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White Sox Discuss Vazquez, Garland

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There hasn’t been much buzz on Javier Vazquez, but as suspected, Kenny Williams is at least willing to discuss him.  According to Toni Ginnetti of the Chicago Sun-Times, Williams was discussing Vazquez with the Phillies before the Phils got Kyle Lohse.  Pat Gillick and Kenny Williams really get along it seems.  It would be interesting to see Vazquez in play over the next 6.5 hours.

SI.com’s Jon Heyman reports some talks surrounding Jon Garland.  Heyman says Garland is "by far the best available starting pitcher right now."  The Dodgers, Mets, and Diamondbacks have all inquired and found the price unreasonable, however.  And don’t forget the Mariners and Yankees, who liked Garland earlier this month.

Phillies Acquire Kyle Lohse

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Ken Rosenthal again.  The Phillies just traded for Reds starter Kyle Lohse.  They gave up 23 year-old Double A southpaw Matt Maloney.  With both Kyle Kendrick and J.D. Durbin in the rotation, the Phils had to try something.

Wayne Krivsky did well here, as Maloney was the Phillies’ ninth best prospect entering the seasona according to Baseball America.  He’s more about deception and pitch selection that velocity or electric stuff.  His upside is pegged as a #4 starter.

Lohse has been an enigma – quite good in April and July, awful in May and June.  Tom Koch-Weser of the STATS, Inc. blog may have unraveled the mystery somewhat.

Phillies Scout Anthony Reyes

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The News Journal, a Wilmington, Delaware newspaper, reports that the Phillies recently sent their scouting director to watch Anthony Reyes pitch.  Writer Scott Lauber speculates that the Cardinals might have interest in Michael Bourn as the return. (Hat tip to Cardinals Diaspora for the link.  And they were already hat-tipping our good friend and occasional contributor Tom Goyne from Balls, Sticks, and Stuff.)

Do the Phillies need a flyball pitcher?  Do the Cards need Bourn with Colby Rasmus on the way perhaps next year?  Maybe not, but this could still be a move that could work for both sides.  The Cardinals and Reyes just aren’t on the same page; he needs a change of scenery.  However, it’s possible that the Phillies could fetch a more proven starter if they shop Bourn.  But proven usually means expensive and closer to free agency. 

Red Sox Continue Discussions For Dye

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UPDATE: The Chicago Tribune cites two factors for the non-trade – a disagreement over the players involved and Dye’s lack of desire to go to Boston.  The Hartford Courant adds that Kenny Williams demanded either Clay Buchholz or Jacoby Ellsbury.

UPDATE 2: Could the Phillies be the third team, working Michael Bourn into the mix somehow?

Ken Rosenthal has updated this post with some information regarding Boston’s ongoing pursuit of Jermaine Dye.

Apparently Dye was willing to waive his no-trade clause for some performance bonuses and a guarantee of playing five days a week.  A third club would’ve been needed to somehow facilitate the deal Kenny Williams wanted.  Rosenthal says talks are ongoing.

Tough to figure out how the Red Sox would pull off the five days a week thing.  Dye has rarely played any positions other than the outfield corners.  (Though he did play a game each at first base and shortstop in ’05 when the Sox were in a pinch).

If you consider Dye eligible to play first base, left field, right field, and DH, you can envision him starting five times a week.  Kevin Youkilis’s homer tonight notwithstanding, he and J.D. Drew haven’t done a whole lot lately.  Their playing time could be squeezed a bit, while Manny and Papi could use the extra rest.  The problem?  Dye is no picture of health himself and using him at multiple positions each week would probably increase the likelihood of injury.

Dye almost seems like a luxury for the Red Sox; why would they expend any serious effort to get him?  Perhaps they aim more to keep him away from the Yankees or Angels.  Dye could certainly be squeezed onto the Yankees’ roster as easily as Boston’s. Another motivation for Theo Epstein could be that he thinks he can give up players worth less than the draft picks he’d get for Dye.  Kenny Williams is no fool though, so maybe that’s how the third team got roped in.

Phillies Acquire Tadahito Iguchi

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According to WSCR 670 out of Chicago, the Phillies have acquired second baseman Tadahito Iguchi from the White Sox for 21 year-old Low A ball reliever Mike Dubee.  Dubee, son of Phillies pitching coach Rich Dubee, was originally drafted by the White Sox in 2004 but did not sign.  Here’s the press release for the trade, if you’re interested.

You really can’t fault the Phils for making the move; they had to bring someone in to man second base.  They didn’t give up much in Dubee, and they could snag some draft picks for Iguchi after the season.  [Correction: Sounds like the Phils won’t get draft picks for him.  I suppose if that was possible the Sox would’ve just kept him.]

The move leaves Mark Loretta, Mark Grudzielanek, Jose Castillo, Rich Aurilia, Ray Durham, Ty Wigginton, and maybe Luis Castillo as the available second baseman if the Padres or Mets are interested.  Plenty of options, really.

Padres Interested In Loretta, Iguchi

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The Padres have gotten a woeful .244/.315/.328 line out of their second baseman, most of it from Marcus Giles.  They’re starting to work Geoff Blum in more often, but it’s a clear area for an upgrade.

The two names on the radar, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune, are Mark Loretta and Tadahito Iguchi. 

Iguchi’s slugging percentage is down this year, mostly from an awful May.  But he still represents an upgrade on Giles. 

