Padres Rumors: Nady, Barrett, Jenkins, Prior
Padres rumor guru Tom Krasovic has a new article up at the San Diego Union-Tribune.
- The Padres are open to trading 24 year-old catcher Nick Hundley. Hundley did not crack Baseball America’s Padres top ten prospects for ’08 after hitting .247/.324/.475 at Double A. Kevin Towers would’ve sent him to the Astros for Luke Scott, and still could send him to Pittsburgh for Xavier Nady.
- Krasovic says that if the Padres are to deal Michael Barrett for a few prospects, it’s likely to happen soon. The Pirates are said to be interested so maybe a deal involving Nady and some prospects could go down.
- The Padres’ offer to Geoff Jenkins will likely to be inferior to that of the Phillies. So Jenkins would have to be sold on the city. He’s from California and went to USC, notes MLBTR reader Nathaniel S.
- The Friars expressed interest in another USC alum, Mark Prior (as have 11 other teams). The New York Daily News reiterated the Mets’ and Yankees’ interest in him this morning.
Mariners Targeting Blanton?
So far this winter, we haven’t heard much about the Mariners getting involved for Joe Blanton. However, Buster Olney says today that "it appears they are in the thick of the trade bidding" for the 27 year-old righty. Blanton has a career ERA of 4.10 with a below-average K/9 of 5.24 and better-than-average BB/9 of 2.37.
Olney believes Adam Jones would be required for Seattle to acquire Blanton. Along with Jones, Carlos Gonzalez, Daric Barton, Kurt Suzuki, and Travis Buck could be the makings of a solid, cheap offensive core for Oakland. Olney believes the Mets and Reds could be other clubs eyeing Blanton.
The Mariners are still scrambling for two starters after missing out on Hiroki Kuroda. According to Larry Stone, they’re still after Erik Bedard. Carlos Silva and Kyle Lohse might also become targets if the bigger names fall through.
Nats, Mets, Yanks Interested In Prior
UPDATE, 12-15-07 at 12:47pm: The Phillies are one team that does not have interest in Prior.
UPDATE, 12-15-07 at 8:48am: Ed Price adds that the Yankees and Mets have both shown preliminary interest in Prior. Apparently he is throwing on flat ground and could be ready by May. Translation: he may return by the second half. Price believes roughly a dozen clubs are interested in Prior.
FROM 12-14-07 at 11:53pm:
The Nationals are looking in the bargain bin for a veteran starting pitcher. Two options they’re considering are Mark Prior and Jason Jennings, according to MLB.com’s Bill Ladson. The Nats first touched base with Jennings’ agent around November 6th. Prior is a new name for them though.
Jennings has the Royals, Rangers, Rockies, and Mets on his trail as well. As for Prior, the Astros, Reds, Rangers, Phillies, and Padres may be the most interested clubs.
The Mitchell Report
1:06pm: Jon Heyman names a slew of guys in the report. The Mitchell Report itself is available here. Start reading! Wow, this thing is loaded with surprises. Kind of cool to see the emails Mitchell was able to collect among front office guys.
11:11am: More on last night’s cut n’ paste misspelled list – WNBC talked to a "high-ranking MLB official" who refuted several names on it.
10:51am: This is odd, WNBC/CNBC is rolling with the same cut n’ pasted misspelled list. Hey look, Troy Glaus is in there twice! MetsBlog checks in with buzz that the Klapisch note about the Mets being safe may not be true.
10:25am: A list with a bunch of fairly believable names (many of them misspelled) in the form of one big paragraph has been passed around the Internet since at least last night. There’s no indication it has any legitimacy (no need to email it to me). Deadspin has published said list.
10:04am: The New York Daily News is also saying Pettitte is in the report. But those Grimsley names were revealed in October of last year so I’m not sure what the hubbub is about.
9:20am: ESPN is reporting Roger Clemens is in the report. Clemens was named in the Jason Grimsley affidavit, anyway. So were Andy Pettitte, Miguel Tejada, Brian Roberts, Jay Gibbons, and David Segui.
9:09am: The latest is from Bob Klapisch, who reports that no Mets on the current 40-man roster are in the report. So people can stop randomly throwing Carlos Delgado‘s name about. Klapisch is on board with my tip that the Yanks will be hit hard.
Today’s Non-tenders: Towers, Prior, Everett, Durbin
Tim’s out for the night, so we’ve got a fresh post started for the non-tenders. MLB.com has a running list as well.
These guys are the officials as of now:
- As expected, the Marlins non-tendered catcher Miguel Olivo. Johnny Estrada was another casualty; these two make up the market for starting catchers.
- The Blue Jays non-tendered Josh Towers, a surprising move. Some NL team could offer him two years and get league average work out of him.
- Mark Prior has been non-tendered. Honestly if I were the Cubs, I would’ve tossed the $3.5MM his way just to see.
- Aaron Miles is now a free agent.
- The A’s cut Kiko Calero loose.
