathis is at .256/.296/.360 in Triple A. So, seems doubtful that Molina is going anywhere.
Carl Crawford Available?
Just a mini-rumor of sorts, only a notch above speculation. But hey, this is a rumor site. Yahoo’s Tim Brown mentions that Tampa Bay outfielder Carl Crawford can be had, and suggests the Angels make an offer.
It’s early yet, but it looks like Crawford will set a career high in walks at age 25. He’s never topped 37 in a season, but already has 15 in 34 games. This is an excellent step forward in development, and convenient for the walk-allergic Angels if they’re interested. Hopefully they wouldn’t unteach the new skill. Crawford is also maintaining his power with a .481 SLG.
Crawford is signed through his prime on a very team-friendly contract: assuming all options are exercised, he’s owed $27.5MM for 2007-10. A package of prospects centered around oft-rumored Ervin Santana seems to make sense. The mass media is calling for the Halos’ pitching surplus to be used for a bat, and I agree. However, I’m not sure Crawford would give them the significant jolt of OBP and SLG they need. I’d like to see the Angels revisit the Todd Helton talks, or maybe go after Pat Burrell or Adam Dunn.
Angels Interested In Garrett Atkins
Last year, Rockies third baseman Garrett Atkins was the second-best hitter at his position, behind only Miguel Cabrera. Atkins isn’t set to reach free agency until 2011, making him a very valuable commodity. The Rockies had talks with him this offseason about a deal covering his arbitration years and first year of free agency, but no agreement could be reached.
Now, both the Denver Post and L.A. Times are reporting that the Angels are interested in trading for Atkins. Troy E. Renck of the Post says Atkins’s name first came up during the Winter Meetings when the two clubs were discussing a Todd Helton deal. Renck writes that Ervin Santana would be a must in any trade and that the Angels also have interest in Brad Hawpe and Jeff Baker. He also says Atkins is still considered a core member of the team, so a deal is unlikely. I wonder if Bill Stoneman is trying to take advantage of a subpar start for Atkins – his defense hasn’t been pretty and his power has been MIA.
From the L.A. side, Mike DiGiovanna adds several players on the Halos’ radar: Kevin Mench, Jacque Jones, Pat Burrell, Emil Brown, Morgan Ensberg, and Edwin Encarnacion. DiGiovanna agrees that Santana is the top trading chip. Santana could really blossom in the National League. With Freddy Garcia and Adam Eaton struggling and Brett Myers in the pen, the Phillies probably have the strongest need. Starters Joe Saunders and Dustin Moseley could be used if the Angels want to make a smaller deal.
As long as the Angels are making an all-out blitz for a third baseman, let’s speculate on some other possibilities. Mike Lowell, Chad Tracy, Hank Blalock have all been rumored in the past; the Rangers clearly have the biggest need for a starter. Santana, however, could be Brandon McCarthy all over again with his flyball tendencies.
Tim Brown’s Latest
I hadn’t really noticed the MLB Experts Blog from Tim Brown and Jeff Passan until recently. Yahoo’s main baseball guys have some quality rumors, and I’ve been missing out. Let’s catch up by digging through some recent posts:
- Seems like mostly educated speculation, but Brown named Shawn Green as a player the Angels might be able to acquire to fill the void with Howie Kendrick out. However, Lastings Milledge will miss most of May, so that Green may no longer be available.
- The Tigers, worried about their fourth and fifth starters, are already on the lookout for starting pitching help.
- The Indians are looking to acquire a closer, though I think they have some decent internal options. The Tribe isn’t looking to spend big bucks so it would have to be a bargain type guy.
- If Jeff Weaver continues to bomb, could the Mariners trade him back to St. Louis?
Angels To Chase Andruw Jones?
A small tidbit from Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe: he has an Angels front-office source indicating that Andruw Jones, not Alex Rodriguez, is the marquee free agent of choice for the team this offseason. Such a signing would probably move Gary Matthews Jr. to left field. It reminds me of when the Mets were running Carlos Beltran and Mike Cameron out there at the same time. Good for pitchers.
Rany Jazayerli wrote last month that Jones probably left $15-30MM on the table when he last signed a contract; he’ll go for full price this winter. (It’s an interesting column – he feels that Tim Wakefield‘s perpetual deal is the worst contract a player has ever signed).
Also, this related rumor kind of got buried yesterday – Ken Rosenthal mentioned that the Braves might go after Cameron if he becomes a free agent. I’m curious about which team will end up signing Torii Hunter. Rangers maybe?
K-Rod Cheating?
I know it’s not a trade rumor, but this is worth a look. Derek Zumsteg, author of The Cheater’s Guide To Baseball, may have uncovered some shady behavior on the part of Angels’ closer Francisco Rodriguez. He’s got screenshots of the mysterious substance over at his blog. Derek mentions in the comments that the Rangers complained to the Commissioner’s Office after the game.
It seems that thus far, the mainstream media either didn’t notice the story or chose to ignore it. Halos Heaven comments on the possibility, asking why teams didn’t uncover this years earlier. The problem is that everyone affiliated with this little situation seems to root for an AL-West team, so biases may sneak through.
UPDATE: The Rangers found out about the allegations yesterday, but did not contact the Commissioner’s Office. Through some other means, perhaps just by browsing the web, MLB found out about it today and is investigating.