Olney’s Latest: Choate, Bell, Isringhausen, K-Rod
In today's Insider-only blog post, ESPN's Buster Olney notes that while the market for right-handed relief pitching is bountiful, the market for lefties is pretty thin. The Nationals will talk about Sean Burnett but the Cubs will not discuss Sean Marshall, though one southpaw to keep an eye on is Randy Choate. Olney says the Yankees have already asked the Marlins about his availability.
Here are the rest of Buster's rumors…
- The Padres are unlikely to trade Heath Bell to the Diamondbacks even though the latter would love to have him. Padres owner Jeff Moorad used to run the D'Backs.
- "The key guys this time of year really aren't the general managers," said one GM. "The owners are the key guys. Because they'll decide whether to add payroll, and when to raise the white flag on the season."
- Jason Isringhausen of the Mets is "destined to draw a whole lot interest" because he's cheap and experienced. A handful of GMs feel that a Francisco Rodriguez trade is "all but impossible" because of his vesting option.
- Teams have received their preliminary 2012 schedule, and the chances of realignment dwindle with each passing day.
- Labor negotiations are progressing as scheduled, though recent buzz that a new Collective Bargaining Agreement could be announced at the All-Star Game has been dismissed.
Quick Hits: Beltran, Giants, Brewers, Gordon
Friday night linkage..
- Mets outfielder Carlos Beltran hinted that he would waive his no-trade clause to play for the Giants, according to John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle (via Twitter). Beltran also said that the Mets might want to keep him now that they're playing better (Twitter link).
- The Brewers will be looking for infield depth in the trade market in addition to relief pitchers, tweets Buster Olney of ESPN.com.
- The Yankees have sold Brian Gordon's rights to the SK Wyverns of the Korean Professional League for cash considerations, according to Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com.
- For a Carlos Beltran trade to happen, the Mets would probably have to eat $5-7MM of his contract and take back a B-minus/C-plus prospect back in return, Olney tweets.
New York Notes: Rodriguez, Burnett, Budgell
The latest from New York, where Derek Jeter will attempt to reach the 3,000 hit plateau against the Rays tonight. The Yankees' captain is two hits away from reaching the milestone…
- Mets closer Francisco Rodriguez met with Scott Boras and two of the agent’s associates both before and after yesterday’s game against the Dodgers, according to Brian Costa of the Wall Street Journal. Other agents have also contacted Rodriguez, who is currently represented by Paul Kinzer of Wasserman Media Group, as MLBTR’s Agency Database shows.
- Kinzer called Rodriguez's meetings with Boras "a sad part of the business," according to Costa (Twitter link).
- Rodriguez will not become a free agent if he completes 55 games and his $17.5MM option for 2012 vests. Otherwise, he’ll receive a $3.5MM buyout and hit the open market this offseason.
- The Yankees appear to have interest in Sean Burnett, but ESPN.com's Buster Olney cautions that the Yankees were simply doing their regular scouting when they saw the Nationals left-hander pitch recently (Twitter link).
- The Mets signed tenth round pick Matthew Budgell, according to Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com (on Twitter). Jim Callis of Baseball America notes that the high schooler obtained an over-slot bonus of $225K (Twitter link).
Heyman On Ethier, Lowe, Astros, Twins, Mets
Dodgers outfielder Andre Ethier is the main topic of Jon Heyman's latest piece at SI.com. Ethier, a free agent after the 2012 season, is deeply unhappy with the Dodgers on account of their on and off-field troubles, a source tells Heyman.
While no specific trade or signing rumors pertaining to Ethier are cited, the outfielder is apparently a good friend of Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia (both players attended Arizona State University) and is said to have "Boston in his mind."
Here are some other items of note from Heyman's piece:
- The Braves aren't openly shopping Derek Lowe, but with good pitching depth in the minors, Atlanta would probably listen to offers on the right-hander.
- The Astros will be hard trade partners, one GM told Heyman, because of the impending change of ownership.
- The Twins do not yet consider themselves sellers, a rival exec told Heyman.
- Even if the Mets wanted to negotiate secretly with Jose Reyes, as was recently reported, Heyman thinks it's unlikely Reyes and his agents would entertain those talks at this juncture.
- The Mets would love to find a trade partner to offload Francisco Rodriguez but, the closer's $17.5MM 2012 option deters logical suitors. One GM called it "scary."
- The Tigers will consider an offensive upgrade at one of third base, second base or outfield.
Giants Will Consider Rental Players
Brian Sabean isn’t ruling out rental players if it means making the Giants better. The GM told Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News that he’s not going to limit himself to trade targets that are under team control after 2011.
"No, you have to be more open-minded because of the situation we're in," Sabean said. "But you'd have to be pretty damn sure that, quote (unquote), rental player was a difference maker."
Sabean and his staff have had conversations with about half of the teams in baseball to set the groundwork for possible moves. The responses from other clubs have been “really slow or guarded” so far, according to Sabean, who suggested there may not be “actual premium choices” available this summer. Sabean said he’d be reluctant to part with starting pitching in trades, but didn’t completely rule it out.
