The Giants and Hideki Matsui
As we learned earlier this week, the Giants and Yankees have talked about a Hideki Matsui trade. Let’s discuss.
- According to Andrew Baggarly, talks are still in the early stages but the teams will meet again soon on the topic. A source close to Matsui indicated that he’d waive his no-trade for San Fran. However, the Giants are said to prefer adding a right-handed slugger. Baggarly thinks the Giants would readily part with Jonathan Sanchez and Brad Hennessey, with Noah Lowry a possibility. The Giants won’t part with Brian Wilson, their closer of the future.
- Other notes from Baggarly – the Giants are over Miguel Tejada and were told Jay Bruce is untouchable.
- Pete Caldera says the Yankees like Lowry but considers a deal a long shot.
- Ed Price reports that Matsui’s agent hasn’t had a request about waiving the no-trade, and the agent won’t comment on Matsui’s willingness.
- Don’t expect the Giants to acquire both Alex Rios and Matsui. Tim Lincecum would stay if Lowry goes. At this same link Mark Feinsand notes that subtracting Matsui’s contract might create more flexibility to acquire Johan Santana.
Odds and Ends: Bonds, Rusch, Iguchi, Nathan
The Winter Meetings are over and I have a nice case of carpal tunnel. Let’s round up some odds and ends anyway, I can always type with my toes.
- In a chat today, Will Carroll of Baseball Prospectus said the only team besides the A’s with a modicum of interest in Barry Bonds is the Cardinals (a week ago).
- Couple of Phils notes per Scott Lauber. Glendon Rusch asked for a big league deal and a rotation spot, neither of which the Phils are keen on. Also that Tadahito Iguchi waiver? No chance.
- Joel Sherman noted today that the Twins and Yankees briefly discussed expanding the Johan Santana talks to include Joe Nathan. I heard this one at the beginning of the Meetings but I was skeptical. I wonder if including Nathan ever came up with the Red Sox? Maybe that would compel them to put both Ellsbury and Lester in the deal.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Santana, Fuentes, Heilman
The execs may be on a plane home right now, but the writers are still filing all sorts of rumors. Here’s Ken Rosenthal’s latest piece.
- Rosenthal says the Mets did not talk to the Twins about Johan Santana today, which is surprising. But they did talk earlier this week, at which point the Twins gave the Mets a list of players they liked. The Mets were fine with everyone on the list, which probably included Carlos Gomez and Mike Pelfrey. Rosenthal adds that the Mets are the only NL team firmly in the mix for Santana, and shipping him to the other league might be a factor for the Twins.
- The Giants turned down an offer of Delmon Young for Tim Lincecum before Young was sent to the Twins. This leaves skepticism that the Giants will accept three years of Alex Rios after turning down five of Young.
- The Mets made a straight up offer of Aaron Heilman for Brian Fuentes. As far as I can tell Heilman doesn’t reach free agency until after the 2010 season, so the Rockies would be doing pretty well here. Plus, they could plug him into the rotation. Oddly the dealbreaker was the Rox asking for Scott Schoeneweis as well. I thought the 34 year-old had negative trade value. Rosenthal adds that the Tribe took a glance at Fuentes as well.
- The Rox offered Jamey Carroll for Josh Barfield, which is pretty lopsided even with the year Barfield had. Of course the Indians declined.
Heyman’s Latest: Santana, Gagne, Kuroda
SI.com’s Jon Heyman has penned (or typed I guess) a new column with some hot stove banter.
- The Mets are offering Carlos Gomez, Mike Pelfrey, and others for Santana. Joel Sherman thinks the offer is at least viable, and that Aaron Heilman may interest Minnesota.. The Yankees offered Phil Hughes, Melky Cabrera, and Jeff Marquez. The Red Sox proposed Jon Lester, Coco Crisp, Jed Lowrie, and Justin Masterson. The Mariners have offered Adam Jones and Brandon Morrow. Seems to me the Red Sox still have the advantage, at least slightly.
- Heyman says the Brewers and Astros are in the mix for Eric Gagne (if he doesn’t accept arbitration). Regarding the Brewers, though, Doug Melvin said today that they already have a closer in Derrick Turnbow.
