Yankees Rumors

Phillies, Rangers Interested In Wang

By Mike Axisa | July 4, 2009 at 9:32am CDT

Saturday: Heyman says the Phillies offered "a prospect apparently not to Yankees' liking" for Wang.

Friday: SI's Jon Heyman tweets that the Phillies and Rangers are among the teams interested in Yankees righthander Chien-Ming Wang. We first learned of Philadelphia's interest in the sinkerballer last weekend, but the Rangers are new to the discussion. With the recent news that Ben Sheets may not pitch all at this season, Texas could turn to Wang for help as they prepare to make a second half run at the first place Angels. They certainly have the young players to offer in exchange for Wang, or any other pitcher in the big leagues for that matter.

Wang famously struggled earlier in the season but has settled down of late, allowed three earned runs or less in his last four starts.

Red Sox In Serious Talks With Cuban SS

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 3, 2009 at 4:13pm CDT

The Red Sox are in serious talks to sign Cuban shortstop Jose Iglesias for about $8MM, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com. No deal is complete, but Heyman's sources are optimistic that the sides will agree. Iglesias, who is listed as 19, defected from Cuba last year. Scouts rave about Iglesias' defense, comparing him to defensive whiz Ozzie Smith. In spite of his "deluxe" hands and arm, some question how much he'll hit.

However, Kiley McDaniel of Baseball Prospectus wrote last month that most scouts believe Iglesias will hit enough to be a major league regular. While his hitting "leaves a bit to be desired," McDaniel confirms that Iglesias has unusually impressive defensive skills.

It's also worth noting that as recently as a couple weeks ago the Yankees were mentioned constantly as a possible suitor for the young infielder.

Heyman On V-Mart, Red Sox, Chapman

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 3, 2009 at 1:41pm CDT

Jon Heyman of SI.com says the Red Sox will come calling if the Indians are willing to part with Victor Martinez. And take this for what it's worth, but the Indians were scouting Boston's best prospects this week. Here are details on those two clubs and the rest of Heyman's rumors:

Clay Buchholz, Justin Masterson and Michael Bowden are just the sort of MLB-ready pitchers the Indians seek.
Still, the Indians would require a stunning amount in return for Martinez or Cliff Lee, since both players can be part of a contending Indians club for affordable 2010 options.
Generally speaking, the Red Sox are reluctant to deal their top young pitching.
The Indians are relatively deep at catcher, with Kelly Shoppach and prospect Carlos Santana.
Red Sox first base prospect Lars Anderson could also appeal to the Indians.
The Pirates initially asked for Craig Stammen or Garret Mock in their recent deal with the Nats, but Mike Rizzo wasn't willing to deal them.
The Phillies discussed Pedro Martinez, since there are few good fits for them on the trade market now.
Heyman says Doug Davis makes sense for the Brewers.
A D'Backs person says "[Dan] Haren stays," even though many of his teammates are believed to be available.
Heyman names the Yankees as the early favorites to sign Aroldis Chapman.

International Free Agent Update: Friday

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 3, 2009 at 11:48am CDT

Some updates on teams' moves and strategies as the international signings continue:

Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports that the A's are focusing on Venezuela, rather than the Dominican Republic this year, since they believe prices are too high in the Dominican.
In Derrick Goold's St. Louis Post Dispatch article, Cards GM John Mozeliak admits there's risk in signing a 16-year-old like Wagner Mateo to a bonus of $3.1MM, but says he's serious about being "more aggressive" in Latin America because the payoff can be huge.
Kiley McDaniel of Baseball Prospectus says Yankees signee Gary Sanchez will start his pro career this year, unlike most international prospects.
ESPN.com's Jorge Arangure Jr. reports that the Astros signed lefty Kirby Pena for $350k.
Arangure Jr. reports that the Red Sox signed a second player named Alcantara, this time it's righty Mario Alcantara. He receives a $350k bonus.

Morosi On Yankees, Qualls, Tigers

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 3, 2009 at 9:19am CDT

Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports has a few more rumors worth passing along:

The Yankees' bullpen has been performing well, but that's not stopping the team from keeping a close eye on D'Backs closer Chad Qualls.
If Brian Bruney doesn't start pitching more consistently, the Yankees may feel more pressure to acquire Qualls, who won't be a free agent until after next season and makes an affordable $2.5MM this year.
The Tigers are still looking for an outfield bat as Magglio Ordonez's hitting woes continue. The haircut may not have been the answer, as he has just two hits in his last 20 at bats.

