More Info On Gagne’s Veto List
As you know, Eric Gagne‘s contract allows for him to be traded to 12 teams without his consent. Earlier we learned that the Tigers, Indians, and Phillies are not among the 12 allowable teams.
Today, Ken Rosenthal verified the above info and added that the Yankees, Mets, and Angels are on the allowable list. The remaining nine he can be traded to without consent are thought to be inconsequential. And the Angels aren’t going to worry about Gagne.
The Mets have been looking for bullpen help for at least a few weeks now. Gagne has been on the radar, among others. Rosenthal believes Omar Minaya’s focus is instead on players like Mark Buehrle, Jeff Conine, and Mark Sweeney. It’s interesting to note that (by my count) Minaya has yet to make a trade this year. By this time in previous years he’d made five or six. (Coming soon: Minaya trade profile).
The Yankees have been scouting the Rangers for a while. They could be looking at Gagne, or Akinori Otsuka. Mark Teixeira hasn’t been active. I suppose Joaquin Benoit or Brad Wilkerson could be on the radar as well.
Healey’s Latest
Mark Healey at Gotham Baseball has long been a solid, underappreciated source of inside information. He’s got another Rumor Mill up at his site. My summary follows.
- The Yankees have an eye on big-name 1Bs like Mark Teixeira and Todd Helton. But more realistically, they’re looking at Tampa Bay’s Carlos Pena. He’s got the defense, so even if he regresses to a 20 HR bat it’s a nice pickup. Healey’s source believes Tyler Clippard is too much but the Rays like Sean Henn. The Yanks have also inquired about the versatile Ty Wigginton.
- The Reds, Rockies, and others have been scouting the Yankees’ Double A Trenton affiliate. Joba Chamberlain, Ian Kennedy, and Brett Gardner are probably the most desirable players on that roster. Gotham Baseball has previously connected the Yankees to Brian Fuentes and David Weathers. Another reliever the Yankees like is Chad Bradford, though the O’s price may be too high.
- Gotham quotes an NL scout who doesn’t believe the Mets will acquire a starter by trading Lastings Milledge, Carlos Gomez, or Fernando Martinez. That scout believes the return of Pedro will supply the needed boost. Personally, I can see Milledge going.
- Some former Mets on the radar: Brady Clark, Jay Payton, and David Weathers.
- Healey says the Mets sent scouts to look at Randy Winn this weekend. They must not be pleased with Moises Alou‘s progress. As I mentioned earlier, Winn is signed through 2009. He has a full no-trade clause this year. For 2008-09 he can block deals to ten teams.
- The Pirates have some vets to trade, and have contacted the Mets regarding Shawn Chacon and Damaso Marte. Marte is quietly having a fine season with a 1.21 ERA and 1.03 WHIP. Marte earns $2.45MM this year, and $2MM in ’08 with an odd $6MM club option for 2009. He can also earn incentives based on games finished.
Mets Inquire On Buehrle, Lidge
Dan Graziano of the Newark Star-Ledger writes that the Mets have inquired as to the availability of starter Mark Buehrle as well as reliever Brad Lidge.
According to Graziano, a Buehrle acquisition would allow the Mets to move Jorge Sosa to the bullpen, helping two areas at once. Apparently Omar Minaya has been a big Buehrle fan for a while. Something involving Lastings Milledge would make a ton of sense. Would a Mike Pelfrey or Philip Humber be required as well?
Kenny Williams and Omar Minaya have matched up a couple times before, when Minaya was GM of the Expos. The Sox plucked Bartolo Colon and Carl Everett from the Expos in separate deals, sending away Rocky Biddle, Orlando Hernandez, Jon Rauch, and Gary Majewski. With over a month to spare, it sounds like Williams will sit back and see what offers come to him. On the other hand, the acquiring team can’t afford to wait.
Graziano says the Mets believe Lidge would be very comfortable working behind Billy Wagner, his former mentor. The availability of Lidge is still in question however.
Orioles To Become Sellers?
Jeff Zrebiec’s article for the Baltimore Sun this morning discusses the possibility that the Orioles start selling off veteran parts as we approach the trading deadline. He specifically names Scott Williamson, Corey Patterson, Jay Gibbons, and Steve Trachsel as trade candidates.
In a related note, Gotham Baseball’s Mark Healey spoke to an industry source indicating that the Mets might be interested in trading for Williamson and Jay Payton.
Williamson makes $900K this year, with additional incentives based on his number of games. Patterson, a Scott Boras client, makes $4.3MM and is a free agent after the season. His terrible hitting this year will cost him what could’ve been a decent payday. The Gibbons contract is ugly: $5MM this year, $5.7MM in ’08, and $6.2MM in ’09. Trachsel earns $3.1MM this year plus a $4.75MM club option for ’08. Finally, Payton makes $4.5MM this year and $5MM in ’08.
The Orioles could really go nuts if they wanted to, dumping off contracts and veterans. Miguel Tejada, Melvin Mora, Kevin Millar, Ramon Hernandez, Danys Baez, Aubrey Huff, Chad Bradford, and Jamie Walker could be sent packing. If they were to commit to a rebuilding year in ’08, the Orioles have players to fill almost any team’s needs. Of course, trading all those vets would amount to admitting how many mistake contracts the Orioles have on the books.
