Oakland A Fit For Mark DeRosa?
According to the San Francisco Chronicle's Susan Slusser:
Oakland is likely to talk to the Indians about Mark DeRosa, who is on the block. The A's had some interest in the infielder after the 2006 season. The Indians are believed to be looking for pitching, but the A's won't trade any of their hotshot young pitchers.
Second baseman Mark Ellis should be back in June, but the A's are getting a .177/.270/.300 line over at the hot corner. The A's are currently 7 games out and in last place, though, so they might be the ones shopping veterans a month from now.
Speaking of DeRosa, Joel Sherman of the New York Post wonders if a deal involving him, Jamey Carroll, and J.J. Putz could be worked out between the Mets and Indians. He says Carroll is an Omar Minaya favorite.
First Baseman? Mets Need a Shortstop
With Carlos Delgado out until at least late July, the rumors have swirled around the Mets and first basemen throughout the league.
But what the Mets may really need is a shortstop. Jose Reyes left Wednesday night's game against the Dodgers with what looked to be an aggravation of the calf injury that kept him out for five games. With backup Alex Cora out indefinitely with a thumb injury, the Mets are now left with a pair of shortstops: Ramon Martinez, who had two errors in his start on Monday night, and Fernando Tatis, who is a "break glass in case of emergency" kind of shortstop.
Even if Reyes returns quickly, the Mets need a credible backup. In house, the Mets have last season's backup middle infielder Argenis Reyes at shortstop, a decent glove who simply cannot hit. Jose Coranado is struggling so much with the bat, a .141 average at Triple-A, that he is an unlikely recall.
As previously reported, the Indians are fielding offers for Mark DeRosa. But DeRosa hasn't played more than 20 games at shortstop in a season since 2001-and over his last three seasons, he played a total of nine games there.
Rosenthal On Atkins, Red Sox, Webb
It's time for a new Ken Rosenthal column. He's cranking these out daily now?
- Add Rosenthal to the list of columnists who don't understand why the Mets don't just use Daniel Murphy at first base.
- The Rockies have kicked around a Garrett Atkins for Mark DeRosa swap, but it doesn't work from the Cleveland side. Rosenthal likes the Brewers and Mets as possible fits for DeRo.
- If the Red Sox are to trade Clay Buchholz or Michael Bowden, they'd want an elite hitter under similar team control (for example, Justin Smoak or Brett Wallace). Players aren't eligible to be traded until a year after signing, anyway.
- Given his injury situation, Rosenthal does not see Brandon Webb as a viable trade candidate this summer. More likely, a Jon Garland deal.
- Rosenthal sees Joe Beimel as a trade chip for Washington if he starts pitching decently.
Heyman On Mets, Trades, Billingsley
The latest from SI's Jon Heyman…
- Heyman wonders why the Mets aren't giving Daniel Murphy a chance as their regular first baseman. He names trade possibilities, in order of likelihood: Nick Johnson, Aubrey Huff, Russell Branyan, Victor Martinez/Mark DeRosa, and Garrett Atkins.
- Heyman names 22 players who might hit the trading block this summer, headed by Jake Peavy, Matt Holliday, and Erik Bedard. The A's could potentially have a lot of veterans to spin off.
- Heyman says "the Dodgers briefly tried to lock up Chad Billingsley this winter, and probably wish they had." Billingsley will be eligible for arbitration for the first time after this season, so his salary figures to jump up past $4MM.
Indians Fielding Offers For Mark DeRosa
According to SI's Jon Heyman, the Indians are now fielding offers for infielder Mark DeRosa. DeRosa, 34, is hitting .242/.312/.412 on the season in 170 plate appearances as the Tribe's third baseman. He has about $4.15MM left on his contract.
Heyman says the Indians "are looking mainly for pitchers who can help them now." Heyman believes DeRosa is below Nick Johnson, Aubrey Huff, and Russell Branyan on the Mets' wish list. What other teams would make sense – the Braves, Cubs, Brewers, or Cardinals perhaps? You can discuss it in the comments here, and also head over to our Facebook fan page and jump into that discussion.
Over at the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Paul Hoynes says Indians GM Mark Shapiro "is talking to general managers, but it's not about subtracting players in preparation for next year."
Olney On Trade Scenarios
ESPN's Buster Olney talks about future trade possibilities in his blog today.
- Olney's Brewers source says the team is not looking outside for Rickie Weeks' replacement at this point. Manager Ken Macha doesn't view Craig Counsell as a regular, but he can platoon with Casey McGehee. And Alcides Escobar will start to work at second base in Triple A.
- The Red Sox might have to do something to replace David Ortiz at DH if he doesn't show signs of life soon. Olney speculates on the idea of Boston trading starting pitching "for some talented young hitter – like Matt LaPorta of the Indians." That would stink for LaPorta, getting traded twice within a year.
