Heyman Talks Giants
In a new blog post, SI's Jon Heyman discusses the Giants' plans.
- The Giants "haven't ruled out trading for more offense" after getting Freddy Sanchez and Ryan Garko. Heyman says that at some point the Giants scouted Miguel Tejada, Carlos Lee, Josh Willingham, Nick Johnson, Mark Teahen and Marco Scutaro. We can probably cross Johnson off the list. And we've seen no sign the Astros would sell.
- The Giants would like to add a fifth starter, given the loss of Randy Johnson for at least August. Heyman speculates on a few names such as Bronson Arroyo, Doug Davis, and Jon Garland.
Quiet Deadline For Yankees?
Joel Sherman of the New York Post has the latest on the Yankees, and it sounds like they could have a quiet trade deadline. Sherman says the team is showing no inclination to pursue Roy Halladay or Cliff Lee, and has not engaged in extensive talks for Jarrod Washburn. They're not in on Bronson Arroyo, Doug Davis, or Jon Garland either. Sherman believes the Yanks might be content to let the Red Sox get Halladay:
A person close to the Steinbrenner family said that Cashman has not even asked permission to expand the 2009 payroll nor is there anticipation that ownership would allow a significant financial increase now. This is pertinent because the Yankees do believe that the Red Sox have put Clay Buchholz into a trade offer for Halladay and that Boston just might get the ace righty.
So the first-place Yankees are tightening the purse strings, despite Chien-Ming Wang's season-ending shoulder surgery.
Slightly Increased Interest In Davis & Garland
Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports report that interest in D'Backs starters Doug Davis and Jon Garland has grown "slightly." The D'Backs are open to moving one or both of the pitchers if a team approaches them with a fair offer. Earlier in the month they weren't impressed with the Brewers' offers and interest in the pair has been minimal since.
Odds & Ends: Pirates, Diamondbacks, Buchholz
Just a few more links before the end of the night…
- Dejan Kovacevic of The Pittsburgh Post Gazette says the Pirates have "put on hold any attempt to sign shortstop Jack Wilson and second baseman Freddy Sanchez to contract extensions and, instead, are entertaining trade offers for those players." He mentions that the club's efforts to trade their double play tandem could extended beyond Friday's trade deadline.
- Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic says the Diamondbacks aren't anticipating any deals right now because there aren't many teams clamoring for pitchers Jon Garland and Doug Davis, plus the D-Backs aren't particularly motivated to move closer Chad Qualls.
- Red Sox pitcher Clay Buchholz says "I think I'll be here" after the trade deadline according to Amalie Benjamin of The Boston Globe. Here, of course, meant Boston.
FOX Sports On Red Sox, D’Backs, Bell
12:59pm: FOX Sports reports that Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski is aggressively looking for a hitter.
The Brewers are reluctant to trade Alcides Escobar and would probably hesitate to move him for Brandon Morrow and two months of Jarrod Washburn.
12:14pm: The Red Sox are "in" on Roy Halladay, but finding offense is the team's top priority, according to Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. Here are a few more rumors:
- There hasn't been much interest in Doug Davis or Jon Garland so far, but D'Backs officials are optimistic that interest will pick up later in the week.
- Minnesota has more interest in Freddy Sanchez than any of his other suitors do.
- The Padres will listen on Heath Bell and Adrian Gonzalez, but aren't likely to deal either player. The Tigers had interest in Bell earlier in the month.
Brewers, Mariners Talking Washburn?
9:15pm: Things just got really interesting; this rumor may be growing legs. From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Tom Haudricourt:
"I know for a fact that the Brewers have been discussing Washburn, even though he is a free agent after the season. Because Washburn is a Wisconsin native, maybe the Brewers think they could convince him to stay with another contract after this year."
Haudricourt notes the M's would probably ask for a shortstop in return, naming J.J. Hardy and Alcides Escobar as possible trade chips. Of course, that's a pretty steep price to pay. "The Brewers probably would want more than Washburn in return for either shortstop," Haudricourt adds, "considering his pending free agent status." And his 4.03 career ERA.
9:06pm: Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times suggests the Brewers might have serious interest in the Mariners' Jarrod Washburn.
"I'm starting to doubt he'll take the mound on Tuesday night in a Seattle uniform," Baker writes. "A big reason why is that things are happening in Milwaukee and some decisions will have to be made in short order."
"Brewers pitcher Seth McClung went on the 15-day DL on Saturday and today, the Brewers called up Tim Dillard from Class AAA Nashville. But here's the catch: the Brewers are refusing to name Dillard as their Tuesday starter." Might it be Washburn?
3:08pm: Jeff Fletcher tweets that the Brewers will have a scout in attendance at Justin Duchscherer's rehab start tonight. Duchscherer could be ready to pitch in the Majors in two weeks.
