Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Tony Gwynn Jr.

Brewers Claim Joe Koshansky

By | at

Joe Koshansky's time as a Ranger didn't last long.  According to MLB.com's Adam McCalvy, the Brewers claimed the first baseman today and optioned him to Triple A Nashville.  Tony Gwynn Jr. will join him there, as he cleared waivers.

Koshansky, 27 in May (just like me!), hit .300/.380/.600 at Triple A in '08, enjoying the friendly Security Service Field in Colorado Springs.  His road line was .253/.340/.515.  Greer Stadium, home of the Nashville Sounds, is much different.

Gwynn, 26, hit .275/.328/.331 in Triple A last year.  Baseball America liked his defense back in their '07 Handbook.

Brewers Ink Tyner, Will Dump Gwynn Jr.

By | at

11:00pm: Gwynn has been placed on waivers.

2:24pm: Brewers GM Doug Melvin told Haudricourt that there will be an announcement concerning Gwynn Jr. on Friday.  It appears he will be placed on waivers.

1:33pm: According to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the Brewers have signed outfielder Jason Tyner to their Triple-A Nashville roster.

Tyner, 31, has spent time in the majors with the Mets, Rays, Twins and Indians.  He spent all of last year in Triple-A, where he hit .248 with 12 doubles, a homer and 18 RBI in just over 300 at-bats.  Haudricourt surmises that this signing could result in the Brewers waiving Tony Gwynn Jr, who is out of options and unlikely to make the final roster.

Odds & Ends: Minor Deals, Catalanotto, Gwynn Jr.

By | at

Your Thursday links, with more to come…

Cafardo’s Latest: Players Out Of Options

By | at

Lots of stuff in Nick Cafardo’s column in the Boston Globe to go over.

With around 100 free agents vying for less than 20 remaining roster spots, things become more interesting with 227 players on big-league rosters who are out of options. If a player is out of options and is not rostered, he has to either be traded or designated for assignment. If designated, that player has to clear waivers. This could affect remaining free agent signings. Cafardo makes note of a few who are out of options and may wind up as trade fodder or designated for assignment before the season begins:

Red Sox: George Kottaras
Yankees: Melky Cabrera
Cubs: Chad Gaudin, Rich Hill (possibly heading to Baltimore?)
Brewers: Tony Gwynn Jr.
Indians: Anthony Reyes, Andy Marte
Twins: Boof Bonser, Philip Humber
Rays: Jeff Niemann
Orioles: David Pauley

  • With Jason Varitek re-signed, the Red Sox will either have to trade catcher Kottaras or designate him for assignment.
  • Cafardo notes Niemann is a former No. 1 pick and the righthander should garner some attention.
  • Bonser or Humber could be traded to land a reliever. Cafardo also mentions Delmon Young as a possible trading chip.

A few more bullets from Cafardo’s notebook:

  • Scott Boras thinks the World Baseball Classic will showcase Ivan Rodriguez and generate "even more" interest for the 14-time All-Star catcher.
  • Cafardo mentioned Manny Ramirez to Omar Minaya and Minaya laughed it off saying, "We’ll look into adding some offense, but only if it makes sense."
  • All quiet on the Jake Peavy front.
  • Cafardo calls Randy Johnson’s $8MM deal from the Giants as "a stroke of genius" by his agents.
  • In case you missed it, Bobby Kielty signed a minor-league deal with the Mets last week.

Pie-Greene Rumor Denied

By | at

MAY 7th: Bruce Miles of the Daily Herald discussed the Pie-Greene rumor with Cubs officials, and it was "emphatically shot down."

APRIL 30th: Yesterday Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune wrote of Kevin Towers’ pursuit of a long-term center field option.  Jim Edmonds remains a question mark, and his contract is up after ’08 anyway.

Krasovic says the Cubs "have kept tabs" on shortstop Khalil Greene, while the Padres are still eyeing Felix Pie.  The Cubs’ win-now approach could lead to that move, as Reed Johnson is doing fine in center field so far.  Greene is signed through the ’09 season.  Trading Greene would leave a gaping hole at the position for the Padres though.  Another point is that the Cubs have gotten fine production at shortstop so far this year.

