Blanton May Be Traded
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
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
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
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.
- UmpBump explains why they expect Manny Ramirez to retire a Red Sox.
- Matthew Cerrone provides some new Johan Santana musings.
- RotoAuthority (which I write) ranks the 78 starting pitchers you should consider in your fantasy baseball mixed league.
- The A’s, admitting they need bodies, will bring Kirk Saarloos back on a minor league invite. He’ll be 29 in May; his claim to fame is winning ten games for the ’05 A’s.
- The Rangers will need to make roster space for Jason Jennings; could Jason Botts be DFA’d?
Odds and Ends: Stewart, Shelton, LaRoche
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?
- Friend of MLBTR Susan Slusser quotes Shannon Stewart as saying the A’s are one of several teams in the running for his services. If you browse the ol’ free agent list, you’ll see that the other available free agent left fielders include Barry Bonds, Luis Gonzalez, Kevin Mench, Reggie Sanders, and Brad Wilkerson.
- Chris Shelton, we hardly knew ye – the Rangers have already DFA’d him. Career OPS of .825, seems the guy deserves a decent shot somewhere. Other Rangers news, Jason Jennings seems like a lock at this point.
- The Pirates and Adam LaRoche agreed at $5MM for ’08. They could still work out an extension that starts with the ’09 season.
- Wondering which service to use for your fantasy league this March? I merely started the discussion at RotoAuthority, and then commenters weighed in with tons of excellent feedback.
Kotsay Traded To Braves For Devine, Richmond
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?
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
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.
Odds and Ends: Adam Jones, Weaver, Jocketty
You know how it works…random rumors and links to clear out my inbox.
- Adam Jones left winter ball early, perhaps as a prelude to a trade.
- The Cardinals’ interest in Jeff Weaver is "at best, tepid" according to Derrick Goold. However, Goold thinks they should bring him back.
- Walt Jocketty said on XM Radio: "I don’t want to be a GM again." I guess that settles that, Wayne Krivsky can rest easy.
- This is kind of funny. Mark Teahen on meeting Jose Guillen: "For the most part he didn’t rub me the wrong way – he seemed like a good guy." Hmmm….for the most part?
Kotsay Traded To Braves For Devine
UPDATE, 1-12-08 at 5:01pm: According to ESPN’s Buster Olney, an agreement is in place for the A’s to send Kotsay to the Braves for reliever Joey Devine. The A’s will also eat $5.325MM of Kotsay’s ’08 salary, leaving the Braves on the hook for only $2MM. Essentially Billy Beane bought Devine.
UPDATE, 1-11-08 at 3:54pm: MLB.com’s Mychael Urban has a source who believes the Braves would not pay more than $3MM of Kotsay’s $8MM salary.
FROM 1-11-08 at 3:09pm:
David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution just posted his upcoming story in the comments of his blog. He says Billy Beane called Mark Kotsay this morning, informing him that he is discussing a trade with Atlanta. The Braves would get salary relief and give up a mid-level prospect, as expected.