Olney On Gonzalez, Draft, Strasburg
Two prominent baseball figures inched closer to retirement yesterday and ESPN.com's Buster Olney recognizes both of them. John Smoltz's fading repertoire brings him closer to retirement than ever and the faltering newspaper industry will push longtime Reds writer Hal McCoy to call it a career after the season. Here are Olney's rumors:
- Olney hears that the Mariners came closer to obtaining Adrian Gonzalez than the Red Sox ever did.
- Many teams are believed to have struck deals with their top picks. So why haven't we heard about them? Teams will announce over-slot deals at the last minute so it seems like they're respecting the commissioner's recommended bonuses.
- Real doubts are beginning to emerge that the Nats will be able to sign Stephen Strasburg.
Heyman On Jays, Gonzalez, Peavy
Jon Heyman of SI.com calls Toronto's team the "Blew Jays" because he believes GM J.P. Ricciardi blew the Roy Halladay trade talks. Here are the details and a couple other rumors:
- Heyman says too much talk, too much candor and an overly steep price prevented Ricciardi from making a deal.
- Heyman hears that Halladay would have approved trades to a variety of teams in the East and Midwest.
- The Jays never agreed on prospects with the Rangers, but would have sent $5MM to Texas in a possible Halladay deal.
- One executive says the Jays "overplayed their hand."
- The Padres wanted more than Clay Buchholz, Justin Masterson and Jed Lowrie for Adrian Gonzalez.
- GM Kevin Towers had a deal more or less in place to send Jake Peavy to Atlanta last offseason before the righty told the Padres he didn't want to go to Atlanta.
Heyman On August Trades
Executives tell Jon Heyman of SI.com that we saw the "softest deadline ever" last week because there's still the possibility for trades this month. Here's an explanation of how trades can occur after the deadline and here are the players Heyman deems likely to clear waivers (player who clear waivers may be traded):
- Bronson Arroyo, Adam Dunn, Jose Guillen, Aaron Harang, Adrian Beltre, Aubrey Huff, Jason Giambi, Melvin Mora, Miguel Batista, Juan Cruz, Ty Wigginton, Ron Mahay, Willie Bloomquist, Lyle Overbay, Willy Taveras.
Some players who could clear waivers:
- Jon Garland, Doug Davis, Gil Meche, Alex Rios, Carl Pavano, Mark Hendrickson, Jhonny Peralta, Jamey Carroll, Ron Villone.
And some players who probably won't clear waivers, but who could be dealt to a claiming team:
- Roy Halladay, Felix Hernandez, Heath Bell, Adrian Gonzalez, Marco Scutaro, Chad Qualls, Michael Wuertz, Brian Bannister, Josh Willingham, Gary Sheffield, David Eckstein, Jason Frasor, Mark Teahen.
Felix & Gonzalez Were Part Of Failed Deal
You thought the Jake Peavy deal was a surprise? The Red Sox, Mariners and Padres discussed a trade that would have made the Peavy acquisition look like the Jason Hirsh deal, according to Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times. Baker hears that the Red Sox gave the Mariners the chance to choose five of the following players in exchange for Felix Hernandez:
- Clay Buchholz
- Daniel Bard
- Justin Masterson
- Nick Hagadone
- Michael Bowden
- Felix Doubront
- Josh Reddick
- Yamaico Navarro
The Mariners apparently turned down the deal, at which point the Padres became involved in discussions about a possible three-way trade. The Mariners would have received Adrian Gonzalez, Buchholz and prospects in the deal. They would have sent Felix to the Red Sox and dealt Brandon Morrow, Phillippe Aumont and Carlos Triunfel to the Padres, who would have received prospects from the Red Sox as well. In the end, Baker says the Mariners nixed the deal.
Rosenthal’s Full Count Video: Yankees, Dodgers, Pirates
The tireless Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com has a new Full Count video up. Let's dive in…
- Yankees GM Brian Cashman told Rosenthal that he was "very aggressive" going after pitching help, whether it be high-end starters, low-end starters, or relievers. "I was on all of it," Cashman said.
