Heyman On Mets, Trades, Billingsley
The latest from SI's Jon Heyman…
- Heyman wonders why the Mets aren't giving Daniel Murphy a chance as their regular first baseman. He names trade possibilities, in order of likelihood: Nick Johnson, Aubrey Huff, Russell Branyan, Victor Martinez/Mark DeRosa, and Garrett Atkins.
- Heyman names 22 players who might hit the trading block this summer, headed by Jake Peavy, Matt Holliday, and Erik Bedard. The A's could potentially have a lot of veterans to spin off.
- Heyman says "the Dodgers briefly tried to lock up Chad Billingsley this winter, and probably wish they had." Billingsley will be eligible for arbitration for the first time after this season, so his salary figures to jump up past $4MM.
Indians Fielding Offers For Mark DeRosa
According to SI's Jon Heyman, the Indians are now fielding offers for infielder Mark DeRosa. DeRosa, 34, is hitting .242/.312/.412 on the season in 170 plate appearances as the Tribe's third baseman. He has about $4.15MM left on his contract.
Heyman says the Indians "are looking mainly for pitchers who can help them now." Heyman believes DeRosa is below Nick Johnson, Aubrey Huff, and Russell Branyan on the Mets' wish list. What other teams would make sense – the Braves, Cubs, Brewers, or Cardinals perhaps? You can discuss it in the comments here, and also head over to our Facebook fan page and jump into that discussion.
Over at the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Paul Hoynes says Indians GM Mark Shapiro "is talking to general managers, but it's not about subtracting players in preparation for next year."
Nick Johnson Rumors
The Nationals' injury-prone first baseman, Nick Johnson, is off to a .333/.432/.468 start in 169 plate appearances. He hasn't played a full season since '06, so it might make sense for GM Mike Rizzo to trade him while he's healthy and hitting. Johnson has about $4.2MM left on his contract.
On Saturday, ESPN's Peter Gammons wrote:
The Nationals have let it be known that Nick Johnson is available, but Boston won't trade Clay Buchholz.
I think MLB.com's Bill Ladson was responding to that Gammons sentence when he wrote today:
Nationals first baseman Nick Johnson has been mentioned in trade rumors of late. The Red Sox are said to be scouting Johnson, but the truth is, according to a baseball source, Washington and Boston haven't talked since April.
Ladson goes on to say that the Nationals would want a pitching prospect in a Johnson trade, and the player had kind words for the Red Sox.
How about the Giants, who are 14th in the NL with 3.97 runs scored per game and have gotten a .228/.275/.272 line out of first basemen Travis Ishikawa and Rich Aurilia? Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News says "I heard Nick Johnson's name on the lips of more than one uniformed person Tuesday." Aurilia might be on the way out, but to make room for Jesus Guzman.
The Mets are another team often speculated as a suitor for Johnson. GM Omar Minaya will stay in-house for now for Carlos Delgado's replacement, but maybe he'll make a deal if Delgado has a setback.
Odds & Ends: Mets, Cubs, Astros
Links for Monday…
- Nationals GM Mike Rizzo told Baseball America's Jim Callis that the team's #10 overall draft pick will not be influenced by signability. MLB.com's Bill Ladson's source believes negotiations between Rizzo and Scott Boras for Stephen Strasburg will go well, given their past history.
- Regarding Friday's call for MLBTR writers, I still have many applications to review. I will keep you updated here on the site.
- McCovey Chronicles discusses The Jonathan Sanchez Paradox.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post names Nick Johnson, Aubrey Huff, and Mark DeRosa as the most probable trade targets for the Mets if Carlos Delgado is out for an extended period of time. Check out MLBTR's discussion of this topic from Saturday. SI.com's Jon Heyman also weighed in today.
- Daniel Kaplan of SportsBusiness Journal has an update on progress made on the sale of the Cubs.
- On Sunday, Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette wrote that Freddy Sanchez's current contract clause will likely cause the Pirates to avoid vesting options in the future.
- On June 1st, Alyson Footer will begin a new job working for the Astros. The new MLB.com beat writer will be Brian McTaggart, who covered the team for the Houston Chronicle.
Gammons On Matthews, Teahen, Harang, Peavy
12:07pm: John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer asked Reds GM Walt Jocketty about Gammons' Harang note. Jocketty said, "I'm not going to comment on something when he doesn't know what he's talking about."
9:19am: ESPN's Peter Gammons had a new blog post yesterday discussing available players.
