Rangers Rumors: Guardado, Cameron, Hamilton
MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan has all the latest hot stove buzz around the Rangers.
- The Rangers are nearing a deal with Eddie Guardado. Everyday Eddie might be a dark horse to close, if he can flash his late season form again. The Reds decided in October that he was not worth $3.5MM, and declined his option. Guardado is 37.
- The Rangers hope to add some kind of veteran starter. Bartolo Colon and Jason Jennings are still options, but Mark Prior and Freddy Garcia pretty much are not. Sullivan names Mike Maroth, Mark Hendrickson, and Josh Towers as pitchers of interest.
- Mike Cameron could be an option for center field if he’ll take a one-year deal. A multiyear demand would also take the Rangers out of the running for Corey Patterson.
- Sullivan notes that the Reds want Edinson Volzquez for Josh Hamilton, a possibility he first mentioned three weeks ago. Jamey Newberg doesn’t think Volquez would cut it. Other trade options could include Andre Ethier, Coco Crisp, and Juan Pierre.
- The Rangers will pass on a Kevin Mench reunion.
Brewers Rumors: Rolen, Andruw, Mench
MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy posted a Brewers article yesterday that’s worthy of discussion.
- One reliever Doug Melvin has considered that I hadn’t heard before: Eddie Guardado. Hey, at least he’d come cheap.
- Players like Rickie Weeks, J.J. Hardy, and Corey Hart won’t be moved. No surprise there.
- McCalvy says Melvin confirmed having internal discussions about Scott Rolen. Would John Mozeliak trade him within the division? More importantly, would the Brewers take on the money and injury risk? The obvious match would be to send a starter over to St. Louis for Rolen.
- Which starters are available? Though you can never have too much pitching, Dave Bush, Chris Capuano, or Claudio Vargas might be considered expendable. Their salaries will all be rising as they are arbitration-eligible. None will be non-tendered.
- Aside from Rolen, another unlikely possibility is Andruw Jones. Melvin did at least speak to Scott Boras about him. Moves for Rolen or Jones would of course involve moving Ryan Braun and/or Bill Hall to other positions, something Melvin prefers not to do.
- If Melvin can’t trade Kevin Mench at the Winter Meetings, he’ll probably be non-tendered.
- By the way, Tom Haudricourt echoes the Rolen and Jones rumors in his blog this afternoon.
Reds Pick Up Dunn’s $13MM Option
ESPN reports the Reds have exercised Adam Dunn‘s $13MM club option. This is expected and activates a full no-trade clause for Dunn through June 15th. As Tim noted here, he’ll then have the option to choose 10 clubs to which he can be traded.
MLBTR readers were more or less unanimously in favor of Dunn’s return. 40 homers at $13MM seems a no-brainer to me. He’s a patient hitter and the Reds’ most potent bat. At that price, if the Reds do intend to deal him they will find ample value. But don’t forget that Reds CEO Bob Castellini told the Cincinnati Enquirer that the possibility for an extension exists.
The Reds were feeling decisive today and also brought back Scott Hatteberg ($1.84 million option) and Javier Valentin ($1.35 million option) while declining Eddie Guardado‘s option. Both options exercised make sense for the Reds at those bargain basement prices.
Dunn, Hatteberg Option Decisions Due Sunday
According to John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer, the Reds have to make decisions on the options for Adam Dunn, Scott Hatteberg, Eddie Guardado, and Javier Valentin by November 4th.
- Dunn is the big one; his is for $13MM with a $0.5MM buyout. This is an easy decision to exercise, though it will cause full no-trade protection to kick in until June 15th. After that he gets to choose 10 clubs to which he would accept a trade. But I think that if the Reds want him out of town the two parties will find a way to make it work (ie, they’ll give him a million or two extra).
- Hatteberg’s option is for $1.85MM with a $0.15MM buyout. This is so cheap it’s hard to decline, even if Joey Votto is ready. The Reds could definitely exercise it and trade Hatteberg at their discretion. The market for first basemen is weak.
- Everyday Eddie has a $3MM club option with no apparent buyout. He didn’t show anything, so I’m guessing the Reds will pass.
- Valentin’s option is for $1.35MM with a $75K buyout. I imagine they’ll exercise it.
- Since we are talking about options, I should add that Moises Alou‘s is due on November 15th. His is for $7.5MM vs. a $1MM buyout.
- Additionally in that same Fay article, Baker denies any tampering with Kerry Wood or Mark Prior. They didn’t talk about coming to the Reds, and Baker has spoken to over 40 players since he was hired.
Reds Acquire Guardado
The Reds swapped oft-traded starter Travis Chick for southpaw reliever Eddie Guardado today.
Cincinnati’s bullpen ERA of 5.28 is dead last in the National League. They’ve also blown 13 saves, third worst. Current closer Todd Coffey‘s 1.38 WHIP doesn’t gel with his 3.08 ERA. He’s fortunate that it’s that low. With a 5.9 K/9, Coffey is more hittable than most teams like their closers. Since June 1st, Coffey has blown two saves and taken three losses.
35 year-old Guardado has been even more hittable, and he’s also had worse control and allowed a ton of home runs. The Reds should be on the hook for about $3 million bucks assuming the Mariners aren’t eating any salary. I’m not sure if this move improves their bullpen at all, but maybe a change of scenery will stir something in Guardado. After all, it’s only been 23 innings and Guardado was quite solid as recently as last year. Guardado was supplanted as Seattle’s closer by J.J. Putz this season.
Chick, a 22 year-old righty, has at least made progress in his strikeout rate at Double A. This trade reminds me of something Buster Olney said in his blog today:
"Many, many teams are looking for middle relievers but very few are available because, quite simply, most of them are cheap. "It really doesn’t make a lot of sense to trade a good middle reliever because you’re not paying him that much, and as soon as you trade one, you’ve got to find a replacement," said an AL GM. "Everybody is looking for the same thing," said another AL executive, "and there’s almost nothing out there.’"
This makes me think the Cubs might be able to get something halfway decent in return for their investment in Scott Williamson.