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Odds and Ends: Taveras, Kemp, Mota

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Today’s random linkage.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Sabathia, Burnett, Fuentes, Guillen

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Ken Rosenthal has a new column up.  I updated the second bullet about Burnett – I had omitted an interesting rumor accidentally.

  • The Dodgers could’ve gotten CC Sabathia, Casey Blake, and Jamey Carroll without giving up Matt Kemp.  Owner Frank McCourt may have killed the deal, though he denies it.  Rosenthal describes the Dodgers as a "near-impossible trading partner."
  • Rosenthal reminds us that A.J. Burnett can veto trades to 15 teams and would probably require compensation to waive that right or his opt-out rights.  Rosenthal also says the Jays offered Burnett to the Brewers for J.J. Hardy, but the Brewers passed and then acquired CC Sabathia.
  • The Rays are named as the frontrunner for Brian Fuentes.  Fuentes has been linked to nine clubs in various reports.
  • Players such as Orlando Cabrera, Cristian Guzman, Jack Wilson, and Hardy may be hot commodities this winter given the large number of teams looking for a shortstop.
  • The Royals received inquiries on Jose Guillen in the wake of his scuffle with the team’s pitching coach.  However, the Royals plan to keep him.
  • The Padres hope to acquire up-the-middle players.  On a related note, Randy Wolf had a nice start last night.

Odds and Ends: Resop, Myers, Gallardo, Fuentes

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Today’s link collection:

  • Joel Sherman says the Mets would be willing to eat some money on a contract to reduce the prospect price for a corner outfielder.  He suggests names like Xavier Nady, Raul Ibanez, Randy Winn, and Adam Dunn.  The salary-eating strategy would probably only help with Winn.
  • The Hanshin Tigers purchased reliever Chris Resop’s contract from the Braves.
  • Ricky Bottalico says Brett Myers wants to be traded, but Myers and the Phillies denied it.
  • It would be cool to see Yovani Gallardo return this year, if only to see him line up with CC Sabathia and Ben Sheets for a brief period of time.  That’s three aces.
  • The Yankees are still interested in Rockies closer Brian Fuentes; the Rox might be interested in Mark Melancon.
  • More rumblings that the Dodger front office is confusing other teams.
  • SI.com’s Jon Heyman ranks the most impactful potentially available players, raising the question of whether impactful is a word.  Heyman also includes odds of each player being dealt.

Dodgers Looking For Shortstop Help

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TUESDAY, 3:49pm: MLB.com’s Jim Molony chimes in on the Dodgers’ hunt for a shortstop.  He says they’ll give Nomar Garciaparra a chance, but they are also considering Toronto’s David Eckstein.  Back on July 3rd, the Baltimore Sun suggested the Orioles were looking at Eckstein.

TUESDAY, 8:53am: Dejan Kovacevic puts the brakes on the Jack Wilson-to-L.A. rumor.  He says that while Wilson is not untouchable, the Pirates are not likely to trade him.  They consider him affordable and do not have a capable replacement.

Kovacevic says talks with the Dodgers "seem dormant," and the Dodgers never offered a player from their Major League roster.  Additional unknown teams have also called about Wilson.

MONDAY: John Perrotto of the Beaver County Times wrote an article Sunday concerning the Dodgers’ pursuit of Pirates shortstop Jack Wilson.  Wilson, 30, is hitting .306/.348/.361 in 160 plate appearances this year.  He’s under contract next year for $7.25MM with an $8.4MM club option for ’10.  Wilson can block trades to six teams.

Perrotto wrote that Wilson is the Dodgers’ primary trade target.  He says "a Dodgers source indicated that Los Angeles might be willing to deal center fielder Matt Kemp."  A Kemp acquisition would create a logjam until the Pirates are able to move Jason Bay or Xavier Nady.  Failing that, Perrotto’s sources indicate the Bucs have interest in pitcher James McDonald and shortstop Chin-lung Hu. 

Ken Rosenthal wrote this morning that the Dodgers’ bid for Wilson is on hold as they restructure their offer.  If the Dodgers get him, that should eliminate any chance of re-signing Rafael Furcal.

CC Sabathia Links

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The CC Sabathia trade is complete, but there’s still some good info floating about.

