Rosenthal’s Latest: Nats After Dunn
Ken Rosenthal’s got a new column up; let’s dive in.
- Fun new rumor: the Nationals are pursuing Adam Dunn. Huh? Makes no sense on the surface. Jim Bowden’s possible motivation would be to sign Dunn long-term and make him the cornerstone of the franchise. If he fails at that, all would not be lost given the draft pick compensation. Rosenthal says the market for Dunn beyond Washington is a bit foggy – the Twins, Angels, Yankees, Red Sox, and Padres could all get involved but none stand out.
- Rosenthal adds some color to my recent Nationals post. He mentions that Ron Belliard is a name that might interest the Mets, an idea that has come up before. Rosenthal says the Mets will not do a Lastings Milledge for Chad Cordero trade.
- The Dodgers have jumped to the forefront on Octavio Dotel, with Takashi Saito ailing. According to Rosenthal, the Royals aren’t demanding the very specific bounty Joel Sherman claimed. Instead, they just want a near MLB-ready player. Rosenthal says Tony Abreu is out of reach but Chin-Lung Hu might not be. He suggests moving Hu to second base to accomodate Tony Pena Jr., which should probably be reversed. It appears the Indians wouldn’t surrender Franklin Gutierrez or Ben Francisco for Dotel. I’d give one up, personally.
- I didn’t know this: Jermaine Dye can veto a deal to four clubs. With his solid play, interest is picking up. As are Kenny Williams’ demands; he wants an elite prospect. The Indians and Red Sox have inquired; the Cubs might make sense too. I thought we had ruled out the Red Sox earlier though.
- The Padres are looking for bench help, perhaps in the name of Ryan Klesko, Mike Piazza, Mark Loretta, or Mike Lamb. Couple of prodigal sons there. Would Piazza be happy as a pricey bench player? Rosenthal says Matt Stairs isn’t available. Why not?
Nationals Looking To Deal
MLB.com’s Bill Ladson has the lowdown on the Washington Nationals. They’ve got several pieces they’re looking to move.
Chad Cordero and Jon Rauch remain popular names on the market, but it still seems like Jim Bowden is holding out for something amazing. Ladson says Bowden is asking the Mets for Lastings Milledge and Mike Pelfrey in a deal. It is known that the Mets would move Pelfrey in a major trade (per Jayston Stark). Pelfrey would be a great guy for the Nats to acquire; they really need some MLB-ready pitching depth. Another name on the Nats’ radar is Double A righty Kevin Mulvey of the Mets – they were openly scouting him on Thursday.
Cordero is aware of the rumors, and will move into a setup role for another team graciously. He hopes to stay in Washington though.
Ladson also says Ryan Church is being offered up; contenders would use him as a fourth outfielder. Church has been connected to the Cubs in the past, but I don’t think they’d go for him now. He’s at .262/.342/.420 this year, good fourth outfielder numbers. He’s capable of knocking 3-4 homers a month.
Finally, Ladson mentions that the Nationals recently scouting the Tigers’ Double A Erie affiliate. The SeaWolves’ more interesting prospects include Jair Jurrjens, Dallas Trahern, and Jeff Larish. It is known that the Nats were watching Jurrjens’ last start.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Andruw, Lidge, Gwynn Jr.
Ken Rosenthal has a new Full Count video up at FOXSports for your viewing pleasure.
- Rosenthal believes that despite Andruw Jones‘s lousy May and June, he’ll still cash in this winter as the best available center fielder. He’ll still provide more offense than Torii Hunter in the long run.
- The Nationals are still asking for the moon in trade talks. If Jim Bowden does start acting reasonable, Dmitri Young, Chad Cordero, Jon Rauch, and Ryan Church could be dealt. Word via Bill Ladson of MLB.com is that only the Braves have inquired on Young.
- Brad Lidge is expected to remain an Astro. The main reason: Drayton McLane still doesn’t think his team is out of it. Most simulations a 2% chance or less of reaching the playoffs. If the Astros finally do acknowledge reality, they’d prefer to trade relievers other than Lidge (ie, Dan Wheeler or Chad Qualls).
- The Rangers and Brewers were close to a trade: Akinori Otsuka to the Brewers for Tony Gwynn Jr. Rosenthal seemed to dislike it, but I think it made sense for the Crew. Regardless, Bill Hall‘s injury thwarted the deal as Gwynn will be needed to man center.