- Cashman specifically targeted Jarrod Washburn, but the Mariners asked for top prospect Austin Jackson in return. The Yankees were also "one of several clubs" to inquire about Felix Hernandez.
- Rosenthal says Heath Bell was their primary target among relievers, as the idea was to make him the primary setup man for Mariano Rivera, and possibly put Phil Hughes or Alfredo Aceves back into the rotation.
- The Dodgers "never got close" in their attempted blockbuster for Adrian Gonzalez and Bell. The deal would have helped Los Angeles' rotation by shortening the game from the back end with another elite reliever.
- They still have issues in the rotation however, as Jason Schmidt topped out at 87 last night. Only two National League clubs have gotten fewer innings out of their starters than the Dodgers.
- We won't know the true result of the Pirates' firesale until 2011 or 2012, but the early returns on the Jason Bay trade are not good. Rosenthal says the Rays may have been willing to pay more for Bay at the time, possibly including the since-traded Jason Hammel and/or Edwin Jackson in a package.
- Hitters and relievers will be in "ample supply" during the August waiver period, but quality starting pitchers … not so much. Doug Davis might be one of the best available starters, and the Diamondbacks will need to be realistic about a return since they are unlikely to offer him arbitration after the year.
- There was "precious little action" on Davis in July. When Rosenthal mentioned to a club official that the offers for Davis might not be much better in August, the official responded "they can't be much worse."
Failed Deadline Blockbusters
Today was hectic, but imagine how much wilder it would have been if these two deals had gone through:
- Via Twitter, Jon Heyman of SI.com reports that the Padres almost dealt Heath Bell and Adrian Gonzalez to the Dodgers for James Loney, Russell Martin, Blake DeWitt, James McDonald and Ivan Dejesus. Wow.
- Danny Knobler of CBS Sports confirms that the division rivals considered a blockbuster deal involving those players.
- Knobler also says the Rangers and Angels both pursued Heath Bell aggressively this afternoon. The Angels and Padres were discussing Jose Arredondo, Sean O'Sullivan and Sean Rodriguez.
- Brewers GM Doug Melvin says his team was involved in a "big one that didn't happen," according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
- The Crew also had interest in Jarrod Washburn and Brian Bannister.
- Melvin says everyone asked the Brewers for Mat Gamel and Alcides Escobar. Since the Brewers didn't want to deal either prospect and don't have the young pitching to offer rival teams, they had limited options.
Adrian Gonzalez Rumors: Friday
1:55pm: From Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports: the Dodgers are making a run at Gonzalez and Bell (separately or together); they could send James Loney to San Diego in such a deal.
12:26pm: A Jayson Stark source says the asking price for Gonzalez is "astronomical, three times the asking price on Halladay."
12:04pm: SI's Jon Heyman hears the Red Sox are still in talks for Gonzalez. Buchholz, Lowrie, and Masterson are "in the mix" with the Padres asking for Westmoreland and Anderson. Heyman adds, "However, the sides are still pretty far apart, and Boston is still in the mix for Martinez." Heyman also says Bell's name has come up in these talks.
11:35am: MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo via Twitter: "I'm hearing odds of Padres dealing Gonzalez are very low at this point." Bonus: Mayo's Twitter background has a Magic Eye effect.
10:22am: ESPN's Jayson Stark says the Red Sox still "have pokers in the fire" on Gonzalez, Martinez, and Roy Halladay. Stark continues to suggest the Sox may try to include a third team to faciliate one of these deals.
6:45am: Mark Feinsand and Bill Madden of the New York Daily News say the Red Sox are in "full pursuit" of Gonzalez, and believe Boston could get Heath Bell too if they're willing to include pitcher Daniel Bard. Also, Sean McAdam of the Boston Herald confirms that the Red Sox are more interested in Gonzalez than Victor Martinez.
