Perrotto’s Latest: Position Battles, Roberts, Pudge
John Perrotto’s Every Given Sunday column is up over at Baseball Prospectus. This week, he takes a look at some of the position battles teams will face entering Spring Training. And, as always, there’s some interesting items in his Rumors & Rumblings section. Let’s take a look:
- Some of the more interesting position battles mentioned: 1B/DH/RF in Oakland (Daric Barton, Jack Cust, Jason Giambi, Aaron Cunningham, and Travis Buck all in the mix), Tampa’s closer if Troy Percival gets hurt or falters (Dan Wheeler, J.P. Howell, Grant Balfour), and the White Sox rotation behind John Danks, Mark Buerhle, and Gavin Floyd (Clayton Richard, Aaron Poreda, Bartolo Colon, Jeff Marquez).
- Brian Roberts still wants a four-year deal before Spring Training starts up, or he’ll cut off negotiations. Does Roberts make more sense as a cornerstone in Baltimore or as a trade chip?
- Perrotto feels Tom Glavine will inevitably re-sign with the Braves.
- The White Sox have minor interest in signing Ivan Rodriguez as a backup for A.J. Pierzynski. I’m sure Pudge would prefer a starting gig, but at this point, it’s tough to be picky.
- We’ve heard a lot about the Orioles having interest in Rich Hill lately, but Perrotto reminds us that the Mariners are interested in the 28-year-old lefty as well.
Nick Johnson Trade Talks With Oakland Resume
12:45pm: MLB.com’s Bill Ladson talked to a source who said nothing is imminent in these talks and they haven’t really heated up.
10:48am: According to Dave Sheinin of the Washington Post, the Nationals and A’s have revived trade talks for first baseman Nick Johnson. Sheinin notes that the Nats have previously shown interest in Daric Barton, though that might be a high price to pay for one year of the injury-prone Johnson. Another wrinkle is the A’s addition of Jason Giambi, but there would be ways to make it work.
A’s Rumors: Abreu, Cabrera, Barton
Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle has the latest on the A’s.
- The Jason Giambi press conference is scheduled for today. Joe Dillon was designated for assignment to make room.
- Slusser believes Billy Beane will take a look at Bobby Abreu and/or Orlando Cabrera if their price tags slip.
- Daric Barton is drawing trade interest, with the Nationals a possibility.