Giants Not Dangling Cain, Not Interested In Holliday
Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle provides an update on a few Giants rumors.
- Schulman's "very high-level" Giants source says Matt Cain is not being dangled, contrary to an earlier rumor.
- Schulman agrees with Juan C. Rodriguez's report that the Giants have asked the Marlins about Dan Uggla.
- Schulman believes the Giants are talking to the Nationals about Nick Johnson. However, his source said the team has no interest in Matt Holliday. Much has been made of Holliday's slow start, but keep in mind he's hitting .296/.406/.494 in May.
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.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Peavy, Giants, Rays, M’s, Lidge, Beltre
On this date seven years ago, the A's traded Jeremy Giambi to the Phillies for John Mabry. At the time of the deal, Giambi was hitting .274/.390/.471 with 8 home runs and Mabry was essentially a pinch-hitter. Giambi would go on to hit 12 more home runs for the Phils but would play only one more season in the big leagues. As rumors start to fly in the '09 season, let's take a look at what is being written in the Blogosphere…
- Fire Ned Colletti Now would be happy to see a team other than the Dodgers trade for Jake Peavy.
- Jorge Says No! says the Brewers should look into trading for Jake Peavy.
- McCovey Chronicles takes a look at some deadline deal possibilities for the Giants, including Matt Holliday, Carl Crawford and Ichiro.
- The Rays Party notes that Jason Isringhausen makes for a crowded bullpen which may indicate that the Devil Rays ($29) are about to make a deal.
- Phlavio's Corner takes a look at some options to replace Carlos Delgado.
- Around the Majors takes a look back at the Brad Lidge extension and wonders if it was a mistake.
- Bleeding Blue and Teal would like to see the Mariners make a deal for Ben Zobrist.
- The Detroit Tigers Weblog now admits that the Edwin Jackson-Matt Joyce trade may have been good for the Tigers.
- MLB Notebook sees a few possible trade destinations for Adrian Beltre including both Chicago franchises.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com. If you have a suggestion for this feature, Cork can be reached here, and on Twitter here.
Gammons On Peavy, Greene, Holliday
More rumors from ESPN.com's Peter Gammons in his latest column:
- Gammons says it made sense for Kenny Williams to try to deal for Jake Peavy because the AL Central is winnable and Gordon Beckham wasn't part of the deal.
- Gammons expects teams to be wary of no-trade clauses after seeing Peavy thwart the Padres' plans to deal him.
- Nats GM Mike Rizzo wants to deal now, while more teams are in the pennant race and remain possible buyers.
- Rizzo would like to improve his bullpen, which has an ERA nearing 7.00.
- The Red Sox want to wait on David Ortiz and plan on giving him the chance to start hitting. He finally homered this week, but has struck out in seven of his last 20 plate appearances.
- Gammons believes it makes sense for the Cardinals to see if the Red Sox have interest in Khalil Greene.
- Billy Beane may face a limited market for Matt Holliday if he decides to trade the left fielder in July.
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.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Bay, Holliday, Hudson, Cameron, Mets, Yankees, Rays
On this date 27 years ago, Adrian Gonzalez was born. The former first overall pick by the Marlins has been traded twice. He was originally dealt to the Rangers in a deal that sent Ugueth Urbina to the Marlins. Later he was dealt to the Padres along with Chris Young for Adam Eaton and Akinori Otsuka. As we enter the second month of the season, let's take a look at what is being written in the Blogosphere…
- Around the Majors looks at Jason Bay and Matt Holliday in an effort to find the best value in the free agents-to-be.
- Feeling Dodger Blue declares Orlando Hudson the best free agent signing of 2009…so far.
- The Eddie Kranepool Society thinks it might be time to break up the core of the Mets by shopping Carlos Beltran and Carlos Delgado.
- The Fowl Balls makes a case for the Yankees signing Paul LoDuca.
- River Ave. Blues argues that the Yankees have gotten lazy with the roster and have missed opportunities to improve the bench.
- Brew Crew Ball writes that Mike Cameron has been a great signing for the Brewers and wonders what the team should do with him as he nears free agency.
