Miguel Cabrera

Halos Heaven is the best Angels blog on the ’net.  I recommend bookmarking it as a daily stop.  I was perusing Rev Halofan’s latest material after fending off some angry Angels fans.  They were less than amused that I ranked Dan Haren over John Lackey in 2006 fantasy baseball value.  It brought up an interesting topic for another day: would the baseball world have praised the Esteban Loaiza signing if he were adopting an Angels cap instead of an Athletics one?

Anyway, let’s get down to business.  Trade rumor business.  Back on Monday, Halos Heaven reported various detailed trade rumors with all sorts of new juicy information.  Go read that post and then come back here.

After reading that, I went directly to the source to dig for more info.  Rev Halofan was gracious and responsive, providing enough off the record info about his multiple inside sources to convince me fully.  As far as his connections, I can vouch that they’re impressive.

On to the first rumor from the site:

"So many teams are scouting Dallas McPherson that if he explodes this Spring, Angel GM Stoneman is prepared to be bowled over by a multi-player offer and is planning a few contingency trades.This might explain recent discussions for what was initially a confusing trade possibility of Adam Kennedy to the Astros for Jason Lane."

I asked Rev why the Astros would give up Lane to get a second baseman with Craig Biggio already in the fold.  He told me that Houston is somewhat concerned with Biggio’s durability and that "if he twists something this spring, look for Kennedy there within 48 hours."

Rev told me that Howie Kendrick just needs to flash halfway decent leather in the minors and Kennedy will be a goner.  Lane could play left for the Angels if Juan Rivera is used in another deal.  Stoneman is still in the hunt for middle relief.

I’d surmised McPherson would be available back in January on RotoAuthority, but it was just a logical assumption.  Even with 40 HR potential, he seems to be the odd man out.

On to the big gun, Rev’s Miguel Cabrera rumor.  Some more details:  the Marlins requested Chone Figgins and assorted Angels top prospects for their young superstar but were turned down.  The Fish are definitely shopping Cabrera at this point.

As for the Cubs portion of the rumor, he commented: "They will definitely want Felix Pie and lots more from the Cubs – but my understanding is that the Cubs were just begging to be let into the party."

Back in late February, I mentioned that the Yankees, Angels, Dodgers, and Mets would probably have the prospects, cash, and desire to acquire Cabrera.

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The Marlins are nearing a major decision on Miguel Cabrera: build around him or trade him for an unprecedented bounty.  The budding superstar will be 23 this season and hits arbitration for the first time next winter. 

Palm Beach Post journalist Joe Capozzi writes that GM Larry Beinfest declined comment on Cabrera’s future with the team.  He points out that Cabrera may score a payday of $7-10MM in arbitration after the season.  Given that the Marlins didn’t want to pay Josh Beckett $4-5MM this winter, it stands to reason that they may consider trading Cabrera during the 2006 season. 

Cabrera can play third base or the outfield corners.  He’s obviously the type of player teams build around, with a laundry list of HOFers on his comparables list.  Frank Robinson, Albert Pujols, Vladimir Guerrero, Eddie Murray, Hank Aaron, and Johnny Bench all appear within his ten most similar players.  Cabrera would be a bargain if he was paid $15MM annually over the next five seasons.

I would expect the Yankees to pursue him aggressively if he’s available, likely offering up the one gem in their farm system, Philip Hughes.  I could see the Angels getting involved if they’d be willing to surrender Howie Kendrick or Brandon Wood.  The Dodgers and Mets could also make a play.

One more note on Cabrera.  Ron Shandler’s 2006 Baseball Forecaster had some interesting comments this year:

"He could get even better…a power spike may be on the horizon…as long as this is really all him."

I edited some stat-related stuff out of the comment, but that’s the gist of it.  It certainly makes sense to call for 40+ HR seasons from Cabrera, but to imply steroid use?  I guess someone had to throw it out there; I hadn’t seen it in print until now.  I can’t judge Shandler for it; after all, we just witnessed a tainted era in baseball history.  Plus, I’ve been known to monger many a steroid rumor in my day. 

Hopefully players start getting on board for the Player’s Promise Program to ease our concerns.  A description of this new non-profit program:

"The PBFA has asked each and every player with a MLB contract to sign a Players Promise which states that they will not use steroids or other performance enhancing drugs now or in the future. Since the program is not trying to conduct a "witch hunt" we will not be asking the players for any information regarding any previous use of these substances."