Olney’s Latest: Sexson, Ibanez, Ortiz
Buster Olney’s blog post is overloaded with rumors today. Here’s a rundown:
- Olney’s Speculation: Will the Red Sox will express interest in Khalil Greene with Julio Lugo on the DL for 4-6 weeks? Olney also wonders if the Dodgers will seek Huston Street if Takashi Saito is seriously hurt.
- Scout Speculation: Huston Street and Matt Murton to the Rays for prospects?
- Bobby Kielty was granted release by the Red Sox.
- Richie Sexson could decide where to go based on greatest offered playing time. I’d say that’s expected for a veteran starter.
- Olney says that requests for Max Scherzer are keeping the Dbacks from making any moves, such as for Raul Ibanez.
- David Ortiz is slated to return to the lineup on July 25th, which leaves the Red Sox less than a week to evaluate him and make a move if necessary. Olney details some options:
- Acquire a hitter during the waiver period after the deadline. This would rule out comparable replacements such as Matt Holliday or Mark Teixeira.
- Make a "preemptive strike" for Holliday or Teixeira costing them "at least one of their best prospects".
- Target a "second or third tier bat" such as Ibanez or Xavier Nady.
- Continue on with or without an effective Ortiz, hoping their offense is good enough.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Holliday, Burnett, Rauch, Ibanez
Ken Rosenthal has a new Full Count video up.
- The Angels are not interest in Matt Holliday, while the Dodgers and Red Sox "could play" on him. Rosenthal names the Nationals as an "intriguing dark horse," saying they’ve been checking up on Holliday. They like the idea of having him for ’09, and could even entertain signing him long-term.
- The Phillies have minimal interest in A.J. Burnett, plus they’re on his 15 team no-trade list. Rosenthal notes that Burnett nearly signed with the Cardinals a few years back, but their interest is not mutual.
- Jon Rauch is a hot commodity, drawing interest from the Rays, Red Sox, and Diamondbacks. His price will exceed that of Brian Fuentes, since he’s under team control through 2010.
- The D’Backs would like to add a left-handed hitting outfielder, and Raul Ibanez is under consideration. Rosenthal suggests Matt Stairs or Tony Clark as possible bench additions.
Stark’s Latest: Burnett, Nady, Greinke, Burrell
FRIDAY: We have an update to Stark’s column – he is now saying that Burnett does have veto power over 15 teams.
THURSDAY: Let’s take a look at Jayson Stark’s latest over at ESPN.com.
- The Phillies and Yankees both made failed runs at CC Sabathia. The Phils wouldn’t include Carlos Carrasco or Lou Marson, while the Yanks insisted on a negotiating window. The Phils are looking at Erik Bedard and A.J. Burnett by default, while neither of those pitchers makes sense for the Yankees. The Yanks checked in on Aaron Harang, but that’s a moot point since he’s ailing.
- Despite the Dodgers’ run at Sabathia, they’re apparently not looking at other starters.
- Ken Rosenthal recently wrote that Burnett had veto power over 15 teams, but Stark’s source says it’s just a handful of teams. It’ll be tough to convince Burnett not to opt out of his contract after the season, unless he’s hurt.
- The Braves still haven’t made the buy/sell decision. If they buy, Xavier Nady is the top target. If they sell, Mark Teixeira is the best chip. Apparently Scott Boras is talking about $23MM per year for Tex this winter.
- The Giants are pretty clearly not trading Matt Cain.
- The Orioles, making a run at .500, don’t seem motivated to move George Sherrill or othe top veterans.
- The Brewers’ Plan B beyond Sabathia was Zack Greinke, rather than Rich Harden. Ken Rosenthal recently said the Royals were "decidedly uninterested in moving Greinke," however.
- Stark says it "wouldn’t be out of the question" for the Cubs to pursue a lefthanded starter like Randy Wolf, despite the Harden acquisition.
- Extension with the Phillies for Pat Burrell did not get very far.
Odds and Ends: Kemp, Kearns, Carrasco, Garcia
Friday linkage…
- Yesterday I linked to Dave Cameron’s piece, in which he wondered whether Matt Kemp is overrated. Here’s the other side of the debate, a response from Mike Scioscia’s Tragic Illness.
- Joe Sports Fans names the seven worst trades of the decade. I have some arguments here; what do you think? I wrote this post on the Pierzynski/Nathan/Liriano/Bonser deal two years ago, but I still think it holds that Brian Sabean’s trade looked reasonable at the time.
- Joel Sherman wonders if the Mets and Yankees should consider trading for Washington outfielder Austin Kearns.
- Matt Gelb takes a look at Phillies prospect Carlos Carrasco, who does not want to be traded.
- The Yankees rightfully don’t view Freddy Garcia as much of an upgrade, since he won’t be ready until late August at the earliest.
- Tracy Ringolsby runs through various players on the trade market. Interestingly, he does not see A.J. Burnett being traded.
