Yankees Rumors

A.J. Burnett Rumors

By Tim Dierkes | July 24, 2008 at 4:42pm CDT

Let’s put all of the A.J. Burnett rumors and links in one place.

Joe Strauss says the Cardinals were one of 15 teams scouting Burnett yesterday. Strauss says that Burnett’s contract allows a trade to the Cardinals, and they "remain intrigued" after Walt Jocketty pursued him as a free agent in ’05.
Will Carroll says he’s been heavily scouted but demand is low. Carroll thinks the Phillies could jump back in if the price comes down. He also wonders whether Burnett would clear waivers in August.
Jayson Stark says Burnett is "eminently available," with the Yankees, Phillies, and Cardinals checking in. He adds that the Blue Jays won’t trade within the division, the Phillies chose Joe Blanton, and the Cardinals balked at the price of two premium players.
Jim Molony expects Burnett to stay put.
Dave Cameron thinks Burnett is underrated.
Ken Rosenthal finds trade interest in Burnett minimal, noting that teams would prefer a guarantee that the pitcher will opt out after the season.

Stark’s Latest: Teixeira, Padilla, Sheffield, Beltre

By Tim Dierkes | July 24, 2008 at 2:50pm CDT

ESPN’s Jayson Stark has a new Rumblings and Grumblings up. You may want to grab a glass of water or something, because this is a beast of a column.

If the Braves have a bad weekend and decide to trade Mark Teixeira, a deal could come together quickly. Stark says the Braves have already touched base with the Rays, Red Sox, Dodgers, Angels and Yankees. Where Tex fits on the Rays, I’m not sure. Additionally, interest in Will Ohman is said to be "massive."
A Jorge Posada move to first base could affect the Yankees’ interest in Teixeira this winter.
Though Brian Fuentes has many suitors, the Rockies have actually exchanged names with only the Marlins and Yankees. GM Dan O’Dowd has not dropped his price. By the way, Todd Helton’s injury takes Garrett Atkins off the market. As for Matt Holliday, many execs believe the Rockies will never trade him.
The Phillies are focused on a left-handed reliever, with Fuentes, Damaso Marte, George Sherrill, and Jack Taschner in the mix.
The Phillies were scared off by the asking prices on Holliday and Xavier Nady, and never even made an offer. They still could acquire a lesser hitter.
The Pirates are inspiring much grumbling with high asking prices for Jason Bay, Nady, Marte, John Grabow, and Jack Wilson.
The Rangers are looking for young, controllable starting pitching. Vicente Padilla is available, with the Tigers and Yankees showing mild interest. Eddie Guardado and Jamey Wright are not available.
In pursuing Jarrod Washburn, Bronson Arroyo, and Padilla, the Yankees are demonstrating their plan to reduce the prospect price for pitching by taking on a decent-sized contract.
While A.J. Burnett is "eminently available," no trade talks are cooking. The Jays apparently won’t deal him within the division. Other Jays veterans might be available, though Roy Halladay isn’t among them.
The Tigers are looking for pitching and a long-term shortstop. They’d be willing to move Gary Sheffield, though they’d have to eat salary.
Top Rays prospects such as Wade Davis, David Price, and Jeremy Hellickson are off-limits. Rays Index recently ran through the more likely trade candidates.
The Braves asked the Royals about Jose Guillen, but Dayton Moore is asking for a ton.
Stark says the Twins’ talks for Adrian Beltre are "far from dead." The Twins are zeroed in on a third base upgrade. Beltre, by the way, has the Dodgers on his no-trade list. Joe Christensen says the Twins have found the asking price prohibitive for various third basemen.
The Rangers are looking for a young pitcher for Hank Blalock, who is drawing interest from the Twins, Giants, and Dodgers. The Dodgers also like Casey Blake, who is likely to be traded somewhere.

Odds and Ends: Alvarez, Kotsay, Street

By Tim Dierkes | July 24, 2008 at 1:22pm CDT

Time to round up today’s links.

