Giants Did Not Discuss Trade For Hoffman
According to Henry Schulman of The SF Chronicle, the "Giants did not even discuss a trade for (Trevor) Hoffman, making it likely the Giants claimed him to block the Dodgers or Rockies from getting him." We heard that a trade was unlikely when the waiver claim was originally made.
"It didn't seem to get too much of a head of steam," said Hoffman.
As Schulman points out, if the move was in fact made to block other clubs from acquiring Hoffman, it could end up being significant. The Rockies, who lead San Francisco by just one game for the NL Wildcard, just lost closer Huston Street to right biceps tendinitis for the foreseeable future.
Hoffman, baseball's career saves leader with 584, is enjoying another tremendous season at age 41, pitching to a 1.71 ERA and a 0.98 WHIP in 42 IP.
Heyman On Holliday, Red Sox, Pedro, Bradley
The latest from SI's Jon Heyman…
- Heyman covers numerous examples of National League GMs mining the American League scrap heap.
- Heyman agrees with Jayson Stark's note yesterday, that the Yankees will allow Derek Jeter to enter his walk year unsigned and worry about it after the 2010 season.
- The Cardinals will try hard to retain Matt Holliday, but Heyman believes the Yankees, Mets, and Red Sox could be in the mix for the slugger.
- Heyman discusses future shortstop possibilities for the Red Sox – they could retain Alex Gonzalez or go after Marco Scutaro. He says they "don't seem anxious" to bring Orlando Cabrera back.
- Pedro Martinez is looking good, and Heyman says only the Phillies and Rangers had real interest. The Cubs and Brewers were on the fringes.
- Heyman talked to two GMs about the Cubs and Milton Bradley. One thought the Cubs could unload him by eating half his remaining $21MM; another thought they'd need to assume almost all the money. I am not a Bradley apologist; he's certainly been a distraction. But how would subtracting a .394 OBP make the Cubs' middling offense better?
Rosenthal On Cameron, Penny, Dye
Time for a look at the latest from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports…
- The Yankees and Brewers discussed a Mike Cameron trade (again) in August, but never came close to a deal. We learned earlier today from ESPN's Jayson Stark that the Marlins were also interested. Cameron, however, hopes to remain with the Brewers past this season.
- The Yankees had "serious interest" in Brad Penny as well, but the big righty preferred the NL and the Giants' ballpark. Penny recently said he'd be willing to return to the AL East, but the smart money's on him signing in the NL after the season.
- Rosenthal learned that Jermaine Dye had the right to convert his $12MM mutual option into a player option if traded. That was probably one of several reasons the Giants did not pursue him. We learned from Stark that the White Sox "wanted something good" for Dye.
- Rosenthal expects Astros manager Cecil Cooper to be fired even though he's under contract through next year. He believes former Phillies manager Jim Fregosi could be a candidate to replace him.
Cameron Might Take Discount To Stay In Milwaukee
Center fielder Mike Cameron "would be willing to make a sacrifice" to remain with the Brewers beyond this year, according to MLB.com's Adam McCalvy. (Hat tip to Aaron Gleeman, and check out his analysis as well). McCalvy notes Cameron's $10MM salary and likely Type B status. Gleeman writes of Cameron's continued defensive prowess, and says the center fielder is already a bargain at 10 mil. FanGraphs agrees.
The free agent market does not have many legitimate starting center fielders. Beyond Cameron, Marlon Byrd may be the best bet. Coco Crisp is another decent possibility, should the Royals decline his $8MM option. Rick Ankiel will be out there, though the Boras client has not impressed in his contract year.
Stark On Lackey, Rays, Jeter
More from Jayson Stark's Rumblings and Grumblings column at ESPN.com…
- One of Stark's sources says the Angels' acquisition of Scott Kazmir is not linked to John Lackey's future. Lackey is said to have dropped his price from the C.C. Sabathia range ($161MM over seven years) to A.J. Burnett money ($82.5MM over five years) due to his recent injury history. The Angels will attempt to re-sign Lackey, but they have their limit. Stark's suggestion that Lackey had a "Sabathia-esque" price tag in Spring Training runs counter to Mike DiGiovanna's report that the pitcher wanted Burnett money at that time.
- Stark feels that the Rays' trade of Kazmir will help them allocate money toward retaining Carl Crawford and/or Carlos Pena. Crawford's 2010 club option is worth between $10-11.5MM. Pena is signed at $10.125MM for '10 and is represented by Scott Boras. One positive: the slugging first baseman inked a below-market deal in January of '08.
- Derek Jeter is not talking about his next contract, but Stark feels the Yankees will take care of him. They may wait until after next season, when Jeter finishes his current deal.
- Rockies manager Jim Tracy is familiar with Brad Penny, and his opinion might have caused the team to back off. And the Yankees cooled Jon Garland because they didn't see him as a difference-maker in the AL East.
- The Marlins were in on Mike Cameron, but the Brewers decided to keep their players and win as many games as possible.
- The White Sox "wanted something good" for Jermaine Dye, according to one Stark source. He would not have been as easy to pry away as Jim Thome and Jose Contreras were.
- A couple of sources are skeptical that the Red Sox will shop closer Jonathan Papelbon this winter.
- Stark notes that only two players – Ryan Franklin and David Eckstein – signed extensions in-season. These days it makes more sense to talk during the exclusive negotiation period after the season. Plus, there were many bargains to be had on the free agent market last offseason.
Odds And Ends: Grabow, Brewers, Blue Jays
Time for another round of links…
- John Grabow tells Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times that he enjoys playing for the Cubs and likes the city of Chicago. Grabow, who becomes a free agent after the season, sounds open to re-signing with the Cubs.
