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Matt Murton

Odds and Ends: Colon, Byrd, Sosa, Wilkerson

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Some random links and whatnot for Saturday…

  • Joe Cowley says the White Sox have backed off on Bartolo Colon because he wants a two-year deal.  He believes the Royals are the frontrunner.
  • Rangers guru Jamey Newberg doesn’t think Marlon Byrd would be enough to get Matt Murton from the Cubs.
  • The Rangers might’ve entertained Sammy Sosa in a limited role, but he’s looking for 400-500 plate appearances.  Good luck with that!
  • Heard an unconfirmed whisper that the Red Sox may have some interest in Brad Wilkerson.
  • RotoAuthority takes a fantasy baseball look at Yovani Gallardo and Tim Lincecum.

Cubs Interested In Marlon Byrd

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According to MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan, the Cubs asked the Rangers about Marlon Byrd.  Sullivan says the Cubs may be willing to give up Matt Murton for Byrd.  This swap could make sense given each team’s needs.  Sullivan cautions that the discussions are only preliminary.  The Byrd rumor first popped up via Bruce Levine about a week ago.

Byrd, 30, will make $1.8MM in ’08 in a newly agreed-to contract.  He’s set to reach free agency after the 2009 season.  He’s been with the Phillies, Nationals, and Rangers.  He had decent years in ’03 and ’07.  He’s not a guy you want to use in left field, but the Josh Hamilton acquisition would push him there unless he’s dealt.

Murton is under team control through 2011, if my calculations are correct.  He’s a bit of a tweener in that his power is a bit light for a corner outfielder.  Still, a career line of .296/.365/.455 in 289 games is interesting and there is room for growth if he’s left alone (he’s 26).

Cubs Rumors: Fukudome, Prior, Roberts

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Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago-Sun Times checks in with the latest Cubs buzz.

  • The Cubs, Padres, and White Sox are in on Kosuke Fukudome.  It seems that both Chicago teams are willing to spend big bucks.
  • Wittenmyer’s source indicates sparse interest in Mark Prior, though the Cubs have been shopping him.  The Cubs could still choose to non-tender him on Wednesday rather than pay $3MM+.  Seems like a reasonable gamble though.
  • The Orioles want to figure out their plans with Erik Bedard and Miguel Tejada before making a move with Brian Roberts, so talks with the Cubs have cooled.  The O’s want Sean Gallagher and a outfield prospect, but not Matt Murton.  Could 22 year-old Tyler Colvin be involved?  Felix Pie is said to be off-limits.  Colvin has drawn Steve Finley/Shawn Green comparisons from Baseball America.

Cubs Aggressively Pursuing Brian Roberts

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UPDATE, 12-5-07 at 10:58pm: The Baltimore Sun guys have more.  The Cubs have a significant offer on the table, and it may include Gallagher and Matt Murton (but not Hill or Pie).  The Cubs will have to do better than just Gallagher and Murton, I imagine.  According to Jayson Stark, the Cubs would have to be blown away to trade Hill or Pie.

UPDATE, 12-5-07 at 10:03pm: ESPN Radio 1000’s Bruce Levine checks in to add that Ronny Cedeno would likely be involved in a Roberts deal.

UPDATE, 12-5-07 at 9:39pm: ESPN’s Amy Nelson says Hill is not part of the Roberts talks.  Marshall, Gallagher, Felix Pie, and Donald Veal may be in the mix though.

UPDATE, 12-5-07 at 8:17pm: ESPN’s Steve Phillips says the Orioles "would get Rich Hill and Sean Marshall" for Roberts.  Not sure if that means the Cubs offered it.  Seems like a lot, but I am an unabashed Rich Hill fan.

FROM 12-5-07 at 5:31pm:

Dan Connolly and Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun are reporting that the Cubs are aggressively pursuing the Orioles’ Brian Roberts.

A three player deal is on the table, so I assume the Cubs would send two players over.  It’s known that they’d send a starting pitcher, but we don’t have names yet.  The authors note that the Orioles have been fond of Rich Hill and Sean Gallagher in the past.  Keep in mind that a trade of Roberts would require Peter Angelos’ approval.  Per Zrebiec, Angelos would have to be "totally overwhelmed" with an offer.

The authors also note that the Orioles have talked to Tadahito Iguchi’s agent in anticipation of a possible Roberts trade.  The Padres and Dodgers would join the Orioles as his top three choices.

Cubs Rumors: Fukudome, Prior

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UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 11:58pm: MetsBlog’s Matthew Cerrone says there is "very minimal buzz"that the Mets may have inquired on Prior.

UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 7:04pm: Tasty rumor morsel: Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times says Fukudome is "almost certainly" going to sign with the Cubs.

UPDATE, 12-4-07 at 12:20pm:  Some new stuff from ESPN Radio 1000’s Bruce Levine.

  • The Cubs have talked to the Royals about Mark Teahen; the Royals like Matt Murton.
  • Levine says there’s nothing to the Josh Hamilton rumor.

FROM 12-4-07 at 12:11pm:

Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times discusses the rumors around the Cubs.

  • Wittenmyer implies that Kosuke Fukudome could get a deal similar to Torii Hunter’s – five years, $90MM.  That’s not in line with what’s been said so far, plus Fukudome has said he wants three years and not more.
  • The Padres are the frontrunner to acquire Mark Prior, but Dusty Baker’s Reds are also interested.  The Reds idea first surfaced here.  The Padres, though, have made many deals with the Cubs over the past few years as Jim Hendry and Kevin Towers work well together.

