Odds & Ends: Halladay, Teahen, Karstens
Some Saturday night links:
- MLB.com's Jordan Bastian (via Twitter) says that Roy Halladay's reported unwillingness to stay in Toronto is less than shocking and speculates that his time with the Blue Jays is nearing its end.
- Mark Teahen's flexibility could open up some interesting options for the White Sox this winter, according to Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. GM Ken Williams says that he likes Teahen at third base, but wouldn't completely rule out the possibility of moving him to first base or right field.
- Chad Jennings of the LoHud Yankees Blog weighed in on the Astros' signing of former Yankees minor league pitcher Jose Valdez. Jennings was surprised not by the signing but by the fact that Houston chose to protect the once-highly touted hurler from the Rule 5 draft.
- As mentioned by Jennings, the Pirates DFA'd pitcher Jeff Karstens. Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com characterized the move as "somewhat surprising." The 27-year-old posted an ERA of 5.42 and 1.16 K/BB in 108 IP last season.
Halladay Wants To Move On?
Blue Jays CEO Paul Beeston told George King III of the New York Post that ace Roy Halladay "is not inclined to sign" with Toronto if (or when) he hits free agency.
Halladay, 32, is only under contract through the upcoming season and Toronto might not have the kind of money it would take to extend his contract anyway. "We would like to sign him, he is an original Blue Jay and we have never had a pitcher as good as him," Beeston told The Post on Friday. "But he is not inclined to sign with us."
The right-hander has a 148-76 career record and a 3.43 lifetime ERA. He went 17-10 this past season with a 2.79 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and a league-leading nine complete games and four shutouts. There's a good chance he'll be traded before he nears the open market. A deal could go down this winter, or we might have to wait until mid-summer. Either way, all of baseball's biggest spenders are sure to at least try for his services.
Dodgers, Blue Jays Discussing Halladay
SATURDAY 10:45pm: Citing a source close to the situation, Brown says the deal looked "highly unlikely" as of last night.
FRIDAY 8:26pm: Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports tweets that the Dodgers and Blue Jays are once again discussing Roy Halladay. Earlier today we learned that Toronto GM Alex Anthopoulos had contacted the Cubs about moving Halladay, and as Brown said, it looks like he's "restarting the process of moving Doc."
Gammons & Edes On Boston’s Offseason
In a piece for ESPN Boston, Peter Gammons and Gordon Edes answered five key questions about the Red Sox and the upcoming offseason. There's not many hard rumors in the piece, but there's plenty of discussion topics, so let us know what you think…
- Both Gammons and Edes believe the Sox will retain Jason Bay (Gammons guesses the contract will be in the four year, $64MM range), and neither is sure who will compete with them for his services.
- The Red Sox "can easily" keep shortstop Alex Gonzalez at a reduced rate even though they declined his option earlier this month. Gammons feels the team needs depth and mentions Marco Scutaro, while Edes doesn't think it would be wise to make a long-term commitment that would block prospect Jose Iglesias.
- When it comes to blockbuster trades, Gammons thinks the only way the team pulls one off is if they a) get frustrated during contract extension negotiations with Josh Beckett, or b) can get Adrian Gonzalez or Felix Hernandez.
- Edes says it wouldn't be a Red Sox offseason if they didn't explore a big trade, but he thinks it's a longshot that they'll acquire Gonzalez. He says another run at Roy Halladay is more likely.
- Gammons notes the Sox would like to add a righthanded batter than could play center and right, and they've long been intrigued by Cody Ross. He mentions that the Marlins tried to get Manny Delcarmen in July.
- Both writers believe they will make a run at Rich Harden, and Gammons thinks they'll go after Ben Sheets as well.
- And finally, Gammons says the team believes they will not be the high bidder for Aroldis Chapman, but they made a strong case for Boston as the place he'd want to be.
Blue Jays Contacted Cubs About Halladay
The Blue Jays want to move Roy Halladay this offseason and have contacted the Cubs about a potential trade, according to MLB.com's Carrie Muskat. However, it's unclear if the Cubs have room for another $15.75MM in payroll. Plus, they'd have to be willing to part with top prospects, such as shortstop Starlin Castro, to obtain the Jays' ace.
