Roy Halladay Not Traded
5:38pm: Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski says his team was not involved with Halladay, according to MLB.com's Jason Beck.
5:10pm: The Blue Jays and Rangers were talking last night when they found that Halladay wouldn't approve a deal to the Rangers, according to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan. The sides weren't close to a deal when they found out.
The Jays, like other teams the Rangers spoke with, coveted Derek Holland, Neftali Feliz, Justin Smoak and Pedro Borbon. Holland's now in the majors and the other three rank on Jonathan Mayo's updated list of top prospects.
4:20pm: Jeff Blair of the Globe and Mail reports that Ricciardi was "never moved by a club" to trade Halladay, though two or three teams were serious about acquiring him and ten inquired.
3:25pm: Halladay has not been traded, according to Sherman on Twitter. So many wasted words.
10:12am: Joel Sherman of the New York Post has a slew of comments from Ricciardi about a Halladay trade today being highly unlikely. Ricciardi admitted he'd listen again in the offseason, but says keeping Doc today signifies an attempt to contend in 2010.
Meanwhile, MLB.com's Jason Beck reports via Twitter that the Tigers never got to the point of exchanging names on Halladay. Instead, they've reportedly acquired Jarrod Washburn.
10:01am: MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan says the Rangers' talks for Halladay "appear to have broken off" and are "somewhere between dead and on life-support." Seems like the Rangers are unwilling to trade pitcher Derek Holland, especially after last night's gem.
9:53am: Yahoo's Tim Brown says the Red Sox will "engage Ricciardi early" today on Doc before going after Adrian Gonzalez or Victor Martinez. However, when quizzed by Brown earlier this morning about the Halladay talks, Ricciardi replied, "Nothing going."
8:34am: One way or another, pitcher Roy Halladay can get some peace of mind about six hours from now when the trade deadline passes. Until then, it's rumor-mania. Yesterday night, things seemed to heat up with the Rangers, but Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi labeled trade talks "dead" in a general sense. Earlier in the day the Red Sox and Dodgers were considered the frontrunners.
This morning, SI's Jon Heyman tells us the Rangers "may have come the closest" to acquiring Halladay. Even more so than the Phillies? Heyman says the Rangers talks hit "a snag or two late Thursday," decreasing the chances for a trade.
Odds And Ends: Snell, Tigers, Dotel
Some more links for a quiet Thursday…
- MLB.com's Jen Langosch says it's "almost certain" that Ian Snell will be demoted to Triple A and Dejan Kovacevic confirms the news. Snell has been mentioned in some rumors, but his value's pretty low at this point.
- Chris Iott of MLive.com reports that the Tigers signed two of their picks and a non-drafted free agent.
- Octavio Dotel realizes he could be traded and says nothing will surprise him, according to MLB.com's Scott Merkin.
- In a piece for MLB.com, Jamey Newberg says Justin Smoak and Martin Perez lead the list of top Rangers prospects.
- Don't forget to tune in at 6:20 CST when I'll be talking rumors on the TEAM 1380 in St. Louis.
Gammons’ Latest: Red Sox, Washburn, DeRosa
In his latest blog post at ESPN.com, Peter Gammons writes that "unless someone comes up with a Justin Smoak, Matt LaPorta or Brett Wallace," the Red Sox will hold on to Brad Penny and enjoy the depth. He says no one will offer up a prospect like that for a few months of Penny.
Here's the rest of Gammons' rumors:
- Takashi Saito is the pitcher on Boston's staff most likely to be traded.
- Jake Peavy and Erik Bedard "probably won't be tradeable before Aug. 1" because of their injuries.
- Jarrod Washburn could be had.
- The Red Sox have talked to the Angels about infielder Maicer Izturis, but the talks haven't gone anywhere
- Mark Mulder "made considerable progress refinding his delivery after one session with pitching coach Rick Peterson."
- The Mets are looking for an outfield bat. They made a run at Mark DeRosa, but wouldn't discuss Bobby Parnell.
