The Mahay Market
UPDATE, 12-5-07 at 5:25pm: The Braves will at least have a discussion with Mahay as a courtesy. They won’t sign him unless his price comes down. MLB.com’s Mark Bowman says the Yankees are the frontrunner, in contrast to Sherman’s note below.
UPDATE, 12-5-07 at 9:45am: Joel Sherman says the Yankees don’t like the price for Mahay and are considering alternatives such as Damaso Marte or John Grabow.
FROM 12-5-07 at 7:55am:
According to Marc Lancaster, the Rays are "firmly in the mix" for popular 36 year-old lefty reliever Ron Mahay. Four other teams are involved – the Yankees, Royals, Giants, and Astros.
I still haven’t heard San Francisco’s rationale to entertaining a three-year, $12MM pact for a 36 year-old reliever. The Royals being in the mix is a tad perplexing as well.
Pirates Rumors: Bay, Morris, McLouth, Nady
Dejan Kovacevic and John Perrotto have the latest on the plans of Neal Huntington’s Pirates.
- Both beat writers are saying not to expect Jason Bay to be traded at the Meetings. It would be a sell-low move with bad PR.
- Both also agree that Matt Morris staying put. Kovacevic spins it as if the Pirates should actually want to keep Morris, while Perrotto’s sources suggest the Bucs would have to eat more than 70% of Morris’ contract to ditch him.
- Kovacevic also suggests that the Pirates need Jack Wilson, and that’s why he won’t be going anywhere.
- Relievers Salomon Torres, Damaso Marte, and John Grabow are available and drawing some interest. Marte in particular interests the Yankees.
- Chris Duffy can be had; the Braves and Marlins have previously expressed interest. Maybe they’ll renew that with center field vacancies and a new Pirates GM. Duffy will start in Triple A if he’s not dealt.
- The Pirates are still talking to Shawn Chacon about returning.
- Perrotto notes that interest in center fielder Nate McLouth is picking up, with the Padres and Marlins interested.
- Xavier Nady won’t be non-tendered, contrary to previous reports.
Pirates Not Interested in LaRoche?
Bucco Blog is reporting this morning that the Pirates and Braves talked about a trade that would have sent Adam LaRoche to the Pirates.
Evidently, all that David Littlefield was willing to ante up was John Grabow and Nate McLouth and the Braves passed.
By Jake
Pirates Trade Rumors
Let’s run down all the possible trades Dave Littlefield and the Pirates have brewing.
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review still has Oakland as the favorite for Sean Casey, a move that makes little sense to me.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette mentions a possible swap of John Grabow for Ryan Shealy. That sounds reasonable.
Dejan Kovacevic’s article also indicates that the Mets and Yankees are leading the charge for Kip Wells. The Yankees also want Craig Wilson and Roberto Hernandez. Wilson and Wells seem unlikely at this point, though, as the Abreu deal looks close.