Odds and Ends: Glavine, Kent, Kuroda
Picking up some rumors and tidbits that haven’t been otherwise posted during this busy day…
- An Atlanta TV station states that Tom Glavine would take a lot less money to play for the Braves. Also, the Astros have reportedly been in touch with him.
- Joe Torre senses that Jeff Kent will return in 2008. The Dodgers certainly hope so; he led the team with 20 home runs in ’07.
- Trey Hillman took a parting shot at Japanese reporters (hat tip to JapanBall).
- Reliever Masafumi Hirai might come over to MLB. I’ll have to learn more about him.
- Hiroki Kuroda prefers to play on the West Coast because he doesn’t like cold weather. Hmmm, Chicago might not work for him. Kuroda has declared free agency, and the Mariners are interested. There is word here that the Rangers have scouted him as well.
- The Braves are interested in Masahide Kobayashi to close, while the Mariners like him as a middle reliever (link in Japanese).
- There will be no Mike Lowell + A-Rod combo in Boston.
- Luis Gonzalez would like to return to the Tigers, while the team is interested in Cliff Floyd and Shannon Stewart for left field. Ben Broussard may also be on the radar.
- The Rangers also like Broussard, and they’ve contacted Mike Lamb as well regarding their first base vacancy. Lamb could play third if they trade Hank Blalock. Jon Daniels also has Kerry Wood in his sights.
- The Rockies like Shawn Chacon, but only as a reliever.
- Derrick Goold breaks down the options for the Cardinals at shortstop.
- Don’t forget to make an entry in our Hot Stove Hysteria contest. The deadline is November 12th. If you feel the need to edit your entry, just post a new one. They’re time-stamped; your latest entry will be used. A new prize has been added: a fantasy draft kit from Big Dawg Baseball.
Rangers Rumors: DeJesus, Lamb, Millar
Evan Grant writes for the Dallas Morning News, but he posted this column at night. Go figure. He’s got some new info regarding the Rangers.
- As you know, the Rangers have had difficulty finding a long-term center fielder. That’s the main focus of this offseason. The team has already shown interest in Torii Hunter and Aaron Rowand, the top center fielders available. Other free agents such as Andruw Jones and Mike Cameron appear to be in play as well. Grant’s trade candidates: Coco Crisp, David DeJesus, Mark Kotsay, and Carlos Beltran. We’ve speculated on DeJesus to Atlanta in the past. With DeJesus signed cheaply through 2011 and the market at the position robust this winter, it might make sense for Dayton Moore to wait a year to shop him aggressively.
- Grant adds that Jon Daniels is considering some affordable options for first base. They’ve already talked to Mike Lamb‘s agent and like Kevin Millar as well. Lamb came up through the Rangers’ system but was traded to the Yankees in ’04. Millar is under contract for ’08 but it’s in the $3-4MM range and the Orioles should be open to a trade. Grant says Ben Broussard could pique the Rangers’ interest if he’s non-tendered.
- Grant concludes with five Rangers whose names will be bandied about in trade talks: Gerald Laird, Vicente Padilla, Joaquin Arias, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, and Nelson Cruz. Salty’s not being shopped but Grant expects teams to ask. He proposes some kind of bad contract swap for Padilla – Jason Giambi, Richie Sexson, or Adam Eaton are named. I still think it’s funny the way Padilla crawled away from the brawl he started this year.
Ms Could Trade Reed, Broussard
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer’s John Hickey reports that fringe players Jeremy Reed and Ben Broussard stand a decent chance of being dealt this spring. With Ichiro in center and Vidro at DH, one or both may be expendable.
Reed remains a valuable commodity, a perfect guy for a team like the Marlins to acquire at fifty cents on the dollar. He enters his age 26 season having survived a trade from the White Sox, a partially torn wrist ligament, Red Sox trade rumors, a serious wrist sprain, and a broken thumb. The Fielding Bible called him "an up-and-coming elite center fielder" a year ago, but he’s without a starting gig now.
Can Reed bounce back from an awful .217/.260/.377 line? Baseball Prospectus has him at .267/.333/.399 for ’07; ZiPS calls for .262/.335/.393. We have a consensus. The average AL CF hit .275/.334/.437 last year; it was .264/.335/.418 in the NL. There’s reason to believe Reed could provide league average offense and excellent defense for a good price for some team in ’07.
Broussard is a 30 year-old 1B/DH. He’s been used as a platoon guy, but doesn’t really have the splits to back that up. As a $3.55MM bench player, he doesn’t have much use for the Mariners. On the plus side, he is a talented beat-boxer.
Tribe Trades Broussard For Choo
Ben Broussard was reunited with his former platoonmate Eduardo Perez today. He was dealt to the Mariners for outfielder Shin-Soo Choo. Broussard and Perez will combine to make a lethal combo, just as they did at first base for Cleveland.
More teams ought to assemble this sort of sweet platoon. The combined efforts of Broussard and Perez this season come out to a .316/.358/.550 line, including 22 HR and 63 RBI. The .908 OPS is roughly equivalent to what Carlos Lee has done this season. The difference is that Broussard and Perez, or as I like to call them, Brourez, take up two roster spots and make $4.2MM less. By the way, I had no idea going in how hard it would be to come up with two players’ combined OBP. Did you know the denominator includes sacrifice flies but not sac bunts, and intentional walks are not part of OBP? I learn something every day. I figured it was just all walks plus hits divided by plate appearances.
Anyway, the decision to ditch Carl Everett and get a decent DH in there was long overdue. And Mark Shapiro snagged a well-rounded 24 year-old prospect in Choo.