12:51am: We heard yesterday that the Padres and Red Sox spoke at length Wednesday night about a possible Adrian Gonzalez trade. However, there was no indication the talks had developed by the end of the day. Not only are the Red Sox discussing a three-way deal with the Indians and another club, they're involved on the Gonzalez front as well. Here's the latest:
- Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe reports that there are indications the talks were active late last night and will likely peak today.
- It would be surprising if this were not the case, but Kevin Towers is asking for "a ton" in return for Gonzalez, according to Cafardo's source.
- The teams are discussing Clay Buchholz, Lars Anderson, Jed Lowrie, Ryan Westmoreland, Justin Masterson and others.
- A rival executive told Jon Heyman of SI.com he believes the Red Sox prefer Gonzalez to Victor Martinez.
Red Sox Acquire Victor Martinez
1:38pm: Done deal, says Yahoo's Gordon Edes. MLB Network's Tom Verducci says pitcher Bryan Price is the third hurler going to Cleveland in the trade.
1:35pm: MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo says (via Twitter) pitchers Nick Hagadone and Justin Masterson are in the deal (ESPN's Peter Gammons agrees). Gut reaction: nice haul. Mayo also says the two clubs are looking at additional names to add for Cleveland.
1:27pm: FOX now says Clay Buchholz and Daniel Bard are not in this deal.
12:55pm: USA Today's Bob Nightengale via Twitter: the Red Sox are about to acquire first baseman/catcher Victor Martinez from the Indians. Ed Price of AOL Fanhouse, trying to confirm, says it "looks good." FOX Sports agrees, and notes a lack of a third team involved. They also believe this kills the Adrian Gonzalez talks.
ESPN On Qualls, Adrian Gonzalez, Mahay
11:19pm: Olney reports that the Padres and Red Sox had made very little progress in their discussions about Adrian Gonzalez as of 9pm CST.
4:19pm: In regard to the Qualls item below, ESPN's Jerry Crasnick has an update. His source says the D'Backs are "very unlikely" to trade their closer.
11:58am: All kinds of good stuff from ESPN's Buster Olney (Insider required and recommended).
- The big news: the Red Sox and Padres talked "at length" about an Adrian Gonzalez trade Wednesday night. Those discussions are expected to resume today; of course you can expect top prospects to be involved.
- On the D'Backs front, there has been interest in Doug Davis and Jon Garland. Jeff Wilson of the Dallas Morning News says the Rangers have spoken to the D'Backs about a deal for starting pitching, but would probably have to unload salary (Hank Blalock?) first. A D'Backs scout took a look at Rangers reliever Guillermo Moscoso. However, Arizona is actually considering whether to extend Davis. Might make sense, with Brandon Webb going under the knife.
- Olney says there's momentum building toward a Chad Qualls trade, but the closer won't come cheap. Chad Tracy would be a fourth available D'Back, but Bob McManaman and Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic feel that August trades are more likely for the club.
- The Royals would like to move the contract of southpaw reliever Ron Mahay (.274/.292/.468 against lefties). He's got about $1.5MM left.
- ESPN's Jayson Stark tosses in this nugget: the Marlins made a run at Roy Halladay but balked at an asking price that included Cameron Maybin and Mike Stanton.
Odds And Ends: Torre, Ross, Braves
The rumors keep coming; here are a few tidbits for the evening…
- Joe Torre gave Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch his take on unnamed sources: "It's really embarrassing that their parents don't name them."
- Cody Ross told MLB.com's Joe Frisaro that he would trade for Roy Halladay and Matt Holliday if he were an MLB GM.
- ESPN.com's Buster Olney reports that the Braves could make a minor addition.
- USA Today's Bob Nightengale suggests the Twins could deal for David Eckstein or Adam Kennedy instead of Orlando Cabrera.
- One GM tells Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports that Boston's pursuit of Adrian Gonzalez won't affect a possible Victor Martinez trade between the Red Sox and Indians.