Cardinals Rumors: Rolen, Fogg, Lee, Millwood
UPDATE, 12-5-07 at 1:55pm: Heyman says the impasse between the Cards and Brewers in the Rolen talks was the second player coming over with Chris Capuano. He thinks the two teams will revisit these discussions in the future.
FROM 12-5-07 at 7:29am:
As usual, Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has all the insight into the Cardinals’ situation.
- It doesn’t look like Scott Rolen is going anywhere before the Meetings end, and GM John Mozeliak may have to start the season with him. The talks with the Brewers were disheartening, apparently. The Cards don’t think there should be a discount. There is a glimmer of hope in that Mozeliak may talk again with the Dodgers about Rolen today.
- On the starting pitching front, the Cardinals are being realistic. That means they’re looking into signing Josh Fogg. Fogg will probably get a three-year, $21MM deal or so. Other starters on the radar include Cliff Lee and a new name, Kevin Millwood. Millwood will earn $8.5MM in ’08, $11MM in ’09, and $12MM in ’10. He has a limited no-trade clause, and the club may be able to void the deal after ’09 if he misses certain innings targets.
- Seems odd that the Cards are pursuing guys like the above but are willing to deal Anthony Reyes. As we learned yesterday, the Indians and Padres like the young hurler. The Phillies have coveted him for a while as well.
ESPN’s Latest: Sosa, Prior, Kuroda, Reyes
UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 11:19pm: Ah, the truth comes out. Sammy Sosa‘s people approached the Royals, but they weren’t interested.
FROM 12-4-07 at 3:17pm:
ESPN has a huge team at the Meetings; here are some tidbits that haven’t appeared elsewhere on MLBTR.
- Enrique Rojas says the Royals have interest in Sammy Sosa. Could that indicate a Mark Teahen trade is in the works also? Teahen is expected to move to first base to accomodate Jose Guillen, which would push Billy Butler to DH. But Sammy can only DH.
- Buster Olney says the Rangers and Padres are in on Mark Prior.
- The Padres also like lefties Glendon Rusch and Shawn Estes, and may sign both after the Rule 5 as a means of adding starting depth.
- Jayson Stark says the Mariners made an offer to Hiroki Kuroda in the range of four years, $45MM.
- Jerry Crasnick says Anthony Reyes is generating a lot of interest. The Cards, by the way, are open to trading Rick Ankiel, Chris Duncan, or Jim Edmonds.
- The Rockies have gotten in touch with Marcus Giles‘ agent.
- The Astros aren’t interested in Jon Lieber, despite previous reports. They liked Matt Clement a bit among the injury guys but are over him now.
- Ryan Howard‘s agent and the Phillies will sit down soon to talk about a long-term deal.
Crasnick’s Latest: Lee, Wells, Bay
ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick just cranked out a bunch of good stuff.
- The Indians have talked to the Cardinals about sending Cliff Lee over for Anthony Reyes and catcher Bryan Anderson.
- The Giants could trade for Ben Broussard, but want to see if he’s non-tendered first.
- Kip Wells is being marketed as a setup man, since things didn’t work out as a starter. Who knows, he puts a few mph on the heater in relief and maybe he takes off.
- Crasnick kills the Bay for Shoppach/Lee rumor…didn’t seem right to begin with.
Cardinals Rumors: Rolen, Tejada, Edmonds
UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 9:38am: Tom Haudricourt confirms that the Brewers will have access to Rolen’s medical records. That the Brewers will take a look indicates they are probably serious about Rolen.
FROM 12-4-07 at 12:14am:
Joe Strauss has a new one in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, presumably for the Tuesday morning edition.
- The Cards have already met twice with the Brewers to talk about Scott Rolen. They’re providing medical information to the Brewers, and appear flexible on the amount of salary they need to cover. Teams interested in Rolen can speak directly to the third baseman’s doctor and surgeon. Strauss confirms the Rangers and Giants as two other interested parties.
- The Rolen deal may hinge on Miguel Cabrera being traded first. The Cards poked their head in but wouldn’t part with Colby Rasmus.
- The Cards are likely to create a third base vacancy, so they’ve been talking to the Orioles about Miguel Tejada.
- As you know, the Cards met with the Padres to discuss Jim Edmonds. The Friars also have their eye on Anthony Reyes. Maybe the Cards can pry Kevin Kouzmanoff loose?
- Aside from the aforementioned Brewers, Orioles, and Padres, John Mozeliak also met with the Mariners today.
Phillies Rumors: Rowand, Benson, Colon, Reyes, Tavarez
A few articles on the Phillies have surfaced this morning; let’s see what’s cooking on the hot stove.
- The Phils would pay extra to get Aaron Rowand to take a three-year deal. Jim Salisbury quotes Rowand’s agent as saying ten clubs are after him. Salisbury names the usual suspects but throws in the Twins, Royals, Rangers, and Orioles depending on the term.
- Todd Zolecki confirms the Phillies’ interest in Kris Benson. He’ll be throwing for teams a few weeks from now.
- The Phils like Benson best among the rehab project group, now that Randy Wolf is signed. They’ve also contacted Bartolo Colon‘s agent and may be in on Jason Jennings. Zolecki also names Anthony Reyes and Julian Tavarez as two possible trade targets.
