Graziano’s Latest: Dunn, Putz, Laird
Time to check in with Dan Graziano of the Newark Star-Ledger.
- Graziano calls Adam Dunn "the man without a rumor." Even with his flaws this one is hard to figure out. [UPDATE: SI.com’s Jon Heyman is finally hearing a couple of teams are in on Dunn.]
- John Maine‘s rotator cuff strain has the Mets looking at pitching. Graziano suggests names like Livan Hernandez, Paul Byrd, and Jarrod Washburn.
- The Mets have talked to the Tigers about Scott Schoeneweis. They’d have to replace him, maybe with Arthur Rhodes or Eddie Guardado.
- The Mariners will listen on J.J. Putz, but he won’t come cheap. The Cardinals and Red Sox have interest. Putz is signed through ’09 with an option for ’10.
- The Yankees and Marlins have asked about catcher Gerald Laird, while many teams like Jarrod Saltalamacchia.
- The Braves are willing to trade Will Ohman and Mark Kotsay.
Tigers Unlikely To Acquire Reliever
Jon Paul Morosi of the Detroit Free Press says the Tigers aren’t liking the market price for relief help. The chances of Dave Dombrowski adding a top guy like George Sherrill are slim to none. (By the way, if Sherrill has another outing like last night his ERA will be approaching 5.00.)
Morosi says picking up a cheap unwanted reliever like Brian Wolfe or LaTroy Hawkins is plausible, but promoting from within is even more likely. If the Tigers are contending in September might we see Ryan Perry as the first ’08 draft pick to reach the bigs?
Mark Teixeira Traded To Angels
4:50pm: Jayson Stark has the scoop – Mark Teixeira is headed to the Angels for Casey Kotchman and another player. MLB.com’s Lyle Spencer says the second player is relief prospect Stephen Marek.
Solid return for the Braves, certainly beats a couple of draft picks of unknown position. Kotchman is under team control through 2011.
3:46pm: SI.com’s Jon Heyman has the D’Backs, Rays, and Angels vying for Tex. A first baseman is not a requirement for Atlanta, though all three teams could part with one. Heyman talked to one Angels source who considered a deal "remote."
ESPN’s Buster Olney says the Braves want pitching in return.
2:33pm: Joel Sherman sees this is as a battle between the D’Backs and Red Sox. However, the Red Sox will only jump in if they are able to move Manny Ramirez.
1:01pm: ESPN’s Jayson Stark says the Dodgers and Yankees have also flirted with the idea of acquiring Teixeira. The Braves want a big-league ready bat, preferably a first baseman, in any trade.
12:23pm: Ken Rosenthal says the Angels and D’Backs are competing for Teixeira. The Halos would like to expand the deal to include a lefty reliever like Will Ohman or Mike Gonzalez. Joe Saunders and Ervin Santana are off-limits, but Casey Kotchman and Juan Rivera can be had. Not sure why Rivera would appeal to the Braves, since he’s a free agent after the season.
8:29am: When we last left off, various sources conflicted on whether the D’Backs are the frontrunner to acquire Mark Teixeira. Let’s kick off a new thread for the likely slew of new Tex rumors today.
According to Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times, the Angels are once again exploring a trade for Teixeira. They are warming to the idea of adding a rental player to their first-place club. The price for Teixeira is said to be a first baseman, starter, and power-hitting outfielder. DiGiovanna also wonders if a deal could be expanded to include Will Ohman, much like last year when the Rangers added Ron Mahay.
Twins Interested In LaTroy Hawkins
TUESDAY: The Twins now have some competition from the Tigers for Hawkins.
MONDAY: According to Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, the Twins have interest in bringing righty reliever LaTroy Hawkins back. Hawkins came up through the Twins’ system as a starter, but eventually found his niche as a setup man before signing a free agent deal with the Cubs. Christensen talked to a person close to Hawkins who believes he’d like to come back to Minnesota.
Multiple teams have shown interest in Hawkins since the Yankees designated him for assignment. They might be able to unload some of the $1.25MM still owed to him. Hawkins lost a mile an hour off his fastball this year, and wasn’t able to maintain the strong groundball and low walk rates he had in Colorado in ’07.
Jarrod Washburn Rumors: Tuesday
2:00pm: SI.com’s Jon Heyman says the Yankees are now scouring the market for another pitcher.
10:24am: George King of the New York Post talked to a source who thinks this trade is dead, but King thinks it could be resurrected.
9:16am: According to Anthony Rieber of Newsday, Yankees GM Brian Cashman characterizes the trade market as "frigid" for his team. It seems no one is budging on the Jarrod Washburn standstill.
Sean McAdam of the Providence Journal says the Mariners are discussing Washburn with other teams.
