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Dunn To Brewers Rumor Quashed

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Radio rumors are among the most dubious, because I can’t confirm unless I heard the report myself or a trusted person communicated it to me.  So when I heard of a few thirdhand reports of an Adam Dunn to Milwaukee radio rumor, I remained skeptical.

I still haven’t talked to anyone to learn which specific person at SportsRadio 1250 initiated this rumor, but it doesn’t seem completely fabricated given that ESPN picked it up.  The scenario:

The Reds would trade Adam Dunn to the Brewers for Tony Gwynn Jr., Matt Wise, and an unknown infield prospect.  Wise is solid, and Wayne Krivsky likes relievers.  But the bounty still seems too small for the best available slugger.  The other red flag is that Wise and Gwynn continued to play in today’s game after the rumor surfaced.

Fortunately, Jerry Crasnick spoke to Doug Melvin and confirmed that there’s nothing to this trade rumor.

Graziano On Greinke, Pettitte

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Good stuff today from Dan Graziano of the Newark Star-Ledger.  Here’s my summary:

  • Beyond the Cubs, Graziano lists the Braves, Dodgers, and Diamondbacks as teams interested in pitcher Zack Greinke.  If the initial asking price for Octavio Dotel was as high as reported, I can’t imagine what Dayton Moore would want for Greinke.
  • Graziano’s Dotel suitors: Cubs, Dodgers, and Brewers.  The Red Sox, Rockies, and Indians have been mentioned by other sources.  Quite a market for this guy.
  • David Weathers is seen as the poor man’s Dotel/Gagne.  Let’s see if Wayne Krivsky can get something useful for him.  Stormy makes another $2.75MM in ’08 before his contract is up.
  • The Mets are mostly focused on a power relief arm, as Roy Oswalt and Dontrelle Willis are said to be unavailable.  I have no idea why Willis keeps getting lumped in with Oswalt; they are nowhere near equal.  Graziano says the Mets still like Javier Vazquez but the White Sox keep trying to pawn off Jose Contreras instead.
  • The Braves are trying to deal for southpaw reliever C.J. Wilson of the Rangers.  The 26 year-old has an undeserved 2.81 ERA right now.  His control has been worse this year, so he’d have to remain unhittable to be effective.
  • The Mariners inquired on Andy Pettitte, but the Yankees aren’t giving up yet.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Lohse, Hunter, Contreras

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The latest trade and signing rumors from Ken Rosenthal:

  • Rosenthal believes Alex Rodriguez’s ability to play shortstop could increase the number of suitors.  Take a look at the free agents – there may not be a single viable option at short this winter.  Still, the number of suitors for Rodriguez is severely limited by his massive contract requirement.  Not too many clubs aside from the Yankees and Red Sox can get in on $240MM over eight years or whatever.  The lack of available, reasonably priced shortstops could compel the Braves and Orioles to aggressively shop Edgar Renteria and Miguel Tejada.
  • As a 29 year-old free agent starter with decent stuff, Scott Boras could sell Kyle Lohse as the next Gil Meche this winter.  Meche’s work in the season’s first three months would only aid the wishcasting.  I put up a little Lohse history here, writing that his deal will likely fall somewhere between Jason Marquis and Meche.  Other free agent starters who will be under 30 for the 2008 season: Carlos Zambrano, Jason Jennings, Joe Kennedy, and Byung-Hyun Kim.
  • Rosenthal believes the Rangers will bid on Torii Hunter this winter unless they acquire a proven center fielder this summer.  He mentions that Jon Daniels set his sights on Shane Victorino but the Phils would rather trade Michael Bourn.  Unless the Rangers get a proven guy they will still go after Hunter.
  • The Mariners scouted Jose Contreras and Matt Morris recently, but both were lousy.  I still think Jennings could sneak in there as the best available starter, but he too hasn’t pitched well in July.  Definitely seems like the Mariners will snag some kind of starter.
  • Rosenthal disputes Evan Grant’s report of the Brewers and Indians showing interest in Kenny Lofton.  The Brewers are getting Bill Hall back soon and the Indians have some outfielders on the road to recovery as well.  Perfect, this frees him up for the Cubs!
  • Rosenthal mentions the same teams I did for Kevin Millar, but sees an August deal as a possibility.  Waiting until August doesn’t seem to make sense for the Orioles, as things get trickier then.
  • The Padres could trade Scott Linebrink in order to make payroll room for a starter.  Or they could just sign Brian Lawrence.  I discussed some other options for the Friars here.

