Stark On Wagner, Padres, Crawford
ESPN.com's Jayson Stark shows that a number of contenders have vulnerable-looking closers. The Cubs and Phillies two of many teams with shaky arms at the back of the 'pen. Here are the details and the rest of Stark's rumors:
- At least one scout believes John Smoltz would have been the perfect arm for the Marlins to add to their 'pen.
- However, clubs pursuing Smoltz heard that he wanted to start, at least for now.
- A scout who watched Billy Wagner throw has "no doubt" that Wagner could help a team win. The Rays and Marlins are thought to have interest in Wagner, but neither team would be likely to give up much of a prospect unless the Mets picked up salary.
- Stark hears that the Padres pulled Heath Bell and Adrian Gonzalez back off waivers after multiple teams claimed them.
- Mark Hendrickson cleared waivers, and can now be traded to any team. The Rockies were interested before the deadline, but they may decide to see where the Billy Wagner bidding goes before pursuing Hendrickson again.
- One rival GM considers the Cards "the best team in the league right now."
- The Royals don't seem interested in trading their top pitchers. They pulled Brian Bannister back from waivers and though Joakim Soria and Gil Meche are on waivers now, they aren't likely to be dealt.
- Clubs eyeing Carl Crawford believe the Rays are becoming less likely to deal him. Desmond Jennings could become the Rays' left fielder, but they'd probably have to be overwhelmed to part with Crawford.
- It's possible that Jamie Moyer could draw interest as a trade candidate after the season.
- One AL exec isn't sure Bryce Harper's the guarantee people perceive him to be.
- Stark points out that the Astros traded Ivan Rodriguez just as his incentives were about to start kicking in.
- An official of a team that inquired about Stephen Strasburg before the draft says that Scott Boras invoked Daisuke Matsuzaka's name without specifically saying he wanted $50MM for his client.
GM: Royals Won’t Trade Core Players
The Royals aren't trading any of their core players this year, according to Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star. GM Dayton Moore said some players just aren't available.
Heyman On Street, Indians, Pedro, Davis
Jon Heyman of SI.com lists his mid-season award winners, led by Albert Pujols and Joe Mauer. Here are Heyman's latest rumors:
- Huston Street alone is worth more on the trade market than Matt Holliday. Dan O'Dowd must be happy with his return, which also included Carlos Gonzalez.
- Jhonny Peralta, Kerry Wood and Carl Pavano are all available.
- Indians GM Mark Shapiro believes he can still get a fair return for Cliff Lee if he deals him a year from now, a few months before the lefty is scheduled to become free agent.
- One executive says the Royals are "pushing" Brian Bannister as a trade candidate. However, they're reluctant to deal Gil Meche and Joakim Soria.
- Pedro Martinez intends to sign soon. We know the Phillies are scouting him. Could there be a match in Philly? The Rays are "thought to be in the mix," while the Yankees are not, even with Chien-Ming Wang's injury.
- There's apparently been "little progress" between the Brewers and D'Backs regarding Doug Davis.
- Nolan Ryan is part of one group trying to buy the Rangers.
Marlins Considering Bullpen Options
The Miami Herald reports that the Marlins are considering George Sherrill and Luis Ayala as they look to improve an injury-depleted bullpen. There's also confirmation of Jon Heyman's weekend report that the Marlins discussed Joakim Soria and Heath Bell.
Heyman’s Latest: Best & Worst Free Agent Signings
Sports Illustrated's Jon Heyman has compiled a list of the best and worst free agent signings. Here are the lists, in descending order:
The Best: Raul Ibanez, Trevor Hoffman, Francisco Rodriguez, Orlando Hudson, Mark Teixeira, Brad Penny, CC Sabathia, Ivan Rodriguez, Brian Fuentes, Randy Johnson, Adam Everett, Randy Wolf, David Eckstein, Adam Dunn, and Felipe Lopez.
The Worst: Milton Bradley, Oliver Perez, Pat Burrell, Manny Ramirez, Kerry Wood, Kyle Farnsworth, Orlando Cabrera, Jason Giambi, Ken Griffey Jr., and Edgar Renteria.
What do you think? Anyone missing from these lists? Any surprises?
Heyman has a few more bullet points:
- With Matt Lindstrom and Kiko Calero on the DL, the Marlins inquired about Heath Bell and Joakim Soria. Of course, neither star closer is available according to Heyman.
- Heyman likes the Mark DeRosa deal for both sides, and thinks the Cardinals did well to acquire a versatile player like DeRosa to solve their 3B issues.
- The Indians are not anxious to trade Cliff Lee. He's making a $6MM in 2009 with a $9MM club option for 2010. The Dodgers, Mets, and Brewers have inquired. Heyman says the Rangers could get a deal for Lee done with Derek Holland or Neftali Feliz.
- Bad news for Xavier Nady. Heyman quotes a source saying second Tommy John surgeries have "as low as 20 percent" chance of success.
Odds & Ends: Young, Morillo, Soria
Links for Thursday…
- Delwyn Young talks about his trade to the Pirates, and GM Neal Huntington also commented to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
- Tracy Ringolsby of Inside The Rockies says hard-throwing reliever Juan Morillo is now on waivers.
