Olney’s Latest: Wolf, Lohse, Sabathia, Fuentes, Oswalt, Bailey
Buster Olney has a new column up. Let’s take a look:
- He suggests Randy Wolf as a "possible trade chip" with the Padres looking increasingly out of it this year. One problem: Wolf has veto power over trades to 14 teams. He’s been decent this year, with a 4.13 ERA and 89 strikeouts in 98 innings, but nothing to get too excited over.
- Gossip item: the Mets could have had Kyle Lohse for what the Cardinals are paying ($4.25MM), only Omar Minaya passed.
- Olney doesn’t see much in the speculation about the Angels wanting C.C. Sabathia. With Kelvim Escobar‘s rehab going well, great first-half performances from Joe Saunders and Ervin Santana, and John Lackey likely to improve going forward, why should they make a push for C.C.? Olney sees the Brewers and the Cubs as more interested parties. (Ken Rosenthal mentioned the Brewers and the Rays as C.C. suitors yesterday.) Later in the post, Olney notes that Sabathia has a 1.96 ERA in his last fourteen starts. Yowza.
- How the Rockies fare over the next two weeks could determine what becomes of Brian Fuentes.
- Olney can’t decide whether the Orioles should buy or sell. What do you think?
- Roy Oswalt won’t get traded, with Olney linking to the Houston Chronicle’s Richard Justice for his evidence. (Oswalt has, of course, been talking like he’d prefer to be somewhere else.) Also working against a deal for Oswalt: his continued experiments with pitching to contact (to keep the ol’ pitch count down) haven’t been going very well this year, either. His K/9 has been declining for years, of course, but it may have reached a point of no return this season. Whatever happens, I’m sure the ‘stros would prefer to move him at peak value, not right now when he has a 4.77 ERA.
- Homer Bailey, back in Triple A Louisville, isn’t getting any love from the scout quoted here, who says he threw "batting practice fastballs." Bailey was 0-3 with a 8.73 ERA in the majors this year after a hotly anticipated call-up. Given the bounty of young arms they already have, the Reds would probably prefer to trade him…but alas, his value has dropped the way his curveball used to.
Sarah Green writes for UmpBump and the Boston Metro and can be reached here.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Cashman, Fuentes, Braves, Fielder
Time for a new Ken Rosenthal column.
- Rosenthal reminds us that, among other things, Adam Dunn played with a broken hand for a couple of months in ’05. So maybe he does like baseball. It’s not fair to criticize a player’s passion simply because he doesn’t make the right facial expressions or throw tantrums (not saying J.P. Ricciardi did this, but many fans do).
- Mark Teixeira might be looking for eight years and $160MM. Rosenthal says not to count his hometown Orioles out, though they aren’t the most likely suitor.
- Brian Cashman "seems likely to sign a contract extension" with the Yankees. Omar Minaya’s job is safe.
- The Rockies might trade Brian Fuentes even if they’re in contention. Add the Rays to the list of teams interested in him. The Rox still like the Mets’ Aaron Heilman, by the way.
- The Braves are out of the starting pitching market, content with internal options.
- If the Brewers are to shop Prince Fielder, they’ll likely wait until the offseason. Could be a fun rumor to follow this winter.
- Orioles relievers Jamie Walker and Chad Bradford both can be had (both are signed through ’09).
A’s, Four Others Interested In Fuentes
At third place and seven games out, the Rockies are not a lock to become sellers. If they do throw in the towel, closer Brian Fuentes figures to become a hot commodity.
Back on June 15th, multiple sources reported the Mets’ interest in Fuentes. The Yankees have liked him for years. The Red Sox and Phillies have been known Fuentes fans for a while now also. Yesterday, Joel Sherman of the New York Post added one more suitor: the A’s. Ken Rosenthal recently suggested the A’s could be buyers, perhaps chasing big fish like Matt Holliday, Jason Bay, or C.C. Sabathia. The A’s are just three games out of the wild card behind the Rays.
Olney’s Latest: Rockies, Padres, Braves, Sabathia
Today let’s take a look at Buster Olney’s blog.
- Executives from the Rockies and Padres are telling other clubs that they will not be sellers. They’ve climbed back into the race with the recent D’Backs slump. Popular trade rumor names like Brian Fuentes, Greg Maddux, and Randy Wolf may be off the market.
- Olney runs through some scenarios for Mark Teixeira trades, if Frank Wren and the Braves decide to punt on ’08.
- The Rangers have their eye on C.C. Sabathia – maybe now, maybe after he reaches free agency.
Mets Interested In Fuentes
According to the Denver Post and New York Daily News, the Mets have expressed interest in Rockies closer Brian Fuentes. Adam Rubin says nothing is imminent. Troy E. Renck points out that the Rox turned down an offer of Aaron Heilman during the winter.
Fuentes figures to be a hot commodity this summer, so the Rockies may take their time and field offers. The Mets do have a few decent prospects aside from Fernando Martinez.
Rockies May Find Podsednik, Taveras Expendable
On Tuesday, Rockies manager Clint Hurdle hinted that Ryan Spilborghs would begin to receive more playing time in center field. As a result, Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post says the futures of Scott Podsednik and Willy Taveras are in question.
