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Sherman On The Mets

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Joel Sherman of the New York Post talked to Mets GM Omar Minaya yesterday, gaining insight on the team’s plans for the second half.

  • If Ryan Church is able to return (the Mets are cautiously optimistic), the Mets will focus on a righty-hitting left fielder.  Raul Ibanez is a lefty, while the prospect price on Matt Holliday and Xavier Nady seems prohibitive.  I assume the same applies to Jason Bay.  Sherman has mentioned Austin Kearns in the past; he could make sense.
  • The price on Brian Fuentes and similar relievers is also apparently too high.  Minaya might prefer not to further deplete the farm system.
  • The Mets could elect to solve their problems from within – Minaya suggested Jon Niese and Fernando Martinez could be in the bigs next month. 
  • Minaya’s recent history of midseason acquisitions – Luis Castillo and Jeff Conine in ’07, Orlando Hernandez, Shawn Green, Guillermo Mota, Roberto Hernandez, and Oliver Perez in ’06.  Over his career, Minaya has dealt often with Indians GM Mark Shapiro.

Sherman’s Latest: Adenhart, Burnett, Niese, Ibanez

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Joel Sherman of the New York Post has been digging up rumors left and right – here, here, and here in recent days.  Let’s discuss.

  • The Angels have "hinted at a willingness to build a deal around pitching prospect Nick Adenhart."  This would apparently involve Mark Teixeira or Matt Holliday.
  • The Phillies made an initial offer last week for A.J. Burnett, and the Jays were thoroughly unimpressed.  The Phillies won’t discuss prospects Carlos Carrasco, Lou Marson, or Greg Golson in trades.
  • The Yankees have zero interest in Burnett.
  • The A’s are willing to move Joe Blanton.  He’s not perfect, but he can eat innings and is under team control through 2010.
  • Six games out of the wild card with a league-best offense, the Rangers don’t look like sellers.
  • At least ten teams watched Mets’ Double A starter Jon Niese pitch Saturday.  He’s their top trade chip given the unavailability of Fernando Martinez.
  • The Pirates have their eye on the Yankees’ Ross Ohlendorf, if the Yanks become buyers for players like Damaso Marte or Xavier Nady.
  • Three Raul Ibanez suitors are named: the Diamondbacks, Dodgers, and Red Sox.
  • At least nine teams are monitoring Freddy Garcia: the Yankees, Mets, Astros, Rangers, Royals, Red Sox, Phillies, Tigers, and White Sox.  We’ve seen the Braves, Rays, and Cubs mentioned too.  Garcia’s agent isn’t up for an ’09 option with his client.  A-Rod is said to be pushing for the Yankees to sign him. 
  • Sherman notes a rumor around the game that has Pat Gillick becoming Mariners president next year, and Brian Cashman coming on as his GM.

Jason Bay Rumors Debunked

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You may recall Jon Heyman’s article from Friday, where the Diamondbacks and Cardinals were said to be among "the most ardent pursuers of Jason Bay."  However, Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette spoke to sources with all three teams – and all of them denied the rumor.

Kovacevic has been reporting for a while now that the Bucs prefer to keep Bay, though they’ll listen.  That remains unchanged.  Kovacevic’s article describes a hot market for two other Pirates – Damaso Marte and Xavier Nady.

Pirates GM Neal Huntington hinted that he might soon trade some of the team’s veterans:

"We’re not content.  We need depth to add to this group. How do we get that? As we’ve said from day one, there are going to be times when we make unpopular decisions, but those decisions might be necessary to take next step."

Rosenthal’s Latest: Dunn, Burnett, Ibanez

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Ken Rosenthal’s Full Count video Saturday covered many interesting topics; yesterday he put the info into column form and added even more.

  • Same old story with Adam Dunn – he’s just not drawing much interest.  Even with the whiffs and ugly defense, this is surprising to me.  Rosenthal says the Reds "will take a considerable risk" if they offer Dunn arbitration after the season and he accepts.  Would having Dunn on a one-year deal at market price really be so bad?
  • Rosenthal says "it remains to be seen whether Jim Bowden’s authority will be compromised" in the wake of his involvement in the FBI’s bonus-skimming investigation.  The Nationals have a couple of mildly interesting starters to shop in Tim Redding and Odalis Perez, plus perhaps the top righty reliever in Jon Rauch.  Maybe Rauch will be packaged with a starter.
  • The Angels will try to retain Francisco Rodriguez after the season.
  • The Blue Jays started A.J. Burnett on three days rest in an attempt to maximize his starts before the trade deadline, though the J.P. denies it. Burnett responded well against the Yankees.  Rosenthal wonders whether he would abandon his opt-out clause if his contract was extended through 2011 upon a trade.  A dissenting opinion – Jon Heyman talked to one GM who does not expect Burnett to opt out.
  • The D’Backs apparently do not see Raul Ibanez as much of an upgrade over Chad Tracy. However, Jack Magruder wrote Saturday that the Mariners and D’Backs had discussions on Ibanez.
  • The Dodgers are still interested in Jack Wilson.
  • Rosenthal says some teams are skeptical that the Pirates would offer Damaso Marte arbitration after this season.   Why wouldn’t they?  The Red Sox are interested in the lefty.

Yankees Roundup: Nady, Sexson, Fuentes, Marte

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Over the next 10 days, the Yankees will determine whether they are buyers or sellers. According to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, if they think they are still in it then they will target "a lefty reliever and a secondary starting pitcher."  That starting pitcher could be Eric Milton, however he’s 6 weeks away from starting. I’ll add a right handed bat to that list as the Yankees need help against lefties.