2:15pm: MLB.com's Adam McCalvy writes that Brewers manager Ken Macha may have hinted at an upcoming acquisition of a starter before the deadline for the Brewers. He quotes Macha:
Macha cautioned that the Brewers want to field a competitive team every year, so they'd have a hard time gutting the farm system. When asked if he would be surprised if Melvin doesn't make an acquisition, Macha replied:
McCalvy names Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Doug Davis, Jon Garland, Erik Bedard, Jarrod Washburn, and Brian Bannister as pitchers of interest, although it's safe to cross Bedard off that list now that he's on the 15-day disabled list.
Gammons’ Latest: Duke, Halladay, Reds, Rays
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.
Cubs Looking For A Lefty Reliever
With starter Ted Lilly on the shelf for approximately three weeks, ESPN Chicago's Bruce Levine says Cubs GM Jim Hendry may have been pushed in the direction of adding a starter before Friday's trade deadline. The team could opt to move Sean Marshall back into the rotation, but that would leave manager Lou Piniella without a reliable lefthanded option in the pen.
The Cubbies have spoken to the Pirates about reliever John Grabow, but Levine says a move for Zach Duke or Tom Gorzelanny "may be the right avenue to follow with the loss of Lilly." He lists Carl Pavano, Jon Garland and Doug Davis as other starters available right now.
Diamondbacks Rumors: Byrnes, Lugo, Davis
Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic says a team source indicated that the Diamondbacks could revisit the idea of an Eric Byrnes–Julio Lugo swap now that Lugo's been designated for assignment. Byrnes is currently on the disabled list with a broken hand. The two teams had discussions about such a swap in the offseason, but the talks went nowhere.
Meanwhile, lefthander Doug Davis says he senses "they might come after me for an extension" according to Piecoro. Davis said they're not ready to starting talking terms, but GM Josh Byrnes confirms the talks. Davis' agent Steve Canter decined to talk about specifics according to MLB.com's Steve Gilbert, but he did say Davis is "player of interest to the organization."
Davis' name has popped up in trade rumors the past few weeks.
Trade Candidates: Starting Pitchers
Roy Halladay's availability changes everything, because teams in search of an ace can target him instead of settling for lesser pitchers. But many arms could be moved in the next 17 days and some could even be traded in August. These pitchers, who could all conceivably be dealt, are ranked from highest 2009 salary to lowest:
- Roy Halladay, Blue Jays – At $14.25MM he's pricey, but he's one of the top pitchers in the game, capable of transforming a team's playoff chances like C.C. Sabathia did last year.
- Javier Vazquez, Braves – The rumors surrounding Vazquez have quieted lately, but he could be moved. He makes $11.5MM this year and next and can't be traded to any Western division team.
- Gil Meche, Royals – Meche makes $11MM this year and has $24MM remaining on his deal afterwards.
- Doug Davis, D'Backs – The D'Backs aren't impressed with the players the Brewers are willing to offer for their pitcher, who makes $8.75MM this year. Davis has been productive all season.
- Jon Garland, D'Backs – Another solid but unspectacular arm, Garland makes $6.25MM this year. No team acquiring him should count on receiving picks if he leaves as a free agent, because Garland has a clause in his contract that prevents teams from offering him arbitration if he has Type A stauts.
- Cliff Lee, Indians – He makes just $5.75MM this year and the Indians have an affordable $8MM option for 2010, so they'd have to see an awesome offer to part with Lee, who's following up his Cy Young season with another solid year.
- Brad Penny, Red Sox – Now that they've called on Clay Buchholz, the Red Sox once again have a surplus of big league pitchers. At $5MM plus incentives, Penny's affordable this year.
- Ian Snell, Pirates – He's pitching well in Triple A, where he struck out 17 in one game. The Pirates have tried to move Snell and his $3MM salary.
- Paul Mahom, Pirates – The Pirates have been willing to sell and Maholm's been effective this year. He makes $2MM, and has at least $11MM remaining on his deal after the year.
- Brian Bannister, Royals – At just $1.7MM, he's one of the cheaper starters out there.
- Carl Pavano, Indians – The Indians aren't contenders and Pavano has pitched better this season than he did in four years with the Yankees. He makes a base salary of just $1.5MM, but that could rise as high as $6.8MM because of incentives.
- Jonathan Sanchez, Giants – He makes less than $500k and, as we found out this weekend, he has the potential to be dominant.
Let's not forget about some free agent pitchers like Ben Sheets (may be injured), Pedro Martinez (about to sign), Odalis Perez and Paul Byrd.
None of the following pitchers are available now, but they could be if their teams fall from contention: Bronson Arroyo, Doug Brocail, Jason Marquis, Erik Bedard and Jarrod Washburn.