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Prince Fielder

Brewers Looking At Keepers, May Try To Trade Fielder

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The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel's Tom Haudricourt has some updates for Brewers fans as the organization looks to the future. It appears that Corey Hart's recent three-year extension may only be the beginning as the Brew Crew tries to set itself up for future success.

The Brewers will offer an extension to Rickie Weeks, who's enjoying a fine rebound season after an injury-shortened 2009. The former number-two overall pick is hitting .272/.368/.485 with 23 home runs and seven steals on the year. His speed numbers may be down, but Weeks still remains a power/speed combination and an offensive force at second base. Weeks will need to replace his agent, and once he accomplishes that, an extension will be offered.

One player who the Brewers likely won't be able to agree with is Prince Fielder. The Scott Boras client was offered an extension in the neighborhood of five years and $100MM, but the Brewers completely cut off talks when they learned he was seeking nearly double that amount — likely looking for a deal similar to Mark Teixeira's eight-year, $180MM contract. Haudricourt says that the Brewers won't advertise it for now, but they're likely to shop Fielder this offseason to bolster their rotation.

Losing Fielder leaves a hole in the offense, but it's possible the club is looking to replace him with Mat Gamel, or move Hart to first base and place Gamel in right field. As Haudricourt points out, Hart was drafted as a first baseman, and his 6'6" frame is conducive to the position.

It's possible that Lorenzo Cain dethrones Carlos Gomez as the club's everyday center fielder. The Brewers were clearly looking for more than Gomez's .286 OBP when they traded J.J. Hardy to Minnesota for him this past offseason.

If Milwaukee does indeed try to make Fielder available, there will be no shortage of suitors. While the free agent market does feature Adam Dunn, the majority of others consist of injury risks, fading stars, players coming off career years, or some combination of the three.

Adam Dunn Rumors: Friday

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The latest on Nationals slugger Adam Dunn…

  • The Giants are involved a number of pursuits, but do not seem serious about Dunn, writes Rosenthal. 
  • The White Sox are once again saying that they're out of the Dunn sweepstakes, according to Rosenthal (Twitter links). Barring a mystery team, Rosenthal finds it hard to envision a Dunn trade.
  • The Nationals told teams that Edwin Jackson was key to obtaining Adam Dunn from them, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney. Many teams tried to obtain Jackson, the White Sox got him and now the Nationals say they aren't so sure they want the righty. Obviously, teams are frustrated with the Nationals (all Twitter links).
  • The Nats are becoming frustrated as they try to obtain equal value for Dunn, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney (Twitter links). Rival teams say that Washington's asking price is enormous.
  • Nats GM Mike Rizzo told MASNSports.com's Ben Goessling that he won't lower his asking price for Dunn (Twitter link).
  • Dunn says he'd be comfortable DHing for the rest of the year, according to multiple reporters, including Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post (Twitter link). That is music to the ears of White Sox, Rays and Yankees fans.
  • The Rays are convinced that the Yankees will acquire Dunn, Peter Gammons told WEEI.com. Gammons suspects that if the Nationals trade Dunn, the Yankees will acquire him. The Rays haven't given up hope, since they have had a special assignment scout watching Dunn all week, according to Ed Price of AOL FanHouse (Twitter link). 
  • The White Sox remain in talks with the Nationals for Dunn even after the Edwin Jackson trade, write Rosenthal and Morosi.  Yahoo's Tim Brown tweets that the Nationals want Jackson in a Dunn trade, but the White Sox hope to keep him out of the deal. 
  • The White Sox are focused only on Dunn and not Prince Fielder or Lance Berkman, tweets Bob Nightengale of USA Today.
  • Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports has heard varying opinions about whether the Yankees are truly out on Dunn.
  • Yesterday's Dunn rumors are tough to sort out, rife with conflicting reports.  The White Sox, Yankees, Rays, Giants, and Tigers were linked, though the Tigers might be out.

Odds & Ends: Cardinals, Abreu, Mets, Edmonds

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A few assorted links, as the trading finally picks up…

Fielder & Hart Are Off The Market

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The Brewers have decided that they’re too close to contention to sell, according to ESPN.com's Keith Law. An executive from a club that had interest in a Brewers player explained to Law that Milwaukee has changed its approach to Saturday's deadline. That means Prince Fielder and Corey Hart are no longer available to teams seeking power bats.

The Brewers are 48-55, 9.0 games behind the Reds and even further behind in the Wild Card race. They have a 0.33% chance of making the playoffs in 2010, according to Baseball Prospectus' postseason odds report.

The Brewers didn't make progress with the Giants in their talks about Fielder and Hart, partly because of the wrist injury that has sidelined Hart since Friday. Both players are under team control for 2011, so the Brewers can reignite trade talks after the season.