- The new plan for the Brewers is to call up 29 year-old Grant Balfour, who’s dominated in the minors. He endured elbow and shoulder woes before undergoing Tommy John surgery in May of ’05. In the midst of his TJ recovery, Balfour developed the need for shoulder surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff and labrum. This guy would be pumping gas if he’d been born a few decades earlier. After the surgeries, the Twins cut Balfour and the Reds snagged him. Balfour rehabbed with the Reds but never made it to the bigs; the Brewers claimed him off waivers in October of ’06. He’s all the way back; Johnny Estrada was singing his praises back in February.
MetsBlog On Cordero, Rauch, Milledge
Matthew Cerrone of MetsBlog says recent buzz in Washington, D.C. has linked the Mets to relievers Chad Cordero and Jon Rauch. He also adds that Nationals manager and former Mets’ third base coach Manny Acta is a fan of Lastings Milledge.
Milledge suffered from a sprained foot ligament for most of the season, but finally returned to the Triple A lineup on Friday. [Correction: Milledge is still on rehab and won’t return to the Triple A New Orleans club for another week or two.] It figures that many GMs will try to pry away the 22 year-old this month. It’s been said that Minaya wouldn’t trade him for a rental, but Cordero and Rauch are both under contract for a while. Both relievers have strikeout rates around seven per nine innings; the Mets might prefer someone more dominant.
Has Omar Minaya ever struck a deal with Jim Bowden? Sure. Back in June of ’02, when Minaya was GM of the Expos and Bowden was in charge of the Reds. Minaya sent lefty Bruce Chen to the Reds for reliever Jim Brower.
Stark’s Latest
Jayson Stark has an assessment of the trade market over at ESPN.com.
- Aside from the usual Mark Teixeira/Eric Gagne mentions, Stark believes many Rangers may be headed out at the trading deadline. Specifically, he names Brad Wilkerson, Kenny Lofton, and Sammy Sosa. Lofton is always a good midseason mercenary. He’s like a Mike Stanton in that way.
- Ken Griffey Jr. would approve a trade to Atlanta and might consider certain other teams. Junior is making $12.5MM this year and next, plus a $4MM buyout for ’09. Quite a bit of the contract is deferred, also. $29MM over 2007-08 is still pretty steep, but now would be the right time to trade Griffey.
- Nationals – still asking too much for Chad Cordero. Bowden’s got time to wait around for the right deal, I suppose.
- Best option for Todd Helton still appears to be the Angels, in Stark’s mind. That does not seem workable to me, because Casey Kotchman has broken out and Vlad needs access to the DH spot.
- Speaking of DHs, this might finally be the year Mike Sweeney gets traded and gets to play for a contender. If he heats up, maybe the Twins could snag him.
- Michael Bourn could be a trade candidate, if the Phillies decide he’s only a future fourth outfielder. Probably makes sense to keep him around if Aaron Rowand is going to walk after this season.
- The Astros are buyers, and they have all sorts of needs. A young catcher would be nice, but those are always in short supply.
- Speaking of young catchers, Jarrod Saltalamacchia has received interest but the Braves are not biting. A lot hinges on Scott Thorman‘s performance and, of course, which young player the Braves are offered for Salty. Most teams would love to have him.
Cubs Trade Speculation
What are those crazy Cubs up to now? They’ve got some surprising plans regarding their pitching staff. Here’s the rundown:
- Ryan Dempster may switch back to starting, after he mentors the future closer. Dempster made six starts for the Cubs to begin 2005, four of which were quality efforts. Apparently the Cubs think his repertoire is better suited as a starter. He’s due $10.5MM for 2007-08, and if he can emerge as a quality #4 type starter the contract won’t look so bad. Dempster’s best season came in 2000 with the Marlins, when he made the All-Star team and won 14 games. His success will depend on his control. It doesn’t appear that the Cubs are shopping him, though Paul Sullivan speculated that the Yankees could be interested.
- Angel Guzman will be groomed as the next Cubs closer. This is an interesting and unexpected idea. He’s looked sharp in relief this year, but it’s only been seven innings. He does have good stuff and decent control. Phil Rogers offers a little Chad Cordero speculation. It seems the Cubs will try internal options first, with the knowledge that most great closers were once starters.
- Rogers seems to think the Cubs should let the inconsistent Carlos Zambrano walk after this season, and focus that money towards a big name hitter. He names Andruw Jones, Torii Hunter, and Kosuke Fukudome as options. I like the Fukudome idea. According to Mike Plugh, Fukudome is best served as a right fielder. A Cubs outfield of Soriano, Pie, and Fukudome could be a nice core. Not sure where that would leave Matt Murton, however.