- Heyman says offers for Hiroki Kuroda are expected to approach $15MM per year. Damn, for him?
Not Much Cooking With Johan
UPDATE, 12-6-07 at 12:25pm: Check out LENIII’s latest. He believes the Red Sox were always serious about Santana. Neal suggests the Angels are a sleeper even though they’ve yet to discuss Johan with the Twins. Neal spoke to an agent who nominated the Mets as his sleeper. As for the Dodgers, Neal’s not sensing much interest.
FROM 12-6-07 at 10:13am:
Thus is the nature of the rumor mill – tons of words expended on possibilities, sometimes with little closure. The latest semi-news on Johan Santana:
- Newsday’s source says it would be "virtually impossible" for the Mets to acquire Santana without including Jose Reyes. And the Mets are staunchly against that.
- The Red Sox made a couple of proposals that fell short, but they’re satisfied that he’s not a Yankee. Theo Epstein has left the building, no Santana deal in place.
At this moment, nothing much appears to be simmering on the Santana hot stove.
Johan Santana Rumors: Wednesday
UPDATE, 12-5-07 at 7:50pm: Tim Brown says the Red Sox had a moment of doubt, but they remain the frontrunner for Santana. The previously mentioned packages apply.
UPDATE, 12-5-07 at 6:21pm: LENIII checks in on the interest level of the six teams involved.
UPDATE, 12-5-07 at 5:05pm: Santana’s agent, Peter Greenberg, indicated that the Mets are in the running for Santana.
UPDATE, 12-5-07 at 2:48pm: BP’s John Perrotto talked to a Twins official, and it definitely looks like the Meetings will end without a Johan deal. Perrotto says he’s still likely to be dealt before Spring Training.
UPDATE, 12-5-07 at 2:18pm: Ken Rosenthal believes the door is open for more teams to jump in, especially the Mariners.
UPDATE, 12-5-07 at 12:43pm: Jon Heyman reports that the Mets are trying to work their way back into the mix. They’re still viewed as a longshot without Jose Reyes in the offer, but at least the Twins are listening.
UPDATE, 12-5-07 at 12:21pm: The Red Sox and Twins are still engaged in talks. The Sox are still considering the Yankees a factor. And no, Ellsbury signing on with Boras doesn’t change the Twins’ opinion of him.
UPDATE, 12-5-07 at 11:26am: Joel Sherman describes Boston’s two goals in the Santana Sweepstakes. He wonders whether the Sox and Twins could reach an accord on players and then the Red Sox wouldn’t be able to agree with Santana on an extension. Meanwhile Gammons himself reiterates that he senses the Twins will hold onto Santana.
UPDATE, 12-5-07 at 10:54am: Peter Gammons via Amy Nelson is saying Santana may not be traded.
UPDATE, 12-5-07 at 9:56am: According to Keith Law via MetsBlog, the Twins have reached out to the Mets, Dodgers, and Angels to revisit Santana talks.
UPDATE, 12-5-07 at 9:43am: Joel Sherman agrees with Bill Madden’s take below – part of the reason the Yankees pulled out is that even they have a payroll.
UPDATE, 12-5-07 at 8:30am: The Yankees could’ve had Santana for Phil Hughes, Melky Cabrera, Jeff Marquez, and Mitch Hilligoss. Brian Cashman, however, never wanted to sacrifice Hughes for Santana and convinced his bosses that the Yankees couldn’t afford him now that Andy Pettitte is in the fold. This near-trade won’t be forgotten by Yankees fans, unless Hughes takes off in ’08.
FROM 12-5-07 at 12:55am:
Time for a fresh Johan thread. Yesterday’s had 297 comments on it.
The Boston Herald’s Rob Bradford says the Red Sox told Ryan Kalish‘s agent that his name has never come up in the Santana talks with Minnesota. Peter Gammons had said the 19 year-old outfielder was added to the deal to make it a 5-for-1 around 3pm yesterday.
