Giants Acquire Freddy Sanchez
6:19pm: Kovacevic says that no money is being exchanged in the Sanchez deal, which makes it all the more impressive for the Pirates. Keith Law (Insider) recently ranked the 20-year-old Alderson the 26th-best prospect in all of baseball.
5:51pm: Kovacevic is reporting that the minor leaguer is AA pitcher Tim Alderson. This is an impressive haul for Sanchez–Alderson was ranked the #4 prospect in the Giants' system by Baseball America. What we thought was a salary dump deal has turned into a pretty solid coup for the Pirates.
5:46pm: Henry Schulman at the San Francisco Chronicle is reporting that it's a done deal, Sanchez straight up for a minor-leaguer. Stay tuned for the name.
5:42pm: Instead of making a scheduled flight to Phoenix, Sanchez has apparently been asked to stay at AT&T Park in San Francisco, reports Kovacevic. Looks like we'll find out the details of a deal very soon.
4:52pm: Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports hear that the Pirates are talking to the Giants, Twins and at least one other team about Sanchez, but don't have a deal in place.
4:43pm: Kovacevic reports that the Giants' doctors found no major problems with Sanchez's knee and consider him day-to-day.
3:31pm: Kovacevic hears that the Pirates turned down Sanchez's offer. He proposed a deal that would have paid him $6MM next year, $6.5MM in 2011 and $7.5MM in 2012.
3:17pm: Langosch hears that Sanchez's offer is for $20MM over three years.
Meanwhile, Kovacevic hears that the Pirates have absolutely "no deal" in place, though the Giants and Pirates have the framework for one.
2:52pm: Kovacevic hears that the Giants are examining Sanchez within the hour. Is there a deal in place? Kovacevic hears 'yes' and 'no.'
2:46pm: Kovacevic reports that Sanchez made the Pirates a three-year offer.
2:40pm: MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch reports that the Giants and Pirates have a deal in place that would send Sanchez to San Francisco. The Giants will look at the infielder's knee this afternoon before deciding whether to complete the deal, which wouldn't send any major leaguers to Pittsburgh.
However, Kovacevic says no deal is in place.
2:20pm: SI.com's Jon Heyman says the Giants are in serious talks for Sanchez. The teams are discussing John Bowker, Kevin Frandsen and Jesus Guzman.
2:04pm: Joel Sherman of the New York Post hears that the Giants are "definitely getting Freddy Sanchez." The Pirates already traded Jack Wilson today, so they could conceviably lose their entire double play combo in one day.
10:27am: Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette hears that the Pirates worked on possible trades involving Freddy Sanchez and Jack Wilson until late last night. The Giants seem to have the greatest chance of acquiring Sanchez since GMs Brian Sabean and Neal Huntington had extensive discussions earlier in the week and may even have set up the framework of a deal.
The Twins are interested in John Grabow and Sanchez, whose knee injury may have slowed down the trade process. Meanwhile, the Red Sox still have interest in Wilson.
And you're not the only one checking out the Pirates rumors. Chuck Finder of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that Sanchez and Wilson are MLBTR readers. We're glad to have them aboard!
Giants Interested In Sanchez, Scutaro, Teahen
Danny Knobler of CBS Sports reports that Freddy Sanchez remains atop the Giants' list of bats as they continue their determined search for offense. Free agent-to-be Marco Scutaro and Mark Teahen also interest the Giants.
Pirates Intend To Deal Sanchez, Wilson?
9:53pm: Henry Schulman at the San Francisco Chronicle and Gordon Edes at Yahoo have both heard that a deal sending Sanchez to the Giants was close to completion last night, but were halted due to aforementioned concerns about Sanchez's knee. Schulman hears conflicting reports on what the Pirates are demanding in return, but says any prospects involved will be on a higher level than the previously-dealt Scott Barnes.
9:35pm: Though scratches of Sanchez and Wilson from the Pirates' lineup made people curious tonight, Kovacevic says that there's "nothing likely" to happen tonight with them.
5:35pm: Kovacevic has updated his previous report, saying that "primary" talks about Sanchez have been with the Giants, and they "were believed to have intensifed last night." But Kovacevic says the Twins are still in the mix as well.
3:28pm: A Pirates official tells Kovacevic that the club doesn't need to move either Sanchez or Wilson and won't trade them unless they see a good offer.
Meanwhile, Jon Heyman of SI.com hears that the Giants are pretty seriously involved in talks for Sanchez.
2:16pm: Jeff Fletcher of AOL Fanhouse hears that the Angels are "likely looking" at Sanchez. The way Howie Kendrick and Maicer Izturis are hitting lately, that'd be a curious acquisition.
1:33pm: ESPN.com's Jayson Stark hears that the Pirates plan on dealing Freddy Sanchez and Jack Wilson this week. The Giants could be suitors for Sanchez and the Red Sox have considered Wilson in the past.
