Stark’s Latest: Santana, Hamilton, Snell
Ah, a new Rumblings and Grumblings from Jayson Stark. Let’s dig in.
- It sounds like the Yankees would discuss Phil Hughes and the Red Sox might part with one of Ellsbury/Lester/Buchholz to acquire Johan Santana. The acquiring team would need an extension window though. The Mets are in on Santana big-time and would have to give up Carlos Gomez and then some. If the Twins do trade Santana, they would probably hang onto Matt Garza. But otherwise Garza could be traded for a young hitter, as we’ve been hearing.
- The Fish want four 0-3 players for Miguel Cabrera, pretty much the names we’ve been tossing around here at MLBTR for a while.
- The Marlins would ask for two 0-3 guys for Dontrelle Willis, but aren’t inclined to trade him unless they’re blown away. Stark names the Mets, Mariners, and D’Backs as suitors. So think Gomez, Adam Jones, or Carlos Gonzalez.
- The Orioles and Cardinals don’t want to eat any money on Miguel Tejada and Scott Rolen, respectively. The Cards were asking for too much from the Yanks for Rolen – one of their top three young pitchers (you know the trio).
- The Reds are willing to trade Ryan Freel or Josh Hamilton to clear space for Jay Bruce.
- Ian Snell could be available. It’s not the first time his name has appeared in the rumor mill. Hell, Snell for Hamilton kind of makes sense.
Rockies Pursuing Ian Snell?
I hate to tap from the same well twice in a row, but I felt the rumor at the bottom of Jake from Bucco Blog’s post deserved it’s own mention. Jake writes,
"Lastly, are the Rockies going to go after Ian Snell? One NL exec thinks so.. and hard.
I was surprised when I heard this one knowing the Rockies have a pretty solid core of young pitchers in their farm, but if Dave Holliday does come to work as player development or scouting director, well…"
A lot of teams come off World Series trips with a truckload of veterans and the need to rebuild. The Rockies are not one of those teams. In fact, with the added confidence of a pennant (and World Series?), I wouldn’t be surprised if these now-seasoned youngsters kept competitive with the Diamondbacks up-and-coming talent over the next few years; however, they will need more starting pitching to do so (’07 starters had a 4.58 team ERA), especially if the Diamondbacks are focusing on upgrading a rotation consisting of Brandon Webb. So let’s look at Ian Snell as a fit.
Snell can dominate. He was arguably the Pirates best starter this year (3.76 ERA, 177 K in 208 IP), edging out Tom Gorzelanny in everything except Wins. He will turn 26 this Tuesday and just completed his second tour of duty. He is slated to make near-minimum in ’08, and becomes arbitration eligible in ’09-’11. Free agency is 5 years away. For that reason, it seems unlikely a rebuilding franchise would trade this cornerstone. Still, Jake from Bucco Blog doesn’t consider him untouchable.
And now let’s speculate on the Rockies: They have one of the deepest farm systems in the game, a key that will keep them competitive in the NL West. Troy Tulowitzki has got to be untouchable. But Ubaldo Jimenez and Manny Corpas may be at their respective pinnacles of value. Chris Ianetta, a promising catching prospect, Ian Stewart, Franklin Morales, Jeff Baker… the list of major league ready prospects goes on. If one team could persuade the Bucs to deal Snell, perhaps it’s the Rockies. Thoughts?
Latest From Baseball Prospectus: Jacque, Snell
Will Carroll and John Perrotto have teamed up at BP to join the rumor mill, and yesterday’s post is free to nonsubscribers. Some highlights:
- Carroll reports that the Cubs could swap Jacque Jones and a prospect for Jeff Conine. Perhaps such a move would be in tandem with Adam Dunn leaving Cincinnati. The Cubs might want to hold on to Jones though; he’s playing well lately.
- Carroll heard a far out Alex Rodriguez to the Dodgers rumor, but doesn’t buy it. Neither do I – the Yankees don’t seem to be selling. Carroll says Brian Cashman and Co. will wait until the last second to make a buyer/seller decision. There’s a slight chance Jorge Posada becomes available if they choose the latter.
- Perrotto confirms a rumor that surfaced a week ago, that Ian Snell could be had for the right bat. Perrotto would know, as he spent time as a Pirates’ beat writer. Jarrod Saltalamacchia or Matt Kemp are two possible targets for the Bucs.
- The Tigers may be looking for relievers, and some possible names on the radar include Chad Qualls, Dan Wheeler, Brad Lidge, Salomon Torres, Damaso Marte, Shawn Chacon, and Chad Cordero. That’s most of the market right there, though Lidge seems likely to stay put. And don’t forget that the Tigers have internal reinforcements on the way.
Braves Want Young Impact Pitcher For Salty
Back on June 24th, Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette mentioned that the Pirates inquired as to the availability of catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia. At that point the required bounty was thought to be a frontline starting pitcher like Mark Buehrle.
Today, Kovacevic clarifies: the Braves want an impact-caliber young pitcher. That makes sense. The Pirates have a couple of those: Tom Gorzelanny and Ian Snell. They’d have to give one up to get Salty. Such a trade would be excellent for Atlanta but wouldn’t really seem to move the Pirates forward.
While shaky in terms of confirmation, we do have one report that indicates the Pirates could trade Snell this month. Snell is 25, healthy, and a long ways from free agency. He’s been the eighth best pitcher in the National League this year according to VORP. Better than Roy Oswalt, Brandon Webb, Carlos Zambrano, or Cole Hamels. It’s been quite a breakout season for Snell, and he’s improved his efficiency greatly. He averaged 5.81 innings per start in ’06 and increased that all the way to 6.76 per start this year.