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Odds And Ends: Gammons, Stark, Giles, Royals

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And still more minor notes from around the MLBiverse…

First from Peter Gammons:

  • Gammons says that the Marlins will not part with Anibal Sanchez for Brian Fuentes and will instead go after Arthur Rhodes.
  • The Cardinals now appear to be the favorite for Fuentes.
  • No teams seem willing to pay the asking price for Jason Bay.
  • The Indians will pay the remainder of Casey Blake’s $2MM salary.

Next from Jayson Stark:

  • The Mets are also showing interest in Randy Winn, but one official from another club feels Winn is just a backup plan.

A couple of random notes:

  • Bud Black says Brian Giles does not want to be traded and prefers to stay with the Padres.
  • Kevin Murphy notes that the Royals haven’t fared too well in the trade market the last few years.

Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.

Odds And Ends: Sosa, Rhodes, Twins, Rays, Cubs

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A few minor notes from around the MLBiverse…

  • The Mariners have signed Jorge Sosa to a minor league deal. This is Sosa’s third organization this season.
  • Despite reports that the Brewers would not add a relief pitcher, Milwaukee had a scout at Friday’s game and Geoff Baker believes the scout was there to watch Arthur Rhodes.
  • Joe Christensen says that the Twins may prefer to promote Francisco Liriano, and move him or another starter to the bullpen, rather than trade for a relief pitcher.
  • Joe Maddon says that there is only a "50-50 chance" that the Rays make a move before the deadline.
  • Jim Hendry says that the Cubs are not likely to make any trades unless an injury necessitates a move. Carrie Muskat says that a move may depend on how well Kerry Wood recovers from the blister on his throwing hand.

Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.

Graziano’s Latest: Sherrill, Arroyo, Rhodes, Zaun

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Dan Graziano of the Newark Star-Ledger has a new Trade Winds column.

  • Graziano notes how incredible the Erik Bedard trade could look for Baltimore if they spin George Sherrill for prospects.  He names the Cardinals, Rays, Marlins, and Red Sox as suitors.  The Mets fear Sherrill’s price tag, while the Yankees don’t expect a deal within the division.
  • The Yankees haven’t spoken to the Reds about Bronson Arroyo (although based on previous reports, they have scouted him).  The Yanks aren’t likely to sign Barry Bonds, and aren’t terribly thrilled with the catching market.
  • Fernando Martinez’s possible injury could increase the Mets’ urgency to find a left fielder.  For some reason, Adam Dunn is not in the mix.  The Mets are in on relievers Brian Tallet, Jack Taschner, and Arthur Rhodes. 
  • The division rival Marlins are after Rhodes, as well as Gregg Zaun.
  • Graziano says no one denied his rumor that the Blue Jays were quietly discussing Roy Halladay with other teams.  The offseason might be a better time to shop him, though.

Mariners Rumors: Rhodes, Bedard, Washburn

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Mariners beat writer Geoff Baker has a new blog post up this morning about the team’s trade candidates.  In a well thought-out piece, Baker names Arthur Rhodes, Erik Bedard, Jarrod Washburn, Raul Ibanez, and Adrian Beltre as the most likely to go (in that order).  A few highlights from the post:

  • Solid lefty relievers are available – mainly Brian Fuentes and Damaso Marte.  But the price is reportedly high for both, leaving the 38 year-old Rhodes as a fine alternative.  Plus, the ’08 Mariners can live without him.
  • Baker indicates that both Bedard and the Mariners favor a trade. However, Baker believes Bedard will have to take the mound at least one more time and maybe twice before the deadline to satisfy a suitor.  Bedard is said to be 50/50 to make his July 22nd start.
  • Washburn has about $14.4MM left on his contract, which runs through ’09 with limited no-trade protection.  The M’s would trade him for salary relief rather than prospects.
  • Ibanez and Beltre are down on Baker’s list because he believes the team owes it to the fans not to put a Triple A offense on the field.  While neither player has an .800 OPS, trading either without a big league replacement could lead to an even more embarrassing second half. Additionally, the Mariners like Ibanez’s leadership skills.  Baker finds the Beltre-to-Twins idea improbable.  Interesting note: Beltre is thought to want to return to the L.A. area when his contract ends.

Selling Off The Mariners

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So it’s been a bit Mariners heavy today at MLBTR. It makes sense, though. They currently own the worst record in baseball, yet have some chips that could be valuable to contending teams. Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times takes a look at a few teams that might be interested in buying what the M’s are selling.