Cubs May Shop Murton, Like Ibanez

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UPDATE, 12-3-07 at 5:53pm: Geoff Baker checks in with some more info about the Cubs’ interest in Ibanez.  He is apparently their fallback option behind Fukudome.  Baker notes the frightful possibility of using Ibanez in right field.  One trade idea I hadn’t considered is swapping Ibanez for Mark Prior.

FROM 12-3-07 at 9:48am:

Jim Hendry may view 26 year-old outfielder Matt Murton as expendable, if only because he’s not the left-handed hitter the Cubs crave.

Murton has a respectable career line of .296/.365/.455 in 289 games.  While it would be nice to see his power develop a bit, he’s a decent option in right field.  Outside of Kosuke Fukudome, the Cubs might end up acquiring an outfielder who is no better than Murton, just because of handedness.  Even though he’s been solid it doesn’t seem that the price tag on Murton would be terribly high. 

Meanwhile, Gordon Wittenmyer notes that Brian Roberts and Raul Ibanez remain on the Cubs’ wish list.  Murton would be useful for the O’s but it would take a lot more to get Roberts.

Law: Top 10 Trade Candidates

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Keith Law, a favorite here at MLBTR and at home home, River Ave. Blues, has posted an article on 10 potential trade candidates off-season. It seems that if anything big does go down this off-season, it will be in the form of a trade, since the FA market is particularly weak. So who does Law have in mind?

The most surprising name on the list is the Blue Jays’ Adam Lind. Law believes that with the next year’s financial commitments to Frank Thomas, Lyle Overbay, and now Matt Stairs, there is no obvious spot for Lind, and he’ll have to win a job in Spring Training — which he could most certainly do. It seems a bit foolish to trade a 24-year-old because of a couple of short-term financial commitments, most notably in the case of Stairs, who will be making a paltry $1 million in 2009. J.P. Ricciardi has done stranger things, though.

Another strange name is Ben Broussard, who figures to at least have a shot at being non-tendered. Law notes his favorable platoon splits against righties and figures he can help a team fill out a position. But since the Mariners already have Richie Sexson and Jose Vidro under contract, and are looking to get Adam Jones some more playing time, there doesn’t seem a logical spot for Broussard.

Law also brings up David DeJesus and Coco Crisp, often mentioned around these parts, as well as Andy LaRoche and, despite the trade of Jacques Jones, Matt Murton.

As a Yanks fan, I have to be at least a little curious at the inclusion of Cliff Lee. With Andy Pettitte’s career at the most a year from ending, and with the further possibility that he’s thrown his last pitch, the Yanks are going to need a lefty starter. Might as well inquire on Lee, as his not-so-stellar 2007 has significantly decreased his value.

Joe Pawlikowski is co-author of River Ave. Blues, a Yankees blog.

Cubs a Good Fit for Barry’s Bat

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Tim mentioned in this post that fielding know-it-all John Dewan thinks Barry Bonds can still play a tolerable outfield.  Well, Bob Nightengale has broken the rumor-ice and brought two NL teams into the "Where Will Bonds Play Next" game:

Chicago and Florida.

The Cubbies, heavy in right handed hitters, would love a bat like Bonds’ in the lineup.  They probably have the money, though they’ll add $10MM in payroll for ’08 just to maintain the current group. With Bonds’ regular need for time off, there’d still be plenty of playing time for Matt Murton.

Bonds, meanwhile, just may be the apple of Jeffrey Loria’s eye.  The Florida Marlins owner was fined by the commissioners office last year for flying Bonds to New York in his personal jet.  But if the Fish deal Dontrelle Willis in the offseason, it’d be hard to convince Bonds that they’re a serious contender.

Murton, Payton Not Starting Today

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The Cubs are again sitting Matt Murton today.  That’s two days in a row he was expected to start and didn’t.  Of course, it may just be that Lou Piniella doesn’t like him.  We’ll see.

Meanwhile, Jay Payton is out of the lineup for the Orioles-Yankees game today.  He typically starts in left field, but it’s Jay Gibbons today.  This could also just be Dave Trembley’s preference and nothing more.  He sat Payton in favor of Gibbons on Thursday as well.  Gibbons is 6 for 18 lifetime against Chien-Ming Wang while Payton is 1 for 6.

Discussions regarding a Payton-to-Chicago deal were getting pretty serious last night.

Murton Late Scratch; Payton Talks Itensify

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UPDATE: While perhaps shopping Murton, the Cubs have had significant talks regarding Baltimore’s Jay Payton. The Cubs would send over two mid-level prospects; does Murton fit that criteria?  Payton will make $5MM next year to finish his contract.

UPDATE 2: RotoWorld says Murton was scratched tonight to allow Cliff Floyd to play and then get Sunday off.

Matt Murton was a late scratch for tonight’s Cubs-Reds game.  Does it mean anything?  We should know soon enough.  This time of year, every scratch or unexpected mid-game substitution is magnified.

The Cubs have been talking to the Rangers about lefty reliever Ron Mahay and catcher Gerald Laird, so maybe there’s a connection.  The Rangers could definitely find room for Murton in their outfield.

Take it with a grain of salt, but a Cubs source of mine confirms Felix Pie’s availability (huh?) and says the Cubs made an inquiry on Torii Hunter.  While intriguing, I wouldn’t expect either player to be traded.

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