Prince Fielder Rumors: Wednesday

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The Prince Fielder rumors have been surprisingly quiet, but here's the latest…

  • The Rangers are not confident in their ability to acquire Fielder, according to Yahoo's Jeff Passan (via Twitter). They don't want to give up too many prospects, but the Brewers are asking for a mammoth return. Passan notes on Twitter that first base is still a priority for the Rangers, who maintain interest in Jorge Cantu.
  • The Rangers have joined the Fielder fray along with the Angels and White Sox, tweets SI's Jon Heyman.  Fielder would already cost a lot in terms of prospects, so I can't imagine what it'd take to convince the Brewers to pick up most of his remaining $3.88MM this year too.  This is also the first we've heard in a while about the Halos being interested in Fielder. 

Giants Not Making Progress With Brewers

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The Giants are still actively looking for an impact bat, but discussions about Brewers sluggers Corey Hart and Prince Fielder are "dead in the water," according to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle.  That's not a surprise, since Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported on Twitter that the Brewers plan to hold off on trades until tomorrow at the earliest. Hart has an injured right wrist, so the Brewers aren't likely to deal him until he proves his ability to hit.

Injuries to Hart and David DeJesus have not derailed the Giants' search for a bat. They have been connected to Jose Guillen, Josh Willingham, Scott Podsednik and Adam Dunn in the last 24 hours.  The asking price for Dunn?  Madison Bumgarner, says Schulman. 

GM Brian Sabean is also interested in adding relief help, though the market is tough at this point.  Schulman says the Giants are "investigating" Seattle's Brandon League.

Brewers To Wait And See For Now

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The Brewers still appear to be sellers, but they're going to take a little extra time to determine their plan for this week's trade deadline. The team will not make any decisions – or, presumably, any trades – until they complete their series with the Reds, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter). 

GM Doug Melvin and the rest of the club's front office have many trade chips, but appear ready to wait until the club wraps up its series with Cincinnati tomorrow afternoon. The Brewers are 8.0 games out of a playoff spot, though they have won five straight.

The team's biggest trade chip, Prince Fielder, tells Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports that he's prepared for a trade. Prince knows he has little control over the Brewers' decision, but he says he enjoys playing defense and wants to play first base when he signs as a free agent after 2011. The sides are not currently discussing an extension, according to Fielder.

Corey Hart is not in tonight's lineup, but he has caught the attention of several teams and will presumably draw heavy interest if he proves that his right wrist won't be a serious problem. Dave Bush, on the other hand, has drawn little interest, even though he has more quality starts than Ted Lilly or Dan Haren.

The lack of interest in Bush amuses Melvin, who told MLB.com's Adam McCalvy that he gets "a kick out of teams talking about all of these other pitchers" when Bush has been serviceable as well.

Odds & Ends: Sweeney, Downs, Martin

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Links for Monday, as we celebrate the anniversary of the Mark DeRosa (2009), Casey Blake (2008), Xavier Nady (2008), and Ben Broussard (2006) trades.  More importantly, Chris Perez, Carlos Santana, Jose Tabata, and Shin-Soo Choo were surrendered for those veteran acquisitions.  The trade deadline is five days away; who will mortgage the future this year?

Rosenthal On Fielder, Padres, Rockies

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Let's see what Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports has for us in his latest installment of Full Count..

  • White Sox GM Ken Williams is said to be confident about landing either Prince Fielder or Adam Dunn.  Williams continues to talk to the Brewers about Fielder but there doesn't seem to be a match as they seek pitching in return.  Meanwhile, the Nats have told everyone that they'll need to be overwhelmed by an offer to move Dunn.  If the White Sox strike out on the two big-time left-handed sluggers, they're unlikely to reach for a player such as Russell Branyan or Brad Hawpe.  Instead, they'll look to go small and try to improve their bullpen and bench.
  • The Padres are now more focused on offense than pitching, but don't expect them to make a big splash.  The club expects pitchers such as Jake Westbrook to clear waivers rather easily in August.  Ultimately, they're likely to make two or three small acquisitions, bringing in guys that won't cost a lot but will help their squad contend.
  • The Rockies are looking for a right-handed hitting first baseman in Todd Helton's absence.  Jorge Cantu was a possibility but his price was high to begin with and now the Marlins appear to be back in contention.  Ty Wigginton also appears to be out of reach as the O's want a young shortstop in return.  Colorado made an inquiry on Jayson Werth but the Phillies are telling teams that they won't deal him unless they get a major league-ready starter.

Trade Possible, Nats May Try To Extend Dunn Soon

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Adam Dunn is looking for a long-term deal, and if he and the Nationals can’t agree on his value, the team will likely trade him, according to ESPN.com's Jayson Stark. Dunn would stay in Washington if he and the Nationals can agree to the parameters of a deal, even if they don’t formally announce an agreement. The Nats have the chance to keep Dunn in Washington, so they may try to extend him before the trade deadline, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney (via Twitter).

Dunn, 31 in November, has 23 homers and a .933 OPS, so he remains one of the game's elite power hitters. Many have suggested that Dunn's poor defense makes him an ideal candidate to DH, but that hasn't prevented NL teams like the Giants from showing interest. The Nats seem reluctant to deal their top players, including Dunn, but the White Sox are definitely interested.

The White Sox also covet Prince Fielder, but Dunn, Adam LaRoche and Lance Berkman (in that order) are the next players on their list, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (via Twitter).

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