- Gammons names Geoff Jenkins ($8MM remaining, limited no-trade), Brian Giles ($9MM remaining, full no-trade), Gary Matthews Jr. ($33.5MM remaining, full no-trade), Marcus Thames ($2.275MM salary), Nick Johnson ($5.5MM salary), Jason Repko, and Jeff Baker as players being dangled. Gammons links Matthews to the Yankees but admits his contract will be an issue.
- Mark Teahen has drawn interest from the Astros, Red Sox, and Yankees.
- Gammons says the Reds "have let teams know that they will wait and see whether they need to move Aaron Harang during the season." It'd be a shame to see the Reds break up that rotation. Harang has about $36MM coming to him over the next three seasons if his 2011 option is exercised.
- Brewers third baseman Bill Hall expects his team to pursue Padres ace Jake Peavy if available this summer. Unlike C.C. Sabathia, Peavy is more than a rental.
Beimel Contract Details
Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post has details on Joe Beimel's new contract with the Nationals. Renck says it's a one-year, $2MM deal with up to $250K in incentives. The incentives kick in at 60 games and max out at 80. Renck says the Rockies balked at Beimel's asking price. Tracy Ringolsby of Inside The Rockies has more:
Beimel signed with Washington, a one-year $2 million deal in the last week. He showed no interest in the Rockies' overtures. He was seeking more than $3 million, and I have seen some reports that he was actually asking for a two-year deal at $4 million a year, but I have not had anyone confirm that.
Does Beimel make sense for the Nationals? Unless they can flip him for something good in July, it seems to be $2MM better spent on the draft.
We have a few other Nationals notes from MLB.com's Bill Ladson. Ladson talked to an opposing scout who says the Nats are trying to trade Nick Johnson and Austin Kearns but does not expect them to find a match. Additionally, minor league signee Jorge Sosa hasn't been able to get a work visa in the U.S.
Odds and Ends: Lester, Arbitration, Beimel
Links for Friday…
- RotoAuthority hosts a roundtable discussion of the worst fantasy picks of the first three rounds.
- Nationals president Stan Kasten expects "heavy trade talk," given the team’s surplus of first basemen/outfielders. Nick Johnson is the most likely candidate.
- Mark Sweeney may be forced into retirement, according to Tony Jackson of the L.A. Daily News.
- Joe McDonald of the Providence Journal wonders if Jon Lester could be the next Red Sox player to get a long-term extension.
- Maury Brown of The Biz of Baseball analyzes the salary arbitration class of 2009.
- Brian McTaggart of the Houston Chronicle has Astros GM Ed Wade explain split contracts.
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports writes the Yankees outfielders and Scott Boras clients Xavier Nady and Johnny Damon have been affected by the Stanford financial scandal.
- MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan says Joe Beimel turned down a minor league offer from the Rangers about a month ago. Tough time to be a lefty reliever.
Johnson Wants To Play, Would Accept A Trade
According to MLB.com’s Bill Ladson, Nick Johnson will not accept a bench role with the Nationals, who will "most likely look to trade" him. Johnson said he "would rather play every day" than accept a role as a reserve. Now that the Nats added Adam Dunn, Johnson doesn’t fit as a starter so he said if the Nationals choose to trade him "that’s fine."
Ladson writes that the A’s, who have had interest in Johnson, aren’t near a deal with the Nats. Oakland doesn’t have a clear spot for him either, though.
Odds And Ends: Varitek, Markakis, Johnson
Links for Thursday night…
- Curt Schilling thinks the Red Sox need Jason Varitek.
- Buster Olney writes that some executives think Type A free agents like Varitek, Orlando Cabrera and Juan Cruz should sign soon instead of waiting until the season starts.
- Ken Rosenthal proposes a ‘Juan Cruz rule’ so that players like Cruz aren’t the ones hurt by the compensation system.
- Andy MacPhail provides some of the reasons he wanted to lock up Nick Markakis. He has plenty of good ones to choose from.
- Chico Harlan of the Washington Post spoke with Nick Johnson, who "expressed no particular desire" to play in his home state of California.
- Kobe Bryant jokingly suggested that he could play left for the Dodgers instead of Manny Ramirez.
Nick Johnson Trade Talks With Oakland Resume
12:45pm: MLB.com’s Bill Ladson talked to a source who said nothing is imminent in these talks and they haven’t really heated up.
10:48am: According to Dave Sheinin of the Washington Post, the Nationals and A’s have revived trade talks for first baseman Nick Johnson. Sheinin notes that the Nats have previously shown interest in Daric Barton, though that might be a high price to pay for one year of the injury-prone Johnson. Another wrinkle is the A’s addition of Jason Giambi, but there would be ways to make it work.