- Olney likes Mark DeRosa for the Mets. Most writers like DeRosa for any team though. Olney figures the Indians would seek pitching for him.
Odds & Ends: Mets, Cubs, Astros
Links for Monday…
- Nationals GM Mike Rizzo told Baseball America's Jim Callis that the team's #10 overall draft pick will not be influenced by signability. MLB.com's Bill Ladson's source believes negotiations between Rizzo and Scott Boras for Stephen Strasburg will go well, given their past history.
- Regarding Friday's call for MLBTR writers, I still have many applications to review. I will keep you updated here on the site.
- McCovey Chronicles discusses The Jonathan Sanchez Paradox.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post names Nick Johnson, Aubrey Huff, and Mark DeRosa as the most probable trade targets for the Mets if Carlos Delgado is out for an extended period of time. Check out MLBTR's discussion of this topic from Saturday. SI.com's Jon Heyman also weighed in today.
- Daniel Kaplan of SportsBusiness Journal has an update on progress made on the sale of the Cubs.
- On Sunday, Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette wrote that Freddy Sanchez's current contract clause will likely cause the Pirates to avoid vesting options in the future.
- On June 1st, Alyson Footer will begin a new job working for the Astros. The new MLB.com beat writer will be Brian McTaggart, who covered the team for the Houston Chronicle.
Rosenthal On Ortiz, Braves, White Sox
The latest from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports…
- Rosenthal notes how easy it would be for the Red Sox to find a left-handed hitter to top David Ortiz's 2009 production – many such bats are impending free agents and could be available in July. A shortstop and young catcher also remain on Boston's wish list. Unfortunately, with no-trade protection and about $22.5MM remaining on his contract, Ortiz is pretty much immovable.
- Former D'Backs pitching coach Bryan Price resigned in part due to reservations about working for new manager A.J. Hinch.
- Rosenthal notes the Braves' surplus of quality minor league arms, and suggests they're well-equipped to trade for a bat. The Braves rank 11th in the NL with 4.41 runs scored per game.
- The White Sox's rotation is looking a bit shaky given the ineffectiveness of Jose Contreras. Rosenthal says "the team eventually figures to be in the market for a starter." The Sox are hanging in there at 3.5 games out with a 14-17 record.
- Aside from Cliff Lee, Rosenthal believes Indians infielder Mark DeRosa could draw attention closer to the trade deadline.
Odds And Ends: Alvarez, Cameron, Nats
A few links for Thusrday night…
- Pedro Alvarez, who was drafted by the Red Sox in 2005, remembers thinking about signing with Boston in an article by Alex Speier on WEEI.com.
- Joe McDonald of the Providence Journal heard from Theo Epstein and Terry Francona about building a winning team. Epstein said the Sox have a history of making room for young talent, but Francona added that there’s never room for all the youngsters.
- Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that Mike Cameron was preparing himself to be traded this offseason and considers it "a blessing" to be in Milwaukee.
- Ironically, Mark DeRosa, who was actually traded, didn’t see it coming at all according to this article by Chris De Luca of the Chicago Sun-Times.
- ESPN.com’s Buster Olney spoke with a number of baseball people who say "baseball’s internal code of conduct is strengthening." Players who act out aren’t getting away with it as often.
- Chico Harlan of the Washington Post reports that Nationals president Stan Kasten didn’t comment directly on whether we should expect any more dismissals within the organization soon.
- Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News heard from Giants president Larry Baer that the team doesn’t consider the Edgar Renteria and Jeremy Affeldt signings mistakes.
- And bad news out of Colorado: The Rocky Mountain News will publish its final edition Friday.
Cubs-Peavy: Nothing Cooking
6:23pm: I just spoke to a source familiar with the Cubs’ thinking. Hopefully I can further douse the flames of the Peavy-Cubs rumors – the Cubs aren’t planning to restart the Peavy talks, and none of their recent trades for pitching were related to Peavy. Keep in mind that the team’s ownership situation is far from resolved. – Tim Dierkes
5:58pm: MLB.com’s Barry Bloom heard from Cubs assistant GM Randy Bush that the Cubs have had "no talks about Jake Peavy since they were well-documented during the Winter Meetings." However, this doesn’t mean that talks won’t restart.
Bush said the Cubs could go into Spring Training without further changes, but sounds open to adding players if they come at the right price.
5:16pm: In an ESPN.com video Buster Olney says, "at some point you can expect the Cubs and Padres will again start talking about a Peavy deal" now that the Cubs have added pitching in trades.
Earlier in the winter, the Padres wanted more young arms than the Cubs could offer. Since then, the Cubs added pitching to the organization in the Mark DeRosa deal and created flexibility by trading for Aaron Heilman.
The Cubs could structure a deal for Peavy around prospect Josh Vitters and young pitching.