- El Lefty Malo notes that the Giants aren't a lock to be competitive in 2010.
- Yahoo's David Brown spoke to Royals relief ace Joakim Soria.
Odds And Ends: Tejada, Manny, White Sox
A few links for Thursday night…
- Good news for the Astros: The AP (via ESPN) reports that a federal prosecutor recommended that Miguel Tejada get probation, but no prison time for his involvement with PEDs.
- MLB.com's Ken Gurnick passes along a memorable Manny Ramirez quote: "No more cricket. I'm not signing to play cricket. Well, I can be a free agent after this year, so we'll see. But don't ask me about cricket."
- Scot Gregor of the Daily Herald writes that the White Sox need to make a deal for a center fielder who can bat leadoff. He thinks GM Kenny Williams is "probably close" to making a deal. Gregor doesn't like Jim Edmonds or Juan Pierre for the job, but he doesn't rule out Kenny Lofton.
- This isn't a rumor, but MLB.com's Mark Sheldon has a quirky anecdote. Micah Owings and Norris Hopper hit home runs with the same bat today. I might be more surprised that Hopper hit one.
- Ivan Rodriguez is looking forward to joining the Astros, according to this article in the Detroit Free Press.
- Padres CEO Sandy Alderson says it was a huge mistake to let Joakim Soria slip away through the Rule 5 draft in this article by Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune.
Mets To Explore Trade For Closer
Ken Davidoff of Newsday has a new article up discussing possibilities for the Mets’ closer vacancy. He says the Mets will check in on free agents Francisco Rodriguez and Brian Fuentes, but remain wary of the price. I’m wondering if K-Rod will have to back off the five year demand if he wants to get multiple serious bidders. Davidoff says the Mets feel that they have the minor league depth to swing a trade for a closer rather than buy one.
Davidoff goes on to speculate that the Mets could look at J.J. Putz, Huston Street, George Sherrill, Joakim Soria, and Kevin Gregg. Gregg would be the easiest to acquire. Not sure why Soria is mentioned here. The Mets had several young players emerge this year who weren’t necessarily highly touted (Dan Murphy, for example). Davidoff says the Mets feel they have more such hidden gems to use as trade chips.
Davidoff also tosses out two more free agent possibilities: Jeremy Affeldt and Chad Cordero. Affeldt is starting to generate buzz as a more affordable closing candidate, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Indians get involved.
Odds And Ends: Mientkiewicz, Michaels, Greinke, Soria, Scheppers
Some links for Saturday lunch, I’ll add some more as the day progresses:
- The Mariners may sign the first woman general manager, Dodger’s assistant GM Kim Ng.
- Pirates GM Neal Huntington says the team will approach Doug Mientkiewicz and Jason Michaels about resigning with the club, but has yet to do so.
- Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star ruffled some feathers by quoting a scout on the possibility of the Royals trading Joakim Soria and Zach Greinke. The discussion devolved into a debate on whether to move Soria to the rotation.
- A Tanner Scheppers sighting: The Pirates draft pick has signed with the St. Paul Saints of the Independent Northern League.
- Tigers’ owner Mike Ilitch hasn’t set (yet) a payroll limit for 2009. Along with the Mets, the Tigers had the second largest payroll behind the Yankees.
- Grant at the McCovey Chronicles opens up a can of worms: On trading Matt Cain.
Alejandro A. Leal writes for UmpBump.com and can be reached here: alexo05 (at) umpbump [dot] com.
Odds and Ends: Patterson, Lowry, Alvarez
Today’s linkage…
- Brewers fans, act quickly to snag free tickets to tonight’s game courtesy of Eric Gagne. Nice gesture.
- Of course Ned Colletti wants to re-sign Manny Ramirez. It’s just a question of dollars and years. Does Manny get the rumored 4/100 he might desire?
- The Jays locked manager Cito Gaston up through 2010.
- Richard Griffin says the Blue Jays will be better for it if they lose A.J. Burnett. Meanwhile, River Ave. Blues is open to the idea of the Yankees signing him.
- No, Corey Patterson is not dating Dusty Baker’s daughter. And Baker says he wasn’t behind the signing, either.
- The Reds might not be in the market for a catcher this winter, if they go with Ryan Hanigan as the starter in ’09.
- The Mariners officially founded the 100/100 club.
- Peter Abraham sees the Yankees going with Brett Gardner as the center fielder in 2009. Peter Gammons is "convinced he is going to be an everyday center fielder."
- Sam Mellinger discusses a way to drastically shake up the Royals: trade both Zack Greinke and Joakim Soria for loads of young, cheap players. As he notes, the strategy could work out but might cause a fan revolt.
- Andrew Baggarly wonders if Noah Lowry‘s injury problems could prevent a Matt Cain trade. Also, Baggarly sees a non-tender in Kevin Correia‘s future.
- Frank Coonelly suggested Pedro Alvarez‘s new deal is comparable in value to the original. Scott Boras then jumped on the conference call to say it was a favorable change, and much different from the original. Additionally, Coonelly contacted Baseball America’s Jim Callis to dispute the idea of a premeditated plan to negotiate with Alvarez after the deadline.
- The Marlins will focus on improving their defense this winter.