New Plan: Extension For Gagne
The Rangers are throwing trade rumor junkies a curveball – they’re now thinking about hanging onto Eric Gagne and signing him to a contract extension. This development may be related to the limited trade options for the rejuvenated closer.
Keep in mind that the extension talk may just be lip service. As a Scott Boras client, wouldn’t the oft-injured Gagne require a good three years, $36MM guaranteed? That’s my guess. That would be very risky. Assuming Mariano Rivera remains a Yankee, Francisco Cordero will be the only free agent closer near Gagne’s level. Nice timing for Coco, by the way.
I’m still learning how the Elias Bureau determines its free agent classifications. My guess is that Gagne would not earn the Type A designation because he missed most of last year. I’ll have to confirm that. If I’m correct, the Rangers wouldn’t be able to collect much in the way of draft picks if Gagne walks.
Evan Grant also notes that Joaquin Benoit has moven to the forefront as the Ranger reliever must likely to be dealt. Akinori Otsuka‘s injury may prevent him from full re-establishing his value by July 31st. Benoit will not become a free agent until after 2008, and he’s in the midst of a career year after rediscovering his control. The Dodgers and Brewers may be interested. L.A. could get desperate if Takashi Saito‘s injury is serious, although it does not appear to be. On the other hand, it’s certainly in Ned Colletti’s best interest to downplay the injury. For the Brew Crew, Benoit could slide into the closer role in 2008 if they allow Cordero to leave.
Grant adds that the Rangers and Dodgers have had slow-moving talks about Mark Teixeira, and that the Braves were scouting the game on Friday as well. The Braves could’ve been looking at relievers though.
One final note: contrary to a previous report, Grant says Kenny Lofton is drawing significant interest from the Tribe. Lofton’s agent has heard the rumor as well. Kenny implied yesterday that he’d play a corner outfield position if need be.
Rosenthal On Teixeira, Dunn
I neglected to mention a Ken Rosenthal article from yesterday, chock full of rumory goodness as always.
- Rosenthal believes the Yankees need a backup plan in case they are not able to retain Alex Rodriguez. Wilson Betemit definitely makes sense in that he’d be useful even if they do keep A-Rod. Rosenthal basically names every third baseman you can think of. The most likely option, to me, is to simply sign Mike Lowell as a free agent. Would he switch sides? Perhaps, if the Red Sox don’t make an offer or try to lowball him.
- The Braves apparently won’t give up Yunel Escobar or Jarrod Saltalamacchia to get Mark Teixeira. Neither of ’em. No doubt John Schuerholz will spend the next ten days trying to get Jon Daniels to settle for less.
- The Reds have a "co-Dunn-drum," as Rosenthal puts it. Now that’s good stuff. The basic codunndrum here is that no team that can afford Adam Dunn wants him. Rosenthal likes the Tigers as a dark horse. I know Dunn isn’t much with the glove, but I’m surprised the market isn’t stronger for him right now.
- Dan Wheeler is more likely than Chad Qualls to be moved, because he’s closer to free agency (after 2008).
- Rosenthal believes the Royals could not even acquire a Tony Abreu from the Dodgers for Octavio Dotel. Previously it had been said that the Dayton Moore was asking for Matt Kemp or James Loney. And Duke Snider plus Sandy Koufax.
- Bronson Arroyo does not appear to be available. Jose Contreras or Matt Morris: which is the lesser of two evils?
Tim Brown’s Latest: A’s, Yankees
Yahoo’s Tim Brown has a new post up, with some trade rumors we’ve heard before and some we haven’t.
- Clearly the A’s are sellers, and they’re offering up Mike Piazza, Joe Kennedy, and Bobby Kielty. Brown names the Twins as the club most interested in Piazza. He also feels the Yankees, Angels, Mariners, and Red Sox would be good fits. But where would Piazza play on the Red Sox?
- The Red Sox were apparently close to a deal for Kielty, a 31 year-old switch-hitting extra outfielder. He hasn’t played much center since ’02, so maybe the Sox have relaxed that requirement. Kielty was supposed to be moved in a three-team deal that would have sent Wily Mo Pena somewhere. The deal has stalled, but it’s really starting to look like Pena is on the move.
- The Yankees and Rangers are still discussing Mark Teixeira. My guess is that Brian Cashman just wants to see if this can be done without involving Phil Hughes or Joba Chamberlain. Failing that, the Yanks have Ty Wigginton and Shea Hillenbrand on their list. Wiggy would be a useful addition. Joe Maddon would still find a way not to play Jonny Gomes though.
Teixeira Trade Talk Continues
A host of clubs are currently in on Texas first baseman Mark Teixeira, according to Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News.
