Cards Make Offer To Rhodes
According to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Cardinals made an offer to lefty reliever Arthur Rhodes. Rhodes’ agent says nine teams expressed interest, and a handful made offers. More offers are forthcoming for the 39 year-old.
Cardinals GM John Mozeliak continues to hammer out the details of a contract with Trever Miller; he hopes to add two lefties to the pen.
Goold says the Cardinals are also considering two righthanded relievers in Brandon Lyon and Jason Isringhausen. Three other teams have expressed interest in Isringhausen, who would like to regain his job as the Cardinals’ closer.
The Cardinals remain in the mix for Edgar Renteria, and they’ll be consulted before a deal is finalized with any other team. They’ll wait until after the December 1st deadline for offering arbitration.
Reds Hope To Add Lefty Reliever
According to MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon, Reds GM Walt Jocketty wants to add a lefty to the Reds bullpen. Jocketty says the Reds considered Trever Miller before it became apparent that he was close to a deal with the Cardinals.
To build the bullpen back up, Jocketty said the Reds would consider Arthur Rhodes, Will Ohman, Darren Oliver, Dennys Reyes and Joe Beimel. Cincinnati could use a reliever since ex-Red Jeremy Affeldt signed with the Giants earlier in the week.
The Reds have talked about bringing back two of their own free agents, David Weathers and Mike Lincoln.
Teams are more interested in talking about trades now that some free agent price tags seem so high, according to Jocketty.
Tigers Interested In Beimel
Jon Paul Morosi of the Detroit Free Press reports that the Tigers are interested in LHP Joe Beimel, according to Beimel’s agent.
Biemel, 31, posted a 2.02 ERA for the Dodgers in 2008. He’s only allowed one home run over the past two seasons, while pitching a combined 116.1 innings. However, he did give up 50 hits in 49 innings last year.
Morosi mentions that the Tigers are also in the hunt for a closer, making it clear that Beimel isn’t the answer for the 9th inning in Detroit. Darren Oliver and Arthur Rhodes also appear on the Tigers’ short list of interesting free agent relievers.
Cards Focused On Ohman, Rhodes
The Cardinals want to sign a lefty reliever or two, but Scott Eyre, Damaso Marte, and Jeremy Affeldt went off the board quickly. GM John Mozeliak expects the rest of the southpaw relievers to follow suit, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Derrick Goold says the Cardinals have targeted Will Ohman and Arthur Rhodes, though no offer has been made to Ohman. The Cardinals have apparently made offers to others though.
If those options fall through, the Cardinals can turn to free agents Joe Beimel, Trever Miller, Darren Oliver, Dennys Reyes, Alan Embree, Eddie Guardado, or Brian Shouse. Scott Schoeneweis, John Grabow, Ron Mahay, Jimmy Gobble, Pedro Feliciano, George Sherrill, Jack Taschner, and Jamie Walker may be on the trading block.
Odds & Ends: Kawakami, Renteria, Johnson, Ohman
A number of Odds & Ends for your weekend update:
- From Japanball.com, Kenshin Kawakami is filing for free agency.
- Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune reports the Cubs are considering Randy Johnson for a one year deal. The 45 year old lefty is a career 13-0 against the Cubs, 4-0 at Wrigley, and needs 5 wins to reach 300.
- The Cardinals are moving in on free agent Will Ohman, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post Dispatch, and are reportedly interested in Jeremy Affeldt and Arthur Rhodes.
- In the same article, Goold suggests the Cards will stall on their efforts to pursue Edgar Renteria until after the Tigers decline their offer of arbitration, since signing the Type A free agent beforehand would result in any team losing a first round draft pick. So despite "mutual interest", don’t expect the Cardinals, or anyone, to sign Renteria before the second week of December. Matthew Leach of mlb.com notes there are a lot of free agent shortstop options.
- Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle says Giants are finding mutual interest in Rafael Furcal and Bobby Howry.
- Utility man Donnie Murphy signed a minor-league deal with the O’s – from Peter Schmuck’s blog.
- John Hickey at The Seattle Post-Intelligencer says M’s GM Jack Zduriencik expects Raul Ibanez to wait for Seattle to name it’s next manager before making any decisions.
Tigers Interested In Darren Oliver
Jon Paul Morosi of the Detroit Free Press talked to Darren Oliver‘s agent, who said the Tigers and Angels are two of four teams interested in his client. Morosi says the Tigers have also contacted the agents for Trevor Hoffman, Brandon Lyon, David Weathers, and Arthur Rhodes while also expressing interest in Florida’s Kevin Gregg.
Oliver, 38, posted a 2.88 ERA in 72 innings. His strikeout rate wasn’t great, but he limited walks and home runs. He earned $2MM this year. As a Type A free agent, Oliver comes with the added tax of Detroit’s second-round pick in the June ’09 draft (assuming the Halos offer arbitration and he declines).
In other Tigers news, MLB.com’s Jason Beck says they’ve yet to contact Freddy Garcia‘s agent.
Marlins Rumors: Max Ramirez, Pavano, Rhodes
Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald has the latest on the Marlins.
- The Marlins have had informal talks with the Rangers regarding catcher Max Ramirez. The Fish are willing to trade lefty Scott Olsen, though the Rangers are wary of his makeup and home run tendencies. The Marlins are OK with their in-house options if they can’t work out a trade. The Marlins aren’t interested in Gerald Laird.
- The Marlins may consider bringing Carl Pavano back to Florida, the site of his last success.
- Luis Gonzalez, Mark Hendrickson, Paul Lo Duca, and Arthur Rhodes are the Marlins’ free agents. Of the four, Rhodes stands a chance of being re-signed. However, the Marlins have not spoken to Rhodes’ agent in weeks.
