Olney On Adrian Gonzalez
ESPN.com's Buster Olney says if the Padres deal Adrian Gonzalez, it will be during the winter. Here are the reasons why:
- The Padres have alienated their fans by letting Trevor Hoffman leave and trying to deal Jake Peavy in the midst of an ownership change. They don't want to risk disturbing their fan base any further.
- During their 1993 fire sale, they traded Fred McGriff and Gary Sheffield away, but kept Tony Gwynn. This year could be similar if the Padres trade Peavy after seeing Hoffman leave and they want to have a franchise player.
- The Red Sox would be interested if Gonzalez were available now, but Olney says more teams would bid during the offseason, when the Padres could get better players in return for their star.
Odds And Ends: Riske, Peavy, Penny
Links for Tuesday…
- This week's chat will take place today at 2pm CST.
- Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that David Riske is undergoing elbow surgery today. Adam McCalvy says it's Tommy John surgery.
- In a separate article, Haudricourt identifies the Brewers' pitching shortage and says the team will rely on minor leaguers for support.
- Jake Peavy won't discuss his trade preferences until after he pitches against the Phillies tonight, according to David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News.
- In the same article, we hear that Mike Koplove has opted out of his contract and is now a free agent.
- Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald guesses there's a 50-50 chance that the Red Sox deal Brad Penny once they're able to after June 15th.
- Adam Jones sees his former team, the Mariners, as just another opponent these days, as Amber Theoharis of MASN.com reports.
- Could Cristian Guzman or Jack Wilson help the Royals out at shortstop? The Kansas City Star suggests both could work.
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports imagines how different this season would be with Mark Teixeira on the Red Sox.
- Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times passes on a funny remark from Ken Williams: "National League pitchers don't like pitching in the AL. That doesn't make them fearful. It makes them smart."
- Jorge Says No asks why sellers don't insist that buyers take bad contracts along with top talent at the deadline.
Peavy’s Agent Discusses Vetoed White Sox Deal
Fred Mitchell of the Chicago Tribune talked to Jake Peavy's agent, Barry Axelrod, who said he and his client were taken by surprise when the White Sox offered to trade Clayton Richard, Aaron Poreda, and two unnamed pitchers for the ace. "Honestly, the White Sox had never come up, even as speculation or rumor," said Axelrod.
Axelrod outlined the difficulties teams will face when trying to deal for Peavy:
"I have always said that this is a hard deal to make because the team that seeks to acquire Jake Peavy is going to take on a significant financial responsibility in terms of his future contract. And also, according to the reports, they are going to have to give up some decent young players in exchange."
Axelrod also reiterated that Peavy strongly prefers to pitch for a National League team.
Odds And Ends: Red Sox, Peavy, Indians, Torre
More links for Monday…
- Chad Finn of the Boston Globe lists a number of players for the Red Sox to consider and asks fans which one would be best for the team. Victor Martinez and Adrian Gonzalez, neither one of whom is currently available, were the most popular choices.
- Don McKee of the Philadelphia Inquirer says Jake Peavy would be perfect for the Phils.
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports says Grady Sizemore's injury makes the Indians more likely to sell players like Carl Pavano and Mark DeRosa.
- Joe Torre isn't sure whether he'll manage after next year according to this AP story found on ESPN.com.
- Steve Rosenbloom of the Chicago Tribune writes that Jim Hendry and the Cubs "picked the wrong guy" when they signed Milton Bradley instead of Bobby Abreu or Adam Dunn last winter.
- Steve Melewski of MASN.com looks back at August 15th, 2007, the night the Orioles signed Matt Wieters. We could have a similar night in a couple months when Scott Boras, who represents Wieters, will negotiate with the Nats over Stephen Strasburg.
Draft Updates: M’s, Padres, Pirates, O’s
Here are some updates to prepare you for the top five picks in the 2009 draft, which takes place a week from tomorrow.
- The Mariners pick second and they have four of the first 51 picks. That's why the Mariners' scouting director told MLB.com's Jim Street that this is the most important draft in franchise history. That's a bold statement considering the Mariners drafted both Ken Griffey Jr. and Alex Rodriguez. Dustin Ackley, who the Mariners may well choose, told David Laurila of Baseball Prospectus that he doesn't care who drafts him.
- The Padres are tight-lipped about what they plan to do with their third overall pick, as MLB.com's Corey Brock reports.
- Pirates GM Neal Huntington identified Stephen Strasburg as the best available pitcher and Ackley as the best available hitter in Jenifer Langosch's MLB.com article. The Pirates, who pick fourth, say there's a group of quality arms available after those two players.
- Baltimore's director of scouting says the O's will take the best available player in next week's draft. MLB.com's Spencer Fordin says they'll have the chance to take an elite arm with their fifth overall pick.
- Lane Meyer of NoMaas.org heard that the Yankees are impressed by the depth of the left-handed pitching class in this year's draft.
Brewers Aren’t Talking Peavy Trade
According to Colin Fly of the AP (via the Chicago Tribune) Brewers GM Doug Melvin said he's not involved in any trade talks now. Many writers have wondered about Milwaukee's interest in Jake Peavy, but the Brewers aren't currently negotiating with the Padres.
"We don't have any trade discussions going on with anybody," Melvin said.
As Fly points out, the Brewers have the 9th best ERA in the game and are tied for first in the NL with 27 quality starts so they don't need starting pitching as badly as most expected them to. The rotation of Yovani Gallardo, Manny Parra, Braden Looper, Dave Bush and Jeff Suppan has been holding up well for the first-place Brewers.
Adrian Gonzalez Not Available
One name we can keep out of the rumor mill this summer: Adrian Gonzalez. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports quotes Padres CEO Jeff Moorad:
I've said publicly that no player is untouchable, but I would be hard-pressed to imagine a deal that could ever make sense for Adrian Gonzalez.
In a recent chat at MLB.com, when asked whether the Padres might sign Gonzalez to an extension next year, Moorad replied, "Why wait until 2010?" SI.com's Jon Heyman asked GM Kevin Towers about trading Gonzalez, and Towers said, "Not at this point in time."
Heyman On Peavy, Astros, Greene
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
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
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.