Cubs Rumors: Fuentes, Greene
Cubs beat writer Bruce Miles of the Daily Herald has a new blog post up.
- Miles’ Cubs sources "emphatically" denied interest in Padres shortstop Khalil Greene. And as we noted Monday, the San Diego Union-Tribune killed that rumor several hours after they posted it.
- Jim Hendry is in the market for a reliever, and Miles expects him to be one of many GMs inquiring on Colorado’s Brian Fuentes. Roughly a dozen teams are eyeing the lefty, so the Rox should get something good.
- Miles mentions the possibility of the Cubs pursuing an extra bat, presumably of the bench variety.
Phillies Eyeing Cain, Blanton
Randy Miller had some interesting Phillies rumors yesterday. According to Miller:
The latest has the Phils hoping San Francisco, an NL West pretender, will shop 23-year-old right-hander Matt Cain. Word is the Giants might part with Cain, who is 5-7 with a 4.06 ERA in 20 starts, if offered an intriguing package of young talent.
However, Jayson Stark wrote on Thursday:
We keep hearing people speculate about the Giants trading Matt Cain. But we can’t find a team that has gotten anywhere in its attempts to even get the Giants to discuss him. "I don’t know who got that rumor rolling," said an official of one club. "But they told us, emphatically, no."
Moving on, Miller says the Phils aren’t interested in A.J. Burnett. Buster Olney said the same on Wednesday. Miller also notes that the Phils have interest in lefty relievers John Grabow and Brian Fuentes.
According to ESPN’s Buster Olney, the Phillies’ talks for Joe Blanton are "gaining momentum." Olney believes this deal makes sense, and that it could come together quickly.
Heyman’s Latest: Holliday, Fuentes, Teixeira
Jon Heyman of SI.com posted a new column yesterday.
- Rockies GM Dan O’Dowd is quietly calling other teams about Matt Holliday scenarios. One that was "floated," perhaps by Colorado, involved Holliday, Willy Taveras, Fernando Martinez, and Carlos Beltran. The Mets don’t want to trade Beltran, nor does the player want to waive his no-trade clause. The Holliday-Mets scenario is deemed a long shot. Meanwhile, Troy E. Renck says the Red Sox, Yankees, and Mets are "all panting after" Holliday.
- As you know, Brian Fuentes is likely to be traded.
- Heyman talked to a GM who expects Mark Teixeira to stay put. That does seem likely; the Braves are 6.5 games out.
Sherman’s Latest: Bay, Nady, Holliday, Fuentes, Blake
The New York Post’s Joel Sherman is working hard today, filing blog posts here and here.
- Multiple teams are in the hunt for a right-handed hitting outfielder: the Mets, Rays, and maybe the Yankees. The Pirates are asking for too much for Jason Bay and Xavier Nady, while the Rockies are waiting to see what Bay costs so they can ask for more for Matt Holliday. The Rays’ might find their solution internally, with Rocco Baldelli.
- Holliday as a replacement for Manny Ramirez this winter? Right now it’s just a couple of execs speculating to Sherman.
- The Rockies want either Jon Niese from the Mets or Ian Kennedy from the Yankees for Brian Fuentes, but the two New York clubs aren’t having that.
- Nolan Ryan doesn’t want to punt on ’08 with the Rangers.
- Sherman wonders if the Marlins could match up with Texas on a catcher.
- Juan Rivera is not available at this point.
- Casey Blake is likely to be traded, partially because the Indians probably wouldn’t offer him arbitration after the season. The Mets and Yankees are said to have "at least mild interest."
Sherman On The Mets
Joel Sherman of the New York Post talked to Mets GM Omar Minaya yesterday, gaining insight on the team’s plans for the second half.
- If Ryan Church is able to return (the Mets are cautiously optimistic), the Mets will focus on a righty-hitting left fielder. Raul Ibanez is a lefty, while the prospect price on Matt Holliday and Xavier Nady seems prohibitive. I assume the same applies to Jason Bay. Sherman has mentioned Austin Kearns in the past; he could make sense.
- The price on Brian Fuentes and similar relievers is also apparently too high. Minaya might prefer not to further deplete the farm system.
- The Mets could elect to solve their problems from within – Minaya suggested Jon Niese and Fernando Martinez could be in the bigs next month.
- Minaya’s recent history of midseason acquisitions – Luis Castillo and Jeff Conine in ’07, Orlando Hernandez, Shawn Green, Guillermo Mota, Roberto Hernandez, and Oliver Perez in ’06. Over his career, Minaya has dealt often with Indians GM Mark Shapiro.
