Peavy Rumors: Friday
As Kevin Towers and Barry Axelrod intended, things are slowing down on the Jake Peavy front. The Braves, considered the favorite, got the word out yesterday through the AP that they do not want to trade top prospects. Of course, that may have been a strategic move.
- Dave O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution talked to Braves GM Frank Wren today. Wren says there are players he will not trade under any circumstances, and O’Brien believes three of those are Tommy Hanson, Jason Heyward, and Julio Teheran. Freddie Freeman, Jordan Schafer, and Gorkys Hernandez are close to untouchable, according to O’Brien.
- ESPN’s Buster Olney wonders if the Braves may have enough quality young players to pull off a Peavy deal without surrendering Heyward, Hanson, or Jair Jurrjens.
- Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch explains that the Cardinals do not have what the Padres are looking for in a Peavy trade.
- MLB.com’s Corey Brock says not to expect movement on a Peavy deal for the next week or so, as Towers takes a step back and conferences with the pitcher. Towers wants to figure out which teams he can engage before the November 3-6 GM meetings. Peavy’s five preferred clubs are known publicly, so perhaps Towers hopes to expand that list.
- Jason Rosenberg analyzes the MLB.com report over at his blog.
Odds and Ends: Kouzmanoff, Ricciardi, Wilson
Today’s linkage…
- Athletics Nation proposes a couple of deals for the A’s.
- RotoAuthority looks at Reds rookie pitcher Daryl Thompson, who draws a tough debut assignment on Saturday.
- CBS Sports’ Scott Miller expects Padres third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff to be traded this summer. Kouzmanoff, 27 in July, is hitting .268/.328/.476 in 42 games following another lousy April.
- J.P. Ricciardi apologized for his comments about Adam Dunn.
- From the What Might’ve Been File: the Tigers offered Jair Jurrjens for Jack Wilson about a year ago. Nice to see that .500 will not be a goal for the Bucs, by the way.
- Ken Rosenthal says "a potential selloff of veterans is on hold" for the Orioles right now, as the team is only 5.5 games out of the wild card.
Tigers Acquire Edgar Renteria
Big news! The Tigers made an early strike to improve the shortstop position by acquiring Edgar Renteria for youngsters Jair Jurrjens and Gorkys Hernandez.
The Tigers will owe Renteria roughly $6.3MM in ’08 and have a good chance of exercising his $11MM option for ’09. They’ve added a five-win shortstop in Renteria.
The price was reasonable. Jurrjens turns 22 in January and can probably jump into the Braves’ rotation. He throws in the 90-93 with good control. Kevin Goldstein projected him as a future middle-rotation guy. The one concern is that shoulder inflammation surfaced in August of this year.
Hernandez is the potential star in the deal. He turned 20 in September and should man center field in Atlanta for a long time once he’s ready. He’s a burner with solid defense, but he’s yet to grow into his power. He’s still a ways from the bigs though. Goldstein recently ranked him the game’s 10th best CF prospect, behind the Braves’ own Jordan Schafer and others like Jay Bruce, Colby Rasmus, Andrew McCutchen, and Jacoby Ellsbury.
All in all, I think the Tigers did quite well here. I’d like the deal a bit more for Atlanta if I felt that Jurrjens could provide 180 solid innings in ’08. Will Carroll and the aforementioned Goldstein contribute some additional analysis at BP. Sounds like this one began under John Schuerholz.
Jack Wilson May Still Be Dealt
Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported yesterday that the Tigers and Pirates continue to discuss shortstop Jack Wilson. Passing Wilson through waivers shouldn’t be a problem; no team would want his entire contract dumped on them. Kovacevic describes the current state of the deal:
"One source intimately familiar with the matter said that a deal was virtually done Tuesday and that the Pirates would receive two of Detroit’s top six prospects, including an unnamed pitcher ready to join the major-league staff. But the sides haggled on how much of Wilson’s contract the Pirates would pick up, the source added, and the delay was on."
Kovacevic’s report doesn’t mention it, but there has to be more going to Detroit than just Wilson. Probably one of the Pirates’ relievers, a group that was oddly retained at the deadline. Such an addition might compel the Tigers to take on most or all of Wilson’s contract. But who are the two prospects? Bucco Blog believes they’re starter Jair Jurrjens and outfielder Brent Clevlen, and Jake provides a scout’s take. Jake is not a fan of such a trade.
Personally I think Jurrjens would be a fantastic return on Wilson if he becomes a #3-4 starter one day. Clevlen seems a long shot to me to realize his potential. The two prospects might not become Pirates until after the season, as they might not pass through waivers.
Tigers Trade Rumors: Barmes, Dotel, Qualls
The Detroit Free Press has a Tigers update for us today.
- The Tigers are intent on acquiring a backup shortstop. They recently sent a scout to watch the Rockies’ Clint Barmes at Triple A. Barmes is at .310/.374/.464 in the minors this year. Perhaps the Tigers envision him as a possible successor to Carlos Guillen at short.
- Relievers on the radar: Brad Lidge, Chad Qualls, Octavio Dotel, and Kyle Farnsworth. Eric Gagne does not seem likely right now, and we know Lidge is a long shot. Farnsworth might make the most sense, as the cost would mainly be money.
- The article names Craig Monroe plus pitching prospects Dallas Trahern and Jair Jurrjens as players the Tigers would trade. Despite all that we’ve read, I’d be surprised if the Royals could get something better than Jurrjens for Dotel.
Trade Rumor Roundup: 6 Days Left
What’s new in the world of trade rumors?
It wasn’t just Humberto Sanchez missing a start – Tigers prospect Jair Jurrjens is skipping two starts because of a stiff neck. While it certainly seems that recent trade winds could be at play here, it may just be a case of bad luck for Detroit. Both players can still be dealt despite the minor injuries.
A few more nuggets concerning the White Sox’s efforts to acquire Alfonso Soriano surfaced in newspapers today. Phil Rogers notes sources indicating that Scott Podsednik, and not Brian Anderson, would be part of a package for Soriano. In addition, Sam Borden of the New York Daily News suggests that Jim Bowden requested Double A pitcher Lance Broadway but was rebuffed.
Didn’t get to hear Tim Purpura on the radio yesterday personally, but it seems he may have inadvertently indicated that Willy Taveras is not in the team’s future center field plans. I imagine plenty of teams would have interest in Taveras despite his .280/.319/.331 line in 905 career ABs. On the plus side, Taveras truly is an excellent defender according to The Fielding Bible. They actually think he deserved the Gold Glove last year over Jim Edmonds.
Harold Reynolds got the axe from ESPN today; Deadspin has the thirdhand info.
Dayton Moore did well with reliever Elmer Dessens in a trade back to the Dodgers.
Many thanks to all those who visited MLBTradeRumors.com yesterday. June 24th was our best-ever day for traffic, beating out December 8th. Keep on comin’ back for all the latest trade rumors; I love writing about this stuff.