Brett Tomko has resurfaced for a third stint with the Padres. He actually has good command, posting respectable K/BB ratios in recent years. The longball did him in this year with the Royals. A move back to the NL and PETCO should help, and there’s no risk for the Padres at the minimum salary.
Padres Rumors
Odds and Ends: Chacon, Minaya, Inoa
Nothing major cracking on the hot stove this morning, so we’ll kick it off with odds and ends.
- The Padres haven’t finalized the deal with top pick Allan Dykstra due to concerns with his physical.
- Sorry Pirates fans, but the team does not have interest in bringing back Shawn Chacon.
- David Lennon believes Omar Minaya’s job is safe. Minaya could seek an extension after the season (he’s signed through ’09).
- In a non-subscriber article, Baseball Prospectus’ Joe Sheehan gives his take on whether certain teams should be buyers or sellers.
- Saberscouting gives a scouting report on Michel Inoa.
- Henry Schulman asks C.C. Sabathia whether San Francisco will be on his list.
- A case for the Braves to sign Barry Bonds.
- Sam Mellinger continues his look at Dayton Moore’s work in Kansas City.
- Theo Epstein expects Red Sox execs Ben Cherington and Jed Hoyer to become GMs soon.
Padres Undecided On Buy/Sell Status
Teams around baseball are probably anxiously eyeing various Padres veterans, especially Brian Giles, Greg Maddux, and Randy Wolf. However, the front office remains undecided on whether to buy or sell at the trade deadline.
Normally a .416 winning percentage about halfway through the season would be enough to call it quits. However, the NL West has only one team over .500 and the Padres are eight games out. It’s too early to wave the white flag, especially with 31 games remaining until the trade deadline.
Chris Young could come back strong and Khalil Greene and Kevin Kouzmanoff might continue their upward trends. If the Padres are three or four games out in late July, Kevin Towers could look to add a hitter.
Salisbury On Phillies’ Trade Chips
Back on June 19th, ESPN’s Jayson Stark said the Phillies had "at least kicked the tires on C.C. Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, Bronson Arroyo, and Jarrod Washburn." He also expected them to inquire on Erik Bedard. Scott Lauber says the Phils have scouted Sabathia, Burnett, Ben Sheets, and Greg Maddux recently.
Jim Salisbury of the Philadelphia Inquirer weighs in this morning on the Phillies’ trade chips. He names Shane Victorino, Jayson Werth, Carlos Carrasco, Lou Marson, Greg Golson, and Adrian Cardenas as Phillies players other teams may covet. However, Salisbury believes Pat Gillick might opt for a midlevel acquisition and hang on to his top young players. Check out our starting pitcher trade market post for ideas.
Salisbury speculates on possible targets aside from the aforementioned names: Roy Oswalt and Rich Harden. Salisbury is speculating with these names, but notes that "the Astros had a high-ranking scout in Philadelphia on Sunday."
Odds and Ends: Kouzmanoff, Ricciardi, Wilson
Today’s linkage…
- Athletics Nation proposes a couple of deals for the A’s.
- RotoAuthority looks at Reds rookie pitcher Daryl Thompson, who draws a tough debut assignment on Saturday.
- CBS Sports’ Scott Miller expects Padres third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff to be traded this summer. Kouzmanoff, 27 in July, is hitting .268/.328/.476 in 42 games following another lousy April.
- J.P. Ricciardi apologized for his comments about Adam Dunn.
- From the What Might’ve Been File: the Tigers offered Jair Jurrjens for Jack Wilson about a year ago. Nice to see that .500 will not be a goal for the Bucs, by the way.
- Ken Rosenthal says "a potential selloff of veterans is on hold" for the Orioles right now, as the team is only 5.5 games out of the wild card.
Padres Would Not Allow Mariners To Interview Towers
XX Sports Radio recently interviewed Padres CEO Sandy Alderson. The hosts asked whether the Padres would give the Mariners permission to interview Kevin Towers for their GM vacancy. Alderson stressed that the Mariners have not asked and he doesn’t expect them to. He added that if they did ask, the Padres would not grant permission.
Towers is signed through 2010, but Jayson Stark recently heard rumblings that he "might be willing to listen to inquiries from a place like Seattle" because he’s lost clout. Sounds like a moot point, given Alderson’s comments.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Teixeira, Liriano, Garcia, Willingham
Ken Rosenthal has a new hot stove article up.