We’ve heard the most about the Dodgers and Angels competing to acquire him. However, as Buster Olney notes, both clubs have promising young cheap first basemen. Though Teixeira has the track record, is he significantly better than James Loney or Casey Kotchman? Grant says the Dodgers have been scouting the Rangers and could go for one of their relievers as well. Meanwhile, the Rangers are scouting the Angels.
Grant says additional contenders like Teixeira: the Braves, Red Sox, and Yankees. Kevin Youkilis has been Boston’s first baseman this year. However, they could shift him back to third base and trade impending free agent Mike Lowell for something useful. The Braves and Yankees definitely have room at first base for Tex.
In the Braves’ case, though, there would truly be nowhere for Jarrod Saltalamacchia to play if he wasn’t included in the deal. The Braves are in an odd place, with two excellent young starting catchers on the roster. Atlanta’s strongest need right now is starting pitching, however. The Baseball Opinion connects the dots and finds a Javier Vazquez acquisition possible.
Grant believes noncontenders such as the Orioles and Giants could be interested in Teixeira as well. The Giants could use some star power if they cut ties with Barry Bonds after the season. Brian Sabean now has the job security to think about the post-Bonds Giants. The Orioles would be bringing in their hometown boy and could make a corresponding trade of Miguel Tejada.
Braves Still Interested In Teixeira?
We’ve seen the Braves connected in Mark Teixeira rumors before; in late June Kat O’Brien included the Braves in a sizeable list of interested teams. Speculation for quite a while now has placed catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia in the discussion.
David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution says the Teixeira-to-Atlanta rumor was still making the rounds at the All-Star Game. He seems to be speculating when he says Jon Daniels would require Salty and another young player, but that sounds about right. Perhaps the Braves wouldn’t be daunted by Teixeira’s free agency after 2008. They could definitely let him walk and collect some valuable draft picks. That’d bypass a lot of the Boras factor, though they’ll still have to arrive at a 2008 salary.
Braves’ first basemen have amassed an ugly .211/.264/.374 line in 318 ABs, most of it coming from Scott Thorman and the since-departed Craig Wilson. But if they went with Saltalamacchia exclusively from here on out, would he be significantly worse than Teixeira?
The Braves are fourth in the NL in OBP and sixth in slugging, with Andruw Jones perhaps primed for a much better second half. The bigger need is in pitching, specifically the starting rotation. Atlanta’s 4.60 rotation ERA is just 10th in the NL, and they have to be at least slightly worried about John Smoltz.
The problem is that Teixeira is definitely on the market, while an ace starter may not be. Javier Vazquez might be the best pitcher available.
Teixeira Pines For Orioles
The Mark Teixeira-Orioles love affair continued tonight, as the Rangers welcomed Baltimore to town tonight for a series. Said Tex about the Orioles:
"In a year and a half, we’ll have some fun conversations. Baltimore, obviously in the future, is a place I’d love to look at."
Of course, he also said the typical cliches about being a Ranger and wanting to win in Texas. But you don’t often see a player under contract for an additional year and a half so openly talking about playing for another club. Teixeira also spoke of his willingness to chat with top Orioles draft pick Matt Wieters to help facilitate a deal. Both players have Scott Boras as their agent, and both went to Georgia Tech.
You may recall that 40% of the Orioles’ 25-man roster will reach free agency after the 2009 season. The O’s could backload a Teixeira contract to squeeze him in for the ’09 season. It is expected that the Orioles would have considerable competition from at least the Yankees.
Teixeira hopes to rejoin the Ranger lineup one week from now, leaving Jon Daniels two weeks to trade him before the deadline. There hasn’t been much buzz on him lately.
Mailbag: Nomar To Third Base
Feel free to hit up the MLBTR mailbag at mlbtraderumors@gmail.com.
Today, Peter C. writes:
Grady Little has finally snapped and decided to put Nomar at third and James Loney at first base. What do you think the overall repercussions of this move will be?
- Nomar’s injury likelihood increases drastically.
- The switch does not spark Nomar’s bat.
- With the offensive decline, an $8.5MM salary for 2008, and a lengthy injury history, Nomar is untradeable except in a salary-for-salary type swap. How about some kind of convoluted trade for Pat Burrell?
- Should he stay, Nomar’s presence will be an inconvenience, but he won’t eat up too much playing time because of injuries.
- Loney fails to provide the power the Dodgers are looking for over the next several weeks. He may eventually become Mark Grace, but could disappoint in the short term.