- The Cardinals wouldn't discuss Jason Motte or Chris Perez in exchange for DeRosa.
- The uncertain situation surrounding the Cubs' ownership will likely prohibit any major additions.
Odds and Ends, Prospects Edition: Kendry Morales, Dayan Viciedo, Logan Morrison
Some news from the winter leagues and beyond:
- Kendry Morales homered and doubled in Dominican Winter League play yesterday. "Morales is 9-for-23 and has homered in four of his six games in the Dominican Republic," reports Rotoworld. "He’s trying to force the Angels to open up either first base or DH for him next year." Of course, if the Angels can’t re-sign Mark Teixeira, Morales may not have to do much forcing (as the Angels have known all along).
- Seen as the future "Babe Ruth of Cuba" until he defected, Dayan Viciedo has been cleared by MLB to be a free agent. Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times has the White Sox ready to snap up the third-base prospect, who is still just 19.
- First-baseman Justin Smoak, the Rangers’ first-round pick this year, is hitting .389 in the Arizona Fall League. The AFL is quite a ways from MLB, but even so, I can’t help but think that the last thing the Rangers really need in their pipeline is more offense…
- Another first-base prospect, the Marlins’ Logan Morrison, is leading the AFL in batting average (.457), currently has a 12-game hit streak and has 5 homers through 17 games. Morrison was a 22nd-round pick in 2005, but has come a long way, writes ESPN.com’s Jason Grey, who sees in him the man to anchor Florida’s ‘initial sack’ in the future.
- A little more on those two Indian pitching prospects, Rinku Singh and Dinesh Patel — 19 years old, they pitched in front of 30 scouts in Arizona on Thursday. Patel hit 90 mph on the radar gun during a 30-pitch session, Singh 84 mph. The two former javelin throwers managed a few breaking balls, as well, and agent Jeff Borris said he expected "multiple offers." No word on whether those offers have come in.
Latest On Pedro Alvarez
Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has a source that claims the Player’s Association will only focus on the status of Pedro Alvarez’ contract and not on the contract of Eric Hosmer. Kovacevic says the MLBPA will argue that Hosmer’s contract was only delayed so the Pirates could have more time to negotiate with Alvarez.
However, Jonathan Mayo obtained a copy of the grievance filed by the union which suggests that Alvarez’ contract will not be the sole focus (emphasis Mayo’s).
The Commissioner’s Office, without notice to the MLBPA, unilaterally determined to permit Clubs to negotiate with drafted players after the August 15, 2008 deadline, and unilaterally determined to accept agreements by Clubs after the August 15, 2008 deadline.
Mayo feels that the use of plurals in the grievance indicates the union is contesting more than one contract. Mayo says the grievance, combined with MLB not allowing Hosmer to play until this issue is resolved, suggests that this is about more than just the contract status of Alvarez.
Mayo also speculates that part of the desire to make Alvarez the top-paid draftee, may stem from Buster Posey’s decision to go with an agent other than Boras. Mayo wonders if Boras is in-part driven to prove Posey made a mistake.
Other notes…
- In the above article, Kovacevic also indicates a third team may have submitted their agreement after the midnight deadline. However, Kovacevic does not name the team. Of the teams to announce their agreements to the public after the midnight deadline, includes the Padres (Allan Dykstra), Rangers (Justin Smoak) and Giants (Posey). Could a third player be dragged into this mess?
- Kovacevic has a second piece in which he details the contentious history between the Pirates and Boras, and how this may have led to the current rift between the two sides.
- Kovacevic is also reporting that Pirates’ president Frank Coonelly fired another shot at Boras, blaming the agent for getting Hosmer involved.
- Baseball Prospectus has a list of incidents that could be used as precedents in the Alvarez case.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.
Post-Draft Roundup: Hosmer, Smoak, Strasburg
Below I’ve collected more interesting remaining links regarding the amateur draft.
