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Rays, Red Sox Talking Blockbusters With Tribe

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4:33pm: Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports hear that the Rays may be shying away from a blockbuster deal. They're 5.0 games behind Boston in the Wild Card race, so their next two games against the Yankees could determine the team's direction.

If the Rays are discouraged after the Yankees series, they could make Dan Wheeler, Chad Bradford, Grant Balfour, Joe Nelson and Lance Cormier available, according to the FOX Sports source.

12:59pm: The Rays have shopped Scott Kazmir to the Mets and Rangers, according to Joel Sherman. The Rangers turned down an offer from the Rays and the Mets just had initial interest. The Rays would consider dealing Kazmir, Carlos Pena and even Carl Crawford to free up enough salary to make a blockbuster deal for Martinez and Lee.

The Rays still have interest in Halladay.

TUESDAY, 11:16am: Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports has more dish on the idea of a team acquiring both Lee and V-Mart in a blockbuster trade.  The idea has been considered in Cleveland but is considered very unlikely due to the magnitude of prospects required.  While the Red Sox could technically pull it off, the Rays wouldn't have the payroll space.

MONDAY, 4:35pm: Ed Price of AOL FanHouse hears the Rays are still "in on" V-Mart and Lee. There's still a chance that they'll trade Scott Kazmir to the Angels, too.

1:35pm: The Rays and Red Sox are each discussing blockbuster deals with the Indians for both Cliff Lee and Victor Martinez, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Here are the details and the rest of Sherman's rumors:

  • The Rays would deal Wade Davis, but the Red Sox are hesitant to deal Clay Buchholz.
  • The Phillies, Brewers and Rangers have interest in Lee and the Giants have interest in V-Mart.  
  • One executive is "1,000%" confident the Indians will move Lee and Martinez to free up money.
  • An AL executive says the Phillies will acquire Lee, Roy Halladay or Jarrod Washburn by Friday afternoon.
  • The Padres may be more willing to deal Heath Bell than expected. As one official says, Bell will be an expensive closer on a bad team if the Padres don't trade him.   
  • The Yankees have been interested in Bell, whose value is higher than ever. 

Gammons’ Latest: Duke, Halladay, Reds, Rays

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ESPN's Peter Gammons has a new blog post up, writing about how teams are reluctant to part with their top young players, even if they are overvaluing them. He also mixes in a little rumory goodness, so let's take a peek…

  • The Pirates have indicated that it'll take "a gaggle of prospects" to move Zach Duke.
  • When inquiring about Roy Halladay, the Yankees were told the price was Phil Hughes plus prospects Austin Jackson and Jesus Montero.
  • One GM says "Cincinnati wants to move a few contracts, like either Bronson Arroyo or Aaron Harang, but we're not interested in giving players or taking on their money. Harang hasn't been the same guy since last May." Harang has a 4.99 ERA since a 63-pitch relief appearance on May 25th of last season.
  • Another GM said "We've looked at Doug Davis, Jon Garland, Kevin Correia, Ian Snell and the long list of available starting pitchers and do not see anyone we would give A- or B-list prospects to get."
  • Teams like the Yankees, Red Sox, Angels, and Dodgers are at an advantage because they can afford to restock their farm systems quickly by spending big in the draft or on the international market.
  • The Rays are likely "to see what they can get" for Carl Crawford after the season, and will hold onto prospects they consider keepers.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Peavy, Giants, Rays, M’s, Lidge, Beltre

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On this date seven years ago, the A's traded Jeremy Giambi to the Phillies for John Mabry. At the time of the deal, Giambi was hitting .274/.390/.471 with 8 home runs and Mabry was essentially a pinch-hitter. Giambi would go on to hit 12 more home runs for the Phils but would play only one more season in the big leagues. As rumors start to fly in the '09 season, let's take a look at what is being written in the Blogosphere…

  • Fire Ned Colletti Now would be happy to see a team other than the Dodgers trade for Jake Peavy.
  • Jorge Says No! says the Brewers should look into trading for Jake Peavy.
  • McCovey Chronicles takes a look at some deadline deal possibilities for the Giants, including Matt Holliday, Carl Crawford and Ichiro.
  • The Rays Party notes that Jason Isringhausen makes for a crowded bullpen which may indicate that the Devil Rays ($29) are about to make a deal.
  • Phlavio's Corner takes a look at some options to replace Carlos Delgado.
  • Around the Majors takes a look back at the Brad Lidge extension and wonders if it was a mistake.
  • Bleeding Blue and Teal would like to see the Mariners make a deal for Ben Zobrist.
  • The Detroit Tigers Weblog now admits that the Edwin Jackson-Matt Joyce trade may have been good for the Tigers.
  • MLB Notebook sees a few possible trade destinations for Adrian Beltre including both Chicago franchises.

Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com. If you have a suggestion for this feature, Cork can be reached here, and on Twitter here.