- The Padres have non-tendered four: Morgan Ensberg, Jason Lane, and pitchers Jack Cassell and Ryan Ketchner. RotoWorld speculates that the latter two, not arbitration eligible, could be offered minor league deals.
- The Royals cut the cord on Emil Brown. He turns 33 soon; he hit an ugly .257/.300/.347 in 2007. Brown earned $3.45MM in ’07.
- The Tigers non-tendered Chad Durbin, toss him into the free agent pool. Guess those trade talks with the Bucs didn’t work out.
- The Twins have let go Jason Tyner.
- The Nats have cut bait with Nook Logan and LHP Michael O’Connor.
- The Dodgers wave goodbye to Mark Hendrickson.
- The White Sox have non-tendered Andy Gonzalez and LHP Heath Phillips. Joe Crede sticks with the Pale Hose for now.
- Adam Everett has lost his job with the Astros. It’d be kind of funny if the Orioles signed him.
- Per RotoWorld, the Angels have non-tendered Dallas McPherson. He’s full of potential, but he’s never come through. He’s only 27, though, so he could still catch on somewhere. Unless, RotoWorld notes, he has an agreement in place with the Angels.
- The Braves have non-tendered Willie Harris, though he had already been DFA’d.
–Joe and Tim
Would Mets Consider Marquis?
On November 29th, ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick mentioned that the Cubs are "listening on Jason Marquis." This would clearly be a salary dump, as Marquis will earn $16.25MM over 2008-09.
Since then we haven’t heard of any teams interested in the 29 year-old righty. However, Mets manager Willie Randolph brought up Marquis yesterday as a consideration for the team’s rotation. The article’s author, Adam Rubin, added that the Cubs are fans of Endy Chavez. It wouldn’t be fair to equate the two players, however.
Hat tip to MetsBlog on this one.
Latest Johan Santana Rumors
UPDATE, 12-11-07 at 2:54pm: Jon Heyman puts the Red Sox, Yankees, and Mets as the three leading suitors for Johan. Matthew Cerrone, however, believes the Rangers, rather than the Yanks, are the third leading suitor.
FROM 12-11-07 at 8:52am:
Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune has the latest buzz surrounding the Johan Santana trade talks.
The Red Sox and Twins talked yesterday, and the Twins are leading toward Jacoby Ellsbury rather than Jon Lester. Jed Lowrie and Justin Masterson would also be included, and the sides are trying to figure out a fourth player.
The Yanks and Twins haven’t talked much lately, but apparently Kei Igawa‘s name has come up in the talks. He can’t have much trade value in the Twins’ eyes.
Christensen implies that the Mets might be trying to finish second here, staying involved for the sake of PR.
Christensen also notes that the Twins are fond of Jered Weaver, and the Angels could jump in if they decide to use their trade chips on another starter.
Also, the idea of the Twins including another player on their end has come up. In the past Joe Nathan has been mentioned, but Christensen is referring more to Twins’ prospects. They don’t have much in the system though.
Odds And Ends: Fassero, Hansen, Petco
Couple of player-related items to share, though they’re not really rumors. Anyway:
- The Mets are interested in a Jeff Fassero comeback. They reportedly had scouts watch him throw, and will monitor him as the pitches in the Mexican winter league.
- Padres CEO Sandy Alderson has decided to maintain the dimensions at Petco Park, for now. On a grimmer note, the Padres plan to wear their camis more during Spring Training. Blech.
- Red Sox relief prospect Craig Hansen has undergone surgery to correct his sleep apnea. The Sox hope that his struggles were based on fatigue brought on by apnea.
–Joe
Rosenthal’s Latest: Figgins, Helms, Affeldt
Ken Rosenthal has a new column up.
- The Angels are telling teams they will only consider trading Chone Figgins if they find a third baseman. If Figgins does hit the market, figure on the Cubs getting involved.
- The Marlins offered Scott Nestor to the Phillies for Wes Helms, if the Phils paid $1.8MM of the $2.9MM owed to the third baseman. The Phils passed.
- Jeremy Affeldt already has a four-year offer in hand, so he’s now looking for five years. Jeez. Teams known to be in on Affeldt: the Yankees, Rays, and Astros. Affeldt’s agent has contacted the Mariners, trying to sell him as a starter. He grew up in Washington state.
- The Mets like the Pirates’ Damaso Marte, if the Pirates lessen their demands. The Yankees, Phillies, Braves, and Astros are interested as well.
Odds and Ends: Fukudome, Mahay, Santana
Rounding up some odds and ends for you…
- I’d read that Akinori Otsuka recommended the Padres to Kosuke Fukudome, kind of glossed over the fact. But Jamey Newberg has is rightly disappointed in the Rangers reliever. After all, the Rangers have Fukudome in their sights, and Otsuka plays for the Rangers.
- A good source tells me the Yankees believe they are in the lead for Ron Mahay, and think it can be done this upcoming week. If it’s true that Mahay has narrowed his choices to the Yanks and Royals, and the Royals have little interest, this makes sense.
- MetsBlog reports that Johan Santana prefers to pitch for the Mets. He likes the idea of moving to the NL.