Slusser On Blanton/Street/Ellis Trade Possibilities
Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle was recently named Rumor Royalty for the A’s. As part of the feature, I asked her a few questions.
MLBTR: It seems Joe Blanton is a hot commodity, but we’re not hearing much about Huston Street or Mark Ellis. Do you expect any of these three to be with the team on Opening Day?
Slusser: I think Blanton gets moved by the trading deadline, at the latest, but probably before then. Street opens the season with the team but potentially could get moved by the deadline if a contender were to lose a closer, but overall, he’s less likely than Blanton to get dealt – he’s three years younger and, coming off an arm injury, he’s not going to bring back as much. Ellis has one year left on his deal, so wouldn’t bring a ton in return, plus he’s a great guy to have as a role model for young players. Clearly, no one is untouchable at this point, but of all the A’s more veteran guys, he’s the best bet to be around all year.
Brewers Rumors: Street, Iguchi, Riske
UPDATE, 12-5-07 at 7:52pm: Not so fast – Doug Melvin isn’t at the offer stage with Iguchi.
UPDATE, 12-5-07 at 2:54pm: Iguchi’s agent expects a two-year offer from the Brewers sometime today. Iguchi is willing to play third base and is looking for a two-year deal with an option.
FROM 12-4-07 at 10:59pm:
MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy runs down the Brewers’ day.
- As you know, the Brewers are out of the running for Scott Rolen. This is due to a number of factors. McCalvy quotes an ESPN rumor of Chris Capuano and Bill Hall for Rolen, which I somehow missed. I thought it was just Capuano.
- Earlier today we wrote about many other third base options the Brewers are considering. Add Tadahito Iguchi to that list, since he’s declared he’s willing to play third base. The Giants, Rockies, Padres, and Phillies also like Iguchi.
- David Riske took a physical in Milwaukee today, though his agent says other teams are still in play.
- The Brewers apparently called the A’s to discuss Huston Street‘s availability.
Chronicle Rumors: Haren, Blanton, Lincecum
Susan Slusser and John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle have an extensive collection of A’s and Giants rumors from Monday’s Winter Meetings mayhem.
- The asking price for Dan Haren is said to be massive, is in 3-4 blue chippers. The Tigers might even be willing to part with both Andrew Miller and Cameron Maybin for him – wow. The D’Backs are a bit more gunshy about their top prospects, though most believe Carlos Gonzalez to be available. I imagine Justin Upton is off limits.
- The Dodgers are going the hardest after Joe Blanton, with the Mets trailing.
- Huston Street is likely to stay put and may even talk extension with the A’s.
- The authors don’t expect Brian Sabean to get the Tim Lincecum offer he needs to pull the trigger. But they suggest Sabean’s "interesting" offer could involve Jay Bruce, Edwin Encarnacion, or Alex Rios.
Beane Has High Asking Price For Haren
Did you expect anything different? Billy Beane is happy to field offers on Dan Haren and Joe Blanton, but he’ll require a king’s ransom for either pitcher. Jayson Stark says Beane asked the Yankees for two of Phil Hughes, Joba Chamberlain, and Ian Kennedy for Haren. With the Red Sox it was two of Clay Buchholz, Jon Lester, and Jacoby Ellsbury. The Mets would have to pony up Carlos Gomez and Fernando Martinez. With two starters under contract through 2010, Beane and the A’s are sitting pretty.
One source of Stark echoes the popular sentiment that Miguel Cabrera in an Angels uniform would prompt a full-on A’s firesale. That would include Huston Street, Dan Johnson, Mark Kotsay, and Rich Harden. You have to admit, that would be fun. Maybe the Brewers won’t give up Rickie Weeks for Chad Cordero, but how about Street?
A’s May Explore Long-Term Deal With Street
According to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle, Alan Hendricks recently spoke to Billy Beane about a possible long-term contract for closer Huston Street.
Street’s just 24 but he’s already got 76 saves in three seasons and great peripheral stats. His strikeout rate shot all the way up to 11.3 per nine this year. Slusser notes that his nerve injury earlier this year appeared to be a freak occurrence.
There’s one contract Hendricks can probably use as a comparable. After J.J. Putz finished his third season, the Mariners gave him a three-year, $13.1MM deal with an $8.6MM club option for what would be his first year of free agency.
Locking Street up through his arbitration years would only improve his trade value, so I expect the A’s to do it. If I recall correctly, one tactical tenet of Moneyball was to pump up the value of the closer, trade him at his peak, and develop another internally. Making a deal this offseason is wise given the fairly weak market for closers. Assuming the Yankees keep Mariano Rivera, Francisco Cordero will be the only available closer in Street’s league. Since he could cost as much as $40MM over four years, some teams might prefer to pay for Street with young players. Random thought, but how about the Devil Rays?
Rosenthal’s Latest: Dunn, Wheeler, Izzy
Ken Rosenthal posted a new column last night, and has updated it very recently. I’ve already spoken about the Teixeira stuff, but there’s other good material in there too.
- Some of the wilder speculation out there has been that the Twins might trade Torii Hunter or Johan Santana if they decide they’re out of it. Various Baseball Prospectus reports put the Twins’ playoff chances between 5-10%. Rosenthal debunks the idea that Minnesota would shop Hunter without first making him an offer, and keeping Santana for at least 2008 makes sense. Plus, Santana has a no-trade clause.
- Rosenthal does have some Twins for us who might be traded: Luis Castillo and Carlos Silva. Castillo has already been connected to the Mets in rumors, though Silva is a new one. One could definitely envision Silva’s style working in the National League (I know, I say that a lot). There was a recent Silva to Atlanta rumor, though Silva’s agent seems to have debunked it.
- Rosenthal says Dontrelle Willis is not available. Perhaps he and Tim Brown will engage in fisticuffs over this disagreement.
- The Diamondbacks have kicked the tires on Adam Dunn. He might make sense as a rental – the D’Backs playoff changes sit between 16-27%, worth fighting for. No doubt they’ve got a stable of young players to offer.
- Rosenthal says the Astros have yet to receive interest on the Lidge/Wheeler/Qualls troika, while Jayson Stark said yesterday that the Astros hadn’t opened shop on them. Thunderdome match #2, Rosenthal vs. Stark. Assuming Ken survives Tim Brown. Anyway, word is that the Rockies have their eye on Wheeler.
- Parties interested in Zack Greinke: Diamondbacks, Dodgers, Braves, and Cubs. This gels with Dan Graziano’s findings. Of course, trading a player like Greinke requires an equally talented youngster in return.
- The Royals may not be able to do better than Cleveland’s Ben Francisco as a bounty for Octavio Dotel. More on him in a separate post.
- Trades of Joe Blanton and Huston Street are "highly unlikely." So you’re saying there’s a chance?
- The chances of the Cardinals trading Jason Isringhausen are described as "remote." The Cards would have a hard time replacing him next year; he’s got a reasonable $8MM option. He also has no-trade protection, so he’d probably want a better extension if he was to accept a trade.