Odds & Ends: Padres, Maddux, Anthony Reyes
A few Odds & Ends with a San Diego focus:
- Tom Krasovic of the Union Tribune notes that the Padres are close to completing a trade for a reliever with "good stuff" according to Kevin Towers. It does not say who it is, but it should be someone better than LHPs Joe Thatcher, who would be sent down, and Glendon Rusch, who was just outrighted yesterday. Rusch has 3 days to accept his assignment. He most likely will as he signed a minor league deal after missing all of ’07. Stay tuned to see who the Padres acquire. Any guesses?
- "If [Anthony] Reyes enjoys success as a major-league pitcher, it will likely occur elsewhere," writes Joe Stauss of the St. Louis Dispatch. This is old news – two years old actually, if you go back to a March ’06 MLBTR post. We’re just waiting for Cards GM John Mozeliak to lower his price…
- Tim Sullivan brings us a quote from Jake Peavy, "He can help somebody. It sucks that this is probably the last year of his career and he’s got to sit here and be a part of this and have (this be) the last thing he remembers in baseball — if this thing doesn’t turn." Sullivan seems to think he could net a couple prospects in a trade, which seems reasonable. Maddux can certainly reel in some ticket sales, if nothing else – I would love to watch the Professor cap off his legend with my team.
By Nat Boyle
Odds And Ends: Neshek, Gallardo, Casanova, Henn, Haynes
Couple of injuries, couple of designations, and a waiver claim.
- Twins reliever Pat Neshek has an acute partial tear of the UCL. Yes, that’s the Tommy John ligament. He won’t throw for at least three months, so his season is essentially over. There’s no word on whether he’ll undergo surgery. I remember hearing over the winter that Neshek was having elbow problems.
- Not that we didn’t pretty much know this already, but Yovani Gallardo has confirmed that he’ll have surgery on his torn ACL. My fantasy team weeps.
- With Ramon Castro coming off the DL, the Mets have DFA Raul Casanova. The best bet is that he’ll clear waivers and head to AAA.
- The Padres have claimed LHP Sean Henn off waivers. He was DFA by the Yankees last week. He was once a highly touted prospect, reportedly hitting 100 on the gun (though I think those reports were exaggerated).
- With the return of Cliff Floyd from the DL, the Rays have no room for OF Nathan Haynes, and have designated him for assignment.
Posted by Joe Pawlikowski.
Edmonds Released By Padres
FRIDAY: The speculation was accurate; Edmonds will be released today.
THURSDAY: Tim Sullivan of the San Diego Union-Tribune reads between the lines and believes Jim Edmonds‘ time is up with the Padres. The 37 year-old center fielder is hitting just .180/.267/.236 in 102 plate appearances. His defense isn’t passing muster, either.
Sullivan figures Edmonds will be released soon, or perhaps the Padres will buy him some time with a DL stint. They’d have to swallow $4.75MM to sever ties. Cutting veteran dead weight seems in vogue this year.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Wells, Griffey, Olney, Tavarez, Edmonds
A lot of links today, so let’s get to what is being said about some trade and signing possibilities in the Blogosphere…
- The Darth Boss George Brigade wants Hank Steinbrenner to sign David Wells to prove that Hank is indeed his father’s son.
- River Ave. Blues says the Yankees are too smart to sign Wells and then goes on to list about 87 pitchers that should be given a shot in the Highlanders’ rotation before Wells.
- Redlegs Rant feels that Ken Griffey Jr. is behind the recent stories that speculate on him being traded.
- Mariners Central speculates on some of the names that it might take to land Ken Griffey Jr., noting that the M’s are not likely to part with either of their top two prospects, Wladimir Balentien and Jeff Clement.
- The Tribe Time Report sees plenty of holes in Buster Olney’s recent theory that Garret Atkins would be a good fit for the Indians.
- Brewers Nation agrees with Olney that the Brewers should trade Ben Sheets.
- Sox & Pinstripes doesn’t want to just give away Julian Tavarez but they also note that the bullpen needs help and Tavarez isn’t the answer.
- Batter’s Box says Brad Wilkerson should fit in well with the rest of the Jays lineup, which also lacks the ability to hit for average or power.
- One writer at Fanhouse doesn’t understand why Kevin Towers is so disappointed in the play of Jim Edmonds. They feel it was pretty obvious that the Pads were getting a player well past his prime.
Cork Gaines writes for Rays Index and can be reached here.
Pie-Greene Rumor Denied
MAY 7th: Bruce Miles of the Daily Herald discussed the Pie-Greene rumor with Cubs officials, and it was "emphatically shot down."
APRIL 30th: Yesterday Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune wrote of Kevin Towers’ pursuit of a long-term center field option. Jim Edmonds remains a question mark, and his contract is up after ’08 anyway.
Krasovic says the Cubs "have kept tabs" on shortstop Khalil Greene, while the Padres are still eyeing Felix Pie. The Cubs’ win-now approach could lead to that move, as Reed Johnson is doing fine in center field so far. Greene is signed through the ’09 season. Trading Greene would leave a gaping hole at the position for the Padres though. Another point is that the Cubs have gotten fine production at shortstop so far this year.
