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Javier Vazquez

Rosenthal’s Full Count Video: Pitching, Rays, Padres, DeRosa

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Let's see what Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com has for us in his latest Full Count video…

  • The free agent market for starting pitching doesn't look very enticing, but the trade market could be intriguing. Toronto will almost certainly field offers for Roy Halladay again, the Cubs could trade Carlos Zambrano, and the Braves could deal Javier Vazquez if they decide to keep Tim Hudson.
  • The Astros might finally be ready to move ace Roy Oswalt. While he does have a full no-trade clause, Oswalt has told the club in the past that he'd be willing to consider moves to St. Louis, both Chicago teams, Texas, and Atlanta.
  • Tampa Bay moved Scott Kazmir when his value was high, so perhaps it's unlikely they'd move B.J. Upton when his value is low. Regardless, many teams covet the elder Upton brother because at his best he's a righty slugger with superior defense in center field. In his place, the Rays could go in-house with Fernando Perez or Desmond Jennings.
  • Keep in mind that if Tampa were to trade an outfielder, they might prefer to deal Carl Crawford. Upton is three years away from free agency; Crawford just one.
  • The Padres' recent surge has GM Kevin Towers thinking the team could be a surprise contender next year. The question is this: how low will the team's payroll go? The subtraction of Brian Giles would leave the payroll in the mid-$30MM range, but there are some that believe the team will move either Adrian Gonzalez or Heath Bell and get down into the mid-$20MM range. Ownership has yet to give the front office a firm payroll number for 2010.
  • The Cardinals want to re-sign Mark DeRosa, but his offseason wrist surgery changes the equation. DeRosa is fully expected to be ready by the start of Spring Training, but he'll come with some risk. If he was fully healthy, he would be nearly as coveted as Chone Figgins, but supply and demand will work in DeRosa's favor because there are very few quality third baseman available. Plus, he can also play a ton of other positions.

Odds & Ends: Vazquez, Millwood, Red Sox

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Some more links to check out as you wait for America's other pastime to kick off it's season…

  • Jeff Schultz of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes that the Braves may be forced to trade Javier Vazquez this offseason because it might not make sense financially to keep him and Tim Hudson around next year.
  • T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com reports that the Rangers will not sit starter Kevin Millwood just to keep his 2010 option from vesting. Texas GM Jon Daniels said "We don't let clauses in contracts determine who is in the starting lineup or in the rotation." Millwood needs to throw just eight more innings this season to lock in his $12MM option for next year.
  • MLB.com's Ian Browne answered a bunch of Red Sox related questions in his mailbag today. He thinks Tim Wakefield will return next year, and said that he'd "be surprised" if the club exercised Jason Varitek's $5MM option now that Victor Martinez is on board. Varitek holds a $3MM option of his own, however.
  • Remember Ezequiel Astacio? The Cubs signed him out of San Angelo if the independent United League according to Baseball America's minor league transactions.

Discussion: What Should Braves Do With Their Pitching Surplus?

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Mark Bowman of MLB.com has an excellent rundown of the Braves' payroll going into 2010. He focuses on Tim Hudson, who had scouts from the Rockies and the Diamondbacks watching him make his return to the mound last night.

It would seem that the Braves have some decisions to make about their starting rotation going into next season. They currently have Hudson, Javier Vazquez, Derek Lowe, Kenshin Kawakami, Jair Jurrjens and Tommy Hanson. 

According to Bowman, the Braves have a few different options. They could pay Hudson's $1MM buyout and let him go. They could attempt to trade Vazquez for prospects. They could even trade Kawakami for financial relief, though the return for him would be less than what Vazquez would bring. 

Bowman argues that if both Hudson and Vazquez stay with the Braves, Atlanta's rotation "would be deeper than any of the great ones it possessed during the 1990's." Do you agree? How should the Braves proceed?