- Despite what was said yesterday, Zolecki says Livan Hernandez is not high on Pat Gillick’s list. They remain in the mix for Hiroki Kuroda.
Cards Could Get Morris, Wilson From Pirates
Yesterday Joe Strauss wrote how the Cardinals’ #1 reasonable target for shortstop appears to be the Pirates’ Jack Wilson. Today, Dejan Kovacevic confirms it and adds Matt Morris as another possibility to head to St. Louis.
Kovacevic notes that the Cardinals tried to acquire Morris last summer, though that wasn’t John Mozeliak. The Pirates would have to be willing to eat some of Morris’ salary, though they would take on all of Wilson’s. So far Anthony Reyes, Tyler Johnson, and Brad Thompson are named as the pitchers the Cardinals will trade. I still have some hope for Reyes.
Kovacevic adds that the Bucs are in on Japanese reliever Kazuo Fukumori. The Padres, Rockies, and Red Sox may also have Fukumori in their sights.
Phillies Have $20MM To Burn
The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Todd Zolecki tallied up the Phillies’ commitments and determined that they have roughly $20MM free to spend on pitching, third base, and perhaps Aaron Rowand. Zolecki feels that the Phils would choose to let Rowand walk if they couldn’t fit it all in the budget.
Zolecki mentions Mike Lowell as a possibility for the hot corner; that’d run $8-12MM for ’08 depending on how you backload it. Lowell seems in line for at least two years, $22MM. Gordon Edes has speculated that it could require a three or four year commitment. The Phillies at least fall under the teams on Lowell’s list, it appears.
The other $10MM or so might all have to go toward a starting pitcher. The Phillies have Jamie Moyer, Adam Eaton, Cole Hamels, and Kyle Kendrick locked in. If the Phils don’t like the free agent market (they had interest in reacquiring Carlos Silva this summer), they could pursue Jon Garland or Dontrelle Willis via trade. The Phils have also scouted Anthony Reyes.
That doesn’t leave any money for Andruw Jones, despite recent speculation.
Cardinals Have Work To Do
Joe Strauss has had several insightful articles lately about the future of the Cardinals. Let’s discuss.
- The Cardinals have $83.8MM committed to 12 players for 2008. Even worse, they don’t know what they’re going to get out of Scott Rolen, Jim Edmonds, Chris Carpenter, Juan Encarnacion, and Mark Mulder. They are spending $45MM on those five and may get very little production.
- Next year’s payroll may approach $115MM on the high end, but that doesn’t mean the Cards have $30MM to burn. Their 0-3 guys will earn roughly $5MM in aggregate, and the arbitration-eligible group may run another $5MM even if a few are cut loose. So I’m thinking more like $20MM to burn, and Walt Jocketty will have to stretch that money pretty far.
- The Cardinals need a power hitter, two starters, and a shortstop. Tony La Russa, if he returns, won’t be "going young."
- Joel Pineiro could be one of the starters, but if the Cards view him as a cheap #5 they’re going to be disappointed. He’ll get paid.
- An earlier Strauss article has a couple of rumors of note. We learned that the Cards were fairly close to signing Miguel Batista last winter and almost traded Anthony Reyes to the Phillies this summer.
Here’s what I see happening this winter. The Cards will fill the rotation spots with one mid-level signing and one cheaper wild card type guy. I could see a Carlos Silva being paired with a Matt Clement. Randy Wolf could fill the wild card role if the Dodgers won’t have him back.
It might make sense to fill the shortstop hole and need for a power bat in one fell swoop. On the surface it seems like Miguel Tejada would fit the bill and Edgar Renteria wouldn’t, though Renteria outslugged Tejada this year. Regardless I expect the Cardinals to make an aggressive push for one of them (Larry Borowsky of Viva El Birdos got me thinking along these lines).
Phillies Scout Anthony Reyes
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.
Cardinals Discussing Dontrelle Willis Trade
The Cardinals message boards are lighting up, and with good reason: there is a legitimate Dontrelle Willis rumor making the rounds.
The thread was started by a respected Cards source who goes by the handle Hawg Wild. I can confirm that this guy has a track record of success. Colby Rasmus is a 19 year-old outfielder in high Class A. He was a first-round pick and is easily the team’s best prospect now that Anthony Reyes is in the bigs. According to Rasmus’s father:
"Colby just called me and said his agent told him of conversations the cardinals were having with the possibility of Colby and a three or four other Cardinal players going to Florida in return for Dontrelle Willis. Reyes and Colby were the only 2 players Colby was told about, he did not hear who the other 2/3 players were. His words to me, ‘Man that sucks.’"
Then to quiet any doubters, St. Louis Post-Dispatch columnist Bernie Miklasz stepped in:
"I tried to drop a major hint in today’s column….FLA wants Reyes, Rasmus and Duncan — and that’s not all. Probably one more… possibly their pick of the Cardinals’ system."
The Cardinals need a big move; it looks like Walt Jocketty may package everything he’s got to get D-Train. Check out Viva El Birdos for analysis. After much deliberating, Viva chooses to endorse such a trade.