Holliday, Fuentes Trades Unlikely
SI.com’s Jon Heyman spoke to Rockies GM Dan O’Dowd, who now says a trade of Matt Holliday or Brian Fuentes is "highly unlikely." He talked to multiple teams about both players, but hasn’t found a match. Holliday could instead be shopped in the offseason.
The Rockies are in buying mode, hoping to land a back-end starter. Heyman mentions Josh Fogg and Paul Byrd. We’ve also seen Justin Duchscherer and Bronson Arroyo named in reports.
More From Stark: Mets, Dodgers, Indians
Jayson Stark brings us a few more tidbits from the Hot Stove…
- The price for Raul Ibanez may be too high for the Mets as Stark reiterates what we heard previously, that Fernando Martinez and Jon Niese are not available…Ken Rosenthal added Robert Parnell to that list of untouchables.
- The Mets may no longer be in the running for Brian Fuentes as they are not willing to part with Aaron Heilman.
- Stark says other relief pitchers the Mets have shown some interest in include Cla Meredith, Chad Bradford and Jeremy Affeldt.
- The Dodgers are said to be interested in several relief pitchers, including Fuentes, George Sherrill, David Weathers and Alan Embree, but they are not interested in Huston Street. The other possibility is Greg Maddux, who would allow the Dodgers to move another starter to the bullpen.
- The Indians’ primary goal now is to deal Paul Byrd.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.
Tim Brown’s Latest: Peralta, McPherson, Putz
Yahoo’s Tim Brown posted a new column this evening.
- The Nationals got an OK return for Jon Rauch, acquiring second baseman Emilio Bonifacio. That could set the pace for reasonable reliever prices.
- The Indians are listening on Casey Blake, Paul Byrd, and Jamey Carroll, as you know. Jhonny Peralta isn’t off-limits either.
- Here’s a new name of interest for the Dodgers: Marlins minor league third baseman Dallas McPherson. He’ll be 28 soon, and carries a .287/.400/.650 line with 32 home runs in 314 Triple A at-bats. This could be the second time McPherson blasts 40 home runs in a minor league season.
- The Red Sox inquired on J.J. Putz, but the Mariners say he’s not available.
Indians Shifting Into Sell Mode
The Indians are currently in fourth place in the AL Central, 8.5 games out. Baseball Prospectus’ projections suggest their playoff chances are less than 3%. Many key players are injured. That’s enough for Terry Pluto – he says we should stick a fork in the Tribe.
- Pluto says the Indians have been listening on C.C. Sabathia, "but nothing has been serious." The Indians are known to be scouting eight organizations as potential destinations for Sabathia, though about 20 have expressed interest. Jayson Stark says the Indians will not be offering a negotiation window to sign Sabathia. Paul Hoynes talked to a scout who believes the Indians could get two near MLB-ready players for him.
- Pluto reminds us not to forget about impending free agents Paul Byrd, Casey Blake, and Joe Borowski. All could draw trade interest.
Odds and Ends: Wolf, Indians, Ensberg
Random items for today…
- MLBTR live chat, today at 2pm CST. Right after I finish my corned beef sandwich.
- RotoAuthority takes a look at the fantasy value of Randy Wolf.
- On Sunday I joined the guys from Drunk Jays Fans for part of their podcast. A button to listen to the show can be found here.
- Paul Hoynes says the Indians’ Mark Shapiro will need "at least a month to narrow the field of suitors for players such as C.C. Sabathia and Paul Byrd to see if he really wants to trade them."
- RotoWorld says the Yankees have released Morgan Ensberg.
Gammons On Available Pitchers
ESPN’s Peter Gammons names ten starting pitchers who could be available in the coming months. We’ll try to devise a comprehensive list when we get to the position in our Trade Market series.
Gammons’ trade possibilities: Paul Byrd, Jeremy Sowers, Derek Lowe, Rich Harden, Odalis Perez, Brett Tomko, Jarrod Washburn, Zach Duke, Vicente Padilla, and Kevin Millwood. Byrd, Lowe, Perez, and Tomko will be free agents after the season. Sowers and Duke are the kids. Harden is the oft-injured ace. Washburn, Padilla, and Millwood bring burdensome contracts.
