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A’s Sign Keith Foulke

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According to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle, the A’s have brought Keith Foulke back on a one-year deal with incentives.  He gets $700K and can earn an additional $2.5MM in incentives.  Foulke, 35, saved 43 games for the ’03 Athletics before leaving for Boston.  The D’Backs made an offer this year, but I guess the A’s offered more money or a better role.  An impressive 20 teams watched Foulke work out in January, though he was throwing in the 81-84mph range.

Foulke apparently looks like his old self to the A’s after pseudo-retiring and taking ’07 off.  One can definitely see him sliding back into his familiar closer role if Huston Street and Alan Embree are dealt.

Do The Red Sox Care About Blanton?

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With Joe Blanton seemingly the best available starter, the logical question is whether the Red Sox will now go after him.  Curt Schilling’s doctor believes he may never pitch again if he doesn’t have surgery.

The Globe and Mail’s Jeff Blair believes:

Theo Epstein has already laid some groundwork with the Oakland Athletics Billy Beane for a deal involving Joe Blanton, remnants of discussions the clubs had about Dan Haren before Haren was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks.

However, The Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo wrote today that the Sox "merely kicked the tires on Erik Bedard and Dan Haren."

Ken Rosenthal suggested that Epstein might acquire more pitching depth, but didn’t mention Blanton.  Personally I do not see Epstein going the Blanton route.  Blanton doesn’t seem like the type of guy who would thrive in the AL East, though his price will be significant.  If anything, I’d expect Epstein to target a guy with good stuff, like Gil Meche, Ben Sheets, or Ian Snell (rather than the suggestions I have seen of Kyle Lohse or Jason Marquis).

Blanton May Be Traded

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9:14pm: Fay suggests the A’s would want Homer Bailey or Johnny Cueto, Joey Votto, and a third player for Blanton.

1:32pm: Paul Daugherty and John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer report that the Reds and Dodgers are talking to the A’s about Blanton.  Seems to be a disagreement about whether the Dodgers are in on this.

10:31am: Check out this new Ken Rosenthal video (hat tip to MetsBlog).  The video is all about Joe Blanton.

  • One Rosenthal source suggests a 50/50 chance Blanton is traded (presumably before the season starts).
  • Two teams are showing significant interest.  Rosenthal believes the Reds are one, and the Twins or Rays could be another.  He rules out the Dodgers, Yankees, Rockies, and Indians.  The Reds have had preliminary discussions for Blanton already.  How about the Phillies?  They came calling in July.
  • Rosenthal notes that the bounty for Blanton will be less than that of Dan Haren, because Blanton is slightly more expensive and an inferior pitcher.
  • On January 14th, an A’s source suggested to MLB.com’s Jim Molony who expected Blanton to be the A’s Opening Day starter.

Red Sox Interested In Brad Wilkerson

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Rob Bradford of the Boston Herald was able to confirm our rumor from yesterday, that the Red Sox have some interest in Brad Wilkerson.  Bradford says Wilkerson, a Boras client, is looking for three years and $21MM.  I don’t think the Sox would go anywhere near that price.

The same source told me on Friday that the Yankees, A’s, and Mariners have expressed interest in Wilkerson as well.  Wilkerson, 30, hit .234/.319/.467 for the Rangers last year in 119 games (doing most of his damage at home).  In his career he has played all three outfield positions plus first base. 

Mailbag: Roberts, Teixeira, Johan, Nathan, And More

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Time for this week’s mailbag.  You can hit it up at mlbtrmailbag@gmail.com to get in your question for next week.

Do you see the Twins signing a big name middle of the order bopper or trading for one before the opening of the new stadium in 2010? – Jordan

Funny you ask this.  I recently asked LEN3 whether the Twins would have a $100MM payroll for the 2010 season, and he said, "I don’t see it."  So I’ll go with his wisdom and say business as usual for the Twins despite the stadium.

Why are the White Sox not aggressively pursuing any pitching? Do they realistically think that Gavin Floyd and John Danks can hold down the #4 and #5 spots in the rotation on a contender? I believe we need to fill the holes with some veteran pitching such as Livan Hernandez who can eat up innings and possibly add Corey Patterson at center field. – Joel

I was just discussing this with a former coworker of mine.  I can’t see the White Sox sneaking into a Wild Card berth with this rotation, but what’s the alternative?  I don’t like the Livan idea.  I would consider signing a couple of swingmen/injury risk types such as Brett Tomko or Bartolo Colon if he looks decent.  Just a few low risk/OK reward guys with good stuff who could pay off.  There’s no place for Patterson in the current Chicago outfield, I wouldn’t do that.

Were the Cubs holding off on the Brian Roberts trade until they got Lieber? – Bryant

The Cubs/Roberts thing still seems possible, and trading both Sean Marshall and Sean Gallagher is slightly easier to stomach with Lieber on board.  If I were Jim Hendry I would let the whole Roberts idea go though.

What is the likelihood of the Braves signing Mark Teixeira long-term? – Matthew

I’ll put it at a 10% chance.  This is a $100MM+ contract and he’s represented by Scott Boras.  He’ll probably want to test the open market, and there could be some ridiculous bids.

