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Twins, Indians Not Interested In Tejada

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8:31pm: MLB.com’s Anthony Castrovince says Mark Shapiro shook his head when the Tejada rumor was brought up.  Maybe someone on the Astros’ side floated all this rumored interest in the shortstop.

8:15pm: Twins assistant GM Rob Antony suggested with facial expressions and body language that they’re not in on Tejada, according to Phil Miller.

7:00pm: Yahoo’s Jeff Passan says the Indians have also discussed a Tejada trade with the Astros.  The Indians’ interest depends on how much they spend on a closer.

As for the Twins…LEN3 says, "Miguel Tejada is NOT an option."

6:57pm: MLB.com’s Alyson Footer says the Twins expressed interest in Tejada.  The Astros would like to get one of the Twins’ young starters, and would be willing to eat salary.

Footer adds that interest in Ty Wigginton is "abundant," with the Twins again a possible match.  She nixes the idea of the ’Stros acquiring Ramon Hernandez from Baltimore.

4:10pm: According to Phil Miller of the St. Paul Pioneer Press:

Can’t vouch for its veracity – not sure I really believe it myself — but I just heard in the gossip scrum that is forming at the edge of the Bellagio lobby that there was at least a phone call between the Astros and Twins regarding Miguel Tejada, the long-ago MVP shortstop.

Coming from a "gossip scrum," it’s hard to know what to make of it.  But, Miller felt it was worthy of publishing.

Astros Will Not Trade Valverde

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7:30pm: Ed Wade assured reporters today that Valverde will not be traded.

11:04am: According to Ken Rosenthal, the Astros are willing to trade Miguel Tejada.  Teams are interested in him as a shortstop and third baseman.  Rosenthal figures the Twins, Dodgers, Giants, and Angels could be matches.  He adds that the Astros realize they’d have to eat some of Tejada’s $13MM for ’09.  Richard Justice figures it’d require eating at least half.

Rosenthal says the Astros are not inclined to trade closer Jose Valverde. And Justice figures Ty Wigginton could be tough to move as his salary climbs toward $10MM.

Odds and Ends: Rays, Greene, Wigginton

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Links for Friday…

Stark’s Latest: Burnett, Cantu, Lowe, Furcal

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Jayson Stark’s got a heaping helping of hot stove updates in his most recent blog post at ESPN.com.

  • The Braves’ most recent offer makes them the frontrunners for A.J. Burnett, says Stark.
  • We’re still waiting for another team to come close to the Yankees’ offer for C.C. Sabathia. Stark suggests Sabathia may make up his mind by next week.  He also says there’s "increasing buzz about the Yankees’ interest in Ben Sheets."
  • The White Sox appear to have expressed some interest in Jorge Cantu.
  • Stark doesn’t think the Phillies stand a very good chance of signing Derek Lowe.
  • Only the Dodgers and A’s, and perhaps the Orioles, remain interested in Rafael Furcal.
  • If the Dodgers end up missing on Furcal and Casey Blake, their focus might shift to names like Ty Wigginton and Adrian Beltre.

Astros Likely To Trade Valverde, Wigginton?

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According to Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle, the Astros "seem likely to trade" closer Jose Valverde and third baseman Ty Wigginton in the next few weeks due to payroll concerns.  Both players are arbitration-eligible, a year away from free agency.  The Astros stand to save $10-15MM if they move both.

The Astros are aiming for a $100MM payroll, and both players would have to go to get there.  And, there still may not be room to sign a starter like Randy Wolf, Randy Johnson, or Andy Pettitte.

It’s not a great time to trade a closer, as supply outstrips demand. The Indians could be a match for both players; they’ve already been linked to Wigginton.

Cafardo Rumors: Wigginton, Ibanez, Rodney

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A few rumors we missed from Nick Cafardo’s Sunday column…

  • The Indians would want a young closer type in return for catcher Kelly Shoppach.
  • The Tribe has Houston’s Ty Wigginton on the radar as a third base possibility.  But then who would play third for the Astros?
  • The Yankees have been calling around aggressively, even inquiring on Roy Oswalt and Lance Berkman.  They’re not available.
  • The Mets are said to be eyeing Raul Ibanez for left field.
  • The Tigers are dangling setup man Fernando Rodney, hoping to acquire a better closer.  Jon Paul Morosi believes the Tigers might aim for a reliever they control for a year or two, as their in-house options should be ready by 2010.
  • A conflict might arise with the Angels hoping to sign Mark Teixeira quickly while Scott Boras plans to let the market develop.

Stark’s Latest: Cain, Beltre, Burrell, Wigginton

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Let’s take a look at the latest column from ESPN’s Jayson Stark.

