White Sox Never Pursued Prior
I spoke to my White Sox source today, and he was able to offer up a little bit of information.
Remember this tantalizing tidbit from Gordon Edes’s January 15th article for the Boston Globe?
"Would you believe that the White Sox were hovering on the fringes of the Tejada trade talks, not because of any interest in Tejada but in the hopes that if the Orioles peddled him to the Chicago Cubs for ace Mark Prior, they would have been willing to flip Prior to the crosstown White Sox in a package?"
Not so, according to my source. The White Sox never had designs to acquire Prior, but they truly did make various offers for Miguel Tejada.
He also told me that there hasn’t been any hot stove buzz lately involving a Jose Contreras trade, contrary to published reports.
Details On Tejada Negotiations
Just got a little bit of info from my White Sox source concerning the now deceased White Sox trade for Miguel Tejada.
Word is that the White Sox bowed out late Friday when the Orioles insisted on Brandon McCarthy or Lance Broadway in addition to the other players. It seems Broadway’s status pick in the 2005 June draft would’ve necessitated his inclusion as a PTBNL. The White Sox wouldn’t budge, and the deal died.
One other new tidbit is that the Orioles changed gears and attempted to engage the White Sox in an Erik Bedard trade. It is speculated that Jose Contreras would’ve been involved in such a deal, but that is not confirmed.
Preston Wilson Projection
Wondering how new Astro Preston Wilson will perform in 2006? Check out the latest RotoAuthority projection.
Miguel Tejada backed off on his trade demand. Translation: the Orioles didn’t find an offer they liked.
Read about the Diamondbacks’ new philosophy towards team defense under Josh Byrnes over at Baseball Prospectus.
Some lesser known breakout prospects over at Baseball Analysts.
Kaplan: Cubs “Trying Hard” For Tejada
Late last night I talked to Dave Kaplan, co-host of WGN’s Sports Central. Dave gave me a different take on the Miguel Tejada situation than what my source told me.
He said his sources indicate the White Sox are out of the Tejada sweepstakes and that the Red Sox are also backing away now that Manny said he’ll stay. According to Kaplan, the Cubs are "trying hard." He also mentioned that there’s "still a long way to go to get a deal done, but if the Cubs will include Felix Pie they could get it done."
FoxSports’s Ken Rosenthal threw his hat into the ring last night, indicating that the Phillies have offered Bobby Abreu for Tejada and would play Tejada at third base. Of course, Abreu has the power to veto such a trade.
At any rate, more than one source has indicated that the Tejada situation will get resolved today, whether he stays or goes. I guess we’ll see.
In other news, Dan Connolly of the Chicago Tribune quotes an industry source saying the Cubs are "closing in" on a trade to send Corey Patterson to Baltimore for an unknown minor leaguer. The minor leaguer is said to not be one of the Orioles’ top five. Based on Will Lingo’s top ten list for Baseball America, perhaps numbers 6-10 are possible. I’m just speculating, but the Cubs could really use a guy like Val Majewski if the Orioles would part with him.
White Sox Miguel Tejada Update
Alright, I’ve got the goods on the current state of the White Sox’s attempt to acquire Miguel Tejada.
Remember the unknown prospect I referred to in the Orioles’ proposal? Turns out the pitching prospect the Orioles wanted was either Lance Broadway or Brandon McCarthy. Neither player was on the list agreed upon earlier, and the Sox scoffed at the idea of including Broadway or McCarthy.
Despite reports in both the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times today, the deal is very much alive at this point. Unfortunately, my source is more involved with the financial approval aspect of the deal (hence the statement that the Sox will take the payroll up to $105MM if necessary). He’s been cut off from personnel discussions, so this is probably the end of the line as far as the info goes.
Craig Wilson, Cubs Bullpen, and More
Today seems to be a bit of a slow day on the trade rumors front. I’m still working on gathering some Tejada info. For now I’ll just say that you shouldn’t discount the White Sox even after both major Chicago newspapers quoted Kenny Williams saying no deal will happen. As commenters in this thread pointed out, Williams has been known to keep a low profile and be less than forthright when talking to the media.
Somehow, a rumor came about yesterday that San Francisco’s KNBR 1050 was reporting that the Pirates had dealt Craig Wilson to the Athletics for Kirk Saarloos. This rumor appears to have been fabricated; it doesn’t seem that the radio station ever proposed it. KNBR didn’t return my emails, but I’m still pretty sure there’s nothing to the rumor. It’s not implausible, as Billy Beane is the type of GM to acquire an undervalued player and worry about his outfielder surplus later. I don’t believe Dave Littlefield’s statements about not wanting to trade Wilson. He’d be valuable to many teams, and the Pirates’ recent acquisitions indicate that they’ll deal him.
RotoAuthority’s latest:
2006 Fantasy Guide On Sale For $9.99 For A Limited Time
Good readin’: 1060west has updated its post about the Cubs’ revamped bullpen. This quote resonated with me:
"Seen in the light of statistical evidence, it becomes clear that nothing has been done to improve the Cub bullpen from April 2005 to this stage; in fact, if anything, the Cubs have actually gotten weaker in going from Hawkins to Howry and Remlinger to Eyre."
The main point is that Hendry tends to purchase free agent relievers for big bucks following the reliever’s best season. Not a smart strategy.
The Phillies and Ryan Franklin? This won’t end well. I’m just happy to see than Ryan Madson will finally get a shot in the rotation; he’s got a 3.25 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, and 7.27 K/9 in 166 Major League innings. High strikeout totals and good control are always a great combo.