- Manager Ken Macha thinks the Brewers could use some power arms, according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
- Tyler Hissey of Around the Majors argues that the J.D. Drew contract- $70MM over five years- isn't quite as bad as people think.
- Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi tells Mark Zwolinski of the Toronto Star that he takes full responsibility for the Blue Jays' disappointing play. The club has faded steadily since its 27-14 start.
Who Will Catch For The Brewers In 2010?
The Brewers face a tough decision about who to put behind the plate next year, according to Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. Veterans Jason Kendall and Mike Rivera have said they want the job, and prospect Angel Salome is an option as well.
Kendall, who has caught the majority of Milwaukee's games for the last two seasons and is approaching free agency, has made it clear that he would like to return next year. "This is my first choice and they know that," Kendall said. "I really, really love it here."
Meanwhile, Rivera feels like he is ready for full-time duty. He is about to turn 33, but will be eligible for arbitration for the first time after this season. He hit well in limited duty last year and has hit .241 with 2 homers in 83 at-bats this year.
Salome has battled injuries this year, but posted a.360/.415/.559 line at AA Huntsville as a 22-year-old last season. According to McCalvy, he "should be ready to make the leap" from prospect to pro next year.
McCalvy writes that the Brewers will not make any decisions until the offseason and that who will win the job is "anybody's guess."
Heyman On Dye, Felix, Cameron
The latest from SI's Jon Heyman…
- Heyman's sources say the Giants "made no overtures" to acquire Chicago outfielder Jermaine Dye, who Sox GM Ken Williams made available a few days ago. Dye is hitting .260/.339/.474 in 495 plate appearances on the season after a terrible August.
- Heyman talked to "competing execs" who believe the Mariners will try hard to sign young ace Felix Hernandez to an extension during the offseason. If that completely fails then we might hear trade rumors. Hernandez, 24 in April, has a 2.77 ERA and 179 strikeouts in 185.3 innings this year. He's under team control through 2011. Six teams made offers for Felix at the trade deadline this year, including the Tigers, Red Sox, and Rays.
- Three teams expressed interest in Brewers center fielder Mike Cameron, and Heyman isn't sure why Doug Melvin held onto him. The Brewers could've potentially saved $2MM.
- Heyman's heard the initial bids to buy the Rangers have been weak.
Odds & Ends: Posey, Maybin, Penny
Links for Wednesday…
- Due to Bengie Molina's injury, the Giants have changed their mind and called up top prospect Buster Posey according to Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News. So Posey's clock starts earlier than planned.
- Speaking of service time, MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith tells me Cameron Maybin's call-up gives him 129 days of service time after this year. That puts him on the fringe of Super Two status after the 2011 season.
- ESPN's Jerry Crasnick ranks the impact of trades made by contenders in July. He talked to an exec who thinks Matt Holliday "could make an extra $3MM a year as a free agent this winter because of his strong finish."
- Yahoo's Gordon Edes has his trade deadline winners and losers.
- Ryan Doumit's agent Matt Sosnick shot down recent negativity surrounding his client, while Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette gets to the bottom of the catcher's recent benching.
- Brad Penny still hates the Dodgers, a team he'll face twice this month according to Baggarly. Baggarly also has a quote from Penny ripping on the Marlins.
- Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel has more from Brewers shortstop J.J. Hardy, who knows he gained trade value when the team delayed his free agency.
- J.C. Bradbury of Sabernomics wonders whether the Braves should pick up Tim Hudson's $12MM option for 2010. Hudson has the right to void that option, not that he would. Back in January Dave O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution said the Braves "fully intend to exercise it, barring some unexpected turn of events."
- Dave Cameron of FanGraphs notes that Kendry Morales has matched the production of the Angels' former first baseman, $180MM man Mark Teixeira.
- Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic has comments from Diamondbacks GM Josh Byrnes on the team's Jon Rauch–Kevin Mulvey swap. Piecoro says the D'Backs have about $23MM to work with this winter as they presumably look to add pitching.
- Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times guesses Ken Griffey Jr. will retire after this season.
Odds & Ends: Penny, Hardy, Hoffmann
Some links to check out while you try to figure out what's for dinner…
- ESPN's Keith Law says that both Jim Thome and Jon Garland have value to Dodgers in the roles they were acquired to fill, pinch hitter and innings eater. KLaw also notes that Jose Contreras is better option than anyone currently in the Rockies' organization, and that he might benefit from a move to the NL.
- R.J. Anderson of FanGraphs says that people should be focusing more on the draft picks the White Sox gave away (Thome projects to be a Type-A free agent) than the fact that they're throwing in the towel on the season.
- Brad Penny said he'd be willing to return to the AL East in the future, according to CBSSports.com's Danny Knobler. "I think if I make my pitches against anyone, I'll do fine…Sometimes you don't get breaks. I was making some bad pitches, and leaving some balls up. In the AL East, you can't really do that," said Penny.
- MLB.com's Adam McCalvy spoke to Brewers shortstop J.J. Hardy about whether he'll be traded this offseason or not, and got this response: "It makes sense, not that I want to be traded."
- Diamond Leung reports that the Dodgers have designated outfielder Jamie Hoffmann for assignment. The 25-yr old hit just .182/.167/.409 in his brief stint with LA earlier this year. It's always fun when a guy has a higher batting average than on-base percentage.
- Matt Eddy of Baseball America posted last week's minor league transactions. The Brewers signed two former big leaguers – outfielders Jon Knott and Tike Redman – out of the independent Atlantic League.
- Make sure you follow MLBTR on Twitter for the fastest rumor updates on the web.