Odds and Ends: Lowe, Arroyo, Chacon
Here’s today’s link roundup.
- Jacque Jones has elected free agency. Does he have anything left?
- Derek Lowe, Scott Boras, Ned Colletti, and Joe Torre had some kind of cryptic meeting.
- Draft nugget: the D’Backs were eyeing Allan Dykstra as their first-round pick until the Padres took him.
- Jason Rosenberg interviewed agent Matt Sosnick.
- Bronson Arroyo commented on the recent trade rumors. I think this rumor, in particular.
- Shawn Chacon, demoted to the pen, is not a happy camper.
- Koji Uehara is also going to the bullpen.
- Brandon Webb was affected by his contract negotiations.
- ESPN’s Keith Law joined the Drunk Jays Fans podcast to chat about the recent turmoil in Toronto.
- Joe Saunders, originally drafted by the Phillies, had a bad experience (as he tells it).
Dodgers Would Allow Ms To Talk To Ng, White
Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times talked to Dodgers GM Ned Colletti, who said the Dodgers would grant permission for the Mariners to talk to executives Kim Ng and Logan White. The Mariners haven’t asked; most believe they’ll wait until the offseason to choose their long-term GM. On a related topic, news surfaced Thursday that the Padres would not allow the Mariners to talk to Kevin Towers.
Ng is the Dodgers’ Vice President and Assistant GM; she seems destined to become the game’s first female general manager. White is the team’s Assistant GM, Scouting. He has stocked the Dodgers with tons of young talent over the past several years. I’m sure Colletti wishes the best for his top execs. But you have to admit, both might become threats for the Dodger job down the road.
Perrotto’s Latest: Sabathia, Bradley
Time to take a spin through John Perrotto’s lastest column over at Baseball Prospectus.
- C.C. Sabathia suitors named: Yankees, Phillies, Cubs, Red Sox, Rays, and Angels. The Rays seem to be a new name; DRays Bay has a comment thread up on it. Jon Heyman has similar names but adds the Dodgers to the mix.
- The Rangers are apparently warming to the idea of trading Milton Bradley (they’re 7.5 games back) but they could still re-sign him in the offseason.
Cafardo’s Latest: Buyers & Sellers
Nick Cafardo kicks the tires in a full page spread in today’s Boston Globe, listing a handful of teams who are winding up to buy and sell. To paraphrase Cafardo’s recap:
Phillies: Smelling World Series, they see C.C. Sabathia, Erik Bedard, A.J. Burnett, Bronson Arroyo, and Derek Lowe as potential targets.
Braves: Still deciding whether to shop or re-sign Mark Teixeira, or neither, and in turn whether to trade for a starter to win a division, as Cafardo says, "nobody is running away with."
Mariners: The decision of whether or not to release Richie Sexson is imminent, and the M’s are expected to start shopping Raul Ibanez, Jose Vidro, Carlos Silva, and Bedard.
Blue Jays: Can their pitching carry them back into contention when Alex Rios and Vernon Wells aren’t producing as expected? The Jays can sell Burnett, Matt Stairs, David Eckstein, and maybe Scott Rolen.
Reds: On their way to last place, Arroyo can be dealt and replaced, perhaps, by Homer Bailey next year. Ken Griffey Jr. is still wearing red.
Indians: Will find it very difficult to deal Sabathia for a package comparable to what the Mets got for Johan Santana. Paul Byrd could also go.
Dodgers: Could perhaps deal Matt Kemp or Chad Billingsley for Sabathia. They’re also looking at Bedard. They need to get back to .500 to really compete and will need pitching to get them there.
Yankees: Giving up Melky Cabrera may be the only way the Yankees can land a front line starter to replace Chien Ming Wang, but Brian Cashman is not keen to do so.
Pirates: Looking for righthanded power, the Pirates still have Jason Bay (among others).
Be sure to check out Tim’s thorough Trade Market Summary for more insight.
By Nat Boyle
Olney’s Latest: Sabathia, Sexson
Must-read alongside your bowl of Cocoa Pebbles is Buster Olney’s Saturday morning blog post:
If the C.C. Sabathia trade rumors were a horse race, he writes, as of today these teams would be the favorites:
- Milwaukee Brewers
- Chicago Cubs
- Los Angeles Dodgers
- Texas Rangers
- Boston Red Sox
The problem is, he notes, some of these teams may or may not be in contention by the trade deadline; and/or could be bluffing.
On more serious note, all the recent managerial changes in Seattle have clouded Richie Sexson‘s future with the Mariners. Olney points us to Seattle Times writer Larry Stone’s notebook, and the not-so-secret rumblings that Sexson’s days with the M’s may be numbered.
Stone reports the Mariners may be thinking about releasing Sexson or DFAing him. Before Friday’s game with the Braves, when asked if he expected to be with the team after the weekend series, Sexson told reporters:
"I don’t know. I’m just going to play. I really can’t worry about that, and I’m not going to worry about that. I know if things don’t work out here, there’s a lot of other teams out there. I know I can still play the game. I’m not worried about never playing again. It doesn’t concern me."
Alejandro A. Leal writes for UmpBump.com. Rumors? Comments? Email me: alexo05 [at] umpbump [dot] com.
Possible Replacements For Bavasi In Seattle
John Hickey of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer is reporting that the Mariners already have a list of names that they are considering to replace the fired Bill Bavasi.
