Odds And Ends: Riske, Peavy, Penny
Links for Tuesday…
- This week's chat will take place today at 2pm CST.
- Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that David Riske is undergoing elbow surgery today. Adam McCalvy says it's Tommy John surgery.
- In a separate article, Haudricourt identifies the Brewers' pitching shortage and says the team will rely on minor leaguers for support.
- Jake Peavy won't discuss his trade preferences until after he pitches against the Phillies tonight, according to David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News.
- In the same article, we hear that Mike Koplove has opted out of his contract and is now a free agent.
- Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald guesses there's a 50-50 chance that the Red Sox deal Brad Penny once they're able to after June 15th.
- Adam Jones sees his former team, the Mariners, as just another opponent these days, as Amber Theoharis of MASN.com reports.
- Could Cristian Guzman or Jack Wilson help the Royals out at shortstop? The Kansas City Star suggests both could work.
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports imagines how different this season would be with Mark Teixeira on the Red Sox.
- Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times passes on a funny remark from Ken Williams: "National League pitchers don't like pitching in the AL. That doesn't make them fearful. It makes them smart."
- Jorge Says No asks why sellers don't insist that buyers take bad contracts along with top talent at the deadline.
Odds And Ends: Jones, Peralta, Liriano
Lins for Saturday morning…
- As ESPN.com's Buster Olney reports, Adam Jones is pleased that the Orioles have so much pitching approaching the majors, but he wants to win now.
- SI.com's Tom Verducci calls Jones baseball's most improved player and breaks down the outfielder's hot start.
- Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that Jhonny Peralta is playing third base for now.
- Rob Neyer of ESPN.com writes that there are no guarantees for Francisco Cervelli once Jose Molina and Jorge Posada are fully healthy.
- Neyer adds that the Twins need Francisco Liriano to take his game to the next level and regain the form that saw him dominate the American League in 2006.
- In a third piece, Neyer weighs in on the White Sox, concluding that there's no reason to panic in a division that the Sox could take with 85 wins. Still, the team has issues in center field and in the middle infield.
O’s Not Planning Long-Term Deals For Markakis, Jones
Interesting note from Buster Olney’s blog today:
Most major-league teams are working to sign their best young players to multi-year deals. But right now, the Orioles’ internal philosophy is to wait for at least three years before discussing a multi-year deal with the likes of Adam Jones and Nick Markakis.
Surprising, isn’t it? If the Orioles eschew long-term deals, their best players will be much more expensive when the team is ready to compete. Markakis, their star player, will be up for arbitration after this season. Maybe he won’t get the $10MM Ryan Howard did, but $7MM seems reasonable. There were already rumblings that Markakis was angered by this year’s $55K raise.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Brian Roberts
It seems as though all the players we thought we would be traded this off-season, have been traded, minus one…Brian Roberts. The oft-rumored deal to send Roberts to the Cubs continues to linger. Ken Rosenthal first suggested that Roberts would be a good fit for the Cubs back in early December and Jeff Zrebiec confirmed the Cubs interest. Then the deal may have been dead, with the O’s asking price too high and by the end of January Gordon Wittenmyer suggested Cubs had turned their focus to Marlon Byrd. Then according to Jon Heyman a deal appeared imminent. Rosenthal thought the O’s insisting on the inclusion of Felix Pie was a deal-breaker. But then Baltimore acquired Adam Jones and Chris De Luca noted the deal might have life. But now Heyman wonders if the proposed package(s) is not enough and if Peter Angelos will nix a deal, as Roberts is one of his favorite players. Now that Spring Training has begun we have to wonder if a deal can still get done. let’s take a look at how the Roberts deal is being handled in the blogosphere.
If there is a topic you would like to see covered in "Baseball Blogs Weigh In" please let me know HERE.
- View From the Bleachers sees Roberts as a nice addition but not a necessity as he may only be a slight upgrade from Eric Patterson. They don’t see the deal as a "foregone conclusion" considering the players being offered by the Cubs.
- Camden Chat is not impressed with the Cubs offer, but they wonder if Roberts is worth keeping.
