Twins Rumors

Nationals Targeting Denard Span

By Tim Dierkes | July 29, 2011 at 10:07am CDT

10:08am: The Twins are unhappy with the Nationals' offer, Rosenthal reports (on Twitter). Meanwhile, the Nationals are worried about Span's concussion.

FRIDAY, 9:23am: Talks between the Twins and Nationals are ongoing, according to Jon Paul Morosi and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Span and Storen are at the center of discussions, with Roger Bernadina and others in play. The Nationals aren't talking exclusively to the Twins as they search for a center fielder, but Span appears to be high on their list of targets.

THURSDAY, 12:52pm: The Nationals are not willing to trade Storen for Span, reports MLB.com's Bill Ladson.

WEDNESDAY, 3:20pm: The Nationals continue to target Span, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, and Storen may be in play.

MONDAY, 2:03pm: The Nationals have talked to the Twins about Span, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The Nationals are unwilling to trade Drew Storen or Tyler Clippard, though Rosenthal feels Ian Desmond could be of interest to the Twins.

1:30pm: Twins center fielder Denard Span is high on the Nationals' list of targets, reports Amanda Comak of the Washington Times. Span would fit the team's desire for a controllable center fielder/leadoff hitter, assuming there are no ill effects from a concussion suffered in June.

Span, 27, is hitting .294/.361/.385 on the season in 255 plate appearances. His center field defense has been a plus in recent years, according to UZR. His team-friendly contract has less than $15MM remaining through 2014, plus a club option for '15. It's not known whether the Twins consider Span expendable; Ben Revere has a .249/.287/.284 line filling in. The asking price would surely be significant.

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports first mentioned Span as a potential Nats target earlier this month, along with B.J. Upton, Michael Bourn, and Colby Rasmus.

Stark On Quentin, Pirates, Braves, Indians, Reds

By Tim Dierkes | July 28, 2011 at 2:40pm CDT

Another must-read column from ESPN's Jayson Stark…

Stark has updated his take on Carlos Quentin's availability. He says there is "increasing evidence the White Sox are talking to several teams about Quentin, one of which is believed to be Atlanta." An executive of a team that has talked to the Sox says that while they are not "bound and determined" to trade Quentin, they would do it.
The Pirates are focused on finding a professional hitter, but aren't hot on Carlos Pena or Josh Willingham. They're eyeing the Twins' Jason Kubel, but GM Bill Smith considers his team a contender at six games out.
Stark hasn't heard much that suggests the Braves are still bullpen shopping.
The Indians are turning their attention to starting pitching, but players Drew Pomeranz, Alex White, Lonnie Chisenhall, and Jason Kipnis appear to be untouchable.
The Astros continue to shop Wandy Rodriguez, and Stark wonders if he'll fit for the Yankees as a salary dump type.
The White Sox dangled Adam Dunn. Dunn has over $48MM remaining on the four-year, $56MM deal he signed in December.
The Reds have "stepped up their calls this week on controllable middle-of-the-order bats," although it's hard to name any available hitters of that nature.

Miller On Upton, Angels, Slowey

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 26, 2011 at 11:50pm CDT

Scott Miller of CBSSports.com has updates on the trade market. Here they are…

Miller’s sources expect the Rays to trade B.J. Upton by Sunday (click here for the latest on Upton).
Angels owner Arte Moreno has approved a payroll increase, according to Miller. The Angels are looking for a third baseman, but they would send Erick Aybar to the Mets for Jose Reyes straight up, according to Miller. The Mets, however, aren’t interested; they’ll keep Reyes instead.
Minnesota is expected to trade Kevin Slowey, who continues to draw interest, according to Miller. Earlier tonight, we heard that the Rockies are interested in Slowey.