Sabathia To Brewers Trade Official

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Let’s round up today’s C.C. Sabathia links in a fresh post.

  • The Brewers’ trade for ace pitcher C.C. Sabathia is official.  As a reminder, the Indians will receive Matt LaPorta, Rob Bryson, Zach Jackson, and maybe Taylor Green.  Paul Hoynes says Michael Brantley could end up the player to be named later instead of Green.  Ken Rosenthal suggests Lorenzo Cain may also still be possible.  MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo analyzes the prospects received by the Indians.
  • Here’s an interesting link.  This is apparently the blog of agent Joshua Kusnick of Double Diamond Sports Management.  Among others, Kusnick represents Cain, Brantley, and Green.  He says Green hasn’t been informed of anything but seems more likely to be included than Brantley.
  • Yahoo’s Jeff Passan calls the package of players an "OK haul."
  • ESPN’s Keith Law agrees, suggesting that Mark Shapiro should’ve held out for a higher probability return.  He sees Bryson as the key to the deal.  The 20 year-old is a projectable live arm.
  • Joel Sherman says the Brewers aren’t done – they want to add a late-inning reliever as well.
  • Indians owner Paul Dolan explains the Sabathia trade in a letter to fans.
  • Rosenthal has details of other teams’ attempts to acquire Sabathia.  He says the Dodgers wanted the Indians to package Sabathia with Casey Blake.  Surprisingly, the Yankees were "very heavily involved."  They did not want to give up Phil Hughes, however.
  • Most articles seem to assume that the Brewers have no chance of signing Sabathia.  I agree that it’s unlikely, but I wouldn’t rule it out.  We’ve read repeatedly that Sabathia does not intend to chase every last dollar.  What if he loves Milwaukee and he leads the team deep into the playoffs?  The Brewers could let Ben Sheets and Eric Gagne leave and put that money toward a competitive five-year Sabathia offer.  It’s not out of the question.

Odds and Ends: Jack Wilson, Victor Zambrano, Bedard

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Time to round up some non-Sabathia links.

Rays, Dodgers Interested In Casey Blake

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The Indians have marketable veterans aside from C.C. Sabathia.  Take third baseman Casey Blake, who’s hitting .353/.414/.529 since the beginning of June.  He’s owed about $2.8MM for the remainder of the season and figures to draw decent trade attention.

Baseball Prospectus’ Will Carroll says "there’s some rumor that Tampa Bay has interest" in Blake.  Blake could fill the role of right-handed hitting right fielder.  The Rays have also been linked to outfielders Matt Murton and Xavier Nady.

Blake has also drawn interest from the Dodgers, who wanted to get him in a C.C. Sabathia deal.

Brewers Close To Acquiring C.C. Sabathia

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10:11pm: Haudricourt has names.  He says the Indians are getting LaPorta, Zach Jackson, Rob Bryson, and maybe Taylor Green.  Green could end up in the deal as a player to be named later.

Also, Rosenthal has commentary on the deal, explaining that "in baseball’s new-world order, prospects are power."  The ability to draft brilliantly could trump payroll as a competitive advantage.

7:59pm: ESPN’s Buster Olney chimes in, citing sources that say the teams have agreed in principle to a deal.  Sabathia himself sent a text message to ESPN’s Amy Nelson implying the same.  All signs point to Sabathia making his Brewers debut on Tuesday, with an official trade announcement tomorrow.

By the way, Yahoo’s Jeff Passan has sources saying LaPorta and Green are in the deal.

6:29pm: MLB.com’s Anthony Castrovince talked to Indians GM Mark Shapiro, who said "it is definitely not a done deal."  We don’t know whether that comment refers to the standard physical, or something more.  Meanwhile, Scott Miller says the deal is all but done.

6:05pm: Haudricourt says the Indians and Brewers have reached an agreement on a Sabathia trade.  The Brewers will send LaPorta and two lower level minor leaguers to Cleveland for the southpaw ace.

5:53pm: Haudricourt checks back in, stating that a deal is nearly complete. The Brewers will send LaPorta and two other minor leaguers in exchange for Sabathia. One of them could likely be Class A third baseman Taylor Green, but the other will not be Lorenzo Cain, Mat Gamel, or Alcides Escobar. Cain has been promoted to Class AA Huntsville, likely to take LaPorta’s place on the roster.

