Heyman On Dye, Felix, Cameron
The latest from SI's Jon Heyman…
- Heyman's sources say the Giants "made no overtures" to acquire Chicago outfielder Jermaine Dye, who Sox GM Ken Williams made available a few days ago. Dye is hitting .260/.339/.474 in 495 plate appearances on the season after a terrible August.
- Heyman talked to "competing execs" who believe the Mariners will try hard to sign young ace Felix Hernandez to an extension during the offseason. If that completely fails then we might hear trade rumors. Hernandez, 24 in April, has a 2.77 ERA and 179 strikeouts in 185.3 innings this year. He's under team control through 2011. Six teams made offers for Felix at the trade deadline this year, including the Tigers, Red Sox, and Rays.
- Three teams expressed interest in Brewers center fielder Mike Cameron, and Heyman isn't sure why Doug Melvin held onto him. The Brewers could've potentially saved $2MM.
- Heyman's heard the initial bids to buy the Rangers have been weak.
Teams Interested In Mike Cameron
Jon Heyman of SI.com tweets that there has been interest in Brewers centerfielder Mike Cameron, and that the Tigers may be one of the teams that checked in on him. Cameron cleared trade waivers late last week, likely due to the fact that he's still owed about $1.75MM of his $10MM base salary, not to mention another $750K in easily reachable bonuses based on plate appearances.
Cameron, 36, is hitting .258-.358-.459 in 517 plate appearances this year, his best offensive season since 2006. His once outstanding defense in center has declined a bit, but his +7.7 UZR/150 is still well above average. The Yankees expressed interest in his services last offseason. If a team acquired Cameron after today, he would be ineligible for the postseason roster.
Four Brewers Clear Waivers
Jason Kendall, Craig Counsell, Mike Cameron and Braden Looper all cleared waivers yesterday, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. Now, the Brewers can trade those players to any team. Interested clubs will want to complete deals by Monday because players acquired after August 31st aren't eligible to play in the postseason.
Kendall, Cameron and Counsell all hit free agency after the season, while Looper has a $6MM mutual option for next year. According to the latest rankings, Kendall, Cameron and Looper project as Type B free agents and Counsell will likely be unranked. The Brewers could receive draft picks in compensation for departing free agents, but they'd have to be willing to offer arbitration to receive the picks.
The Brewers placed Trevor Hoffman on waivers and he was claimed, but they don't appear likely to trade him.
Rosenthal On Wagner, Rays, Hawkins
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports hears from one GM who believes Billy Wagner's best financial move may be to accept arbitration after the season. The Red Sox have the right to offer Wagner arbitration, but they'd have to offer over $8MM, so they could choose not to. Here are the rest of Rosenthal's rumors:
- Jeff Niemann and Jason Hammel have performed well for their respective clubs, so the Rays' decision to trade Hammel worked out for everyone.
- A number of teams are sure to claim LaTroy Hawkins by noon CST today, when his waivers expire, but it's likely the Astros will pull him back. Rosenthal hears that Hawkins is open to returning to the Astros after the season.
- Rangers GM Jon Daniels estimates that three quarters of MLB players hit waivers in August, so don't fret about this news if you're a Brewers fan, but Trevor Hoffman, Mike Cameron, Craig Counsell, Jason Kendall, Braden Looper and Felipe Lopez have all been placed on waivers, according to Rosenthal's source. The Brewers say they don't intend on becoming sellers.
Brewers Aren’t About To Start Selling
Rival GMs have been calling Doug Melvin to see if he has interest in trading his veteran players, only to hear that the Brewers aren't inclined to start selling, according to MLB.com's Adam McCalvy. At this point in the season, teams aren't willing to offer enough to interest the Brewers.
"They'll give you cash, but they don't want to give me a player," Melvin said. "I can't imagine that a team would give up a good player for one month, unless there is a key injury. I don't anticipate anything."
Trevor Hoffman, Felipe Lopez and Mike Cameron would presumably draw interest from other clubs, but no deal seems likely. Instead, the Brewers may simply try to finish strong, as Buster Olney suggested yesterday. Plus, it's hard to imagine any team offering more than the equivalent of the two draft picks the Brewers will receive if they offer Hoffman arbitration and he signs elsewhere.
Rosenthal’s Full Count Video: Wagner, Holliday, Brewers
Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com has a new Full Count video up. Let's dive in…
- Don't expect the Mets to just give away Billy Wagner as a salary dump. He'll have "actual trade value" this winter, and his $8MM club option would not be outrageous money on a one year deal if he's healthy.
- Even if his team declines the option, they could offer him arbitration and receive two high draft picks if he signs elsewhere since he projects to be a Type-A free agent. Wagner would be much more than a six-week rent in that case.