Hank Steinbrenner admits Barry Bonds’ name will be mentioned at today’s meeting of Yankees execs.
Mark Cuban is a finalist to buy the Cubs.
Pirates president Frank Coonelly expressed frustration with the Pedro Alvarez negotiations, in the first public comments on those talks.
Dejan Kovacevic’s source says the Pirates aren’t requiring two prospects for Xavier Nady or Damaso Marte. One elite prospect would work.
Mark Kotsay wonders if he’ll be traded this year. As with Mark Teixeira, it’ll depend heavily on the next week.
Richard Justice takes Drayton McLane to task.
DRays Bay relays a Peter Gammons report that the A’s are shopping Huston Street to the Red Sox, Rays, and White Sox.
David Weathers doesn’t remember which teams are on his limited no-trade clause.
Tom Henke’s Army is back, with reinforcements.
Sam Mellinger thinks the Royals should sign Rafael Furcal this winter. I concur.
Joe Posnanski believes that the Royals should try Tony Pena Jr. as a pticher, all kidding aside. He bemoans the lack of "outside the box" thinking in baseball.

Yankees Looking At Catchers

By Tim Dierkes | July 24, 2008 at 10:42am CDT

Dan Graziano of the Newark Star-Ledger says the Yankees have inquired on four catchers: Gerald Laird, Paul Lo Duca, Miguel Olivo, and Rod Barajas.

Laird, 28, is expected to rejoin the Rangers Saturday after his hamstring injury. He’s a Boras client with a $1.6MM salary this year. He’s under team control through 2010, and Ken Rosenthal says the Rangers want young pitching for him.
Lo Duca, 36, will be a free agent after the season. He’s got about $1.9MM left on his contract this year. He understands that he’s a strong trade candidate.
Olivo, 30, is splitting time with John Buck in Kansas City. Olivo has hit lefties quite well. He has a $2.7MM club option for ’09. Rosenthal says the Royals are "aggressively shopping" him.
Barajas, 32, is slumping currently. He has a $2.5MM club option for ’09. Eddie Bajek took a stab at projecting the Elias rankings for catchers, and Barajas seems to be right on the border of Type B status. However, he might choose to accept an offer of arbitration. Peter Abraham says that the Blue Jays might be reluctant to trade within the division.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Teixeira, Burnett, Sherrill

By Tim Dierkes | July 24, 2008 at 9:18am CDT

Here’s the latest from Ken Rosenthal, who should probably take a vacation in August.

The D’Backs inquired on Mark Teixeira, but a trade is unlikely. Tex might be the best available hitter, as Matt Holliday seems likely to stay put.
The Rockies scouted Nick Adenhart’s last start. The Angels have more interest in Brian Fuentes than Holliday.
Tons of scouts converged on Camden Yards last night to watch A.J. Burnett and George Sherrill pitch (those hoping to see Sherrill were disappointed). The Cardinals, Phillies, Yankees, Brewers, Marlins, Dodgers, and Tigers all had scouts there to watch at least one of the pitchers.
Rosenthal says trade interest in Burnett "remains minimal," as teams fear the pitcher’s contract.
The Orioles are taking a look at the Brewers’ Triple A team, but it is believed that they are reluctant to part with more prospects.
The A’s chose first baseman Chris Carter over Emilio Bonifacio in the Dan Haren trade.

Heyman’s Latest: Nady, Teixeira, Sherrill

By Tim Dierkes | July 23, 2008 at 3:59pm CDT

Jon Heyman is cranking out a lot of rumorage. Here’s his latest.

The price has dropped a tad on Xavier Nady, as the Pirates have become more interested in moving him.
The Braves still might trade Mark Teixeira right before the deadline, and Heyman thinks they can easily beat two draft choices.
Many teams scouted George Sherrill recently: the Marlins, Dodgers, Cardinals, Phillies, and Brewers.
Some execs "expressed annoyance" at the D’Backs underpaying for Jon Rauch.
Heyman says the Yankees are looking for catching, though Peter Abraham doesn’t agree.
The Twins, Giants, and Dodgers have interest in Hank Blalock, who has a $6.2MM option for ’09.

