Odds and Ends: Cliff Lee, Edwin Jackson
You know the drill…
- Nick Piecoro checks in on his blog. Apparently the D’Backs discussed swapping Carlos Quentin for Cliff Lee before sending him to Chicago. As much as he might’ve liked to it seems like Josh Byrnes couldn’t get a starter for Quentin.
- Geoff Baker links the Mariners to Lee, Ben Sheets, Mark Prior, and Edwin Jackson based on yesterday’s buzz. The Sheets one has since been questioned, since the Dodgers were identified as the West Coast team that inquired. Prior could be part of a Raul Ibanez trade, but the Cubs are first focusing on Fukudome. As for Jackson, the Rays would want more than just Ben Broussard.
- John Fay believes the Reds will have to part with Jay Bruce or Homer Bailey to get a frontline starter.
Cardinals Rumors: Rolen, Tejada, Edmonds
UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 9:38am: Tom Haudricourt confirms that the Brewers will have access to Rolen’s medical records. That the Brewers will take a look indicates they are probably serious about Rolen.
FROM 12-4-07 at 12:14am:
Joe Strauss has a new one in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, presumably for the Tuesday morning edition.
- The Cards have already met twice with the Brewers to talk about Scott Rolen. They’re providing medical information to the Brewers, and appear flexible on the amount of salary they need to cover. Teams interested in Rolen can speak directly to the third baseman’s doctor and surgeon. Strauss confirms the Rangers and Giants as two other interested parties.
- The Rolen deal may hinge on Miguel Cabrera being traded first. The Cards poked their head in but wouldn’t part with Colby Rasmus.
- The Cards are likely to create a third base vacancy, so they’ve been talking to the Orioles about Miguel Tejada.
- As you know, the Cards met with the Padres to discuss Jim Edmonds. The Friars also have their eye on Anthony Reyes. Maybe the Cards can pry Kevin Kouzmanoff loose?
- Aside from the aforementioned Brewers, Orioles, and Padres, John Mozeliak also met with the Mariners today.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Rolen, Blalock, Benson
Ken Rosenthal never sleeps, and he has a few new tidbits early Tuesday morning.
- The Cards are reluctant to trade Scott Rolen within the division to the Brewers. A lot of that going on lately – the Cubs like Josh Hamilton, the Jays like Erik Bedard.
- Hank Blalock is a popular name around the lobby. Despite the various squashed rumors Rosenthal says he would be a good fit for the Cardinals, Phillies, or Dodgers.
- The Phils plan on taking a look at Kris Benson when he throws for teams a couple of weeks from now.
Dodgers Inquire On Sheets?
UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 11:38pm: Baker corrects himself – the Mariners talked to the Brewers, but not about Sheets.
UPDATE, 12-3-07 at 9:34pm: Here’s the deal. Geoff Baker says the West Coast team inquiring on Sheets was the Mariners. Tom Haudricourt seems positive it was the Dodgers though. No offer was made; it was just an inquiry. The Dodgers seemingly don’t need more injury risk though.
UPDATE, 12-3-07 at 6:35pm: Tom Haudricourt spoke to Doug Melvin and learned that he has not spoken to any East Coast team about Sheets. However Haudricourt believes Melvin may have spoken to the Mariners about him.
FROM 12-3-07 at 12:07am:
Interesting stuff from Sean McAdam of The Providence Journal. McAdam says the Red Sox are eyeing Dan Haren and Ben Sheets as alternatives to Johan Santana.
Haren, we knew about. Sheets is an intriguing idea though. Maybe the buzz on him will pick up this week. Sheets will earn $11MM in 2008, tops among Brewers (Jeff Suppan’s deal gets scary in ’09). Given Sheets’ injury history and expiring contract, the price for him might be fairly reasonable (say, A.J. Burnett territory). Sheets had a full no-trade clause for ’07 and may only be traded to eight selected clubs in ’08.
Cardinals Rumors: Rolen, Feliz, Capuano
UPDATE, 12-3-07 at 9:01pm: About four teams have talked to the Cards about Rolen, perhaps including the Brewers, Giants, and Rangers.
UPDATE, 12-3-07 at 6:38pm: Tom Haudricourt breaks down the Rolen to Milwaukee situation in detail. Talks are ongoing but Doug Melvin doesn’t think there’s anything serious yet.
FROM 12-3-07 at 5:42pm:
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Joe Strauss has an update from the Winter Meetings.
- Strauss notes, as Ken Rosenthal did, that Scott Rolen and Pedro Feliz have the same agents. This somehow makes Feliz a candidate to replace Rolen at third base.
- The Brewers are in the lead for Rolen, with Chris Capuano still being mentioned as the likely return. The Cards will cover Rolen’s salary to a certain extent depending on who they get back.
Brewers Rumors: Crede, Riske, Gagne, Dotel
MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy recently filed a report with a few new Brewers tidbits. Nothing new on the Scott Rolen front, but feel free to jump over to that rumor to discuss it. On to McCalvy’s article:
- The Brewers briefly discussed Joe Crede at last month’s GM Meetings. The Brewers and White Sox have been on friendly terms in the past; maybe they can work something out. There hasn’t been much buzz about Crede lately, but the Carlos Quentin acquisition seems to punch his ticket out of town.