White Sox Receive Tejada Offer
Remember when I decided to start calling Kenny Williams "spunky" based on his Javier Vazquez and Jim Thome trades? I’m starting to think I should stick with "bold," as cliche as it may be.
As I mentioned earlier on this site, the White Sox submitted two trade proposals for Miguel Tejada with a deadline of December 31st. Now the White Sox have re-entered the Tejada fray.
A rock-solid source of mine close to the White Sox tells me that the team is "lying in the weeds" and allowing the Mets, Devil Rays, Orioles, and Red Sox to beat each other up with this whole Manny/Tejada 4-way thing. The White Sox hope that the 4-way deal falls apart because it’s too complicated and too expensive. Presently, it seems that their wish will be fulfilled.
The Orioles want the Tejada deal done soon, and approached the White Sox yesterday with a proposal. The Orioles asked for Jose Contreras, Juan Uribe, Ryan Sweeney, and a top pitching prospect. That unknown prospect may be a sticking point, but it can probably be worked out. Alex Woodson has been previously mentioned in discussions between the two clubs. It would be a daring move by Kenny Williams to subtract Uribe and Aaron Rowand after winning a World Series with defense as the team’s strength.
My source tells me to look for an announcement by Friday about Tejada, no matter where he ends up. The White Sox have their own motivation to wrap things up before the weekend: they’d like to have an announcement that does not conflict with a Bears playoff weekend or the Cubs Convention.
Latest Astros Buzz
Today we’ve got some Astros info for you to digest.
According to an emailer, Richard Justice recently spoke with Astros GM Tim Purpura on Sports Radio 610. Here’s what came out of the discussion:
The Astros aren’t expecting much from Jeff Bagwell, surprise surprise. The main concern is, of course, his inability to throw. In Brian McTaggart’s article in the Houston Chronicle today, he mentions that Bagwell "will have his shoulder analyzed next week by respected orthopedic surgeon Dr. James Andrews in Birmingham." Expect Bags to be relegated to pinch-hitting duties given the Preston Wilson signing. I don’t have anything new on the Astros’ interest in White Sox righthander Jose Contreras, but Willy Taveras could be expendable given Wilson’s ability to play center field.
Purpura spoke to Roger Clemens two days ago at Minute Maid. Clemens has not cleaned out his locker in at the ballpark. I still believe that Clemens will return to the Astros in mid-June.
Today in the Baltimore Sun, Jeff Zrebiec and Dan Connolly mention that "The Red Sox, Houston Astros and Chicago Cubs appear to be the leaders in the Tejada sweepstakes." Adam Everett and Brandon Backe are certainly available on the Astros, but it’ll obviously require a lot more than that to get Miguel Tejada. Brad Lidge won’t be involved in any deal for the shortstop.
I’ll see if I can dig up any additional info on these topics.
Agreement For Manny Trade?
The latest Manny rumor making the rounds comes courtesy of commenter Wild Bill from the Orioles Hangout Forum. As far as Bill’s track record, I can direct you to a thread over at Sons of Sam Horn. According to the poster:
"There are three reputed "insiders" [at Orioles Hangout] and all three seem to agree that the trade has been agreed upon in principal but that Manny’s request for an extension will likely cause the deal to fall through. As for their validity, it seems each does have a source either within the Orioles organization or one who is once removed from someone inside.
That said, I don’t believe any of them have access to Mike Flanigan or any direct decision maker. The only thing that makes me feel this could be accurate is the fact that all three agree. Generally, they tend to have slightly different takes on the goings on inside the Orioles’ FO."
Here’s the main point of Wild Bill’s post:
"The word is the Tejada-Ramirez/Clement trade has been agreed to in principle by the two teams blocked only at this time with last minute complications caused by Manny."
Using 2005 WARP (Wins Above Replacement Player) values, the net gain for the Red Sox would be -3.6 wins. Meaning that in a vacuum, this trade makes the team worse. Of course, the move would free up significant salary for the Sox (I haven’t heard whether money would change hands) so the team would probably make up the difference in value somewhere else.
Manny Ramirez is on the hook for $58MM over the next three seasons. Matt Clement will make $19MM over the next two seasons. Miguel Tejada is owed $48MM over the next four seasons. For the 2006 season only, this trade would free up $18.5MM for the Red Sox.
I’ll supply more updates on this trade possibility as I hear them.
Cubs Still Discussing Zito, Tejada
Just got off the phone with Dave Kaplan, host of Sports Central on WGN Radio 720 out of Chicago. He gave me the latest on where the Cubs stand with Barry Zito.
Billy Beane is not sure whether he’ll deal Zito now or in July. However, the teams have had discussions recently, and the A’s like the Cubs’ farm system quite a bit. A deal for several of the Cubs’ young arms is a distinct possibility. The A’s aren’t looking for Matt Murton in the trade, but rather pitchers like Rich Hill, Angel Guzman, and Sean Marshall. There’s been plenty of debate on this site about Rich Hill’s future in the Major Leagues, but it’s a fact that many teams absolutely love him and are trying to pry him away from the Cubs. Hill has a ton of trade value. Anyway, sit tight on the Zito idea; nothing’s going down today.
Kaplan also mentioned that the Tejada trade is "not dead" for the Cubs. I don’t know which names are currently being tossed around, but rest assured the Cubs still have a chance at acquiring him.