- Cardinals Diaspora suggests the Cards tangle with Billy Beane again, this time for Joe Blanton.
- Dave Dombrowski doesn’t see Ryan Perry in the Tigers’ bullpen this year, after all.
- Armchair GM challenges SI.com’s Jon Heyman to put his money where his mouth is.
No One Wants Bonds
FRIDAY: Just to hammer it home a little further, we have Bonds rejections from the Dodgers, Yankees, Cardinals, and Phillies today.
THURSDAY: Barry Bonds‘ agent Jeff Borris makes it clear that none of the 30 teams are interested in his client:
"I am not talking to any club about Barry Bonds, because they all made it very clear to me they are not interested in him. Every club. I can’t believe he doesn’t have a job. No one has offered even the minimum salary. He made the All-Star team last year, and there’s no reason to believe he wouldn’t have a repeat performance in 2008, except for the conspiracy against him."
Borris says Bonds could be ready in ten days. Contenders such as the Angels, Rays, Tigers, and A’s have gotten subpar performance out of the DH spot but they’ve all decided to pass on Bonds for various reasons. Borris would have to admit that even some of these clubs would have trouble fitting Bonds onto the roster.
Jays Scouting Dodgers’ A Ball Team
Yesterday I neglected to mention a nugget from Jeff Blair’s blog post:
Sources say the Blue Jays have also zeroed in on the Los Angeles Dodgers, and have had people at games involving their Single-A Great Lakes Loons affiliate.
The best prospects on that team are probably Bryan Morris and Andrew Lambo, according to Baseball America. But how would the Dodgers and Jays match up?
Matt Stairs might make sense for the Dodgers. On July 1st, Ken Rosenthal suggested he’d be perfect and that the two teams had spoken. The Dodgers have also been linked to David Eckstein. A.J. Burnett is unlikely – Jayson Stark said yesterday that the Dodgers probably weren’t looking for pitchers after missing out on CC Sabathia.
Dodgers Sign First Round Pick Ethan Martin
As expected, the Dodgers signed their first round pick Ethan Martin today for about $1.7MM. He was a pitcher and third baseman in high school, and the Dodgers intend to use him as a pitcher.
The Dodgers have taken many high school pitchers in the first round recently: Chris Withrow, Clayton Kershaw, Scott Elbert, and Chad Billingsley.
Phillies Like Burnett, Lowe
12:58pm: Jeff Blair of The Globe and Mail has details on the Phillies’ pursuit of Burnett. He says the Jays are scouting the Phils’ Double A club, and like Greg Golson, Carlos Carrasco, Lou Marson, Jason Donald, and Brad Harman. It seems that Carrasco, Golson, or Marson would have to be in a deal. Blair says the Phillies might try to convince Burnett not to opt out of his contract so he can remain near his Baltimore home for the 2009-10 seasons.
Additionally, the Phillies inquired about Derek Lowe‘s availability with the Dodgers.
11:46am: Pitching and hitting…two things you need to win baseball games. Insightful, eh? The Philles are looking for both – manager Charlie Manuel wants a "blue-chip pitcher" as well as a "good bat."
Pitching is the team’s priority. David Murphy bandies about names like A.J. Burnett, Roy Oswalt, and Erik Bedard. Or the Phillies could look to the B list, like they did last year when they acquired Kyle Lohse. Lohse, by the way, wasn’t a fan of the "B list" comment by Pat Gillick.
So who’s on the ’08 B list? I’ll suggest Bronson Arroyo, Joe Blanton, Boof Bonser, Greg Maddux, Randy Wolf, Jarrod Washburn, Odalis Perez, Jason Marquis, Tim Redding, and Paul Byrd. Most of these guys appeared on my June 4th look at the starting pitching market. I’ll try to revisit that list this afternoon with a fresh post.
On the hitting side, the Phillies don’t have an obvious position to upgrade. Thoughts?
Odds and Ends: Taveras, Kemp, Mota
Today’s random linkage.
- Correction to the Justin Duchscherer post – he only has one more arbitration year, not two. He’s set to reach free agency after the ’09 season.
- Rob Neyer points us to a quality interview with Yankees beat writer Tyler Kepner over at NoMaas.org.
- MLB.com’s Jim Molony says the Marlins have renewed interest in Rockies center fielder Willy Taveras.
- LEN3 thinks the Twins need a reliever more than anything.
- Dave Cameron wonders if Matt Kemp is overrated.
- Craig Brown of Royals Authority examines the team’s trade candidates.
- The Padres’ Paul DePodesta runs through his team’s top trade candidates as well as general considerations in trading.
- The Dodgers are close to signing their first-round pick, Ethan Martin.
- Oscar Villarreal refused the Astros’ assignment to the minors and may be released. Also at this link, the Astros have an offer out to first round pick Jason Castro.
- The Indians signed Bryan Bullington, the Pirates’ first overall pick in ’02.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Sabathia, Burnett, Fuentes, Guillen
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.