Odds And Ends: Alvarez, Cameron, Nats
A few links for Thusrday night…
- Pedro Alvarez, who was drafted by the Red Sox in 2005, remembers thinking about signing with Boston in an article by Alex Speier on WEEI.com.
- Joe McDonald of the Providence Journal heard from Theo Epstein and Terry Francona about building a winning team. Epstein said the Sox have a history of making room for young talent, but Francona added that there’s never room for all the youngsters.
- Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that Mike Cameron was preparing himself to be traded this offseason and considers it "a blessing" to be in Milwaukee.
- Ironically, Mark DeRosa, who was actually traded, didn’t see it coming at all according to this article by Chris De Luca of the Chicago Sun-Times.
- ESPN.com’s Buster Olney spoke with a number of baseball people who say "baseball’s internal code of conduct is strengthening." Players who act out aren’t getting away with it as often.
- Chico Harlan of the Washington Post reports that Nationals president Stan Kasten didn’t comment directly on whether we should expect any more dismissals within the organization soon.
- Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News heard from Giants president Larry Baer that the team doesn’t consider the Edgar Renteria and Jeremy Affeldt signings mistakes.
- And bad news out of Colorado: The Rocky Mountain News will publish its final edition Friday.
Brewers No Longer Interested In Dunn
MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy spoke to Brewers GM Doug Melvin, who indicated the team is no longer interested in free agent slugger Adam Dunn. The possibility was considered when the Brewers were discussing a Mike Cameron trade with the Yankees (Corey Hart would’ve moved to center field). Cameron and Hart are staying put.
Another scenario, which Ken Rosenthal discussed a week ago, is trading Prince Fielder and replacing him with Dunn. McCalvy doesn’t dismiss the idea outright, but notes that the Crew would be treading water in terms of lefthanded bats.
Odds and Ends: Smoltz, Young, Cameron
Links for Tuesday…
- Lyle Spencer doesn’t think Michael Young and Jermaine Dye make sense for the Angels.
- Joel Sherman speculates on some possible matches Young trades.
- The Marlins’ recent minor league signings, including John Koronka and Jay Gibbons.
- The Red Sox officially announced the John Smoltz signing today. Here’s the transcript, and here are the contract terms.
- Buster Olney debunks the Mike Cameron for Nick Swisher rumor, saying the teams haven’t talked trade since the Winter Meetings.
- With the ninth pick in a fantasy draft, this is the team I’d put together.
Brewers Rumors: Sheets, Cameron, Swisher
Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has the latest from Brewers GM Doug Melvin on the team’s plans:
- We already knew Melvin doesn’t anticipate signing a free agent starter.
- Derek Lowe isn’t an option for the Brewers, who haven’t even talked to Scott Boras.
- The Brewers will monitor the trade market and consider dealing for a starter.
- The team could make an exception for Ben Sheets. Melvin said he’d have to consider signing the pitcher if he wanted to return to Milwaukee.
- Before signing Trevor Hoffman, the Brewers were looking into Juan Cruz, a Type A free agent, but didn’t like the idea of giving up a first rounder, especially now that they’ll only get a second round pick for losing C.C. Sabathia.
- The Yankees still have interest in Mike Cameron and floated the idea of a Nick Swisher for Cameron swap.
- Melvin likes Cameron’s defense though, so he’s "not motivated to move him."
- After they’re done with their six arbitration cases, the Brewers payroll will approach $80MM.
Rosenthal On Fielder, Buchholz, Edmonds
The latest from Ken Rosenthal…
- Rosenthal suggests the Brewers trade Prince Fielder for "premium pitching" and then sign Adam Dunn to replace him. Which begs the question, why wouldn’t the team giving up this premium pitching just sign Dunn instead?
- Despite signing John Smoltz, the Red Sox still are not willing to trade Clay Buchholz for Jarrod Saltalamacchia. The Sox may be willing to move Michael Bowden or especially Daniel Bard for Salty.
- The Yankees’ interest in Mike Cameron "seems to be waning."
- Despite Jon Heyman’s report, the Phillies, Angels, and Brewers deny interest in Derek Lowe. Rosenthal says the market for Oliver Perez is even worse.
- Rosenthal suggests veterans such as Nomar Garciaparra, Frank Thomas, and Jim Edmonds could go the Kenny Lofton route. Lofton, a capable player, sat out the 2008 season when his salary demands weren’t met. As I mentioned yesterday, we’ll soon see which former stars are willing to play for a pittance (if you consider more than $500K a pittance).
- The Orioles have Edmonds on the radar as a first base candidate.
- Suitors for lefty reliever Dennys Reyes: the A’s, Mets, and Dodgers. The Tigers and Rangers are also known to be on the lookout for a southpaw in the pen.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Bradley, Burrell, Dunn
Ken Rosenthal filed a new column earlier today.
- The Angels are lukewarm on Manny Ramirez, and for now are talking about filling their lineup with internal candidates.