- The Royals bumped their offer from $5MM to $6MM and signed top pick Eric Hosmer. Rany Jazayerli was surprised to see Hosmer effectively get more than #1 pick Tim Beckham. The Royals joined the Red Sox and Pirates as teams spending around $10MM on draft picks this year.
- The Rangers resisted a Major League deal for Justin Smoak, and ultimately signed him to a $3.5MM minor league deal. Owner Tom Hicks pined for a hard slot system.
- The story of pitcher Chris Gruler, picked third overall by the Reds in ’02, reminds us to temper our enthusiasm for these kids. Many will bust.
- Tim Lincecum says Buster Posey can expect other minor leaguers to treat him differently because of the bonus he received.
- The race is on for Stephen Strasburg, who is separating himself from the pack as the top talent in the ’09 draft. The Mariners, Padres, and Nationals all have a shot at him, with the Nats in the "lead." Would the Nats avoid Strasburg due to signability concerns?
Rangers Sign Justin Smoak
11:15pm: Smoak gets $3.5MM, per Jim Callis.
11:07pm: According to MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan, Smoak has been signed to a minor league deal. Terms are not yet known.
10:33pm: MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo heard an agreement between the Rangers and top pick Justin Smoak might be close, a big league deal worth more than $3MM. The Rangers will not confirm it though. Mayo considers Smoak and Yonder Alonso‘s fates linked.
Draft Pick Signing Update: Posey, Matusz, Alonso
10:51am: Baggarly has the latest on Posey. He says it’s a "spitting contest" between Scott Boras and Posey’s agency to have the highest-paid draft pick.
7:46am: The latest links involved unsigned first-round draft picks.
- Sam Mellinger explains the decision Eric Hosmer faces. He might have to go against Scott Boras’ advice.
- Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle denies Andrew Baggarly’s Buster Posey report yesterday, calling it "premature Posey-ing." Schulman talked to the Giants’ director of player personnel, who said the deal is not done and the number is not $7.5MM. There is no verbal agreement, either.
- Schulman also heard the Orioles are about to sign Brian Matusz for less than $7.5MM. Most folks believe this will get done as a Major League deal.
- The Pirates are cautiously optimistic about Pedro Alvarez. It’s possible Scott Boras could drag this out to within minutes of the deadline.
- Baseball Prospectus’ Kevin Goldstein has an update on all unsigned picks. He believes both Yonder Alonso and Justin Smoak will sign. Publicly, Reds GM Walt Jocketty is 50/50 on Alonso.
- MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo gives his take on Matusz, Josh Fields, and Allan Dykstra.
Draft Roundup: Dykstra, Smoak, Alonso
Here’s a collection of links involving unsigned first rounders.
- Kevin Towers expects talks to Allan Dykstra to go down to Friday. The Padres nearly had a deal, buy Dykstra’s physical revealed a hip problem.
- Justin Smoak reportedly wants a big league contract from the Rangers.
- The Reds want to do a minor league deal with Yonder Alonso, which has caused a stalemate. John Fay thinks he wants $7MM. Hal McCoy says the Reds are offering a $2.5MM minor league deal. Fay talked to Alonso, who may join an independent league and move in with Alex Rodriguez if need be.
Mayo’s Latest: Alvarez, Orioles, Cashner
MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo has some draft tidbits tonight.
- The idea has been floated that the Rays could draft Pedro Alvarez with an eye on moving Evan Longoria to second base down the road. Alvarez’s position really shouldn’t be a concern – Carlos Pena might be gone by the time he’s ready. Mayo’s heard buzz that the Rays have narrowed it down to Alvarez or Buster Posey, despite what Tim Beckham‘s dad said.
- Standard speculation is that the O’s are looking at Brian Matusz and Justin Smoak, but Mayo’s heard there might be a non-Beckham dark horse.
- The White Sox have Smoak, Yonder Alonso, and perhaps Andrew Cashner on their radar at #8.