Stark’s Latest: Teixeira, Dotel
Jayson Stark has updated his big ol’ rumor post over at ESPN.com. Some highlights:
- Stark believes Mark Teixeira to the Braves or Angels is "almost certainly going to happen." The Angels’ willingness to offer Joe Saunders instead of Ervin Santana is seen as a big plus. Meanwhile the Braves want the Rangers to tack C.J. Wilson onto their trade but Texas is resisting. Stark’s update counteracts Will Carroll’s latest; Will recently wrote: "It’s looking more and more like Mark Teixeira is going to stay a Ranger." You decide.
- Toss a few more scenarios into the Octavio Dotel mix: to the Red Sox for David Murphy, or to the Mariners for Wladimir Balentien. Big difference there.
- Stark calls Mark Loretta a "very big name to watch." Hmmm, maybe this trade deadline is lamer than I realized.
- OK, the market is now open on Houston’s relievers.
- The Marlins would be happy to trade Armando Benitez or Byung-Hyun Kim. Both would need to shake off major control problems to be of any use.
- Stark says to forget about trades of Daniel Cabrera, Joe Blanton, Richie Sexson, Livan Hernandez, Dontrelle Willis, Todd Helton, Aaron Rowand, and Noah Lowry. C’mon now, that’s no fun. Something tells me the rumors on some of this group won’t disappear, so it’s all good.
Mariners Pursuing Jon Garland
Jim Hickey mentioned yesterday that the Mariners have been all over White Sox pitchers lately. Assuming Jose Contreras isn’t helpful and Javier Vazquez doesn’t want to go west, that leaves Jon Garland as the most reasonable target.
The Chicago Tribune’s Phil Rogers adds some color to that scenario, noting that one of Bill Bavasi’s henchmen used to work for the White Sox and loves Garland. Rogers believes the right match would be 23 year-old right fielder Wladimir Balentien. Wlad has a robust .310/.381/.557 line in Triple A this year.
The two GMs roles were reversed on June 27th, 2004, when the White Sox acquired Freddy Garcia, Ben Davis, and cash for Miguel Olivo, Jeremy Reed, and Michael Morse.
No matter what you think of Garland, there’s no arguing that he’d be a huge improvement over Horacio Ramirez. Plus, he’s more than just a rental. This appears to be a move that makes sense for both teams, though Kenny Williams may require more than just Balentien.
The Tribune’s Mark Gonzales notes that the White Sox have scouted the Yankees’ entire farm system, and they’re still in the mix for Garland as well.