When, just when will this Santana situation be over?!  It’s just killing me! – Dan

We all feel your pain Dan.  Most folks seem sick of reading similar rehashed rumors about this.  I would be surprised if we don’t know Santana’s fate one month from now.  Of course if his fate is to start the season with the Twins, then the rumors will restart in June.

Are there any trade rumors involving Joe Nathan? – Justin

C’mon Justin, you know I’d never hold out rumors on you.  If Bill Smith is shopping Nathan around or getting inquiries, all parties are running very tight ships.  Desperation for closers seems to kick in midseason, when certain bullpens are established as clearly crappy.  So guys like Nathan and Huston Street may be more likely to be moved in June or July.

Why did the Josh Beckett/Mike Lowell for Hank Blalock/John Danks deal fall through back in November of ’05? – Oliver

The Rangers believed the deal was done, and hoped to avoid any leaks before it was official.  However, a source tipped off the Palm Beach Post.  The Post and a Texas newspaper ran with it.  It was at that point the Boston front office found out, swooped in, and beat the Rangers’ offer.  Those reporters altered history.

What do you see the Milwaukee Brewers doing with their pitching surplus?  Do you see them maybe using some of their excess pitchers like Capuano and Bush to acquire a young catcher with some upside? – Tyler

We’ve seen it a million times – these winter pitching surpluses turn into deficits by May.  There is certainly a case to be made for the Brewers to just stand pat, though all those arms would be tough to squeeze in given the bullpen acquisitions.  MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy expects some of the surplus to be traded before Spring Training.  I like the catcher idea – Jeff Clement (Mariners), Bryan Anderson (Cardinals), or Taylor Teagarden/Gerald Laird (Rangers) seem like possible matches.

Do the Yankees sign Bobby Abreu after the 2008 season? – Andrew

Andrew notes that the Yanks have some money coming off the books after the ’08 season.  The right field alternatives are weak, so Abreu could make sense.  If he’d take a two or three-year extension midseason I could see Cashman doing it.

Did you ever sell your place in Lombard? – Steve

Thankfully I did.  I tried selling by owner for a month and barely got any bites.  Then I hired an agent and she sold it in three days.

Odds and Ends: Manny, Johan, Saarloos

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Here are some links I’ve rounded up for today.  I like the analogy that the Odds and Ends posts are like a pack of baseball cards.  You never know what you’ll get, and sometimes there’s gum.

Odds and Ends: Stewart, Shelton, LaRoche

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Today’s smattering of random rumors and links.  Question for you readers: how do you feel about the Odds and Ends posts in general?  Interesting?  Lame?  Do you skip them, or are they worthwhile?

Kotsay Traded To Braves For Devine, Richmond

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UPDATE, 1-14-08 at 5:07pm: Kotsay passed his physical; he’s a Brave.  The Braves also got most of his salary covered.  In return the A’s receive Joey Devine and Jamie Richmond.  Devine is a 24 year-old righty reliever with a 92-94mph sinker, according to Baseball America.  Richmond turns 22 in March; he’s the type of pitching prospect who doesn’t light up the radar gun but has "command of three pitches and advanced feel for pitching" according to BA.

FROM 1-13-08 at 12:11pm:

Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports today via a Braves official that the Mark Kotsay trade is "still kind of a tentative thing."  He doesn’t take his physical until Monday, and there’s no deal until the Braves deem him healthy.  Slusser notes that the A’s acquisition of Kotsay several years ago was delayed by concerns over his health.

Slusser also says the A’s could receive an A ball pitcher in addition to Joey Devine.  She confirms that the Devine acquisition could be a precursor to a Huston Street trade, something many emailers have speculated.

Blanton To Stay Put?

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MLB.com’s Jim Molony talked to an A’s source who expects Joe Blanton to stay put and be Oakland’s Opening Day starter.  The offers so far must not have been encouraging.

We haven’t really heard the specifics of any Blanton offers.  The closest we came to learning Billy Beane’s asking price was on December 20th, when Buster Olney said:

Have heard that the Mets could land Joe Blanton with this package: center fielder Carlos Gomez, pitcher Aaron Heilman and pitcher Kevin Mulvey.

Aside from the Mets, the Reds, Indians, and Mariners reportedly had some level of interest in Blanton.

Reds Have Preliminary Discussions About Blanton

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We’ve heard the rumblings for some time.  Now there’s word from the Cincinnati Enquirer’s John Fay that the Reds have "had some preliminary discussions with Oakland about right-hander Joe Blanton."  The Reds also made some kind of offer for Erik Bedard, but Fay admits that neither trade is likely to occur.  That’s because the Reds won’t trade Jay Bruce and only want to part with one of Homer Bailey, Johnny Cueto, and Joey Votto (though all three are very good prospects).  Note that Billy Beane reportedly wanted Cueto in a Dan Haren deal.

Instead, the Reds are entertaining all sorts of second tier free agents.  Wayne Krivsky runs a tight ship, so it’s tough to narrow down who the Reds have actually talked to.  Fay implies that Livan Hernandez or Jon Lieber could be possibilities.  We do know from previous reports that the Reds have shown interest in Lieber, Runelvys Hernandez, Brett Tomko, Josh Fogg, and David Wells. 

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