Teams Interested In Luis Gonzalez
Luis Gonzalez has seemingly gotten lost in the free agent shuffle, but he did post a .359 OBP last year. Gonzo’s agent has actually talked to many teams (per Jerry Crasnick): the Rangers, Twins, Giants, Rays, and White Sox.
My guess a month ago was the Twins.
Santana/Reyes/Haren Rumor Quashed
UPDATE, 12-5-07 at 5:45pm: Billy Beane, who rarely comments on trade rumors, actually went out of his way to call mine below a "total fabrication." I guess I should be proud, right? I was the subject of an elaborate hoax/impersonated sportswriter (thanks, Fake John Delcos!). I apologize – not sure why someone would go to such lengths, but lesson learned.
FROM 12-5-07 at 3:36pm:
Just got an incredible rumor from a trusted New York sportswriter. Stay with me, because this one’s crazy. But rest assured that if the source wasn’t good, I wouldn’t post it.
Minnesota has initiated talks for a three-way blockbuster with the Twins and A’s. Here’s how it would go down:
Mets send Jose Reyes, Kevin Mulvey to A’s
Mets send Hector Pellot to Twins
A’s send Bobby Crosby and Dan Johnson to Mets
A’s send Dan Haren to Twins
Twins send Johan Santana to Mets
Mets get Johan Santana, Bobby Crosby and Dan Johnson
A’s get Jose Reyes and Kevin Mulvey
Twins get Dan Haren and Hector Pellot
The source says Haren is exactly the type of player the Twins want for Santana, a cheap frontline starter. It’s known the Mets would hate to deal Reyes but they would get some value beyond Santana. Billy Beane is happy because he gets Reyes for one more year than he had Haren plus longtime favorite Mulvey. And, he’s out of Crosby’s contract.
Thoughts?
Dan Haren Rumors: Wednesday
UPDATE, 12-5-07 at 11:20am: Joel Sherman says Stephen Drew, Mark Reynolds, and Tony Pena are also off the table in the Haren talks.
UPDATE, 12-5-07 at 8:09am: Susan Slusser adds that the A’s aren’t being unreasonable with Arizona – they haven’t asked for Justin Upton or Chris Young. Slusser also notes that Billy Beane wouldn’t sit down with the Tigers unless they’d discuss Andrew Miller and Cameron Maybin. That’s when the Tigers turned to the Marlins. Beane downplayed the chances of trading Haren, but what else is he going to say?
FROM 12-5-07 at 12:09am:
Technically it’s Wednesday now, and some of the more rumor-filled threads were getting really long. So I’m happy to start a set of new ones. You can check out Tuesday’s Dan Haren thread here.
According to Jack Magruder of the East Valley Tribune, the D’Backs are willing to discuss a package of Carlos Gonzalez, Emilio Bonifacio, and Brett Anderson for Haren. That the D’Backs could spare these three very talented youngsters without skipping a beat speaks to how deep their farm system is. Magruder’s source says the A’s could ask for a staggering six players.
Jose Valverde, Dustin Nippert, and/or Alberto Callaspo could be involved to give the A’s some MLB-ready talent. From previous reports, we know that Conor Jackson and Max Scherzer will not be involved. Ken Rosenthal had suggested last night that the A’s initial request scared the D’Backs off, but he’s since corrected that information.
The A’s, however, want to wait for something to happen with Johan Santana before trading Haren.
Additionally, Magruder adds that the D’Backs have a touch of interest in Noah Lowry.
Rangers Rumors: Blalock, Lamb, Padilla
Evan Grant has the latest Rangers hot stove buzz.
- 27 year-old third baseman Hank Blalock is getting a lot of play. Grant names the Cardinals, Phillies, Twins, and Dodgers as teams that have inquired. Jon Daniels says no team has made an impressive offer and he’s not inclined to trade Blalock. It would be a bit of a sell-low move.
- The Rangers met with Mike Lamb‘s agent yesterday afternoon; they’re the frontrunners for him. They have a full-time first base job for Lamb, who came up in the organization.
- Teams are interested in Vicente Padilla, but everyone wants the Johan thing to be finished before moving on pitching.