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Carroll’s Latest: Burnett, Twins, Cardinals

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Baseball Prospectus’ Will Carroll has plenty of rumors in his latest post.

  • Pat Gillick "doesn’t seem that interested" in going back to work for the Mariners.
  • One team asked the Blue Jays to include players to be named later on both sides of an A.J. Burnett deal, to serve as a balance for the pitcher’s uncertain tricky contract. The Jays passed on that idea.  By the way, the Toronto Star’s Richard Griffin thinks the Jays will keep Burnett unless offered a player who can improve the ’08 team.
  • Carroll wonders whether the Pirates would consider trading Ian Snell.  Snell is signed through 2010 with club options for ’11 and ’12.
  • Beyond Adrian Beltre, the Twins "have taken a hard look" at Hank Blalock, Garrett Atkins, and Casey Blake.
  • The Cards are searching the Triple A ranks for the next Ryan Ludwick.  Maybe they were one of the teams inquiring on Nelson Cruz?

Sherman’s Latest: Bay, Nady, Holliday, Fuentes, Blake

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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."

Rosenthal’s Latest: Sabathia, Burnett, Fuentes, Guillen

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Ken Rosenthal has a new column up.  I updated the second bullet about Burnett – I had omitted an interesting rumor accidentally.

  • The Dodgers could’ve gotten CC Sabathia, Casey Blake, and Jamey Carroll without giving up Matt Kemp.  Owner Frank McCourt may have killed the deal, though he denies it.  Rosenthal describes the Dodgers as a "near-impossible trading partner."
  • Rosenthal reminds us that A.J. Burnett can veto trades to 15 teams and would probably require compensation to waive that right or his opt-out rights.  Rosenthal also says the Jays offered Burnett to the Brewers for J.J. Hardy, but the Brewers passed and then acquired CC Sabathia.
  • The Rays are named as the frontrunner for Brian Fuentes.  Fuentes has been linked to nine clubs in various reports.
  • Players such as Orlando Cabrera, Cristian Guzman, Jack Wilson, and Hardy may be hot commodities this winter given the large number of teams looking for a shortstop.
  • The Royals received inquiries on Jose Guillen in the wake of his scuffle with the team’s pitching coach.  However, the Royals plan to keep him.
  • The Padres hope to acquire up-the-middle players.  On a related note, Randy Wolf had a nice start last night.

CC Sabathia Links

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The CC Sabathia trade is complete, but there’s still some good info floating about.

Sabathia To Brewers Trade Official

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Let’s round up today’s C.C. Sabathia links in a fresh post.

  • The Brewers’ trade for ace pitcher C.C. Sabathia is official.  As a reminder, the Indians will receive Matt LaPorta, Rob Bryson, Zach Jackson, and maybe Taylor Green.  Paul Hoynes says Michael Brantley could end up the player to be named later instead of Green.  Ken Rosenthal suggests Lorenzo Cain may also still be possible.  MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo analyzes the prospects received by the Indians.
  • Here’s an interesting link.  This is apparently the blog of agent Joshua Kusnick of Double Diamond Sports Management.  Among others, Kusnick represents Cain, Brantley, and Green.  He says Green hasn’t been informed of anything but seems more likely to be included than Brantley.
  • Yahoo’s Jeff Passan calls the package of players an "OK haul."
  • ESPN’s Keith Law agrees, suggesting that Mark Shapiro should’ve held out for a higher probability return.  He sees Bryson as the key to the deal.  The 20 year-old is a projectable live arm.
  • Joel Sherman says the Brewers aren’t done – they want to add a late-inning reliever as well.
  • Indians owner Paul Dolan explains the Sabathia trade in a letter to fans.
  • Rosenthal has details of other teams’ attempts to acquire Sabathia.  He says the Dodgers wanted the Indians to package Sabathia with Casey Blake.  Surprisingly, the Yankees were "very heavily involved."  They did not want to give up Phil Hughes, however.
  • Most articles seem to assume that the Brewers have no chance of signing Sabathia.  I agree that it’s unlikely, but I wouldn’t rule it out.  We’ve read repeatedly that Sabathia does not intend to chase every last dollar.  What if he loves Milwaukee and he leads the team deep into the playoffs?  The Brewers could let Ben Sheets and Eric Gagne leave and put that money toward a competitive five-year Sabathia offer.  It’s not out of the question.

Rays, Dodgers Interested In Casey Blake

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The Indians have marketable veterans aside from C.C. Sabathia.  Take third baseman Casey Blake, who’s hitting .353/.414/.529 since the beginning of June.  He’s owed about $2.8MM for the remainder of the season and figures to draw decent trade attention.

Baseball Prospectus’ Will Carroll says "there’s some rumor that Tampa Bay has interest" in Blake.  Blake could fill the role of right-handed hitting right fielder.  The Rays have also been linked to outfielders Matt Murton and Xavier Nady.

Blake has also drawn interest from the Dodgers, who wanted to get him in a C.C. Sabathia deal.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Sabathia, Blake, Greinke, Tejada

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And now…a fresh Ken Rosenthal column.

