Odds & Ends: DeRosa, Bruney, Cooper
Let's kick it off today with some odds and ends.
- RotoAuthority discusses responding to lame trade offers in your fantasy league.
- Reliever Mike MacDougal will join the Nationals tomorrow, according to MLB.com's Bill Ladson. Who knows, he could be closing for them by next week.
- Talking to Fred Mitchell of the Chicago Tribune, Cubs GM Jim Hendry defended the Mark DeRosa trade. Here is my problem with it: it was a financially-motivated deal made by a big-market team, and did not bring back players who could help in 2009.
- According to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the White Sox acquired journeyman minor league infielder Anderson Machado from the Pirates for a player to be named later.
- Padres exec Paul DePodesta explains the Jody Gerut for Tony Gwynn Jr. swap. DePodesta's third bullet point, money, had to be the overriding factor given Gwynn's negligible value around the league.
- Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle sees Bobby Crosby as perhaps a more pressing trade situation for the A's than Matt Holliday.
- Dr. James Andrews found no structural damage in Brian Bruney's elbow, according to Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News. Given the uncertainty, though, a bullpen acquisition would still make sense.
- It looks like the writing is on the wall for Astros manager Cecil Cooper. Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle lists his offenses.
- Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch is skeptical the Cardinals will make a big move.
- Kiley McDaniel of Baseball Prospectus agrees that the Pirates are the favorite for Dominican talent Miguel Angel Sano, and says the Rays, Cubs, A's, Blue Jays, Yankees, Rangers, and Twins are also after him. It's speculated by McDaniel and elsewhere that the Pirates could budget less toward their fourth overall pick in June to compensate for Sano. John Perrotto of Inside Pittsburgh Sports says they like Kyle Gibson, Aaron Crow, Bobby Borchering, and Wil Myers. Tanner Scheppers did not give the Bucs permission to redraft him.
Edes On Francoeur, Nick Johnson, Valverde
8:10pm: David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on the Red Sox-Francoeur rumor:
Talked to someone in Braves organization who sort of dismissed the Red Sox rumor. Said he hadn’t heard one thing about them having any serious interest in Francoeur or scouting him recently.
9:01am: Yahoo's Gordon Edes wrote about many different trade scenarios in his column last night.
- Edes seconds Ken Rosenthal's rumor that the Red Sox have been scouting Jeff Francoeur.
- The Nationals have been scouting the Mets' Triple and Double A teams, trying to figure out a possible return for Nick Johnson. Names of interest for Washington: Jon Niese, Mike Antonini, Eddie Kunz, and big leaguer Bobby Parnell. The Red Sox also had interest in Johnson, but not for the price of Michael Bowden. Back to the Mets – Joel Sherman of the New York Post has a list of available players they could consider aside from Johnson, including Jermaine Dye, Ben Francisco, Adam LaRoche, and Eric Hinske.
- Edes likes the fit of Jose Valverde with the Rays, but speculates that the Astros could ask for Wade Davis in return. Six years of Davis would be a huge price to pay for a few months of Valverde plus possible draft picks. Edes also likes Mark DeRosa for Tampa Bay, but they seem well-equipped to handle Akinori Iwamura's injury with internal options.
- Edes names the Phillies, Brewers, Royals, and Twins as possible suitors for Brad Penny. Edes adds that the Phillies "are already making plans for life without Brett Myers" after this season.
- The shortstop market includes Jack Wilson and perhaps John McDonald, but could become more interesting for a team like Boston if the Indians make Jhonny Peralta available.
Glaus May Not Play; Cards Seeking Bat
Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch spoke to Cardinals GM John Mozeliak, who has a gut feeling that it's less than 50-50 that third baseman Troy Glaus will play in 2009. Glaus is trying to come back from January shoulder surgery. He'll be a free agent after the season.
According to Strauss, the Cardinals will scour the trade market for a righthanded-hitting third baseman or outfielder. Strauss names Mark DeRosa (.267/.332/.450) and Garrett Atkins (.192/.272/.291) as candidates. I found some more players who could fit the bill: Melvin Mora, Kevin Kouzmanoff, Adrian Beltre, Scott Hairston, Jermaine Dye, Jose Guillen, Josh Willingham, Matt Holliday, Marlon Byrd, Austin Kearns, Eric Byrnes, and Ben Francisco.
Rosenthal On Astros, Marquis, DeRosa, Francoeur
Let's take a look at the latest from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
- Rosenthal recommends the Astros trade veterans to improve their bottom-ranked farm system. He'd especially like to see Houston make Roy Oswalt available. They'd have take Oswalt's no-trade clause into consideration.
- The Phillies continue to seek a starter, and they made an inquiry on Colorado's Jason Marquis. Rosenthal finds Erik Bedard "perhaps the most intriguing fit" and notes that the Phils probably have flexibility to add payroll. This question came up in a recent chat…I do think the Phillies have the pieces to pull off a Bedard trade.
