ESPN On Qualls, Adrian Gonzalez, Mahay
11:19pm: Olney reports that the Padres and Red Sox had made very little progress in their discussions about Adrian Gonzalez as of 9pm CST.
4:19pm: In regard to the Qualls item below, ESPN's Jerry Crasnick has an update. His source says the D'Backs are "very unlikely" to trade their closer.
11:58am: All kinds of good stuff from ESPN's Buster Olney (Insider required and recommended).
- The big news: the Red Sox and Padres talked "at length" about an Adrian Gonzalez trade Wednesday night. Those discussions are expected to resume today; of course you can expect top prospects to be involved.
- On the D'Backs front, there has been interest in Doug Davis and Jon Garland. Jeff Wilson of the Dallas Morning News says the Rangers have spoken to the D'Backs about a deal for starting pitching, but would probably have to unload salary (Hank Blalock?) first. A D'Backs scout took a look at Rangers reliever Guillermo Moscoso. However, Arizona is actually considering whether to extend Davis. Might make sense, with Brandon Webb going under the knife.
- Olney says there's momentum building toward a Chad Qualls trade, but the closer won't come cheap. Chad Tracy would be a fourth available D'Back, but Bob McManaman and Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic feel that August trades are more likely for the club.
- The Royals would like to move the contract of southpaw reliever Ron Mahay (.274/.292/.468 against lefties). He's got about $1.5MM left.
- ESPN's Jayson Stark tosses in this nugget: the Marlins made a run at Roy Halladay but balked at an asking price that included Cameron Maybin and Mike Stanton.
Minor League Transactions
Baseball America released this week's set of minor league transactions, and there was plenty of interesting movement. Let's break it down.
- The Indians signed reliever Mike Gosling to a minor league pact. The Twins released Gosling earlier this month. He last pitched in the big leagues for the Reds in 2007.
- The Tigers released Jason Tyner. You probably remember that the Brewers traded Tyner to the Tigers back in April for literally nothing.
- Marlins youngster Cameron Maybin was suspended for "aggressively arguing a call and bumping an umpire."
- The Astros removed Geoff Geary from the 40-man roster and outrighted him to Triple-A.
- The Angels signed former Orioles wunderkind Val Majewski to a minor league pact.
- Chris Burke was granted free agency by the Padres. He fashioned just a .207-.270-.305 batting line in 89 plate appearances this season.
- The Giants released Jesse Foppert, who was once the best pitching prospect in the game. He hasn't pitched in the majors since 2005.
Marlins Renew Three
According to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, the Marlins renewed the contracts of three pre-arbitration players: Matt Lindstrom, Taylor Tankersley, and Cameron Maybin. The renewals mean the sides were not able to reach contract agreements, though the players have no real bargaining power anyway.
Marlins Could Be Set For Another Fire Sale
Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald says the Marlins will be forced to trade away some of their arbitration-eligible players this offseason unless management is willing to double their payroll into the $50MM range.
Jackson takes a closer look at which players may be on the move…
- Two scouts and a GM told Jackson that the Marlins will likely explore the market for Mike Jacobs, noting they have other options at first base.
- Jackson feels the Marlins won’t want to give Dan Uggla a long-term deal and will look to trade him.
- With Cameron Maybin ready to take over, Jackson sees one or two of the starting outfielders, Cody Ross, Josh Willingham and Jeremy Hermida, being traded.
- Closer Kevin Gregg will be gone if Matt Lindstrom shows he can handle the job.
- Of the pitchers in the rotation, Scott Olsen seems the most likely to be traded. One scout told Jackson the Marlins could "get a lot" for Olsen and they have Andrew Miller who could take his spot.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.
Padres Checked In On Maybin
According to Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune, Kevin Towers and the Padres "took a brief look" at Cameron Maybin before he was dealt to Florida in yesterday’s blockbuster. Towers is apparently a big fan of Maybin, but obviously he couldn’t work anything out.
Dan Haren Rumors: Wednesday
UPDATE, 12-5-07 at 11:20am: Joel Sherman says Stephen Drew, Mark Reynolds, and Tony Pena are also off the table in the Haren talks.
UPDATE, 12-5-07 at 8:09am: Susan Slusser adds that the A’s aren’t being unreasonable with Arizona – they haven’t asked for Justin Upton or Chris Young. Slusser also notes that Billy Beane wouldn’t sit down with the Tigers unless they’d discuss Andrew Miller and Cameron Maybin. That’s when the Tigers turned to the Marlins. Beane downplayed the chances of trading Haren, but what else is he going to say?
FROM 12-5-07 at 12:09am:
Technically it’s Wednesday now, and some of the more rumor-filled threads were getting really long. So I’m happy to start a set of new ones. You can check out Tuesday’s Dan Haren thread here.
According to Jack Magruder of the East Valley Tribune, the D’Backs are willing to discuss a package of Carlos Gonzalez, Emilio Bonifacio, and Brett Anderson for Haren. That the D’Backs could spare these three very talented youngsters without skipping a beat speaks to how deep their farm system is. Magruder’s source says the A’s could ask for a staggering six players.