Gammons also five "unlikely, but not impossible" scenarios. He suggests A.J. Burnett, Bartolo Colon, Joe Blanton, Greg Maddux, and Ben Sheets could be moved under the right circumstances.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Victorino, Hatteberg, Paul Byrd
The Padres stuff got its own post; let’s see what else Ken Rosenthal has for us today.
- Rosenthal thinks it makes sense for the Phillies to shop Shane Victorino for pitching, since Jayson Werth is playing well. That’d increase reliance on Geoff Jenkins, though. The Marlins expressed some interest in Victorino last year.
- Rosenthal expects the Reds to move Scott Hatteberg and a catcher before they get down to the more serious business of mullling offers for Adam Dunn and Ken Griffey Jr.
- Trading Paul Byrd would make sense for the Indians. Rosenthal says the Brewers, Braves, and Astros "likely would show interest." Byrd sports a 3.61 ERA and 4.4 K/BB.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Delgado, Sexson, Crisp, Byrd
Ken Rosenthal has some items worth discussing in his latest Full Count video:
- Trade Carlos Delgado for Richie Sexson? Rosenthal doesn’t see why not. They’re both in walk years, neither have a no-trade-clause, and they’re both making roughly the same amount. I’ll add to that by noting both have arguably met more success hitting in each other’s league.
- The Indians may put Paul Byrd on the block in an effort to acquire pieces that could eventually lead to an upgrade at 2B or 3B later this season. The Indians currently have 7 capable starters in Sabathia, Carmona, Lee, Byrd, Westbrook, Sowers, and Laffey.
- Crisp’s Latest: It may be in the best interest of the Red Sox to wait to deal Coco Crisp in the offseason when the demand increases. The Padres could use him now but the 2009 Free Agent class is thin at centerfield. Coco could be maintained for $5.75MM in ’09 and a club option in 2010 for $8MM, or a $0.5MM buyout.
- Two Byrds in one post! Marlon Byrd‘s return from the DL could mean more time at DH for Josh Hamilton in an effort to keep him rested throughout the season. Hamilton only played 90 games last year after missing about 4 years due to drug suspensions and injury. If Byrd performs then this would take the Rangers out of the DH market. So far, so good.
By Nat Boyle
Indians Pick Up Options On Byrd, Borowski, Fultz
Mark Shapiro and the Indians had three option decisions to make, and today the team exercised all of them. All of these were pretty much expected to be exercised.
- Closer Joe Borowski gets $4MM rather than a $250K buyout.
- Starter Paul Byrd gets $8MM instead of a $250K buyout.
- Southpaw reliever Aaron Fultz gets $1.5MM instead of a $0.15MM buyout.
So, $13.5MM for the trio of pitchers. Seems reasonable. Of course there’s the HGH stigma with Byrd. But as a baseball decision, it’s fair to expect him to pitch like a back-rotation guy worthy of a one-year, $7.75MM deal.
Indians Still Keen On Byrd’s Option?
A week ago, Paul Byrd‘s $8MM option for 2008 seemed like a no-brainer for the Tribe. He kept his ERA under 5.00, made 31 starts, and won 15 games. $8MM on a low-risk one-year deal would’ve been an easy decision even for the cost-conscious Indians.
But now we’ve got a little HGH controversy on our hands. Ken Rosenthal discusses the situation over at FOX Sports. Rosenthal is correct in that Byrd never acted like someone who had something to hide. He didn’t disguise his purchase of HGH in any way (though MLB didn’t agree with his contention that they’d been informed). Byrd even brings up HGH in his upcoming book, mentioning that he resisted the urge to take more than the prescribed dosage. On the other hand, even at the recommended dosage Byrd was "able to recover quicker from pitching." At what point do we call this cheating? Is Byrd getting generous treatment because he’s a devout white guy?
As Mark Shapiro says, he doesn’t have all the information yet. Nor does the public, of course. Honestly if the HGH situation somehow causes the Indians to decline the option, Byrd stands to make more money on the open market.