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Gavin Floyd-Brian Roberts Rumor Shot Down

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TUESDAY, 11:31am: Jon Heyman’s take on this does not seem to gel with the info the White Sox put out there about not talking to the Orioles:

The trade talks between the Orioles and White Sox regarding excellent leadoff hitter Brian Roberts stalled over Baltimore’s request for at least one player in addition to young starting pitcher Gavin Floyd. "They wanted Floyd plus,” one person familiar with the talks said.

MONDAY, 10:19pm: Scot Gregor of the Daily Herald shoots down this rumor.  He learned that Sox GM Ken Williams has not spoken to anyone affiliated with the Orioles since November.

FRIDAY, 9:46pm: Kubatko thinks the Orioles should demand second baseman Chris Getz, who spent most of last season with the White Sox’ Triple-A affiliate in Charlotte.  The 25-year-old hit .302 with 11 homers and 52 RBI in 111 games in ’08.

6:40pm: According to Roch Kubatko of MASN Online, the White Sox have discussed a trade with the Orioles for second baseman Brian Roberts.

Right-hander Gavin Floyd would be sent over from Chicago.  The White Sox reportedly want to make it a straight-up swap, but the Orioles, predictably, are asking for more.  Floyd, 25, went 17-8 last season with a 3.84 ERA and actually grew up in the Baltimore area.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Swisher, Nady, Kapler, Zaun

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The latest from Ken Rosenthal.

  • A recent Ned Colletti-Scott Boras conversation about Manny Ramirez didn’t result in progress.  Boras still has his sights on at least $100MM over four years.  Rosenthal adds that Manny is "cool to the idea of playing in San Francisco."
  • Nick Swisher and Xavier Nady are drawing "significant interest."  Rosenthal speculates that the Giants, Braves, or Pirates would make sense.
  • The door is not closed with the Yankees and Andy Pettitte.  Pettitte recently rejected the Yanks’ one-year, $10MM offer.
  • Some Mets people prefer Oliver Perez to Derek Lowe.  The Braves have yet to speak to Boras about Lowe, while the Brewers and Phillies have financial concerns about fitting him in.
  • Trevor Hoffman has a West Coast preference (the Dodgers or maybe a Padres reconciliation) but interest with the Brewers is mutual.  Other relievers on the Dodgers’ radar: Juan Cruz, Guillermo Mota, and Dennys Reyes.
  • Brian Fuentes’ agent had serious talks with the Yankees, but no offer was made.  Fuentes would’ve been Mariano Rivera’s set-up man and perhaps taken over upon his retirement.
  • Rosenthal notes that MLB kicked in a small part of the $10MM owed to Sidney Ponson from their luxury tax pool, which is not uncommon.
  • If they can afford it, the Rays would like to sign Gabe Kapler.
  • The Orioles, Red Sox, and A’s are interested in Gregg Zaun.
  • Perhaps because of the cool market for his services, Orlando Cabrera is willing to play second base.  The Yankees did not have interest.
  • That Gavin Floyd for Brian Roberts rumor "seemingly arose from internal discussions among Orioles officials."

Odds and Ends: Andruw, Marquis, Coonelly

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Links for Monday…

Odds And Ends: Red Sox, Andruw, Roberts

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Links for Saturday…

  • At the bottom of an interesting article about baseball’s youth movement, Peter Gammons adds that the Red Sox-Marlins Hanley Ramirez discussions "lasted all of 20 seconds" according to a Marlins official.
  • Yahoo’s Tim Brown speculates that the Nationals could have interest in Andruw Jones. I can see the Blue Jays taking him on if they can make it work financially.
  • Roch Kubatko cautions fans from reading too much into discussions about a Brian Roberts–Gavin Floyd trade.
  • Peter Schmuck hasn’t heard much on the Roberts front, but wouldn’t mind seeing the Orioles trade him for Floyd, even if they don’t acquire anyone else in the deal.
  • In another post, Schmuck argues that there’s nothing wrong with the Mark Hendrickson signing.
  • Ryan Dempster has heard good things about Milton Bradley and hopes he joins the Cubs.
  • The Yankees have no need for Manny Ramirez, Erik Bedard or over-the-top position swaps, in Peter Abraham’s opinion.
  • Jeff Moorad- who’s leading the group poised to buy the Padres- was a record-setting agent in his day. Tom Krasovic looks back at Moorad’s earlier career.
  • NPB Tracker compares Japanese teams before and after losing their stars to MLB.