Trade Candidates: Starting Pitchers

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Roy Halladay's availability changes everything, because teams in search of an ace can target him instead of settling for lesser pitchers. But many arms could be moved in the next 17 days and some could even be traded in August. These pitchers, who could all conceivably be dealt, are ranked from highest 2009 salary to lowest:

  • Roy Halladay, Blue Jays – At $14.25MM he's pricey, but he's one of the top pitchers in the game, capable of transforming a team's playoff chances like C.C. Sabathia did last year.
  • Javier Vazquez, Braves – The rumors surrounding Vazquez have quieted lately, but he could be moved. He makes $11.5MM this year and next and can't be traded to any Western division team.  
  • Gil Meche, Royals – Meche makes $11MM this year and has $24MM remaining on his deal afterwards.
  • Doug Davis, D'Backs – The D'Backs aren't impressed with the players the Brewers are willing to offer for their pitcher, who makes $8.75MM this year. Davis has been productive all season.
  • Jon Garland, D'Backs – Another solid but unspectacular arm, Garland makes $6.25MM this year. No team acquiring him should count on receiving picks if he leaves as a free agent, because Garland has a clause in his contract that prevents teams from offering him arbitration if he has Type A stauts.
  • Cliff Lee, Indians – He makes just $5.75MM this year and the Indians have an affordable $8MM option for 2010, so they'd have to see an awesome offer to part with Lee, who's following up his Cy Young season with another solid year.
  • Brad Penny, Red Sox – Now that they've called on Clay Buchholz, the Red Sox once again have a surplus of big league pitchers. At $5MM plus incentives, Penny's affordable this year. 
  • Ian Snell, Pirates – He's pitching well in Triple A, where he struck out 17 in one game. The Pirates have tried to move Snell and his $3MM salary.
  • Paul Mahom, Pirates – The Pirates have been willing to sell and Maholm's been effective this year. He makes $2MM, and has at least $11MM remaining on his deal after the year.
  • Brian Bannister, Royals – At just $1.7MM, he's one of the cheaper starters out there.  
  • Carl Pavano, Indians – The Indians aren't contenders and Pavano has pitched better this season than he did in four years with the Yankees. He makes a base salary of just $1.5MM, but that could rise as high as $6.8MM because of incentives.
  • Jonathan Sanchez, Giants – He makes less than $500k and, as we found out this weekend, he has the potential to be dominant.  

Let's not forget about some free agent pitchers like Ben Sheets (may be injured), Pedro Martinez (about to sign), Odalis Perez and Paul Byrd.

None of the following pitchers are available now, but they could be if their teams fall from contention: Bronson Arroyo, Doug Brocail, Jason Marquis, Erik Bedard and Jarrod Washburn.

Rosenthal On Vazquez, Hairston, Teahen

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Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says Javier Vazquez has more value than any available hitter. Here are the details and the rest of Rosenthal's rumors:

  • Not even Matt Holliday or Corey Hart would be fair value for Vazquez, so Rosenthal asks why the Braves would want to trade him at all.
  • The Mets inquired on Scott Hairston, who could have been an affordable stopgap, but balked when the Padres asked for Bobby Parnell.
  • The Marlins offered Gaby Sanchez for Manny Delcarmen, but the Red Sox weren't interested.  
  • The Mariners, Tigers and Rays weren't far from agreeing to a deal that would have sent Edwin Jackson to Seattle and J.J. Putz to Detroit last offseason.  
  • Kevin Towers compares Rule 5 pick Everth Cabrera to Rafael Furcal. 
  • The Royals "do not seem terribly inclined" to deal Mark Teahen.  
  • The Pirates covet Eric Young Jr. of the Rockies.  
  • Some predict that the distribution of amateur talent- through the draft and international signings- will be the biggest issue in the next Collective Bargaining Agreement.

Brewers, Braves Not Discussing Vazquez

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4:35pm: Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel spoke with Brewers GM Doug Melvin and heard that the two teams are not discussing a trade for Vazquez.

3:40pm: The Brewers heard Ryan Braun's plea for help and they have responded. They called the Braves about Javier Vazquez, according to ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick. However, Atlanta likely won't part with Vazquez in a deal that doesn't bring back Mat Gamel or Alcides Escobar, a pair of youngsters Brewers GM Doug Melvin has repeatedly deemed untouchable. Buster Olney said this weekend that the Brewers wouldn't be able to acquire Vazquez for Corey Hart alone.

