Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Yankees Rumors

Rosenthal On Phillies, Adams, Royals, Guthrie

By | at

It's been a busy weekend for FOX's Ken Rosenthal, who brought us a pair of rumor-packed videos yesterday. He shared a few more tidbits this morning in his newest column, so let's check out the highlights….

  • The Phillies are telling teams that they can add about $2MM in salary, which would keep them below the luxury tax threshold. They would also prefer to trade for players they can control through at least 2012, which makes rentals like Carlos Beltran or Heath Bell less appealing.
  • Mike Adams is one player under control past this season who has drawn "serious interest" from the Phillies, as we heard yesterday. But the Yankees and Rangers, among other teams, are also very interested in the righty.
  • The Royals are pushing to trade Melky Cabrera rather than Jeff Francoeur.
  • The Mets attempted to restructure Francisco Rodriguez's contract before sending him to the Brewers, ultimately deciding that trading their closer was the "cleaner" solution.
  • When John Danks comes off the disabled list this week, trade talks involving Edwin Jackson could heat up. Given Jake Peavy's injury history though, moving Jackson would be a risky move for a White Sox team just four games back in the AL Central.
  • The Orioles are willing to listen to offers for Jeremy Guthrie, but would want pitching back in any trade.
  • While they'd like to add a bat, the Indians may need a starting pitcher even more, since they have some question marks at the back of their rotation.

Quick Hits: Romero, Melky, Michael, Mondesi, Bailey

By | at

Saturday evening linkage..

  • The Mets have signed infielder Niuman Romero to a minor league contract, reports Adam Rubin of ESPN New York (on Twitter). Romero appeared in two games for the Red Sox last season and hit .222/.294/.244 in 159 plate appearances in the Phillies' and Blue Jays' farm systems this year.
  • Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports report that the Giants, Angels, and Phillies are among the teams with some level of interest in Melky Cabrera. The Melkman has delivered a .293/.332/.452 line for the Royals this season.
  • The Twins are making progress in talks with first round pick Levi Michael, tweets LaVelle E. Neal III of The Star Tribune. Michael was the 30th overall pick, which carries a slot recommendation of $1.1MM or so.
  • Adalberto Mondesi, the 16-year-old son of Raul Mondesi, is expected to sign for $1MM when eligible in two weeks according to Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes (link in Spanish). Rojas says the Royals have the inside track, but the Yankees, Mets, Giants, and Athletics are also interested. Make sure you tell your friends about our Spanish-language sister site Rumores de Beisbol.
  • Yesterday we learned that the Athletics have received calls on closer Andrew Bailey.  Two sources tell Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News that the Rangers are among those teams and the A's have at started looking more in-depth at Texas' farm system.
  • The Braves are in search of a bat, but Athletics outfielder Josh Willingham isn’t high on their list, a source told Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter).  Earlier today, ESPN's Buster Olney wrote that Willingham "is going to be traded at some point".
  • With their payroll already at an all-time high, the White Sox might be better off making in-house moves rather than deals, writes MLB.com's Scott Merkin.  If GM Ken Williams & Co. do make a deal they may look to land a right-handed reliever, despite the emergence of Brian Bruney.
  • Rival evaluators say that the degree of separation in the standings could impact the the aggressiveness of the Phillies, Braves, and Giants before the deadline, tweets Buster Olney of ESPN.com.  
  • The Cardinals have been one of the most aggressive teams in baseball as far as looking at starters, a source tells Morosi (via Twitter).

Rosenthal’s Latest: Beltran, Phillies, Red Sox, Yankees

By | at

Earlier today it was the Full Count video, and now Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports has some more notes in a separate video…

  • Carlos Beltran doesn't figure to be with the Mets much longer, especially since the team is willing to pick up the majority of the $6MM or so left on his contract. The Giants, Indians, Tigers, Red Sox, and Phillies all have interest.
  • The Phillies prefer Mike Adams to Heath Bell because they'd have him under team control as an arbitration-eligible player next season. They're concerned they may lose Ryan Madson as a free agent this winter.
  • The Red Sox keep saying they don't need starting pitching, but that could change before the deadline. Hiroki Kuroda is one possible target. 
  • The Yankees continue to look for starting pitching, especially after Bartolo Colon and Freddy Garcia got knocked around in their first starts after the All-Star break. Ubaldo Jimenez is out there, and the Rockies will at very least dangle him just to see if someone overwhelms them with an offer.