- Over at my home base, Rays Index, we are playing a game with other Rays bloggers (and Tim Dierkes) called "The Tampa Bay Rays Trade Pool," based loosely on "The Dead Pool."
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com. If you have a suggestion for this feature, Cork can be reached here, and followed on Twitter here.
Stark On Holliday, Relievers, Relocation
The latest from ESPN's Jayson Stark…
- Stark compared 2009 April attendance to 2008, excluding the New York teams given their new stadiums. He found virtually no change, overall. One anonymous agent complained that Bud Selig "overdramatized the potential financial losses so as to limit and to artificially control spending on free agency."
- The Royals may need a bat, but Stark says they're unwilling to discuss any of their best or most advanced prospects in trades.
- Stark talked to one exec about Billy Beane's Matt Holliday situation. If Holliday's power outage continues, could he become a July salary-dump candidate? If the A's keep him all year, will they risk offering him arbitration? And is Holliday headed toward a one-year "redeem yourself" deal on the free agent market?
- Stark says the Marlins would love to add a late-inning reliever via trade. He runs through possible relief trade candidates. In addition to the players I listed on Tuesday, Stark mentions Alan Embree, Octavio Dotel, Matt Thornton, Tom Gordon, Eddie Guardado, and Ron Mahay. The Phillies are also in the market.
- Remember the Zack Greinke trade rumors of years past? Stark talked to one exec who says Royals GM Dayton Moore never wanted to trade him.
- If, down the road, the A's or Rays have to relocate, Stark says San Antonio, Las Vegas, and Mexico were the locations MLB was considering in reference to the Marlins.
Matt Holliday Interested In Yankees
FRIDAY: Kevin Kernan of the New York Post asked Holliday specifically about playing for the Yankees. He said:
"I think a little bit as a human being you can't help but to think that if the Yankees are interested I would definitely consider it. I wouldn't be looking around if I were under contract for the four years, but I think I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't be interested, especially with the Yankees being such a storied franchise. So yeah, you take a look around; you never know what's going to happen. This is a beautiful place."
WEDNESDAY: Not a big surprise, but Newsday's Ken Davidoff learned that Matt Holliday is willing to play in New York. The Mets or Yankees could consider the Scott Boras client, who is a free agent after the season. For what it's worth, Holliday's father Tom told Tyler Kepner of the New York Times in November that he'd like to see Holliday traded to the Yankees, or at least an East Coast team.
What's your prediction for Holliday's next contract? Will he top the four year, $82MM extension offered by the Rockies? And will the A's trade him in July?
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Mulder, Pedro, Cabrera, Holliday
On this date 32 years ago, Carlos Beltran was born. Beltran is still one of only 19 players to ever sign a contract for at least $100MM (four currently play for the Yankees). With three years left on Beltran's seven-year, $119MM deal signed in 2005, let's take a look a what is being written in the Blogosphere…
- Feeling Dodger Blue wonders if Mark Mulder is the Dodgers' best option.
- Never Forget '69 wonders if the Mets should explore adding Pedro Martinez.
- The Detroit Tigers Weblog addresses the recent rumors that the Tigers will look to trade Miguel Cabrera.
- The Baseball Opinion takes a closer look at the Nationals' attempt to remake their roster.
- River Ave. Blues says the Yankees' series against the A's was an audition for Matt Holliday.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com. If you have a suggestion for this feature, Cork can be reached here, and followed on Twitter here.
Odds & Ends: Closers, Holliday, Kent
Links for Wednesday…
- Chat today, 2pm CST.
- Interesting diary entry from an anonymous pro scout over at Baseball America. Don't bug these guys at games.
- Digging for saves? RotoAuthority has the latest Closer Report.
- Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker looks at the Japanese free agents for the 2009-10 offseason.
- Jorge Arangure Jr. of ESPN wrote about Matt Holliday's future.
- Justin Murphy of Seamheads.com examines the three Jeff Kent trades.
- Curtis Granderson wrote an article for Yahoo about protecting his identity.