Odds and Ends: Tazawa, Young, Kouzmanoff
Links for Friday. As always, I’ll update this post with more stuff so refresh later if you’re interested.
- Nick Piecoro suggests catcher Miguel Montero could be the D’Backs’ best trade chip. Their needs will be second base and perhaps starting pitching.
- The Marlins’ top priority is improving their defense.
- Dave Cameron takes apart Scott Boras’ claim about Oliver Perez. If more of these client books leak out, Boras is going to have to hire Cameron to keep him quiet.
- White Sox GM Ken Williams talked about adding speed from within, though Williams is notoriously unpredictable.
- Two 19 year-old Indian men named Rinku Singh and Dinesh Patel will try out in front of Major League scouts today after winning the Million Dollar Arm contest. The idea of the contest was to find raw talent among India’s huge population, kids who could hit 85mph consistently. The Red Sox and Indians are among the clubs in attendance.
- The Phillies may be interested in Junichi Tazawa, though Ruben Amaro’s "We know of him" comment isn’t exactly an endorsement. The Indians, Yankees, and D’Backs will pass on Tazawa, who could command $7MM.
- Also at NPB Tracker, a second Japanese club hopes to convince the Rangers to trade Nelson Cruz. Doesn’t make much sense for Texas.
- Amaro is figuring out his front office; Chuck LaMar has been promoted to assistant GM.
- Chris De Luca’s sources close to Bud Selig say there’s "zero chance" Bud and the owners let Mark Cuban buy the Cubs.
- Baseball America has the full list of 561 minor league free agents. See anyone you like?
- Former Dodgers GM Fred Claire looks at the notable waiver claims of the past few years.
- Baseball Prospectus’ John Perrotto says the Twins are reportedly willing to trade Delmon Young to the Padres for Kevin Kouzmanoff.
Perrotto’s Latest: La Russa, Offseason Moves
John Perrotto at Baseball Prospectus has his Every Given Sunday column up. Here’s the highlights from the Rumors and Rumblings section (with some added speculation here and there from yours truly):
- There’s a growing rumor that Cardinals manager Tony La Russa could step down after this season and pursue a job as a general manager. We all know Seattle’s looking…
- The Diamondbacks love Adam Dunn’s production so much that they are considering re-signing him and possibly having him play first base. Dunn’s racked up a .474 OBP since coming to Arizona… what’s not to like about that?
- The Padres seem willing to move Kevin Kouzmanoff once again. Perrotto doesn’t say, but it would make sense for young starting pitching to be the target for the Padres, and a move would allow Chase Headley to move back to his natural position, third base. The Giants are looking for help at third, but I doubt the Pads would trade him within the division. Minnesota, perhaps?
- The Marlins are considering playing Jorge Cantu at first next season, using Dallas McPherson at third, and trading Mike Jacobs in the offseason.
- The Royals will not re-sign Mark Grudzielanek this offseason, but will likely target both Rafael Furcal and Raul Ibanez. Given Mike Aviles‘ emergence at the plate, shifting him to second base and putting Furcal at shortstop would make for a very good middle of the infield in Kansas City. The Royals will also explore options for trading Jose Guillen. I personally didn’t like the contract they gave him at the time, and I doubt many clubs like it now either. Moving him could be difficult.
- The Rangers will try to trade Gerald Laird for pitching, given their surplus at catcher. The Yankees could use some help behind the plate if Jorge Posada is unable to catch…
- Jeff Kent, Frank Thomas, and Kent Mercker are all mentioned as possibilites for retirement this offseason, with Jeff Kent being almost a certainty, regardless of how his knee reacts to surgery.
Padres Rumors: Maddux, Hoffman, Kouzmanoff, Greene, Bard
4:32pm: More from Towers – he’s had inquiries on Jake Peavy, Trevor Hoffman, Heath Bell, Kouzmanoff, and Greene. Potential deals will be assessed after the season, though Towers wants Hoffman to stay until the end of his career.
2:43pm: MLB.com’s Corey Brock has the latest on the Padres and Greg Maddux.
Maddux apparently will only accept a trade to a West Coast team, preferably the Dodgers. Padres GM Kevin Towers doesn’t mind trading within the division. The only piece missing is interest from L.A. They’ve got good pitching depth, but if Maddux could be added at a reasonable price, why not? The Professor has a 4.18 ERA this year.
Don’t expect to see younger Padres like Kevin Kouzmanoff, Khalil Greene, or Josh Bard on the move. Towers said a trade of any of those three is "very doubtful."
Rosenthal’s Latest: K-Rod, Maddux, Wolf, Street
Rumor guru Ken Rosenthal is at it again.
- Angels GM Tony Reagins is doing his due diligence on available hitters. Rosenthal admits his own suggestion of a Mark Teixeira/Will Ohman blockbuster acquisition is unlikely.