Rosenthal On Nolasco, Rays, Upton, Jimenez

By | at

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports brought us another edition of Full Count today while sporting yet another fantastic bow tie.  Here are some highlights..

  • The Marlins could wind up trading Ricky Nolasco if they fail to get back to the .500 mark.  The Rangers have shown interest in Nolasco since last winter and the Yankees could look to reunite him with manager Joe Girardi.  If the Fish make such a deal, it won't be in one of their classic salary dumps, it will be instead for baseball reasons.  They're looking to increase their payroll ahead of their move into a brand new stadium and they could be major players for free agents this winter.
  • The Rays still could end up as sellers but right now they appear to be buyers as they were looking to get Francisco Rodriguez before the Brewers swooped in at the final hour.  If Tampa Bay sells, it's doubtful that they'll move any of their starters but B.J. Upton is another story.  In theory, the Nationals, Phillies, and Braves could all be potential destinations for the outfielder.
  • The three teams with the best chance of meeting the Rockies' asking price for Ubaldo Jimenez are the Yankees, Tigers, and Reds.  The concerns with Jimenez are that he's not back to his 2009/early 2010 form and that his velocity has dropped.  One scout told Rosenthal that he's not back to his ace form yet but he's getting close.
  • The first-place Pirates are after upgrades but they should also improve from within.  They have a number of injured players returning such as Jose Tabata, Evan Meek, and Ross Ohlendorf.  The Bucs continue to search for a bat but they're not terribly interested in the Cubs' Carlos Pena.

Quick Hits: Mariners, Yankees, Diamondbacks, Bailey

By | at

Friday night linkage..

  • The Mariners are receiving calls on Jamey Wright and Adam Kennedy, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter).
  • Both the Red Sox and the Yankees have scouts at tonight's Mets–Phillies game, tweets Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com.
  • Diamondbacks GM Kevin Towers has made the rounds of his minor league teams and is willing to part with pieces at the deadline, writes Steve Gilbert of MLB.com.  Club ownership has told Towers that he will have some financial flexibility if he wants to add some payroll at the Deadline.
  • The Athletics have received calls on Andrew Bailey, though their current position is that they would need to be overwhelmed by an offer, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
  • Ken Davidoff of Newsday looks at some of the best mid-season rentals in recent years.  No surprise here, No. 1 is the Brewers' acquisition of C.C. Sabathia in 2008.
  • Over at Fangraphs, Dave Cameron continues his 2011 Trade Value series with a look at players ranked No. 25-21.

Yankees Sign J.C. Romero

By | at

The Yankees signed J.C. Romero to a minor league deal, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney (on Twitter). The left-hander, who obtained his release from the Nationals mere minutes ago, could pitch for the Yankees' Triple-A affiliate tonight, Olney reports.

The Yankees will be Romero's third organization of the year. He started the season in Philadelphia, where he posted a 3.86 ERA with more walks than strikeouts in 16 1/3 innings. The Phillies released him in June and he signed with the Nationals within a week, only to obtain his release today.

Nationals Release J.C. Romero

By | at

The Nationals released J.C. Romero, according to Ben Goessling of MASNsports.com (on Twitter). ESPN.com's Buster Olney reported yesterday that the Yankees would likely sign the left-hander to a minor league deal if the Nationals granted him his release.

Romero, who signed with Washington at the end of June, had a clause in his contract that enabled him to opt out if he wasn't in the Major Leagues by July 15th. Before signing with the Nationals, the 35-year-old posted a 3.86 ERA with 5.5 K/9 and 6.6 BB/9 in 16 1/3 innings for the Phillies, who released him last month. Romero missed time with a calf injury earlier this season.