- Another Cubs Blog sees the signing of Alex Cintron by the Cubs as a sign that the Cubs are making progress towards getting a deal done.
- Ivy Chat wonders if the Cubs have enough in the system to obtain both Roberts and Joe Nathan. While they would like both, they would prefer Nathan.
- Crawley’s Cub Kingdom notes that Alfonso Soriano’s legs are not 100% and that he may not be suited to lead off in 2008, increasing the need for Roberts.
- A Hundred Next Years is not sure the upgrade from Mark DeRosa to Roberts is worth the price.
- Wrigleyville23 calls it "The Roberts Rain Delay" and notes that the political process here in the U.S. actually moves faster than trade discussions between the Cubs and the O’s.
- Orioles Fan Base talked to our own Tim Dierkes about this situation.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Erik Bedard
Another one of baseball’s top young lefties is about to be traded. Last week it was Johan Santana. This week it appears as if Erik Bedard is going to be traded to the Mariners for Adam Jones, a relief pitcher and three top pitching prospects. Despite rumors of a completed deal over a week ago, and worries that Peter Angelos might kill the deal, reports appear to indicate that the trade could be finalized. Any. Minute. Now. But before the deal is completed, let’s take a look at reactions to the Bedard trade from the blogosphere.
- Camden Chat says farewell and thanks to Erik Bedard. They are now looking forward to watching the 2008 Baltimore Orioles even if the team is destined to lose 100 games.
- Oriole Magic thinks this entire saga has been more interesting than the regular season will turn out to be.
- Bleacher Report says there is no prize for finishing 4th in the AL East (tell that to Rays fans) and Peter Angelos needs to OK the deal.
- Detect-O-Vision compares the Johan Santana deal to the Erik Bedard deal. While the Mariners appear to be offering more for Bedard, their system is much deeper than the Mets and they can afford the price.
- Caffeinated Confines takes a look at who will play right field for the Mariners if Adam Jones is traded.
- Bugs & Cranks thinks that this deal, along with the Miguel Tejada deal are moves that the Orioles should have made years ago.
- Fake Teams takes a look at the three pitching prospects that are expected to be acquired by the Orioles.
Erik Bedard Trade Almost Done
5:31pm: Baker update: Sherrill made an appearance in Baltimore to take his physical this morning. The O’s may not need to examine the three young pitchers coming over. Bedard has yet to fly out to Seattle but this thing should be done by week’s end. Meanwhile Jason Churchill (righthand sidebar of his site) is 100% convinced the trade will happen and expects an announcement soon.
3:53pm: Sean Welsh of the Baltimore Examiner says the deal could be completed soon but not finalized today.
12:47pm: Geoff Baker checks in, mostly to dismiss any rumor of Brian Roberts being added to the deal. I hadn’t heard that one from any legitimate outlet.
10:51am: The Sun has an update: this deal is nearing completion, pending physicals. Jones is officially in Baltimore for his physical. The deal may be announced later today.
MONDAY, 7:48am: This Baltimore Sun article was posted at 2:48am CST today. Jeff Zrebiec said no one’s taken a physical yet, but "officials from both sides remain confident a deal can be reached."
SUNDAY, 10:43pm: John Hickey of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer says Adam Jones went to Baltimore today for that long-awaited physical. Hickey says this physical is the only remaining impediment to the Mariners swapping Erik Bedard for Jones, George Sherrill, Tillman, Mickolio, and Butler. Sounds like we might have an announcement on Monday or Tuesday.
SUNDAY, 11:39am: Larry Stone of the Seattle Times gives his take on the Erik Bedard situation. The money quote:
All current indications are that, after all the histrionics of the past week, the Mariners and Orioles will really, truly, actually, once and for all, no turning back, no mulligans, no backing out, no passing go, get this trade done. But check back tomorrow, because nothing is for certain in this messed-up deal.
Stone also adds that Adam Jones was not in Baltimore for a physical on Friday, contrary to other reports. He also gives some details about the three tall pitchers rumored to be part of the deal – Chris Tillman, Kam Mickolio, and Tony Butler.