Indians, Brewers Interested In Lofton

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Kenny Lofton is the perfect mercenary.  He’s been with a million different teams, and has 84 games of playoff experience.  Even at age 40, he provides an OBP spark atop the lineup.  He makes $6MM this year for the Rangers, so there’s about $2.6MM left on his contract.  He gets another $100K if he’s traded.

According to Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News, Lofton has "drawn significant interest from Cleveland and Milwaukee."  Other teams are checking him out as well.  It’d be fun to see Lofton back with the Tribe, the team he’s best known for.  He actually came up as an Astro though. 

As a Cubs fan I’d welcome Lofton back to Chicago.  After abandoning the Alfonso Soriano experiment, the Cubs have employed Angel Pagan, Jacque Jones, and Felix Pie in center.  None have hit particularly well.  I would’ve signed Lofton this winter, working Pie in carefully. 

Grant’s column also mentions Sammy Sosa, who is drawing a little bit of interest.  With his OBP down to .294, Sosa is being sold as a lefty-masher instead of a regular.  Grant believes the Twins and Yankees might find him useful.   

Will Griffey Be Dealt?

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To hear Reds GM Wayne Krivsky tell it, "There’s a lot of misinformation out there."  We’ll try not to contribute to that.  But here’s the latest on Ken Griffey Jr.

Hal McCoy of the Dayton Daily News believes Junior will only go to Chicago or Atlanta; apparently the Mariners aren’t interested right now.  Griffey would have to be interested too, given his trade veto power.  When McCoy says Chicago, I assume he means the Cubs.  The White Sox seem unlikely, but you never know.

The chatter was reignited on Tuesday, when Peter Gammons quoted Griffey talking about how it made sense for the Reds to trade him now.  Griffey’s agent, Brian Goldberg, seemed to indicate that the quote from Griffey may have been taken slightly out of context.

Goldberg also mentions in that article that the Reds called Griffey to shoot down a rumor that had him going to the Brewers.  That one was new to me, but it sounds like there’s nothing to it.

Griffey would certainly be a helpful addition in right field at Wrigley.  However, as Greg Couch writes, the team’s direction with player acquisitions and contracts is an open question right now.  Ken Rosenthal, back on June 24th, said the Cubs were not involved in a trade for Griffey.  Jayson Stark debunked the Atlanta rumor a few days before that. 

Another major wrinkle for any Griffey trade is that he’s knocking on the door of 600 home runs and could pass Sammy Sosa this year for fifth all-time.  The Reds would hate to miss out on that good publicity.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Andruw, Lidge, Gwynn Jr.

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Ken Rosenthal has a new Full Count video up at FOXSports for your viewing pleasure.

  • Rosenthal believes that despite Andruw Jones’s lousy May and June, he’ll still cash in this winter as the best available center fielder.  He’ll still provide more offense than Torii Hunter in the long run. 
  • The Nationals are still asking for the moon in trade talks.  If Jim Bowden does start acting reasonable, Dmitri Young, Chad Cordero, Jon Rauch, and Ryan Church could be dealt.  Word via Bill Ladson of MLB.com is that only the Braves have inquired on Young.
  • Brad Lidge is expected to remain an Astro.  The main reason: Drayton McLane still doesn’t think  his team is out of it.  Most simulations a 2% chance or less of reaching the playoffs.  If the Astros finally do acknowledge reality, they’d prefer to trade relievers other than Lidge (ie, Dan Wheeler or Chad Qualls).
  • The Rangers and Brewers were close to a trade: Akinori Otsuka to the Brewers for Tony Gwynn Jr.  Rosenthal seemed to dislike it, but I think it made sense for the Crew.  Regardless, Bill Hall’s injury thwarted the deal as Gwynn will be needed to man center. 
  • The new plan for the Brewers is to call up 29 year-old Grant Balfour, who’s dominated in the minors.  He endured elbow and shoulder woes before undergoing Tommy John surgery in May of ’05.  In the midst of his TJ recovery, Balfour developed the need for shoulder surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff and labrum.  This guy would be pumping gas if he’d been born a few decades earlier.  After the surgeries, the Twins cut Balfour and the Reds snagged him.  Balfour rehabbed with the Reds but never made it to the bigs; the Brewers claimed him off waivers in October of ’06.  He’s all the way back; Johnny Estrada was singing his praises back in February.

Tigers Acquire Jose Capellan

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The Brewers finally traded reliever Jose Capellan; the Tigers snagged the 26 year-old for southpaw Chris Cody.

Many teams kicked the tires on Capellan, but I hadn’t seen the Tigers mentioned previously.  His work at Triple A was OK.  His 7.1 K/9 was nothing special, and his control wasn’t great.  Same story since his recall to the bigs.  I’m not sure how much he’s going to help the Tigers, but they will take anything they can get right now.

