Roy Halladay Rumors: Wednesday
2:09pm: SI's Jon Heyman sees a potential Red Sox-Yankees battle brewing for Halladay. He says the Blue Jays told the Yankees they're interested in Phil Hughes, Joba Chamberlain, Jesus Montero, and Austin Jackson (not necessarily all four).
10:22am: Joel Sherman of the New York Post terms the Yankees as "bystanders rather than aggressive pursuers" when it comes to Blue Jays ace Roy Halladay. The Yankees remain "averse to giving up both high-end prospects and a top-of-the-market contract extension to secure one player." Some members of the Yankee front office would prefer to acquire Doc but not extend him. Speaking in general terms, Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos told MLB.com's Jordan Bastian he'd prefer not to give an extension window in a trade. Sherman also learned that the Blue Jays "have yet to divulge exactly what it would take to land Halladay."
As for Halladay's Spring Training deadline for a trade, Sherman talked to "outside executives" who don't take it entirely seriously. Regarding agent Jeff Berry's comments to ESPN about the deadline, Anthopoulos told Bastian, "I just want to hear it for myself and talk to him." Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun notes that George Bell issued the Blue Jays a similar ultimatum at the 1987 Winter Meetings.
Odds & Ends: Johnson, Cabrera, Mets, Contreras
Here's some discount links on Black Friday…
- ESPN's Keith Law notes that the Marlins have a history of moving players early, and says that they could land two big league ready players and two Double-A prospects for Josh Johnson.
- There's no evidence to suggest that the Red Sox have approached the Tigers about a trade for Miguel Cabrera according to Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FoxSports.com.
- Bob Klapisch of FoxSports.com writes that it'll take more than one offseason to get the Mets back on track.
- Peter Abraham of The Boston Globe says that next week's arbitration deadline will have a big impact on the Red Sox, and wonders if GM Theo Epstein has a trade for a shortstop in mind.
- MLB.com's Steve Gilbert says a marriage between the Diamondbacks and free agent Nick Johnson seems unlikely because the team has a little more than $10MM to spend and more pressing needs in the rotation.
- Jose Contreras met with officials from the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks of Japan's Pacific League, according to the AP (via NBCSports.com).
- SI.com's Jon Heyman hears that Jermaine Dye would like to go west, and suggests that he could be an alternative righty bat for the Rangers.
- Heyman also hears that the Blue Jays like Jesus Montero of the Yankees and Casey Kelly of the Red Sox, referring of course to a potential Roy Halladay trade.
- FoxSports.com's Dayn Perry takes a look at some free agents teams should avoid.
- R.J. Anderson at FanGraphs chimes on three recent moves: Dallas McPherson to the A's, Tug Hulett to the Red Sox, and Radhames Liz to the Padres.
Yankees Notes: Matsui, Damon, Cano
As if dominating the playoffs wasn't enough, the New York Yankees are now dominating much of the hot stove discussion as well. We took a look at some rumors from the Bronx earlier today. Now John Harper of the New York Daily News offers ten suggestions for building the 2010 Yankees. A few of his ideas….
- Harper suggests offering Hideki Matsui a one-year deal, rather than just letting him walk. He thinks that, after a relatively healthy 2009, the Yankees could use the offensive depth, in case they aren't so lucky in 2010.
- He also would like the team to sign Johnny Damon to a one- or two-year deal, if they can.
- Harper wants to see Joba Chamberlain or Phil Hughes (or both) in the bullpen, with the team pursuing a free agent starter to fill out the back end of the rotation.
- He believes that the Yankees "shouldn't rule out" dealing Robinson Cano, if the right offer arises.
- Harper doesn't expect the team to pursue a starting pitcher as expensive as John Lackey this winter, naming Randy Wolf as a potential target instead. In a separate piece, the NY Daily News's Bill Madden agrees that Lackey is unlikely to become a Yankee. Madden thinks the team could look to the trade market for a starter instead, perhaps making catching prospect Jesus Montero available.
Jarrod Washburn Rumors: Friday
The Mariners are eight games out, but we're still not sure whether they'll trade starter Jarrod Washburn within the next five hours. He does project as a Type B free agent, so they could get something for him after the season. Here's a look at yesterday's Washburn chatter, which involved the Yankees, Tigers, and Brewers.
Today Jon Paul Morosi and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tell us the Tigers have spoken to Seattle about Washburn, but may not have the goods to pull off any big deal (especially in the position player department). SI's Jon Heyman says the Ms asked for catcher Jesus Montero from the Yankees for Washburn and were rebuffed. ESPN's Jayson Stark says Austin Jackson was another Mariners target.