Dodgers Rumors

Odds & Ends: Zambrano, Millwood, Orioles, Ausmus

By Zachary Links | July 3, 2010 at 10:13pm CDT

Let's check out some tidbits from around the web on this Fourth Of July eve..

Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle thinks that a swap of Carlos Zambrano and Aaron Rowand would make sense.
A source told Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter) that the Tigers have not inquired on Kevin Millwood even though they need pitching. Earlier this week we learned that the Mets aren't interested in the veteran either.
It will be interesting to see what Eric Wedge does if he's offered the O's job, writes Paul Hoynes of The Plain Dealer. Wedge and Buck Showalter are believed to be the favorites for the position.
Brad Ausmus, 41, isn't ready to call it a career yet, writes MLB.com's Ken Gurnick.

Olney’s Latest: Lee, Zambrano, Dodgers, Fielder

By Mike Axisa | July 3, 2010 at 9:27am CDT

In today's blog post at ESPN (Insider req'd), Buster Olney says that even though the Yankees already have five good starters, the tight race in the AL East is enough to keep them engaged with the Mariners about Cliff Lee. They will probably make an offer at some point, but they're unlikely to land him because they've been philosophically opposed to trading prospects for a player they could just sign as a free agent after the season.

Here are the rest of Olney's rumors…

Olney's message to any team looking for bullpen help: Good luck with that. There are no difference-making relievers on the market, and guys like Kerry Wood, David Aardsma, and Jason Frasor are no sure things.
Carlos Zambrano has some value as an innings eater, and the Cubs could probably get a team to absorb $10-15MM of the $45MM left on his deal. If he does get traded, Olney says it would likely be in the offseason.
People in the Dodgers' organization say there is "little or no hope" that money will be available for the team to make moves.
Olney doesn't see the Giants and Brewers matching up in a Prince Fielder trade. Matt Cain is a deal breaker given Tim Lincecum's recent struggles, and Jonathan Sanchez or Madison Bumgarner won't be enough.

Odds & Ends: Dodgers, Mets, Orioles, Lee

By Luke Adams 2 | July 2, 2010 at 10:16pm CDT

Links for Friday night, as Roy Oswalt and Mat Latos duel in San Diego….

Joe Torre tells MLB.com's Ken Gurnick that he and GM Ned Colletti have discussed potential moves for the Dodgers.
Jerry Manuel wouldn't mind seeing the Mets acquire a starting pitcher, according to Anthony DiComo of MLB.com.
Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun provides his take on a few Orioles-related news stories, including who he thinks their next manager will be.
Former Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi appeared on WEEI's Big Show and addressed how he thinks Theo Epstein will approach the trade deadline. Jay Asser has the transcript of the discussion at WEEI.com.
A person "close to Cliff Lee" denies that the left-hander suggested he may have pitched his last game as a Mariner, writes Andy Martino of the New York Daily News. Sirius XM's Jim Duquette reported Lee's alleged comments yesterday (via Twitter).
Livan Hernandez is excited about the Nationals signing his half-brother as a reliever, writes MASN's Ben Goessling.

Stark On Wigginton, Lopez, Atkins, Lee

By Luke Adams 2 | July 2, 2010 at 7:27pm CDT

Unlike the Red Sox and Rockies, who may try to avoid making a trade to replace their injured infielders, the Phillies are "trying like hell" to find an infield bat, writes ESPN.com's Jayson Stark. Stark breaks down the Phillies' options and shares some Cliff Lee rumors in a new blog entry:

Enough teams are interested in Ty Wigginton that the Orioles can be patient in their attempts to get maximum value for him. The Phillies, on the other hand, need an infielder now, so they'll either have to meet Baltimore's asking price or look elsewhere.
A scout tells Stark that some people in the Phils' organization like Jose Lopez "a lot."
The Phillies have never been overly interested in Garrett Atkins, and that hasn't changed now that he has become available.
Kelly Johnson, Jhonny Peralta, Jose Bautista, and Miguel Tejada are also possibilities to varying degrees for Philadelphia.
The Phils don't want to move Domonic Brown, Jarred Cosart, Anthony Gose, or Trevor May for an infielder, but would discuss anyone except Brown for a top starting pitcher.
The Reds "are more interested than they're letting on" in Lee, while the Yankees also continue to monitor the Mariners' left-hander.
The Rangers and Dodgers would love to acquire Lee, but would have to give up a slew of prospects to avoid taking on his salary.
According to Stark, there have even been rumblings that the Rays could be a match for the M's ace if they were willing to move B.J. Upton.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Dawson, Ahrens, Rays, Lee

By Mike Axisa | July 2, 2010 at 1:11pm CDT

On this date in 1995, Dodgers right-hander Hideo Nomo became the first Japanese-born player in Major League history to be selected for the All Star Game. Nomo, then a 26-year-old rookie, took the big leagues by storm with his tornado windup and by posting a 1.99 ERA and 11.9 K/9 in 13 first half starts. The All-Star Game was just the tip of the iceberg for Nomo, who went on to win the Rookie of the Year award and finish fourth in the NL Cy Young voting.

