Odds And Ends: Renteria, Lugo, Phillies
It's a busy day for international signings, but lots is going on at the major league level, so let's take a look:
- The Dodgers are looking for pitching, but how about Jason Schmidt? He pitched well at Triple A for the second time yesterday, according to MLB.com's Ken Gurnick.
- Newsday's Ken Davidoff creates a history of recent deadline deals.
- Edgar Renteria told Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle that he turned down two multi-year offers to sign with the Giants.
- Think it's too early to talk about Bryce Harper? Well Joe Dunand Jr., Alex Rodriguez's nephew, is just 13 years old and, as Ian Begley of the New York Daily News reports, he's already quite a slugger.
- The relative of another superstar signed with the Angels. Mike Piazza's second cousin will go pro, according to the Florida Tech Sports site.
- Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times crunches some numbers and suggests Franklin Gutierrez could be more valuable than Adam Jones this year.
- Kevin Towers says the addition of Bob Melvin to the Padres' staff wasn't meant to threaten Bud Black, according to Nick Canepa and Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune.
- Julio Lugo admits that his deal with the Red Sox hasn't worked out, according to Steve Buckley of the Boston Herald.
- Jim Salisbury of the Philadelphia Inquirer says the Phillies have more minor league pitching depth than ever.
Odds And Ends: Halladay, Yankees, Rangers
Links for Tuesday morning…
- Today's chat will take place at 2pm CST.
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports looks ahead to the end of next season when Roy Halladay becomes a free agent if the Jays don't lock him up before then.
- As Diamond Leung notes, the Dodgers traded minor league pitcher Brian Mazone to the Phillies for future considerations. Mazone already spent three years in the Phillies organization.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post speculates on an imagined deal: Luis Castillo for Milton Bradley.
- Peter Abraham of the Journal News reports that the Yankees signed two independent leaguers: third baseman Yurendell DeCaster and lefty Edwin Walker.
- Tony Massarotti of the Boston Globe offers five possible solutions for the Red Sox in case Mike Lowell has to miss much time.
- Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun asks Orioles fans which player they would pluck from the Red Sox roster if possible. Kevin Youkilis and Jon Lester would sure be nice additions.
- Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post answers his readers' trade questions.
- Anthony Andro of the Dallas Morning News reports that the Rangers signed second rounder Tommy Mendonca.
Amaro: Few Pitchers Available
Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. told MLB.com's Todd Zolecki that some pitchers aren't available no matter what prospects he offers up.
"if the guy is not going to go, he's not going to go," Amaro said. "You can give them your entire club."
So far Amaro's offered up prospects in vain and has relied on the inexperienced arms of J.A. Happ and Antonio Bastardo. Now that Bastardo has a strained shoulder, the Phillies will pluck another arm from their system, possibly Carlos Carrasco. Amaro admits he's looking for pitching, but says asking "pretty please" won't land him starters when many other teams need pitching as well.
Odds And Ends: DeRosa, Royals, Jays
The runner-up for Mark DeRosa, thoughts on the Blue Jays and a pair of discussions to listen in on…
- Hal McCoy of the Dayton Daily News says the Reds came in second in the DeRosa sweepstakes.
- Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that DeRosa's already fitting in well with the Cards.
- The Phillies, who are scouring the league for starters, could have interest in Gil Meche and Brian Bannister so, as David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News reports, the Royals scouted Lou Marson and others in Triple A.
- MLB.com's Mark Bowman notes suspicion that the Braves are unhappy with Yunel Escobar's behavior.
- Jeff Blair of the Globe and Mail gets the sense that the Jays are ready to move Vernon Wells and/or Alex Rios for just about anything to free up enough money to keep Roy Halladay after next year.
- Watch my discussion with Sid Rosenberg right here. We talked about the Mets, Matt Holliday and the best pitching available.
- I will also be talking trades on SportsTalkSoup tonight at 10pm CST, so listen in.
Odds & Ends: Morgan, Brewers, Phillies
Some odds and ends around the league:
- Nyjer Morgan was caught off-guard by recent trade rumors, says Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Morgan said he was "flattered."
- Adam McCalvy of MLB.com says the Brewers are still pursuing potential deals after not matching up to acquire Mark DeRosa. Doug Davis is mentioned in the piece.
- Jim Salisbury of the Philadelphia Inquirer rounds up who will be buyers and who will be sellers over the next month. Nothing too surprising. He lists the Phillies as buyers, in need of pitching, and suggests they're looking at Chien-Ming Wang and "have been all over" Brad Penny.
Stark On Lee, DeRosa, Phillies, Rays, Beltre
Jayson Stark of ESPN.com calls this one of the slowest-moving trade markets in a while, but provides lots of rumors anyways:
- Teams are making introductory calls now to set the tone for the next five weeks.
- One official looking to add a reliever says no one is available.
- With so few teams willing to part with players, sellers are asking for a lot.
