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Eyre Hopes To Return To Phillies

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According to Scott Lauber of The News Journal, lefty Scott Eyre would like to return to the Phillies next year.  Eyre is a free agent after the season.  He told Lauber he’d be up for a one-year deal to stay.

Eyre, 36, has tossed 11 strong innings for the Phillies since coming over in a trade with the Cubs.  Eyre has shown he can still be effective when healthy.  He’s earning $3.8MM this year.  If he’ll take a one-year deal, the Phils might as well do it.  It beats giving three years to Damaso Marte.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Hudson, Ordonez, Fielder, Howard

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Let’s swing through Ken Rosenthal’s latest column.

  • Rosenthal names the Mets, Yankees, Rangers, White Sox, Indians, Rockies, and Cardinals as speculative fits for free agent second baseman Orlando Hudson.  Obviously several of those scenarios would involve shuffling players to other positions or trades.  The Yankees’ infield defense could certainly use the boost.
  • Rosenthal considers Frank Wren’s midseason trip to Japan a sign that he might be active in that market.
  • The Tigers may shop Magglio Ordonez for pitching this winter.  Maggs will need fewer than 500 plate appearances next year to cause his 2010 and 2011 options to vest.  So he’s essentially owed $48MM over three years.
  • Don’t forget two other sluggers who may be available this winter: Prince Fielder and Ryan Howard.  It works well for the Brewers and Phillies, as the free agent market is weak at first base.

Rockies May Consider Trading Holliday, Atkins

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Tracy Ringolsby of the Rocky Mountain News thinks the Rockies are primed for a major shakeup this winter.  Specifically, GM Dan O’Dowd could move two star players in Matt Holliday and Garrett Atkins.

Ringolsby figures the Phillies, Angels, Rays, Yankees, and Red Sox will be the main suitors for Holliday.  The 28 year-old is hitting .311/.403/.492 on the road this year, suggesting he could be a .900 OPS masher in any park. I’m not seeing the fit for the Red Sox, while the Yanks could work Holliday in if they let Jason Giambi and Bobby Abreu leave.  The other three teams also make sense in certain scenarios.  But do the Phillies have the top-level pitching needed to acquire Holliday?  It’s been suggested in the past that dark horses such as the Royals or Nationals could enter the mix for the slugger.

Atkins, 28, is hitting .235/.281/.386 away from Coors.  His road OPS was under .800 last year as well, so suitors will be wary.  Ringolsby suggests the Angels, Twins, Red Sox, and Yankees here.  Again I don’t see the fit for Boston.  The Twins would need faith in Atkins’ ability to play third base.  Unlike Holliday, Atkins is under team control through 2010.

Fuentes Unlikely To Re-Sign With Rockies

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Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post takes a look at Brian Fuentes’ impending free agency.  The 33 year-old closer would prefer to return to the Rockies, but he hasn’t heard from the team and expects to explore the open market. 

Renck says Fuentes’ agent views Brad Lidge as a comparable.  Lidge signed a three-year, $37.5MM extension in July.  He’s a bit younger than Fuentes, but the comparision seems reasonable.  Fuentes is in a great position this winter as the best alternative to Francisco Rodriguez, who will receive a record-breaking deal for a reliever.

Fuentes intends to sign with a team that will allow him to close, and has a slight preference for the West Coast.  Both L.A. teams could consider him, though both have good internal options.  Fuentes also acknowledged that Billy Wagner’s injury could affect his situation.

Odds and Ends: Alvarez, Orioles, K-Rod, Bradley

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A few more notes from the MLBiverse…

Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.

Odds And Ends: Rogers, Myers, Hosmer, Reynolds, Dunn

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Here’s some loose change found underneath the cushions of the hot stove couch:

  • Kenny Rogers was scratched from his start and Buster Olney wonders if Rogers will retire after this season.
  • Philly Inquirer columnist Bob Ford says the Phillies didn’t do enough to improve the team before the trade deadline. Umpbump thinks Brett Myers has been a great trade deadline pickup – and the Phils didn’t have to surrender a thing.
  • The Royals are hoping the contract issues surrounding first baseman first round draft pick Eric Hosmer are resolved in time for him to participate in the Arizona Instructional League. Hosmer remains in limbo as a result of a grievance filed by the players’ union. The central issue is whether the Hosmer and Pirates draft pick Pedro Alvarez agreed to terms prior to the 11 p.m. deadline on Aug. 15.
  • Right-hander Greg Reynolds was officially added to the Rockies roster on Friday. His addition was delayed because he started Monday and needed the off time before he could be used in a game. The Rockies are unbelievably only five games back in the NL West.
  • Adam Dunn says winning will be his number one priority when he signs with a new team this winter. Sorry, Pirates fans.

