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Lastings Milledge

Healey: Red Sox Like Heilman, Milledge

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Mark Healey of Gotham Baseball has a new but familiar trade rumor for us: it appears that the Red Sox would like to acquire Aaron Heilman to be their closer next year.  In addition, Theo Epstein and Co. may have their eye on Lastings Milledge.  It could be the makings of a Manny Ramirez trade, if the Mets want to pay Ramirez’s $39MM salary over the next two seasons.

Healey was not able to confirm this info from multiple sources, but has faith in his Boston source here.

Manny’s contract may be slightly less daunting than it looks.  That’s because $8MM of the $31MM is deferred and will be paid out in $1.94MM doses over 2011-2026.  I believe that is the first time MLBTradeRumors has referenced the year 2026.

Latest Mets Buzz

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I spoke to my Mets source recently, so here’s the latest buzz around the team.

As has been reported in several places, Tom Glavine plans on returning to the Braves.  I’m told a "handshake agreement" is in place.  If the playoff excitement can’t change his mind, the Mets will take a look at Barry Zito and Mark Mulder.  Orlando Hernandez may be re-signed and of course Steve Trachsel is a goner.  Beyond that, the Mets have many in-house starting pitching options.

The Mets still like outfielder Lastings Milledge even with the problems he’s had in the clubhouse.  The only way he’d be dealt is if Dontrelle Willis comes in return.  Should Willis become available, the Mets will be all over it.  If Milledge is traded to Florida, to team is high on David Dellucci for left field.  Alfonso Soriano is not on the radar.

My source also tells me that there is a lot of consideration for Aaron Heilman to return to starting for 2007.  They hope to re-sign Guillermo Mota but expect Darren Oliver to command too much money.

The Mets will probably pursue a trade for second base, as Valentin is not expected back.  In-house options Ruben Gotay and Anderson Hernandez do not impress.  Interest in Julio Lugo is minimal.

The team will take the payroll to the $105MM range.  If Glavine leaves that could mean $20MM to play with.

Mets Trade Rumor: Milledge For Oswalt Or Schmidt

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Jon Heyman busts out a big one early Monday morning: the Mets are in "serious talks" for Jason Schmidt or Roy Oswalt.  The key to any deal would be Lastings Milledge.

Heyman mentions that Brian Bannister would be needed to pry Oswalt away but not Schmidt.  He also says Aaron Heilman could be used to "enhance" a deal.

It seems now that Oswalt really is in play, which is strange given the Astros’ lack of depth behind Roger Clemens.  Speaking of which, why not put the Rocket on the block instead?   

Trade Rumor Roundup: 10 Days Left

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Couple of fresh rumors surrounding the Padres’ third base vacancy, and I’m proud to say that MLBTradeRumors was able to deduce these in advance.  A week ago I compiled a spreadsheet of Kevin Towers’ trading history since 2001, nerd that I am.  From that we learned that Towers loves working with the Red Sox and also Bill Bavasi.  That he would consider Adrian Beltre and Mike Lowell for his vacancy followed logically.  Today, the Beltre rumor comes courtesy of Ken Rosenthal and Buster Olney threw down the Lowell rumor.  If those two big dogs fall through, Towers could pursue previous acquisitions Joe Randa or Rich Aurilia.

Plenty of speculation, newspaper articles, and quotes involving Julio Lugo heading to Toronto.  Not that this would be a bad move, but this club has a clear need for pitching.  Ricciardi only has so many bullets to fire as far as prospects and dollars.

ESPN’s Stark Market tells us that the Mets may have soured a bit on Lastings Milledge and could consider shipping him to Philadelphia for Bobby Abreu.  Meanwhile, Baseball Prospectus’s Jay Jaffe reminds us that Milledge’s most comparable player is Ruben Mateo, and recommends the deal for New York.

Wacky rumor involving A-Rod to the Phils made the message board rounds yesterday afternoon, but I think it’s safe to say there’s nothing to this one.  Mark Healey agrees.  The best part is that this one actually got all the way to A-Rod himself, who said he’d veto a deal to Philly.  Check out that Gotham Baseball column from Healey for some fresh rumorage.      

I was just checking my referrers, seeing where people are coming from when they land here at MLBTradeRumors.com.  A lot of the traffic comes from search engine queries.  Turns out someone recently found this site by Googling: "what does dayn perry have against royce clayton."  Now that’s a damn good question.

Latest Mets Buzz

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Haven’t heard from my Mets source in a while, but he checked in this morning with some good info.

He tells me that the Mets are not interested in trading Lastings Milledge or Aaron Heilman in a Barry Zito deal.  The Mets aren’t a team to overpay for 2-3 months of Zito given his impending free agency.  In addition, the Wilpons are sensitive about the Scott Kazmir trade (7-2, 2.39 ERA) and won’t let history repeat itself. 

On the other hand, if the Mets had to include Milledge and another top prospect (Alay Soler?) to acquire Dontrelle Willis, they’d jump at the chance.  Willis could anchor the rotation for many years in front of Mike Pelfrey.

20 year-old outfielder Carlos Gomez is a scout favorite despite his current .219/.290/.318 line at Double A so far.  The Mets love the kid, but he could be had if it meant acquiring an ace-caliber pitcher like Jason Schmidt without parting with Milledge. 

Anderson Hernandez, Michael Abreu, Evan Maclane, Heath Bell, and Victor Diaz are all readily available trading chips if the Mets decide not to shoot for the stars. 

Nats Want Milledge for Livan

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I find it almost comical that Jim Bowden would demand Lastings Milledge in a trade for Livan Hernandez.  I know he wants to save his job with the next Scott Kazmir deal, but c’mon now.  The Mets aren’t that desperate, are they?

