By Tim Dierkes | at
According to MLB.com’s Bill Ladson, the Nationals are looking for a cleanup hitter. Their targets: Adam Dunn, Prince Fielder, Matt Holliday, and Mark Teixeira.
The Nats probably do not have the depth to pull off a trade for Fielder or Holliday. Teixeira will command a contract in the $150MM range. Of the four, Dunn makes the most sense. He can be had for less than $100MM, and GM Jim Bowden has a history with him.
By Tim Dierkes | at
8:19pm: According to the AP, the D’Backs exercised Rauch’s $2.9MM option for 2010. He’ll earn $2MM in ’09.
9:49am: Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic has the latest D’Backs hot stove chatter, here and here.
By Tim Dierkes | at
Recently I wrote a Cubs Offseason Outlook, where many reasonable acquisition targets were discussed. If the Cubs re-sign Ryan Dempster and Kerry Wood, they’ll be limited by payroll unless the salaries of Jason Marquis ($9.875MM) or Derrek Lee ($13MM) are moved.
Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune names his possible Cubs targets: Brian Roberts, Adam Dunn, Jeremy Hermida, Mike Jacobs, Rafael Furcal, Jake Peavy, and Brian Fuentes. Some fun names in there, many of which could only be added if payroll space is created. Dunn would be an interesting choice for a regular right fielder, while Jacobs would represent a downgrade at first base.
The Cubs aren’t likely to add Peavy, especially if they re-sign Dempster. If you’d like to take the speculation to the next level nonetheless, Barry Rozner has ideas at the Daily Herald. With any trade scenario, it is always important to put yourself in the shoes of the other team and ask if it is truly the best deal for them.
By Tim Dierkes | at
Links for Thursday…
By Joe Pawlikowski | at
Mark Bowman of MLB.com has a new mailbag up. The first question leads to a discussion of the Braves adding a bat this off-season. The Braves have $45MM to spend this winter, and could use every penny to fortify their team. While pitching is certainly a concern, the team would like to add a bat. They could use an outfielder or three.
Bowman begins by listing the usual free agent targets: Pat Burrell and Adam Dunn, though he notes that the team isn’t necessarily interested in either. In the Braves offseason outlook, Tim also mentioned free agents Raul Ibanez and Juan Rivera. Given a guess, I’d say the latter ends up in Atlanta. He’s coming off a poor season and could end up being a bargain. Bobby Abreu could be an option, too. He wants multiple years, while the Yankees seem to be content offering him arbitration and allowing him to sign elsewhere.
On the trade front, Bowman gets a little unorthodox. Jason Bay and Matt Holliday get first mention, though they’re quickly written off. It’s unlikely Bay leaves Boston. He’s signed for $7.5MM next year before reaching free agency, and will certainly earn his pay. The Holliday mention is a nonstarter; there’s little chance the Braves will pay a ton in prospects for a guy who will reach free agency next year. I suppose the same goes for Bay, too.
He makes the most compelling case for Xavier Nady, whom the Braves attempted to acquire at the deadline. It appears unlikely, however, that the Yankees would part with the outfielder, who is entering his last year of arbitration. Perhaps if Casey Kotchman were involved, but that’s highly doubtful. If the Braves are intent on acquiring a bat through a trade, it now appears that Delmon Young could be available.
If you’re so inclined, you can check out River Ave. Blues, Joe’s Yankees blog. Today we’re talking Mariano Rivera and CC Sabathia.
By Steve Adams | at
Just a few weeks left in the regular season, but plenty of news here on MLBTR still. Let’s look back at the past week:
By Coley Ward 2 | at
Dayton Daily News columnist Hal McCoy checks in from Phoenix, where he’s been following the Diamondbacks-Reds series. McCoy chatted with Adam Dunn before Friday’s game. He asked Dunn if he and the Diamondbacks had talked about a contract for next year and Dunn said, “No, nothing. And I’m not worried about it."
And then the talk turned to Reds pitcher Bronson Arroyo, who recently told writers the Reds traded Dunn because he was going to ask for between $120 million and $125 million for a new contract.
“Who is he, my agent?” said Dunn. “First and foremost, I would never say anything like that. And if I did the only guy I would have said it to would have been Ken Griffey Jr. But I didn’t say it.
Did you know that Dunn and Griffey were such good friends? I didn’t.
Coley Ward writes for Umpbump.com. He can be reached here.
By Tim Dierkes | at
According to John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer, the Reds officially received pitcher Micah Owings as part of the bounty for the Adam Dunn trade. Owings dealt with shoulder stiffness shortly after the D’Backs sent him to the minors in late July.
Owings, 26 in a few weeks, posted a 5.93 ERA in 104.2 innings this year. He lost a mile an hour on his fastball, but maintained a solid strikeout rate. His control worsened, and home runs continued to be a problem. Owings’ flyball tendencies won’t be a good fit for Great American Ballpark, but he can still be a solid #4 starter when healthy.
By Steve Adams | at
John Perrotto at Baseball Prospectus has his Every Given Sunday column up. Here’s the highlights from the Rumors and Rumblings section (with some added speculation here and there from yours truly):
By Coley Ward 2 | at
Here’s some loose change found underneath the cushions of the hot stove couch:
Coley Ward writes for Umpbump.com and can be reached here.
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