9:58am: Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette hears that the Pirates have put off extension talks with Sanchez and Wilson until after the deadline and will instead entertain trade offers for them. The trade talks may not stop this Friday; if either player clears wiavers, the Pirates will be able to deal him until the end of August.
Kovacevic hears the Pirates may be open to paying some of Sanchez's 2010 contract to acquire better prospects in a possible trade.
8:27am: The Pirates still have a number of players attracting interest from other teams. Here's the latest on their trade candidates, from John Perrotto of PiratesReport.com:
- Phillies manager Charlie Manuel is trying to persuade his GM to go after Zach Duke, who won't become a free agent until after the 2011 season.
- The Cubs have stepped up their pursuit of reliever John Grabow, but they may not have the prospects to interest the Pirates.
- The Twins and Braves have checked in on Freddy Sanchez, but some executives believe the Pirates will have trouble moving him without contributing to the $8.1MM option for next year that's likely to vest.
- The Red Sox are once again "kicking the tires" on Jack Wilson.
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Twins Targeting Relievers & Infielders
The Twins are targeting teams with both infielders and relievers available in the hopes of addressing their two biggest needs in one trade, according to Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. John Grabow and Freddy Sanchez could be packaged together, as could Michael Wuertz and Orlando Cabrera. The Twins are still interested in Marco Scutaro and the Blue Jays have appealing relievers in Jason Frasor, Scott Downs and Brandon League.
The Twins would like to add a starter now that Kevin Slowey is out indefinitely, but they don't expect to acquire one.
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.
Odds & Ends: Holliday, Red Sox, Pirates, Kazmir
Things are picking up, so we've got a fresh batch of links for you…
- The recently acquired Matt Holliday was non-committal when talking about his impending free agency, according to R.B. Fallstrom of the AP. "I'm going to enjoy myself and try to help this team get to the playoffs and to the World Series and work every day I can to be the best player I can be," Holliday said. "And leave it there. I think there's a time and a place for all those other things and when that time comes is when I'll do my evaluating."
- Ed Price of AOL Fanhouse tweets that the Red Sox have told people "they are trying to pull off something huge." Earlier today we learned that the Sox were talking about Cliff Lee and Victor Martinez with the Indians.
- Rob Biertempfel of The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review asked Pirates team president Frank Coonelly about the possibility of re-opening extension talks with Freddy Sanchez and Jack Wilson should they remain with the team past Friday's trade deadline, to which Coonelly responded "At this juncture, I wouldn't say anything is definitely closed. We'd have to see where we are. But, developments in the organization could create a situation that could make it less likely, or more likely, we'd want to extend Jack or Freddy."
- Scott Kazmir's agent, Brian Peters, reached out to Rays executive vice president Andrew Friedman about recent trade rumors involving his client. Friedman indicated the rumors were "merely speculative," according to MLB.com's Zach Schonbrun.
- Geoff Baker of The Seattle Times writes that Jarrod Washburn has "let it be known he is open to a contract extension to stay in Seattle," but indicated that there has not been much discussion.
- Bruce Miles of The Daily Herald said he expects the Cubs to look for bullpen help before anything else. He names Joe Beimel and George Sherrill as players of interest.
- The Cubs have signed third round pick Austin Kirk according to MLB.com's Carrie Muskat, while Bill Ladson reports that the Nats have signed seventh rounder Andrew Weaver.
Giants Considering Many Bats
Giants fans have heard all about Freddy Sanchez and Nick Johnson in recent weeks, but those are far from the only players the team would consider adding, according to Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News. GM Brian Sabean says the team is considering "six to eight scenarios or names," some of which involve players on teams in the fringes of the playoff race.
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.
Pirates Rumors: Grabow, Capps, Sanchez
The Pirates have many attractive trade chips remaining, even after two months of aggressive trading. Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has the latest on all the team's trade candidates:
- The Pirates are discussing Matt Capps and John Grabow with other clubs.
- Grabow, who's more likely to be moved, has drawn steady interest from other teams.
- The Pirates are in regular contact with the Cubs.
- Freddy Sanchez and Jack Wilson are available and the Pirates are listening to offers. The Twins and Red Sox scouted the Pirates-D'Backs contest yesterday.
- The Tigers are interested in Triple A catcher Robinzon Diaz.
- Triple A starters Ian Snell and Tom Gorzelanny are drawing interest. The Yankees have scouted Snell's last two starts.
No Progress In Talks With Wilson, Sanchez
According to Rob Biertempfel with the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, "There has been no movement by either side in the stalled contract talks between the Pirates and infielders Freddy Sanchez and Jack Wilson."
The Pirates put forth contract extension offers to both players last week, presumably to feel-out their desire to remain in Pittsburgh with the trade deadline looming. Wilson and Sanchez quickly rejected the proposals, and now other teams have begun expressing interest in the infielders (including the Twins, Tigers and Red Sox).
Both players have options for 2010, so the Bucs could wait until next season before moving either of them. But if a decent offer pops up before Friday, you can bet GM Neal Huntington will consider pulling the trigger.