- Rosenthal leads with some Mark Teixeira-Angels speculation, but admits the Braves aren’t considering trading him and the Angels are content with their team. The Halos’ .706 team OPS ranks 12th in the AL; something should be done.
- All kinds of Mariners turmoil. They could look to acquire a center fielder given the move back to right for Ichiro. Releases of Richie Sexson and Jose Vidro could be on the agenda. And chemistry problems abound, with Ichiro and Kenji Johjima at the center.
- The Ms might consider Chris Antonetti and David Forst for the GM job, but both could choose to wait for the position to open up on their current teams. Antonetti seems likely to stay put, based on his comments and actions.
- Adam Dunn likes the Reds’ future and wants to stay.
- If the Twins keep Francisco Liriano in the minors a bit longer, he will lose his shot at becoming a Super Two player.
- Past reports have named the Mets, Red Sox, Braves, Yankees, White Sox, Rangers, Indians, Mariners, and Tigers as clubs interested in Freddy Garcia. Rosenthal adds the Rays to the mix.
- On Sunday, Peter Gammons said the Red Sox "might look at a count worker like the Marlins’ Josh Willingham" if David Ortiz needs surgery. Rosenthal agrees that the Sox "indeed might be interested" but believes the Marlins want to hang on to him (even though he reaches arbitration after this season).
- The Cardinals "made a quick inquiry" on Michael Barrett but backed off when Yadier Molina’s injury turned out to be day-to-day.
Possible Replacements For Bavasi In Seattle
John Hickey of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer is reporting that the Mariners already have a list of names that they are considering to replace the fired Bill Bavasi.
Yesterday, we saw several sources that speculated on the next GM. Hickey spoke with a former GM who came up with a list of eight names that could possibly fill the post.
- Kevin Towers, current San Diego Padres GM: Hickey notes that Towers has stuck with San Diego through a recent front office transition and may prefer to stay with the Pads.
- Brian Cashman, current New York Yankees GM: The M’s wanted to talk to Cashman in ’03 but were rebuked. They may get a better chance this time to land a GM that once said "who wouldn’t want [The Mariners] job."
- Kim Ng, Los Angeles Dodgers assistant GM: Was previously a candidate for the Dodgers job and is considered ready to be a GM.
- Jerry DiPoto, Arizona Diamondbacks director of player personnel
- Tony Bernazard, New York Mets vice president of player development: Previously a candidate for the Pirates job, Hickey wonders if Bernazard might want out with the Mets in flux.
- Chris Antonetti, Cleveland Indians VP of baseball operations: Hickey notes that Antonetti may prefer to stay in Cleveland, having previously turned down an offer from the Pirates to interview for their GM post.
- Mike Rizzo, Washington Nationals assistant GM and VP of baseball operations
- Dave Forst, Oakland Athletics assistant GM
Olney’s Latest: Rockies, Padres, Braves, Sabathia
Today let’s take a look at Buster Olney’s blog.
- Executives from the Rockies and Padres are telling other clubs that they will not be sellers. They’ve climbed back into the race with the recent D’Backs slump. Popular trade rumor names like Brian Fuentes, Greg Maddux, and Randy Wolf may be off the market.
- Olney runs through some scenarios for Mark Teixeira trades, if Frank Wren and the Braves decide to punt on ’08.
- The Rangers have their eye on C.C. Sabathia – maybe now, maybe after he reaches free agency.
Odds and Ends: Fujikawa, Inge, Haren, Jacque
Today’s collection of links…
- SI.com’s Jon Heyman does not believe Omar Minaya’s job is in jeopardy.
- New blog to check out: NPB Tracker. Patrick’s goal is to provide a reliable source of information on Japanese leagues to an American audience. He’s already got a name for us to watch: reliever Kyuji Fujikawa. He’d like to be posted, but that’s up to the Hanshin Tigers.
- Brandon Inge is up for full-time catching in ’09, even if it’s not his preference.
- The D’Backs discussed an extension with Dan Haren, but talks broke off. They could rekindle. He’s signed cheaply through 2010 already.
- The Tigers would’ve been interested in Barry Bonds if they didn’t have Gary Sheffield, according to Jim Leyland.
- Jacque Jones has cleared waivers but hasn’t decided whether to accept a minor league assignment from the Marlins.
- RotoAuthority looks at Chase Headley from a fantasy perspective.
- Pretty interesting comments from Bill Bavasi on Erik Bedard. Watch video of Bavasi’s press conference here.
