Padres Rumors

Heyman On Peavy, Astros, Greene

By Tim Dierkes | May 29, 2009 at 1:21pm CDT

A new column from SI's Jon Heyman…

If you are sick of hearing about Jake Peavy now, just wait until later this summer. The pitcher's no-trade clause has "wreaked havoc" on the Padres, but they'll keep trying to trade him. There are competing opinions as to which teams Peavy would accept a trade, but the Cubs and Dodgers seem to be named most often. Neither club is a perfect match. Over at the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel Michael Hunt discusses the Brewers possibility; he worries that Peavy's contract could become a burden for the Brew Crew.
Heyman discusses the situation with Astros manager Cecil Cooper. Could he be fired so soon after having his option picked up? Heyman believes Ed Wade might be a bigger problem, and even suggests that "privately [Shawn Chacon's] inappropriate actions were cheered by some other players." Astros owner Drayton McLane told Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the Houston Chronicle that a dismissal of Cooper is "not in the cards," yet Wade doesn't believe in giving votes of confidence.
Heyman talked to one person close to shortstop Khalil Greene who "could see the 29-year-old walking away from the game after this season." Update: Greene's on the DL.
A competing exec told Heyman he wouldn't be stunned to see the Giants dangle Matt Cain, even though they haven't yet. Heyman suggests gauging the value of Jonathan Sanchez first makes sense.

Draft Roundup: Pirates, Padres, Angels

By Tim Dierkes | May 29, 2009 at 8:59am CDT

A few draft links for Friday…

Chuck Finder of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette talked to Pirates GM Neal Huntington and president Frank Coonelly. Huntington said signability is not "a sole driving factor," while Coonelly talked about wanting to get players signed quickly. The Pirates seem to be leaning toward pitching with the #4 pick based on comments from scouting director Greg Smith. ESPN's Keith Law predicted the Pirates will take high school infielder Bobby Borchering, Baseball America went with college righty Kyle Gibson, and MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo picked Aaron Crow. Huntington said that the team's international dealings and the draft are "independent entities." In other words, they won't go cheap in the draft in order to sign Miguel Angel Sano.
Chris Jenkins of the San Diego Union-Tribune says the Padres are eyeing Dustin Ackley, Donovan Tate (Boras clients), high school righty Zach Wheeler, college lefty Mike Minor, and Crow at #3. BA predicted Grant Green (another Boras client), Law chose Crow, and Mayo went with Minor.
The Angels have five picks in the first 48, according to Kevin Baxter of the L.A. Times. The Halos seem to be looking at prep players: Mike Trout, Everett Williams, Jiovanni Mier, and Tyler Skaggs.
Rich Lederer of Baseball Analysts has a Q&A with Baseball America's Jim Callis.
Callis talked to scouts about righties Crow and Tanner Scheppers.

Stark On Peavy, Oswalt, Phillies, DeRosa, Giants

By Tim Dierkes | May 28, 2009 at 2:28pm CDT

Let's take a look at the latest Rumblings and Grumblings column from ESPN's Jayson Stark.

The Padres' recent winning streak has not changed their intention of trading Jake Peavy. The Dodgers and Cubs are in Peavy's first tier of choices, follwed by the Giants, Cardinals, and Astros. The Angels would be the one AL team he'd consider. The East Coast is a long shot. Also, Peavy will want his 2011-13 partial no-trade clause to become a full no-trade. Peavy's friend Roy Oswalt has been unsuccessful in lobbying Astros owner Drayton McLane, as the 'Stros can't take on Peavy's contract. As for the Dodgers, GM Ned Colletti told the L.A. Times he hasn't talked to the Padres about Peavy since the pitcher vetoed the White Sox deal.
Stark talked to scouts who believe Oswalt has "lost his edge" and needs a change of scenery. The Phillies have inquired on him, but they've asked about everyone: Peavy, Brandon Webb, Roy Halladay, Doug Davis, Erik Bedard, Cliff Lee, Aaron Harang, Brad Penny, Chris Young and Jason Marquis. Popular Phillies trade targets include Lou Marson, Jason Donald, Carlos Carrasco, Travis D'Arnaud, Freddy Galvis, Kyle Drabek, Dominic Brown, and Antonio Bastardo.
The Braves are interested in bringing Mark DeRosa back to Atlanta. He came up with them and was non-tendered in '04 after tearing his ACL. But to deal young arms, the Braves would want an impact bat. Stark says they're "mostly listening" rather than shopping Jeff Francoeur. His trade value is difficult to gauge.
The Mets seem content to wait out the first base trade market.
The Giants seek a middle-of-the-order bat, and Jonathan Sanchez is being dangled. Three targets they haven't had success on are Dan Uggla, Jorge Cantu, and possibly Carlos Lee. Lee, according to one Stark source, doesn't intend to waive his no-trade for anyone.

