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Francisco Liriano Frustrated

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Ken Rosenthal spoke to Francisco Liriano’s agent, Greg Genske.  The 24 year-old lefty is frustrated that he’s still at Triple A, and Genske has contacted the Players’ Association about filing a grievance.  The union will investigate.  Liriano is now dominating in the minors.

Rosenthal says Liriano’s arbitration year has already been pushed back by his time in the minors.  Twins GM Bill Smith denies any shady money-saving tactics, saying "our starters are all doing the job."

Most likely, the Twins would be an improved team by replacing Livan Hernandez in the rotation with Liriano.  But this isn’t the first time the Twins have chosen veteran mediocrity or worse over promising young players.

Walters With A Twins Scenario

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Charley Walters of the St. Paul Pioneer Press tosses out a trade scenario:

It will be interesting whether the Twins try to package Michael Cuddyer and Livan Hernandez in a trade for a slugging third baseman before the July 31 deadline, saving $20 million in guaranteed money to Cuddyer and $2.5 million to Hernandez. Denard Span ($390,000) would replace Cuddyer in right field, and Francisco Liriano ($400,000) would replace Hernandez in the starting rotation.

Will Carroll said the Twins are looking at players like Adrian Beltre, Hank Blalock, Garrett Atkins, and Casey Blake.  But I can’t see the Mariners, Rangers, Rockies, or Indians biting on a Hernandez/Cuddyer offer.

Carroll’s Latest: Burnett, Twins, Cardinals

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Baseball Prospectus’ Will Carroll has plenty of rumors in his latest post.

  • Pat Gillick "doesn’t seem that interested" in going back to work for the Mariners.
  • One team asked the Blue Jays to include players to be named later on both sides of an A.J. Burnett deal, to serve as a balance for the pitcher’s uncertain tricky contract. The Jays passed on that idea.  By the way, the Toronto Star’s Richard Griffin thinks the Jays will keep Burnett unless offered a player who can improve the ’08 team.
  • Carroll wonders whether the Pirates would consider trading Ian Snell.  Snell is signed through 2010 with club options for ’11 and ’12.
  • Beyond Adrian Beltre, the Twins "have taken a hard look" at Hank Blalock, Garrett Atkins, and Casey Blake.
  • The Cards are searching the Triple A ranks for the next Ryan Ludwick.  Maybe they were one of the teams inquiring on Nelson Cruz?

Mariners Rumors: Rhodes, Bedard, Washburn

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Mariners beat writer Geoff Baker has a new blog post up this morning about the team’s trade candidates.  In a well thought-out piece, Baker names Arthur Rhodes, Erik Bedard, Jarrod Washburn, Raul Ibanez, and Adrian Beltre as the most likely to go (in that order).  A few highlights from the post:

  • Solid lefty relievers are available – mainly Brian Fuentes and Damaso Marte.  But the price is reportedly high for both, leaving the 38 year-old Rhodes as a fine alternative.  Plus, the ’08 Mariners can live without him.
  • Baker indicates that both Bedard and the Mariners favor a trade. However, Baker believes Bedard will have to take the mound at least one more time and maybe twice before the deadline to satisfy a suitor.  Bedard is said to be 50/50 to make his July 22nd start.
  • Washburn has about $14.4MM left on his contract, which runs through ’09 with limited no-trade protection.  The M’s would trade him for salary relief rather than prospects.
  • Ibanez and Beltre are down on Baker’s list because he believes the team owes it to the fans not to put a Triple A offense on the field.  While neither player has an .800 OPS, trading either without a big league replacement could lead to an even more embarrassing second half. Additionally, the Mariners like Ibanez’s leadership skills.  Baker finds the Beltre-to-Twins idea improbable.  Interesting note: Beltre is thought to want to return to the L.A. area when his contract ends.

Twins Inquire On Adrian Beltre

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The Twins’ interest in Seattle third baseman Adrian Beltre has graduated from internal to external, according to La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.  Neal is not sure how far the two teams got in their trade discussion.