Yesterday, we saw several sources that speculated on the next GM. Hickey spoke with a former GM who came up with a list of eight names that could possibly fill the post.
- Kevin Towers, current San Diego Padres GM: Hickey notes that Towers has stuck with San Diego through a recent front office transition and may prefer to stay with the Pads.
- Brian Cashman, current New York Yankees GM: The M’s wanted to talk to Cashman in ’03 but were rebuked. They may get a better chance this time to land a GM that once said "who wouldn’t want [The Mariners] job."
- Kim Ng, Los Angeles Dodgers assistant GM: Was previously a candidate for the Dodgers job and is considered ready to be a GM.
- Jerry DiPoto, Arizona Diamondbacks director of player personnel
- Tony Bernazard, New York Mets vice president of player development: Previously a candidate for the Pirates job, Hickey wonders if Bernazard might want out with the Mets in flux.
- Chris Antonetti, Cleveland Indians VP of baseball operations: Hickey notes that Antonetti may prefer to stay in Cleveland, having previously turned down an offer from the Pirates to interview for their GM post.
- Mike Rizzo, Washington Nationals assistant GM and VP of baseball operations
- Dave Forst, Oakland Athletics assistant GM
Gammons’ Latest: Sabathia, Dunn, Harden
ESPN’s Peter Gammons has a new blog post up.
- The Indians are "thoroughly scouting" eight teams that may be interested in C.C. Sabathia, including the Yankees, Red Sox, Cubs, and Dodgers (the Mets may be another). Gammons agrees with Ken Rosenthal that Mark Shapiro may trade Sabathia soon to maximize his value. Gammons does not see the Yanks jumping in with Phil Hughes or a multi-prospect offer, unless Chien-Ming Wang‘s injury forces their hand. He does not think the Cubs or Phillies have the goods, but suggests the Rangers as a dark horse.
- If the Cubs don’t have enough for Sabathia, Plan B could be Randy Wolf, Greg Maddux, or even Erik Bedard. The Padres and Mariners have been informed of the Cubs’ interest.
- Gammons seems to indicate that Mark Teixeira could be available if the Braves fall out of the race (although Tex is not mentioned by name).
- The Dodgers may have been open to trading Brad Penny, but his shoulder injury puts the kibosh on that.
- Adam Dunn‘s whifftastic ways scare the Red Sox, who might pass even if David Ortiz needs surgery. Gammons suggests Josh Willingham would be a better fit.
- Rich Harden could be a huge acquisition, one of the game’s most dominating pitchers. It’s the same story though – will any team be willing to meet Billy Beane’s asking price given Harden’s injury history?
Rosenthal’s Latest: Kemp, Bradley, Fuentes, Street
New Rosenthal. Seems like he just put a column out a few days ago.
- Rosenthal believes the Dodgers would consider trading a young player (especially Matt Kemp) for a slugger. He discusses what it would take to get Jason Bay, Magglio Ordonez, Adam Dunn, or Matt Holliday. This all seems like a bad idea for the Dodgers.
- There are certainly arguments for the Rangers to keep or even extend Milton Bradley. But Rosenthal thinks he could net "multiple high-end prospects" if Jon Daniels goes the trade route. He says the Rangers could shop some of their veterans while also trying to acquire a controllable reliever.
- Rosenthal’s best guess is that the Pirates will trade Xavier Nady or Jason Bay but not both. He says Neal Huntington is not under pressure to clear salary.
- The Cubs are interested in Brian Fuentes, which is a new one. Rosenthal adds that Jim Hendry plans to pursue the best available starter.
- The Brewers have many quality minor league trade chips, and they may be looking for a starter.
- Minimal trade interest in Huston Street, and the A’s have backed off the extension idea.
- The Yankees are "aggressively" trying to move LaTroy Hawkins.
- The Dodgers wanted to do an Esteban Loaiza–Juan Uribe swap, but the Sox just waited them out and signed Loaiza.
- Rosenthal says the Phillies "lack the prospect inventory" to get an impact starting pitcher, which I don’t agree with. He says they may look for another lefty reliever or bench bat.
Dodgers Acquire Berroa From Royals
9:49pm The LA Daily News is reporting that the Royals are picking all of Berroa’s ’08 salary.
9:32pm The Kansas City Star is reporting that the Royals have traded Angel Berroa and cash to the Dodgers for minor leaguer Juan Rivera.
Berroa, the ’03 AL Rookie of the Year, spent most of ’07 and all of ’08 in triple-A. He was hitting .291/.323/.519 with 10 home runs in 51 games this season for Omaha. Juan Rivera is hitting .241/.267/.345 in single-A.
Berroa is making $4.75MM this season and there is a $5.5MM club option for ’09 with a $0.5MM buyout.
Cork Gaines writes for Rays Index and can be reached here.
Yanks, Cashman To Talk Extension
According to Ed Price of the Newark Star-Ledger, Hank Steinbrenner will discuss an extension with GM Brian Cashman this week (hat tip to River Avenue Blues). Steinbrenner’s "impression" is that both sides want to continue the relationship.
Possibilities if Cashman wants a change: the opening in Philadelphia, and Seattle if the Mariners fire Bill Bavasi. Bavasi blames himself for putting together the last-place Ms.