Blue Jays Rumors: Trades, Halladay, Gillick
Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos tells MLB.com's Jordan Bastian that he's going to be considerably more aggressive on the trade market than on the free agent market this offseason. Some players have caught the Jays' attention.
" We have players that we have, as an organization, targeted to try to acquire," Antopoulos said.
The Blue Jays already have one player that teams will be eyeing as long as he's in Toronto. The Dodgers are interested in Roy Halladay, but the Mets aren't thought to be players for Doc, according to Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post.
On another note, Dave Perkins of the Toronto Star wonders if the Blue Jays might hire Pat Gillick as a senior consultant. Perkins says the Jays would "love" to bring their former GM back.
Nightengale On Jackson, Swisher, Rays, Halladay
USA Today's Bob Nightengale suggests we keep an eye on a possible three-way trade between the Tigers, Mariners and one other club. The Tigers would give up Edwin Jackson and the Mariners would give up Brandon Morrow. Here are some more rumors to read as you wonder who that third team might be:
- Nightengale says the Rays are the "clear-cut favorite" to acquire Milton Bradley from the Cubs.
- The Yankees are apparently letting teams know that Nick Swisher is available. Swisher was involved in his share of trade rumors after the Yankees acquired him last season.
- The Dodgers are focusing on Roy Halladay, who would potentially cost Chad Billingsley and others.
Odds & Ends: Yanks, Boras, Greinke, Cards
A few more items for Wednesday evening…
- Chad Jennings of The Journal News thinks the Yankees ought to at least call Toronto about right-handed ace Roy Halladay. "I have no idea what the asking price might be," writes Jennings, "but Halladay is better than [John] Lackey and he’ll surely cost fewer prospects than Felix Hernandez."
- As noted by the Boston Globe's Nick Carfado, MLB executive vice president Rob Manfred said Wednesday the revenue sharing figures thrown out by agent Scott Boras during last week's GM meetings "have no basis in reality" and that Boras is living in a "fantasy land."
- According to Ryo Shinkawa of NPB Tracker, right-hander Ryota Igarashi and left-hander Hisanori Takahashi filed for international free agency on Wednesday.
- Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star expects Zack Greinke to move on once his contract with the Royals is through. "The good news is that the team has Greinke under contract three more years," writes Mellinger. "The bad news is they have a lot of improving to do in that time."
- Joe Strauss and Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch took to the radio Wednesday afternoon with a few opinions on the Cardinals' offseason plans. Both feel Matt Holliday is only an average defender and that the Cardinals could be looking to add starting pitching via trade this offseason.
Heyman: Yankees, Red Sox Have Shot At Halladay
Jon Heyman's latest column begins with this simple declaration:
"The Yankees recently called the Blue Jays to express interest in superstar pitcher Roy Halladay."
And Heyman points out the change in administrations in Toronto- from J.P. Ricciardi to Alex Anthopoulos- means an in-division trade is no longer out of the question.
Heyman also points out that with Halladay seeking a big payday from whoever acquires him, the suitors for his services could quickly dwindle to the precious few big-market teams who can afford to pay him long-term.
He lists the Yankees as option 1, the Red Sox as option 1A for Halladay. Keeping him in Toronto for now is second, with the Phillies, Angels and Mets all trailing behind.
Heyman's column also discusses topics ranging from Adrian Gonzalez to Zack Greinke, and is obviously worth a read.
Blue Jays Will Give Teams A Window To Discuss An Extension With Halladay?
MLB.com's Jordan Bastian says that the Blue Jays will consider granting another team a window to discuss a contract extension with Roy Halladay if it means the return in a potential trade would be "significantly greater." GM Alex Anthopoulos declined to comment on the situation, however.
Former GM J.P. Ricciardi wouldn't provide such a window when he was shopping Halladay at the trade deadline. While the ability to negotiation an extension will surely increase interest, the bottom line is the "trade value" of such a window is small. Toronto isn't trading multiple years of Halladay, they're trading one year of Halladay plus the right to talk about an extension.