Beltre, 29, is hitting .259/.330/.440 in 388 plate appearances this year.  He’s earning $12MM this year and the same in ’09.  His limited no-trade clause allows him to block deals to eight clubs.  Complications: he’s playing through a painful wrist injury, but also being called out by anonymous team coaches for not taking extra batting practice.

On the Twins’ side, free agent signee Mike Lamb has proven to be a bust, but call-up Brian Buscher is hitting a surprising .316/.341/.418 in 85 plate appearances.  Baseball Prospectus projected him at .245/.309/.358 coming into the season.

Week in Review

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Here’s a look back at the biggest stories MLBTR covered for the week of July 6 – 13:

  • The Brewers completed a deal for C.C. Sabathia, sending Matt LaPorta and other prospects to Cleveland in return. Sabathia’s looked great so far, and LaPorta’s already making an impact in the Indians minor league system. Looks good for both teams right now if you ask this guy.
  • The Cubs answered their division rival quickly, landing Oakland ace Rich Harden along with Chad Gaudin in exchange for Matt Murton, Sean Gallagher, Eric Patterson, and Josh Donaldson. Harden was brilliant in his debut. I think this could be another win-win trade, if Harden stays healthy.
  • It was once again made clear that no one has interest in Barry Bonds, even at this juncture of the season. Seems like we’ve heard this once or twice before…
  • It was a long time coming: The Mariners released Richie Sexson. Could the Yankees be interested?
  • With likely season-ending injuries to both Eric Byrnes and Moises Alou (possibly career-ending in Alou’s case), both the D’Backs and Mets are in the market for corner outfielders. Raul Ibanez should be appealing to both clubs, though the Mariners may not be interested in trading him, Jim Riggleman says. Carlos Beltran voiced his support of acquiring Ibanez. I personally don’t see why Seattle wouldn’t pull the trigger, but I’m not a Major League GM, I suppose.
  • Tim updated both the first base and catcher markets in the Trade Market Series.
  • The Twins had internal discussions on Adrian Beltre. A third base upgrade would certainly be nice, but they’re not known for making big moves at the deadline. Could Bill Smith change that reputation in his first year as GM?

Odds and Ends: Taveras, Kemp, Mota

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Today’s random linkage.

Twins Discuss Adrian Beltre Internally

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WEDNESDAY: Christensen has an update on the Twins’ deadline strategy.  He says they are considering options to upgrade on the left side of the infield, though perhaps without a sense of urgency.  He notes that they have discussed third baseman Adrian Beltre internally, but probably not with the Mariners.

TUESDAY: According to Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, the Twins don’t have a glaring need and are likely to be quiet at the trade deadline.  The Twins are 1.5 games out in the AL Central. They’re 8th of 14 AL teams in OBP and SLG.  Nonetheless, they are third in the league with 4.9 runs per game.  This can be attributed to a league-best .857 OPS with runners in scoring position.  Who knows, maybe they can maintain it.

As for pitching, the Twins rank 9th with a 4.52 starters’ ERA and 6th with a 3.44 relief ERA (admittedly a crude measure).  They should probably jettison Livan Hernandez, but Francisco Liriano is the ace in the hole at Triple A.

Just a few weeks ago, I rattled off all kinds of suggestions for the Twins.  Commenters on that thread had good points – they probably don’t need to acquire a starter, and shortstop options are not plentiful.  However, I still think Barry Bonds and/or Kenny Lofton would be nice complements to this team.

Odds and Ends: Yorman, Hamilton, Ng, Carrasco

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Some odds and ends before you fire up the grill…

Freddy Garcia Suitors

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MLB.com’s Jim Molony posted an article yesterday, much of it concerning rehabbing free agent starter Freddy Garcia.  Garcia’s showcase is still expected to take place later this month.

We compiled reports and came up with these suitors: the Mets, Red Sox, Braves, Yankees, White Sox, Rangers, Tigers, Rays, Astros, and Cubs.  Molony adds the Cardinals, Dodgers, and Twins – giving us at least 13 suitors.

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