Giants’ Talks With Feliz Stall
According to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle, talks between the Giants and free agent third baseman Pedro Feliz are stalling. The parties have now passed a Giants-imposed deadline, apparently because the Giants wouldn’t go three years on him. Even a two-year offer would be a mistake. Bringing him back in general seems an odd idea.
Schulman suggests that Scott Rolen or Joe Crede could now become trade targets for Brian Sabean. What is this team’s direction?
Mailbag: Nioka, Crede, Snell
Let’s dig through the ol’ mailbag once again. Feel free to shoot an email to mlbtraderumors@gmail.com.
Do you have any news regarding Japanese shortstop Tomohiro Nioka? Is he a free agent and are any teams pursuing him? – Bob
It seems that Nioka turned out to be ineligible for free agency. We’ll have to keep an eye out for him next year.
What’s up with Joe Crede? Will the ChiSox be looking to deal him this summer if they are struggling? And if so, you have to believe the Phillies would be top contenders for him. – Dan
I’m almost certain Crede will be dealt, I’m just not sure when. Maybe after a week or two of proving his health in Spring Training? Josh Fields needs his reps at third base, so I’d be surprised if the Sox started the season with Crede at the hot corner. The Phillies seem like the perfect fit, especially since Kenny Williams and Pat Gillick have gotten together for many deals.
Have you heard anything about a package of Snell and Bay from Pittsburgh to the M’s for some prospects? – Aaron
Jake at Bucco Blog heard this rumor just a few days ago. Both of them going to Seattle would represent a whole lot of talent. Seems that it would require Adam Jones and then some. Might make more sense for the Mariners to target just Snell, since they’re in fine shape in the outfield.
Giants Pursuing Corner Infield Help
I’m not sure of the Giants’ plan – are they rebuilding? Playing for 2008? Kind of rebuilding but trying to seem respectable?
At any rate, the Giants don’t have much going on at first and third base. I like the idea of going after a cheap under-30 third base upside play like Dallas McPherson. But I wouldn’t fill the spot with a vet just to fill it. As for first, I’ve said before I’d just toss Dan Ortmeier there for 550 ABs in lieu of adding some stopgap. But that’s just me; here’s the latest on Brian Sabean’s corner infield pursuits:
- Tony Clark is a target, and San Francisco is a good fit for him in terms of playing time. He’d probably get a one-year deal and be paired with Ortmeier.
- The Mariners are apparently shopping Adrian Beltre for pitching. Doesn’t seem to be a smart move for Seattle but it may be a moot point if they are nearing a Carlos Silva signing.
- No doubt Joe Crede can be had. Paul Konerko, not so much. Crede makes sense for the Giants in that they might be able to flip him if he has a good April-May.
- Morgan Ensberg is a free agent who would probably play for $3MM and jump at a full-time chance.
- Pedro Feliz remains on the radar, but apparently still wants three years. C’mon now.
- The Giants have "moved in opposing directions" with McPherson, a Scott Boras client.
Odds and Ends: Guillen, Crede, Hamilton, Boone
Rounding up some of the day’s random rumors and tidbits…
- Jose Guillen might get a light suspension for his exploits.
- There was a report that the Brewers were close to obtaining Joe Crede, but it was published last night.
- The BBWAA approved a new resolution for 2013. Any player with a contract provision linked to a major award of theirs will not be considered for that award. Makes sense – to repeat Curt Schilling’s situation. Curt Schilling could get a million bucks by netting one Cy Young vote in 2008. The BBWAA would rather preserve its right to have members make off-the-wall votes on occasion without bribery being accused.
- The Reds traded Buck Coats to the Jays. They also released Jorge Cantu. They now have an open spot on the 40-man roster.
- Could the Rays re-acquire Josh Hamilton? There’s speculation on the topic in Nashville.
- Buster Olney says Aaron Boone interests the Giants, Nationals, and Brewers.
Brewers Considering Crede, Blalock, Feliz, LaRoche, Tejada
What, you thought the Brewers were dead set on Scott Rolen? Not so, according to Tom Haudricourt. They’re considering the following options at third base, mostly because the left field options are worse.
- Joe Crede – I can see this one happening, Doug Melvin and Kenny Williams get along. And Kenny really has nowhere to play Crede.
- Hank Blalock – Trading Blalock now is generally seen as selling low, so this seems unlikely.
- Pedro Feliz – I’m going to disagree with Haudricourt that Feliz is intriguing.
- Andy LaRoche – Now this one is intriguing, hitting the Dodgers up for LaRoche. I imagine Colletti may want to include LaRoche in other, bigger deals though.
- Miguel Tejada – He’s been discussed, but all the well-known warts make this unlikely.
White Sox Make Third Base Decision
MLB.com’s Scott Merkin reports that Kenny Williams has made a decision about his third base logjam. Williams wouldn’t say who’s on the way out – Josh Fields or Joe Crede. It stands to reason it’s Crede though. Perhaps Williams’ decision is to trade Crede, no matter what. I can’t see why it would ever get to the point of non-tendering him.