AL Central Notes: Lindor, Tigers, Slowey

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 26, 2011 at 10:35pm CDT

Historically speaking, July 26th has been a busy day for the Indians. The Indians and Cardinals swapped Mark DeRosa and Chris Perez on this date in 2009; the Tribe acquired Carlos Santana for Casey Blake on this date in 2008; the Indians acquired Shin-Soo Choo for Ben Broussard on this date in 2006; they sent Russell Branyan to Milwaukee on this date in 2004 and they signed Marco Scutaro as an amateur free agent in 1994. This year, they're buyers. Here's the latest on the Indians and their division rivals…

Indians GM Chris Antonetti says the Tribe has had continued dialogue with the agent for first round pick Francisco Lindor, though there’s no real update on the talks (Twitter link).
Tigers owner Mike Ilitch told Bob Wojnowski of the Detroit News that he'd be "extremely disappointed" if the Tigers don't make the playoffs this season. GM Dave Dombrowski and manager Jim Leyland are in the final years of their respective contracts.
The Rockies and others continue to pursue Kevin Slowey, according to Yahoo's Tim Brown (on Twitter). Earlier in the month, it became clear that the Pirates and Rockies were among the clubs with interest in the Twins right-hander.

Angels Still Prioritizing Offense

By Tim Dierkes | July 26, 2011 at 1:26pm CDT

The Angels priority this week is to add a bat, writes CBS Sports' Scott Miller, preferably a third baseman. Internally, they've discussed Aramis Ramirez of the Cubs and Michael Cuddyer of the Twins.

Miller says the Halos have considered making a run at Cuddyer and using him at third base. However, the Twins "remain in go-for-it mode" and actually might add a reliever. Plus, Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune wrote earlier this month that a Twins official said the team would keep Cuddyer and attempt to re-sign him even if they fall out of contention. So, the Angels, Giants, and other suitors are probably out of luck.

As for Aramis, the Angels' best bet will be to hope he'll waive his no-trade rights after his kids return to school in August. Also on the Angels front, Kevin Baxter of the L.A. Times reported today that the Marlins are scouting them closely.

Quick Hits: Mijares, Tigers, Phillies, Nimmo

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 25, 2011 at 11:29pm CDT

Michael Cuddyer pitched a shutout inning in Texas tonight, but the Rangers didn't have trouble scoring against Minnesota's other pitchers – they beat the Twins 20-6. Here are some late links from around MLB…

The Twins had been looking to trade Jose Mijares before tonight, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney (Twitter link). The left-hander allowed five hits and four runs in 2/3 innings in tonight's blowout against the Rangers.
The Tigers continue watching Doug Fister, Jason Vargas, Aaron Harang and others as they look to acquire starting pitching, according to Danny Knobler of CBSSports (on Twitter).
The Phillies are pursuing Heath Bell and Mike Adams of the Padres aggressively, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post (on Twitter). The Padres are surprised the Yankees, Reds and Cardinals haven’t expressed more interest in their relievers.
Joel Sherman of the New York Post hears that the Mets think they’re close to a deal with first round pick Brandon Nimmo (Twitter link).

AL Central Rumors: Tigers, Indians, Twins

By Tim Dierkes | July 25, 2011 at 3:18pm CDT

The AL Central has only one clear seller at this point in the Royals, and they don't have much to offer. The White Sox and Twins will add a lot to the trade market if they decide to wave the white flag. The latest on the division:

The Tigers' list of starting pitching targets includes Ubaldo Jimenez, Hiroki Kuroda, Aaron Harang, Jeremy Guthrie, and Jason Marquis, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. However, the Padres are more inclined to keep Harang and try to re-sign him, tweets ESPN's Jayson Stark. Harang picked up his ninth win today in Philadelphia.
The White Sox are scouting the farm systems of the Yankees, Red Sox, and Phillies in case they decide to sell, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post.
In a series of three tweets, Joel Sherman of the New York Post explains why the Indians are setting their sights low as they seek a right-handed hitting outfielder. I think the biggest point is that they expect Grady Sizemore and Shin-Soo Choo back in August.
Indians corner infielder Jared Goedert cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A, tweets Morosi. Another procedural note: Tigers lefty Brad Thomas is now on the 60-day DL rather than being outrighted, tweets MLB.com's Jason Beck.
The Twins reached an agreement with Vanderbilt lefty Corey Williams for just under $600K, tweets ESPN's Keith Law. Williams, the team's third-round pick, signed above slot.