Krasovic notes past center field considerations for the Padres such as Jeremy Reed and Tony Gwynn Jr.  Reed doesn’t seem to have a future in Seattle.  As for Coco Crisp, Towers balked at Theo Epstein’s asking price of Chase Headley.

Odds and Ends: Garcia, Greene, DeJesus

By | at

With so many rumors, there’s a need for a daily Odds and Ends post to catch ’em all.

  • Buster Olney talked to Freddy Garcia’s agent.  He’s looking at a June return from shoulder surgery.
  • Indians GM Mark Shapiro made an offer on Brad Lidge.  The Astros didn’t even reply.  They did hear back from the Marlins on their Miguel Cabrera inquiry.  The price is seemingly too high for talks to continue.  Peter Gammons says that before the Astros got Michael Bourn, the White Sox pushed for a Chad Qualls for Ryan Sweeney swap.
  • Evan Grant notes that the Rangers have discussed trading shortstop Joaquin Arias to the Royals for Joey Gathright.  They’ve also talked to the Brewers about Tony Gwynn Jr.  GM Jon Daniels needs to have options if he can’t afford Torii Hunter or the other free agents.  Grant adds that the Rangers have already been in touch with Kerry Wood.
  • Jose Guillen declined his $5MM option with the Mariners – that’s no surprise.  So far the Royals have expressed interest.
  • Khalil Greene is under the Padres’ control through 2009, but his salary is going to jump significantly in arbitration for the ’08 and ’09 seasons.  The Padres want to sign him to a multiyear deal, perhaps buying out one year of free agency.  GM Kevin Towers is also posturing that he might use Scott Hairston as the regular center fielder next year, which seems a stretch.  Also, Geoff Jenkins is on Towers’ radar.
  • Ed Wade and the Astros have asked the Marlins about Dontrelle Willis.  However the ’Stros probably do not have the goods.’
  • One way or another, the Marlins will ditch Miguel Olivo.  They hope to bring Yorvit Torrealba aboard, which would take an offer better than two years, $6MM.  The Mets, Brewers, and Blue Jays also like Torrealba.  The Marlins are serious about upgrading behind the plate and will spend some money to do so.
  • Jorge Posada seems set on testing the market, which never bodes well for the incumbent team.
  • David DeJesus is a hot commodity as an affordable center fielder, but Dayton Moore expects to hang onto him.  Maybe he’ll change his mind once some big names are off the board.

Padres Rumors: Crisp, Pie, Andruw, Eckstein

By | at

Tom Krasovic continues to set the standard for Padres inside information.  Today’s column is especially delicious for rumor junkies, with tons of new material to chew on.

  • Kevin Towers expects to fill his center field vacancy via trade.  He may first want to wait to see if Mike Cameron accepts the team’s upcoming offer of arbitration.  Cameron is a Type B free agent.  Remember that he will be limited to 137 games in ’07. 
  • As for trade candidates, Coco Crisp is on the radar but the Padres smartly won’t part with Chase Headley. 
  • Krasovic notes that Bud Black’s connection with Angels manager Mike Scioscia could play a role now that Trader Bill Stoneman isn’t the GM.  Reggie Willits or Nathan Haynes might be in play for the Padres.
  • The Padres really seem to like Felix Pie, and could re-open talks that would include Khalil Greene.  They’ve asked about Tony Gwynn Jr. of the Brewers in the past.  And it does sound like the Royals are willing to talk about David DeJesus.
  • Sounds like the Padres will offer Andruw Jones $14-16MM on a one-year contract.  Scott Boras hasn’t seemed open to this with Jones, but time will tell.
  • The Tigers will have competition from the Padres for Geoff Jenkins.  Krasovic envisions a Jenkins/Scott Hairston platoon in left and expects the Friars to make an offer.
  • Two starters will be acquired even after Greg Maddux is retained.  Rehabbing former Mark Prior and Matt Clement would both like to play in San Diego.  There has to be some sort of cosmic rule about having three ex-Cubs in the rotation.  That is not recommended.  Plus the Padres were on Curt Schilling’s list.  And don’t forget the team’s previous trade interest in Josh Towers, who seems likely to be non-tendered and could be solid in PETCO.
  • The Padres could pursue David Eckstein as a second baseman and leadoff man.  But that would seemingly block Matt Antonelli for longer than necessary.  Plus such a switch wouldn’t be in Eckstein’s best interests financially.
  • Towers likes Jason Kendall, perhaps as a backup, but faces opposition in the organization.
  • In another article, Towers lends credence to the theory that the Marlins could sign Alex Rodriguez. 

