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Rumor Royalty

Dutton On Royals’ Free Agent Starter Search

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I recently named the Kansas City Star’s Bob Dutton as Rumor Royalty for the Royals.  He was kind enough to answer a few questions for the site.

MLBTR: It seems pretty clear the Royals are going to sign a veteran starter.  They’ve been linked to Bartolo Colon, Jon Lieber, Kris Benson, and others who have signed elsewhere.  Who do you see as the best fit for this team?

Dutton: The guy they really wanted was Hiroki Kuroda, and I’m pretty sure they tendered the top bid before he signed with the Dodgers. They liked Carlos Silva but not at his asking price. That leaves, primarily, guys who are trying to recover from major injuries. In short, guys who really aren’t good fits for anyone.

Even so, I think the Royals will continue to try to sign one. I believe Colon is their top choice, but he’s asking for $8-9 million and is looking for a multi-year deal. I think he’s kidding himself. Maybe someone will bite, but I’ll be real surprised if the Royals do.

The Royals are like most every other team looking at these guys: they’re willing to build in lots of performance bonuses, but they’ll want to protect them by insisting on a low guarantee. What they can offer that others can’t, they believe, is the likelihood of greater patience.

These guys all need to pitch to rebuild their careers, and they’re likely to have some rough stretches. The Royals would probably be willing to stick with them longer than most other clubs. They also play in a fairly big ballpark, which is forgiving to fly-ball pitchers, and have pretty good infield defense to benefit ground-ball pitchers.

Rumor Royalty: Bob Dutton (Royals)

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As originally described here, Rumor Royalty is an MLBTR series where I name the one journalist for each team who has done the most for us hot stove junkies.  If the writer is up for it, I ask that person questions for publication on the site.  You can see all of the entries in the series here.

I’d like to honor Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star as the best source for Royals hot stove buzz.  Here’s a link to the paper’s Royals page.  Bob was kind enough to answer four questions for MLBTR.  I’ll run them separately over the next few days.

Topkin On Percival

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I recently named the St. Petersburg Times’ Marc Topkin as Rumor Royalty for the Rays.  He was kind enough to answer a few questions for the site.

MLBTR: Who gets more saves in ’08, Troy Percival or Al Reyes?  Is there any chance the Rays shop Reyes now?

Topkin: Percival will get most of the save opportunities, probably all except when he needs a day off. Reyes could be traded, but I think Wheeler is more likely to go. (Unless one of them learns how to pitch lefthanded!)

Topkin On Rocco Baldelli

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I recently named the St. Petersburg Times’ Marc Topkin as Rumor Royalty for the Rays.  He was kind enough to answer a few questions for the site.

MLBTR: Do you expect Rocco Baldelli to be with the Rays on Opening Day?  What kind of trade value does he have right now?

Topkin: I definitely expect him to be there, as much because the Rays need him badly the way the team is presently constructed as because his trade value is so low because of his lack of playing time due to a series of injuries. I can’t imagine the Rays getting anywhere near enough value for him now compared to what his peak value was/could be. An interesting sidenote is that the Rays have to decide by April 1 on his 2009 option, picking between a $4-million buyout or a $6-million salary AND then being on the hook for his combined 2010-11 option or a $2-million buyout.

Topkin On The Delmon/Garza Trade

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I recently named the St. Petersburg Times’ Marc Topkin as Rumor Royalty for the Rays.  He was kind enough to answer a few questions for the site.

MLBTR: In your opinion, which club got the better end of the Delmon for Garza swap?

Topkin: My immediate reaction is that the Twins did because Delmon established himself as a potential impact player for a long time, a guy who could be a ten-season All-Star and hit in the middle of a lineup for fifteen years, while Garza still has to make that leap and Bartlett has to become more than a "steady" shortstop.

Rumor Royalty: Marc Topkin (Rays)

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As originally described here, Rumor Royalty is an MLBTR series where I name the one journalist for each team who has done the most for us hot stove junkies.  If the writer is up for it, I ask that person three questions for publication on the site.  You can see all of the entries in the series here.

Please join me in honoring Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times as the top rumormongering talent for the Rays.  Topkin contributes to a blog for the paper called The Heater.  I asked him three questions, which will be posted separately over the next few days.