- Juan C. Rodriguez reports that despite reports, the Marlins are not in on Junichi Tazawa.
Week in Review: 7/27 – 8/2
We saw the non-waiver trade deadline come and go this week, and plenty of action to go along with it. Let’s recap the big moves of the week:
- The Dodgers, Pirates, and Red Sox completed a three-team, blockbuster trade that sent Manny Ramirez to Los Angeles, Jason Bay to Boston, and Andy LaRoche, Bryan Morris, Craig Hansen, and Brandon Moss to Pittsburgh. The Pirates got a pretty nice haul, and while Bay won’t necessarily replace Manny’s production, he’s much more affordable, signed through ’09, and doesn’t disrupt the clubhouse. The Dodgers add the big bat they need for a push in the NL West, though are now overloaded with overpaid outfielders. All in all, I don’t think any team made a bad deal in this one.
- The Angels made a big move in adding Mark Teixeira to their lineup, sending Casey Kotchman and minor league pitcher Stephen Marek to Atlanta in exchange. The Angels didn’t need help at the time – they’re running away with the AL West – but this move will undoubtedly be significant in the postseason. Great boost to the Halos’ lineup.
- The White Sox and Reds completed a trade that sent Ken Griffey Jr. to Chicago in exchange for Nick Masset and Danny Richar. I don’t understand this trade from the Sox perspective. Griffey was only hitting .245 at the time of the trade, and his range in center field isn’t close to what it once was. Still, he’s a presence in both the lineup and the clubhouse. Will playing for a contender rejuvenate him?
- The Yankees acquired future hall-of-famer Ivan Rodriguez from the Tigers in exchange for Kyle Farnsworth. With Jorge Posada out for the season, New York did a good job of solidifying their catcher’s spot, while the Tigers got some much-needed improvement in their bullpen.
- The Twins aren’t known for making big trades at the deadline, and they held true to that in 2008. However, they made a move that could be bigger than any trade they might have made, when they designated Livan Hernandez for assignment, and recalled Francisco Liriano from Triple-A Rochester. The Twins DFA’ed Craig Monroe as well. The Rockies are looking for a fifth starter, and could have interest in Hernandez.
- Relievers on the move: Arthur Rhodes was traded to the Marlins, giving them another effective lefty option in the bullpen. The Astros acquired LaTroy Hawkins, still buying despite being 9.5 games out of the wildcard race at the time.
- The Nationals released Paul Lo Duca and Felipe Lopez. Both were highly unsuccessful this season, though they could generate interest from other teams.
- Tim explained the rules behind waiver trades for those who are unfamiliar with how the process works after the July 31st non-waiver deadline. He also takes a look at some noteable names who stayed put at the deadline.
- Minor moves: The Yankees signed Victor Zambrano to a minor league contract, while the Red Sox did the same with former Cleveland closer Joe Borowski.
- The Diamondbacks are talking extension with their second ace, Dan Haren.
- USA Today wrote an article on MLBTR. Check it out!
Odds And Ends: Royals, Rockies, Rhodes, Braves
Let’s round up some remaining links in this lazy Saturday afternoon:
- The Royals DFA’d Yasuhiko Yabuta. The White Sox had tried to sign the Japanese reliever last winter but were unsuccessful. Yabuta was 1-3 with a 5.46 ERA and had signed a two-year, $6MM deal with Kansas City.
- The Rockies tried desperately to acquire a fifth starter before the non-waiver deadline but couldn’t match-up with the Mariners for Jarrod Washburn or the Nationals for Tim Redding; and Paul Byrd had Colorado on his no-trade list. The Rockies will continue to look for a starter via waiver wire claims.
- Arthur Rhodes was shocked when he learned he had been traded to the Marlins. ”There had been a lot of talk about me being traded to a couple of other teams, but I guess Florida wanted me more."
- The Braves DFA’d back-up catcher Corky Miller yesterday, and Royce Ring today.
- Also today (and in that Ring link), the Astros DFA’d Chad Paronto.
Alejandro A. Leal writes for UmpBump.com. Post-deadline rumors? Comments? alexo05 [at] umpbump [daught] com.
Lefty Relievers: Ohman, Grabow, Eyre, Mahay
2:50pm: Stark says Ohman’s probably staying put despite interest from ten teams.
2:39pm: Buster Olney says the Phillies will probably come up empty on a lefty reliever.
2:02pm: Rob Bradford of the Boston Herald says the Braves asked for a pitching prospect for Ohman, and the Red Sox passed. Mahay remains a possibility.
1:07pm: MLB.com’s Mark Bowman says the Braves could keep Ohman. So far they’re not finding offers superior to the supplemental draft pick they could get after the season.
THURSDAY, 12:24pm: Jayson Stark has the Yanks and Red Sox battling for Eyre.
WEDNESDAY, 11:50pm: Let’s talk lefty relievers.
- David O’Brien names the Red Sox, Cardinals, Rays, Tigers, and White Sox parties interested in Will Ohman. But the Sox might end up with John Grabow, and the Tigers may be content with Kyle Farnsworth as their relief addition. Grabow may also be on the Rays’ radar.
- MLB.com’s Mark Bowman has the Rays, Yankees, and Red Sox after Ohman, with the Cardinals out of the bidding.
- Sean McAdam sees Boston’s interest in Ohman as minimal. Instead, they’re eyeing Scott Eyre and Ron Mahay. They’ve even offered Brandon Moss for Mahay, which seems solid. Nick Cafardo believes righties Huston Street and J.J. Putz are still in the mix.
- 15 scouts watched Arthur Rhodes struggle tonight.