Odds and Ends: Bedard, Hudson, Inoa, Varitek

By Tim Dierkes | July 23, 2008 at 1:28pm CDT

Let’s dig through today’s links.

Cork Gaines takes a look at the Rays most likely to be traded.
According to Ken Davidoff, the Rockies have been scouting Yankees pitching prospect Humberto Sanchez. He’d be a more reasonable return for Brian Fuentes.
Erik Bedard’s MRI came out clean, but it’s still hard to see him in a big league game before August.
Dan Haren used to follow every trade rumor on the Internet, but Justin Duchscherer doesn’t monitor the hot stove buzz.
Shane Victorino is aware of the rumors, but wants to stay in Philly.
With Emilio Bonifacio gone, Scott Bordow thinks the D’Backs should try to sign Orlando Hudson. Bordow would only offer $8MM a year though.
Paul Hoynes looks at the Indians’ areas of need for the offseason.
Peter Abraham doesn’t expect the Yankees to pursue a catcher.
Melissa Segura of SI.com writes about Michael Inoa’s buscon.
Patrick Newman profiles Kenshin Kawakami, who should be quite popular this winter.
Buster Olney expects Jason Varitek to feel a ripple effect from Jorge Posada’s injury. His sources expect the Red Sox to offer Varitek one or two years at $6-8MM per.
MLB.com is looking for a fan to guest host their show The Dish.

The Price For Fuentes

By Tim Dierkes | July 23, 2008 at 9:16am CDT

According to Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post, the Rockies have asked various teams for the following players for closer Brian Fuentes: Wade Davis, Ian Kennedy, Clay Buchholz, and Jon Niese. Tracy Ringolsby says no concrete offers have been made for Fuentes yet.

Fuentes will provide two months of solid relieving, and possibly two draft picks after that. But alternatives are plentiful, and the Rockies are in danger of overplaying their hand if the price doesn’t come down soon. It doesn’t help the Rockies that the Nationals accepted Emilio Bonifacio for for 2.3 years of Jon Rauch.

Yankees In Trade Talks For Washburn

By Tim Dierkes | July 22, 2008 at 11:41pm CDT

11:38pm: SI.com’s Jon Heyman checks in on these talks. He says the Yankees want to ship Kei Igawa to Seattle, but then the Mariners could see that and raise them a Jose Vidro.

It would probably be easier for the Yankees to eat all of Washburn’s contract while just sending the Mariners a marginal prospect.

9:34pm: Dan Graziano of the Newark Star-Ledger reports that the Mariners are scouting the Yankees’ Double A club. The Ms aren’t big on Melky Cabrera, but may be willing to take minor leaguers if New York takes on all of Washburn’s contract.

1:36pm: According to ESPN’s Buster Olney, the Yankees are "taking a serious look at Seattle lefty Jarrod Washburn."

Washburn, 34 in August, has a 4.75 ERA in 110 innings this year. For what it’s worth, he has a 3.03 ERA in 62.3 innings since May 25th. That’s cherry-picking, though – 4.50-4.75 is Washburn’s level. He can chew up 190 innings at the back end of a rotation.

Washburn is owed $10.35MM in ’09, and has limited no-trade protection. Olney believes it would mainly be a salary dump, and the Mariners might consider something like Kei Igawa and a secondary prospect. Yankees GM Brian Cashman hasn’t struck a deal with the Ms since ’03, when he worked with Pat Gillick on an Armando Benitez for Jeff Nelson swap.

Yankees Scouting Dodgers

By Tim Dierkes | July 22, 2008 at 11:20pm CDT

Here’s one I missed from this morning. According to George King of the New York Post:

Yankee scout Rick Williams is following the Dodgers, who will entertain offers for right-hander Derek Lowe if he will bring L.A. a much-needed bat.

Hard to think of a good match there. Plus, why would the Dodgers trade Lowe when they’re a half-game out? Even if Lowe walks after the season he’s good for two draft picks.

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