Yankees Roundup: Nady, Sexson, Fuentes, Marte
Over the next 10 days, the Yankees will determine whether they are buyers or sellers. According to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, if they think they are still in it then they will target "a lefty reliever and a secondary starting pitcher." That starting pitcher could be Eric Milton, however he’s 6 weeks away from starting. I’ll add a right handed bat to that list as the Yankees need help against lefties.
Sherman says the Rockies are interested enough in Ian Kennedy to deal Brian Fuentes for him and the Yankees will need to choose both whether they’re in it and how much they want to retain Kennedy. A cheaper option they’re considering is Damaso Marte, says the Pittsburgh Post Gazette’s Dejan Kovacevic. The fact that Marte is now closing in Pittsburgh may have either decreased his availability or increased his price tag, or both. The Cardinals, Mets, Rays and Red Sox are all in the hunt for the lefty.
Kovacevic says the Yankees are suitors for Xavier Nady as well. Nady is a career .320 hitter against lefties and has played in New York before. And then there’s Richie Sexson, who Tim discussed here, and who George A. King III of the New York Post says the Yankees could sign if/when he clears waivers this week.
A compromise of sorts could be to make a move for A.J. Burnett. The opt-out risk at the end of the year is alarming, but the Yankees could use his services this year and beyond, as well as manage his salary and the upside is still tremendous.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Holliday, Burnett, Rauch, Ibanez
Ken Rosenthal has a new Full Count video up.
- The Angels are not interest in Matt Holliday, while the Dodgers and Red Sox "could play" on him. Rosenthal names the Nationals as an "intriguing dark horse," saying they’ve been checking up on Holliday. They like the idea of having him for ’09, and could even entertain signing him long-term.
- The Phillies have minimal interest in A.J. Burnett, plus they’re on his 15 team no-trade list. Rosenthal notes that Burnett nearly signed with the Cardinals a few years back, but their interest is not mutual.
- Jon Rauch is a hot commodity, drawing interest from the Rays, Red Sox, and Diamondbacks. His price will exceed that of Brian Fuentes, since he’s under team control through 2010.
- The D’Backs would like to add a left-handed hitting outfielder, and Raul Ibanez is under consideration. Rosenthal suggests Matt Stairs or Tony Clark as possible bench additions.
Rosenthal and Fuentes Q&A
Ken Rosenthal sat down for a Q&A session with Rockies’ closer Brian Fuentes in light of all the recent trade speculation. Some highlights:
On being mentioned in trade rumors:
…Now that I’m going into my sixth year and free agency, it seems like it’s coming up more. You hear a lot of speculation, a lot of rumors. It’s hard to tell what’s true. I know there’s a lot of posturing going on among the GMs.
On possibly receiving a warm reception if he does indeed get traded (ala C.C. Sabathia):
(chuckling) I don’t know. We’ll see what happens. They gave CC a standing ovation when he came out and played catch. It was pretty amazing.
On his approach to free agency:
I knew going into free agency that I wanted to have a really good year. I also knew I’d be setting up. My main objective was to close. I feel I can close in Colorado or anywhere else. But it’s not my choice.
On talking about trade rumors with his teammates:
It’s almost like a running joke. We all know there’s nothing we can do about it. There’s speculation they might want to move Matt, (Yorvit) Torrealba, Willy Taveras, myself. We joke about it. It’s a relaxed atmosphere in the clubhouse.
Angels Enter Mix For Fuentes
When we last checked, nine teams had expressed interest in Rockies closer Brian Fuentes at some point: the Marlins, Yankees, Mets, Red Sox, Phillies, A’s, Cubs, Cardinals, and Rays. Today Ken Rosenthal adds a tenth team to the mix: the Angels. The Rays are considered the frontrunner.
Rosenthal did a phone interview with Fuentes, asking about his geographic preference once he becomes a free agent. Fuentes notes that he’s a West Coast guy, but most importantly he wants to remain a closer.
Molony’s Latest: Mahay, Loretta, Erstad, Guzman
Let’s check in with MLB.com’s Jim Molony.
- The Rays are scouting lefty relievers Brian Fuentes and Ron Mahay. The issue? The price for Fuentes seems exorbitant, and Mahay may not be available. Troy E. Renck names the Yankees, Mets, Cardinals, and Marlins as the main suitors for Fuentes aside from the Rays.
- A few contenders have inquired with the Astros as to the availability of Mark Loretta and Darin Erstad.
- As you might imagine, the Rangers are open to trading Frank Catalanotto. We mentioned yesterday that his contract is a bit of a burden.
- It seems that Jim Bowden is listening to offers for Cristian Guzman while also trying to sign him to an extension. From Guzman’s point of view, it might make sense to enter a weak shortstop market this winter.
- The Matt Capps injury apparently affects Damaso Marte‘s availability.
- The Marlins may make Mark Hendrickson available. The big lefty was replaced in the rotation by top prospect Chris Volstad.