Odds And Ends: Peavy, Acta, Harper
Some links for Monday morning…
- Scott Miller of CBS Sports says the Padres made a mistake last offseason when they rejected the package the Braves offered for the now-injured Jake Peavy.
- Chico Harlan of the Wahington Post goes through the pros and cons of firing Manny Acta. More than half of his readers don't think it's time for a firing yet.
- ESPN.com's Jason A. Churchill says Bryce Harper will be the "clear No. 1 talent" if he's eligible for next year's draft, as planned.
- Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports that the A's haven't started contract talks with their first round draft pick, Grant Green.
- Tony Massarotti of the Boston Globe asks his readers what the Red Sox should do with their excess pitching. We broke down several of their options last week, which Massarotti considers. He adds one of his own: Tim Wakefield could pitch out of the 'pen.
Peavy Could Miss Three Months
Scott Miller at CBSsports.com spoke to Padres' head trainer Todd Hutcheson, who said Jake Peavy could be out 8-12 weeks "if things don't come along as fast as we'd like them to." That means Peavy could be out until after the trade deadline, a major blow to a Padres team looking to retool and shed payroll.
It was originally reported that Peavy could miss up to a month, however Miller says that is the best case scenario right now.
Melvin: Talk Of Deal “Absolutely False”
MLB.com's Adam McCalvy spoke to Brewers' GM Doug Melvin about some "trade rumors that have swirled on the Internet over the past 36 hours about an imminent trade for a front-line pitcher." Melvin called the rumors "absolutely false," although he did acknowledge speaking to several other GM's recently. He wouldn't acknowledge who exactly he spoke to, or what kind of players were discussed.
The only recent trade talk we've heard involving the Brew Crew lately is that Jake Peavy is too expensive and that Tom Glavine isn't good enough to help. Peavy is out for at least a month with an ankle injury, so he figures to be out of the mix for now.
Let's round up the rest of McCalvy's rumors:
- Neither Trevor Hoffman or Ryan Braun has spoken to Peavy lately, perhaps about pitching in Milwaukee. Hoffman, of course, was Peavy's teammate in San Diego, while Braun played with him in the World Baseball Classic.
- Melvin said he hasn't spoken to Indians' GM Mark Shapiro "in a while," potentially eliminating Cliff Lee as the rumored front-line pitcher.
- Boston GM Theo Epstein called Melvin recently not to talk trade, but to apologize for a rumor about the Red Sox attempting to acquire Corey Hart.
- Melvin said "There's not one team that's saying, 'I'm ready to trade my players,'" specifically mentioning the Mariners.
Peavy Out A Month, Trade Will Have To Wait
MLB.com's Corey Brock tweets that Padres righthander Jake Peavy has his injured ankle in a cast, and will miss at least a month. The injury originally popped up when Peavy developed tendonitis in his ankle running the bases in late May.
After nixing a deal to the White Sox last month, Peavy was still expected to be a popular name on the trade rumor circuit between now and the trade deadline. The injury will most likely put any trade talks on hold, because teams are going to want to see him healthy before trading several young players from him, not to mention assume the more than $50MM Peavy's guaranteed over the next four years.
Players To Watch Between Now And The Deadline
Once the draft ends tomorrow, we'll turn our attention to the trade market and many GMs will be doing the same. We'll monitor dozens of names throughout the next couple months, but here are seven to watch especially closely as the July 31st trading deadline inches closer. First, three players whose teams have to falter before they become trade bait:
- Matt Holliday has been on a tear since May 5th, walking more than he's striking out with an OPS of .989. The A's have heated up, too. Their seven game win streak ended last night, but they're only 6.5 games out, so they'll have to fall off if Holliday's going to hit the market.
- Mark DeRosa's Indians are seven games out of first place, and they aren't selling now, but the versatile 34-year-old could be appealing to teams like the Cardinals and Mets if the Indians struggle.
- Erik Bedard is pitching well, but the Mariners, now five games back, aren't out of it yet.
These three players aren't on contenders, so they could be moved earlier:
- Holliday's former teammate, Brad Hawpe, is hitting .335 with power. His OPS is just shy of 1.000 and he's striking out less than ever. The Rockies aren't going anywhere, but they're on a six game win streak of their own, and Dan O'Dowd is not in a hurry to deal.
- Aubrey Huff will be a free agent after the season and though he's not matching last year's numbers, he's a solid bat.
- Another lefthanded hitter, Nick Johnson, could be a nice addition, though teams might be wary of his past injuries.
And finally, a player who's seemingly been on the trading block forever:
- Jake Peavy's already vetoed one trade and would likely use his no-trade clause to keep himself in the National League. Not many teams can afford to take on his salary, but the Padres would like to move him and he's the best pitcher available.
Rosenthal On Spilborghs, Peavy, Aybar
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports hears that teams began calling the Rockies about Ryan Spilborghs last week when Carlos Gonzalez was called up. Here are the details from Rosenthal's column:
- The Phillies, Red Sox and Tigers were among the teams inquiring about Spilborghs.
