Perrotto’s Latest: Dye, Jenks, Werth, Madson
THURSDAY: David Lennon of Newsday talked to a source who said there’s "nothing there" in regard to the rumor of a Dye and Jenks to the Mets blockbuster. Joel Sherman talked to a few Mets officials who called the rumor nonsense. Sherman says Martinez is "all but untouchable."
WEDNESDAY: Let’s dig into the latest column from John Perrotto of Baseball Prospectus.
- Perrotto speaks of whispers of a possible White Sox-Mets blockbuster. The Mets would receive Jermaine Dye and Bobby Jenks and the White Sox would receive Fernando Martinez among others.
- Regarding the Orioles’ possible involvement in a trade that would send Jake Peavy to the Cubs, Perrotto says Baltimore seeks Ronny Cedeno and Felix Pie from Chicago.
- Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. has spoken to outfielder Jayson Werth and setup man Ryan Madson about contract extensions. Madson might be a tough one as he’s represented by Scott Boras (who recently compared him to Mariano Rivera). Both players are under team control for one more season.
- The Red Sox are considering free agents Willie Bloomquist, Jay Payton, and Mark Loretta as possible bench additions. A return to Boston seems to be Payton’s preference.
- Perrotto believes the only player seriously considering accepting arbitration is Darren Oliver. Oliver’s already seen the Reds drop out of the mix due to the draft pick price.
- Perrotto says the Tigers and Orioles are showing interest in Jack Wilson, while the Dodgers have backed off.
Phillies Rumors: Baldelli, Hairston, Mench
5:44pm: MLB.com’s Ken Mandel says the Phillies have Rocco Baldelli, Jerry Hairston Jr., and Kevin Mench on the radar in the event they don’t re-sign Burrell. The Phillies have long liked Baldelli, though the Rays hope to talk contract soon. Reds GM Walt Jocketty recently met with Hairston’s agent, and feels he made progress. And the Hanshin Tigers hope to lure Mench to Japan.
9:38am: Checkin’ in on the Phillies…
- GM Ruben Amaro Jr. had an informal five-minute talk with Casey Close, who represents Ryan Howard and Joe Blanton.
- Talks have not yet begun with free agents Pat Burrell, Jamie Moyer, and Scott Eyre. Conversations will begin soon with Moyer and Eyre.
- Curt Schilling would be open to returning to the Phillies if he pitches next year. Amaro says he hasn’t even considered the possibility yet. He would make a nice fifth starter if they can re-sign Moyer.
- The Phillies control setup man Ryan Madson through 2009, but he’s represented by Scott Boras. Boras compared Madson to Mariano Rivera circa 1996, so don’t look for an affordable long-term deal.
- Amaro talked to at least 27 other GMs at the meetings.
- No word yet from the Philly writers on Andrew Baggarly’s rumor that the Phils will listen on Jimmy Rollins.
Odds and Ends: Phillies and Rays
A few notes regarding the Phillies and the Rays, since this is all anyone is talking about today:
- Jim Salisbury of the Philadelphia Inquirer notes that arbitration-eligible Ryan Madson could be in for a nice raise this winter.
- The Biz of Baseball ranked all 30 teams by marginal payroll/marginal win. I’ll let them explain the mathematical details, but unsurprisingly, the Rays win by a healthy margin.
- Howard Bryant discusses Carlos Pena‘s success with Tampa and how he resisted requests to change his hitting approach while he was struggling with Texas, Oakland, Detroit, New York, and Boston.
- A lot of writers published stories today on tonight’s scheduled starter for Philadelphia, Jamie Moyer, but Amalie Benajmin in the Boston Globe does an especially nice job following his long, circuitous career.
- And finally, this headline appeared in today’s Newsday: Mets Deeply Regret Letting Kazmir Go To Rays.
Sarah Green writes for Umpbump.com and the Boston Metro.
Craig Wilson, Cubs Bullpen, and More
Today seems to be a bit of a slow day on the trade rumors front. I’m still working on gathering some Tejada info. For now I’ll just say that you shouldn’t discount the White Sox even after both major Chicago newspapers quoted Kenny Williams saying no deal will happen. As commenters in this thread pointed out, Williams has been known to keep a low profile and be less than forthright when talking to the media.
Somehow, a rumor came about yesterday that San Francisco’s KNBR 1050 was reporting that the Pirates had dealt Craig Wilson to the Athletics for Kirk Saarloos. This rumor appears to have been fabricated; it doesn’t seem that the radio station ever proposed it. KNBR didn’t return my emails, but I’m still pretty sure there’s nothing to the rumor. It’s not implausible, as Billy Beane is the type of GM to acquire an undervalued player and worry about his outfielder surplus later. I don’t believe Dave Littlefield’s statements about not wanting to trade Wilson. He’d be valuable to many teams, and the Pirates’ recent acquisitions indicate that they’ll deal him.
RotoAuthority’s latest:
2006 Fantasy Guide On Sale For $9.99 For A Limited Time
Good readin’: 1060west has updated its post about the Cubs’ revamped bullpen. This quote resonated with me:
"Seen in the light of statistical evidence, it becomes clear that nothing has been done to improve the Cub bullpen from April 2005 to this stage; in fact, if anything, the Cubs have actually gotten weaker in going from Hawkins to Howry and Remlinger to Eyre."
The main point is that Hendry tends to purchase free agent relievers for big bucks following the reliever’s best season. Not a smart strategy.
The Phillies and Ryan Franklin? This won’t end well. I’m just happy to see than Ryan Madson will finally get a shot in the rotation; he’s got a 3.25 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, and 7.27 K/9 in 166 Major League innings. High strikeout totals and good control are always a great combo.