Mets Considering Trading For A First Baseman
As Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post reports, Carlos Delgado's hip problems have put his career in jeopardy. For now he's on the DL, but there's no immediate timeline for his return. This leaves the Mets without a first baseman. Here are some of Minaya's options:
- Fernando Tatis could play first, perhaps with help from Daniel Murphy. Gary Sheffield's probably not an option anywhere but the outfield.
- The Mets could sign Richie Sexson, Jose Vidro or another free agent
- He could make a trade. Jerry Manuel said Minaya's looking at trade possibilities. Could a player like Aubrey Huff or Jorge Cantu be a fit?
The Remaining Free Agents: Who’s Left?
With little more than a week remaining before the regular season begins let's check the list of unsigned free agents..
- Pedro Martinez is the biggest name out there. The Dodgers don't like his asking price of $5MM and Omar Minaya says Pedro's not coming back to the Mets.
- Orlando Hernandez, Mark Mulder and Will Ohman are still on the market.
- And don't forget about Paul Byrd and Ben Sheets, who could return midseason.
- Richie Sexson, Mark Grudzielanek and Ray Durham are some of the more interesting free agent infielders
- Dave Roberts and Jim Edmonds could offer outfield depth, but haven't attracted a lot of reported interest.
- Luis Gonzalez is on the market too. Could he return to the Marlins? He could return to the D'Backs if he retires as a player.
Orioles Rumors: Dunn, Wigginton, Sexson
3:15pm: Roch Kubatko says the Orioles would only consider Adam Dunn as a DH, and he wants to play the outfield.
1:40pm: The latest from Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun (with an assist from Jeff Zrebiec)…
- The Orioles want a first base candidate who can also play other positions, since they want to use Aubrey Huff at first sometimes. Ty Wigginton remains on the radar, but the Orioles don’t want to go beyond one year. The O’s have apparently moved on from the Richie Sexson idea.
- The Orioles signed former Yankees outfielder Justin Christian to a minor league deal.
- The O’s finalized their two-year contract with Koji Uehara.
Orioles Rumors: Roberts, Uehara, Zaun, Pudge
10:46pm: Roch Kubatko says Zaun wants a two-year deal but the Orioles prefer one year. The O’s are also talking with Ivan Rodriguez. Kubatko adds that Kenshin Kawakami was seeking a three-year deal. In another post, Kubatko says the O’s have no interest in Shelley Duncan, but Richie Sexson and Ty Wigginton are possibilities for first base. Peter Schmuck adds Nick Swisher, Ryan Garko, Billy Butler, and Ryan Shealy as trade possibilities.
Dan Connolly says the Orioles offered Brian Roberts a multiyear extension at about $10MM per, but the two sides have not made progress and Roberts doesn’t want talks dragging into the season. Andy MacPhail said he hasn’t had trade talks for Roberts for at least a month. As for Nick Markakis, the sides were about $10MM apart on a possible six-year extension.
11:31am: Orioles notes…
- As you know, the Orioles reached an agreement with their first-ever Japanese player, Koji Uehara. It’s a two-year deal worth $10MM guaranteed, with another $6MM in incentives and bonuses. Patrick Newman offers commentary on the signing, which is not getting a ton of press in the Japanese media. Keith Law wonders if Baltimore was a wise choice for Uehara.
- Dan Connolly says the Orioles’ immediate priority is now to add a catcher, with Gregg Zaun and Ivan Rodriguez the candidates.
- Peter Schmuck says the O’s are looking for a reserve infielder as well. They’ve talked to Chris Gomez‘s agent and Willie Bloomquist "might be another possibility."
Orioles Considering Richie Sexson?
Having missed out on the Teixeira Sweepstakes, the Orioles appear to be looking at Richie Sexson as an option for filling their current vacancy at first base, says Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun.
According to Schmuck, "Club officials apparently have had at least one conversation with Sexson’s agent, Casey Close, though the depth of their interest is uncertain."
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Mets, Tigers, Red Sox, Angels, Pirates
Today is free agent Cliff Floyd’s birthday. He is 36 years young. His knees are not. Also, on this date 18 years ago, the San Diego Padres sent Roberto Alomar and Joe Carter to the Blue Jays for Fred McGriff and Tony Fernandez, in one of the biggest trades ever featuring young, proven talent. Got one that can top that? Let’s hear it in the comments…With little action so far this year, the Hot Stove Season is ugly, Don Mossi ugly. Let’s take a look at what is being written in the blogosphere…
- Mets Geek takes a look at three recent rumored deals that may be sitting on Omar Minaya’s desk and ponders whether or not the Mets should make each trade.
- The Detroit Tigers Weblog breaks down what a Jack Wilson trade would mean for the Tigers.
- Fire Brand of the American League feels that with the recent additions to the bullpen, the Red Sox may be better suited to insert Justin Masterson into the rotation, rather than sign a high-priced free agent.
- Ump Bump suggests that the Angels could get more bang for the buck if they sign Adam Dunn over Mark Teixeira.
- The ‘Burgh Blues picks through the scraps and identifies eight players they would like to see the Pirates invite to Spring Training, including Richie Sexson, Sidney Ponson, Mark Prior and Matt Clement.
- MLB Notebook takes a look at the big guns in the free agent market and feels that the Yankees are no longer in a position to set the pace. Rather, they argue that the Angels now control the market.
- East Windup Chronicle feels that some are underestimating the amount of potential Major League talent playing in Japan, noting the number is "at least 30" and considerably more if they had the opportunity to start in the minors out of high school.
- Bernies Crew likes the Jorge Julio signing by the Brewers, noting the move gives the team much needed flexibility and depth in the bullpen.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com. If you have a suggestion for this feature, Cork can be reached here.
