Odds and Ends: Aurilia, Vazquez, Al Reyes, Varitek
Some random links for today…
- McCovey Chronicles thinks Rich Aurilia would be a nice fit for the ’09 Giants.
- Tyler Kepner of the New York Times says the Yankees never really had to give up on Javier Vazquez.
- The Mets released Al Reyes; he never pitched for them. Reyes had nine saves for the Rays in April of last year, but it’s mostly been downhill since then.
- Jason Varitek does not want to talk about 2009. It’s hard to see the Red Sox offering him more than one year.
- RotoAuthority discusses the fantasy baseball code of honor.
Odds and Ends: Downs, Furcal, Saltalamacchia
Today’s link collection…
- Perhaps sparked by successful conversions by Ryan Dempster and Justin Duchscherer, the Blue Jays are considering putting Scott Downs in the rotation next year. Downs has 50 big league starts under his belt, most recently in 2006. The Jays might be more inclined to make the switch if A.J. Burnett opts out of his contract. They also may be less willing to shop B.J. Ryan this winter.
- Rany Jazayerli takes a look at the ’09 Royals, noting whispers regarding their interest in Rafael Furcal.
- Jamey Newberg notes that Rangers catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia will attempt to prove his health in winter ball, which could make him trade bait.
- The Mark DeRosa signing has worked out well for the Cubs, says Dave Cameron. Other good ones from that free agent class: Gil Meche, Ted Lilly, and Jose Guillen. Take a look – the majority of signings that winter became busts.
- RotoAuthority offers simple advice for winning your fantasy league next year.
Odds and Ends: Indians, Rays, Jays
Time to cobble together today’s links.
- The Dodgers designated Tanyon Sturtze for assignment. The 37 year-old pitched only 2.1 innings for the big club.
- Dejan Kovacevic does not believe the Pedro Alvarez issue will prevent the Pirates from working with Scott Boras in the future.
- RotoAuthority assembles a fantasy team entirely of players who went undrafted in March.
- Dave Cameron wonders if the Indians will make a trade due to their catching surplus.
- Rays Index wants to make it clear that drafting high is only a small factor in the Rays’ success.
- Drunk Jays Fans caught an amusing exchange between a fan and GM J.P. Ricciardi on his radio show.
- Dave O’Brien ponders the possibility of a Mike Hampton trade. In another post, he mentions that reliever Will Ohman was claimed on waivers and pulled back.
Odds and Ends: Indians, Livan, Braves, Friedman
Let’s round up today’s random links.
- The Pirates received catcher Robinzon Diaz from the Blue Jays in the Jose Bautista deal. Not too shabby, he should develop into a credible cheap backup.
- Yahoo’s Gordon Edes sees Manny Ramirez playing for the Mets in ’09.
- The point continues to be hammered home – the Indians intend to acquire a proven closer this winter. Brian Fuentes seems a reasonable target.
- RotoAuthority takes a closer look at Cliff Lee.
- Rockies manager Clint Hurdle wants to see if Livan Hernandez fits into their plans for 2009. Hernandez has allowed a remarkable 224 hits in 152 innings – a rate that will rank second in baseball history if he can reach the 162 innings needed to qualify. Even Jose Lima can’t make that claim.
- J.C. Bradbury notes that the Braves’ attempts to extend star players acquired via trade have been largely unsuccessful.
- Outs Per Swing chats with Rays exec Andrew Friedman.
- Danny Knobler surveyed scouts about Francisco Rodriguez‘s stuff.
Odds and Ends: Delgado, Heilman, Teixeira, Alvarez
Time for today’s linkage.
- Geoff Baker tries to determine who "won" the Jose Vidro trade.
- Ken Davidoff doesn’t expect anyone of value to clear waivers. We didn’t have much August trade action last year either. Some decent names were dealt in August of ’06 though – David Wells, Shawn Green, Jamie Moyer, Livan Hernandez, Ryan Franklin, Eric Hinske, and Scott Schoeweneis.
- The Mets can retain Carlos Delgado for ’09 at essentially $8MM, since there’s a hefty $4MM buyout on his $12MM option. Back in May Delgado’s agent said it was a $16MM option. However, MetsBlog‘s Matthew Cerrone told me that is only the case with a top five MVP finish.
- Joel Sherman wonders whether Aaron Heilman will be a non-tender candidate this winter. Seems unlikely; he won’t be that expensive.
- Mark Teixeira‘s three favorite places to play are New York, Seattle, and Anaheim, for what it’s worth.
- Yahoo’s Kevin Kaduk considers "Dr. James Andrews" the worst three words in baseball. He also lists some other three-word contenders.
- The Pirates will not "grossly exceed" the market to sign Pedro Alvarez. They seem to be hoping Scott Boras will come down to the $4-6MM net present value range on August 15th.
- The Nationals are thinking around $2.15MM for Aaron Crow.
- RotoAuthority discusses trading injured players in fantasy leagues.
Odds and Ends: Bay, Clement, Fuentes, Cabrera
We’ve got plenty of links today.
- There is speculation that Andruw Jones could be sent back to the minors.