  • Jason Varitek is hitting poorly. Kevin Cash is doing worse. Could the Sox pick up one of the M’s catchers? Baker notes that Jamie Burke could catch Tim Wakefield and probably hit better than Cash. Or, what about Kenji Johjima? Baker mentions that he could take over for Varitek, who will be a free agent, next year. Problem is, Johjima is hitting even worse this year.
  • With Hideki Matsui’s knee barking, could the Yanks be interested in Raul Ibanez? I think they’d opt to bring in Barry Bonds if Matsui’s knee doesn’t heal up soon. Not mentioned by Baker, but speculated by yours truly, the Yanks might show some interest in Richie Sexson as a defensive backup first baseman.
  • Plenty of teams need relievers, and the Mariners have a few. Baker names Mark Lowe, Sean Green, and Arthur Rhodes as available parties. Just about any team in contention might be interested, though Baker names the Braves and the Rays.

Odds and Ends: Hendrickson, Soria, Sherrill

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Here’s today’s random collection of links.

  • The Marlins signed Mark Hendrickson as the veteran leadership guy for ’08, at a cost of $1.5MM.  He was knocked around in 15 starts for the Dodgers in ’07 but was solid in the pen.  The Marlins will put him in the rotation, perhaps to tutor fellow southpaws Andrew Miller and Scott Olsen.
  • Craig Brown would like to see the Royals use Joakim Soria as a starter.
  • There is a theory that the Mariners’ signing of Arthur Rhodes will allow them to trade George Sherrill in an Erik Bedard deal.  Seems a half-baked theory, wherever it originated.  I don’t think Sherrill is holding this deal up.
  • An argument for the Nate Robertson extension from Danny Knobler, and one against from J.C. Bradbury.  Also, Peter Abraham thinks Chien Ming-Wang’s agent will use Robertson as a comparable.
  • The White Sox are still considering Bartolo Colon, according to ESPN Radio’s Bruce Levine.
  • Pat Burrell would love to re-sign with the Phillies after this season.  Pat, by the way, doesn’t have a computer and owes his second half success to "more hits."
  • Phil Hughes has a computer, and even a new blog.  Not much going on over there yet though.

Odds and Ends: Aramis, La Russa, A-Rod

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A random smattering of links this morning…

  • I wrote a postmortem on why the D’Backs beat the Cubs over at The Hardball Times.
  • Just a whisper at the moment, but I’m hearing that the Angels could pursue Aramis Ramirez if the Cubs make him available.  They were in hard on him last year when he was briefly a free agent.
  • Seems that Joe Torre is done as Yankees manager, but Tony La Russa is not interested.
  • Another important date to mark down: November 10th.  That’s when Alex Rodriguez decides whether to opt out of his contract.  Right after the GM meetings.
  • The Tigers will stick with Brandon Inge at third base next year, perhaps feeling that his defense justified his .236/.312/.376 line.  There is hope for a rebound, since he slugged .463 the previous year.  Plus Inge is locked in for $6.2MM in ’08, $6.3MM in ’09, and $6.6MM in ’10.
  • The Mariners had a $2.7MM option on Chris Reitsma with a $0.7MM buyout and apparently some kind of option on Arthur Rhodes.  Both were declined.  Reitsma, coming off ulnar nerve transposition surgery in ’06, was supposed to be Seattle’s setup man.  He tried to pitch this year but the elbow wasn’t fully healed.  Rhodes had similar problems in ’06 and went under the knife for TJ in April.
  • You may have noticed some of the in-post ads are showing as ugly blank white space or "This page cannot be found" errors…please bear with me as I try to get it back to normal. 

On Michaels For Rhodes…

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Obviously there are a lot of conflicting reports and general confusion surrounding this whole Crisp/Marte/Michaels/Rhodes thing.  I’ve read several iterations, sometimes with catchers involved.

I apologize for contributing so little information on this one, but rest assured I’ve been trying.  Here’s what little I know:

A Cleveland source tells me the Indians are really keeping a lid on everything.  He’s a lot closer to the team than I, and he hasn’t been able to dig up details.

I also spoke to a source familiar with the inner workings of the Phillies.  He’s scrambling for information as well.  He told me that the Phils have been dangling Jason Michaels for a while now, and it’s quite possible that all they could get for him is Arthur Rhodes.  Such an acquisition will facilitate Ryan Madson’s move to the rotation.

He also mentioned that the Phils have had interest in Kelly Shoppach for some time now, though Carlos Ruiz is every bit as good if he can manage to stay healthy.

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