It might make sense to keep Podsednik around as the resident speedy extra outfielder. However Pods is hitting just .222/.311/.311 in 103 plate appearances despite a solid April. Renck says the Cubs might have renewed interest if Jim Edmonds doesn’t work out. He says the Cubs have a "working list of potential available left-handed bats" as a contingency plan. One other Cubs-Rockies note – Ken Rosenthal says that despite his initial report, the Cubs do not have interest in Brian Fuentes.
Taveras, 26, is at .233/.288/.272 in 224 PAs. That’s quite a downturn from last year. He earns nearly $2MM this year and has two more seasons of arbitration-eligibility. He’s a trade candidate, though it’d be hard to sell much lower.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Kemp, Bradley, Fuentes, Street
New Rosenthal. Seems like he just put a column out a few days ago.
- Rosenthal believes the Dodgers would consider trading a young player (especially Matt Kemp) for a slugger. He discusses what it would take to get Jason Bay, Magglio Ordonez, Adam Dunn, or Matt Holliday. This all seems like a bad idea for the Dodgers.
- There are certainly arguments for the Rangers to keep or even extend Milton Bradley. But Rosenthal thinks he could net "multiple high-end prospects" if Jon Daniels goes the trade route. He says the Rangers could shop some of their veterans while also trying to acquire a controllable reliever.
- Rosenthal’s best guess is that the Pirates will trade Xavier Nady or Jason Bay but not both. He says Neal Huntington is not under pressure to clear salary.
- The Cubs are interested in Brian Fuentes, which is a new one. Rosenthal adds that Jim Hendry plans to pursue the best available starter.
- The Brewers have many quality minor league trade chips, and they may be looking for a starter.
- Minimal trade interest in Huston Street, and the A’s have backed off the extension idea.
- The Yankees are "aggressively" trying to move LaTroy Hawkins.
- The Dodgers wanted to do an Esteban Loaiza–Juan Uribe swap, but the Sox just waited them out and signed Loaiza.
- Rosenthal says the Phillies "lack the prospect inventory" to get an impact starting pitcher, which I don’t agree with. He says they may look for another lefty reliever or bench bat.
The Yankees And Brian Fuentes
Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post advises:
Keep an eye on the Yankees’ interest in Brian Fuentes, whom they have liked for years. New York needs a reliable late-inning setup man to replace Joba Chamberlain, who joins the rotation Tuesday.
Keep in mind that Renck is not saying discussions have occurred recently. But Fuentes would certainly be a nice addition for the Yanks. He has a 2.78 ERA and 2.63 K/BB in 22.2 innings this year.
Surely the Rockies are looking for a young player or two in return. The trades of Octavio Dotel and Eric Gagne last year might be comparables. Dotel required Kyle Davies, a promising pitcher who had not experienced much big league success. The Gagne package was headed by raw prospect Engel Beltre, and also included useful MLB-ready pieces in Kason Gabbard and David Murphy.
Also keep in mind that if the price for Fuentes is too high, Brian Cashman can turn to familiar target Damaso Marte of the Pirates.
Heyman On the Rockies and Holliday
The idea of the Rockies trading Matt Holliday this summer is not a new one. Ken Rosenthal speculated on the possibility two weeks ago. Today, Jon Heyman goes a little deeper. While he feels trading Holliday is certainly possible, there are at least a couple of executives who think it is unlikely. To sum up:
- The Rockies are tied for the worst record in baseball and several executives are now wondering if they will be willing to trade Garrett Atkins and/or Holliday.
- Willy Taveras and Brian Fuentes will almost certainly be made available.
- One GM thinks that last year’s mid-season turnaround may make Dan O’Dowd less likely to pull the trigger on a trade.
- One exec said that the Rockies will have a tough time matching the deals that the Indians received for Bartolo Colon in ’03 and the Rangers received for Mark Teixera last year, as those were highly specialized situations.
Cork Gaines writes for Rays Index and can be reached here.
Rockies Could Trade Holliday
In Ken Rosenthal’s latest column, he sees Matt Holliday as a prime candidate to be traded this summer. Rosenthal notes that the Rockies are already ten games back and have very little chance of signing Holliday to an extension. Holliday is signed through ’09 with $13MM due next season.
Previously, Rosenthal speculated that the Rockies might be willing to go to six years and $96MM to keep last year’s NL MVP runner-up. However, all we know of Holliday’s demands are that he wants more than a four-year deal. Rosenthal sees the Indians, Cardinals, Yankees, A’s, Tigers, Blue Jays, Mariners, and Mets as potential suitors. This should provide an interesting new storyline for July.
Rosenthal thinks that the Rockies could also seek to move Brian Fuentes and Garrett Atkins. Fuentes is eligible for free agency after this season and Atkins will be in his second year of arbitration eligibility and is not eligible for free agency until after next season.
Rosenthal also suggests that the Rockies may be willing to accept low-level, high-ceiling prospects in return as they are deep in prospects at Double and Triple A.
Cork Gaines writes for Rays Index and can be reached here.