Yankees Rumors: Cameron, Melky, Pettitte, Lowe
5:06pm: More on the Cameron situation: Ken Davidoff says Cabrera and Ian Kennedy have been discussed. However, the Brewers will probably wait to see if they can sign Sabathia, since he’s good friends with Cameron.
10:26am: The latest Yankees hot stove buzz…
- According to Joel Sherman and George King of the New York Post, the Yankees inquired with the Brewers on Mike Cameron. The Yanks would be willing to send Melky Cabrera and pitching to Milwaukee. The Yankees are also talking to other teams about Wilson Betemit.
- The Yankees are only willing to do a one-year deal for Andy Pettitte, who has said he wants to return. The Yanks plan to see what Mike Mussina wants to do first. It seems they’ll bring back one of Mussina/Pettitte and sign two free agent starters out of C.C. Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, and Derek Lowe.
- For Lowe, the Yankees might have to butt heads with the Mets. Scott Boras has already discussed Lowe with both clubs. Peter Abraham thinks the Yankees and Mets could also compete for Oliver Perez or Burnett if Sabathia signs elsewhere.
- Ken Davidoff is not buying the Hideki Matsui three-team trade scenario.
Wilson Betemit For Scott Proctor Trade Completed
According to ESPN’s Buster Olney, the Yankees and Dodgers have completed the rumored Scott Proctor for Wilson Betemit trade.
I give a slight edge to Brian Cashman on this trade, given the volatility of relievers. Betemit I think can still be a capable infield regular.
Proctor For Betemit Still Possible
ESPN’s Buster Olney is reporting that the Dodgers and Yankees are still talking about swapping reliever Scott Proctor and infielder Wilson Betemit. Betemit would act as A-Rod insurance and could even help out at first base this year. Proctor might be the reliever the Dodgers are craving. Keep in mind, though, that the Dodgers still might be able to sneak in a last-minute offer for Octavio Dotel.
Yankees Still Pursuing Wilson Betemit
The Yankees’ love affair for 27 year-old infielder Wilson Betemit continues. They keep trying to swap Scott Proctor for him, this time with the Dodgers instead of the Braves.
The Dodgers are definitely searching for late-inning relief help, but Joel Sherman and Mike Puma of the New York Post say Proctor doesn’t do it for them.
Betemit began the year as the Dodgers’ regular third baseman, but hit his way out of the job after about a month. I’ll be the first to admit I thought he’d keep the job and OPS at least .800. But to be fair, Betemit’s OPS is over .800 – a career best .844 in fact. He’s got 28 home runs over his last 515 ABs, and he’s drawn enough walks this year to keep his OBP strong.
The switch-hitting Betemit has never hit southpaws much, but he’s going to need full exposure to them if he’s ever going to learn. It’s kind of a catch-22. I still think he can carve out a career as a regular, maybe as an offensive-minded second baseman.
Proctor for Betemit would be a fine move for the Yankees. He wouldn’t have a regular job but could spend some time at first this year and offer an insurance policy for Alex Rodriguez next year. If A-Rod is to depart, the Yankees could spend the extra cash to improve at a position other than third.
Scott Rolen Dodgers Trade Rumor
Looking for a trade rumor, and don’t care whether it’s been confirmed in any way? We got you covered. A couple of Cards fans have emailed me this thread from Bernie’s Pressbox. St. Louis Post-Dispatch columnist Bernie Miklasz throws this scenario out for debate:
Wilson Betemit and one of Matt Kemp/Andre Ethier for Scott Rolen.
Now, according to Bernie, there’s nothing concrete and he’s just talking. Still, it’s interesting to ponder. Factors to consider:
- Rolen is owed $12MM annually through 2010.
- He’d have to be convinced to waive his full no-trade clause. Although maybe he wouldn’t mind playing under a different manager.
- Rolen is off to a horrible offensive start; he’s on a popup binge. He hasn’t hit lefties since his shoulder surgery, and his surgically repaired shoulder bothered him late last season. You would expect a team to want him to show some signs of life and health before taking his contract through 2010.
- Andy LaRoche is L.A.’s third baseman of the future. Then again, they signed Nomar Garciaparra to block James Loney.
Now, there’s certainly still a chance Rolen will bounce back. He was mashing as recently as August of ’06. But would the Dodgers bank one of their best prospects on it? I really don’t think so, which is why Kemp seems highly unlikely. On the other hand, Betemit and Ethier for Rolen seems fair. That doesn’t exactly resolve the Cards’ offensive woes, but they’d get a ton of salary relief and some cheap players.
Braves Swap Betemit For Baez, Aybar
I step out for a twenty minute jog, and another deal goes down. Ned Colletti and the Dodgers made a nice move by snagging Wilson Betemit from the Braves for Willy Aybar and Danys Baez.
