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Rosenthal’s Latest: Gross, Weaver, Encarnacion

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Ken Rosenthal is on the scene with some new rumors.

  • Astros president Tal Smith arguing other teams’ arbitration cases.   Rosenthal finds it a bit awkward, while Keith Law finds it to be a hilarious conflict of interest.
  • Possible trades of Matt Murton to the Padres or Rangers seem to have fizzled.  The Padres may turn to the Brewers’ Gabe Gross, a player who previously caught the eye of the A’s, Indians, and Braves.  Our good friend PECOTA sees a .267/.366/.467 line from Gross this year.  With Gross and various veteran starters, the Brewers have some surpluses to work with.
  • Rosenthal believes the Cardinals’ interest in Jeff Weaver to be not especially serious.  They’ve got in-house candidates to start, and Matt Clement needing some time is not a revelation.
  • We’ve read about extension possibilities for Matt Capps and Alex Rios.  To that mix, Rosenthal adds Edwin Encarnacion.  The Reds might want to do it now; he seems primed for a big year.

Cubs’ Talks For Byrd Reach Impasse

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The Cubs have been interested in Rangers’ center fielder Marlon Byrd for some time now, apparently offering Matt Murton.  However, MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan says the Rangers’ insistence on good young pitching in the deal has caused a stalemate.  The Cubs like Byrd, but not at that price.

Evan Grant wrote recently that one of Jason Botts, Nelson Cruz, or David Murphy is likely to be dealt before Opening Day.  A Byrd trade might allow the Rangers to keep all three.

Cubs’ Talks For Byrd Reach Impasse

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The Cubs have been interested in Rangers’ center fielder Marlon Byrd for some time now, apparently offering Matt Murton.  However, MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan says the Rangers’ insistence on good young pitching in the deal has caused a stalemate.  The Cubs like Byrd, but not at that price.  Jeff Wilson and Anthony Andro of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram say Byrd is still "drawing considerable interest" from the Cubs, however.

Evan Grant wrote recently that one of Jason Botts, Nelson Cruz, or David Murphy is likely to be dealt before Opening Day.  A Byrd trade might allow the Rangers to keep all three.

Murton Reads MLBTR

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It was pretty cool to learn today that Cubs outfielder Matt Murton reads MLBTradeRumors.com.  Welcome!  Unfortunately, I can’t imagine it’s thrilling to read about yourself in trade rumors all winter.

Murton is a left fielder, and the Cubs obviously have Alfonso Soriano there.  Right field is now filled by Kosuke Fukudome.  Lou Piniella couldn’t help but admit that Murton’s role on the Cubs is as a fourth outfielder.  The Herald’s Bruce Miles has heard rumblings that the Cubs will try to trade Murton to a team where he can play regularly. ESPN’s Keith Law thinks Murton would be good for a .290/.360/.470 line in regular duty.

Baltimore wouldn’t make sense, now that the team has accumulated an outfield surplus of their own.  San Diego remains a strong option, though those talks were said to be slow going last time we checked.  And the Rangers appear to want more than just Murton for Marlon Byrd, something the Cubs may be reluctant to do.  My own speculation – the Indians could be a fit.

Angelos To Nix Roberts Trade?

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Some owners make headlines by talking to the press or releasing statements. This is best exemplified in New York, where the Steinbrenners aren’t strangers to reporters. Some owners, though, like to make headlines in other ways. Take Peter Angelos for example. People know him not because he speaks to the press, but rather because he’s always about to kill a certain move — a free agent signing or a trade. Yes, despite dealing Erik Bedard and Miguel Tejada this off-season, Angelos still isn’t keen on dishing Brian Robers.

Jon Heyman is hearing that the haul for Roberts might not be enough for Angelos’s liking. The reported package includes pitcher Sean Gallagher, outfielder Matt Murton, and infielder Ronny Cedeno. This isn’t the first deal for Roberts that Angelos has reportedly killed.

Heyman has an interesting bit on Angelos:

There is also a sense that Angelos has an unreasonable attachment to Roberts, who may well remind the owner of himself: a little guy who’s scrapped his way to the top of his profession (no, not baseball; Angelos is at the top of the legal profession, at least in terms of dollars earned).

Of course, there is no way to verify that this is the case. But if Angelos is holding back a possible Roberts deal, he might be doing a disservice to his team. They stand to benefit more in the future from the young talent they’d receive than they would from Roberts, who is 30 this year.

– Joe

Padres Eyeing Mike Sweeney

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The Padres "have expressed mild interest" in Mike Sweeney, according to ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick.  The problem would be finding a fit for Sweeney.  First base or left field would be the logical choices but between the presence of Adrian Gonzalez and Sweeney’s fragility, both seem a long shot.  And there’s no fit at catcher either, if you really want to stretch your imagination.

