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J.J. Hardy

Brewers GM On Trades, Free Agents, Draft

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Brewers GM Doug Melvin said on 1250 WSSP in Milwaukee that he's glad he didn't go after some of the free agent arms that were available last offseason. Here's the clip and here are the details:

  • Melvin admits that pitchers like John Smoltz and Oliver Perez were tempting, but says he's glad he resisted.
  • The Brewers were interested in Jarrod Washburn at the deadline, but didn't have enough young pitching to complete a deal with the Mariners. 
  • The Brewers were in on the Roy Halladay sweepstakes, but were reluctant to give up Alcides Escobar and Mat Gamel.  
  • Melvin sounds hesitant to experiment with Rickie Weeks in center field.  
  • The Brewers will have some "some flexibility" to add free agents this offseason. 
  • Melvin expects the Red Sox to pursue free agent position players aggressively. 
  • As of today, Melvin says he's not motivated to move J.J. Hardy, but hints that the Brewers could move him after the season to make room for Alcides Escobar.
  • Melvin's pleased with the progress 2009 first rounder Eric Arnett has made.

Olney On Guzman, Hardy, Rays, Rios

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ESPN.com's Buster Olney says we should know today whether anyone has successfully claimed Cristian Guzman off waivers. However, some executives say Guzman isn't worth the $8MM he makes annually. Here are the rest of Olney's rumors:

  • J.J. Hardy hasn't yet cleared waivers and Olney wonders if the Red Sox could target him. They had interest in Hardy earlier in the year, but the two teams couldn't agree on the shortstop's value.
  • The Rays are one of the teams claiming many players. They don't expect to acquire all the cheap youngsters they claim, but they could face a roster issue if they're handed multiple players. 
  • Every talent evaluator Olney speaks with believes the Jays need to take advantage of the club that claimed Alex Rios and dump the right fielder's salary while they can. 

Rosenthal On Saito, Rangers, Hardy

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Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports that the Red Sox discussed a trade that would have sent Takashi Saito to Texas for Hank Blalock. The idea lost traction once Josh Hamilton underwent surgery and David Ortiz began hitting better and it's not likely to be revived. However, "several" teams have interest in Saito, who the Red Sox might prefer to deal for a prospect. Here are more details from Rosenthal's column:

  • The Rangers remain the leading contenders to sign Ben Sheets.
  • They also considered going after Nick Johnson, but are more likely to replace Chris Davis internally if they decide he's not contributing enough at the plate.  
  • One scout has noticed the Brewers following Erik Bedard and believes they'll make a "strong play" for him. 
  • J.J. Hardy remains appealing to teams around the league and the Brewers are "constantly" asked about shortstop prospect Alcides Escobar.  
  • The Red Sox "sniffed around" on a Hardy-Brad Penny swap, but that deal wouldn't work for Milwaukee.
  • The Orioles are increasingly willing to deal George Sherrill and Danys Baez.  

Odds And Ends: Crow, Willis, Bay

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More links for the afternoon…

  • Aaron Crow, the Royals' first round draft pick, told MLB.com's Rustin Dodd that this year, he's focused on completing a deal and beginning to play. Last year, he was drafted by the Nationals, but didn't sign.
  • Mike Hazen, the Red Sox Director of Player Personnel, told CMSB Media that the team has already begun working on the 2010 draft. Click the link to hear the entire interview. 
  • The most intriguing name in next year's draft class could be Bryce Harper. Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star says Harper should finish high school early if his "dream is to play pro ball, not flirt in homeroom."
  • Charley Walters of the St. Paul Pioneer Press would like to see the Twins try to acquire Robb Quinlan from the Angels.
  • Steve Kornacki of MLive.com wonders whether the Tigers would release Dontrelle Willis and eat the remainder of this year's $10MM contract, plus the $12MM he's owed in 2010.
  • Brett Perryman of the Dallas Morning News says the Rangers' number one priority should be to prepare players within the organization to carry the Rangers to the playoffs in "2010 and on."
  • ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick says it's hard to imagine Jason Bay signing for less than $60MM over four years or $70MM over five.
  • Jeff Gordon includes Reggie Jackson, Orlando Hudson and David Ortiz on his list of the best ever free agent bargains at AskMen.com.
  • Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel wonders what the Brewers will do with the slumping J.J. Hardy. 
  • MLB.com's Brian McTaggart reports that the Astros have signed 22 of the players they drafted, including their second rounder, Tanner Bushue.
  • MLB.com's Mark Sheldon has a corresponding list for the Reds, who also signed their second rounder.

Red Sox Discussing Shortstop Options

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According to Nick Cafardo at the Boston Globe, the Red Sox have "left no stone unturned" in their search for a shortstop. Rounding out the list of names are Omar Vizquel, Jack Wilson, J.J. Hardy, the aforementioned Orlando Cabrera, Bobby Crosby, Jason Donald, Miguel Tejada and a mystery shortstop with the Braves. Ideally, Jed Lowrie would make a speedy return from the DL before they begin making any decisions.

As noted earlier, the Sox inquired on Cabrera but apparently aren't interested.

What should the Sox do? Just speculation–could the Braves' shortstop be Yunel Escobar or is it someone else?

Odds And Ends: Nats, Astros, Putz, Brewers

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More links for Friday afternoon…

Twins Rumors: Lyon, Wigginton, DeRosa

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La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune has the latest on the Twins.

  • The Twins are one of several teams in on free agent reliever Brandon Lyon.
  • It does not seem that the Twins are pursuing Ty Wigginton.
  • Nothing new on the Twins’ rumored interest in Mark DeRosa; the two teams don’t match up well (the Twins are not willing to trade Jason Kubel).
  • Neal likes the match between the Twins and Brewers, but J.J. Hardy has not been discussed.

Twins Still Exploring Shortstop Options

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According to Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, the Twins are still exploring shortstop options despite signing Nick Punto.

Two of the team’s targets do not seem available – J.J. Hardy and Yunel Escobar.  The Braves were hard-pressed to discuss Escobar even when they thought they had Rafael Furcal, though the Twins inquired.  And Doug Melvin is sticking to his stance on Hardy.

We talked about other failed Twins infield pursuits yesterday.

Braves Interested In Ankiel, Hart, Hermida

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11:15pm: Melvin confirmed to Tom Haudricourt that the Braves inquired on Hart.  However, Melvin has no plans to trade his right fielder.  Also, Melvin rejected Dave O’Brien’s suggestion that the Braves have been connected to Hardy.

9:10pm: Doesn’t sound like the Cardinals would want one of the Braves’ middle infielders for Ankiel.  Instead, they want to get a starter back if they trade an outfielder.

6:41pm: Dave O’Brien says Ankiel makes sense for the Braves, because the Cards are more willing to deal him and the price would be more reasonable.  The Braves also like Raul Ibanez, but not his probable three-year, $30MM+ price tag.

O’Brien is hearing J.J. Hardy’s name connected with the Braves, making him suspect Yunel Escobar could be on the move.  Keep in mind though that Doug Melvin did not see inclined to move Hardy in his recent comments.

4:28pm: According to MLB.com’s Mark Bowman, the Braves have Rick Ankiel, Corey Hart, and Jeremy Hermida on the radar (with more interest in the first two).  Bowman doesn’t believe the Braves have much interest in Ryan Ludwick.

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