Gammons On Indians, Nationals, Mauer
Here are the highlights from Peter Gammons' analysis on Mike and Mike in the Morning. Joe Haggerty of the Boston Metro has the interview transcript on his blog, Hacks with Haggs.
- The Padres will have a hard time dealing Jake Peavy because there aren't many takers who have the resources to acquire him. The Braves don't figure in now that they have enough pitching and the Cardinals aren't a likely fit either.
- "Victor Martinez and Cliff Lee are not on the trade block," according to Gammons.
- The Indians would deal Mark DeRosa for "major league ready pitching."
- Washington would like to deal Nick Johnson, Austin Kearns and some of their "semi-attractive" relievers.
- The Nationals offered Johnson to the Red Sox for Manny Delcarmen.
- Gammons says he believes it's in the best interest of the buyer and the seller to deal earlier, rather than later.
- The Yankees and Red Sox could offer Mark Teixeira money ($180MM) to Joe Mauer if the catcher hits free agency after the 2010 season.
Heyman On Mets, Trades, Billingsley
The latest from SI's Jon Heyman…
- Heyman wonders why the Mets aren't giving Daniel Murphy a chance as their regular first baseman. He names trade possibilities, in order of likelihood: Nick Johnson, Aubrey Huff, Russell Branyan, Victor Martinez/Mark DeRosa, and Garrett Atkins.
- Heyman names 22 players who might hit the trading block this summer, headed by Jake Peavy, Matt Holliday, and Erik Bedard. The A's could potentially have a lot of veterans to spin off.
- Heyman says "the Dodgers briefly tried to lock up Chad Billingsley this winter, and probably wish they had." Billingsley will be eligible for arbitration for the first time after this season, so his salary figures to jump up past $4MM.
Rosenthal Discusses Victor Martinez
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports sets up a new line of trade speculatin' today: he asks whether the Indians might be willing to take offers on catcher/first baseman Victor Martinez in the near future. The Indians would have to fall out of contention first (they're currently 7.5 games out), and even then it'd be a long shot. Martinez, 30, is hitting a robust .401/.478/.632 in 178 plate appearances this year. He has $4.3MM more coming this year and an easily-decided $7MM club option for 2010.
Rosenthal says the Red Sox already inquired on Martinez about a month ago. While "premium players on both sides" were discussed, "the talks failed to progress." Rosenthal speculates on names such as Clay Buchholz, Daniel Bard, and Lars Anderson.
Rosenthal doesn't mention them, but the Mets could be a nice fit for V-Mart if Carlos Delgado's injury puts him out for several months.
Rangers Could Still Trade Another Catcher
3:58pm: Both Peter Gammons and Ken Rosenthal are saying the Rangers could still trade another catcher (for a young starter). Gammons cites Salty specifically.
10:48am: WEEI’s Alex Speier takes a look at the market for catching.
- Dodgers GM Ned Colletti is on record saying he’s "probably not" interested in Jason Varitek.
- The Red Sox, Reds, Marlins, and Astros continue to hunt for catching.
- Speier talked to an official who believes the Rangers would have to be overwhelmed to trade a second catcher. Keeping in mind that Max Ramirez may have to move out from behind the plate, it may make sense to just let Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Taylor Teagarden compete for the job.
- The Red Sox have talked to the Indians about Kelly Shoppach; the Reds like him as well. The Indians would want a big league second baseman, third baseman, or closer back for Shoppach. The Indians have not entertained offers for Victor Martinez.
- The D’Backs would like a second baseman or pitching for Miguel Montero or Chris Snyder.
Looking Beyond Varitek
According to Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald, a slew of catchers are being shopped to the Red Sox. Among them: Jeff Mathis, Mike Napoli, Brian Schneider, Miguel Montero, John Buck, Ramon Hernandez, Bengie Molina, Carlos Santana, Kelly Shoppach, Victor Martinez, Jesus Flores, Kenji Johjima, Jeff Clement, Yorvit Torrealba, and the Rangers’ guys. Silverman says the Braves, Cardinals, and Rays also have catchers available. It seems that teams are asking for players like Justin Masterson, Clay Buchholz, or Lars Anderson in some cases.
On the Jason Varitek front, Scott Boras told the AP yesterday that he’s had no financial discussions with the Red Sox. He expects the matter to be discussed after Thanksgiving. Curt Schilling commented last week about Varitek possibly playing fewer games in 2009, but Boras shot down the idea of a reduced role.