- Ned Colletti gives up on Loney and uses him in a deadline deal for Mark Teixeira. I can’t decide who else would go to Texas in this imagined deal. Jonathan Meloan? He’s a reliever, though an impressive one. I can’t see even Colletti trading big-time pitching prospects like Clayton Kershaw or Chad Billingsley.
- Kind of funny that as I was just finishing up this post, a reader passed along this rumor from Evan Grant. Grant’s trade proposals don’t deviate too far from my Loney/Meloan package. He actually suggests the Rangers package Eric Gagne with Teixeira in an attempt to pry away Kershaw.
Mark Teixeira Trade Rumors
Kat O’Brien of Newsday has the latest Mark Teixeira trade rumors for our perusal. According to O’Brien, the Yankees, Dodgers, Orioles, Angels, and Braves as said to be interested in the first baseman.
We’ve seen the Angels connected to Teixeira plenty of times, and I still don’t get it. Why would the Angels move Casey Kotchman, by all accounts a fine fielder, off first base? The rumors persist, but this does not seem like a fit for the Halos. They need a third baseman.
With the Yanks, I imagine the stumbling block remains finding a package good enough for Jon Daniels without including Phil Hughes. I see this as a long shot, mainly because the Red Sox are not rumored to be after Teixeira. And I just demonstrated why I don’t think the Angels will legitimately chase him. So the Yankees wouldn’t be in competition with an AL contender for Teixeira (unless the Tigers get involved). There is no pressing need to give up the farm, even the non-Hughes part of the farm.
The Braves are a dark horse; I think the Dodgers and Orioles will go head to head for Teixeira. O’Brien mentions that at least eight or nine teams have expressed at least casual interest, so there are a few unknowns here. If I had to guess, I’d say Teixeira becomes a Dodger or else stays put this summer.
Rosenthal’s Latest
Ken Rosenthal has a new column up. A summary appears below.
- Rosenthal thinks the Tigers are unlikely to acquire Eric Gagne or Akinori Otsuka, perhaps preferring to look at internal options. That’s a shame, as I think they really need to add someone.
- The White Sox won’t be granting a 72 hour negotiating window if they trade Mark Buehrle. Strictly a rental. That could limit the market for him, but Kenny Williams will come up with at least one quality prospect.
- The Dodgers don’t seem likely to trade for Adam Dunn or Jermaine Dye, but could go after Mark Teixeira. Dye seems most likely to end up in the NL West somehow, but only if he is healthy and hitting.
- Possible Dontrelle Willis suitors: the Rockies or Diamondbacks. They’ve got the young trading chips, and the need in the present day. The Rox could offer Aaron Cook plus prospects, and the D’Backs could try Livan Hernandez and youngsters. If the D’Backs dare offer up Justin Upton, the Marlins would jump. Of course, D-Train needs to be healthy and the Marlins would need to fall out of contention.
- Barry Bonds‘s agent really doesn’t see a trade happening. Well, no one does, but it’s fun to speculate. Rosenthal thinks only the Yankees could accomodate him.
- Aside from the Pirates and Padres, the Astros, Cardinals, and Rangers could go after Milton Bradley.
- Rosenthal has a GM source who thinks the Reds could wait until this winter, exercise Adam Dunn’s $13MM option for ’08, and then trade him. Dunn, however, would gain no-trade protection until June 15, 2008 and then be able to block 10 teams thereafter.
- Troy Glaus isn’t going anywhere. Even if the Jays wanted to trade him, his contract is prohibitive.
- The Indians or Rockies could trade for Octavio Dotel for bullpen depth. Dotel is developing into a fine trading chip for Dayton Moore, just as planned. The Tribe has had interest in Dotel in past offseasons.
Latest From Gammons
The man himself, Peter Gammons, had a blog posting on Saturday that I neglected to mention here.
- Gammons mentions some suitors for Mark Buehrle: the Mets, Cardinals, and Mariners. He draws the Jermaine Dye/Padres connection we have seen in the past.
- Gammons believes the Astros will move one of Brad Lidge, Dan Wheeler, or Chad Qualls. However, that was written before Lidge hit the DL for a strained oblique. Houston would also love to move Morgan Ensberg, but that’s nothing new.
- The Dodgers are looking for a corner infield slugger, but aren’t interested in Troy Glaus or Scott Rolen. Adam Dunn isn’t in the Dodgers’ plans, either. Dunn’s defensive limitations really seem to be hindering a deal. If they are going to give up multiple young future stars, it’s going to take Mark Teixeira. In other words, they’d go all-in.
- Bill Stoneman is "cautiously looking for a bat." Cautious is the name of the game with Stoneman. It’s a seller’s market for power hitters. Imagine what the Marlins could get for Miguel Cabrera.