  • Stark wonders why no one has questioned MLB’s apparent trade deadline extension for the Manny Ramirez deal.
  • Currently the idea of the Brewers swapping Prince Fielder for Matt Cain is just fun speculation.  However, it is true the Brewers will listen on Fielder (he is about to get expensive).  The Giants are known to like the big first baseman.  The hangup is Brian Sabean’s reported unwillingness to trade Tim Lincecum or Cain.
  • The Giants also have their eye on Adrian Beltre.  The Mariners want starting pitching, but one year of Beltre is not equal to four of Jonathan Sanchez.
  • The Phillies still don’t want to go past two guaranteed years for Pat Burrell.  Stark points out another complication – Burrell would gain 10-and-5 rights early in a Phillies contract.  Any NL team inking Burrell for four years is a risky proposition given his defense.  If Burrell leaves the Phillies, Stark doesn’t expect the team to sign a major free agent as his replacement.
  • The Indians deserve props for acquiring Anthony Reyes.  Let’s not overdo it though – it’s only been five starts, and his strikeout rate is just 4.0 per nine in Cleveland.
  • The Indians talked to multiple teams about Cliff Lee last winter.  Interestingly, they thought the hardest about swapping him for Carlos Quentin.
  • The Astros were quite willing to trade Ty Wigginton, prior to his massive August.

Astros Trade Wheeler To Devil Rays For Wigginton

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UPDATE: Wigginton will be used as the primary third baseman; you have to expert Morgan Ensberg to be gone soon.

We expected both players to be traded, but not for each other.  Today, the Astros traded 29 year-old reliever Dan Wheeler to the Devil Rays for 29 year-old supersub Ty Wigginton.  By my count, Wheeler reaches free agency after the 2008 season and Wiggy after 2009.

Looking at the two most important metrics, strikeout and walk rate, Wheeler should return to form for Tampa Bay.  His strikeout rate is up; his walks down.  Wheeler does not allow many baserunners.  Perhaps the reunion with former Astros pitching coach Jim Hickey will help Wheeler curb his gopheritis.  Should the Rays trade Al Reyes, or perhaps even if they don’t, Wheeler is a strong candidate to assume closing duties for the team.

I’m seeing a lot of folks panning Tim Purpura for getting Wigginton for Wheeler.  Personally I don’t think it’s too bad.  The Astros will have holes at second and third base next year, and Wigginton can play either position based on which spot the Astros can fill otherwise.  I’d like to see him at second base, where his bat would be above average.  Could Purpura have done better, given the strong demand for relievers?  If it was the Wheeler of years past, sure.  But he has a 5.07 ERA this year.   

Yankees Focused On Gagne, Wheeler, Qualls

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It seems highly likely that the Yankees will make a move to upgrade their bullpen before the Tuesday trade deadline.  They appear to have three main targets.

Kat O’Brien of Newsday says the Yanks have had serious discussions with Texas regarding Eric Gagne.  Though Gagne wants to close, remember that he can be traded to New York without his consent.  A Rivera-Gagne combo would essentially turn every game into seven innings.  O’Brien names righthanders Ian Kennedy and Jeff Marquez as two pitchers the Rangers might be after.  Kennedy is definitely more highly regarded.  The Rangers also like Melky Cabrera but the Yankees are resisting.

Meanwhile, Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News tells us that the Yankees have "narrowed their sights" to Dan Wheeler and Chad Qualls of the Astros.  The Astros control Wheeler through 2009 and Qualls through 2010, so the asking price will be significant.  Jayson Stark says Houston is looking for a young MLB-ready position player; Cabrera seems to fit the bill.

Another Yankee-related note from O’Brien’s article – the Yankees are not pursuing Ty Wigginton anymore.  Other writers do not agree.  Dan Graziano indicates that Wiggy is still in play and the Yankees might try get Al Reyes added to the deal as well.  Peter Abraham talked to an AL exec who expects the Yanks to get Wigginton.  Graziano adds that the Yankees have had recent discussions about Octavio Dotel and Jon Rauch.

Teams Looking At Ty Wigginton

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UPDATE: You can toss the Cubs into the mix for Wigginton.

One role player drawing a lot of interest is Tampa Bay’s Ty Wigginton.  He plays hard, he’s versatile, he delivered his own baby, and he’s at .274/.325/452 in 372 ABs. 

Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times says the Dodgers, Twins, Red Sox, and Yankees are in on Wigginton.  Wiggy might have a starting role for the former two teams.  Andrew Friedman may be compelled to find a deal before the deadline, because at $4MM plus Wigginton is a nontender candidate for the D-Rays next year.

Names like Scott Proctor and Scott Baker have surfaced as possible returns for Wigginton, but the general impression seems to be that the Devil Rays would need to improve their offer to get one of them.

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