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Rosenthal On Yankees, Oswalt, White Sox, Beltre

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The Yankees are not actively looking for a utility infielder, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Rosenthal names Willie Bloomquist, John McDonald and Jayson Nix as options the Yanks could consider should they decide that they want more experience than Kevin Russo and Ramiro Pena can offer. Here are the rest of Rosenthal's rumors:

  • Adrian Beltre will almost certainly reject his player option after the season and re-enter free agency. He has been one of the game's best players this year, rating characteristically well on defense (according to UZR) and hitting .336/.371/.528.
  • The Mariners won't necessarily get a first round pick in next year's draft if they hold onto Cliff Lee. First of all, a losing team could sign Lee (the first 15 picks are protected). Secondly, a team could sign Lee and a free agent who ranks higher under the Elias system. That would mean the Mariners get a supplementary rounder and a second rounder.
  • If the Rangers are sold before the winter, they could be a potential landing spot for Carl Crawford, one executive suggested.
  • Rosenthal hears that Astros owner Drayton McLane is not against the idea of trading Roy Oswalt to Texas, though the Rangers' ability to take on payroll and the pitcher's no-trade clause could prevent a deal from going through.
  • The Marlins inquired on Matt Thornton back when the White Sox were sellers. Now, the White Sox would not consider dealing the left-hander.
  • If White Sox GM Kenny Williams becomes a buyer, he may pursue a left-handed bat.
  • The Mariners want major league or major league-ready hitters for Cliff Lee, but the Dodgers' best prospects are a few years away from the majors.
  • The Rockies are interested in Ty Wigginton, according to Rosenthal's colleague, Tracy Ringolsby.
  • The Rays will look for impact players at the trade deadline.

Cafardo’s Latest: Oswalt, DeJesus, Aardsma, LaRoche

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There are a handful of big names that could be moved before this July's trading deadline, and Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe opens his latest column by taking a look at some of the possibilities. Let's check out the highlights from Cafardo's piece….

  • There's skepticism within the Astros' organization that owner Drayton McLane would want to trade Roy Oswalt to the Rangers, baseball's other Texas team.
  • The return the Royals are requesting in exchange for David DeJesus is higher than any team is willing to pay for now.
  • Mariners closer David Aardsma is "already drawing a lot of interest."
  • Pedro Feliz, Willie Bloomquist, and Jay Payton could be small-scale trade bait.
  • Adam LaRoche on his brief time as a Red Sox: "The ballpark was perfectly suited for the way I swing, and it would have been nice to have stayed there and see what would have happened over a full year."

Royals Will Listen To Offers

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Royals GM Dayton Moore told Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star that the club has some "nice pieces" to market this summer. The 27-37 Royals have a number of players who might appeal to contenders and Moore is ready to listen, even though the Royals aren't actively looking to move players at this point.

"We'll evaluate what comes our way if anything does come our way," he said. 

It wouldn't be surprising to see an offer or two for David DeJesus come the Royals' way. Dutton reports that clubs are already scouting the outfielder, who is hitting .314/.392/.479. DeJesus makes an affordable $4.7MM salary this year and there's a club option for $6MM in 2011 ($500K buyout). 

If the Royals hold onto DeJesus, they could decline his option and offer him arbitration. If he turns down their offer to sign elsewhere, they would obtain at least one draft pick, possibly two. The promise of draft picks makes the Royals hesitant to deal him for a pedestrian return, but there are advantages to dealing now. DeJesus must climb into Type A territory under the Elias rankings system and decline arbitration for them to get two picks. Even if they get the picks, they would have to wait a year and pay each draftee about $1MM. 

Rival teams could also have interest in Scott Podsednik, Jose Guillen, Kyle Farnsworth, Willie Bloomquist, Brian Bannister, Kyle Davies, Alberto Callaspo and Rick Ankiel.

Rangers Searching For Backup Corner Infielder

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The Rangers are looking to acquire a backup corner infielder before Opening Day, writes Jim Reeves of ESPN.com.  Manager Ron Washington had hoped that one of the club's young players – such as Matt Brown or Max Ramirez – would step up to fill the role, but that has not happened.

One Rangers source said that the team keeps coming back to Boston's Mike Lowell.  The same source indicated that Texas believes that they can basically get Lowell for the same player they agreed to deal over the winter, Max Ramirez.

Kevin Millar is also on the Rangers' watch list, though he may earn himself a bench spot with the Cubs.  Wes Helms of the Marlins and Fernando Tatis of the Mets could also fit the bill as corner infielders off of the bench.  Meanwhile, "super-utility" players like Houston's Geoff Blum and Kansas City's Willie Bloomquist are likely too rich for Texas' blood.

Rangers Interested In Trading For Utility Infielder

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In spite of the deal with Oakland that brought Gregorio Petit to Texas, MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan reports that Petit will probably end up in Triple-A rather than fill the Rangers' need for a utility infielder on their big league roster.  Texas has been looking to fill their backup infield void for weeks, and a few new options have appeared on the Rangers' radar for a possible deal.

Augie Ojeda (who we know the D'Backs are shopping) is one option that the Rangers have an interest in, Sullivan says.  Sullivan proposes that right-hander Luis Mendoza might be a good fit to be dealt for Ojeda since Arizona wants pitching and Mendoza is out of options.  Willie Bloomquist and Kevin Frandsen are also possible options, Sullivan reports.  Frandsen is another player known to be on the trade market, and that same MLBTR piece also cites the Giants as a team that could be interested in a player of Ojeda's type.