Mailbag: Roberts, Teixeira, Johan, Nathan, And More

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Time for this week’s mailbag.  You can hit it up at mlbtrmailbag@gmail.com to get in your question for next week.

Do you see the Twins signing a big name middle of the order bopper or trading for one before the opening of the new stadium in 2010? – Jordan

Funny you ask this.  I recently asked LEN3 whether the Twins would have a $100MM payroll for the 2010 season, and he said, "I don’t see it."  So I’ll go with his wisdom and say business as usual for the Twins despite the stadium.

Why are the White Sox not aggressively pursuing any pitching? Do they realistically think that Gavin Floyd and John Danks can hold down the #4 and #5 spots in the rotation on a contender? I believe we need to fill the holes with some veteran pitching such as Livan Hernandez who can eat up innings and possibly add Corey Patterson at center field. – Joel

I was just discussing this with a former coworker of mine.  I can’t see the White Sox sneaking into a Wild Card berth with this rotation, but what’s the alternative?  I don’t like the Livan idea.  I would consider signing a couple of swingmen/injury risk types such as Brett Tomko or Bartolo Colon if he looks decent.  Just a few low risk/OK reward guys with good stuff who could pay off.  There’s no place for Patterson in the current Chicago outfield, I wouldn’t do that.

Were the Cubs holding off on the Brian Roberts trade until they got Lieber? – Bryant

The Cubs/Roberts thing still seems possible, and trading both Sean Marshall and Sean Gallagher is slightly easier to stomach with Lieber on board.  If I were Jim Hendry I would let the whole Roberts idea go though.

What is the likelihood of the Braves signing Mark Teixeira long-term? – Matthew

I’ll put it at a 10% chance.  This is a $100MM+ contract and he’s represented by Scott Boras.  He’ll probably want to test the open market, and there could be some ridiculous bids.

When, just when will this Santana situation be over?!  It’s just killing me! – Dan

We all feel your pain Dan.  Most folks seem sick of reading similar rehashed rumors about this.  I would be surprised if we don’t know Santana’s fate one month from now.  Of course if his fate is to start the season with the Twins, then the rumors will restart in June.

Are there any trade rumors involving Joe Nathan? – Justin

C’mon Justin, you know I’d never hold out rumors on you.  If Bill Smith is shopping Nathan around or getting inquiries, all parties are running very tight ships.  Desperation for closers seems to kick in midseason, when certain bullpens are established as clearly crappy.  So guys like Nathan and Huston Street may be more likely to be moved in June or July.

Why did the Josh Beckett/Mike Lowell for Hank Blalock/John Danks deal fall through back in November of ’05? – Oliver

The Rangers believed the deal was done, and hoped to avoid any leaks before it was official.  However, a source tipped off the Palm Beach Post.  The Post and a Texas newspaper ran with it.  It was at that point the Boston front office found out, swooped in, and beat the Rangers’ offer.  Those reporters altered history.

What do you see the Milwaukee Brewers doing with their pitching surplus?  Do you see them maybe using some of their excess pitchers like Capuano and Bush to acquire a young catcher with some upside? – Tyler

We’ve seen it a million times – these winter pitching surpluses turn into deficits by May.  There is certainly a case to be made for the Brewers to just stand pat, though all those arms would be tough to squeeze in given the bullpen acquisitions.  MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy expects some of the surplus to be traded before Spring Training.  I like the catcher idea – Jeff Clement (Mariners), Bryan Anderson (Cardinals), or Taylor Teagarden/Gerald Laird (Rangers) seem like possible matches.

Do the Yankees sign Bobby Abreu after the 2008 season? – Andrew

Andrew notes that the Yanks have some money coming off the books after the ’08 season.  The right field alternatives are weak, so Abreu could make sense.  If he’d take a two or three-year extension midseason I could see Cashman doing it.

Did you ever sell your place in Lombard? – Steve

Thankfully I did.  I tried selling by owner for a month and barely got any bites.  Then I hired an agent and she sold it in three days.

Tigers Getting Cabrera, White Sox After Andruw?

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UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 5:22pm: Joe Frisaro at MLB.com says Cabrera and Willis are on the verge of becoming Tigers.  And to think some people called the Winter Meetings boring.  The Marlins got some absolute studs here, though it’s surprising they couldn’t get more dealing the two separately.

UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 5:15pm: Ozzie Guillen confirms Chicago’s interest in Andruw, despite his agent.

UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 5:04pm: This is out of control!  Now Jim Molony is saying the Tigers are nearing a blockbuster eight-player deal to get Cabrera and Willis for Maybin, Miller, and four others.  In the same breath Molony adds that the White Sox are after Andruw Jones.

FROM 12-4-07 at 5:01pm:

This is unexpected.  Joe Capozzi says the White Sox "are making a strong push" to acquire Miguel Cabrera.  What’s more, some kind of major announcement is coming soon and White Sox sources admitted it involves Cabrera.

Josh Fields, Gio Gonzalez, John Danks, and Gavin Floyd could all be involved.  This would be an incredible move if Kenny Williams can pull it off.  I never though those guys could net Cabrera against all other offers.

Capozzi adds that that the Tigers also made a push for Cabrera this afternoon.

White Sox Interested In Abreu

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Remember that Abreu/Contreras/Dye rumor that was bouncing around last night that couldn’t quite graduate from the Unfounded category?  We’re a little closer to a foundation about this one tonight.

A very solid source close to the Phillies tells me that Kenny Williams and the White Sox “love” Bobby Abreu.  It’s the first I’ve heard that the club is truly interested in the right fielder.  He also mentioned that the Phils would like a pitcher like Jose Contreras.  There is some question as to whether the Phils would need to include Gavin Floyd to make an equitable deal.

He said that with the White Sox payroll rising to over $90MM, they can’t take on much more.  However, I’ve heard in the past from my White Sox guy that the Sox would actually take the payroll to $105MM.  What’s more, the 2006 salaries of Dye, Contreras, and Abreu are a wash.  The Phils would take on $13MM and the White Sox would do the same.

The Sox would have to squeeze a marginal $11MM into their payroll in 2007.  Abreu is owed $17MM for that season (including a $2MM buyout of his ’08 option).  But given that the club likely would have exercised Jermaine Dye’s affordable $6MM option, it’s a marginal $11 mil for ’07.

This would clearly be a win now move for the Phils, as it would strengthen their team for 2006.  The combination of Contreras and Dye was worth 10.5 wins above replacement players in 2005.  Abreu was worth 6.8 wins.  While he still has potential at age 23, Gavin Floyd can’t be counted on for much after posting a 6.16 ERA and 1.61 WHIP in 137 Triple A innings in 2005.

Another interesting nugget is the close friendship between Abreu and Ozzie Guillen.  Guillen certainly had some influence on the acquisition and retention of Freddy Garcia.

Zito, Kendall For Floyd, Abreu, Lieberthal?

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A wild rumor has surfaced on the A’s page of MLB.com. According to the site:

"Late Wednesday, another rumor popped up, with the Phillies said to have offered outfielder Bobby Abreu, catcher Mike Lieberthal and pitching prospect Gavin Floyd for lefty Barry Zito and catcher Jason Kendall."

Lieberthal and Kendall had about equal value on the field in 2005.  Comparing contracts, the catcher part of the deal is a big win for Oakland.  Kendall’s on the hook for $19MM through 2007, while Lieberthal is owed $7.5MM for 2006 only.  So the A’s come out a good $11.5MM ahead here, especially considering how bad Kendall could be by 2007.

Zito will be paid $7.9MM in 2006 before he hits free agency.  Here’s Dayn Perry’s thoughts on the lefthander:

"He’s a good starting pitcher who eats innings and is a safe bet to be a tick or two above average in terms of preventing runs. However, Zito’s not an ace. That he might be treated as one on the trade market is part of the reason why Oakland should deal him now."

Abreu is a star, and he will be paid like one for the next two or three years.  He’ll get $28MM through 2007 with a $16MM club option for ’08 and a $2MM buyout.  So the A’s would be on the hook for a ton of money, but they are getting a more valuable player.  Plus, even the A’s would consider signing Abreu as a free agent if he was asking for two years, $30MM.  That’s not a terrible price and the length is reasonable.

Gavin Floyd is kind of a throw-in to make Beane feel better about the salary he’d be taking on.  Floyd had a very ugly 163 innings in 2005, and still hasn’t come near mastering Triple A.  28 solid Major League innings in 2004 probably gave him a reputation he didn’t deserve.       

Thanks to the several emailers who passed this rumor along.

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