Jose Valverde, Dustin Nippert, and/or Alberto Callaspo could be involved to give the A’s some MLB-ready talent. From previous reports, we know that Conor Jackson and Max Scherzer will not be involved. Ken Rosenthal had suggested last night that the A’s initial request scared the D’Backs off, but he’s since corrected that information.
The A’s, however, want to wait for something to happen with Johan Santana before trading Haren.
Additionally, Magruder adds that the D’Backs have a touch of interest in Noah Lowry.
Tigers Getting Cabrera, White Sox After Andruw?
UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 5:22pm: Joe Frisaro at MLB.com says Cabrera and Willis are on the verge of becoming Tigers. And to think some people called the Winter Meetings boring. The Marlins got some absolute studs here, though it’s surprising they couldn’t get more dealing the two separately.
UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 5:15pm: Ozzie Guillen confirms Chicago’s interest in Andruw, despite his agent.
UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 5:04pm: This is out of control! Now Jim Molony is saying the Tigers are nearing a blockbuster eight-player deal to get Cabrera and Willis for Maybin, Miller, and four others. In the same breath Molony adds that the White Sox are after Andruw Jones.
FROM 12-4-07 at 5:01pm:
This is unexpected. Joe Capozzi says the White Sox "are making a strong push" to acquire Miguel Cabrera. What’s more, some kind of major announcement is coming soon and White Sox sources admitted it involves Cabrera.
Josh Fields, Gio Gonzalez, John Danks, and Gavin Floyd could all be involved. This would be an incredible move if Kenny Williams can pull it off. I never though those guys could net Cabrera against all other offers.
Capozzi adds that that the Tigers also made a push for Cabrera this afternoon.
Marlins/Tigers Cabrera/Willis Blockbuster
UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 2:41pm: Joe Capozzi agrees – separate deals if anything.
UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 1:29pm: MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro has a source indicating that the Tigers are interested in Willis or Cabrera and not necessarily both.
UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 12:23pm: According to Danny Knobler, the Tigers feel they’re being used by the Marlins to jack up the price for other teams like the Angels. The trade talks between Detroit and Florida are characterized as discussions rather than trade negotiations. Knobler says Dombrowski doesn’t want to trade Maybin, but I can’t see this happening otherwise.
FROM 12-4-07 at 11:02am:
Ken Rosenthal has an update with a whopper of a trade rumor.
- The Marlins and Tigers are talking about a monster deal that would send Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis over to the Tigers for Andrew Miller, Cameron Maybin, and others. Dave Dombrowski has always worked well with the Marlins, his former team.
- Rosenthal confirms Bob Dutton’s assertion – the Royals signing Jose Guillen may not stop them from getting Andruw Jones too.
- The O’s are trying to move Ramon Hernandez. They could sign Michael Barrett if they move him, or else get Jeff Mathis or Mike Napoli from L.A. in a Tejada deal.
- The Tribe hasn’t decided whether to trade Cliff Lee, though there’s been plenty of buzz so far.
Chronicle Rumors: Haren, Blanton, Lincecum
Susan Slusser and John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle have an extensive collection of A’s and Giants rumors from Monday’s Winter Meetings mayhem.
- The asking price for Dan Haren is said to be massive, is in 3-4 blue chippers. The Tigers might even be willing to part with both Andrew Miller and Cameron Maybin for him – wow. The D’Backs are a bit more gunshy about their top prospects, though most believe Carlos Gonzalez to be available. I imagine Justin Upton is off limits.
- The Dodgers are going the hardest after Joe Blanton, with the Mets trailing.
- Huston Street is likely to stay put and may even talk extension with the A’s.
- The authors don’t expect Brian Sabean to get the Tim Lincecum offer he needs to pull the trigger. But they suggest Sabean’s "interesting" offer could involve Jay Bruce, Edwin Encarnacion, or Alex Rios.
Odds and Ends: Colon, Clark, Gagne
Random rumors, let’s round ’em up.
- How about Bartolo Colon to the Mets? David Lennon notes that Omar Minaya sold the farm to acquire him in 2002 as the Expos’ GM.
- Scott Lauber says Aaron Rowand is insisting on a five-year deal. He adds that the Phils have interest in Geoff Jenkins but he might be too expensive.
- Cameron Maybin and Andrew Miller are considered untouchable, so don’t look for the Tigers to make any big trades.
- Patrick Saunders runs down some free agents the Rockies may consider for the back end of their rotation: Tony Armas, Matt Clement, Steve Trachsel, Josh Fogg, Jason Jennings, Jon Lieber, Mark Redman, Brett Tomko, and Kip Wells.
- The Rays may go after Tony Clark, in large part because they’re seeking leadership. Marc Topkin agrees, and also rattles off Geoff Jenkins, Brad Wilkerson, Cliff Floyd, Mike Lamb, Mark Sweeney, Corey Koskie, and Greg Nortion as other possibilities.
- It’s expected that Eric Gagne will not accept Boston’s offer of arbitration, because he wants to close. One place he could do so is Texas, who like him if he’ll take one year.
- The Marlins’ new marketing materials exclude Miguel Cabrera.
- The Rangers have interest in Sean Casey and Mike Lamb.