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Dodgers Rumors: Manny, Nomar, Lowe, Penny, Kent

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Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times discusses the Dodgers’ upcoming busy offseason, while Bill Shaikin focuses on Manny Ramirez.

  • Nomar Garciaparra is undecided about playing next year.  He hit .264/.326/.466 in 181 plate appearances in 2008 while earning $8.5MM.
  • Manager Joe Torre seems to consider pitching the top offseason priority.  Makes sense, with the statuses of Derek Lowe and Brad Penny in question.  Hernandez’s sources say Lowe felt underappreciated during his time in L.A., and he is expected to leave.  It’s unknown whether the Dodgers will choose Penny’s $9.25MM option or the $2MM buyout.
  • Hernandez doesn’t see GM Ned Colletti breaking up his core group of young players to acquire Jake Peavy.
  • The departure of Jeff Kent is near-certain  Blake DeWitt can step in at second or third base.
  • The Manny situation is difficult, because the Dodgers will take a lot of heat if they won’t meet his asking price (perhaps $100MM+).  Former Dodgers GM Fred Claire suggests a more reasonable offer of three years, $60MM.

Perrotto’s Latest: La Russa, Offseason Moves

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John Perrotto at Baseball Prospectus has his Every Given Sunday column up. Here’s the highlights from the Rumors and Rumblings section (with some added speculation here and there from yours truly):

  • There’s a growing rumor that Cardinals manager Tony La Russa could step down after this season and pursue a job as a general manager. We all know Seattle’s looking…
  • The Diamondbacks love Adam Dunn’s production so much that they are considering re-signing him and possibly having him play first base. Dunn’s racked up a .474 OBP since coming to Arizona… what’s not to like about that?
  • The Padres seem willing to move Kevin Kouzmanoff once again. Perrotto doesn’t say, but it would make sense for young starting pitching to be the target for the Padres, and a move would allow Chase Headley to move back to his natural position, third base. The Giants are looking for help at third, but I doubt the Pads would trade him within the division. Minnesota, perhaps?
  • The Marlins are considering playing Jorge Cantu at first next season, using Dallas McPherson at third, and trading Mike Jacobs in the offseason.
  • The Royals will not re-sign Mark Grudzielanek this offseason, but will likely target both Rafael Furcal and Raul Ibanez. Given Mike Aviles’ emergence at the plate, shifting him to second base and putting Furcal at shortstop would make for a very good middle of the infield in Kansas City. The Royals will also explore options for trading Jose Guillen. I personally didn’t like the contract they gave him at the time, and I doubt many clubs like it now either. Moving him could be difficult.
  • The Rangers will try to trade Gerald Laird for pitching, given their surplus at catcher. The Yankees could use some help behind the plate if Jorge Posada is unable to catch…
  • Jeff Kent, Frank Thomas, and Kent Mercker are all mentioned as possibilites for retirement this offseason, with Jeff Kent being almost a certainty, regardless of how his knee reacts to surgery.

Odds And Ends: Taveras, Brewers, Kent

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A few notes from around the MLBiverse…

  • Troy E. Renck says Willy Taveras prefers to stay with the Rockies, despite being claimed off waivers. Taveras speculates that he was claimed by either the Yankees or the Nationals. Renck says it is unlikely that Taveras will be traded during the season.
  • Tom Haudricourt is reporting that the Brewers don’t expect to make any deals prior to tonight’s deadline to acquire players that would be eligible for the post-season.
  • Tony Jackson of the LA Daily News is reporting that Jeff Kent’s knee injury could be career-ending. Kent is contemplating retirement following the season. He is not signed for ’09.

Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.

Carroll’s Latest: Torrealba, Wheeler, Dunn

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Here’s the latest from Will Carroll at Baseball Prospectus.  Some of this info is from this afternoon, so I apologize for the tardiness.

  • The Rockies may still move a lesser player like Yorvit Torrealba, if anyone’s interested.  There doesn’t seem to be a match with the catching-hungry Marlins though.
  • Carroll tosses a new name into the relief market: Dan Wheeler.  Would the Rays part with him?
  • Carroll’s sources don’t think much of the recent Jeff Kent rumor.
  • The White Sox have been aggressive in their relief pursuit; the Twins have been passive in general.  The Mets, Rays, and Phillies have been quiet.
  • Still no interest in Adam Dunn.  The man has 30 home runs!  Carroll says David Weathers is drawing some inquiries.

Perrotto’s Latest: Ross, Jacobs, Kent, Burnett

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Baseball Prospectus’ John Perrotto has a new column.