Crasnick notes that Padres GM Kevin Towers has found the talks for Xavier Nady or Matt Murton to be "slow going," so maybe he’s trying to get creative.

Sweeney, 35, has been a Royal his entire career.  He hasn’t topped 100 games or an .800 OPS since ’05.  It was said in mid-December that Sweeney’s agent had been in touch with the Royals and two other teams.

Marlon Byrd/Matt Murton Rumors

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Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News has the latest on the Marlon Byrd/Cubs rumors.

Byrd has been informed that the Cubs have interest in him.  Grant says the Rangers reportedly turned down an offer of Matt Murton for Byrd, requiring one or two pitching prospects be added by the Cubs.  So for those who think Murton is worth more than Byrd – the Rangers apparently do not agree.

Meanwhile, ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick runs down three possible destinations for Murton: Texas, Baltimore, and San Diego.  It seems that the Cubs would prefer to resolve the Baltimore trade talks before they’d ship Murton to one of the other two clubs.  Talks for Erik Bedard and/or Brian Roberts are ongoing, according to Crasnick.

Odds and Ends: Zimmerman, Tulo, Hawpe, Wang

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Some bits and pieces from today…

Rosenthal’s Latest: Boras, Murton, Marquis, Clark

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Ken Rosenthal is here to hopefully rescue what’s been a slow day for rumors.

  • Rosenthal points out that it seems Scott Boras has been more flexible with his clients’ contracts this year, perhaps even as the result of his "failures" with Alex Rodriguez and Kenny Rogers.  A new, gentler Boras?  Wait til Mark Teixeira, Matt Holliday, and Prince Fielder reach free agency.
  • The Padres are targeting Matt Murton for left field, a notion that gels with Kevin Towers’ stated quest to acquire a corner outfielder via trade.  Plus, Towers gets along well with Cubs GM Jim Hendry.  Not sure how the teams would match up, unless things expand to include Khalil Greene.  The Cubs would have to be sure they don’t need Murton for other deals or because of other deals.
  • Rosenthal agrees with the recent rumor that the Orioles will decide whether to trade Erik Bedard and Brian Roberts by month’s end.  He notes that Cubs starter Jason Marquis actually does have trade value, and could be part of a package for Roberts.  Other teams are interested in him too – go figure.  Innings are innings I guess.  Marquis, 29, is owed $16.25MM over the 2008-09 seasons.
  • An MLBTR commenter questioned the other day why Troy Tulowitzki’s deal was said to top Grady Sizemore’s as the record holder for a player with less than two years service time.  The commenter wondered why Brian McCann wasn’t part of the discussion – he signed for more than Sizemore ($26.8MM) in March of ’07 with about a season and a half under his belt.  Anyone know why McCann’s name doesn’t come up in this discussion?
  • One of Rosenthal’s sources believes progress has been made on a long-term pact with Holliday, and the recent two-year deal is a positive sign.
  • Teams inquiring on Tony Clark: Mariners, Giants, and Red Sox.  Clark has been mentioned as a Giants target before.

Cubs Bedard/Roberts Talks Revived?

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UPDATE, 1-21-08 at 6:39pm: According to Bruce Miles of the Daily Herald, "informed insiders say no renewed talks are underway" for a Cubs/Orioles blockbuster.  Miles does believe Hendry is shopping Murton and interested in Byrd.

UPDATE, 1-21-08 at 4:37pm: John Hickey of the Seattle PI notes that the Mariners seem to "very much want Bedard" still.  He sees the Mets as their main competition.

FROM 1-21-08 at 3:09pm:

Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune insists that Orioles owner Peter Angelos did shoot down some kind of Erik Bedard/Brian Roberts to the Cubs blockbuster last week.  Furthermore, Rogers’ source says the talks are now back on.

Rogers speculates that "frustration and gamesmanship" might be why Lou Piniella and Jim Hendry recently denied the blockbuster rumor.  Hendry was quoted as saying "that certainly hasn’t been a path we’ve been on."

Rogers also has sources saying the Cubs may have to give up Matt Murton and one or two other players to get Marlon Byrd from Texas (perhaps Sean Gallagher).  He speculates that a three-team deal with the Rangers and Orioles to net the Cubs Bedard, Roberts, and Byrd is a possibility.  Felix Pie would have to be in that mix, and note that Roch Kubatko said yesterday that the Cubs "would be willing to part with Rich Hill" to get Bedard and Roberts.

Through all of this Rogers says it’s a "very highly placed source" and that he trusts the source.  It’s hard for me to really evaluate this stuff until we get more clarity.  But feel free to discuss.

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