Heyman On Phillies Rotation Options
SI.com's Jon Heyman spoke with Ruben Amaro Jr. and heard that the Phillies GM is after "depth at the top of the rotation." Here are the specifics of Heyman's analysis:
- The Phillies want a "more established" player than Antonio Bastardo to replace the injured Brett Myers.
- Amaro admits that swinging a deal is "tough to do" even with expendable young players like John Mayberry Jr., Lou Marson, Carlos Carrasco and Jason Donald.
- Jake Peavy remains a logical fit, but there's no indication he'd accept a deal to Philly.
- Erik Bedard, at $7.75MM this year, fits within the Phillies' budget.
- Heyman agrees with Buster Olney: there's no guarantee Roy Oswalt will be dealt, but he would interest the Phillies.
- Cliff Lee hasn't hit the market and Blue Jays people maintain that Roy Halladay isn't available, but Amaro isn't shying away from any top pitchers that become available. He says he wants "the best [he] can get." It appears that Brad Penny would not be enough for Philadelphia.
- Chris Young and Aaron Harang are names to watch out for, as they could become available.
Odds & Ends: Penny, Yankees
Some bullet points from around the internet:
- Despite immensely enjoying his experience with the Red Sox, Brad Penny is not letting the trade rumors distract him, says Rob Bradford of WEEI.
- Chris Gimenez was promoted to replace Grady Sizemore who hit the 15-day disabled list today. Gimenez can play corner outfield and serve as a backup catcher, says Anthony Castrovince.
- River Ave. Blues takes a look at the Yankees 25-man roster and suggests better options for the bench.
- The Mets and Phillies are both seeking a starting pitcher. The Phillies want a front-of-the-rotation guy while the Mets want a bottom-of-the-rotation guy. New York Post columnist Larry Brooks wonders in jest which role Pedro Martinez could fill.
Odds And Ends: Rangers, Brewers, O’Dowd
A few links for Saturday morning…
- Nolan Ryan could buy into the Texas Rangers according to this MLB.com article by T.R. Sullivan.
- ESPN.com's Buster Olney points out that the Rangers have the resources to "out-bid others for the likes of Erik Bedard" if they decide to trade for pitching help.
- Brewers GM Doug Melvin said once again that he's not looking outside the organization for second base help, according to MLB.com's Adam McCalvy. Melvin said he's happy with Craig Counsell at second in the absence of Rickie Weeks.
- Now that the Phillies hope to acquire an impact pitcher, Matt Cerrone of MetsBlog.com wonders whether the Mets might decide to get in the Phillies' way and go after an arm, too.
- As Amalie Benjamin of the Boston Globe reports, the Red Sox aren't about to implement a six-man rotation. The Sox will still have arms to spare so we'll continue to hear Brad Penny's name in trade rumors.
- Dave Krieger of the Denver Post says the next four months will be a "referendum" on Rockies GM Dan O'Dowd and his front office.
- As MLB.com's John Schlegel reports Stephen Strasburg struck out 15 in his most recent start, walking no one and allowing two earned runs on eight hits.
- Check out a discussion I had about the Jays and other MLB teams on TorontoSportsMedia.com.
- Newsday's Ken Davidoff likes the Lance Broadway–Ramon Castro swap for the Mets.
- Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle takes a look at Ed Wade's Kaz Matsui signing and doesn't like what he sees.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Peavy, Braves, Penny, Francoeur
On this date 20 years ago, Mike Schmidt announced his retirement 42 games into the season. He was still voted to the National League All-Star team, but did not play. Schmidt retired with a career line of .267/.380/.527, 548 home runs and 10 gold gloves. As we approach the 50-game mark of the '09 season, teams are starting to recognize needs and make changes. Let's take a look at what is being written in the Blogosphere…
- The Fightins make a case for the Phillies going after Jake Peavy.