- Rogers also reminds us that the Cubs nearly signed Japanese ace starter Hiroki Kuroda last winter, and could try again after the season. Kuroda has great command, and won’t require a posting fee. Kuroda chose to re-sign with the Hiroshima Carps last winter. He’ll turn 33 before the 2008 season.
Chad Cordero Struggling
As Mark Zuckerman writes, Chad Cordero‘s slow start to the 2007 season isn’t doing much for his trade value. In the early going, Washington’s closer has started relying more on his mediocre breaking pitches. He was concerned that hitters would sit on his fastball. Now he’s falling behind to most hitters. Barry Svrluga of the Washington Post gives his take here.
Home runs were a major issue for Cordero last year; he’s on the same path this season with three allowed in 9.1 innings. His normally solid control has been lousy, and he’s given up more hits than a pitching machine.
Keith Law’s scouting report in March warned of this (subscription required):
"American League teams looking at Chad Cordero as a closer solution might want to pause before meeting the high price Washington is asking for him. Cordero was throwing between 87 and 89 on Friday, and while he has a solid breaking ball, he works too often in the upper half of the zone — giving up 13 homers last year in a tough home-run park — and is just a tiny slip in command away from being a back-end reliever."
The old adage about trading a guy a year too early might apply here…will Cordero ever bounce back and have another 30 save season? He’s up to $4.15MM now and reaches free agency after the 2009 season. Even if he’s slipping, Cordero could probably help the Phillies, Reds, or Giants.
Rockies Come Calling On Cordero
The Denver Post reports that the Rockies expressed interest in Washington Nationals’ closer Chad Cordero. The Nationals gave the Rockies the same answer they give everyone that comes calling on Cordero: he’s not available.
Is March 31st too early to talk about a trading deadline that is four months away? If The Nationals are smart, they will hang onto Cordero until they have the maximum amount of leverage, and that’s in July. General manager Jim Bowden proved last year in trade discussions regarding Alfonso Soriano that he isn’t going to make a deal that he doesn’t feel gets the proper return, so when July comes around, other general managers will have to factor that into their offers.
Having said that, the Nationals would be foolish not to trade Cordero at some point this season. An elite closer is a luxury a 100-loss team can not afford.
Tom Goyne is the author of Balls, Sticks, & Stuff, a Phillies-centric site, and maintains the Phloggers’ Pheeds page, a source for the latest commentary from around the "phlogosphere".
Rockies Interested In Chad Cordero
Surprisingly, Ken Rosenthal is indicating that the Rockies are interested in Nationals closer Chad Cordero. I didn’t realize the Rockies were that serious about bullpen help, but it makes sense. However, Cordero doesn’t seem like the right target as he is a flyball pitcher.
It may be a moot point in that discussions haven’t occurred for weeks between the two clubs. It seems that Jim Bowden is looking for two of the Rockies’ five best prospects, and they have some excellent ones. Of course, Trader Jim is in the catbird seat. Other highlights of Rosenthal’s article:
- The Rangers want a decent right-handed hitting fourth outfielder like Chris Denorfia or Jason Ellison. Ellison seems more likely to be dealt as he’s out of options. Ellison’s not young, but hitting .400 for a third of a season at Triple A should draw some attention.
- In addition to the Cubs, Marlins, and Rangers, the Twins like Clint Barmes. Despite an awful ’06, Barmes definitely has his uses. PECOTA calls for a fairly solid .277/.321/.421 line.
- Perhaps in an attempt to lead the league in DL days, the A’s inquired on Chris Snelling. Again, Bowden asked for too much in return.
Long Term Deal for Cordero?
The Nationals and Chad Cordero are discussing a multi-year deal to avoid their upcoming arbitration hearing. The two sides aren’t that far apart, but since they have a consistent, young pitcher on their hands, I’m sure the Nats would like to work something out.
Cordero wasn’t as good last year as he was in his eye-popping 2005, but he did manage a 3.19 ERA and a K:BB of better than 3:1. He may not have been the best closer in the NL named Cordero, but he still remains one of the best relievers in the league. It’s tough to see the Nats going more than three years (with an option for a fourth) for a young reliever, but such a deal would not only work nicely for Washington, but would make Chad an even more valuable trade commodity in the 07-08 offseason.
By Jeff Sackmann
www.BrewCrewBall.com