Francisco Rodriguez Trade Links

By | at

Shortly after the All-Star game last night, the Brewers came out of nowhere to acquire Mets closer Francisco Rodriguez and $5MM from the Mets for two minor league players to be named later.  The deal came together quickly, tweets ESPN's Adam Rubin.  The Mets couldn't afford to wait much longer, because K-Rod has a $17.5MM option for 2012 that vests with 55 games finished, and the reliever racked up 34 closing for the Mets.  Details and links on the deal…

  • Agent Paul Kinzer never submitted the list of ten teams to which Rodriguez could block trades, according to David Waldstein of the New York Times. The Mets didn't want to lose the freedom to deal Rodriguez anywhere, so they made the deal once Rodriguez switched agents to Scott Boras. The Mets thought Boras would submit a list of ten teams or file a grievance in an attempt to do so.
  • Brewers GM Doug Melvin told Jim Memolo and Mel Antonen of MLB Network Radio that the list of five minor league players the Mets will choose from in September does not include the Brewers' "top top guys," but they are "players that could play in the big leagues."
  • The Brewers were not among the ten teams to which Rodriguez could block a trade, report Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.  That comes as no surprise, because new agent Scott Boras had indicated recently that his client would not approve a trade to set up if the team was among those ten.  The smart money is on K-Rod setting up for Brewers closer John Axford, though there's room for the new acquisition to safely finish ten or more games.
  • Though the agent had no influence on the trade, Rosenthal and Morosi note that it benefits Boras to get Rodriguez to free agency after the season, commission-wise.  I imagine Boras found all of this to be the likely scenario when he began representing K-Rod.
  • The Mets called around and offered similar deals to other teams, including the Yankees, tweets ESPN's Buster Olney.  He says the Brewers were willing to take on more money than any other team.  Alderson told the Brewers they had other deals for Rodriguez, so they'd have to pull the trigger now to get him, tweets Andy Martino of the New York Daily News.  The Yankees declined because they were wary of having two emotional relievers – K-Rod and Rafael Soriano – working before their preferred ninth inning, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post.
  • Joe Pawlikowski of FanGraphs says the trade is a big bet on Axford for the Brewers.
  • ESPN's Keith Law says the Brewers should have gone after a reliever who misses more bats, given the team's porous defense.  With all due respect to Law, I can't find an available reliever with a higher strikeout rate than Rodriguez's 9.7 per nine, outside of Koji Uehara.
  • K-Rod will diminish his free agent value if he makes any waves about his role with Milwaukee, writes Rosenthal.
  • Mets GM Sandy Alderson had to be the adult in the room and make this deal, writes Joel Sherman of the New York Post.
  • Dan Mennella discusses the fantasy baseball ramifications of the trade over at CloserNews.

Yankees Notes: Romero, Jimenez, Clippard

By | at

If you're wondering which Yankee has impressed his teammates with his sense of style or which Yankee would be valuable in a brawl, check out Daniel Barbarisi's piece at the Wall Street Journal. If you're interested in the latest rumors surrounding the team, keep reading – you're in the right place…

Heyman On K-Rod, Sabathia, Fielder, Beltran

By | at

The latest from SI's Jon Heyman…

  • Francisco Rodriguez's agent Scott Boras spoke with Brewers GM Doug Melvin shortly after last night's trade, at which point Heyman says "Boras made the case that K-Rod should close, suggesting he wouldn't do nearly as well setting up."  Melvin was apparently noncommital in that conversation, as he has been publicly.  K-Rod would become the highest-paid reliever in baseball history if his option vests, though Boras wouldn't get commission on a contract brokered by Wasserman Media Group in 2008.  Heyman suggests an unhappy Rodriguez is a scary concept, but based on the player's tweets (in Spanish), he's content.
  • Yankees ace C.C. Sabathia "has done some selling on the Yankees" to his friend Prince Fielder.  Heyman doesn't take this as a sign the Yankees are interested in Fielder as a very expensive designated hitter, but rather an indication that Sabathia expects to stick around with the club after this season.
  • Cardinals right fielder Lance Berkman told Yahoo's Jeff Passan he expects Fielder to top Albert Pujols in total dollars due to the age difference, but Albert should get the higher average annual value.
  • Heyman sees the Tigers as a potential suitor for Mets right fielder Carlos Beltran.  He believes the Tigers could add a bat at second base, third base, or outfield.
Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top