At Least Four Teams Interested In Uehara

By Tim Dierkes | July 25, 2011 at 9:16am CDT

The Rangers, Pirates, Tigers, and Twins are among the teams that have expressed interest in Orioles reliever Koji Uehara, reports Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun. Interest from the Pirates and Twins was previously reported, and the Reds are known to have discussed Uehara at least internally.

Uehara, 36, is among the best relievers available this summer. He sports a 1.80 ERA, 11.8 K/9, 1.6 BB/9, 1.2 HR/9, and 31.3% groundball rate in 45 innings this year, and a reasonable $4MM option for next year vests with 14 more appearances. Uehara told Zrebiec he loves Baltimore and the Orioles, "but it's not going to be any fun if we don't win. That's the dilemma."

In theory, Uehara shouldn't be much easier to acquire than San Diego's Mike Adams, the biggest difference being the former's flyball leanings. Aside from the Uehara suitors mentioned above, the Red Sox, Yankees, Angels, Phillies, Braves, Cardinals, and Diamondbacks are seeking relief help.

Sabean Not Finding Shortstop, Catcher Upgrades

By Tim Dierkes | July 25, 2011 at 8:56am CDT

Earlier this month, I deemed the trade market weak at many positions, including catcher and shortstop. Giants GM Brian Sabean appears to agree. His comments to Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle and other reporters yesterday:

"Right now, we don't see an upgrade with the names out there at shortstop or at catcher, and that kind of puts you in a box. A lot of the names that are being speculated on aren't even in the market. Will that change in the last 48 or 72 hours? Perhaps. Quite frankly, there are some teams that we wish would fall out of it so that we could have more conversation."

With the Reds still in contention and not likely to move Ramon Hernandez, Geovany Soto rumors scarce, and Ronny Paulino likely to stay put, it's difficult to find an available starting catcher. I wonder if Sabean was referring to the Reds, who are three games out and have strong catching depth beginning with Hernandez. Colorado's Chris Iannetta would be a nice addition, but Sabean and Dan O'Dowd have never made a significant trade that I can find.

On the shortstop front, failing a surprise blockbuster deal for Hanley Ramirez, the best options might be the Astros' Clint Barmes or the Dodgers' Jamey Carroll and Rafael Furcal. As the Brewers might tell you, shortstop upgrades are hard to come by this summer.

The Giants remain intrigued by the Twins' Michael Cuddyer, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. At seven games out, the Twins might be drifting out of contention, but it appears they'll retain Cuddyer anyway and try to re-sign him.

Central Notes: Slowey, Cardinals, Paulino, Brewers

By Mark Polishuk | July 23, 2011 at 11:04pm CDT

Let's check in with the latest from the middle of the MLB map….

The Pirates are not interested in Twins right-hander Kevin Slowey, reports Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. (Twitter link) We heard last week that the Bucs were looking at Slowey, who went to high school in Pennsylvania.
Cardinals GM John Mozeliak is hoping to improve his team without moving a player from the Major League roster, but Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch hears that "to accomplish [their] trade goal," the Cards will have to deal at least one Major Leaguer.
With the Cardinals aggressively pursuing starting pitching, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch roundtable discusses which pitchers would be available at the lowest cost to the Cards. I like the idea of St. Louis getting a second-tier arm like Chris Capuano, since the Cardinals' search for bullpen help means they won't be able to meet the asking price for both a top starter and a top reliever such as Heath Bell.
Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star details the Royals' scouting and pursuit of Felipe Paulino, who has pitched well since being acquired from the Rockies in May.
The Brewers are continuing negotiations with first-round draft picks Taylor Jungmann and Jed Bradley, reports MLB.com's Adam McCalvy. Brewers amateur scouting director Bruce Seid described the talks as "a work in progress," while GM Doug Melvin felt the draft picks' respective agents weren't approaching the talks with much urgency leading up to the August 15 deadline.

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