Molony’s Latest: Ohman, Fuentes, Sherrill, Tejada
Here’s a new column from MLB.com’s Jim Molony.
- Will Ohman suitors: the Marlins, Red Sox, Rays, Tigers and White Sox. Molony says the Braves aren’t highly motivated to trade Ohman, as they might want to re-sign him for ’09. Odd.
- The Rockies would need to be bowled over, but the Cardinals, Mets, Phillies, Rays, Red Sox, White Sox and Yankees still like Brian Fuentes.
- George Sherrill suitors: Cardinals, Dodgers, Marlins, Phillies, Red Sox and Tigers. He’s another reliever unlikely to be dealt.
- Molony disagrees with other reports on the Red Sox and Miguel Tejada; he says they did inquire but were rebuffed.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Tejada, Laird, Renteria, Sherrill
New one from Ken Rosenthal…
- The Padres will ask Greg Maddux again to consider accepting a trade to a team not located on the West Coast. The Dodgers haven’t shown interest.
- One big league source told Rosenthal that the Astros have had "absolutely no dialogue" about Miguel Tejada.
- The Marlins are the most aggressive suitor for Gerald Laird. The Brewers, Reds, and Yankees are also in on the Rangers’ catcher. Rosenthal points out a Doug Melvin connection – Melvin acquired Laird as the Rangers’ GM back in ’02. [UPDATE: Rangers guru Jamey Newberg tells me that it was actually John Hart and Grady Fuson who acquired Laird in ’02, not Melvin.] The Rangers continue to target young starting pitching in return.
- Looks like speculation, but Rosenthal wonders whether the Cardinals would consider re-acquiring Edgar Renteria.
- So far the Orioles have had no success trying to acquire shortstops like Erick Aybar, Alcides Escobar, and Reid Brignac for George Sherrill.
Dodgers Inquire On Michael Young
From Dan Graziano of the Newark Star-Ledger:
The Dodgers continue to look everywhere for a shortstop, and tons of names have come up in connection with their search. They don’t seem likely to land the Pirates’ Jack Wilson, but they’re scouring other organizations for options, having touched base with Toronto about John McDonald, the Yankees about Alberto Gonzales, the Twins about Adam Everett and even the Rangers about Michael Young, though it’s unclear whether or why Young would be available.
Young is new to the discussion. The 31 year-old shortstop is hitting .298/.345/.421 in 469 plate appearances this year. He’s currently dealing with a fractured ring finger. His five-year, $80MM extension was signed in March of ’07 but doesn’t kick in until next year. Even if the Rangers would listen on Young, could the Dodgers take on such a contract?
Odds and Ends: Glover, Coke, Posada, Maine
Time for another round of odds and ends this evening.
- I did a Yankee-centric Q&A with the blog Fowl Balls.
- RotoAuthority attempts to project next year’s first round in fantasy baseball drafts.
- The Rays designated Gary Glover for assignment. Glover, 31, experienced even worse control this year en route to a 5.82 ERA.
- Yankees GM Brian Cashman denied the report that prospect Phil Coke has a torn labrum.
- The Xavier Nady acquisition allowed the Yankees to commit to season-ending shoulder surgery for Jorge Posada.
- John Maine left his start tonight with shoulder stiffness. If it’s serious, Omar Minaya might want to check the starting pitching market.
Jarrod Washburn Rumors: Monday
8:44pm: The Mariners aren’t amused with the Yankees, blaming them for the way negotiations have been portrayed publicly.
4:18pm: Media drama? On the Seattle side, Larry LaRue says "arrogant New York writers" and the "near hysteria of the internet and blogs in late July" caused some to believe the Yankees were close to getting Washburn for nothing. LaRue believes GM Lee Pelekoudas "has probably talked to 20 other teams, too."
On the New York side, Peter Abraham says the Yankees are the lone team interested in Washburn, and the idea of Seattle having leverage is "a bit comical."
12:05pm: Geoff Baker believes the Mariners have some leverage in this situation. He believes that if the Yankees are only offering salary relief, the Ms can afford to wait until August or the offseason.
8:31am: Jarrod Washburn remains a Mariner, but Kat O’Brien of Newsday has the latest on trade talks with the Yankees.
The Yankees still don’t want to send more than a middling prospect for Washburn. Meanwhile, the Ms hope Hank Steinbrenner will demand Brian Cashman acquire the pitcher, even if it means trading Melky Cabrera or Brett Gardner. Joel Sherman describes the situation as a game of chicken between the Yankees and Mariners.
On the catching front, the Yanks asked the Rangers about Gerald Laird and Jarrod Saltalamacchia but didn’t get anywhere.