Krasovic notes past center field considerations for the Padres such as Jeremy Reed and Tony Gwynn Jr. Reed doesn’t seem to have a future in Seattle. As for Coco Crisp, Towers balked at Theo Epstein’s asking price of Chase Headley.
Padres, Marlins Interested In Jacque Jones
According to Joe Frisaro of MLB.com, the Marlins and Padres have inquired on recently designated outfielder Jacque Jones. The Tigers, on the hook for $3MM of Jones’ salary this year, would obviously prefer a trade.
Many Padres are not hitting, including outfielders Jim Edmonds and Scott Hairston. Jones might not hit for much power anymore, but he can play a quality center field.
The Fish nearly acquired Jones last summer. They haven’t gotten much out of Alfredo Amezaga and Cody Ross in center, and left fielder Josh Willingham is on the DL with a sore lower back. The Marlins are just a game back in the NL East.
Rockies Sign Juan Castro
FRIDAY: The Rockies win the Castro sweepstakes. Ken Rosenthal notes in a sidebar that the silver lining to the Tulo injury could be Barmes getting a chance to build up trade value. Rosenthal doesn’t see the Rox pursuing Brian Roberts for second base help unless they battle their way into contention first.
THURSDAY: Tony Jackson of the L.A. Daily News has been all over the Juan Castro situation. The 35 year-old shortstop became a free agent today, and four clubs are in pursuit. The Dodgers, Padres, Orioles, and Rockies are all after him. Jackson says the Dodgers and Rockies would want him to do a brief Triple A stint. Troy E. Renck confirms Colorado’s interest.
The Rockies received devastating news today – star shortstop Troy Tulowitzki could be out until July with a torn tendon in his quad. Clint Barmes will assume the starting shortstop position.
Considering A Padres Fire Sale
The Padres are 8.5 games out, and it’s only April 28th. It’s not a good place to be. Obviously they aren’t throwing in the towel yet, but if they have a similarly ugly May a fire sale could be in order. Let’s speculate on some trade possibilities.
- Greg Maddux. The Padres’ highest paid player at $10MM, Mad Dog is calling his own shots at this point. I imagine he’d prefer to stay put.
- Brian Giles. The team’s leadoff hitter still knows how to draw a walk. He doesn’t hit lefties much but his overall numbers would look a lot better away from Petco. He earns $9MM this year and has a $3MM buyout for ’09. He can block trades to eight teams and gets a $2MM increase if dealt.
- Jim Edmonds. He’d have to shake off the slow start and remain healthy. Makes $8MM with no-trade protection; the Cards are paying $2MM of his salary.
- Trevor Hoffman. Even if Hoffman loses the closer gig a trade seems unlikely.
- Randy Wolf. He might be one of the Padres’ more tradeable commodities. He’s signed reasonably and just needs to remain healthy. Everyone needs pitching.
- Khalil Greene. Greene gets $4.5MM this year and $6.5MM in ’09. Trading him only makes sense if a good young shortstop comes back.
- Others: Tadahito Iguchi, Tony Clark, Glendon Rusch, Michael Barrett (if healthy).
Rosenthal’s Latest: Crede, Lofton, Millwood, Dunn
Ken Rosenthal has a new Full Count video up; let’s discuss.
- Despite his .268/.330/.537 start, the White Sox would still entertain trading Joe Crede if it’d help the big league team. This is a change from their apparent springtime willingness to deal him for prospects. The most likely desire would be pitching, if the Sox can find a suitor.
- Jake Peavy put on his GM hat, suggesting the Padres sign Kenny Lofton. Rosenthal likes the idea, but notes that Kevin Towers will first turn to his farm system. I discussed some future trade candidates for San Diego in my latest video mailbag.
- Rosenthal suggests Kevin Millwood‘s contract will be an obstacle in trading him. He earns $8.5MM this year, $11MM in ’09, and a fairly achievable $12MM vesting option for ’10. Plus there’s a limited no-trade clause.
- Walt Jocketty’s biggest test this year might be deciding whether to trade Ken Griffey Jr. and/or Adam Dunn. They both have no-trade clauses to deal with; even after June 15th Dunn’s includes most high-revenue teams.
Olney’s Latest: Nady, Delgado, Clement, Lofton
Buster Olney has some thoughts. Let’s have a looksee.
- He thinks that Xavier Nady could fit with the Mets or the Indians, but notes that the Pirates are sitting tight for now, hoping to compete this year. They’ll be singing a different tune in July.
- Olney goes on to speculate that the Mets could release Carlos Delgado if he continues his weak hitting. Nady would seem a decent replacement, though he hasn’t played first since 2006. Scott Hatteberg could be another option.
- In what he calls "pure speculation," Olney suggests that the Mariners trade Jeff Clement to the Red Sox for Coco Crisp and some pitching. It’s a rather vague trade idea, and I’d think that the Mariners could fetch a lot more than Crisp if they opted to trade Clement, who is having his way with AAA pitching.
- It appears Jake Peavy wants the Padres to sign Kenny Lofton. With the way Jim Edmonds and Scott Hairston are hitting, I can’t blame him.
Posted by Joe Pawlikowski.