Chone Figgins On The Block?
Ah, finally a legitimate trade rumor. The well had been running dry for a while. Doug Padilla of the L.A. Daily News tells us that center fielder/utility man Chone Figgins could be traded this offseason, possibly to the White Sox for Joe Crede.
Crede, who is represented by Scott Boras, has continually inked one-year deals with the Sox. This is his fourth full season, and he’s making a little less than $3MM. Crede’s breakout .298/.331/.535 campaign should bring another hefty raise. Crede should cross or near the 30 HR, 100 RBI plateaus for the first time in his career. He’ll be a very valuable trade commodity if the Sox wish to turn third base over to Josh Fields eventually. This is Crede’s age 28 season. The market for free agent third basemen is bleak unless Aramis Ramirez opts out of his contract.
Figgins, on the other hand, has taken a step backward in his age 28 season. He’s earning $2.25MM in ’06, $3.5MM in ’07, and $4.75MM in ’08. Figgins has been reliant upon a .295 batting average to keep his OBP in an acceptable range, and this year his average dropped to .254. His contact rate is the lowest of his career, though his walk rate is the highest it’s been. 96% of Figgins’s ABs have come from the leadoff spot, which isn’t a great idea when you’re below average at getting on base.
Figgins is very similar to Scott Podsednik, only more versatile. They have almost identical numbers this year. It would be peculiar for the Sox to cut Pods and then trade their star third baseman for Figgins. I really can’t see Kenny Williams doing this, though he did reportedly express interest in late June.
Soriano Suitors Down To Two
Word from a source is that the teams still standing in the Alfonso Soriano sweepstakes are only the Astros and Angels.
The White Sox, Tigers, and Twins appear to be out of the game, decreasing Jim Bowden’s leverage. Would’ve been nice to play off the AL Central rivals against one another.
Plenty of trade candidates have been connected to the Astros in recent days, including Roy Oswalt, Morgan Ensberg, Willy Taveras, Brad Lidge, and Adam Everett at the Major League level. L.A. seems to be dealing more in prospects, with Erick Aybar likely on the way out.
Miguel Tejada Trade Update
Next up, Miggy. Tejada got cold feet yesterday, saying that he wanted to stay in Baltimore and didn’t want to move to third base.
Also, the Orioles have rejected the offer of Ervin Santana and Erick Aybar. Seems foolish. According to Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun:
"If the Angels added another prospect to their package of Santana and Aybar, like possibly first base prospect Casey Kotchman, the trade could be completed. It is believed that the Angels’ top two offensive prospects – Double-A shortstop Brandon Wood and second baseman Howie Kendrick – are not available."
Angelos! We are talking about a young, established, effective starter in Santana. Don’t let this one slip away. Jorge Arangure Jr. of the Washington Post adds Nick Adenhart‘s name to the mix as the possible third player coming from L.A. My Angels source had named Adenhart as an untouchable player back on July 13th.
The Astros came in with a fairly weak offer of Morgan Ensberg, Adam Everett, and Fernando Nieve, as Will Carroll mentioned yesterday. Zrebiec tells us that Baltimore turned this one down but is still talking with Tim Purpura. Zrebiec calls Houston one of the favorites at this point.
The Rangers are in the game with Hank Blalock and prospects available, which would create a logjam at third for the Orioles. The Dodgers are offering Cesar Izturis and prospects, and Rafael Furcal‘s name has come up as well.
Carroll: Final Offers Made On Tejada
In his the latest Will’s Mill, Will Carroll indicates that the Astros and Angels have put in their final bids for Miguel Tejada. He also mentions that the Astros may turn to Julio Lugo if they can’t get Tejada. In that case they’d have to compete with the Blue Jays. Lugo was released by the Astros in 2003 by Gerry Hunsicker. Chuck LaMar was a bad GM, but you have to give him credit for the Lugo signing and the Kazmir deal. Even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while, right?
Carroll also tells us that not much is leaking out of Boston’s front office, so reporters are left to connect the dots with info from other teams. He leaves us with hope for some action soon enough:
"One of my best sources says the first of the Red Sox deals will happen this afternoon."
Rosenthal: Angels, Astros Make Tejada Offers
Ken Rosenthal’s got the scoop on a sweet offer made to the Orioles for Miguel Tejada: starter Ervin Santana and shortstop Erick Aybar.
The Orioles, characteristically an indecisive team, need to pounce on this offer. Baltimore will not be ready to compete in the AL East for several years, and prime young pitching isn’t offered up every day. Put Santana under Leo Mazzone’s tutelage and he could blossom into a true ace. And Aybar, while overshadowed by the Halos’ other infield prospects, looks to be an above average regular for many years. Not surprising to see Aybar used as a trading chip, but I didn’t expect the Angels to offer up Santana.
As far as the Astros, Rosenthal just states that "prime Major League pieces" were offered. He also mentions the Tigers and Dodgers as players.
Source: Cubs Turned Down Kendry Morales For Aramis Ramirez
A trusted Angels source gave me the scoop on the team’s inquiries concerning third baseman Aramis Ramirez.
Word is that Los Angeles offered first baseman Kendry Morales straight up for Ramirez and the Cubs turned it down. Morales, a 23 year-old Cuban defector, was called up to start for the Angels after hitting .311/.352/.463 in 42 Triple A games. He responded by hitting just .240/.302/.388 in 183 ABs between the 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th spots in the batting order.
According to Baseball America, Morales’s defensive deficiencies limit him to first base or DH. Still, a team could probably get away with sliding him down one more notch on the defensive spectrum to left field. If the Cubs decide to retain the hot-hitting Ramirez this month, they’d better be sure he’s not planning on exercising his out-clause and testing the free agent market.
My source also indicates that Morgan Ensberg is unlikely to be traded given his shoulder condition.
L.A. Times: Angels Inquire About Ramirez, Tracy, Ensberg
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
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
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.
Astros Talking About Miguel Tejada
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.