Odds and Ends: Pokey, Lowe, Boss
Before you fire up the grill, check out these links.
- Dayn Perry has an enjoyable series at Baseball Prospectus called Mock Blockbuster. He proposes trades that would benefit both teams. His latest: Greg Maddux and Brian Giles for Jordan Schafer.
- Rays Index wonders whether Eric Hinske or Gabe Gross could be expendable once Willy Aybar returns.
- Joe Capozzi remembers Mike Piazza’s five game stint as a Marlin.
- Pokey Reese sighting!
- Ned Colletti told struggling free-agent-to-be Derek Lowe the Dodgers aren’t slamming the door on him coming back.
- The Red Sox signed an Australian teen named Boss Moanaroa.
- Athletics Nation chats with Billy Beane.
- Jerry Reinsdorf hasn’t ruled out re-signing Joe Crede after the season.
- R.I.P. Geremi Gonzalez. I remember him as a bright spot on the ’97 Cubs. I mailed him a baseball card for an autograph, and it came back signed.
Stark’s Latest: Young Players, Giles, DeJesus
Jayson Stark’s latest Rumblings and Grumblings column is chock full of information.
- Stark rattles off Dan Uggla, Ryan Howard, Cole Hamels, B.J. Upton, Justin Upton, Russell Martin, Zack Greinke, Prince Fielder, Felix Hernandez, Jeff Francoeur, Jonathan Papelbon, Kevin Youkilis, and Dustin Pedroia as youngsters who do not have long-term deals in the works. With Uggla and Greinke, the opposition seems more on the team’s side. With Hamels and Howard neither side wants a long-term deal. With the rest, the player is resisting.
- The Padres’ top trading chip is probably Brian Giles, though a deal would further deplete a weak offense.
- The A’s are willing to deal, with pitching considered the surplus. Billy Beane might be able to snag one good prospect for Rich Harden.
- There’s some doubt as to whether the Rockies will make Matt Holliday this year’s Mark Teixeira as we approach the deadline.
- Teams other than the Royals are speculating that center fielder David DeJesus might be available.
- The Marlins and Hanley Ramirez battled over a no-trade clause…and the Fish won. He has none.
Towers Angry, May Make Changes
Padres GM Kevin Towers got angry last night, pointing out his team’s many flaws. He suggested that wholesale changes may be on the way. Minor leaguers would be called up as a group; he doesn’t want Chase Headley to feel too much pressure. The Jake Peavy injury might be the nail in the coffin, though at least Peavy’s ulnar collateral ligament is said to be intact.
Which players would be part of a veteran purge?
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Braun, Holliday, Kouzmanoff, Greene, Sabean
Let’s take a look at what is being said about some recent rumors, trades and signings in the Blogosphere…
- Right Field Bleachers sees the signing of Ryan Braun and Corey Hart to long-term deals as a "must" for the Brewers.
- Brewers Nation sees the Braun deal as evidence that Prince Fielder will not sign an extension even if the two situations are very different.
- Oleanders and Morning Glories thinks that if Nats’ management was hoping to sign Ryan Zimmerman to a Troy Tulowitzki-type deal, Braun’s deal may have raised the bar.
- Squawking Baseball sees the recent trend in giving long-term deals to young stars and wonders if the absence of top-level free agents in a few years will drive up free agency prices. If that happens, players may stop signing these extensions and the market will correct itself…The point is valid, but these players will still become free agents eventually. The difference is only that they will be free agents in their age 30 season (approximately) instead of their age 28 season. If there is a correction, it will only be minimal and would only last a year or two.
- The Tribe Time Report explains why Matt Holliday would be a perfect fit for the Indians even if it is only for a season and a half.
- Friar Forum does not seem surprised about the notion of the Padres selling off pieces sooner, rather than later. However, they would be surprised to see Kevin Kouzmanoff moved, noting that it is much more likely that the slew of free agents-to-be will be shipped to other clubs.
- The Southpaw would love to see the Jays make a push for Khalil Greene, but their scenario is contingent on the Padres also dealing Kouzmanoff.
- Sorry we missed this before, but in light of Brian Sabean’s recent comments, I felt it was worth noting that Bucs Dugout has been running a series of polls to determine the worst GM in baseball. The finals featured Sabean easily out-distancing his opponent, Ed Wade of the Astros.
Cork Gaines writes for Rays Index and can be reached here.
Khalil Greene A Possibility For Jays?
Call it informed speculation, but Jeff Blair wonders if the Jays will make a run at Padres shortstop Khalil Greene. Blair points out that J.P. Ricciardi just missed drafting Greene in 2002.
