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Heyman’s Latest: Street, Durham, Holliday

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SI.com’s Jon Heyman just posted a new column.

  • The Brewers and White Sox inquired on A’s closer Huston Street.  However, A’s GM Billy Beane said "there is nothing going on" in regards to Street.  The Sox were linked to both Street and Jon Rauch today, so Kenny Williams is clearly monitoring the relief market.
  • Heyman says the Rays have not discussed Street with the A’s, and the Dodgers "aren’t believed to be heavily involved."
  • Heyman is on board with the recent rumors about Ray Durham and Jack Taschner possibly heading to Milwaukee.
  • Heyman also confirms Ken Rosenthal’s report of the Phillies’ interest in Matt Holliday.  He agrees that these talks have cooled, but notes a good relationship between GMs Dan O’Dowd and Pat Gillick.  Gillick and O’Dowd have matched up for three deals, two occuring while Gillick worked for the Mariners.
  • The Dodgers continue to consider shortstop a priority.  Heyman wonders if Cristian Guzman would be a fit, especially if extension talks sour.  Jack Wilson and David Eckstein are other possibilities.

Phillies No Longer Interested In Fuentes?

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MLB.com’s Trade Talk blog speculates that the Phillies may no longer be pursuing Colorado closer Brian Fuentes, after Philadelphia traded three prospects for Joe Blanton. The blog wonders, "How many chips do (the Phillies) have to play?" Then, the blog hedges its bets:

If an earlier report is correct, the Rockies have asked the Phillies for right-hander Carlos Carrasco or catcher Lou Marson in return for Fuentes, so something could still be possible.

Trade Talk goes on to say that the Rockies would "hit the jackpot if a team came up with a young, talented starter — like, say, the Yankees’ Phil Hughes or Ian Kennedy, or a couple of top Double-A prospects such as the Rays’ Wade Davis or Jeremy Hellickson."

It’s highly unlikely the Phillies will deal Carrasco, the organization’s top prospect, for a set-up man. It’s an absolute impossibility that the Yankees will trade Hughes for Fuentes. The Rays are still considered the front-runners for Fuentes, the blog says.

Coley Ward writes for Umpbump.com and can be reached here.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Fuentes, Holliday, Sherrill

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Ken Rosenthal tops off the day with a column full of rumors.

  • Signing Mark Teixeira as a replacement for Manny Ramirez doesn’t make sense for the Red Sox, who don’t want to take on that kind of mega-contract.
  • The Phillies were recently working on a blockbuster with Colorado that would have netted them Brian Fuentes and Matt Holliday for something like Shane Victorino, J.A. Happ, Carlos Carrasco, and Lou Marson.  Those talks have stalled, and the added payroll might’ve been a problem for the Phillies anyway.
  • Though Frank McCourt denies it, Rosenthal says the Dodgers owned vetoed a CC Sabathia/Casey Blake/Jamey Carroll blockbuster because of a desire to keep trades payroll-neutral.
  • The Rockies, as well as the many suitors for Brian Fuentes, fear he could accept an offer of arbitration and saddle them with an $8MM salary in ’09 instead of two draft picks.  Given Fuentes’ stated desire to close, I find this unlikely.
  • A Pirates scout watched David Price’s last start, though he was likely looking at other members of the Montgomery Biscuits.  The Rays are known to be interested in Xavier Nady.
  • The A’s, stacked with second base candidates, are already getting calls on Adrian Cardenas.  Trading Mark Ellis would make more sense though.
  • Rosenthal believes the Orioles are reluctant to trade George Sherrill because they don’t have a suitable replacement for him in the ninth inning this year.
  • Brewers minor league shortstop Alcides Escobar is untouchable, and his ascent could lead the team to shop J.J. Hardy this winter.

Rockies Rumors: Fuentes, Barmes, Taveras

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Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post has a handful of Rockies rumors today.

  • Saunders believes the Phillies’ spent too much prospect capital on Joe Blanton to be able to acquire Brian Fuentes.  He says the Rays, Yankees, and Mets are still in the mix for Fuentes.
  • The Rays are interested in two other Rockies: Clint Barmes and Willy Taveras.  Unexpected targets…what do you think?  Would Barmes be an upgrade at shortstop?

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Joe Blanton

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A few notes on the Joe Blanton trade from around the Blogosphere…

  • The Fightins wonder if acquiring Blanton was a good move and feel that J.A. Happ deserved another shot to grab a spot in the rotation.
  • The 700 Level says that Blanton is not the #2 starter that the Phils needed, but he does add depth to the rotation.
  • Phillies Nation wonders if the Phils could now flip Brett Myers (and change) to the Rockies for Matt Holliday.
  • Philliesflow feels that trading for Blanton was a move that needed to be made, but wonder if the Phillies overpaid for a starter who was struggling in a pitcher’s park.
  • Beerleaguer feels that at worst Blanton is a Jon Lieber-type, but could be a strong starter for the rest of ’08. However, they are worried about Blanton beyond this season.
  • Athletic Supporters feels that the Blanton deal will have little impact on the ’08 A’s but could put the team in a better position to dip their feet into the free agency waters after the season.
  • Catfish Stew is surprised at the quality of the prospects that the A’s were able to land for Blanton.