The Brewers are insisting that the deal be closed tonight, in order to allow Sabathia to arrive in Milwaukee in time to make his next scheduled start on Tuesday.

5:41pm: LaPorta is absent from tonight’s game in AA Huntsville; Alcides Escobar is not. Definitely a sign that LaPorta could be on the move and a deal is getting closer to completion.

4:50pm: Tom Haudricourt tells us that the Brewers and Indians are still in "heavy negotiations." Haudricourt notes that with the Indians having a day off tomorrow, it makes an ideal time for a press conference to announce a big move. Additionally, he reiterates that the Brewers should try to get the deal done in time to have Sabathia make his next scheduled start in a Brewers uniform.

3:54pm: Jon Heyman weighs in on the impending Sabathia deal, stating that the Indians have been trying to pry top shortstop prospect Alcides Escobar away from the Brewers as well. Heyman re-affirms that the Brewers would like a deal complete as soon as possible, in order to get two starts from Sabathia – one Tuesday and one Sunday – before the All-Star Break.

No mention of the unconfirmed report of the deal being completed from Heyman just yet.

3:15pm: Anthony Castrovince from MLB.com takes Rosenthal’s rumor one step further, citing a "Major League source," that says a trade with the Brewers and Indians for C.C. Sabathia has been "completed." If correct, the trade is indeed centered around Double-A outfielder Matt LaPorta, though the other two prospects are not yet named.

Further updates as soon as they are available.

1:58pm: Ken Rosenthal writes that the Dodgers are officially out of the C.C. Sabathia sweepstakes, meaning that the Brewers could be extremely close to securing a deal to bring the 2007 American League Cy Young Award winner to Milwaukee.

Rosenthal says that the Rays and Phillies are still in the race, but are also likely unable to top the Brewers’ offer, centered around Class AA outfielder Matt LaPorta. Rosenthal points out the Indians’ strong need for power in the future and LaPorta’s 20 HR and 66 RBI in AA Huntsville. According to Rosenthal, Cleveland will also receive two more prospects from Milwaukee in the current offer. Taylor Green and Lorenzo Cain were mentioned previously on MLBTR.

Week In Review

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Continuing with Tim’s new tradition, here’s my take on some of the top rumors of the week from June 29 – July 6:

  • The C.C. Sabathia sweepstakes is nearing an end, with the Brewers’ Matt LaPorta package being the frontrunner. We’ll let everyone know the full story as soon as possible.
  • The Phillies extended Brad Lidge to a three-year contract. Lidge looks like his old self – great deal for Philadelphia. Looks like this means Brett Myers will remain in the rotation if he can get back on track.
  • We heard a lot about the Rays’ growing interest for Colorado closer Brian Fuentes. They could be preparing an offer. Troy Percival has been good, but injury prone, and you almost hate to move Dan Wheeler from the eighth inning where he’s been so good all year.
  • The shortstop market is hot, as the Dodgers, Orioles, and Jays would all like to upgrade. The Dodgers are interested in Jack Wilson, while the Orioles are looking at David Eckstein and possibly Juan Uribe or Felipe Lopez. The Jays could look to move A.J. Burnett and his contract for an upgrade there as well. Interesting that Toronto wants an upgrade over Eckstein, while Baltimore looks at him as an upgrade…
  • The Indians finally cut Joe Borowski loose, designating him for assignment. Was this too little too late? They tried to sneak Craig Breslow through waivers earlier this year. I’m guessing they’d rather have the 1.42 ERA he’s posted this season than Borowski’s 7.56, but the Twins are enjoying Breslow’s benefits.
  • Could the Angels add Matt Holliday? Seems unlikely with the stockpile of large contracts they already have in their outfield if you ask me.
  • The A’s signed Michel Inoa for $4.25MM on Thursday.
  • The Padres will be sellers this July. The onslaught of injuries have made this a frustrating season for San Diego. If you’d been able to see Adrian Gonzalez’s monster numbers through July 1 before the season started, who would’ve believed this team wasn’t contending? Wow.
  • For those who are interested, Tim looked at this past years’ offseason moves and compiled an All-Star lineup of free agent hitters signed prior to the 2008 season. That’d be a heck of a team to try to beat right now…
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