More Rickey
A few weeks ago, the return of Roger Clemens inspired Rickey Henderson to start making noise about playing in the Majors again. Now the A’s may be opening the door just a crack for Henderson to have one last hurrah.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Billy Beane said he’d consider bringing Henderson back for one game in September, as long as it wouldn’t be detrimental to the team in any way. Beane, however, has not yet communicated this to Rickey.
Logging a little PT in September would push Rickey’s HOF induction back five years. But he wants to go out on a high note, with the team he’s most associated with. As RotoWorld said, why not keep Rickey around all September and let him run for Jack Cust and Mike Piazza?
Stark’s Latest
Jayson Stark posted a new Rumblings and Grumblings column over at ESPN; it’s definitely worth a read. A summary of his trade rumors:
- GMs calling the Marlins have noticed that the team seems a little more open to trading Dontrelle Willis this year. Miguel Cabrera doesn’t appear to be under discussion. If the Marlins are out of the race in mid-July and a team ponies up with three legimate young regulars, they might be able to pry him away. The D’Backs or Dodgers could probably pull this off without damaging their current group too much.
- Stark says the D-Rays are considering promoting both Evan Longoria and Reid Brignac before the trading deadline, filling out the left side of their infield. Someone would have to be pushed out; maybe B.J. Upton to center, Akinori Iwamura to second, and Rocco Baldelli to another team. Stark reminds us of past interest by the Red Sox. And don’t forget all the interest from Atlanta in December.
- The Rich Harden trade rumors may just reflect frustration on Billy Beane’s part, and not actual availability.
- Stark also debates whether the Rangers would still be on the hook for $21MM if Alex Rodriguez opts out and then the Yankees re-sign him. Right now it’s an open question.
A’s Lock Up Nick Swisher
Today, the A’s locked up first baseman/outfielder Nick Swisher through 2011 with a club option for 2012. He had been due for free agency starting in 2011. The cash breakdown: $26.75MM for 2007-11, and $10.25MM with a $1MM buyout for the option year. That option becomes $12MM with a top five MVP finish over the life of the contract; I think there’s a decent chance of that happening.
Swisher is a 26 year-old switch-hitter with a career line of .249/.356/.475 in 1169 ABs. His walk rate is up near 20% this year; this should be his first 100 walk season. Swisher’s top two comps according to Baseball Prospectus are Tim Salmon and Harmon Killebrew. Both players were good hitters into their mid-30s, so this contract looks great for Oakland.
A’s Acquire Jack Cust
The A’s have been busy lately with minor moves; today they picked up stathead favorite Jack Cust. DH is the easiest position to fill, which is why Bill Bavasi’s Jose Vidro acquisition was so baffling. Why pay your DH anything if Cust is freely available?
Cust returns to the A’s; he played for their Triple A club in ’05. He’s a walk machine – he actually drew 143 of ’em last year. They call him a Quad-A player, but he’s never really gotten a shot. Why can’t he become Kevin Youkilis for the league minimum? Cust has absolutely destroyed the ball in the minors so far this year. He can definitely help the A’s at DH while they’re short-staffed.
A’s Acquire Snelling For Langerhans
According to Baseball Digest Daily, the A’s have acquired Chris Snelling from the Nationals for the just-received Ryan Langerhans. I hope neither guy bought a condo.
Pretty interesting swap between Billy Beane and Jim Bowden. Snelling, aka Doyle (his middle name) in U.S.S. Mariner world, was a cult favorite for many Mariners fans. His inclusion in the Jose Vidro deal this winter was met with great disdain. Oddly, Langerhans shows up as his fifth most comparable player according to Baseball Prospectus.
Langerhans is a little older, and has done a better job staying healthy. Both players can handle multiple outfield positions (well, not at once) and know how to draw a walk. They’ve got eerily similar PECOTA projections, so maybe it was just a matter of each GM preferring to bet on the other guy’s outfielder. I think the best case scenario is that one of these guys develops into Jeromy Burnitz.
Check out Chris Needham’s take on the trade over at Capitol Punishment.
A’s Not Discussing Harden?
Both Buster Olney and Tim Brown have written about Rich Harden trade possibilities in recent days. It seemed odd that talks would be going on with such an uncertain player, however. Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle throws water on the fire, with a team source indicating to her that the A’s are not having trade talks involving Harden.
But usually where there’s smoke, there’s fire. I would think Billy Beane has had Harden’s name come up in a conversation or two; perhaps back in early April when he was flashing his ace stuff with three quality starts.