Stark On Pitchers, Vlad, Sabathia, Crawford

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More from Jayson Stark's Rumblings and Grumblings column today…

  • Stark rattles off a bunch of starting pitchers teams are "tracking" in advance of the trade deadline: Roy Halladay, Jake Peavy, Cliff Lee, Roy Oswalt, Aaron Harang, Erik Bedard, Kevin Millwood, Mark Buehrle, Doug Davis, Chris Young, Andy Pettitte, Bronson Arroyo, Jonathan Sanchez, Andy Sonnanstine, Jeff Niemann, Jason Marquis, Vicente Padilla, Jeff Suppan, and Russ Ortiz.  Not all of these guys are actually available, so check out the article for more analysis.
  • Teams are "backpedaling away" from Vladimir Guerrero as a free agent option after the season.  One scout sees Vlad as a DH right now.
  • C.C. Sabathia downplayed the importance of the out clause in his contract, talking to Stark.  Sabathia said it was "just something my agent came up with, and I just went with it."  Stark is skeptical though; he thinks the clause was specific to New York.
  • Stark talked to a baseball man familiar with the Rays' thinking who sees "zero chance" they don't exercise Carl Crawford's $10.125MM option for 2010.  The Rays have a three-year outlook on the budget.
  • With Jason Isringhausen ready within a few weeks, the Rays may have a surplus in the bullpen.  Stark doesn't expect Dan Wheeler or J.P. Howell to be moved, but teams are tracking them.
  • Stark sees Jorge Cantu as a trade candidate after the season.  He figures to make $5-6MM through arbitration.

Odds And Ends: Draft, Stark, Selig

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Links for Wednesday night…

  • ESPN.com's Rob Neyer argues that the Nats shouldn't take Stephen Strasburg unless they're sure he'll help their team more than any other player, regardless of the hype surrounding the college righty.
  • Neyer also weighs in on the possibility of Bill James appearing as a cartoon in the upcoming Moneyball movie.
  • Speaking on ESPN radio, Jayson Stark says the Dodgers should win the NL West by 15 or 20 games.
  • He says they're a starter and a bullpen arm away from becoming much stronger and adds that they have the pieces to deal for the pitching they need. 
  • Jenny Vrentas of the New Jersey Star-Ledger reports that Bud Selig says teams are making the necessary adjustments to cope with the struggling economy. Selig was speaking with the commissioners for the NBA, the NFL and the NHL.
  • MLB.com's Ken Gurnick writes that the Dodgers are thrilled to have added Orlando Hudson.
  • MLB.com's Bill Chastain spoke with Carl Crawford about the 100-steal plateau and heard that the speedy left fielder doesn't expect his stolen base tally to reach triple digits. Crawford, who has 20 steals, will likely become a free agent after 2010. How much could he command as baseball's first 100-steal man since Vince Coleman in 1987?

Matt Holliday Rumors: Wednesday

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8:40pm: Rockies GM Dan O’Dowd says he is "completely open-minded to anything" in a Holliday deal – a premium starter is not a requirement.

2:38pm: Renck says the Rockies have talked to the Rays about Holliday, as the Rays have an abundance of pitching.  He also believes the Rays might be willing to give up Carl Crawford for Holliday.

9:54am: According to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, there is too much momentum toward a Matt Holliday trade for the Rockies to turn back now.  Sherman figures a deal could go down in December.  He notes the Rockies’ appreciation of Yankees pitcher Ian Kennedy, though he wouldn’t be the centerpiece of a trade.

Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post did an exclusive interview with Holliday, who questioned the Rockies’ ability to contend every year.  Holliday disputed the notion that his contract talks with the Rockies were a distraction to the team.

Odds and Ends: Ibanez, Dunn, Blake, Stewart

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Let’s kick off the morning with some random links.

Crawford Wants To Stay

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Last week Rays outfielder Carl Crawford made some ambiguous comments.  One person might say Crawford was hinting he’d leave the Rays after the 2010 season; another might see no such implication.

Yesterday, Crawford clarified, saying he "couldn’t imagine" playing with a team other than the Rays.  He wants to stay, and knows the best is yet to come for the organization.  There haven’t been any extension talks, but he’d listen if the Rays came to him.

I admit this isn’t much of a story.  Who knows how he and the Rays will feel three seasons from now.  Crawford’s a bargain through 2010, but after that his value will be tough to quantify.  How do you value top-notch left field defense, tons of speed, and a bat that may only be slightly above average for his position?

Rays Notes: Crawford, Baldelli, Wheeler

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Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times has the latest on the Rays’ moves today.  The first two were expected.

  • Carl Crawford’s $8.25MM option for ’09 was exercised.  The Rays still have a $10MM club option for ’10 that is highly likely to be exercised.  After that, it’s anyone’s guess.
  • The Rays chose Rocco Baldelli’s $4MM buyout over his $6MM option.  It’s a sad situation but it had to be done.
  • Dan Wheeler was signed to an extension.  His ’08 contract was replaced; the new three-year deal runs through 2010 and is worth $10.5MM.  He would’ve been a free agent after the season; think of it as a two-year, $6.7MM extension.  It’s not a bargain for the 30 year-old, whose 5.30 ERA in ’07 was worse than his 3.5 K/BB would indicate.  He’ll need to return to his 2005-06 level to be worth the money.   

Carl Crawford Not Available

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Not a huge surprise, since Carl Crawford’s availability was questionable in the first place.  But Dave van Dyck of the Chicago Tribune affirms that Crawford can’t be had now that the Rays have dealt Delmon Young.

The Cubs’ focus remains a left-handed hitting outfielder.  Their top priority is Kosuke Fukudome, who is very likely to try his hand at MLB.  Who else might the Cubs consider?

Reasonable options in my estimation include Raul Ibanez, Ryan Church, Milton Bradley, Randy Winn, Gary Matthews Jr., Luke Scott, Geoff Jenkins, David Dellucci, and Shawn Green.

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