Odds and Ends: Rasmus, Ozuna, Giles
Time to run down today’s links.
- SI.com’s Jon Heyman heard the Cardinals "might even consider parting with top outfield prospect Colby Rasmus."
- Here’s a feature on Baseball Prospectus’ Nate Silver in University of Chicago Magazine.
- According to Bud Selig, the idea of an international draft won’t be debated until the next collective bargaining agreement, which will start in 2012.
- I did a Q&A with The Chuck Knoblog.
- Pablo Ozuna is a free agent.
- Paul DePodesta explains why the Padres intend to keep Brian Giles.
- RotoAuthority has some disabled list hitters to consider picking up for your fantasy team.
- Jeff Zrebiec discusses the Orioles’ trade candidates.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Teixeira, Yankees, Padres, Fish
- If the Braves decide to shop Mark Teixeira, they may have a tough time getting as much as they’d like. The Red Sox, Angels, and Diamondbacks – among other contenders – are set at 1B/DH with David Ortiz, Casey Kotchman, and Conor Jackson respectively. Rosenthal notes Boston will only pursue Teixeira if Ortiz’s wrist fails to heal.
- Brian Cashman isn’t sure whether the Yankees are buyers or sellers. Most of their high paid players have no-trade clauses. Should they want to buy, Rosenthal suggests A.J. Burnett is a guy they could make a play for: an underperformer with a contract the Blue Jays would be happy to pass off.
- The Padres are planning to hold onto Brian Giles with the anticipation that a better replacement will not be available this winter. They continue to shop Randy Wolf, who can veto up to 14 clubs, and Greg Maddux to the Cubs continues to be bandied about.
- The Marlins need help in the bullpen, at catcher, and particularly centerfield. They could pursue Willy Taveras, Scott Podsednik, or potentially free agent Kenny Lofton, 41, who has generated interest but not signed anywhere.
Padres Likely To Sell
The Padres have lost eight in a row, slipping to 9.5 games out in the NL West. CEO Sandy Alderson says "it’s probably easier to see us as sellers at this point." He added that they could still look to buy if the Padres can creep up to 6.5 games out by the break (which begins July 14th). Here’s another look at the team’s top trade chips:
- Tim Sullivan says southpaw starter Randy Wolf is "almost certainly gone." Wolf was having a very similar season in ’07 but was done by July 3rd. Aside from health concerns, Wolf has a 14-team no-trade clause that includes many Midwest clubs. The Phillies, Yankees, or Mets could make sense.
- Greg Maddux isn’t talking much about whether he’d waive his no-trade clause. Fans have speculated he could go back to Atlanta or Chicago.
- Brian Giles wants to stay in San Diego, and can veto trades to eight teams. He also gets a salary boost if traded. Would Oakland be a fit?
Odds and Ends: Pokey, Lowe, Boss
Before you fire up the grill, check out these links.
- Dayn Perry has an enjoyable series at Baseball Prospectus called Mock Blockbuster. He proposes trades that would benefit both teams. His latest: Greg Maddux and Brian Giles for Jordan Schafer.
- Rays Index wonders whether Eric Hinske or Gabe Gross could be expendable once Willy Aybar returns.
- Joe Capozzi remembers Mike Piazza’s five game stint as a Marlin.
- Pokey Reese sighting!
- Ned Colletti told struggling free-agent-to-be Derek Lowe the Dodgers aren’t slamming the door on him coming back.
- The Red Sox signed an Australian teen named Boss Moanaroa.
- Athletics Nation chats with Billy Beane.
- Jerry Reinsdorf hasn’t ruled out re-signing Joe Crede after the season.
- R.I.P. Geremi Gonzalez. I remember him as a bright spot on the ’97 Cubs. I mailed him a baseball card for an autograph, and it came back signed.
Stark’s Latest: Young Players, Giles, DeJesus
Jayson Stark’s latest Rumblings and Grumblings column is chock full of information.
- Stark rattles off Dan Uggla, Ryan Howard, Cole Hamels, B.J. Upton, Justin Upton, Russell Martin, Zack Greinke, Prince Fielder, Felix Hernandez, Jeff Francoeur, Jonathan Papelbon, Kevin Youkilis, and Dustin Pedroia as youngsters who do not have long-term deals in the works. With Uggla and Greinke, the opposition seems more on the team’s side. With Hamels and Howard neither side wants a long-term deal. With the rest, the player is resisting.
- The Padres’ top trading chip is probably Brian Giles, though a deal would further deplete a weak offense.
- The A’s are willing to deal, with pitching considered the surplus. Billy Beane might be able to snag one good prospect for Rich Harden.
- There’s some doubt as to whether the Rockies will make Matt Holliday this year’s Mark Teixeira as we approach the deadline.
- Teams other than the Royals are speculating that center fielder David DeJesus might be available.
- The Marlins and Hanley Ramirez battled over a no-trade clause…and the Fish won. He has none.
Padres To Trade Brian Giles?
An idea I hadn’t heard before: Tom Krasovic reports that Brian Giles could be available.
Remember way back to…last year? Giles was perhaps the premiere free agent outfielder on the market. He got MVP votes in 2005. He played good enough defense that the Yankees even considered signing him to play center last winter.
But here we are, with Giles owed $18MM over his age 36-37 seasons. Kevin Towers is out flirting with J.D. Drew and Alfonso Soriano (and Towers is taking them to fancy dinnesr) while Giles is yesterday’s news despite his acceptance of a hometown discount.
I really thought Giles would age better than this. His slugging plummetted 86 points. His flyball percentage actually increased, and his home runs per flyball didn’t drop too far. Almost half of the power outage can be blamed on a decrease in triples, believe it or not. Extrapolating his 2006 to the 545 ABs of the previous year, Giles had six fewer singles, five fewer doubles, seven fewer triples, and two fewer home runs. Doesn’t sound like much, but in sum it looks pretty bad.
He also saw his walk rate decline by about 3% (though walking 14.5% of the time ain’t too shabby). Giles should still be worth most of his remaining salary, and it’s only two years. He’d be a fine pickup for the Phillies, Mariners, or Rangers, whose parks are kind to left-handed power hitters.
Brian Giles Re-Signs With Padres
The Unofficial MLB Blog is reporting that Brian Giles has re-signed with the Padres. The news came via KGTV-10 in San Diego, according to the blog. The deal is said to be for just three years and $30MM with a $6MM option for 2009. Looks like it wasn’t all about the money for Giles.
Unofficial MLB is the only published report of the signing at this point, and I have known them to be reliable in the past. I’ll get you more info when I have it.
Update: Ted Leitner and Lee "Hacksaw" Hamilton are also reporting the signing in San Diego. Apparently Kevin Towers sent an apology to Giles’s agent yesterday and a deal was struck quickly.
Thanks to John and Dave