Former Ranger Ramon Vazquez has been mentioned in trade talks this winter and we know the Pirates want to move him.  But Sullivan says Texas doesn't want to acquire Vazquez at the cost of Mendoza, and you have to figure that the Rangers might just pick Vazquez up if Pittsburgh is forced to release him.

Royals Slightly Reducing Payroll

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Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star writes that the Royals would like to leave themselves some wiggle room for in-season financial flexibility. As such, they're likely to enter the 2010 season with a payroll in the $66MM-$67MM range, as opposed to last season's $70.5MM payroll. Dutton quotes general manager Dayton Moore:

“I think we can be better positioned to improve our team for 2010 and into the future if we have more flexibility… That may be as simple as being more aggressive in the draft or being more aggressive internationally to build our farm system. And, certainly, it allows us the flexibility to make a deal to take on some money when necessary. I just think it makes more sense right now.”

The Royals currently have $50.4MM allocated to Jose Guillen, Gil Meche, Zack Greinke, David DeJesus, Kyle Farnsworth, Juan Cruz, Joakim Soria, Yuniesky Betancourt, and Willie Bloomquist. They have eight more players eligible for arbitration, although Mike Jacobs, John Buck, and John Bale are all non-tender candidates after disappointing 2009 campaigns. All of this projects to about $63MM before the Royals can even think about making moves.

They'd obviously love to be free of Guillen's $12MM owed in 2010, but much like Farnsworth ($4.5MM) and Cruz ($3.25MM), he'll be tough to move after a poor 2009. Meche could be moved as well – he's owed $24MM over the next two seasons – but his salary and injuries in 2009 will likely mean a poor return in any trade. They'll listen on DeJesus, but the Royals would miss his strong defense and solid bat and would like a replacement in any deal..

Alberto Callaspo may be the club's sole appealing trade chip. Kansas City hopes that Callaspo's strong offensive skills and the fact that he's not even eligible for arbitration will outweigh his defensive woes and yield a catcher or center fielder.

The Royals remain interested in Erik Bedard, Ivan Rodriguez, and Scott Podsednik, but it's tough to imagine them having the cash for those three without making some moves first. Any future GMs out there have some insight as to how Dayton Moore could free up the payroll to make it happen?

Heyman On August Trades

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Executives tell Jon Heyman of SI.com that we saw the "softest deadline ever" last week because there's still the possibility for trades this month. Here's an explanation of how trades can occur after the deadline and here are the players Heyman deems likely to clear waivers (player who clear waivers may be traded):

  • Bronson Arroyo, Adam Dunn, Jose Guillen, Aaron Harang, Adrian Beltre, Aubrey Huff, Jason Giambi, Melvin Mora, Miguel Batista, Juan Cruz, Ty Wigginton, Ron Mahay, Willie Bloomquist, Lyle Overbay, Willy Taveras.

Some players who could clear waivers:

  • Jon Garland, Doug Davis, Gil Meche, Alex Rios, Carl Pavano, Mark Hendrickson, Jhonny Peralta, Jamey Carroll, Ron Villone. 

And some players who probably won't clear waivers, but who could be dealt to a claiming team: 

  • Roy Halladay, Felix Hernandez, Heath Bell, Adrian Gonzalez, Marco Scutaro, Chad Qualls, Michael Wuertz, Brian Bannister, Josh Willingham, Gary Sheffield, David Eckstein, Jason Frasor, Mark Teahen.

Bannister, Bloomquist, Teahen Drawing Interest

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1:47pm: ESPN's Jayson Stark says the price for Bannister is similar to that of Jarrod Washburn – "big league-ready starter, pitching prospect with upside."  He says the Yanks maintain mild interest.

10:16am: Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports say the Brewers made an offer for Bannister but the Royals chose not to counter it.  The Royals would have to be bowled over to move the 28 year-old righty.

FRIDAY, 9:22am: Juan C. Rodriguez of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel says the Royals rejected overtures from the Marlins on Bannister.  He wonders whether the next best thing for Florida might be to bring Carl Pavano back.  We've heard surprisingly little about Pavano lately.  He projects to fall short of Type B status, so there's no point in the Indians keeping him.

THURSDAY, 7:58pm: Jayson Stark and Buster Olney of ESPN.com report that the Yankees inquired about Bannister, but talks didn't develop because the Yankees asked the Royals to pay the $650k that remains on Bannister's 2009 contract. Since when does $650k stop the Yanks from making a deal? As Stark and Olney say, welcome to the wacky world of baseball 2009.

7:50pm: Teams are inquiring on righty Brian Bannister, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney. The Royals weren't close to dealing him as of this evening, but we still have 20 hours before the deadline. Bannister, 28, makes $1.7MM this year and isn't scheduled to become a free agent until after the 2012 season. Here are a few more quick hits on the Royals:

Odds & Ends: Felix, DiPoto, Red Sox, Marlins

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More links as we count down the hours to the deadline…

Odds And Ends: Padres, Manny, Braves

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Links for Sunday…

  • John Moores will remain majority owner of the Padres for three or four years even if he agrees to sell the team to Jeff Moorad, according to Tom Krasovic. Major league executives say Padres CEO Sandy Alderson is likely to leave if Moorad takes over.
  • In a recent poll, Giants fans were divided on the idea of signing Manny Ramirez.
  • The Pirates haven’t offered Doug Mientkiewicz a contract.
  • Thomas Stinson looks at an offseason of "mediocrity" for the Braves.
  • Bobby Cox likes the looks of Kenshin Kawakami.
  • Larry LaRue asks who’s on first for the Mariners this year.
  • Joe Posnanski sees Adam Dunn and Willie Bloomquist as opposites in a way.
  • Michael Silverman compares the pre-Bronx careers of Mark Teixeira and Jason Giambi.
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