- Joel Sherman wonders if MLB should’ve gotten involved when Manny Ramirez decided to orchestrate his own exit. Kind of reminds me of Gary Sheffield intentionally botching plays to force a trade out of Milwaukee in ’92.
- Gordon Edes stands by his report that Manny pledged to give full effort if the Red Sox dropped his options. That phone call between Scott Boras and Theo Epstein occurred within an hour of his trade to the Dodgers.
- Jon Heyman takes us inside the Manny trade. He says Ramirez signed an agreement in advance that he’d accept a trade to any team if his options were dropped. Heyman believes Omar Minaya fibbed in saying he had failed trade discussions with Boston.
- The Red Sox are still waiting to hear whether Joe Borowski will accept their offer of a minor league deal.
- Dejan Kovacevic gives as inside look at the Jason Bay trade talks here and here. Did the Rays offer Reid Brignac and Jeff Niemann? Reports are conflicting.
- The Cardinals released Matt Clement on Saturday. Let this serve as another reminder of how hard it is to come back from shoulder surgery.
- The Cardinals weren’t willing to trade catching prospect Bryan Anderson plus a pitching prospect for Brian Fuentes. Also, GM John Mozeliak confirmed failed talks for Bay.
- RotoAuthority takes a look at young pitchers who may face innings caps this year.
- Another failed deal: Orlando Cabrera to the Orioles in a Brian Roberts deal.
- Geoff Baker believes that when inside information related to the Blue Jays leaks out, GM J.P. Ricciardi is likely responsible.
- Please continue to email me if you see a pop-up or full-page ad on MLB Trade Rumors.
Odds and Ends: Glover, Coke, Posada, Maine
Time for another round of odds and ends this evening.
- I did a Yankee-centric Q&A with the blog Fowl Balls.
- RotoAuthority attempts to project next year’s first round in fantasy baseball drafts.
- The Rays designated Gary Glover for assignment. Glover, 31, experienced even worse control this year en route to a 5.82 ERA.
- Yankees GM Brian Cashman denied the report that prospect Phil Coke has a torn labrum.
- The Xavier Nady acquisition allowed the Yankees to commit to season-ending shoulder surgery for Jorge Posada.
- John Maine left his start tonight with shoulder stiffness. If it’s serious, Omar Minaya might want to check the starting pitching market.
Odds and Ends: Darvish, Giles, Teixeira
Today’s link roundup…
- I was a guest on Get Sports Radio yesterday to talk about the Reds. Click here to download an mp3 of the show.
- NPB Tracker notes that 21 year-old phenom Yu Darvish threw 165 pitches last night.
- GM Dave Dombrowski says the Tigers are definitely not sellers. They’re undecided on whether to buy or stick with internal options. The Tigers’ approach to the relief market may hinge on Freddy Dolsi‘s fatigued shoulder.
- Buster Olney says the Mets and Padres have discussed right fielder Brian Giles. He’d earn $11MM in ’09 if traded. However, Joel Sherman doesn’t think Giles is on the Mets’ radar.
- Learn about the PITCHf/x system in a Josh Kalk Q&A.
- D’Backs beat writer Nick Piecoro doesn’t think there’s much to the Mark Teixeira rumors.
- ESPN’s Keith Law isn’t impressed with Emilio Bonifacio. He’s also not a fan of the Cristian Guzman extension.
- RotoAuthority finds a Tim Lincecum–Johnny Cueto parallel for fantasy baseball players to consider.
Odds and Ends: Roberts, Clark, Vidro, Manny
Time for today’s link collection.
- Geoff Baker on "The Ichiro Conundrum."
- Peter Schmuck assesses the Orioles’ trade candidates, noting that several clubs are interested in Brian Roberts.
- Paul DePodesta on the Tony Clark trade.
- Mariners beat writers are stunned that Jose Vidro is still on the roster.
- Manny Ramirez drew a six-figure fine for his altercation with the team’s traveling secretary. It’s suggested that Ramirez showed his displeasure by laying down for an at-bat against Mariano Rivera. UPDATE: Gordon Edes looked into this and found the fine to be much smaller and the at-bat to be of no concern to the Sox.
- Bradford Doolittle of the KC Star looks at the Royals’ trade candidates.
- RotoAuthority names 8 ways to avoid teams quitting on your fantasy league midseason.
Odds and Ends: Rasmus, Ozuna, Giles
Time to run down today’s links.
- SI.com’s Jon Heyman heard the Cardinals "might even consider parting with top outfield prospect Colby Rasmus."
- Here’s a feature on Baseball Prospectus’ Nate Silver in University of Chicago Magazine.
- According to Bud Selig, the idea of an international draft won’t be debated until the next collective bargaining agreement, which will start in 2012.
- I did a Q&A with The Chuck Knoblog.
- Pablo Ozuna is a free agent.
- Paul DePodesta explains why the Padres intend to keep Brian Giles.
- RotoAuthority has some disabled list hitters to consider picking up for your fantasy team.
- Jeff Zrebiec discusses the Orioles’ trade candidates.