Cork Gaines writes for Rays Index and can be reached here.

Blanton Reactions

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I’m on record as liking the Phillies’ acquisition of Joe Blanton.  Let’s round up other reactions to the trade today.

  • Bill Conlin isn’t a fan of Blanton.
  • The Transaction Guy sees nearly a 1.5 win gain for the Phillies this year, and isn’t too impressed by Oakland’s return.
  • Keith Law thinks the Phillies’ gain could approach two wins this year, even while considering the smaller park and inferior defense for Blanton.  He considers the prospect package reasonable.
  • Joel Sherman considers Blanton the pitcher Adam Eaton was meant to be.
  • Tom Goyne says Blanton is the B-level acquisition we expected the Phillies to make.  He doesn’t think the Phillies will miss the prospects they gave up.
  • Dave Cameron believes Phillies fans will ultimately be frustrated with Blanton, as his low home run per flyball rates are not sustainable.
  • Rob Neyer says Justin Duchscherer is at peak value, and Billy Beane hasn’t given up on ’08 unless he moves Duke.
  • Or could Huston Street be the next to go?
  • Ken Davidoff is surprised Pat Gillick and Billy Beane matched up for a trade, and gives the edge to the Phillies.  This does appear to be the first Gillick-Beane matchup, but I wonder how much of the work A’s assistant GM David Forst did.
  • SI.com’s Jon Heyman thinks the A’s waiting too long to trade Blanton, noting their spring demand for Johnny Cueto and then some.
  • With all the deals this month, it’s nice to not read the tired annual story about how the trade deadline is mostly talk and little action.

Phillies Acquire Joe Blanton

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According to ESPN’s Buster Olney, the Phillies have acquired Joe Blanton for minor leaguers Adrian Cardenas, Josh Outman, and Matthew Spencer.

Blanton, 27, has a 4.96 ERA in 127 innings.  Compared to ’07, his strikeout rate has fallen while walks have risen.  Still, he can probably eat a lot of innings for the Phillies at an ERA near 4.00.  That’s quite valuable, and the Phillies have him under control for ’09 and ’10.

Cardenas and Outman were ranked as the Phillies’ #2 and #4 prospects coming into this season by Baseball America.  With quality second base prospects in Cardenas and Jemile Weeks (and maybe Eric Patterson), the A’s might not have much use for Mark Ellis long-term.  Or, the A’s could consider moving Cardenas back to shortstop.  The 20 year-old is currently hitting .309/.374/.444 in High A ball. 

Outman has been solid in Double A, posting a 3.20 ERA in 70.1 innings.  The deceptive lefty was switched to relief in May, with the Phils hoping for a quick rise to their big league bullpen.  I imagine the A’s will switch him back to starting.  Spencer, a 22 year-old outfielder, has struggled in High A.

Phillies Eyeing Cain, Blanton

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Randy Miller had some interesting Phillies rumors yesterday.  According to Miller:

The latest has the Phils hoping San Francisco, an NL West pretender, will shop 23-year-old right-hander Matt Cain.  Word is the Giants might part with Cain, who is 5-7 with a 4.06 ERA in 20 starts, if offered an intriguing package of young talent.

However, Jayson Stark wrote on Thursday:

We keep hearing people speculate about the Giants trading Matt Cain. But we can’t find a team that has gotten anywhere in its attempts to even get the Giants to discuss him. "I don’t know who got that rumor rolling," said an official of one club. "But they told us, emphatically, no."

Moving on, Miller says the Phils aren’t interested in A.J. Burnett.  Buster Olney said the same on Wednesday.  Miller also notes that the Phils have interest in lefty relievers John Grabow and Brian Fuentes.

According to ESPN’s Buster Olney, the Phillies’ talks for Joe Blanton are "gaining momentum."  Olney believes this deal makes sense, and that it could come together quickly.

Phillies Looking At Joe Blanton

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Jim Salisbury of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes today that the Phillies are taking a look at Oakland righty Joe Blanton.  Additionally, the Phils will bring Brett Myers back to the Majors on July 23rd.

Blanton, 27, had a rough first half – he has a 4.96 ERA in 127 innings.  All his numbers are worse compared to ’07 – strikeouts, walks, home runs. A move to the NL would help, even if he has to leave the friendly Oakland Coliseum for Citizens Bank Park.

Blanton is under team control through 2010, though he will not necessarily be cheap since he will have to go through the arbitration process twice more. We’ve heard that the Phillies don’t want to discuss prospects Carlos Carrasco, Lou Marson, or Greg Golson so we’ll have to see if Pat Gillick and Billy Beane can find a match.  Despite their long tenures I cannot find an example of a previous trade between these two GMs.  By the way, Buster Olney says the Phillies are not currently looking at A.J. Burnett.

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