- Kevin Towers says that if the Jake Peavy sweepstakes heats back up, "nobody is going to know it." Rosenthal discusses the chances of the Angels or Cubs.
- Mark Teixeira is "almost certain" to get an escape clause in his deal.
- The Cubs are confident about signing Milton Bradley, but the Rays, Yankees, and Nationals are interested too.
- Rosenthal looks at possibilities for Pat Burrell, discussing the Rays, Mariners, Rangers, and Reds.
- The Brewers expressed interest in Adam Dunn as they were mulling a Mike Cameron trade (Corey Hart would’ve played center).
- Bobby Abreu "remains in touch with the Yankees." Surprisingly to hear, as the two sides reportedly had not spoken for quite a while.
- The Rangers would like to move some salary, with Kevin Millwood, Vicente Padilla, and Hank Blalock the candidates.
- The Royals like Jerry Hairston Jr., but don’t have the money to sign him.
Gammons’ Latest: Teixeira, Cameron, Montero
The latest blog post from ESPN’s Peter Gammons is up.
- Gammons talked to a source close to Mark Teixeira who says Tex and the Red Sox are not that far apart.
- The Yankees backed off on the Mike Cameron trade because Melky Cabrera is showing improved plate discipline in winter ball (his walk rate is up, though it’s only 15 games). Additionally, Brett Gardner has believers in the organization.
- The Diamondbacks were unwilling to trade catcher Miguel Montero to the Red Sox for Daniel Bard, while the Sox wouldn’t part with Michael Bowden. Gammons says it hasn’t been seriously discussed but wonders if the Red Sox would eat the $22MM owed to Eric Byrnes to get Montero.
- One part of the post that is getting attention is when Gammons names a bunch of things "we don’t know," implying that he suspects these things are possible. For example: "We don’t know whether the Red Sox will decide not to pony up and sign Teixeira or whether there really might be a three-way deal among the White Sox, Angels and Reds that would put Jermaine Dye in Cincinnati, Joey Votto in Anaheim and Chone Figgins in Chicago." So, not quite a trade rumor here. The Reds would, of course, want more for Votto if he’s even available. When this semi-rumor makes the rounds it must be discussed in the proper context – the paragraph’s theme was things we don’t know are accurate.
Odds And Ends: Cameron, Abreu, Treanor
Links for Thursday night…
- Brian Cashman phoned Doug Melvin to explain that he hadn’t called earlier because the Yanks have "a lot of things going on." The Brewers GM said he’s "probably going to hang on to" Mike Cameron.
- Ozzie Guillen spoke with Bobby Abreu and said "interest exists" from the White Sox perspective.
- GM Dave Dombrowski was part of the reason Matt Treanor chose the Tigers.
- T.R. Sullivan continues to track interest in Ben Sheets, and doesn’t see the Yankees being very aggressive on that front.
- Adam Dunn and Pat Burrell don’t deserve raises if you ask Rob Neyer, but he knows they’re likely to get them.
- Kerry Wood sounds happy to be in Cleveland and has "no desire to ever start again."
- The other top reliever to be introduced today, J.J. Putz, said he expected to become a Tiger.
Manny Ramirez Rumors: Thursday
Hoping the Yankees sign Manny Ramirez? Ken Davidoff of Newsday gives it about a 20% chance. As for Manny signing with the Mets, Davidoff gives it no chance.
Davidoff’s colleague Kat O’Brien paints a similar picture, suggesting that the Yankees’ baseball operations people "have not even discussed Ramirez at any length." O’Brien says the Yanks are more interested in Mark Teixeira, who is also a long shot. Tex is expected to sign before Manny.
Did the Mike Cameron talks fizzle to allow for a Yankees pursuit of Manny? Mark Feinsand’s source says there’s no connection. Still, Feinsand believes Hank Steinbrenner is pushing for Ramirez.
Mike Cameron-to-Yankees Dead?
6:07pm: Kat O’Brien just got off the phone with Brewers GM Doug Melvin:
He said: "Nothing new. At this point, I don’t anticipate it’s something that we would (do). … I haven’t talked to Brian (Cashman) since last week." Melvin said they had originally looked at moving Cameron to gain some flexibility on the pitching front but that is no longer such a need.
Melvin added that trading Cameron was "not something that we’re pushing at this time." Sounds like it’s dead. (For now, anyway.)
TUESDAY 3:09pm: Ed Price says the Yankees are discussing this deal internally and don’t feel like they have to rush. Price’s source says a tentative deal has been reached and it’s up to the Yankees now. Tom Haudricourt says the Brewers haven’t heard from the Yanks this week and assistant GM Gord Ash is starting to wonder whether they’re still interested. Yahoo’s Tim Brown says the Brewers will get in on Brian Fuentes if they’re able to move Cameron.
12:10pm: SI.com’s Jon Heyman says the Mike Cameron for Melky Cabrera deal is on the backburner for now. Still, he says the Brewers agreed to take Kei Igawa and pay a small amount of the $12MM he’s owed. That amount is not enough for the Yankees, currently.
Sarah Green also contributed to this post.