- The Rockies will likely take their time fielding offers for Spilborghs and their other trade candidates. Jason Marquis, Huston Street and Brad Hawpe could all be dealt, but the Rockies aren't in a hurry to part with them.
- Rosenthal finds it hard to imagine the Padres trading Jake Peavy before the offseason unless the Cubs get permission to take on his contract or a surprise bidder emerges.
- The Angels could trade Erick Aybar for a bat or a reliever and make Brandon Wood their everyday shortstop. The Red Sox, Mets, Royals and Cardinals could use help at short.
- The A's, riding a seven game win streak, are not involved in any trade talks right now.
- The Angels would love to deal Gary Matthews Jr. for another overpaid player, but it's tough to match up bad contracts.
- The Mets made a "blunder" when they paid $36MM for Oliver Perez when they could have gone after, Randy Wolf, who's only guaranteed $5MM.
Odds And Ends: Mariners, Rangers, Smoltz
Here are a few links to kick the week off…
- Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times says the Mariners would risk losing fan interest if they deal players like Erik Bedard before the Mariners fall far out of the playoff race.
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reports that Rangers GM Jon Daniels is looking to the trade market for a bullpen upgrade.
- WEEI.com's Rob Bradford reports that John Smoltz is open to pitching out of the bullpen and may be asked to skip occasional starts. This could be one way of managing the starting pitching surplus in Boston.
- Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle wonders whether Kevin Frandsen, now in Triple A, would be open to starting fresh with a different club.
- Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star believes the Royals are better off than they were a few years ago, but says they'll have trouble realizing their goal of contending in 2010.
- Michael Hunt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says Tom Glavine isn't good enough to help the Brewers and Jake Peavy isn't cheap enough.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Peavy, Glavine, Yankees, Phillies
On this date nine years ago, the Marlins selected Adrian Gonzalez with the first pick of the amateur draft. The 16-year-old would sign a deal later that day that included a $3MM signing bonus. Two trades later, Gonzalez leads the National League with 22 home runs. The 2009 draft is in four days, let's take a look at what is being written in the Blogosphere…
- Goat Riders of the Apocalypse propose a three-way deal in which the Cubs would send Carlos Zambrano to the White Sox and the Padres would send Jake Peavy to the Cubs.
- River Ave. Blues takes a look at what the Yankees may need before the trade deadline and who they may be able to deal with.
- Phlavio's Corner has a list of 20 players that could be moved and where each might end up.
- The Ghost of Moonlight Graham analyzes the early returns on some of the trades from this past offseason.
- Jorge Says No! argues that the Mariners might be better off moving Russell Branyan sooner rather than later.
- MLB Notebook comes up with a list of five clubs that could land Tom Glavine.
- Dodgers Rumors feels that Glavine is a perfect fit for the Dodgers.
- We Should Be GM's says the Phillies need to add a starting pitcher now and generates a list of players to target.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com. If you have a suggestion for this feature, Cork can be reached here, and followed on Twitter here.
Odds And Ends: Peavy, Cards, Strasburg
More links for Tuesday…
- As David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News points out, the Phillies already have $94.5MM committed to next year's roster, so adding Jake Peavy would require good accounting or, perhaps more available money.
- Cardinals fans voted Mark DeRosa as the player they'd most like to acquire to play third in this poll on the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's site.
- Jeff Gordon of the Post-Dispatch suggests John Mozeliak "will almost certainly deal from his pitching depth" to obtain some infield help.
- Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports that Jordan Schafer has been sent to the minors, as the Braves' outfield problems continue.
- The AP (via the Miami Herald) reports that Stephen Strasburg is a finalist for the Golden Spikes Award, which is awarded to the top amateur player in America.
- Orioles president Andy MacPhail is proud of the progress his team has made in the minors, according to Steve Melewski of MASN.com.
- Jon Heyman of SI.com says he expects this to be the year that Roy Oswalt is dealt (via Twitter).
Odds And Ends: Riske, Peavy, Penny
Links for Tuesday…
- This week's chat will take place today at 2pm CST.
- Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that David Riske is undergoing elbow surgery today. Adam McCalvy says it's Tommy John surgery.
- In a separate article, Haudricourt identifies the Brewers' pitching shortage and says the team will rely on minor leaguers for support.
- Jake Peavy won't discuss his trade preferences until after he pitches against the Phillies tonight, according to David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News.
- In the same article, we hear that Mike Koplove has opted out of his contract and is now a free agent.
- Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald guesses there's a 50-50 chance that the Red Sox deal Brad Penny once they're able to after June 15th.
- Adam Jones sees his former team, the Mariners, as just another opponent these days, as Amber Theoharis of MASN.com reports.
- Could Cristian Guzman or Jack Wilson help the Royals out at shortstop? The Kansas City Star suggests both could work.
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports imagines how different this season would be with Mark Teixeira on the Red Sox.
- Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times passes on a funny remark from Ken Williams: "National League pitchers don't like pitching in the AL. That doesn't make them fearful. It makes them smart."
- Jorge Says No asks why sellers don't insist that buyers take bad contracts along with top talent at the deadline.