Cody, 23, had just earned a promotion from the Low A Michigan Whitecaps to the High A Lakeland Tigers after posting a 6.1 K/BB.  He was old for his level, and still isn’t anyone to get excited about.  Doug Melvin originally expected "something big" in return for Capellan.

Marlins, Brewers Scouting White Sox

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According to Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune, the Marlins and Brewers have been scouting the White Sox lately.

Gonzales believes the Marlins may be looking at Triple A center fielder Brian Anderson.  He mentions that the Fish have been fans of BA for quite a while.  Anderson is currently a member of the Charlotte Knights, but did not play in today’s blowout against Pawtucket.  Anderson is 25 now and hitting just .239/.302/.364 in Triple A.  A fresh start in a new organization could help.

Gonzales says the Brewers have been scouting Chicago’s pitching.  Not sure how a team that just demoted Yovani Gallardo to the bullpen would be in need of pitching, but you can never have too much. 

Gagne/Otsuka Suitors

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Teams are lining up to pluck away the top two members of the Rangers’ bullpen, and Jon Daniels is in "listening mode."

MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan has the scoop: the Diamondbacks, Cubs, Red Sox, and Yankees are the top suitors for Eric Gagne.  The Mets, Braves, Phillies, Tigers, and Brewers are focused on Akinori Otsuka.  And the Tribe likes both relievers. 

Benefits of Gagne: he can be unhittable and he’ll give you two good draft picks after the season.  Plus he seems to be finally healthy.  The Indians, despite their interest, are not on Gagne’s list of 12 teams he can be dealt to without his consent.    

The benefit of Otsuka is that you have him through 2009.  That’s why the Rangers are more likely to hang on to him.  Conversely, a team like the Mets would prefer him because he’s not a rental.

Latest Mark Buehrle Trade Rumors

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Mark Buehrle is a popular man right now, and I’ve decided to cover today’s trade rumors in a bullet point format.

  • Barry Rozner of the Daily Herald thinks the Dodgers would be a fine fit for Buehrle, given the loss of Jason Schmidt and their bevy of top prospects.  Given that ten teams are looking at Buehrle and we’ve only confirmed five, talks may already be occurring between Ned Colletti and Kenny Williams.
  • Ozzie Guillen tries to defend against detractors: "A lot of people say, ’Oh, they quit. Oh, they should make an offer to Buehrle.’ They did, I think."  The Daily Southtown notes that the offer was a meager three years, $30MM.  The Sox made that offer at the height of Buehrle’s ineffectiveness.
  • The New York Post says the Mets will only trade for Buehrle if they get a 72-hour window to sign him.  Rosenthal said on Friday that that’s not happening.  The Mets’ urgency to acquire a starter is related to how Pedro Martinez looks in coming weeks.
  • Ken Davidoff of Newsday says that while the Mets and Yankees are confirmed among the ten interested clubs, neither plans to offer "serious prospects" for Buehrle.  That seems to mean that Lastings Milledge, Philip Humber, Mike Pelfrey, Joba Chamberlain, and Phil Hughes are out.  Davidoff shows that Omar Minaya and Kenny Williams have clearly been talking, and confirms Omar’s interest in Jose Contreras.   
  • Joel Sherman thinks the Mets are in on Buehrle for two reasons: in case the price surprisingly plummets, and to raise the price for Atlanta.
  • Adam Rubin says all veteran Sox pitchers are available – except Jon Garland.
  • You may have noticed that Kenny Williams recently issued a nondenial of the Buehrle-to-Boston rumor, saying "Not today."  The Red Sox weren’t amused by that, and a deal is not close.  The Boston Globe agrees, adding that Boston won’t part with Clay Buchholz or Jacoby Ellsbury.  Nonetheless, Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post thinks the Red Sox are the favorite for Buehrle, and they’d sign him to a contract extension.
  • Bryan Burwell of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports on chatter that the Cardinals have offered Anthony Reyes, John Rodriguez, and one prospect for Buehrle.  Burwell would make the deal, even if that prospect is Bryan Anderson.
  • GM Doug Melvin in response to Ken Rosenthal’s Buehrle-to-Brewers rumor: "This is the month for Internet rumors."  Damn straight, Doug.  Actually, July and December are the big ones.  Melvin says he hasn’t talked to Kenny Williams, in reality.  Maybe Melvin wouldn’t part with Yovani Gallardo or Ryan Braun for Buehrle, but another prospect has emerged in Manny Parra.  Parra tossed a perfect game in Triple A last night.
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