The Brewers need pitching and the Braves have rotation depth, as Tim Hudson's expected to return next month. However, Braves GM Frank Wren won't make a deal unless he's "overwhelmed," as Vazquez is a major trade chip in a pitching-thin market. Vazquez makes $11.5MM this year and next and he can't be traded to any Western division team without his permission.

Olney’s Latest: Atlanta’s Potential Trade Partners

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ESPN.com's Buster Olney chimes in with some players and teams that could matchup in a trade with the Braves, who could dangle Javier Vazquez and/or Yunel Escobar as bait. Most of the rumors are just Olney's own speculation, but let's round 'em up anyway.

  • The Red Sox have liked Escobar for a while, but don't match up very well for a trade.
  • Olney mentions that Jacoby Ellsbury might be the only fit since JD Drew is owed a ton of money and Jason Bay will be a free agent after the year, but that wouldn't work for  Boston since they would then need to find another centerfielder.
  • Olney speculates that the Red Sox could use their young pitching to engage a third team in a trade, mentioning that Matt LaPorta, Shin-Soo Choo and Corey Hart could be a good fit.
  • Boston could eat some of the money left on Julio Lugo's deal to give Atlanta a stop-gap shortstop should they deal Escobar.
  • The Red Sox are not interested in Jeff Francoeur.
  • If Milwaukee and Atlanta discussed a Vazquez-Hart swap, the Brewers would likely have to kick in another piece.
  • The Twins could offer one of their many outfielders in exchange for Escobar. Delmon Young might not be enough to entice the Braves, but Michael Cuddyer or Denard Span could be.
  • The Dodgers would love to add Vazquez to their rotation, but Juan Pierre probably wouldn't be enough given his lack of power.
  • The A's could package Matt Holliday and Orlando Cabrera, both free agents after the season, for Escobar, who would step in as Oakland's shortstop of the future.

Braves Rumors: Vazquez, Escobar

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Dave O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution says the Braves could deal Javier Vazquez or Yunel Escobar this month. Here are the details:

  • Bobby Cox and Frank Wren were deep in discussion for over an hour yesterday, so O'Brien has no doubt "they're seriously trying to make a move." Yesterday, O'Brien reported that the Braves planned to wait before making any deals.
  • The Braves don't want to trade Javier Vazquez, but realize he could help them acquire an impact player, presumably a bat.  
  • Despite his affordable contract, Yunel Escobar is a "legit possibility to be moved," from what O'Brien hears.

Braves Seek Outfield Help In Stagnant Market

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Mark Bowman of MLB.com talked to Braves GM Frank Wren about the possibility of trading for outfield help, and Wren's comments paint a picture of a tough market:

"It's not going to be easy. We've been talking to clubs for a while, and most of them are reluctant to make a move right now. There are a number of clubs looking for offense with a power bat. None of us can shake one loose."

Bowman writes that "there would likely be some power bats that come into the picture" if the Braves were willing to offer top pitching prospect Tommy Hanson, but notes the they have "absolutely no desire" to trade the righthander.

Wren went hard after pitching last offseason, picking up Derek Lowe, Kenshin Kawakami, and Javier Vazquez, but their offense has let them down so far.

Which hitters might be a good fit for the Braves? If Wren is unwilling to part with Hanson, how much should he give up for offensive help?

Knobler On Brewers, Vazquez

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After chatting with GM Doug Melvin, Danny Knobler of CBS Sports points out that the Brewers could make a deal even though they're not in trade talks at the moment. As Melvin says, the team has "done it every year." Melvin says the challenge for the Brewers, who could pursue pitching or an infielder, "is identifying what [they] need." Knobler identifies three barriers the Brewers would have to overcome should they decide to pursue Jake Peavy:

  • The Brewers would have to agree to part with top prospects.
  • Owner Mark Attanasio would have to agree to take on Peavy's contract. 
  • Peavy would have to agree to come to Milwaukee. 

On another note, Knobler spoke to a "scout familiar with the Braves" who suggests that Atlanta could consider dealing Javier Vazquez, who makes $11.5MM this year and next, for a big bat to help out the struggling Braves offense. 

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