Though the team’s assistant GM recently spoke to Scott Boras about Crede, they discussed his back rehab and had no extension talks. The Phillies and Brewers both make sense for Crede.
Brewers Rumors: Crede, Riske, Gagne, Dotel
MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy recently filed a report with a few new Brewers tidbits. Nothing new on the Scott Rolen front, but feel free to jump over to that rumor to discuss it. On to McCalvy’s article:
- The Brewers briefly discussed Joe Crede at last month’s GM Meetings. The Brewers and White Sox have been on friendly terms in the past; maybe they can work something out. There hasn’t been much buzz about Crede lately, but the Carlos Quentin acquisition seems to punch his ticket out of town.
- The Brewers passed on an effective one-year, $8.5MM contract for Geoff Jenkins for ’08. The Brewers prefer to replace him with a lefty hitter with a solid OBP, but don’t find the free agent options to be superior. A Gabe Gross/Tony Gwynn Jr. combo may be sufficient.
- The David Riske signing may be announced Tuesday, but the Brewers need to clear up a 40-man roster spot first. My guess is that Melvin will dispense of Kevin Mench one way or another.
- The Brewers have a passing interest in Eric Gagne and Octavio Dotel, but probably won’t end up with either due to injury concerns. Melvin has not been in touch with their agents.
Odds and Ends: Kuroda, Hunter, Crede
What’d I miss recently? Here are some odds and ends.
- The Tigers have expressed interest in Hiroki Kuroda. They join the Phillies, Mariners, Dodgers, Royals, Rangers, Cubs, and Mets in that pursuit.
- 10 teams are interested in Aaron Rowand! That’s almost 1/3 of all baseball teams!
- Torii Hunter is after a seven-year deal. Most feel he’s saying that because he wants six. Clever!
- The Twins are taking a look at Tony Clark as a cheap DH option. He’s supposedly looking for something like two years, $4MM and more playing time. This would be a very Twins-like signing.
- T.R. Sullivan has a Rangers update. Apparently Jon Daniels is checking in on big names like Johan Santana, Erik Bedard, and Miguel Cabrera. More realistically Daniels may go out to Japan for players such as Kosuke Fukudome and Hiroki Kuroda (we knew that already). We also knew the Rangers had Kerry Wood and Eric Gagne on their radar. Sullivan speculates that Scott Linebrink and LaTroy Hawkins could also be in the mix.
- Barry Rozner expects Joe Crede to be traded. It seems like Crede is a Plan B or C for a lot of teams and Kenny Williams may have to wait til a few dominoes fall first.
Crede For Damon Declared Dead?
They say that if you love something, you have to set it free. MLBTR conjured up a speculative Johnny Damon for Joe Crede rumor back on October 28th, and then watched it blossom into something widespread. Now I think it’s time to pronounce this one dead.
As you probably know by now, Johnny Damon met for breakfast Wednesday with new Yankees manager Joe Girardi. Girardi gave Damon the impression that he’d "definitely be back," and Brian Cashman spoke highly of Damon. Cashman did admit that he wouldn’t rule anything out. Ken Davidoff mentioned that the Yankees would actually prefer to trade Hideki Matsui.
What’s more, SI.com’s Jon Heyman revealed yesterday that the White Sox are one of the teams covered by Damon’s partial no-trade clause. While the White Sox may like the idea of swapping Crede for Damon, the Yankees don’t feel the same way. That’s not to say they still couldn’t acquire Crede using some other player. Or even sign him outright – Buster Olney speculates that the Sox might have to non-tender Crede.
Yankees Aiming Higher Than Crede
According to Ken Davidoff of Newsday, the Yankees aren’t likely to trade for Joe Crede. They’re aiming for bigger fish like Mike Lowell, Adrian Beltre, Miguel Cabrera, and Scott Rolen. Garrett Atkins has been deemed unavailable. Additionally, Kenny Williams hopes to deal Crede relatively quickly and the Yankees are in no rush to fill their third base vacancy. Maybe the Phillies will jump into the fray for Crede.
Lowell at least won’t involve giving up young talent. But there are some questions about how he’d hit away from Fenway. And we’re talking four or even five years to lure him. Beltre would be a fine acquisition and is affordable, though I don’t know why the Mariners would part with him. And the Ms would want at least one blue-chipper, I’d imagine. The Yanks would have to mortgage tons of young talent for Cabrera. Davidoff’s dark horse, Rolen, suddenly makes the most sense. It would be a salary dump and a health risk, but 3/36 isn’t that scary for the Yanks. And it’s less than Lowell would sign for.
Davidoff has a tidbit at the end of his column, a one-liner, that the Yanks are likely to re-sign Mariano Rivera at three years, $40MM soon. I’m surprised Newsday didn’t call more attention to that part.