The Yankees And Brian Fuentes
Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post advises:
Keep an eye on the Yankees’ interest in Brian Fuentes, whom they have liked for years. New York needs a reliable late-inning setup man to replace Joba Chamberlain, who joins the rotation Tuesday.
Keep in mind that Renck is not saying discussions have occurred recently. But Fuentes would certainly be a nice addition for the Yanks. He has a 2.78 ERA and 2.63 K/BB in 22.2 innings this year.
Surely the Rockies are looking for a young player or two in return. The trades of Octavio Dotel and Eric Gagne last year might be comparables. Dotel required Kyle Davies, a promising pitcher who had not experienced much big league success. The Gagne package was headed by raw prospect Engel Beltre, and also included useful MLB-ready pieces in Kason Gabbard and David Murphy.
Also keep in mind that if the price for Fuentes is too high, Brian Cashman can turn to familiar target Damaso Marte of the Pirates.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Sabathia, Griffey, Dunn
The latest from Ken Rosenthal’s Inside Pitch video:
- The Indians are going to have to at least entertain deals for C.C. Sabathia. If they continue to fall in the standings, Rosenthal expects the Indians to try for a Dan Haren type deal involving numerous prospects in return. Two teams he mentions with interest are the Dodgers and Yankees.
- Ken Griffey Jr. will not be traded until after he hits his 600th home run.
- Rosenthal also touches on Adam Dunn. He can block any trade before June 15th. After that he can block trades to ten unknown teams. The Reds are still weighing their options – it is possible they sign him to a long-term deal.
Posted by Shannon McKeown
Morgan Ensberg Designated
According to Mark Feinsand, Morgan Ensberg has been designated for assignment to make room for reliever Scott Patterson. At Triple-A Scranton, Patterson accumulated a 3.01 ERA in 22 appearances.
With Joba Chamberlain moving to the starting rotation on Tuesday, bullpen help was needed. In 80 plate appearances, Ensberg put up a .203/.263/.243 line.
Odds and Ends: Posada, Uribe, Wise, Red Sox
Today’s links…
- Jorge Posada could rejoin the Yankees as early as Wednesday (a few reports suggested Tuesday). Kat O’Brien of Newsday says the Yanks will hold on to both Jose Molina and Chad Moeller for "a while" after Posada returns, but as Peter Abraham points out on the LoHud Yankees blog, the Yankees have a real need for a set-up man now that Joba Chamberlain is starting.
- Juan Uribe has been activated from the 15-day DL, and although Ozzie Guillen said he wasn’t guaranteed playing time, they had to make room on the roster nonetheless. DeWayne Wise was designated for assigment.
- The news that Clay Buchholz has been optioned to Pawtucket comes as a shock to yours truly, but it underscores just how much starting pitching the Red Sox have right now, even with Daisuke Matsuzaka currently on the 15-day DL. Free agent pickup Bartolo Colon has worked out so far as a low-risk, high-reward signing. They’ve also got a good spot-starter in Justin Masterson, currently in Double A. And as if that weren’t enough, Curt Schilling could start throwing off a mound June 6. The odd man out could bring something useful in a trade. Just idle speculation, and I know there’s no such thing as too much pitching…but the Red Sox do have some holes to fill.
Sarah Green writes for UmpBump and the Boston Metro. She can be reached here.
Odds And Ends: Weaver, Mulder, Pena, Giambi
Here are a few random notes from the MLBiverse…
- Paul Hagen is reporting that the Mets are interested in acquiring a first baseman and/or a corner outfielder. Hagen says that Omar Minaya is rumored to be interested in Kevin Millar, Jason Bay and Xavier Nady. Hagen must share a source with Dan Graziano, who mentions the same trio. Might Aaron Heilman be used as bait?
- According to the minor league deal that Jeff Weaver signed with the Brewers, if he was not called up by this Sunday he could ask for his release. The Brewers and Weaver’s agent, Scott Boras, have agreed to extend that deadline to June 15.
- Mark Mulder, who has made three starts since 2006, announced that he would retire if a third surgery became necessary on his ailing shoulder.
