Gammons Chat: Lucchino, Lugo, Manny
The Boston Globe has a Peter Gammons chat transcript up on its blog. Let’s take a look at his nuggets of rumor wisdom.
- Gammons heard from someone close to Larry Lucchino that the Red Sox would not let him leave.
- The Red Sox could try to unload Julio Lugo in the offseason, or convince him to accept a super-utility role.
- Gammons says neither Hank Steinbrenner nor Brian Cashman have any interest in Manny Ramirez as a winter signing. He expects the Yankees to chase C.C. Sabathia.
- Manny apparently wants four years and $100MM, but Gammons expects something more in the three years, low $40MM range.
- The Red Sox have been looking for a young catcher, and Gammons guesses that Jarrod Saltalamacchia or Mike Napoli could be targets. Evan Grant suggested today that the Rangers may prefer to deal Salty and keep Gerald Laird.
Marlins Pushing For Laird
12:09pm: ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick sees Laird staying put, at least until the offseason.
11:22am: Rosenthal says the Fish are pushing for Laird, but won’t give up an MLB-ready starter for him. Mike Hindman wonders if the Rangers are demanding Ryan Tucker, putting a wrinkle into the Manny talks.
10:02am: The Marlins can cross Ivan Rodriguez off their list of catching targets, though they did make a concerted effort according to ESPN’s Jayson Stark. They obviously couldn’t part with a veteran reliever; in fact they just acquired one in Arthur Rhodes.
Stark says the Marlins are still looking for catching help. He believes Bengie Molina will stay put, but Gerald Laird, Ramon Hernandez, Gregg Zaun, and others are still out there.
Rangers Rumors: Laird, Greinke, Bonser, Masset
Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram has Rangers rumors for us today.
- Wilson sums up the suitors for catcher Gerald Laird: Yankees, Reds, Marlins, and Brewers. The Giants could also jump in if they trade Bengie Molina. Wilson heard that the Rangers are not shopping Laird, though.
- The Rangers inquired on three pitchers recently: Zack Greinke of the Royals, Boof Bonser of the Twins, and Nick Masset of the White Sox. Greinke would be near-impossible to pry loose, though Chris Davis would be an interesting offer.
Graziano’s Latest: Dunn, Putz, Laird
Time to check in with Dan Graziano of the Newark Star-Ledger.
- Graziano calls Adam Dunn "the man without a rumor." Even with his flaws this one is hard to figure out. [UPDATE: SI.com’s Jon Heyman is finally hearing a couple of teams are in on Dunn.]
- John Maine‘s rotator cuff strain has the Mets looking at pitching. Graziano suggests names like Livan Hernandez, Paul Byrd, and Jarrod Washburn.
- The Mets have talked to the Tigers about Scott Schoeneweis. They’d have to replace him, maybe with Arthur Rhodes or Eddie Guardado.
- The Mariners will listen on J.J. Putz, but he won’t come cheap. The Cardinals and Red Sox have interest. Putz is signed through ’09 with an option for ’10.
- The Yankees and Marlins have asked about catcher Gerald Laird, while many teams like Jarrod Saltalamacchia.
- The Braves are willing to trade Will Ohman and Mark Kotsay.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Tejada, Laird, Renteria, Sherrill
New one from Ken Rosenthal…
- The Padres will ask Greg Maddux again to consider accepting a trade to a team not located on the West Coast. The Dodgers haven’t shown interest.
- One big league source told Rosenthal that the Astros have had "absolutely no dialogue" about Miguel Tejada.
- The Marlins are the most aggressive suitor for Gerald Laird. The Brewers, Reds, and Yankees are also in on the Rangers’ catcher. Rosenthal points out a Doug Melvin connection – Melvin acquired Laird as the Rangers’ GM back in ’02. [UPDATE: Rangers guru Jamey Newberg tells me that it was actually John Hart and Grady Fuson who acquired Laird in ’02, not Melvin.] The Rangers continue to target young starting pitching in return.
- Looks like speculation, but Rosenthal wonders whether the Cardinals would consider re-acquiring Edgar Renteria.
- So far the Orioles have had no success trying to acquire shortstops like Erick Aybar, Alcides Escobar, and Reid Brignac for George Sherrill.
Marlins Looking For Catcher, Reliever
The NL East is a three-team race, with the Mets, Phillies, and Marlins all within a game of each other. Who’d have thought the Marlins would be contending after trading Miguel Cabrera?
According to Mike Berardino of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, the Marlins have intensified their search for a catcher. The targets: Bengie Molina, Ramon Hernandez, Gerald Laird, and Ryan Doumit. Molina and Hernandez are the pricey options. Doumit would be especially tough to pry loose; he has a .937 OPS this year as a 27 year-old.
MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro wonders if Miguel Olivo, Gregg Zaun, and Paul Lo Duca could also enter the mix. He says it could even be a three-way possibility where the Jays acquire Olivo and move him to Florida.
The Marlins are also hunting for a lefty reliever, with Arthur Rhodes, Jack Taschner, John Grabow, Eddie Guardado, George Sherrill, Will Ohman, and Alan Embree all considered candidates. Dejan Kovacevic rattled off five suitors for Grabow this morning, the Marlins not among them. Also, the Marlins’ interest in Guardado is light. The Giants and Mariners both scouted the Marlins recently, and Berardino wonders if Mike Jacobs would interest them.
Berardino says acquiring a catcher and reliever in one trade would be ideal. The one Marlins minor leaguer considered off-limits is Sean West.
Jarrod Washburn Rumors: Monday
8:44pm: The Mariners aren’t amused with the Yankees, blaming them for the way negotiations have been portrayed publicly.
4:18pm: Media drama? On the Seattle side, Larry LaRue says "arrogant New York writers" and the "near hysteria of the internet and blogs in late July" caused some to believe the Yankees were close to getting Washburn for nothing. LaRue believes GM Lee Pelekoudas "has probably talked to 20 other teams, too."
On the New York side, Peter Abraham says the Yankees are the lone team interested in Washburn, and the idea of Seattle having leverage is "a bit comical."
12:05pm: Geoff Baker believes the Mariners have some leverage in this situation. He believes that if the Yankees are only offering salary relief, the Ms can afford to wait until August or the offseason.
8:31am: Jarrod Washburn remains a Mariner, but Kat O’Brien of Newsday has the latest on trade talks with the Yankees.
The Yankees still don’t want to send more than a middling prospect for Washburn. Meanwhile, the Ms hope Hank Steinbrenner will demand Brian Cashman acquire the pitcher, even if it means trading Melky Cabrera or Brett Gardner. Joel Sherman describes the situation as a game of chicken between the Yankees and Mariners.
On the catching front, the Yanks asked the Rangers about Gerald Laird and Jarrod Saltalamacchia but didn’t get anywhere.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Teixeira, Fuentes, Laird
Here’s Ken Rosenthal’s latest.
- Rosenthal firmly believes the Braves will find a match on a Mark Teixeira trade. He finds the D’Backs and Angels as the most reasonable fits. ESPN’s Keith Law says the Braves have spoken to at least four teams about Tex within the past two days.
- Despite yesterday’s "highly unlikely" comment from Dan O’Dowd, Rosenthal says the Rockies would trade Brian Fuentes for a young MLB-ready starter.
- It’s still possible that the Mets stand pat on a corner outfielder and just deal with it internally or make a minor trade in August.
- Rosenthal talked to one club official who finds a 50% chance of Gerald Laird or Jarrod Saltalamacchia being traded before the deadline. The Rangers want young pitching.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Redding, Laird, Wolf
Fresh column from Ken Rosenthal.
- The Rockies, six games out in the NL West, could certainly become buyers. They offered Clint Barmes for Jeremy Guthrie and were turned down, and continue to monitor Bronson Arroyo and Tim Redding. Closer Brian Fuentes still seems likely to be traded though (the demand: top of the line prospect and a secondary player).
- Rosenthal cautions us against judging the Pirates’ new regime too quickly. The deadline will be a good test for them.
- The Yankees definitely have interest in Rangers catcher Gerald Laird, but haven’t asked the Royals about Miguel Olivo.
- The Astros are unlikely to flip Randy Wolf before the deadline, partially due to lack of interest.
Yankees Looking At Catchers
Dan Graziano of the Newark Star-Ledger says the Yankees have inquired on four catchers: Gerald Laird, Paul Lo Duca, Miguel Olivo, and Rod Barajas.
- Laird, 28, is expected to rejoin the Rangers Saturday after his hamstring injury. He’s a Boras client with a $1.6MM salary this year. He’s under team control through 2010, and Ken Rosenthal says the Rangers want young pitching for him.
- Lo Duca, 36, will be a free agent after the season. He’s got about $1.9MM left on his contract this year. He understands that he’s a strong trade candidate.
- Olivo, 30, is splitting time with John Buck in Kansas City. Olivo has hit lefties quite well. He has a $2.7MM club option for ’09. Rosenthal says the Royals are "aggressively shopping" him.
- Barajas, 32, is slumping currently. He has a $2.5MM club option for ’09. Eddie Bajek took a stab at projecting the Elias rankings for catchers, and Barajas seems to be right on the border of Type B status. However, he might choose to accept an offer of arbitration. Peter Abraham says that the Blue Jays might be reluctant to trade within the division.