Yankees Rumors

Heyman On Street, Indians, Pedro, Davis

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 6, 2009 at 12:10pm CDT

Jon Heyman of SI.com lists his mid-season award winners, led by Albert Pujols and Joe Mauer. Here are Heyman's latest rumors:

Huston Street alone is worth more on the trade market than Matt Holliday. Dan O'Dowd must be happy with his return, which also included Carlos Gonzalez.
Jhonny Peralta, Kerry Wood and Carl Pavano are all available.
Indians GM Mark Shapiro believes he can still get a fair return for Cliff Lee if he deals him a year from now, a few months before the lefty is scheduled to become free agent.
One executive says the Royals are "pushing" Brian Bannister as a trade candidate. However, they're reluctant to deal Gil Meche and Joakim Soria.
Pedro Martinez intends to sign soon. We know the Phillies are scouting him. Could there be a match in Philly? The Rays are "thought to be in the mix," while the Yankees are not, even with Chien-Ming Wang's injury.
There's apparently been "little progress" between the Brewers and D'Backs regarding Doug Davis.
Nolan Ryan is part of one group trying to buy the Rangers.

Odds & Ends: Grabow, Yankees, Orioles

By Mike Axisa | July 4, 2009 at 8:33pm CDT

One more roundup of links for the night…

George. A. King III of The New York Post mentions that the Pirates had two scouts watch the Yankees earlier this week, possibly in advance of a deal involving lefty reliever John Grabow.
He mentions that the Dodgers and Rockies had scouts on hand as well. The Yanks have already expressed interest in Huston Street earlier this season.
King also says that the Yanks refuse to talk about prospects Austin Jackson and Austin Romine in trade talks according to other organizations.
Peter Schmuck of The Baltimore Sun recaps the first half of the Orioles' season and says they're building towards something, he's just not quite sure what. He does however praise the performance of young players like Nolan Reimold.
On the day of his tragic and untimely death, let's not forget that Steve McNair was quite the baseball player as well, getting selected by the Mariners in the 35th round of the 1991 Draft. (hat tip: Jesse Spector of The NY Daily News)

Odds & Ends: Marlins, Brewers, Wang, Mitre, Matzek

By Mike Axisa | July 4, 2009 at 5:53pm CDT

Here's some links to hold you over while waiting for the sky to start lighting up…

Manny Navarro of The Miami Herald says the Marlins have some important decisions to make in the coming weeks, whether they plan to make a trade before the deadline or not.
MLB.com's Adam McCalvy mentions that the Brewers have some questions of their own to answer, including what to do with the starting rotation and how to handle Mat Gamel, who hasn't played much of late.
Chien-Ming Wang is headed for the DL after leaving today's game with a shoulder strain and bursitis, and Peter Abraham of The Journal News mentions that Sergio Mitre could be an option to replace him in the rotation. After rehabbing from Tommy John surgery and serving a 50-game suspension, Mitre has a 3.26 ERA and a 2.71 GB/FB ratio in 30.1 Triple-A innings this year.
Wang's injury basically eliminates any chance he'll be traded by the 31st as well.
Rockies' top pick Tyler Matzek is the first rounder most likely not to sign according to Jim Callis of Baseball America.
Bart Hubbuch of The New York Post tweets that reliever Connor Robertson has been demoted all the way to High-A ball. Ouch. Robertson had been designated for assignment about two weeks ago.

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.

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