  • An opposing viewpoint: Rosenthal says "any team that acquires C.C. Sabathia would gain an exclusive window to sign him long-term before he reaches free agency."  Rosenthal notes that the Brewers and Rays are stacked enough to acquire Sabathia and wouldn’t mind taking draft picks for him after the season.
  • Casey Blake is drawing trade interest; his versatility is a plus.  Rosenthal likes the fit for the Dodgers, Mets, and A’s.
  • An anonymous general manager tossed out this "trade concept": Adam Dunn to the Dodgers for Juan Pierre, Chin-lung Hu, and cash.  Thoughts?
  • Teams such as the Braves, Phillies, and Brewers have expressed interest in Zack Greinke at some point, but the Royals plan to keep him.  He’ll be eligible for free agency after the 2010 season.
  • Earlier this year the Cubs inquired on David DeJesus, but now they seem content with their Jim Edmonds–Reed Johnson platoon.  Maybe talks will be rekindled after the season?
  • The Astros will talk about any player on the roster without a no-trade clause, which would include Miguel Tejada.  Does that mean Jose Valverde, Hunter Pence, and Wandy Rodriguez aren’t off limits?

Indians Shifting Into Sell Mode

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The Indians are currently in fourth place in the AL Central, 8.5 games out.  Baseball Prospectus’ projections suggest their playoff chances are less than 3%.  Many key players are injured.  That’s enough for Terry Pluto – he says we should stick a fork in the Tribe.

  • Pluto says the Indians have been listening on C.C. Sabathia, "but nothing has been serious."  The Indians are known to be scouting eight organizations as potential destinations for Sabathia, though about 20 have expressed interest.  Jayson Stark says the Indians will not be offering a negotiation window to sign Sabathia.  Paul Hoynes talked to a scout who believes the Indians could get two near MLB-ready players for him.
  • Pluto reminds us not to forget about impending free agents Paul Byrd, Casey Blake, and Joe Borowski.  All could draw trade interest.

Ocker On Blake, Marte, Dellucci, Borowski And Lee

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Sheldon Ocker of the Akron Beacon Journal does some speculating on the Indians’ third base, left field, and closer situations.

  • Casey Blake’s contract expires at the end of the season, and at age 35, Ocker doesn’t believe that Indians’ GM Mark Shapiro will re-up for him.  Ocker points to two reasons why Andy Marte probably won’t work out as the in-house solution to Blake’s potential absence: he could be lost on waivers if he doesn’t make the team as a utility man coming out of Spring Training, and he shows no sign of figuring things out and becoming an impact player.  Check out his Dominican Winter League performance if you need further proof that the 24 year-old Marte is regressing: .198/.213/.260 with seven errors.  Small sample size?  Yes, but wowza!
  • Who from the available 2009 free agent list could be had to man third base?  Could Asdrubal Cabrera be shifted to shortstop, and Jhonny Peralta moved to third?  If so, who could move in to play second in place of Cabrera?
  • Ocker also speculates that Shapiro will allow Jason Michaels of the Michaels/David Dellucci platoon walk unless their productivity rises substantially.  Michaels is slated to make $2.15MM this season, and the club has an option for $2.6MM in 2009.  What about Ben Francisco?  Could he be an option to take over for Michaels in the platoon?
  • This could also be Joe Borowski’s last year as closer in Cleveland, Ocker says.  Borowski will be 37 in 2009, and it has long been speculated that Borowski is on the cusp of losing his job.  Ocker points out that it is always tough to find a closer on the free agent market, but remarks that it’s "questionable" that the role could be filled in-house.  I still don’t understand the reluctance to place Rafael Betancourt in the role.  Anyone?
  • Finally, Ocker wonders how Cliff Lee would handle losing the number five slot in the rotation to Aaron Laffey or Jeremy Sowers.  Relying on Lee’s response to last year’s demotion — which was one of surprise at a player with a multi-year contract being sent to the minors ($3.75MM this year) — Ocker says that Lee has a sense of entitlement regarding the number five slot.  Ocker says that is "fine as long as he holds up his end of the bargain."

Posted by Matt Birt

Odds and Ends: Dotel, Valverde, Wilkerson

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Some Saturday odds and ends to mull over…

  • The Yankees considered bringing Octavio Dotel back, but wouldn’t go two years on him.
  • Richard Justice thinks Astros GM Ed Wade is making a mistake by setting a deadline and going to arbitration hearings with Jose Valverde and Mark Loretta.  I doubt the Astros wanted Loretta to accept their offer of arbitration in the first place, but they took the $4-5MM gamble hoping to get a draft pick.  But they actively sought out Valverde, and this might not bode well for him staying past 2009.
  • Can’t promise anything, but my source is saying Brad Wilkerson is likely to become a Mariner on a one-year deal.  Put this in the unconfirmed category for now.
  • Did the Rangers DFA Armando Galarraga in anticipation of including him in a trade?
  • Troy Tulowitzki explanation: he can opt out of his $15MM club option for 2014 if he’s traded. Tracy Ringolsby also reports that Garrett Atkins had unfruitful extension talks with the Rox last year and would still like to stay.
  • "No substantive negotiations" on a multiyear deal for Ryan Zimmerman.
  • Casey Blake’s agent put in a counteroffer but hasn’t heard back from the Indians yet; the two sides are $1.5MM apart on his ’08 salary.

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