Joel Sherman’s Ten Trade Candidates
Joel Sherman of the New York Post has an article today regarding ten veterans who may be traded this month. He’s packed the column full of insider info beyond the ten players highlighted; check it out.
- Mark Teixeira is now more likely to be dealt than Eric Gagne. Sherman sees the Angels as perhaps the best possibility here; they’d have to include Casey Kotchman. I imagine Ervin Santana‘s stock is down far enough that the Rangers would not settle for the two.
- The Indians appear to be out on Gagne but the Tigers still make sense for all parties. Would Todd Jones graciously step down from his closer post? Detroit’s bullpen has actually been doing well lately.
- The Royals want a righthanded-hitting center fielder in return for Octavio Dotel. Now that’s a tall order. Sherman names Lastings Milledge and Carlos Gomez as two who fit the bill, but such a trade would require young talent like Zack Greinke coming back to the Mets. Just speculating, but Melky Cabrera and Reggie Willits also fit the Royals’ need.
- Apparently the Mariners and Braves are "very interested’ in Dmitri Young. That’s the first I’ve heard of a team besides Atlanta inquiring.
- Oddly, the Devil Rays appear to have some interest in Kyle Farnsworth if the money can be worked out. They like Scott Proctor as well, so keep an eye on that Ty Wigginton rumor. Sherman mentions that the market is heavy with available role players, so look for a lot of boring deals with that type of player. Just kidding, trade rumors are never boring. Sherman tosses out Tadahito Iguchi to the Padres; that’s a fresh one.
- Sherman runs down all of the available relievers we already know about. Throw Kiko Calero in there as a new name.
White Sox Won’t Talk Contract With Future Free Agents
The White Sox decided Sunday afternoon that there will be no more contract talks. The declaration surely applies to impending free agents Mark Buehrle, Jermaine Dye, and Tadahito Iguchi.
Assuming Carlos Zambrano signs, Buehrle will hit the free agent market as the youngest starting pitcher. He’s got a better track record than the somewhat comparable Jason Jennings, but that comes with more mileage. Buehrle has averaged 221 innings over the past six seasons, while Jennings has averaged 180 over the past five.
Dye may vie for attention among free agent hitters like Adam Dunn, Alex Rodriguez, Andruw Jones, and Bobby Abreu. Dunn and Abreu have fairly reasonable team options, so there may only be A-Rod and Jones in Dye’s realm. Since Dye will be 34 heading into the 2008 season, he may sign a three-year deal. That’d make him the top option for teams looking to keep it under $60MM but add an impact hitter.
Iguchi will be up against Marcus Giles and Luis Castillo, most likely. He’s the steadiest performer of the three and second base isn’t as deep as last year, so he should have no problems getting around $15MM over three seasons.
The 2008 Sox could use Ryan Sweeney and Josh Fields at the outfield corners. They’ve stocked up on arms to fill Buehrle’s spot. I could see the White Sox bringing Iguchi back, but maybe they’d give second base to Pablo Ozuna failing that.