- The Brewers are not going after Cleveland's Mark DeRosa, as they cannot spare Major League pitching for him. Rosenthal also finds Jake Peavy unlikely, as the Brewers probably couldn't pull off a deal without creating a new need. Of Peavy, Rosenthal says, "He will not leave easily."
- The Mets are interested in Nationals first baseman Nick Johnson, who is off to a .338/.445/.471 start.
- The Royals might be the top suitor for Jeff Francoeur if the Braves shop him, but not everyone in Kansas City's front office is keen on him. The Red Sox are known to have an eye on Francoeur.
- Rosenthal's heard speculation that the Sox could trade Daniel Bard, whose value may be at a high point.
- Rather than acquire someone like Yuniesky Betancourt, the Padres will stick with in-house options at shortstop (mainly Luis Rodriguez and Everth Cabrera, once they're healthy).
Knobler On Braves, Peavy, Holliday
CBS Sports' Danny Knobler thinks the Jake Peavy drama this past week helped kick-start some discussion on team needs. He's got a couple interesting bullets:
- The Braves are shopping hard for a right-handed hitter and are said to be dangling Jeff Francoeur, though Mark Bowman speculated last week that they might release him. His value can't be too high now. We discussed the Braves' woes last week.
- Though they might have interest in Mark DeRosa and Peavy, the Brewers want to prove they can be a contending team before they make any big moves.
- Knobler reiterates the Marlins' willingness to hear offers on Dan Uggla and Jorge Cantu.
- With Matt Holliday's woes at the plate, scouts say the A's can't expect to get as much as they might've hoped. "He's so easy to pitch to right now it's unbelievable," one of Knobler's sources said.
Indians Limited By Payroll Concerns
Any trade moves the Indians can make will be restricted by payroll limitations, says the Cleveland Plain Dealer. As it stands, the Indians payroll will be over $80MM in 2010 so bringing in a veteran on a multiyear deal is seemingly out of the question.
Cardinals Waiting For Glaus, Could Deal Later
According to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch the Cardinals are waiting to see how much Troy Glaus can contribute to the team before deciding whether to deal for a third baseman or rely on the current roster. Brian Barden, Tyler Greene, Brendan Ryan and Joe Thurston are all options for the Cards at third. Brett Wallace, last year's first round draft pick, just started at Triple A and isn't about to be called up soon.
Gammons On Indians, Nationals, Mauer
Here are the highlights from Peter Gammons' analysis on Mike and Mike in the Morning. Joe Haggerty of the Boston Metro has the interview transcript on his blog, Hacks with Haggs.
- The Padres will have a hard time dealing Jake Peavy because there aren't many takers who have the resources to acquire him. The Braves don't figure in now that they have enough pitching and the Cardinals aren't a likely fit either.
- "Victor Martinez and Cliff Lee are not on the trade block," according to Gammons.
- The Indians would deal Mark DeRosa for "major league ready pitching."
- Washington would like to deal Nick Johnson, Austin Kearns and some of their "semi-attractive" relievers.
- The Nationals offered Johnson to the Red Sox for Manny Delcarmen.
- Gammons says he believes it's in the best interest of the buyer and the seller to deal earlier, rather than later.
- The Yankees and Red Sox could offer Mark Teixeira money ($180MM) to Joe Mauer if the catcher hits free agency after the 2010 season.
Stark On White Sox, Bedard, A’s, Penny
A new Rumblings and Grumblings column from ESPN's Jayson Stark…
- Even if they don't acquire Jake Peavy, the White Sox are apparently "open for business." Stark takes that to mean names such as Jermaine Dye, Jim Thome, Paul Konerko, Octavio Dotel, and A.J. Pierzynski could hit the market.
- The Mariners are not quite yet at the point of making Erik Bedard available. They figure to price him like an ace if they do so.
- If A's GM Billy Beane decides to fold on 2009, he could make veterans such as Matt Holliday, Orlando Cabrera, Jason Giambi, and Russ Springer available.
- It's very unlikely that the D'Backs shop Brandon Webb this summer, since he'll be coming off a shoulder injury.
- Indians GM Mark Shapiro seems to be leaning toward hanging on to Cliff Lee for now. Shapiro may look to add pitching by trading Mark DeRosa or an outfielder.
- The Red Sox are "actively listening" on Brad Penny. My opinion: the Phillies, Indians, White Sox, or Mets could make sense.
Mets Interested In Mark DeRosa
According to Ed Price of AOL Fanhouse, the Mets have been talking to the Indians about acquiring Mark DeRosa. With Jose Reyes' injury last night, Price says "now that move makes even more sense."
What would it take to get DeRosa, who is hitting .255/.322/.427 in 174 plate appearances this year? First off I'd guess full relief of the $4.1MM still owed to him. Beyond that the rumor yesterday was pitching that could help the Indians this year.