- Matt Holliday's performance with the Cardinals has undoubtedly boosted his stock as an impending free agent. One GM still thinks Jason Bay is a comparable player on the open market, but Holliday is better defensively, younger, and better at hitting breaking balls than Bay.
- The real question is how each player will age, which is impossible to say at this point.
- The Brewers have yet to place veterans like Mike Cameron and Trevor Hoffman on trade waivers, but with the team now out of contention, Rosenthal asks "why not?"
- GM Doug Melvin is disinclined to make such deals because he knows the return may not be significant, but Hoffman in particular would be attractive. The Rockies have already discussed him internally.
- Craig Counsell, Braden Looper, and Jason Kendall could have value as well.
- Earlier this season there was talk that Mark Mulder and Ben Sheets could help teams in the second half, but that hasn't happened. Sheets has decided that the risk of a setback isn't worth the reward of an accelerated return, but he should be healthy for next season.
- Mulder has only thrown 12.2 IP over the last two seasons, but he's been working with his former pitching coach Rick Peterson and supposedly wants to pitch this season.
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Brewers Not Prepared To Sell
Tom Haudricourt at the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel got word from Brewers GM Doug Melvin that the team is not prepared to go into "selling mode" as the August 31 waiver deadline approaches. The Brewers have fallen to 10 1/2 games behind the first-place Cardinals in the NL Central. Says Melvin:
"Teams aren’t interested in giving up good players at this point on waiver claims…I don’t see getting anything back in return that would make it worth doing."
Haudricourt mentions Mike Cameron, Jason Kendall and Trevor Hoffman as pieces that could potentially attract teams. Cameron is the most expensive of the three, with a base salary of $10MM this season and a number of incentives that are likely to vest before he's a free agent after this year. He seems like a piece that could have some value to other teams as the deadline approaches and represents a solid chunk of salary that could ease up Melvin's payroll.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Bay, Holliday, Hudson, Cameron, Mets, Yankees, Rays
On this date 27 years ago, Adrian Gonzalez was born. The former first overall pick by the Marlins has been traded twice. He was originally dealt to the Rangers in a deal that sent Ugueth Urbina to the Marlins. Later he was dealt to the Padres along with Chris Young for Adam Eaton and Akinori Otsuka. As we enter the second month of the season, let's take a look at what is being written in the Blogosphere…
- Around the Majors looks at Jason Bay and Matt Holliday in an effort to find the best value in the free agents-to-be.
- Feeling Dodger Blue declares Orlando Hudson the best free agent signing of 2009…so far.
- The Eddie Kranepool Society thinks it might be time to break up the core of the Mets by shopping Carlos Beltran and Carlos Delgado.
- The Fowl Balls makes a case for the Yankees signing Paul LoDuca.
- River Ave. Blues argues that the Yankees have gotten lazy with the roster and have missed opportunities to improve the bench.
- Brew Crew Ball writes that Mike Cameron has been a great signing for the Brewers and wonders what the team should do with him as he nears free agency.
- Over at my home base, Rays Index, we are playing a game with other Rays bloggers (and Tim Dierkes) called "The Tampa Bay Rays Trade Pool," based loosely on "The Dead Pool."
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com. If you have a suggestion for this feature, Cork can be reached here, and followed on Twitter here.
Brewers Not Talking Trades
Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel checked in with Brewers GM Doug Melvin and heard that the Brewers aren't talking trades with any team. Jayson Stark heard rumblings that the Yankees could be interested in Mike Cameron again, but Melvin said: "We're not talking trade with any team now."
Melvin said he spoke on the phone in general terms today without bringing Cameron's name up. Melvin also said the Astros haven't inquired about trading for a third baseman.
Stark On Cameron, Ohman, Jenkins
ESPN's Jayson Stark has a new blog post up.
- The Astros plan to give Chris Johnson a chance to win the third base job, but Stark says Juan Uribe, Jose Bautista, and Jeff Baker "could still show up on their shopping list in the next two weeks."
- Stark heard "rumblings the Yankees are poking around again on Mike Cameron's availability." Back in December, the Yanks and Brewers were pretty close on a deal.
- Eric Milton is looking decent and appears to be the frontrunner for the Dodgers' fifth starter job (given Pedro Martinez's asking price).
- Will Ohman seeks a one-year, $1.75MM deal with easily-reachable incentives for another million. He also prefers the West Coast, and Stark believes the Padres and Giants are more likely than the Dodgers. Like the Dodgers, the Phillies and Marlins have interest at a lesser price. Stark has also heard the Phils connected to Giants lefty Jack Taschner.
- Shawn Camp, Geoff Geary, John Buck, and Geoff Jenkins are currently available. The Phillies would eat almost all of the $8MM owed to Jenkins.