Brad Wilkerson Signs With Mariners
The Mariners officially signed Brad Wilkerson today to a one-year deal. Scott Boras says he’s a good fit even if the Ms don’t trade Adam Jones. Now that I think about it and see the price – $3MM – I might agree with that. The Seattle Times’ Larry Stone considers this signing a "possible precursor to finalization" of a Jones trade. So maybe progress has been made on the Erik Bedard front.
Wilkerson, 29, hit .234/.319/.467 for the Rangers in ’07, earning $4.35MM. Wilkerson had some interesting years from 2002-04, putting up OPSs above .840. Wrist and shoulder injuries seemingly had a lot to do with his struggles thereafter.
Mariners Close To Bedard Deal?
UPDATE, 1-30-08 at 5:19pm: MLB.com’s Jim Street says a last-ditch attempt by the Orioles to sign Bedard to a five-year contract is holding up the trade. Street says Bedard’s agent told Andy MacPhail it would take seven years and $100MM, however. Street touches on the Jones degenerative hip thing, indicating that the Orioles heard this but it turned out to be unsubstantiated.
UPDATE, 1-30-08 at 4:38pm: Geoff Baker checks in. He’s not able to corroborate the MLB.com report. He was able to dismiss the Adam Jones hip stuff. Baker’s heard that Angelos was angry about the Jones leak though. Baker does not buy Andy MacPhail’s talk of other clubs being in the mix – the Mariners have a very strong offer.
FROM 1-30-08 at 3:56pm:
According to MLB.com’s Jim Molony:
Talks were thought to be stalled, but multiple MLB sources said Wednesday that Baltimore and Seattle are close to finalizing the deal the two teams have been discussing for weeks. The trade would send Orioles pitcher Erik Bedard to the Mariners for outfielder Adam Jones, pitchers George Sherill and Chris Tillman and as many as two additional prospects.
Molony’s article was published at 1pm CST today. 5 for 1 would be quite a package. Jason Churchill of Prospect Insider still sees a 4 for 1 coming together by week’s end (righthand sidebar).
The Adam Jones Degenerative Hip Rumor
UPDATE, 1-30-08 at 9:09am: John Hickey of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer calls Charles’ report "completely unsubstantiated."
FROM 1-29-08 at 10:40pm:
This story got lost in the shuffle today. Let’s take a look at what we know about the Adam Jones degenerative hip rumor.
- The rumor originated with Stan Charles, publisher of a Baltimore sports weekly called Press Box. Charles appeared on the Mark Viviano Show on ESPN 1300 Tuesday afternoon.
- Unfortunately I did not hear exactly what Charles said – the show may be up for download on Wednesday. But the gist of Charles’ rumor based on emailers who listened is that the Orioles believe Jones has a degenerative hip condition. They are trying to use this leverage to get more players for Erik Bedard. The Orioles saw firsthand how quickly a degenerative hip killed Albert Belle‘s career.
- Roch Kubatko of the Baltimore Sun: All I can say about the topic is that the Orioles became concerned with something related to Jones, and the fact that they wanted to bring him in for a physical before alerting Bedard’s agent that a trade agreement was reached should send off signals. But we’ve heard nothing up to this point about his hip. Kubatko implied that Charles was in dangerous territory with his claim.
Erik Bedard Rumors: Tuesday
UPDATE, 1-29-08 at 3:45pm: The Baltimore Sun’s Roch Kubatko weighs in on a radio rumor going around. The radio rumor says that the O’s are holding up the deal over a possible degenerative hip condition with Adam Jones. Kubatko could only confirm that the Orioles "became concerned with something related to Jones."
FROM 1-29-08 at 7:50am:
Why can’t all megadeals be as simple as Detroit’s Miguel Cabrera acquisition? The Erik Bedard to Seattle has become a full-blown mess. As always, MLBTradeRumors.com has the latest.
Ken Rosenthal expounds on three theories as to why Orioles owner Peter Angelos may be holding up the deal. Maybe he still wants to sign Bedard to an extension. Maybe he’s mad about Adam Jones leaking the deal to the Venezuelan press. Or maybe he just wants more/different players than Andy MacPhail negotiated. Or my own theory – maybe he was just busy Monday with a family matter, as has been suggested, and nothing’s wrong.