- The Royals snagged catcher Brayan Pena off waivers from the Braves.
- Rany Jazayerli proposes a Cubs-Royals trade.
- Joel Sherman wonders if the Yankees could buy out Jason Giambi for $5MM and then re-sign him.
Cork Gaines writes for Rays Index and can be reached here. Tim Dierkes also contributed to this post.
Stark’s Latest: Braves, Robertson, Igawa
Jayson Stark has a new Rumblings and Grumblings column up. Let’s take a look.
- While Greg Maddux is not out of the question, the Braves are more interested in a younger starter they can control for multiple years.
- One possibly available starter who hasn’t gotten much buzz: Nate Robertson. The 30 year-old southpaw hasn’t pitched well since ’06, and he’s signed through 2010.
- The Mariners will probably talk about Miguel Batista and Jarrod Washburn, but not Erik Bedard. No big surprise there. Both Batista and Washburn are signed through ’09.
- Stark rattles off a bunch of available relievers. Mostly names you’d expect, but click through and take a look.
- Kei Igawa, signed through 2011, asked the Yankees if they could find a way to ship him back to Japan during the winter. They couldn’t find a way to make it work.
Odds and Ends: Bruce, Ensberg, Boone, Weaver
Plenty of links for today.
- Indians top prospect Adam Miller is pretty much done for the season.
- ’09 free agent shortstop Orlando Cabrera and manager Ozzie Guillen are not getting along.
- Peter Bendix explains the savings the Reds get by waiting to promote Jay Bruce.
- Morgan Ensberg is a DFA candidate, while LaTroy Hawkins may be getting there.
- Bret Boone‘s comeback attempt has ended.
- Jeff Weaver (6.69 ERA in Triple A) can ask for his release if not called up by June 15th.
- Hank Blalock may not be in the Rangers’ long-term plans.
- The Indians designated Jorge Julio for assignment.
Draft Roundup
All kinds of good draft info surfacing today. Let’s take a look.
- MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo projects the top 30 picks. College closer Andrew Cashner moves up the rankings to the Rangers at #11, among other changes. Mayo has even heard a rumor that the Marlins could consider Cashner at #6 instead of Kyle Skipworth. Back on May 16th, Baseball America chose the Tigers for Cashner at #21.
- Mayo sees the Rangers at #11 and the Yankees at #28 as possibilities for Boras advisee Gerrit Cole. MiLB.com has compared Cole to Kyle Farnsworth. Baseball America suggested Cole could slip to the Cubs at #19 or the D’Backs at #26.
- Back to the Rangers…beat writer Evan Grant sees them springing for Eric Hosmer or Shooter Hunt.
- Jim Callis notes that raw first-round bats (Aaron Hicks for example) often do not pan out.
- Will the Mets stick to slot this year?
Yankees Sign Ben Broussard
According to the AP, the Yankees have signed first baseman Ben Broussard to a minor league deal. He’ll head to Triple A.
Broussard, 31, was acquired along with his $3.85MM salary by the Rangers in December. 89 plate appearances convinced the Rangers to pay Broussard to go away. Broussard, when he’s going good, can be decent against right-handed pitching.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Hunter, Santana, Quentin
It’s Sunday again, so we’ve got some tidbits from Ken Rosenthal’s Full Count video:
- Torii Hunter was courted by the White Sox and Rangers before signing with the Angels this past offseason; however, according to Hunter, he had a meeting scheduled with the Dodgers to discuss taking the spot that Andruw Jones would come to occupy. The Angels signed him, preventing the meeting.
- As we enter June, the sky is falling in Seattle…
- Rosenthal doesn’t think there’s a lot of regret in the Yankee organization for not acquiring Johan Santana. One executive notes Santana’s throwing with increased effort this season yet without increased results.
- In this piece, Rosenthal commends the White Sox for their deal for Carlos Quentin. Writes Rosenthal, "’I give Kenny credit — he was on Quentin for a while,’ Diamondbacks general manager Josh Byrnes said. ‘He believed that the same Carlos Quentin would return now that his shoulder is fixed.’"
By Nat Boyle