- When Sid Slid highlights players the Braves might be able to target in a trade, including Luke Scott, Josh Willingham and Brad Hawpe.
- Center Field Gate takes a look at a Manny Delcarmen-Nick Johnson swap from a Nats perspective and finds things not to like. Nats GM Mike Rizzo said the rumor was a fabrication, anyway.
- The Bottom Line puts together a list of catchers the Red Sox might target in a trade involving Brad Penny or Clay Buchholz.
- Capitol Avenue Club says it is time for the Braves to shake things up and moving Jeff Francoeur is the key.
- The Ghost of Moonlight Graham sees a Matt LaPorta for Michael Bowden trade as good for both the Red Sox and Indians.
- DC Sports Plus takes a look back at the Nationals' recent draft history.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com. If you have a suggestion for this feature, Cork can be reached here, and followed on Twitter here.
Olney Speculation: Penny For Donald?
This is 100% speculation on Buster Olney's part, but it makes for a good discussion topic. Should the Phillies trade infield prospect Jason Donald for starter Brad Penny? (I repeat – this is not an actual trade rumor).
The first question is how much Penny would help the Phillies. He's rung up a 5.96 ERA in nine American League starts, and has a 5.47 xFIP to match. Olney discounts Pedro Martinez for the Phillies in part because he's a flyball pitcher, but Penny's groundball rate this year isn't impressive at 38.4%. Olney's other argument against Pedro is that he does not go deep into games, but Penny's averaged only 5.37 innings per start this year. So if the Phillies like Penny, shouldn't they like Pedro almost as much? (They actually have no interest in Pedro, by the way).
The other question is whether six years of Donald is too much to give up for four or fewer months of Penny. Does Donald profile as a super-utility player in the future, as Baseball America wondered in their '09 Handbook?
Stark On Peavy, Oswalt, Phillies, DeRosa, Giants
Let's take a look at the latest Rumblings and Grumblings column from ESPN's Jayson Stark.
- The Padres' recent winning streak has not changed their intention of trading Jake Peavy. The Dodgers and Cubs are in Peavy's first tier of choices, follwed by the Giants, Cardinals, and Astros. The Angels would be the one AL team he'd consider. The East Coast is a long shot. Also, Peavy will want his 2011-13 partial no-trade clause to become a full no-trade. Peavy's friend Roy Oswalt has been unsuccessful in lobbying Astros owner Drayton McLane, as the 'Stros can't take on Peavy's contract. As for the Dodgers, GM Ned Colletti told the L.A. Times he hasn't talked to the Padres about Peavy since the pitcher vetoed the White Sox deal.
- Stark talked to scouts who believe Oswalt has "lost his edge" and needs a change of scenery. The Phillies have inquired on him, but they've asked about everyone: Peavy, Brandon Webb, Roy Halladay, Doug Davis, Erik Bedard, Cliff Lee, Aaron Harang, Brad Penny, Chris Young and Jason Marquis. Popular Phillies trade targets include Lou Marson, Jason Donald, Carlos Carrasco, Travis D'Arnaud, Freddy Galvis, Kyle Drabek, Dominic Brown, and Antonio Bastardo.
- The Braves are interested in bringing Mark DeRosa back to Atlanta. He came up with them and was non-tendered in '04 after tearing his ACL. But to deal young arms, the Braves would want an impact bat. Stark says they're "mostly listening" rather than shopping Jeff Francoeur. His trade value is difficult to gauge.
- The Mets seem content to wait out the first base trade market.
- The Giants seek a middle-of-the-order bat, and Jonathan Sanchez is being dangled. Three targets they haven't had success on are Dan Uggla, Jorge Cantu, and possibly Carlos Lee. Lee, according to one Stark source, doesn't intend to waive his no-trade for anyone.
Edes On Francoeur, Nick Johnson, Valverde
8:10pm: David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on the Red Sox-Francoeur rumor:
Talked to someone in Braves organization who sort of dismissed the Red Sox rumor. Said he hadn’t heard one thing about them having any serious interest in Francoeur or scouting him recently.