Zrebiec On Bedard, Roberts

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The Baltimore Sun’s Jeff Zrebiec was recently named Rumor Royalty for the Orioles.  Here’s the last in a series of questions we asked him.

MLBTR: Erik Bedard and Brian Roberts are elite players under team control through 2009. If you had to guess, will both be playing for the Orioles on Opening Day 2008?

Zrebiec: Yes, I would guess that both will be Orioles on Opening Day. I’ve been surprised about the lack of trade buzz surrounding Roberts. I can’t help but think that it is because O’s owner Peter Angelos has already nixed one deal involving Roberts last year and has made his fondness for the second baseman known. I just think Roberts means more to the Orioles than he would to any other team and I don’t see MacPhail moving him unless he’s totally overwhelmed. And even then, good luck convincing Angelos to sign off on the deal.

Bedard is a little trickier. MacPhail and Mark Pieper, Bedard and Roberts’ agent, have been talking "conceptually" about an contract extension for Bedard. I think people in the organization are split on whether they should secure long term the team’s first legit ace since Mike Mussina or trade him and get multiple major league ready young players in return to a roster that is badly in need of them. If Bedard’s contract demands aren’t reasonable, that could make their decision for them. But even if that’s the case, I don’t see the O’s in a hurry to do anything since Bedard is still under contractual control for two more seasons.

Zrebiec On O’s and Free Agents

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The Baltimore Sun’s Jeff Zrebiec was recently named Rumor Royalty for the Orioles.  Jeff answered a few questions for MLBTR.

MLBTR: Andy MacPhail has said he doesn’t expect to be in on many free agents, but there was a rumor that the O’s are entertaining Jose Guillen [note: written prior to debunking]. Do you expect them to spend any money on free agents this winter?

Zrebiec: First, the Guillen report was inaccurate. He’s exactly the type of player the Orioles are not interested in at this stage. As for other free agents, I see the Orioles making a couple of small, low price/low risk signings to fill out their roster.

For example, I could see them signing a veteran starter on the cheap, somebody in the Steve Trachsel mold. I wouldn’t rule out them signing a reliever, though it won’t be at anywhere close to the contracts they gave out last year for Bradford, Walker and Baez. And if Tejada is traded and I fully expect him to be, signing a guy like Cesar Izturis could appeal to them. They’ve liked him in the past.

But for the most part, I think you’ll see them try to fill their holes in trades and then patching a couple of spots up with one or two signings. I think it was telling that MacPhail didn’t have one extensive meeting with an agent at the GM meetings.

Zrebiec On Miguel Tejada

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I recently named the Baltimore Sun’s Jeff Zrebiec as Rumor Royalty for the Orioles.  He was kind enough to answer a few questions for the site.

MLBTR: Give us an example of a reasonable trade bounty for a team acquiring Miguel Tejada. Do you think the Orioles are targeting a certain number of players or certain positions? If the acquiring team intended to move him to third base, would this become a problem?

Zrebiec: All indications are that the Orioles are still looking for two high-level prospects for Tejada. I’m not sure they’ll get that now with Tejada’s defensive concerns and declining power numbers, but that could change when Miguel Cabrera is no longer on the market. The Orioles are in desperate need for young position player talent, but president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail has acknowledged that he is in no position to discriminate. He wants to bring in as much young talent as possible this offseason, regardless of position. "We’ll sort it out later," he has said.

Tejada has given conflicting answers in the past about whether he’ll move to 3B. He has made it clear that he’d prefer to stay at shortstop. However, he has also said that he would make the move for a playoff-caliber team. I don’t foresee it being a problem at all. Everybody that knows Miguel insists that all he wants to do is win, and he’ll do what he has to do to make that happen.

Rumor Royalty: Jeff Zrebiec (Orioles)

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Rumor Royalty is an MLBTR feature that honors the best journalist for each team in terms of hot stove material.  The Newark Star-Ledger’s Dan Graziano recently snagged the honor for the Yankees.

The choice for the Baltimore Orioles was really easy for me.  The Baltimore Sun’s Jeff Zrebiec owns Orioles hot stove chatter; he gets all the scoops.  Here’s a link to the Sun’s baseball page, where his work can be found.  I asked Jeff three hot stove questions, which will be posted here separately over the next couple of days.

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