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

Stark’s Latest: Cain, Beltre, Burrell, Wigginton

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Let’s take a look at the latest column from ESPN’s Jayson Stark.

  • Stark wonders why no one has questioned MLB’s apparent trade deadline extension for the Manny Ramirez deal.
  • Currently the idea of the Brewers swapping Prince Fielder for Matt Cain is just fun speculation.  However, it is true the Brewers will listen on Fielder (he is about to get expensive).  The Giants are known to like the big first baseman.  The hangup is Brian Sabean’s reported unwillingness to trade Tim Lincecum or Cain.
  • The Giants also have their eye on Adrian Beltre.  The Mariners want starting pitching, but one year of Beltre is not equal to four of Jonathan Sanchez.
  • The Phillies still don’t want to go past two guaranteed years for Pat Burrell.  Stark points out another complication – Burrell would gain 10-and-5 rights early in a Phillies contract.  Any NL team inking Burrell for four years is a risky proposition given his defense.  If Burrell leaves the Phillies, Stark doesn’t expect the team to sign a major free agent as his replacement.
  • The Indians deserve props for acquiring Anthony Reyes.  Let’s not overdo it though – it’s only been five starts, and his strikeout rate is just 4.0 per nine in Cleveland.
  • The Indians talked to multiple teams about Cliff Lee last winter.  Interestingly, they thought the hardest about swapping him for Carlos Quentin.
  • The Astros were quite willing to trade Ty Wigginton, prior to his massive August.

Dodgers, Phillies Interested In Iguchi

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Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times talked to Tadahito Iguchi’s agent, who said the Dodgers and Phillies expressed interest in his client.

Iguchi, 33, hit .231/.292/.304 in 330 plate appearances for the Padres – the worst performance of his MLB career.  A separated shoulder caused him to miss most of June and all of July.  Iguchi earned $4MM for his efforts. 

Iguchi picked it up upon a trade to Philly last year, but he’s not likely to find as many at-bats this time around.  The Dodgers are currently using Blake DeWitt at second base in Jeff Kent’s absence.

Odds and Ends: Eaton, Tazawa, Royals, Jays

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Today’s links…

  • SI.com’s Tom Verducci ranks the five best midseason deals of the past 25 years.
  • Peter Abraham thinks the Yankees should stick with Robinson Cano.
  • Pat Gillick says there’s a slight chance the Phils acquire a reliever this month.  He was not able to acquire Kyle Farnsworth in August.
  • MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan doesn’t put much stock in the rumor that Nolan Ryan will clean house in Texas.
  • Phillies GM Pat Gillick admitted signing Adam Eaton was a mistake.  Many MLBTR readers thought so when the signing was finalized in November of ’06.
  • The Red Sox hope to sign a Japanese amateur pitcher named Junichi Tazawa, which may not go over well with Nippon Professional Baseball.
  • Gil Meche, Joakim Soria, and Zack Greinke are pretty much off-limits.  Most other Royals are fair game in trade discussions.  GM Dayton Moore intends to make changes this winter, and may also dive back into the free agent market.
  • The Blue Jays have $15MM to spend, with needs at shortstop, first base/DH, and catcher.  GM J.P. Ricciardi would prefer to fill those holes internally.  Shysterball wonders why Ricciardi is talking about next year.
  • Michael Rosenberg says Ivan Rodriguez is all about the money.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Burrell, Rockies

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Ken Rosenthal over at FOX Sports has up a new Full Count video up:

  • The Phillies want Pat Burrell back, and they feel they have a better than 50-50 chance of re-signing him because Burrell has mutual interest. Rosenthal thinks Burrell should command somewhere between $14MM and $17MM per season.
  • Rosenthal discusses the Rockies’ offseason, throwing out the usual suspects (Matt Holliday, Garrett Atkins, and Todd Helton) as possible trade pieces. Rosenthal points out Helton’s salary makes him difficult, and also proposes a scenario in which the Rockies trade both Atkins and Holliday, sign Burrell to play left field, and move Ian Stewart to third base full-time.
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