- Rosenthal believes Francisco Rodriguez‘s expected asking price to be five years, $75MM. The Angels would not bite on that.
- Greg Maddux only wants to be traded to a West Coast team. He might accept a trade back to the Dodgers, if Ned Colletti and Kevin Towers want to go down that road.
- The Orioles would trade George Sherrill if someone wants to overpay. Tons of teams are looking for lefty relievers, and many are available. Rosenthal notes that the Orioles have plenty of players likely to clear waivers, making August trades quite possible.
- The Dodgers are apparently interested in Toronto shortstop John McDonald. Talks for Cristian Guzman and Jack Wilson have stagnated. An extension is more likely than a trade for Guzman.
- Randy Wolf and Cla Meredith are the most popular Padres in trade talks. Wolf’s no-trade clause doesn’t include the teams that like him, so that won’t be an issue. If the Friars were to move Kevin Kouzmanoff, they’d ask for a young outfielder back.
- Even with their second base surplus, the A’s want to sign Mark Ellis to an extension.
- A Milton Bradley deal is unlikely, but the Rangers are getting calls on Marlon Byrd and Nelson Cruz. In return, they might be looking for young starting pitchers.
- The Royals are said to be "actively shopping" Miguel Olivo and Mark Grudzielanek. However, it’s been suggested that the Royals might not have the catching depth to move Olivo.
- Rosenthal’s list of Huston Street suitors: Mets, White Sox, Dodgers, and Brewers.
Odds and Ends: Kouzmanoff, Ricciardi, Wilson
Today’s linkage…
- Athletics Nation proposes a couple of deals for the A’s.
- RotoAuthority looks at Reds rookie pitcher Daryl Thompson, who draws a tough debut assignment on Saturday.
- CBS Sports’ Scott Miller expects Padres third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff to be traded this summer. Kouzmanoff, 27 in July, is hitting .268/.328/.476 in 42 games following another lousy April.
- J.P. Ricciardi apologized for his comments about Adam Dunn.
- From the What Might’ve Been File: the Tigers offered Jair Jurrjens for Jack Wilson about a year ago. Nice to see that .500 will not be a goal for the Bucs, by the way.
- Ken Rosenthal says "a potential selloff of veterans is on hold" for the Orioles right now, as the team is only 5.5 games out of the wild card.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Braun, Holliday, Kouzmanoff, Greene, Sabean
Let’s take a look at what is being said about some recent rumors, trades and signings in the Blogosphere…
- Right Field Bleachers sees the signing of Ryan Braun and Corey Hart to long-term deals as a "must" for the Brewers.
- Brewers Nation sees the Braun deal as evidence that Prince Fielder will not sign an extension even if the two situations are very different.
- Oleanders and Morning Glories thinks that if Nats’ management was hoping to sign Ryan Zimmerman to a Troy Tulowitzki-type deal, Braun’s deal may have raised the bar.
- Squawking Baseball sees the recent trend in giving long-term deals to young stars and wonders if the absence of top-level free agents in a few years will drive up free agency prices. If that happens, players may stop signing these extensions and the market will correct itself…The point is valid, but these players will still become free agents eventually. The difference is only that they will be free agents in their age 30 season (approximately) instead of their age 28 season. If there is a correction, it will only be minimal and would only last a year or two.
- The Tribe Time Report explains why Matt Holliday would be a perfect fit for the Indians even if it is only for a season and a half.
- Friar Forum does not seem surprised about the notion of the Padres selling off pieces sooner, rather than later. However, they would be surprised to see Kevin Kouzmanoff moved, noting that it is much more likely that the slew of free agents-to-be will be shipped to other clubs.
- The Southpaw would love to see the Jays make a push for Khalil Greene, but their scenario is contingent on the Padres also dealing Kouzmanoff.
- Sorry we missed this before, but in light of Brian Sabean’s recent comments, I felt it was worth noting that Bucs Dugout has been running a series of polls to determine the worst GM in baseball. The finals featured Sabean easily out-distancing his opponent, Ed Wade of the Astros.
Cork Gaines writes for Rays Index and can be reached here.
Padres Trade Barfield To Indians For Kouzmanoff
Very interesting trade just went down: the Padres sent second baseman Josh Barfield to the Indians for third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff and reliever Andrew Brown.
Side effects: the Padres now have an opening at second if they want to trade for Marcus Giles, and they probably won't make a bid for Akinori Iwamura. Kevin Towers found a creative way to acquire a third baseman without spending money. Kouzmanoff, 25, did nothing but hit in the high minors this season. Baseball Prospectus's Kevin Goldstein ranked him the tenth best third base prospect in the game despite his age and health concerns.
Barfield had an OK rookie season, with a scorching July skewing the numbers a bit. He'll be just 24 next year, so there's room for improvement.