Greene, 28, is off to a slow start this year (.208/.253/.318 in 170 plate appearances). He won’t get on base, but the power is legit. Greene makes $6.5MM in ’09 before free agent eligibility.
The problem is that the Padres likely hope to be competitive next year, and they don’t have any kind of replacement for Greene waiting in the wings. There are decent young shortstops without starting jobs, guys like Chin-lung Hu and Ronny Cedeno. But why would a team swap a cheap near big-league ready shortstop for Greene? Maybe the Padres will seek such a player in a separate deal and then move Greene. Or, Kevin Towers could sign one of the many free agent shortstops this winter.
Cubs Sign Edmonds
The Chicago Cubs have signed Jim Edmonds to a contract for the remainder of the ’08 season. Edmonds, who was released by the Padres last Friday, will make about $284K, the prorated league minimum.
To make room on the roster, the Cubs demoted Felix Pie to AAA. Pie was hitting .222/.286/.286.
This is a move that costs the Cubs nothing and could end up with big rewards. Since Pie had minor league options, the Cubs did not have to give up a player in the hopes that Edmonds can turn his season around. Edmonds was hitting .178/.265/.233 at the time of his release, but posted .252/.325/.403 last season for the Cardinals. That marked his first season with an OBP below .350 since he was a member of the Angels in ’99.
Cork Gaines writes for Rays Index and can be reached here.
Cubs Sign Edmonds
5:33pm: He’s a Cub, pending a physical.
3:38pm: Sounds like Edmonds will become a Cub after tonight’s game and may debut tomorrow.
WEDNESDAY, 11:11am: Edmonds has moved from appearing poised to "about to" sign with the Cubs. Cubs fans don’t seem to like the move, but it doesn’t seem like anything to get worked up about.
TUESDAY: Gordon Wittenmeyer of the Chicago Sun-Times says the Cubs "appear poised to sign Edmonds after he clears waivers Wednesday."
MONDAY: According to Dave van Dyck of the Chicago Tribune, the Cubs are "exploring the possibility" of signing center fielder Jim Edmonds. This was first reported by Bruce Levine of ESPN Radio 1000 yesterday evening.
Edmonds, 37, was let go after hitting .178/.265/.233 in 103 plate appearances. It’s hard to say whether Edmonds has anything left. He did hit relatively well in the last two months of 2007. Van Dyck says Edmonds would replace Felix Pie on the Cubs’ roster.
Maddux-Braves Speculation
It’s pure speculation at this point, but MLB.com Braves beat writer Mark Bowman believes the Braves could bring Greg Maddux back for another tour. Braves fans seem to like the idea, based on chat questions I received yesterday.
The Braves’ rotation of Tim Hudson, Jair Jurrjens, Tom Glavine, Jo-Jo Reyes, and Chuck James/Jeff Bennett could seemingly use an innings eater. Maddux is usually good for six decent innings, and he’s healthy at 42. He makes $10MM this year and has no-trade protection. The Padres probably wouldn’t demand any of the Braves’ top five prospects. A Maddux-Smoltz-Glavine reunion seems entirely possible to me.
Odds and Ends: Millwood, Posey, Igawa
Here’s the latest link collection.
- Former Dodgers GM Paul DePodesta is now blogging for the public. He currently works for the Padres as Special Assistant for Baseball Operations.
- In his words, Kevin Millwood felt a stabbing pain even though he hadn’t been stabbed. He’s on the shelf with a groin injury, taking him off the trade market temporarily.
- Rays Index had some quality draft links yesterday about the Rays and their #1 pick. Jim Callis of Baseball America says catcher Buster Posey is "the current favorite."
- Joel Sherman wonders what might’ve been if the Yankees had signed Ted Lilly instead of Kei Igawa.
- Ken Davidoff reminds us of the Padres’ past claim on Igawa, and also notes Boston’s interest.
- Giants owner Peter Magowan may move on.
- This email exchange between Dan Graziano of the Newark Star-Ledger and Carlos Delgado‘s agent David Sloane is entertaining.
- Here’s a valuable free agent to consider: Leo Mazzone.
Red Sox Send Corey To Padres
This morning, Tom Krasovic noted that the Padres were close to acquiring a relief pitcher. That deal has now been finalized with the Pads obtaining Bryan Corey from the Red Sox for either cash or a player to be named later.
Corey, a right-hander who made seven appearances for the Sox this season, was DFA’d on April 30. He cleared waivers and accepted a demotion to AAA.
This is Corey’s second stint in the Padres organization. Corey, 34, has appeared in parts of five seasons with four different major league teams.
Cork Gaines writes for Rays Index and can be reached here.