- The Brewers passed on an effective one-year, $8.5MM contract for Geoff Jenkins for ’08. The Brewers prefer to replace him with a lefty hitter with a solid OBP, but don’t find the free agent options to be superior. A Gabe Gross/Tony Gwynn Jr. combo may be sufficient.
- The David Riske signing may be announced Tuesday, but the Brewers need to clear up a 40-man roster spot first. My guess is that Melvin will dispense of Kevin Mench one way or another.
- The Brewers have a passing interest in Eric Gagne and Octavio Dotel, but probably won’t end up with either due to injury concerns. Melvin has not been in touch with their agents.
Odds and Ends: Loretta, Pettitte, Affeldt
Random Winter Meetings rumors…
- Doug Melvin confirms that the Nats offered Chad Cordero for Rickie Weeks. Melvin is adamant that he won’t be trading Weeks or J.J. Hardy for a closer.
- Mike Timlin for $3MM, done.
- Mark Loretta would like to return to San Diego but the Padres will pass. The Rockies may yet sign him.
- Rob Biertempfel thinks the Pirates could send a reliever to the Rockies for Jamey Carroll, if the Rockies would eat some of Carroll’s salary. That’s right, a Jamey Carroll trade rumor. For a man of his abilities Carroll is a tad pricey at $2.3MM.
- Andy Pettitte deal is official at $16MM with no option year.
- Jeremy Affeldt might be looking for four years, $16MM. Say whaaaat? The Rox offered him a mere $4MM over two years.
Rockies Eyeing Burke, Ohman, Capuano
Tracy Ringolsby of the Rocky Mountain News has a list of available players the Rockies like. He names Chris Burke, Mark Redman, Steve Trachsel, Will Ohman, and Chris Capuano as the targets.
Trachsel and Redman we know about; they are two among a slew of starters the Rockies are considering. Capuano is new to the list, however. They’ll have some competition from the Cardinals on him.
Burke is an option for second base and a player the Rox liked a year ago for the Jason Jennings deal. Now he’ll come ultra-cheap. Mark Loretta is considered a long shot.
The Rockies like Ohman, who the Cubs consider expendable. It’s strange, though, because the Rockies are currently shopping a better southpaw reliever in Brian Fuentes. Fuentes wants to close, so Dan O’Down will listen to offers. But it doesn’t make sense that a team would surrender a young, eighth-inning ready reliever for Fuentes.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Roberts, Barrett, Piazza
Ken Rosenthal is presumably in Nashville doing what he does best – collect trade rumors by the dozen. His latest column is an excellent example. What’s the over/under on Rosenthal scoops over the next four days? I’ll set it at 10.
- Rosenthal says the Mets are unwilling to extend the contract of GM Omar Minaya, who is signed through 2009. The lack of job security could compel Minaya to mortgage the future, and the Lastings Milledge trade was a good example. Carlos Gomez, watch out. Here’s MLBTR’s look at Omar Minaya’s Mets trade profile.
- The Astros, Giants, and Cardinals aren’t really in the running for Miguel Cabrera, so they don’t need to wait for that shoe to drop to go after Miguel Tejada. However it sounds like all three clubs don’t have the talent even for a Tejada trade. Jon Heyman mentioned today that the Orioles do have interest in Adam Everett and Michael Bourn of the Astros.
- Here’s a good one: Peter Angelos favorite Brian Roberts might be available. The Mets and Astros inquired but moved on, but Roberts might be just what the Cubs are looking for. The Baltimore Sun’s Jeff Zrebiec recently told us that he doesn’t expect Andy MacPhail to move Roberts unless he’s "totally overwhelmed."
- The Marlins, Rays, and Orioles have interest in Michael Barrett. In the case of Baltimore, the interest indicates the availability of Ramon Hernandez. If Barrett can find a multiyear deal from one of those teams, he may decline the Padres’ offer of arbitration. It’s a catch-22, though, because that would make Barrett much less signable in terms of draft pick compensation.
- If Barrett does decline, the Padres might bring Mike Piazza back.
- The Nationals keep asking for Rickie Weeks for Chad Cordero, and the Brewers keep saying no.
- The Braves are big fans of Coco Crisp, and could have a passing interest in Corey Patterson. But they certainly wouldn’t mind going with internal options in center next year.
- Aaron Rowand is definitely getting that five-year deal – a Mystery Team has already offered one. The Yanks could pursue him if they trade the Melk Man.
- Deja vu – the Yanks and Mets both like Octavio Dotel, again. It’s known that Octavio loves New York.
Scott Rolen To Milwaukee Rumors
Apparently intra-division trading is no problem for John Mozeliak and Doug Melvin. Here are two takes on the rumored Scott Rolen to Milwaukee deal.
- Tom Haudricourt talked to Doug Melvin and learned that nothing is imminent with the Cards. What’s more, Melvin hasn’t talked to the Cards for weeks. Hmmm. This trade would require the Cards eating some salary. Theoretically Ryan Braun would move to left field to accomodate Rolen. The Brewers could send over Chris Capuano and might try to act like Kevin Mench would sweeten the deal.
- Buster Olney said this morning that the Cards "have had their most extensive talks with the Brewers" regarding Rolen. He also names Capuano as the likely target. Olney ponders whether the Cards would be compelled to pursue Miguel Tejada to replace Rolen at third base.