The more versatile Loretta is hitting .297/.373/.390 this year; he’s done a nice job drawing walks.  Loretta pushed to sign with the Padres, but Kevin Towers stood him up.  Now the Friars have come crawling back.  The problem is that the Phillies and Mets have sustained injuries to their second basemen and could get in on him.

Stark’s Latest:

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Jayson Stark has a new column over at ESPN.com.  Some highlights:

  • Octavio Dotel is almost a lock to be traded, and Chin-Lung Hu remains a possibility.  Stark adds that Dodgers GM Ned Colletti scouted reliever John Malone, which I think means Jonathan Meloan.  The 23 year-old Meloan throws in the low 90s with a hard slider; he commands his fastball well but carries some health concerns.
  • Regarding Jon Garland, we’ve already heard that the Mariners, Braves, and Yankees are interested.  Stark adds the Dodgers, Mets, and Phillies to that list.  However, he thinks Kenny Williams really just wants to trade Jose Contreras.
  • The Astros, surprisingly, have yet to open shop on their relievers. 
  • Michael Bourn is the Phillies’ top trading chip.  Some possible targets: Kameron Loe, Scott Olsen, Ervin Santana, Noah Lowry, and Dontrelle Willis.

Molony On Jennings, Slowey

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Jim Molony’s column today at MLB.com has many good trade rumors that I haven’t seen elsewhere.  Let’s discuss.

  • Molony says at least a dozen scouts watched Jason Jennings toss a quality start last night.  He needed it; I was beginning to think he wasn’t right.  Still, the performance probably isn’t enough to cause some team to offer a package for Jennings superior to two draft picks.
  • The Diamondbacks and Pirates had a scouting presence at the Astros-Dodgers game.  Interesting players appearing in the contest included James Loney, Andre Ethier, Wilson Betemit, Mark Loretta, Morgan Ensberg, Jason Lane, Chad Qualls, Dan Wheeler, and Brad Lidge. You connect the dots, I have no idea.
  • The Red Sox suggested sending Joel Pineiro to the A’s for Bobby Kielty in a swap of unwanteds; they were rebuffed.
  • The Phillies and Braves watched Matt Morris allow four runs in six innings on Tuesday.  They also may have been monitoring Steve Kline, who also pitched.
  • A Devil Rays scout watched the Twins in Toronto on Tuesday.  Ty Wigginton is thought to be a target for Minnesota.  Perhaps the Rays’ scout fancied Scott Baker, who started for the Twins and went seven innings.  Baker would be a stupendous return for Wiggy, in my opinion.
  • The Phillies had their assistant GM scouting Kevin Slowey’s start on Saturday.  Molony suggests Minnesota might want Pat Burrell.  That would involve a ridiculous amount of salary relief and a lack of Slowey.  Slowey allowed one run in six innings in the game.
  • UPDATE: Just realized that the above pair of bullets seem to have originated from La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.  The scout watching the Twins on Tuesday was Lee Elia.  Not sure why Molony didn’t cite this source, but I suppose he may have come across the info independently.

Phillies Scouting Rangers?

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Another one of those scouting guessing games: Peter Gammons mentioned on Friday that Phillies GM Pat Gillick and assistant GM Mike Arbuckle were at the Indians-Rangers game on Thursday.  Here’s the box score.

A reasonable guess would be that the Phillies’ execs were scouting the Rangers.  I imagine they were disappointed, as Joaquin Benoit did not pitch.  He would be a reasonable target and useful addition for Philly.

Other possibilities?  Starting pitcher Kameron Loe probably isn’t available, and the Phils don’t have much use for Kenny Lofton or Mark Teixeira.  Other trade candidates who appeared in the game include Sammy Sosa, Brad Wilkerson, Ron Mahay, and Frank Francisco.  Sosa is being shopped as a lefty-masher, but the Phillies are third in the league in OPS vs. southpaws.  Wilkerson doesn’t seem like a great fit either.  If anyone, it seems the Phillies had their eye on Francisco and Mahay as bullpen additions.  Trade deadline fever: catch it!

Graziano’s Latest: Livan, Wily Mo

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Dan Graziano at the Newark Star-Ledger has really stepped up in recent days with a lot of insider trade talk.  Let’s see what he has in store for us this morning.

  • Apparently Josh Byrnes is calling around, actively shopping Livan Hernandez.  According to Graziano, the Mets, Braves, and Mariners have expressed interest.  To the contrary, Ken Rosenthal wrote last night that the Mets and Braves are not interested.  Who to believe?  Hopefully the Mariners do better than Livan if they make a move for a starter.  To hear Nick Piecoro tell it, the Diamondbacks are more likely to just opt for the draft picks they’ll get if they let Hernandez leave via free agency.
  • The Yankees are in a quandary when it comes to dealing Scott Proctor or Kyle Farnsworth.  For Proctor, they want more than just a role player like Ty Wigginton.  They want a reliever back, which begs the question – why not just keep Proctor?  With Farnsy, the Yanks are reluctant to pay a big chunk of his $5.5 salary for ’08.  They should toss in $2MM and see if that’s enough to get Wiggy.
  • If the Red Sox can snag Bobby Kielty, they might turn around and trade Wily Mo Pena to the White Sox.  Wily Mo in that ballpark with 600 plate appearances?  40 home runs.  Might make Theo look bad.  Dejan Kovacevic mentions that Epstein is "actively shopping" Pena, and seems to like the idea of the Bucs sending Salomon Torres to Boston for him. 
  • The Brewers, Phillies, and Dodgers are looking at Oakland lefty and impending free agent Joe Kennedy.  Kennedy is only 28 and he has had National League success as a starter.
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