- The Brewers, Dodgers, Phillies and Mets are among the teams to call about Cliff Lee. The Indians would still have to be overwhelmed to part with him.
- The Cubs have considered trying to reacquire Mark DeRosa.
- They've also done some preliminary searching for a bat, but they're not sure where they'd play a new hitter so that gives the versatile DeRosa extra appeal.
- Stark's heard nothing to suggest Bobby Valentine will end up managing the Nationals.
- The Phillies have given indications that they'd part with Michael Taylor and/or Jason Donald in a deal for a top starter.
- However, they won't listen on these players: Dominic Brown, Lou Marson, Kyle Drabek, Jason Knapp, Carlos Carrasco and Antonio Bastardo.
- Doug Davis and Ian Snell aren't Phillies targets.
- The Rays are looking for long-term upgrades. They'd like to acquire "the next J.P. Howell."
- They're asking about young corner outfielders, rather than Jermaine Dye types.
- Pedro Martinez still wants a $5MM salary (prorated) plus incentives, so don't expect him to sign soon.
- The Reds have the best minor leaguers in the division and some could become trade chips.
- The Mets checked in on Garrett Atkins.
- Tony Reagins believes 2009 free agent Vladimir Guerrero can still hit.
- At least one scout can't imagine Adrian Beltre being traded. Makes sense, given his shoulder injury and contract.
Odds & Ends: Mariners, Phillies, Padres
Serving up absolutely the most hyper of links from across the baseball sphere, with more to come:
- Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik sat down for a lengthy Q&A with fans on MLB.com. Ever wanted to know what it's like to be a GM? "It's cool," says Zduriencik.
- David Murphy at the Philadelphia Inquirer talked to Phillies GM Ruben Amaro, who echoes a belief around the league: “I think things will heat up late, because everybody is still kind of in it,” he said.
- According to Jorge Arangure at ESPN the Magazine, the Padres are keeping tabs on Dominican OF Jose Alberto Peña and pitcher Cristopher Cabrera.
- Paul DePodesta says the Padres have come to terms with their third, fifth and seventh round picks.
- Juan C. Rodriguez at the Sun-Sentinel wonders if the Marlins should go after Luis Ayala now that Matt Lindstrom has hit the DL.
- Eric Seidman at Fangraphs takes a nifty look at batting average on ground balls. David Wright currently leads the majors with a .471 average in that department.
- Geoff Baker at the Seattle Times discusses the ramifications of potential trade piece Adrian Beltre's recent bout with bone spurs.
Rosenthal On Lee, Holliday
Ol' reliable Ken Rosenthal has a new column up. Let's scope out the highlights:
- The Dodgers have had discussions about Cliff Lee, but the price might be too steep for them to acquire him before the deadline. The Indians are said to want top-shelf talent along the lines of Tommy Hanson or Clay Buchholz.
- The Dodgers have talent like that in Clayton Kershaw and Chad Billingsley, but obviously they're not going anywhere. A package around James McDonald and Blake DeWitt wouldn't suffice.
- The Phillies have also inquired on Lee, but "have balked at the price."
- Reports that the A's would accept less for Matt Holliday because they'd prefer to skip out on the arbitration process this offseason are probably untrue, as a source said the potential high cost for the slugger is a "nonissue."
Knobler On Cardinals, Phillies, Giants
Danny Knobler of CBS Sports identifies the five neediest teams in baseball. No team will be able to acquire big names easily, however, as officials around the league agree that impact arms and bats aren't available with so many teams in the race. Here's a closer look at Knobler's rumors:
- The Cardinals have had less production out of the cleanup spot than just about any NL team and GM John Mozeliak says he's "not ignoring" the issue.
- As one official points out, "thirty teams in baseball could use Mark DeRosa" and the Cardinals could use him most of all.
- Knobler expects the Phillies to continue looking for a starting pitcher. He doesn't rule out Erik Bedard and says the Phils have considered Zach Duke and Paul Maholm.
- The Giants could use a hitter and Knobler hears that Brian Sabean's facing pressure from his superiors to make a move.
- The Brewers could use an arm, as we know.
- Omar Minaya seems more intense than usual, but the many injuries to his players could make it harder for him to justify making one big move. As one Mets official said, the team is in a "bad position."
Sherman On Phillies, Rockies, Marlins
Joel Sherman of the New York Post explains how Jason Marquis and Ryan Spilborghs almost became Phillies and names a dangerous NL East team:
- A few weeks ago the Phillies and Rockies seriously discussed a deal that would have sent Marquis and Spilborghs to the Phillies for J.A. Happ and prospects.
- The Phillies would have acquired an innings eater and a righty bat, while the Rockies would have shed payroll and acquired young talent.
- The Rockies began an extended hot streak after the trade talks began, so they decided not to make the deal.
- Colorado is now quietly in search of a veteran reliever.
- Some believe the Marlins are a threat to win the NL East because of their talented young rotation.
- Sherman reminds us that the Marlins have "one of the most aggressive, successful front offices in the majors."