The Braves add another free-agent-to-be reliever with closer credentials in Baez. While the 28 year-old has been more hittable than ever this season, he’s compensated by posting career-low walk and home run run rates. The hits may stem from a strikeout rate that’s become dangerously low at just 5.26 per nine innings. While Baez is a decent reliever overall, he’s not the shutdown guy the Braves needed to differentiate their bullpen.
In Betemit, the Dodgers get an acceptable stopgap at third base for the rest of the season. More importantly, though, they’ve acquired a young, cheap second base candidate who could put up an .800 OPS in regular duty for several years.
Willy Aybar profiles as a poor man’s Betemit and profiles as more of a utility infielder. There’s a good chance Willy can commiserate with his brother Erick soon enough. Erick is the Angels’ primary trade bait.
Seems like John Schuerholz and Wayne Krivsky are a step behind the other GMs lately, trading away solid, affordable regulars for very questionable bullpen help.
Trade Rumor Roundup: 4 Days Left
What’s cooking this morning in the world of MLB trade rumors?
Gotham Baseball’s Mark Healey spoke to all sorts of baseball sources; here’s his latest Rumor Mill. New developments: the Mets could pursue various Rockie pitchers, and the Yanks crave John Smoltz.
My Mets guy indicates that the Wilson Betemit for Scott Linebrink deal that’s been bandied about could go down at the last minute. What? He hears things outside of the Mets.
SportsBlah sorts through the Alfonso Soriano rumors.
Jimmy Gobble was scratched from his start last night. Let the rampant rumormongering begin. Actually, KC just switched him with Runelvys Hernandez to break up the southpaws in the rotation.
As the days go by, Doug Melvin sounds more and more like he’ll trade Carlos Lee.
RotoAuthority gives the fantasy take on Shin-Soo Choo, Ben Broussard, Scott Kazmir, and many more recent developments.
All the newspapers are reporting that the Yankees have deemed Scott Proctor "untouchable." I know good relief help is hard to find, but should a 29 year-old middling reliever at the peak of his value really be deemed untouchable? Especially the way Joe Torre is abusing him.
Hadn’t heard of the Mets’ interest in Juan Cruz and Jose Valverde until Dan Graziano mentioned it this morning. Could be a great buy low situation for a real live arm in Valverde. Cruz I think could be tough to pry away.
There was just no reason to try to start Roger Clemens trade speculation. The Astros, five games back in the wildcard, have invested way too much to suddenly wave the white flag.
Bidding war for…Cory Lidle? Looks like Toronto has the lead so far; Lidle starts tonight.
Buster Olney mentioned today in his blog that the White Sox are willing to discuss trades for Freddy Garcia. He also indicates that the Red Sox are working on a large, creative deal with more than two teams.
Add the Mariners and Cardinals to the Yankees for Shawn Green’s interested parties. He can veto a deal to any of these three teams and is happy in Arizona.
Braves Shopping Wilson Betemit
It’s well known that the Braves are shopping infielder Wilson Betemit for more relief help, with the Yankees and Padres interested.
At this point, Betemit is a .282/.340/.434 career hitter in about 500 ABs. The 24 year-old has played second base, third base, and shortstop in the Majors. Any team acquiring him should use him in the middle infield, where his offense is above average.
As far as projection goes, Baseball Prospectus sees Betemit peaking in 2009 with an OPS around .815. Scouts have always loved him. Baseball America ranked him 99th in 2000, 29th in 2001, 8th in 2002, and 49th in 2003 among all prospects. Non-contenders should get in on this – Betemit is a good, cheap middle infielder who can help you for the next three or four seasons.
Braves Looking To Trade Giles
Just got word from a reputable, well-connected source out of Atlanta. Excellent timing, as Braves fans have been clamoring for any indication of a deal.
According to my source, the Braves are serious about trading Marcus Giles and using Wilson Betemit at second base. The club loves Betemit’s bat and he’s earned a chance as a regular. The Braves have gotten a paltry .235/.328/.349 line out of Giles in 238 ABs this year.
Fantasy players often ask me what happened to the 28 year-old Giles, and I don’t have a good answer. His PECOTA projection of .284/.363/.449 seemed about right given his last three seasons. Giles is not blaming April’s strained finger ligament, but you have to wonder if he’s completely healthy. He’s making $3.85MM this year and isn’t eligible for free agency until after the 2007 season.
Betemit has only played three games in his career at second base, but the team thinks he’s capable. He’s always shown decent power, slugging .425 in the minor leagues. But this year’s .524 mark in 103 ABs is beyond even his highest expectations.
There was no word on which teams are interested in Giles, but the Cardinals are a possible fit.