The Giants, who lead the NL West with a 50-39 record, have a franchise record $120MM payroll and ownership hasn’t yet approved major payroll increases. Carlos Beltran, who earns $18.5MM and hits free agency this fall, is the type of rental player who could appeal to the Giants, though taking on his salary would likely require approval from ownership.
Quick Hits: Mariners, Giants, Yankees, Orioles
Our condolensces go out to the friends and family of Dick Williams. The long-time player and manager passed away at age 82 today.
- Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik told MLB.com's Greg Johns that "we're wide open." He added that they've "had dialogue" about potential trades, but haven't found a match and won't make a deal until they find one that makes sense.
- MLB.com's Adam Berry notes that Mike Fontenot is coming off the disabled list soon, which could mean the end of Bill Hall's time with the Giants.
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets that the Yankees have a scout at Nationals Park tonight, presumably to see Sean Burnett. Earlier today we heard that they've discussed the lefty internally.
- Meanwhile, ESPN's Buster Olney hears that the Yankees are doing normal pre-deadline due diligence and are discussing many players (on Twitter), but they are not close to any deals.
- Orioles president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail told Steve Melewski of MASNSports.com that he'd like scouting director Joe Jordan to return next year. The contracts of both men are up after the season.
- The Mets have signed seventh rounder Cole Frenzel, tweets Adam Rubin of ESPN New York. The first baseman from Arizona was the 222nd overall pick.
- Derrick Goold of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch hears that the Cardinals are expected to finalize a deal with third rounder C.J. McElroy (Twitter link). "Just details" are left to be finalized. MLB's slot recommendation for the 109th overall pick is approximately $284K.
Mets “Very Unlikely” To Trade Reyes In Season
Amid reports of "secret" extension talks, Mets GM Sandy Alderson told Adam Rubin of ESPN New York that they are "very unlikely" to trade Jose Reyes in season (Twitter link). He said that was true even before the shortstop was placed on the disabled list with a hamstring injury.
Over the weekend we heard there was "almost no way" the Mets would deal their star, and Alderson's statement reinforces that position. The team may also be considering a substantial contract offer when Reyes hits free agency after the season. Either way, other clubs don't figure to stop calling since Alderson could just be posturing.
NL East Notes: Johnson, Phillies, Mets
On this date in 1979, Mike Schmidt homered in his first three trips to the plate then flied out to the warning track his next time up. Here's the latest from the Hall of Famer's former division…
- Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com gives us an up-close look at 68-year-old Nationals manager Davey Johnson, who considers himself a "geek" and can speak Spanish and some Japanese.
- The Phillies are expected to consider ways of making upgrades on the infield this month, according to David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News.
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports imagines what might have been if the Yankees had acquired current Phillies ace Cliff Lee last summer.
- Mets GM Sandy Alderson told David Waldstein of the New York Times that it's still too early to predict what kind of moves the Mets are going to make this month. The Mets are listening to offers for outfielder Carlos Beltran.
Extension Talks Unlikely To Occur Soon For Reyes
1:00pm: The Mets are not talking about approaching Reyes' agents with an offer during the season, according to Andy Martino of the New York Daily News (on Twitter).
10:51am: Agent Chris Leible told Andy McCullough of the Star Ledger that "nothing's changed" in the past few weeks (Twitter link). There are no secret talks with the Mets and Reyes remains reluctant to talk contract during the season, according to Brian Costa of the Wall Street Journal (on Twitter).
9:06am: There are indications that the Mets will soon begin ‘secret’ talks with Jose Reyes’ representatives about an extension if they haven’t done so already, according to Mike Puma of the New York Post. Reyes, who is under contract through 2011, has been sitting out with a left hamstring problem that could send him to the disabled list.
It appeared last month that the Reyes wanted to wait until hitting free agency to negotiate possible deals. Yet one of Puma’s sources said Reyes and the Mets downplayed extension talks as a 'smokescreen' so that they could negotiate more privately.
The Mets are unlikely to trade Reyes this month and, according to Joel Sherman of the Post, are considering making him a substantial offer to stay in New York. It won't be cheap to retain Reyes given how well he compares with $142MM man Carl Crawford.
Mets Listening On Carlos Beltran
The Mets are beginning to accept calls on Carlos Beltran, according to Kevin Kernan of the New York Post and “people are calling” about the outfielder.
Beltran, who has said he’ll waive his no-trade clause in the right deal to a contender, met with agent Scott Boras to discuss trade possibilities. Few teams, if any, could afford Beltran’s $18.5MM salary, since he’ll still be owed $6MM or so at the end of July. He currently projects as a Type A free agent, but the Mets cannot offer him arbitration after the season.
The Yankees aren’t interested in Beltran, though the Red Sox are a possible fit given the low level of offensive production Boston has received from its right fielders this year. Mets GM Sandy Alderson says “it’s still a little bit early” to make deals, since the Mets are “relevant” in the race for playoff berths.