It’ll be fun if Billy Beane throws a fire sale this summer (well, not for A’s fans). It might be hard to get anything near full value for Harden, even though he’s the one with star potential. Dan Haren, on the other hand…he could challenge for Cy Youngs as a Met.
A’s Shop Harden To Red Sox
Yahoo’s Tim Brown has a source indicating that Billy Beane has called the Red Sox to see if they’d be interested in oft-injured flamethrower Rich Harden. Brown also knew some teams Beane didn’t call about Harden: the D’Backs, Dodgers, and Devil Rays. He speculates that buzzing Boston could be an attempt to lure the Yankees.
Boston’s strength is it’s starting pitching, so it seems an odd area to upgrade. Most likely this was just Billy and Theo BSing and it somehow turned into a trade rumor. But can you imagine the Red Sox rotation on paper?
Matsuzaka
Beckett
Schilling
Harden
Wakefield
Then in ’08, the Red Sox could let Schilling walk and plug Lester in, without losing much. Of course, a healthy Harden is like some sort of mirage. Seeing Harden on a Major League mound is as rare as seeing me at the office past 4:52. (What? I have a 5:09 train I like to catch).
We could throw around a bunch of Red Sox prospect names in speculation, but why? Nothing’s getting done until Harden strings together five healthy starts.
Brown says Oakland could go for a full-blown fire sale if they’re out of contention in July. Future free agents Mike Piazza, Milton Bradley, Jason Kendall, and Joe Kennedy would be prime tradin’ chips.
A’s Acquire Ryan Langerhans
According to Baseball Digest Daily, the A’s acquired outfielder Ryan Langerhans from the Braves for a player to be named later or cash considerations. Given the recent trade for Chris Denorfia, the A’s will have decent outfield depth in 2008. Perhaps this means they won’t be re-signing Milton Bradley.
Langerhans, 27, was off to a 2 for 41 start this year. The trade should leave Matt Diaz and Craig Wilson with some extra playing time for Atlanta. It could also make Scott Thorman a full-timer.
Langerhans posted an excellent 13.7% walk rate last year, but he’s still well below average offensively for a left fielder. His defense is his main asset. The Indians had expressed interest in Langerhans in the past.
A’s Acquire Chris Denorfia
According to Reds beat writer John Fay, the Athletics have acquired 26 year-old outfielder Chris Denorfia from the Reds for two players to be named later and cash. Denorfia is out for the season due to Tommy John surgery.
One might think 25 year-old Rule 5 power reliever Jared Burton would be involved in the deal, but that is not the case. Fay asked Wayne Krivsky specifically about that. Just playing matchmaker, but maybe one of the two players is starter Brad Halsey? He certainly wants out, and he’s had moderate success in the NL before. Fay also mentioned that the A’s have been interested in Denorfia since spring training and that another trade might be in the cards.
As for Denorfia, he doesn’t have any real weaknesses, but no overwhelming strengths either. (According to Baseball America). He could play center field for the A’s next year, or serve as a fine fourth outfielder. The results have been there – Denorfia hit .349/.409/.484 in Triple A last year. That translates to above average offense for a CF in the Majors.
Trading Rich Harden
Rich Harden‘s name first popped up in trade rumors in December. John Delcos spoke with Mets GM Omar Minaya and indicated that the A’s starter was surprisingly available, perhaps for a package of Lastings Milledge, Aaron Heilman, and Philip Humber. Ken Rosenthal later indicated that it was Dan Haren the Mets really wanted. A confusing situation all around.
Buster Olney brought the rumor back to life today in his blog with some informed speculation. He thinks that if Harden could stay healthy for a month or two, there could be a huge market for him at the deadline. He’s locked up at a reasonable price through 2009.
Olney speculates that the Diamondbacks, Dodgers, or the big money teams could make a play. One source Olney spoke to liked the Devil Rays as a suitor. Personally I think Kazmir/Harden would be a lot better on paper than in reality, much like Prior/Wood. I have to admit that putting Elijah Dukes and Milton Bradley on the same team could be cool. Sidenote: Dukes seems like a changed man. He sounds like a normal guy now, hanging out and eating Red Lobster with his family.
Acquiring Harden in exchange for top tier talent would certainly be a risky move for a GM. One GM not afraid to take risks: Kenny Williams. The White Sox have a great medical staff, too.