Aroldis Chapman Interests Yankees

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 2, 2009 at 1:22pm CDT

The Yankees will have interest in flame-throwing lefty Aroldis Champan once he establishes residency in another country and becomes a free agent, according to Yahoo's Tim Brown and ESPN.com's Jorge Arangure Jr.. The 21-year-old just defected from Cuba and his agent says he could be ready for the majors by spring.

As one General Manager told Brown: "all 30 teams will be interested to some degree." Check out this post for more details on the star pitcher, his weaknesses and the price he could command.

Yankees Sign Sanchez, Add Two Others

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 2, 2009 at 10:38am CDT

10:38am: McDaniel reports that the Yankees have indeed agreed to sign Arredondo for $850k. Osuna is "out of the picture," however, as the Yanks added righty Chris Cabrera for $400k.

9:54am: As expected, the Yankees have signed Dominican catcher Gary Sanchez, according to Kiley McDaniel of Baseball Prospectus. Sanchez will receive a bonus of $3MM, but deferred payments bring the present value of the amount closer to $2.8MM. As Ben Badler points out, it's the biggest bonus the Yankees have ever awarded a hitter.

McDaniel hears that the Yankees will spend an additional $1MM on a shortstop and a pitcher. Damian Arredondo is expected to be the shortstop and some expect the pitcher to be Jose Osuna. If he signs, Arredondo would likely receive about $850k of the $1MM the Yankees are expected to spend on the pair of players.

Arangure Jr. On International Prospects

By Eddie Schmid | June 30, 2009 at 9:01pm CDT

ESPN's Jorge Arangure Jr. has been all over the market for potential signings from Latin America ahead of July 2nd, the first day teams are officially eligible to sign international free agents. Let's check out his latest action on the beat:

The Braves and Reds supposedly watched the workouts for shortstop prospect Humberto Valor. One scout called him "the best position player in Venezuela," and he's expected to get a bonus in the range of $1.5MM-$2.2MM.
The Red Sox are apparently set to sign Dominican right-hander Raul Alcantara for $500k. Here's a scouting report, and one scout said he's "better than [Michael] Ynoa."
The Brewers and Yankees are said to be "all over" SS prospect Damian Arredondo, touted for his "raw speed."

Ben had a round-up of more international signing tidbits yesterday. Keep an eye out for a flurry of news as the deadline approaches.

Odds & Ends: Zambrano, Royals, Hinske

By Eddie Schmid | June 30, 2009 at 7:26pm CDT

A dosage of links to soothe and satisfy between innings:

Paul Sullivan at the Chicago Tribune got Carlos Zambrano to respond to the poll that 57.2% of Cubs fans think he should be traded: "Fine, trade me to Boston," he joked.
Joe Posnanski gives an in-depth look at the problems facing the Royals. "The Royals execs are smart people. But the more they do to this offense, the worse this offense gets," he says.
Rinku Singh and Dinesh Patel, cricket players from India who won a reality T.V. show called "Million Dollar Arm" and had never picked up a baseball until recently, are now set to play their first game for rookie-level Pirates affiliate Bradenton.
M.A. Mehta at the Newark Star-Ledger talked to Yankees GM Brian Cashman, who says the deal for Eric Hinske "made some sense…he's a pro."
Bart Hubbuch at the New York Post tweets that the Mets "inquired repeatedly" on Mark DeRosa but didn't like the price.
ESPN's Keith Law takes a look at some intriguing pitchers in the Cape League (Insider).
Kiley McDaniel tweets that Baltimore is a "serious darkhorse" for the services of Miguel Angel Sano, with the Pirates and Twins still favorites.
According to MLB.com's Rustin Dodd, the Royals have begun discussions with first-round pick Aaron Crow.

Yanks Considered Trading Rivera For Wells In ’95

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | June 30, 2009 at 12:55pm CDT

Former Yankees GM Gene Michael told John Harper of the New York Daily News that he considered dealing Mariano Rivera to the Tigers for David Wells back in 1995. Rivera was still considered a starter then, and he was one of the players the Tigers had interest in. Michael, now a scout, says he held onto Rivera because of his control and mid-nineties fastball.

"But nobody ever could have foreseen him doing all of this – and really with just one pitch."

The Tigers dealt Wells to Cincinnati, where he pitched to an ERA of 3.59 in 11 starts. The Yankees would ultimately sign him two different times as a free agent. Danny Knobler of CBS Sports caught up with Joe Klein, who was the Tigers GM at the time. Klein assures Tigers fans that he would have made the deal if Rivera had been available. Imagine if Mariano had been closing games for the Tigers in place of Todd Jones, Troy Percival, Matt Anderson and others.

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