Hernandez has an ERA over 6 and is only 31 years old in theory.  He makes $8MM this year and $7MM the next.  Whether or not Milledge is worthy of all the hype, the Mets could do a lot better.  I still think Livan will come around and could help the Mets, but at that price they need look at internal candidates instead. 

Milledge is at .284/.440/.447 in Triple A at age 21.  The 17% walk rate is an excellent development, and you have to figure the 20 HR power will come with time.

The Nationals do need to find a way to stock up one of baseball’s worst farm systems.  Hernandez, Jose Guillen, Alfonso Soriano, Nick Johnson, and Brian Schneider should keep the hot stove boiling all summer.      

Gotham Baseball’s Zito Rumor

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Gotham Baseball’s Executive Editor, Mark Healey, had some informed speculation on Monday about a possible trade of Barry Zito to the Mets for Lastings Milledge and Brian Bannister.  I figured I’d pass it along, as these guys seem to have some good front office type sources.

Here are some highlights quoted from Healey from the thread:

"Call me nuts…but I still think something is happening here and will in the next couple of days…

Mike and I talk to scouts, front office people every week, sometimes daily….mostly to check on things, etc…

Before and after our respective trips to ST…we both did pre-work and post-work…

When people start getting tight-lipped, and strange things like Milledge and Bannister staying in Major League camp longer than they were supposed to be — my antenna goes up.

However, be that as it may, this thread was specualtion…if I had any corroboration, it’d be in the Rumor Mill.

[posted today] About five minutes after I posted the above I got a phone call from my West Coast guy saying that My speculation "might not be far off the mark" but wouldn’t elaborate…saying to check on what Oakland GM Billy Beane has been up to…

Hmmm…seems Billy traded the immortal Juan Cruz to the D’Backs for Brad Halsey (a 25 year old left-hander)…

Another starter, one less reliever for the Oaks?

The plot thickens…"

Latest Red Sox Rumor – Clement, Vidro, Milledge

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Several emailers have alerted me to a post made over at Sons of Sam Horn late last night.  A respected poster lays out this scenario:

Red Sox trade Matt Clement and Alex Cora
Nationals trade Jose Vidro and Jay Bergmann
Mets trade Lastings Milledge and Xavier Nady (with some chance of Victor Diaz instead of Milledge)

Red Sox receive Milledge and Nady
Nationals receive Clement and Cora plus cash if Clement pitches over 150 innings
Mets receive Vidro and Bergmann plus a PTNBL from either Nats or Sox depending on Vidro’s health. (Livan Hernandez could end up with the Mets as well)

I paraphrased a few things but this is all from the post.  I haven’t heard anything about these players lately, but I thought the rumor would make for interesting discussion.  My thoughts:

From the Red Sox point of view, it’s either a steal or a salary dump.  It’d be a steal if Milledge were indeed the centerpiece.  However, there are some who believe Milledge is not even a top 100 prospect.  Don’t gasp, Mets fans – David Luciani knows what he’s talking about and still respects Milledge.

If the Red Sox are acquiring Diaz and Nady for Clement, I can’t see a big improvement to their club for 2006.  It would have to be motivated by the $19MM owed to Clement over the next two seasons, but the Red Sox aren’t having budget problems so it doesn’t make a lot of sense.  The issue of whether the Sox have starting pitching depth from which to deal has been debated endlessly; it depends on how you evaluate their young guys.

The Nationals wouldn’t be surrendering much to get Clement.  I’ve been told Vidro’s health is still questionable, and he makes $23MM over the next three seasons.  The team would love to get out from under that contract.  24 year-old Bergmann looks like a decent enough reliever, but not a top tier prospect.  The Nationals would definitely have to bump someone out of the rotation to give Clement a spot.  They are currently six deep with Tony Armas, Ryan Drese, Livan Hernandez, Brian Lawrence, Ramon Ortiz, and John Patterson.

The deal makes the least amount of sense for the Mets.  It’s been stated repeatedly that the team wants to hold onto Milledge, and that is thought to be the only reason they haven’t traded for Barry Zito.  So the addition of Vidro and his albatross contract doesn’t equate here.  Add Livan Hernandez and you might have something, but the 30 year-old may not be ace material anymore after posting a 1.43 WHIP in 2005.

Mets Scoop: Tavarez, Zito, Benson, Baez

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A slew of information coming from my Mets source today.  Let’s see what we’ve got.

My source believes the Mets will give Julian Tavarez the four-year deal he’s looking for.  The market explosion has necessitated this length, and Omar Minaya will go to great lengths to avoid a subpar bullpen like last year’s.

The Mets are the current frontrunners for Barry Zito, and Lastings Milledge is still a requirement.  As reported earlier, the Mets plan to request a 72 hour contract extension window upon trading for Zito, but would make the trade with just a verbal agreement from the pitcher.  Zito’s best years came under Rick Peterson’s guidance, so it’d be a good fit.

The Mets don’t have the upper hand in any possible Kris Benson trade, so teams are backing off and offering less value.  The feeling is that Anna Benson’s media tirades are precluding small market teams from acquiring her husband.  Anna has definitely decreased Kris’s value around baseball.  She knows that her career will stall if they end up in a place like Kansas City, so she’ll do anything she can to stay in New York.

If the Mets can’t get fair value for Benson, Steve Trachsel and/or Victor Zambrano may be dealt for prospects.  The Mets hope to acquire players that would appeal to the A’s as part of a Zito deal.

The Aaron Heilman for Danys Baez rumors that have been floating around are false.

Not surprisingly, there’s no market for Kaz Matsui, even at a 50% off discount.  While they’d prefer Mark Grudzielanek, the Mets are OK with their depth at second base.

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