Nomo's big league career spanned a dozen seasons with seven teams, and he retired with a 4.24 ERA and two no-hitters to his credit. He's credited with paving the way for Japanese players to permanently relocate to MLB.

Here are a few links from around the baseball blogosphere…

Phoul Ballz interviewed Hall of Famer Andre Dawson.
1 Blue Jays Way interviewed Toronto prospect Kevin Ahrens.
Bullpen Banter offers up a mid-season review of players who showed up to camp in the best shape of their lives.
DRaysBay puts together a wish list of players they really want the Rays to acquire.
Prospect Insider runs down the top prospects of the contenders in the Cliff Lee sweepstakes.
Feeling Dodger Blue says the time has come for Los Angeles to trade Matt Kemp and Russell Martin.
Mets Paradise wonders if the Mets would be interested in acquiring Carlos Zambrano.
Double Bobby Jones doesn't think Jerry Manuel should feel too comfortable despite the Mets' winning ways.

If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here.

Odds & Ends: Lee, Miller, Branyan, Phillies

By Mark Polishuk | July 1, 2010 at 10:52pm CDT

There may be a lot of NBA and NHL rumors and signings floating around today, but the MLB hot stove will only get hotter as we approach the trade deadline. Here are some items from around the majors…

Scott Miller of CBSSports.com speculates that the Angels and Reds could join the Cliff Lee sweepstakes. Perhaps one of them could be the mystery team?
Speaking of that mystery team and the possibility that it could be the Cardinals, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch thinks it would be a bad move for the Cards to deal prospect Shelby Miller.
Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com reports that the Russell Branyan trade was "a very popular move in the Indians' clubhouse. Branyan was great with reporters, but he was not exactly up for team captain consideration by his teammates."
Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com says trying to replace Chase Utley is Ruben Amaro Jr.'s "next big test" as Philadelphia's GM.
Commenting on Tom Krasovic's item about Jayson Werth possibly being on the trade market, ESPN.com's Rob Neyer uses the "pretty far-fetched" rumor as further evidence that the Phillies erred with the Raul Ibanez signing.
Washington manager Jim Riggleman is using the trade deadline as motivation for his team to play well enough that it doesn't get broken up, reports MASNSports.com's Ben Goessling.
With the international signing period beginning tomorrow, Baseball America's Ben Badler ranks players by their projected signing bonuses. The story also provides links to other pieces breaking down what each team is looking for and scouting reports on various international players, though these stories are only available to Baseball America subscribers.
Dan McNeil of the Chicago Tribune thinks Carlos Zambrano is a lost cause with the Cubs and can't believe that Jim Hendry defended Zambrano's contract extension.
With Manny Delcarmen headed to the disabled list today, Joe McDonald of ESPNBoston.com thinks this will force Boston's hand in acquiring a reliever. If the Sox do get some bullpen help, don't expect them to give up any good prospects in return.
Speaking of bullpen deals, Jon Weisman of ESPNLosAngeles.com cites the Josh Bell-for-George Sherrill deal as proof that the Dodgers should be very wary about another trade for a reliever.

Charlie Haeger Clears Waivers

By Luke Adams 2 | June 30, 2010 at 8:52pm CDT

WEDNESDAY: Haeger cleared waivers and the Dodgers assigned him to Triple A, according to MLB.com's transactions page.

FRIDAY: The Dodgers have designated Charlie Haeger for assignment, tweets Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times. As the Times' Steve Dilbeck speculated earlier today, Jon Link will take Haeger's place on the roster, likely only until Monday, when Chad Billingsley should be activated from the disabled list.

Since opening his 2010 season with an impressive 12-strikeout performance, Haeger has struggled mightily, compiling a 9.38 ERA between the rotation and the bullpen. In 24 IP over those eight appearances, the 26-year-old walked 22 batters and allowed hitters to post a 1.001 OPS.

