Padres Rumors: Maddux, Hoffman, Kouzmanoff, Greene, Bard
4:32pm: More from Towers – he’s had inquiries on Jake Peavy, Trevor Hoffman, Heath Bell, Kouzmanoff, and Greene. Potential deals will be assessed after the season, though Towers wants Hoffman to stay until the end of his career.
2:43pm: MLB.com’s Corey Brock has the latest on the Padres and Greg Maddux.
Maddux apparently will only accept a trade to a West Coast team, preferably the Dodgers. Padres GM Kevin Towers doesn’t mind trading within the division. The only piece missing is interest from L.A. They’ve got good pitching depth, but if Maddux could be added at a reasonable price, why not? The Professor has a 4.18 ERA this year.
Don’t expect to see younger Padres like Kevin Kouzmanoff, Khalil Greene, or Josh Bard on the move. Towers said a trade of any of those three is "very doubtful."
Wolf Trade Reactions
The Padres found an unlikely suitor for lefty starter Randy Wolf in the Houston Astros. Here are the reactions:
- Paul DePodesta thinks Chad Reineke might be able to help the Padres soon.
- Richard Justice calls it a stubborn move for the Astros, who "threw $3.5MM at a lost season."
- MLB.com’s Jim Molony wonders if the Astros could shop Wolf in August if the team falls further out of contention. An Ed Wade quote reveals part of the motivation for the acquisition – the GM says the Astros get their foot in the door in case they want to sign Wolf beyond this season.
Week in Review
Another week in the history books! Here’s a look back from July 13-19:
- The Phillies acquired Joe Blanton from the A’s for a package of three minor leaguers: Adrian Cardenas, Josh Outman, and Matthew Spencer. Cardenas and Outman were the Phils’ #2 and #4 prospects. Personally, that seems like a lot to bring a pitcher who’s already struggling to a much smaller park. Blanton is a much better pitcher than he’s showed this season, however.
- Francisco Rodriguez will test the free-agent market this offseason. I don’t think anyone would be surprised to see K-Rod sign a record-setting contract for a reliever.
- The Yankees signed Richie Sexson.
- Francisco Liriano – or at least his agent – is not pleased that the Twins still have him in AAA. The Twins won’t blame Liriano for the investigation. Upsetting a player who’s that young and that talented seems like a bad idea to me…
- The Padres traded Tony Clark to the Diamondbacks for minor leaguer Evan Scribner. The D’Backs have looked like they can use all the help they can get lately.
- A.J. Burnett likes Toronto and doesn’t want to be traded. My advice: Don’t talk to Chicago reporters anymore, A.J.
- Tim updated the third base and second base markets.
- Erik Bedard’s injury looks like it will keep him in Seattle. And if you don’t believe me yet, here’s another one for you.
- The Twins balked at Seattle’s asking price for Adrian Beltre. And considering they asked for one of Scott Baker, Nick Blackburn, Glen Perkins, or Kevin Slowey as well as other minor league prospects, can you blame them?
Perrotto’s Latest: Reliever Rumors, Bard, Cooper
John Perrotto from Baseball Prospectus has his Sunday column up. Here’s the highlights:
- The Marlins have recalled Jesus Delgado, a right handed reliever, from Double-A Carolina with the intention of showcasing him for trading possibilities.
- The Cardinals have narrowed their search for a reliever and are now focusing on either Ron Mahay or Brian Fuentes.
- Detroit would be willing to include Fernando Rodney in a trade for a starting pitcher.
- The Orioles don’t want to trade George Sherrill unless they are overwhelmed by an offer.
- San Diego is expected to activate Josh Bard from the DL this week, and will immediately place him on the trading block.
- Perrotto feels that Houston manager Cecil Cooper’s job could be in danger after this season if the Astros fail to come up with a strong finish.
Quiet On The Maddux/Wolf Front
MLB.com’s Corey Brock has an update on the non-rumors surrounding Padres pitchers Greg Maddux and Randy Wolf.
Though many of the pitchers ranked ahead of Wolf have found new homes recently, trade talks are moving slowly. Wolf has a healthy 101 strikeouts this year, but he’s been inconsistent in general and lousy away from PETCO. Previous suitors like the Cubs, Brewers, and Phillies are all probably out.
Maddux has been informed of his suitors, since he has a full no-trade clause. But Brock’s source says Maddux may choose to play out the string in San Diego.
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.
Cubs Rumors: Fuentes, Greene
Cubs beat writer Bruce Miles of the Daily Herald has a new blog post up.
- Miles’ Cubs sources "emphatically" denied interest in Padres shortstop Khalil Greene. And as we noted Monday, the San Diego Union-Tribune killed that rumor several hours after they posted it.
- Jim Hendry is in the market for a reliever, and Miles expects him to be one of many GMs inquiring on Colorado’s Brian Fuentes. Roughly a dozen teams are eyeing the lefty, so the Rox should get something good.
- Miles mentions the possibility of the Cubs pursuing an extra bat, presumably of the bench variety.
D’Backs Acquire Tony Clark
2:37pm: Turns out the Padres will get a Single A pitcher for Clark: Evan Scribner.
1:41pm: ESPN’s Buster Olney says it’s a done deal.
12:04pm: According to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic, the D’Backs "appear to be closing in" on a trade for first baseman/pinch-hitter Tony Clark. It would be for a Double A pitching prospect, and could get done today. Piecoro says Clark will apparently waive the $500K bonus he was to receive upon a trade.
Clark almost re-signed with Arizona last winter. He was known as a clubhouse leader in his previous stint with the D’Backs.
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.
Cubs Inquired On Khalil Greene?
10:01pm: The below-referenced article has been pulled from the Union-Tribune website, so I assume it turned out to be untrue.
3:26pm: According to Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union Tribune, the Cubs recently inquired on Padres shortstop Khalil Greene. The Padres prefer not to sell low on Greene, however.
The Cubs have been linked to Greene in the past, and the Padres were asking about Felix Pie about a year ago. Perhaps Pie has lost the untouchable label with his .264/.315/.442 performance at Triple A. He’s hitting better lately, though.
Greene is on the first year of a two-year, $11MM deal. He’s said he wants to stay in San Diego, though Kevin Towers once suggested he might prefer to be on the East Coast near his family. Greene’s had a rough year with a .216/.264/.329 line in 375 plate appearances.