Sherman says the Rockies are interested enough in Ian Kennedy to deal Brian Fuentes for him and the Yankees will need to choose both whether they’re in it and how much they want to retain Kennedy.  A cheaper option they’re considering is Damaso Marte, says the Pittsburgh Post Gazette’s Dejan Kovacevic.  The fact that Marte is now closing in Pittsburgh may have either decreased his availability or increased his price tag, or both.  The Cardinals, Mets, Rays and Red Sox are all in the hunt for the lefty.

Kovacevic says the Yankees are suitors for Xavier Nady as well. Nady is a career .320 hitter against lefties and has played in New York before.  And then there’s Richie Sexson, who Tim discussed here, and who George A. King III of the New York Post says the Yankees could sign if/when he clears waivers this week.

A compromise of sorts could be to make a move for A.J. Burnett.  The opt-out risk at the end of the year is alarming, but the Yankees could use his services this year and beyond, as well as manage his salary and the upside is still tremendous.

Heyman’s Latest: Bay, Rivera, Chacon

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New column from SI.com’s Jon Heyman.

  • Fresh Jason Bay rumors: the D’Backs and Cardinals are in pursuit.  The Mets and Rays have kicked the tires as well.  Heyman believes the Pirates want Emilio Bonifacio from the D’Backs, and maybe Colby Rasmus from the Cards.  At any rate, the price will be steep with Bay signed for ’09.
  • Juan Rivera is a "surprise target" of the Mets, though they’ve had interest in him since March.  Rivera will be hard to acquire, though, because he’s gaining playing time for the Angels.
  • Heyman believes Shawn Chacon will win his grievance and get paid his full salary.

Stark’s Latest: Burnett, Nady, Greinke, Burrell

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FRIDAY: We have an update to Stark’s column – he is now saying that Burnett does have veto power over 15 teams.

THURSDAY: Let’s take a look at Jayson Stark’s latest over at ESPN.com.

  • The Phillies and Yankees both made failed runs at CC Sabathia.  The Phils wouldn’t include Carlos Carrasco or Lou Marson, while the Yanks insisted on a negotiating window.  The Phils are looking at Erik Bedard and A.J. Burnett by default, while neither of those pitchers makes sense for the Yankees.  The Yanks checked in on Aaron Harang, but that’s a moot point since he’s ailing.
  • Despite the Dodgers’ run at Sabathia, they’re apparently not looking at other starters.
  • Ken Rosenthal recently wrote that Burnett had veto power over 15 teams, but Stark’s source says it’s just a handful of teams.  It’ll be tough to convince Burnett not to opt out of his contract after the season, unless he’s hurt.
  • The Braves still haven’t made the buy/sell decision.  If they buy, Xavier Nady is the top target.  If they sell, Mark Teixeira is the best chip.  Apparently Scott Boras is talking about $23MM per year for Tex this winter.
  • The Giants are pretty clearly not trading Matt Cain.
  • The Orioles, making a run at .500, don’t seem motivated to move George Sherrill or othe top veterans.
  • The Brewers’ Plan B beyond Sabathia was Zack Greinke, rather than Rich Harden.  Ken Rosenthal recently said the Royals were "decidedly uninterested in moving Greinke," however.
  • Stark says it "wouldn’t be out of the question" for the Cubs to pursue a lefthanded starter like Randy Wolf, despite the Harden acquisition.
  • Extension with the Phillies for Pat Burrell did not get very far.

Quiet Deadline For Tigers?

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Jon Paul Morosi of the Detroit Free Press believes the Tigers might be quiet in the trade market this month.  However, the team could use starting pitching and relief help.

Morosi notes that the Tigers have not inquired on Randy Wolf or Greg Maddux.  What’s more, Wolf has the Tigers on his no-trade list.  One starter known to be on Detroit’s radar: Freddy Garcia.

Morosi adds that the Tigers had discussions for John Grabow and Damaso Marte earlier this year.  And keep in mind that Barry Svrluga said back in April that the Tigers "will watch Jon Rauch very closely."

Mariners Acquire Craig Wilson

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The Mariners acquired Craig Wilson today from the Pirates for a player to be named later. 

Hopefully the goal is not to use Wilson at the big league level, as he’s hitting just .230/.327/.396 at Triple A.  Wilson had some useful years as a Pirate from 2001-06 though.

The Bucs did some additional minor league shuffling, acquiring pitcher Dan Reichert and outfielder Ryan Mulhern from the Indians.

Molony’s Latest: Mahay, Loretta, Erstad, Guzman

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Let’s check in with MLB.com’s Jim Molony.

  • The Rays are scouting lefty relievers Brian Fuentes and Ron Mahay.  The issue?  The price for Fuentes seems exorbitant, and Mahay may not be available.  Troy E. Renck names the Yankees, Mets, Cardinals, and Marlins as the main suitors for Fuentes aside from the Rays.
  • A few contenders have inquired with the Astros as to the availability of Mark Loretta and Darin Erstad.
  • As you might imagine, the Rangers are open to trading Frank Catalanotto.  We mentioned yesterday that his contract is a bit of a burden.
  • It seems that Jim Bowden is listening to offers for Cristian Guzman while also trying to sign him to an extension.  From Guzman’s point of view, it might make sense to enter a weak shortstop market this winter.
  • The Matt Capps injury apparently affects Damaso Marte’s availability.
  • The Marlins may make Mark Hendrickson available.  The big lefty was replaced in the rotation by top prospect Chris Volstad.
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