Odds & Ends: A-Rod, Beltre, Athletics, Rockies

By Tim Dierkes | June 29, 2010 at 12:01pm CDT

Links for Tuesday, as Tigers reliever Casey Fien returns to the Majors after spending the offseason in waiver wire hell…

The home run milestone incentives in Alex Rodriguez's contract were the brainchild of Warren Buffett, writes Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News. The milestones start with home run #660; A-Rod currently has 594.
WEEI's Alex Speier has the interesting story of the Dodgers signing Adrian Beltre in 1994 at age 15 by way of falsified documents, including the player's recollection of the situation. I swapped emails with Fred Claire, who was Dodgers GM at the time. Claire takes responsibility for the incident, but "had no awareness that Beltre's birth date had been altered in any way, shape or form" and "would never have approved such an act."
Joe Stiglich of the Contra Costa Times talked with scouts about the Athletics' trade chips. At least one scout prefers Ben Sheets to Kevin Millwood.
Dave Cameron's presciption for the Rockies in this FanGraphs article: move Brad Hawpe to first base and acquire Dan Uggla. Another good read from Cameron is his takedown of the theory that Russell Branyan will bring protection for other Mariners hitters. Speaking of Branyan, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says Seattle's acquisition "stunned" rival executives.
Mike Axisa of River Ave. Blues looks at Octavio Dotel as a potential Yankees trade target, and prefers they do not pursue a reunion.
Howard Megdal of SNY is "reluctant to deal any significant part of the Mets' future for a rental of Cliff Lee." Megdal feels that the team's window to win extends beyond 2010.

Odds & Ends: DePaula, Padres, Yost, Fasano

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | June 28, 2010 at 11:21pm CDT

Links for Monday, as Jason Heyward hits the DL…

Top Dominican pitching prospect Rafael DePaula admitted to using a false name and lying about his age, according to Ben Badler of Baseball America.
Padres CEO Jeff Moorad confirmed something Tom Krasovic of AOL FanHouse reported last week. The Padres are interested in starting pitching and can spend to acquire it.
Royals GM Dayton Moore is not yet thinking about manager Ned Yost's future, according to MLB.com's Dick Kaegel.
MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince hears that Sal Fasano, who currently manages in Toronto's system, is an early candidate to replace Cito Gaston as the Blue Jays' manager in 2011. Fasano, 38, had an 11-year MLB career that included a stint with the Jays in 2007.
Some GMs think the relatively small number of teams with money to spare will limit the trading we see this summer, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney (via Twitter).
There's not a lot of optimism within the Dodgers' organization that the club will be able to add much payroll to improve its pitching staff, writes Olney (Twitter link). Dodgers GM Ned Colletti told MLBTR's Tim Dierkes that the team's ability to make a deal depends on many variables.
Check out Will Carroll's top ten GM candidates in this Baseball Prospectus article (subscription required).
Nolan Ryan may be about to hire former Astros GM Gerry Hunsicker away from the Rays, according to Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle.
Former Astro Chris Burke is considering retirement, according to Michael Grant of the Louisville Courier-Journal. The Reds' Triple A club cut the 30-year-old over the weekend.

Will Dodgers Pursue Bullpen Help?

By Tim Dierkes | June 28, 2010 at 12:04pm CDT

The Dodgers need bullpen help, in the opinion of Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times. Manager Joe Torre has been leaning heavily on closer Jonathan Broxton, who failed to protect a four-run lead against the Yankees last night. Shaikin feels that the Dodgers have only two other reliable relievers – Ronald Belisario and Hong-Chih Kuo.

GM Ned Colletti has already stacked the Albuquerque Isotopes' roster with veteran relievers – Jesus Colome, Jack Taschner, Kiko Calero, and Claudio Vargas are recent additions. Asked over email by MLBTR whether he is looking to upgrade the bullpen and if he'd be open to renting a reliever, Colletti was noncommittal: "Always depends on who is coming in and who is going out." Talking to Shaikin yesterday, Torre said, "I know Ned is certainly not zeroing in on one little area." In other words, Colletti is considering more than just starting pitching.

If Colletti looks to make a deal, I imagine Kerry Wood, Kyle Farnsworth, Octavio Dotel, D.J. Carrasco, Brendan Donnelly, and Javier Lopez can be had. I also wonder about Brandon League, David Aardsma, Brandon Lyon, Matt Lindstrom, Jason Frasor, Scott Downs, Kevin Gregg, and Matt Capps. The remaining salary on these contracts ranges from $413K for Lopez to $5.59MM for Wood.

« Previous Page

Load More Posts

Show all

Headlines

Dodgers Rumors

Navigation

MLBTR INFO

Connect