Padres Like Josh Towers

By | at

Throw 30 year-old starter Josh Towers into a big ol’ ballpark in the National League, and he could be a very useful back-rotation guy.  The Jays already saw this happen with Dave Bush.  With a 3.6 K/BB and a home run problem, Towers is definitely San Diego’s type.

Turns out that Padres GM Kevin Towers pursued Josh Towers this summer but wouldn’t part with Nick Hundley, Will Venable, or David Freese.  The Jays can either go to arbitration with Towers this winter or nontender him.  Even if arbitration would result in a salary around $4MM, it might make sense to sign and then trade him.

You can view my complete list of non-tender candidates here.

Another tidbit: the same San Diego Union-Tribune column linked above mentions that the Padres asked for Tony Gwynn Jr. from the Brewers during the Scott Linebrink discussions.

Failed Trades

By | at

Let’s take a look at some deals that almost happened yesterday.

Kyle Farnsworth for Bob Wickman.  This would’ve been fun, reunions with former teams for both players.  However, the Braves wanted the Yankees to pick up all of Farnsworth’s salary, apparently.  Brian Cashman didn’t want to make him go away that badly, and Wickman would probably be a nonfactor back in the AL.

Mariners acquire Mark Loretta.  Eh.  Let’s not overstate the abilities of Loretta.  It sounds like Tim Purpura wanted some kind of legitimate prospect for him.

Rockies send Jeff Baker and others to Tampa Bay for Dan Wheeler.  We can’t really evaluate this one without knowing who else would’ve been involved.  And the Rays don’t really have a place to play Baker; they’re already squeezed finding playing time for Jonny Gomes.  If Rocco Baldelli ever gets healthy they’ll really have a pickle.  I mentioned in a recent interview at D-Rays Bay – Wheeler would probably be one of the ten best relievers available if he was a free agent after the season.  The Rays can pump up his value and get a promising young pitcher next year, as the Royals did with Octavio Dotel.    

Brewers send Tony Gwynn Jr., Zach Jackson, and another minor league for Eric Gagne.  This could’ve been the difference-maker that Scott Linebrink ain’t in a tight NL Central race.  But it doesn’t seem like Doug Melvin got a chance to counter the Red Sox offer, so you can’t really fault him.

Red Sox send Wily Mo Pena and Craig Hansen to White Sox for Jermaine Dye.  Well, there has to be some statistical way to evaluate whether this pair beats two draft picks.  You’d have to know the attrition rates of first/second rounders, and get some scouts on Pena and Hansen to see if they can ever reach their potential.  If I was the Kenny Williams I probably would’ve made the deal.  I think Pena gets docked in value from where he was two years ago, but still has pretty much the same upside if you manage him right.  Who knows, maybe Williams will go after Pena again this winter.

Dunn To Brewers Rumor Quashed

By | at

Radio rumors are among the most dubious, because I can’t confirm unless I heard the report myself or a trusted person communicated it to me.  So when I heard of a few thirdhand reports of an Adam Dunn to Milwaukee radio rumor, I remained skeptical.

I still haven’t talked to anyone to learn which specific person at SportsRadio 1250 initiated this rumor, but it doesn’t seem completely fabricated given that ESPN picked it up.  The scenario:

The Reds would trade Adam Dunn to the Brewers for Tony Gwynn Jr., Matt Wise, and an unknown infield prospect.  Wise is solid, and Wayne Krivsky likes relievers.  But the bounty still seems too small for the best available slugger.  The other red flag is that Wise and Gwynn continued to play in today’s game after the rumor surfaced.

Fortunately, Jerry Crasnick spoke to Doug Melvin and confirmed that there’s nothing to this trade rumor.

Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top