Odds & Ends: DeRosa, Bruney, Cooper

By Tim Dierkes | May 28, 2009 at 8:44am CDT

Let's kick it off today with some odds and ends.

RotoAuthority discusses responding to lame trade offers in your fantasy league.
Reliever Mike MacDougal will join the Nationals tomorrow, according to MLB.com's Bill Ladson. Who knows, he could be closing for them by next week.
Talking to Fred Mitchell of the Chicago Tribune, Cubs GM Jim Hendry defended the Mark DeRosa trade. Here is my problem with it: it was a financially-motivated deal made by a big-market team, and did not bring back players who could help in 2009.
According to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the White Sox acquired journeyman minor league infielder Anderson Machado from the Pirates for a player to be named later.
Padres exec Paul DePodesta explains the Jody Gerut for Tony Gwynn Jr. swap. DePodesta's third bullet point, money, had to be the overriding factor given Gwynn's negligible value around the league.
Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle sees Bobby Crosby as perhaps a more pressing trade situation for the A's than Matt Holliday.
Dr. James Andrews found no structural damage in Brian Bruney's elbow, according to Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News. Given the uncertainty, though, a bullpen acquisition would still make sense.
It looks like the writing is on the wall for Astros manager Cecil Cooper. Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle lists his offenses.
Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch is skeptical the Cardinals will make a big move.
Kiley McDaniel of Baseball Prospectus agrees that the Pirates are the favorite for Dominican talent Miguel Angel Sano, and says the Rays, Cubs, A's, Blue Jays, Yankees, Rangers, and Twins are also after him. It's speculated by McDaniel and elsewhere that the Pirates could budget less toward their fourth overall pick in June to compensate for Sano. John Perrotto of Inside Pittsburgh Sports says they like Kyle Gibson, Aaron Crow, Bobby Borchering, and Wil Myers. Tanner Scheppers did not give the Bucs permission to redraft him.

Would Peavy Play In Philly?

By Tim Dierkes | May 27, 2009 at 11:06pm CDT

Sorry, we don't have the answer yet. MLB.com's Todd Zolecki posed the question to Jake Peavy's agent Barry Axelrod, and Axelrod said:

"I have not discussed Philly with Jake because nobody has asked us to discuss Philly. He has a strong preference to play in the National League. He also wants to play for a contender. Both of those two things play into Philly's hands. The personnel is awesome. If there is one downside, it's the geographical difference for him, given that he has made his family home in the San Diego area."

Axelrod didn't talk about his client pitching in a hitter's park, which has to be a consideration as well. Do the Phillies have the goods to pull off a deal? I think so. Pitchers such as Kyle Drabek, Carlos Carrasco, Kyle Kendrick, and J.A. Happ could be appealing to the Padres to various degrees. And Jason Donald could help the Padres. Talking to David Murphy, Phils GM Ruben Amaro Jr. admitted he'd like the improve his pitching and add a bench bat.

As far as Peavy to the White Sox, the pitcher's former teammate Scott Linebrink believes that deal is dead (they spoke about a week ago).

Heyman On Adrian Gonzalez, Peavy, Sabathia

By Tim Dierkes | May 27, 2009 at 12:13pm CDT

The latest from SI's Jon Heyman…

Heyman believes the Padres could bring in a haul for Adrian Gonzalez beyond what the Rangers received for Mark Teixeira. However, when asked if he's considering trading his slugging first baseman, Padres GM Kevin Towers responded, "Not at this point in time."
The Cubs don't seem anxious to make a deal for Jake Peavy, and the Dodgers have the same-division hurdle. The Brewers might not have the pitching (or inclination) to get it done. Towers will continue to try to find a team Peavy likes while also matching the package offered by the White Sox: Aaron Poreda, Clayton Richard, and two minor league pitchers.
Heyman says the Angels bid about $140MM for C.C. Sabathia last winter, making the Yankees' $161MM winning bid appear more appropriate.