9:01am: Yahoo's Gordon Edes wrote about many different trade scenarios in his column last night.
- Edes seconds Ken Rosenthal's rumor that the Red Sox have been scouting Jeff Francoeur.
- The Nationals have been scouting the Mets' Triple and Double A teams, trying to figure out a possible return for Nick Johnson. Names of interest for Washington: Jon Niese, Mike Antonini, Eddie Kunz, and big leaguer Bobby Parnell. The Red Sox also had interest in Johnson, but not for the price of Michael Bowden. Back to the Mets – Joel Sherman of the New York Post has a list of available players they could consider aside from Johnson, including Jermaine Dye, Ben Francisco, Adam LaRoche, and Eric Hinske.
- Edes likes the fit of Jose Valverde with the Rays, but speculates that the Astros could ask for Wade Davis in return. Six years of Davis would be a huge price to pay for a few months of Valverde plus possible draft picks. Edes also likes Mark DeRosa for Tampa Bay, but they seem well-equipped to handle Akinori Iwamura's injury with internal options.
- Edes names the Phillies, Brewers, Royals, and Twins as possible suitors for Brad Penny. Edes adds that the Phillies "are already making plans for life without Brett Myers" after this season.
- The shortstop market includes Jack Wilson and perhaps John McDonald, but could become more interesting for a team like Boston if the Indians make Jhonny Peralta available.
Olney On Penny, Reds, Braves
A few rumors from ESPN's Buster Olney (Insider link):
- Olney says about six teams have talked to the Red Sox about Brad Penny. Gordon Edes suggested last night that the "Phillies, Brewers, Royals and possibly the Twins look like teams that could be in play for Penny."
- The Reds are looking for outfield help. Personally I'd like to see what the Laynce Nix/Jonny Gomes platoon can do over a full season.
- Olney heard that "Atlanta hasn't gotten fully engaged yet" in their attempt to augment their outfield.
- Olney talked to execs who like the fit of Jack Wilson in Boston.
Red Sox Rumors: Bay, Penny, Buchholz
We have several Red Sox situations up for discussion today.
- Tony Massarotti of the Boston Globe writes of Jason Bay's superstar performance in Boston. Bay has a .292/.393/.569 line in 407 plate appearances in his Red Sox career. By comparison, J.D. Drew has a .274/.388/.470 line in 1166 plate appearances spread over 2.28 seasons in Boston. Says Massarotti: "If and when the time comes, the Red Sox may have a hard time denying Bay the $14 million average they paid Drew — this is one of the more damning aspects of the Drew deal — though that deal was signed in a much different economic climate."
- Nick Cafardo of the Globe discusses Brad Penny, "one of the most valuable chips in the game." Penny figures to be one of the five best available starting pitchers available this July, unless the Sox decide they'd rather maintain the depth. While he cannot be traded without his consent until June 15th, ESPN's Buster Olney figures he would not stand in the way of a trade. Olney says the Red Sox want a good prospect in return and expects a deal sooner rather than later.
- How about Clay Buchholz, currently stuck in Triple A? He took a perfect game into the ninth inning yesterday according to Amalie Benjamin of the Globe. The 24 year-old needs to be in the Majors, given his 1.30 ERA and 49:12 K/BB ratio in 48.3 innings. However, the Red Sox have to activate John Smoltz by June 19th.
Red Sox Could Shop Brad Penny
Alex Speier of WEEI.com says Brad Penny could be a name floated in trade talks by the Red Sox. Not a huge surprise given Boston's ample starting pitching depth. Penny is only making $5MM on a one-year contract for 2009. Says Speier:
Penny is a veteran to the trade circuit, notes Speier. And despite his declaration that the Red Sox have been his "best experience being on a team in baseball thus far,” he acknowledges the team's pitching depth makes him expendable.