Week In Review: 8/10 – 8/16
Taking a look back at this week’s happenings here on MLBTR…
- The biggest move of the month was the Diamondbacks’ acquisition of slugger Adam Dunn for Dallas Buck, Micah Owings, and Wilkin Castillo. I can’t remember any August trades of this magnitude.
- Bronson Arroyo told the media Dunn would be seeking over $100MM this offseason; Dunn denied the report wholeheartedly. I’d be surprised to see him get $100MM, but I also certainly don’t think it would be the worst signing we’ve seen in the past few offseasons.
- The Red Sox acquired Paul Byrd from the Indians. Boston will pay the remaining portion of Byrd’s salary. Byrd has been very good lately, and you can never have too much pitching depth. Not a bad move for Boston, in my opinion.
- The Twins were very active in discussions this week, though nothing surfaced as of yet. Minnesota claimed Jarrod Washburn off waivers from Seattle, but a deal wasn’t worked out. Boof Bonser and salary relief was originally thought to be the offer, but that report was later denied. Passing a chance to unload Washburn’s salary makes no sense to me. The Twins also claimed Alan Embree from Oakland, but he was pulled back.
- Freddy Garcia signed a minor-league contact with the Tigers. They must have liked what they saw at his audition. If he can return to be as effective as he was in his Chicago days, that would be a great signing. Nice low-risk move for Detroit.
- We’ve seen a lot of teams signing their young talent to long-term deals, but it looks like San Francisco ace Tim Lincecum will not be one of them. He’d prefer to go year-to-year.
- Minor moves happening around baseball: The Reds DFA’d David Ross, the Blue Jays released Shannon Stewart, and the Twins signed Bobby Kielty to a minor-league deal. The Giants DFA’d Jose Castillo, and Richie Sexson’s time in New York was cut short when he was released after just 35 plate appearances. The Rockies added another arm, signing Oscar Villareal.
- And now, for the draft-pick signings! Here are all the signings and not-signings teams made with their top picks this week: The White Sox signed Gordon Beckham, the Orioles signed Brian Matusz, the Padres signed Allan Dykstra, the Rangers signed Justin Smoak, the Giants signed Buster Posey, the Pirates signed Pedro Alvarez, the Royals signed Eric Hosmer, and the Reds not only signed Yonder Alonso, but Venezuelan outfielder Yorman Rodriguez as well. The Nationals failed to sign Aaron Crow, and the Yankees failed to sign Gerrit Cole.
- And to cap things off, since we just covered a bunch of guys who probably weren’t even alive when Jamie Moyer first started pitching in the Majors… he didn’t deny the possibility of pitching until he’s 50. He’s 45 right now with 11 wins and an ERA of 3.64, who knows?
Richie Sexson Released
The New York Post writes of a minor shakeup for the Yankees. They’re cutting Richie Sexson and demoting Melky Cabrera to the minors in favor of Brett Gardner and Cody Ransom.
Sexson received 35 plate appearances from the Yankees, hitting .250/.371/.393. He did what he was supposed to do, hitting .273/.393/.455 against lefties.
Week in Review
Another week in the history books! Here’s a look back from July 13-19:
- The Phillies acquired Joe Blanton from the A’s for a package of three minor leaguers: Adrian Cardenas, Josh Outman, and Matthew Spencer. Cardenas and Outman were the Phils’ #2 and #4 prospects. Personally, that seems like a lot to bring a pitcher who’s already struggling to a much smaller park. Blanton is a much better pitcher than he’s showed this season, however.
- Francisco Rodriguez will test the free-agent market this offseason. I don’t think anyone would be surprised to see K-Rod sign a record-setting contract for a reliever.
- The Yankees signed Richie Sexson.
- Francisco Liriano – or at least his agent – is not pleased that the Twins still have him in AAA. The Twins won’t blame Liriano for the investigation. Upsetting a player who’s that young and that talented seems like a bad idea to me…
- The Padres traded Tony Clark to the Diamondbacks for minor leaguer Evan Scribner. The D’Backs have looked like they can use all the help they can get lately.
- A.J. Burnett likes Toronto and doesn’t want to be traded. My advice: Don’t talk to Chicago reporters anymore, A.J.
- Tim updated the third base and second base markets.
- Erik Bedard’s injury looks like it will keep him in Seattle. And if you don’t believe me yet, here’s another one for you.
- The Twins balked at Seattle’s asking price for Adrian Beltre. And considering they asked for one of Scott Baker, Nick Blackburn, Glen Perkins, or Kevin Slowey as well as other minor league prospects, can you blame them?
Heyman’s Latest: Yankees, Manny, Bowden, Pudge
SI.com’s Jon Heyman has a new column up.
- Given Richie Sexson‘s expected part-time role, the Yankees are in the market for an everyday outfielder to replace Hideki Matsui‘s bat. Barry Bonds is not under consideration. Heyman tosses out names such as Matt Holliday, Xavier Nady, Jason Bay, and Adam Dunn, while noting that the price on most is too high (the Pirates deny this).
- Heyman is still saying the Cardinals will consider trading Colby Rasmus, despite various denials.
- The Yanks are also looking to add a #3-4 starter type. Here’s a look at the market.
- Manny Ramirez probably isn’t going to get what he wants – free agency, an extension, or a trade.
- The Nationals are supporting GM Jim Bowden despite his recent problems. Heyman reported rumblings last month that Bowden "could be in trouble."
- Despite the Marlins’ interest, the Tigers are unlikely to trade Ivan Rodriguez. Jon Paul Morosi agrees, while noting that Pudge’s salary might be too high for Florida anyway.