  • The Mets are looking at relievers Huston Street, Brian Fuentes, Arthur Rhodes, and Eddie Guardado.  On the radar for outfielders: Jason Bay, Raul Ibanez, and Randy Winn.
  • A new suitor for Fuentes has emerged: the Diamondbacks.  Would they really make another move for a reliever?  Other known suitors were named here.
  • The Marlins would consider trading Cody Ross or Mike Jacobs for relief help.
  • New name on the Rays’ radar: Dodgers second baseman Jeff Kent.  They’re better off with Akinori Iwamura aren’t they?
  • George Sherrill suitors: Cardinals, Tigers, Dodgers, Marlins, and Phillies.
  • The Blue Jays may offer A.J. Burnett an additional $2MM per year to convince him to stay for 2009-10.
  • The Rangers are "expected to be among the top bidders" for CC Sabathia this winter.

Dodgers Scrambling for Infield Help

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With veteran infielders Nomar Garciaparra and Jeff Kent both likely to miss opening day, the Dodgers are scrambling to find themselves some backups. Ken Rosenthal says that since the Astros are unlikely to trade Mark Loretta while Kaz Matsui is out,  L.A. is considering Ron Belliard of the Nationals and Esteban German of the Royals. Another possibility, Morgan Ensberg, seems unlikely, as the Yankees added him to their 40-man roster yesterday. Joe Crede of the White Sox and Brandon Inge of the Tigers are both probably too expensive.

This could impact roster decisions Los Angeles will make on Monday, when they decide whether they can afford to carry twelve pitchers with so much uncertainty around their infield.

Ned Colletti, meanwhile, says he expects Monday to mark an uptick in trade chatter—but also that he’s content, for now, to fill his third base hole from within. It’s worth noting that  Ensberg’s spot on the opening day roster is still not guaranteed, and that Matsui is expected to return in two to three weeks, perhaps freeing up Loretta. 

Sarah Green writes for the Boston Metro and UmpBump.com. She can be reached here.

Odds and Ends: Mench, Kent, Durbin, Wang

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Rounding up this morning’s Odds and Ends, to be updated periodically…

Odds and Ends: Riske, Bedard, Wolf

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And now for your daily jumble o’ rumors.  More to come.

Dodgers To Seek Pitching Via Trade

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Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times has some insight into Ned Colletti’s gameplan this offseason.

Colletti still isn’t a fan of the free agent market for starting pitchers.  He feels that the Dodgers’ best chance of upgrading the rotation is via trade.  Though the Dodgers have been previously linked to Hiroki Kuroda, Colletti seemed unimpressed by the Japanese market.  Trade options might include Erik Bedard, A.J. Burnett, Cliff Lee, Jon Garland, Jose Contreras, Johan Santana, Dan Haren, Joe Blanton, Chris Capuano, and Dave Bush.  Did I miss anyone? 

As far as third base, Colletti says the Dodgers haven’t decided whether to go after Alex Rodriguez.  He was able to tolerate Scott Boras enough to talk with him briefly last week.  The other options for the Dodgers would be Mike Lowell and Miguel Cabrera.  Giving Andy LaRoche a try wouldn’t be a terrible idea.

It sounds like the Dodgers really want to sign a center fielder and move Juan Pierre over.  It seems that Colletti will investigate the Big Three among free agent center fielders.  Him being on OK terms with Boras bodes well for the Andruw Jones possibility.

Second base is still unresolved, and Colletti could go for Luis Castillo if Jeff Kent retires.  Kent’s agent shot down the whole Larry King thing.  Tony Abreu makes for a fine internal fallback. 

Larry King Expects Kent To Return

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TV’s Larry King spoke to Jeff Kent recently, and came away convinced he’ll return to play in 2008.  Odd source of information.  The same sentiment about Kent has recently been expressed by Joe Torre and Ned Colletti.  It sounds like the Dodgers will be set at second base for ’08.

Torre also provided thoughts on Andy Pettitte and Alex Rodriguez recently.  Torre said Pettitte was "leaning towards staying home" and it was "possible" the Dodgers could sign A-Rod.  Such a signing would not cost the Dodgers their valuable 15th overall pick next year.  The Yankees have to be rooting against this. 

I recently watched an ESPN video (top right corner) where Keith Law said he didn’t see Colletti patching things up to cut a deal with Scott Boras.  If the Dodgers are to sign A-Rod it might have to be Dodgers owner Frank McCourt taking care of things.  It’s assumed that Pettitte will either retire or pitch for the Yankees, though Nick Cafardo speculated he could go to L.A. to pitch for Torre.

A couple of vets would like to re-join the Dodgers in David Wells and Luis Gonzalez.  They’ve already made a minor addition in Chan Ho Park.  Others who have been connected to the Dodgers: Miguel Cabrera, Luis Castillo (probably only if Kent retires), Hiroki Kuroda, Andruw Jones, and Torii Hunter. A note on Kuroda – Phil Rogers’ straw poll indicated that roughly 20 teams have some level of interest in him. 

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