Odds & Ends: Braves, Peavy, Mets, Sabathia

By Tim Dierkes | May 26, 2009 at 12:30pm CDT

Links for Tuesday…

MLB.com's Bill Ladson reports that Mike MacDougal left the Nationals' Triple A club via an out clause, but could remain with the organization if they decide to promote him to the Majors.
Dave O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution speculates on some outfield options for the Braves.
According to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, Chris Duffy accepted the Brewers' assignment to Triple A. Duffy was designated for assignment on May 22nd.
For some reason, Scott Boras weighed in on the Padres' attempt to trade Jake Peavy (talking to Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune). Boras suggested it might be a breach of contract, but Peavy's agent Barry Axelrod isn't as offended. Barry Rozner of the Daily Herald has more from Axelrod, who said, "the entire process was unfair."
Howard Megdal of SNY campaigns for the Mets to acquire a passable shortstop, while retaining Ramon Castro and Brian Schneider as catchers.
MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo looks at the middle infielders in the upcoming draft. And MLB.com's Lisa Winston has a column on Grant Green.
Talking to Jack Curry of the New York Times, C.C. Sabathia wondered about his six-year old son's possible high school future in New Jersey. Sabathia can choose to opt out of his contract after the 2011 season. Is this anything? The kid will be going to high school in eight years or so, so the contract will be up regardless. More telling might be Sabathia's comments to Jayson Stark earlier this month.

Rosenthal On Astros, Marquis, DeRosa, Francoeur

By Tim Dierkes | May 26, 2009 at 8:21am CDT

Let's take a look at the latest from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.

Rosenthal recommends the Astros trade veterans to improve their bottom-ranked farm system. He'd especially like to see Houston make Roy Oswalt available. They'd have take Oswalt's no-trade clause into consideration.
The Phillies continue to seek a starter, and they made an inquiry on Colorado's Jason Marquis. Rosenthal finds Erik Bedard "perhaps the most intriguing fit" and notes that the Phils probably have flexibility to add payroll. This question came up in a recent chat…I do think the Phillies have the pieces to pull off a Bedard trade.
The Brewers are not going after Cleveland's Mark DeRosa, as they cannot spare Major League pitching for him. Rosenthal also finds Jake Peavy unlikely, as the Brewers probably couldn't pull off a deal without creating a new need. Of Peavy, Rosenthal says, "He will not leave easily."
The Mets are interested in Nationals first baseman Nick Johnson, who is off to a .338/.445/.471 start.
The Royals might be the top suitor for Jeff Francoeur if the Braves shop him, but not everyone in Kansas City's front office is keen on him. The Red Sox are known to have an eye on Francoeur.
Rosenthal's heard speculation that the Sox could trade Daniel Bard, whose value may be at a high point.
Rather than acquire someone like Yuniesky Betancourt, the Padres will stick with in-house options at shortstop (mainly Luis Rodriguez and Everth Cabrera, once they're healthy).

Odds & Ends: MacDougal, Maddon, Brazell

By Tim Dierkes | May 25, 2009 at 8:37pm CDT

Memorial Day linkage…

MLB.com's Bill Ladson says it's decision time for Mike MacDougal and the Nationals.
Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune transcribed comments made by White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf to ESPN 1000's Chuck Swirsky. Reinsdorf said the Sox are moving on from the Jake Peavy deal and also implied that no one is untouchable.
Joe Maddon's three-year extension with the Rays is official.
Craig Brazell agreed to a deal with the Hanshin Tigers, according to reports gathered by Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker. Brazell had been playing for the St. Paul Saints after nothing materialized from an Orioles spring training invite.
Murray Chass talks about Jeff Moorad's path to becoming part-owner of the Padres.
Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic writes about the D'Backs, who have seven of the first 64 draft picks.
Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times has an interesting article about minor league free agents.

Matt Belisle Designated For Assignment

By Tim Dierkes | May 25, 2009 at 1:51pm CDT

According to Tracy Ringolsby of Inside the Rockies, the team designated pitcher Matt Belisle for assignment and recalled Josh Fogg. Ringolsby feels the Padres might make a waiver claim on Belisle, who was knocked around in 17.3 relief innings this year.

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