The Relief Market
Mark Hale of the New York Post mentions some available relievers in today’s column. The Mets, like many teams, may be looking to acquire bullpen help. Here are Hale’s trade candidates:
Chad Cordero
Jon Rauch
Eric Gagne
Akinori Otsuka
Salomon Torres
Hale’s source believes the Rangers would only trade one of Otsuka/Gagne, and not both. Some other "name" relievers who may be available leading up to the July 31st deadline, in my estimation:
Al Reyes
Octavio Dotel
David Riske
Mike MacDougal
Mike Stanton
Dave Weathers
Eddie Guardado
The Royals, Devil Rays, Rangers, Nationals, and Reds are shaping up as the clear sellers in the market so far. The White Sox may be approaching that point. The NL Central is so shaky that a lot of lousy under-.500 clubs will not be packing it in. Hence the lack of Brad Lidge on this list.
Jacque Jones A Fit For Mets?
Jacque Jones has become something of a punchline for the commenters on this site. Cubs fans, who frequent MLBTR disproportionately, think he is worth something decent. Everyone else does not. Even as a Cubs fan I have to side with everyone else.
Chris De Luca of the Chicago Sun-Times writes today:
"The New York Mets are in the market for outfield help at a time when the Cubs are expected to renew their efforts to trade Jacque Jones."
An update on the Mets’ situation: Shawn Green comes off the DL from a chip fracture in his foot today. Endy Chavez should miss a month with a hamstring strain. Moises Alou had fluid drained from his strained quad on Monday, and said at the time he wasn’t close to playing. Carlos Beltran at least seems recovered from his bruised knee.
Given that Omar Minaya acquired Green last year, it’s not impossible to envision him snagging Jones on the cheap, hoping for a revival. Jones still wouldn’t get regular playing time a few weeks from now if both Green and Alou are healthy, however. Jones makes $4MM this year and $5MM in ’08, and one would assume the Cubs would eat some of that to move him for a warm body. Even a lukewarm body.
To my knowledge, Jim Hendry has only made one trade with Minaya. That was Hendry’s December 2003 acquisition of Jose Macias when Minaya was GM of the Expos. Theo Epstein and Dave Littlefield are Hendry’s favorite trading partners.
Healey’s Latest
Mark Healey of Gotham Baseball has some new rumors for us this morning.
- There’s talk that if the Twins are more than five games out at the trading deadline, they’ll start dealing veterans. An obvious one is Luis Castillo, earning $5.75MM this season. He has long been connected to the Mets. He almost signed with New York as a free agent and the team has tried trading for him before. Healey believes Lastings Milledge is too much to give up, so don’t look for a straight up swap of those two. Though I imagine the Twins would love having Milledge to man center field in 2008.
- The Reds are ten games under .500 and ten out in the NL Central. Healey speculates that Adam Dunn, Ryan Freel, and Dave Weathers are the Reds’ most tradeable commodities. The Reds recently extended Freel through 2009, though – I think they want him around as a fan favorite. Dunn I can see being moved. He earns $10.5MM this year with a $13MM club option for ’08. He’s got an unsurprising line of .263/.366/.538; that’s worth $13 mil these days. The Dodgers or White Sox seem like good fits.
Pressure On Mets To Trade Milledge
In general, it seems the New York media would like to see Lastings Milledge pushed out of town. They don’t like his cocky attitude and can’t comprehend his rap music. He’s not seen as a humble team player.
Far more important, though, is that the 22 year-old still looks like he will be a very valuable center fielder. I keep going back to this post from Nate Silver in January. Milledge remains underrated, and his mild transgressions plus this year’s foot injury may only further improve the opportunity to buy low. So he has too much swagger and said some standard stuff in a rap song? To me those are really weak reasons to trade a top prospect for fifty or seventy-five cents on the dollar.
Mets Acquire Second Baseman
According to Anthony DiComo at MLB.com, the Mets have acquired 27-year old minor league infielder Jake Gautreau from the Cleveland Indians for a PTBNL or cash.
Nothing very exciting here; it seems the Mets needed to fill out a middle-infield spot at AAA. Gautreau was the 14th pick overall in the 2001 Amateur Draft, a highly touted third baseman out of Tulane. In his minor league career, Gautreau has shown a dissapointing lack of patience; still, he has some power and would be passable as a major league second basemen.
However, the Mets already have two near-replacement-level players in Damion Easley and Ruben Gotay. I don’t think they have to worry about Gautreau nipping at their heels.
John Peterson writes for the baseball blog Blastings! Thrilledge.
O’s Still After Chan Ho Park
Just a small note from the bottom of a New York Post article today – the Mets and Orioles have had trade discussions regarding 34 year-old starter Chan Ho Park.
Before the season, the Mets signed Park for $600,000, with an additional $2.4MM in incentives based on innings pitched. Park has struggled with the long ball in five Triple A starts, and it’s contributed to his 6.67 ERA. Those looking for a silver lining can take solace in his 4.5 K/BB. PECOTA calls for a 4.75 ERA for him this year, not bad at all as far as fifth starters go. However, the AL East is a harsh environment.
Odalis Perez is the other guy said to be on Baltimore’s radar for the fifth starter vacancy.