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Padres, Dodgers Remain Interested In Dye

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Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times has a couple of trade rumors for us this morning.

  • Shaikin reiterates Ken Rosenthal’s scoop that the Padres and Dodgers have interest in White Sox slugger Jermaine Dye.  Shaikin believes the "we won’t trade for prospects" edict from Kenny Williams could be stretched if Jonathan Broxton or Chad Billingsley were made available.    Those guys may have graduated from prospectdom anyway.  Ned Colletti is definitely working the phones for a slugger. 
  • Scott Linebrink is named as an available Padre, but I would not expect Kenny Williams to go for that.  Throw in Clay Hensley or Chase Headley and maybe we have something.
  • Shaikin also mentions that the Tigers have interest in Rangers closer Eric Gagne.  Yes, I understand that most contending teams with bullpen issues will at least show a passing interest in him.  Shaikin seems to indicate that Gagne’s "no-trade protection" is full and would give him leverage to change his current incentive-based contract.

Colletti Talks To Ichiro’s Agent

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Word via the San Diego Union-Tribune yesterday was that Dodgers GM Ned Colletti spent an hour talking to Tony Attanasio, the agent for impending free agent Ichiro Suzuki.  Attanasio also represents Giants manager Bruce Bochy. 

The Dodgers won’t have an opening in center field next year given the Juan Pierre contract.  But Ichiro, of course, can play a fine right field.  It wouldn’t be hard to replace Andre Ethier’s .711 OPS, though it would lock the Dodgers into two powerless players in their outfield.

Several NL West teams may go toe-to-toe for Ichiro, including the Dodgers, Padres, and Giants.  All could make room for him.  Still, it seems a long shot that Colletti and Attanasio were discussing Ichiro.  That seems like tampering.  Attanasio has, in the past, suggested that the Mariners trade Ichiro this summer if they don’t plan on signing him.  We’ll be keeping a close eye on this situation in the coming months.

   

Rosenthal’s Latest

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Time for another Rosenthal column!  Some of this is just a writeup from his recent video; here’s the new stuff.

  • A little elaboration on the Adam Dunn to San Diego idea – Rosenthal throws Clay Hensley’s name into the mix.  Hensley has had a rough couple of months, with a nasty blister, a groin strain, and some awful starts.  His 54% groundball rate would be a nice fit in Chicago or Cincinnati.  Another player I could see catching Wayne Krivsky’s eye is Cla Meredith.
  • The Cubs continue to shop Jacque Jones, hoping to slide Felix Pie in every day.  Pie is ready for the show, but the Cubs would like something to show for Jones.  He is earning $4MM this year and $5MM in ’08.  It looked like a bargain after Jones hit .285/.334/.499 last year, but he’s tanked in the Cubs’ crowded outfield.  He could fit well with the Padres, a team that doesn’t hit lefties or righties.  Jones normally just struggles with lefties.  Jacque was born in San Diego, too.  Kevin Towers and Jim Hendry matched up for a couple of smaller deals last summer with Todd Walker and Scott Williamson.
  • Mike Lowell may leave Boston after this season as a free agent.  He’s easily the best affordable 3B on the market.  Perhaps the Yankees want him back.  Other possibilities include the Dodgers, Giants, Angels, Phillies, and Astros according to Rosenthal.  Hard to believe Lowell is so popular and successful after he was a throw-in forced upon the Red Sox in the Josh Beckett deal.
  • Eric Byrnes is probably headed out of Arizona, and he’d be a valuable center field addition who won’t break the bank.  He’ll be 32 in ’08, and on a reasonable three-year deal could be a better value than Ichiro, Torii, or Andruw.  Wouldn’t be surprised to see the White Sox get involved.

Rosenthal’s Latest Video

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Ken Rosenthal reeled off a slew of sweet trade rumors in a couple of videos today, which you can watch at FOXSports.  Let’s discuss.

  • Rosenthal says the Cubs won’t trade Carlos Zambrano unless they fall out of contention or the big righty requests a trade.  Rosenthal finds neither scenario likely.  He says Zambrano still has a good relationship with Jim Hendry, and the Cubs still intend to sign him.  The contract remains on hold.  Interesting, but not surprising to see that the Cubs are still veering towards this mistake after what we’ve seen this year.
  • Lots of good Jermaine Dye stuff from Rosenthal.  About ten days ago, the White Sox kicked around the idea of sending Dye to the Yankees for Bobby Abreu.  The Yanks covet Dye’s right-handed power, and Ozzie loves Abreu, his countryman.  Rosenthal says the White Sox like the option of keeping Abreu for $16MM in ’08 if they so choose.  That option comes with a $2MM buyout attached.  The Dye/Abreu swap may be on hold because Dye is finally showing some signs of life.  I have to be honest – I don’t understand the timeline here.  If the Sox were considering this ten days ago, nothing Dye has done since should have changed their thinking.
  • Other suitors for Dye: the Padres or Dodgers.  The two NL West competitors rank 10th and 12th in the league in slugging, respectively.  No doubt the Dodgers have the goods, but what reasonable trade could the Padres work out?  Kenny Williams and Kevin Towers have matched up twice before, but on minor trades involving guys like D’Angelo Jimenez and Geoff Blum.
  • Rosenthal says the Padres are also eyeing Adam Dunn, for whom their pitchers’ ballpark would present less of an obstacle.  Two hitches: Dunn can become a free agent after this season if he’s traded, and the Reds will ask for a lot.  The Padres’ best pitching prospect, Cesar Carrillo, recently had Tommy John surgery.  Their best hitting prospect, Cedric Hunter, is trying to figure out Low A ball.  Third baseman Chase Headley is hitting well in Double A, and I’m sure plenty of teams would like to have him.  Headley is somewhat blocked by Kevin Kouzmanoff.  Honestly, though, the Padres don’t have much in the minors to trade.  At the Major League level, they might be able to part with Cla Meredith and get a decent hitter in return. 

Runelvys and Bocachica

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More little transactions: Runelvys Hernandez, pitching for the Pawtucket Red Sox, is taking the out clause in his contract that allows him to move on if not on the MLB roster on June 1st.  There might not be a spot waiting for him with his former team, the Royals, but he’d fit right in with the Nationals right now.

And, it’s a good thing the A’s got Dee Brown, because they lost Hiram Bocachica on waivers to the Padres.  I don’t think Bocachica is going to do for the Pads what Jack Cust has done for the A’s, but then again, it would be really entertaining if he did.

By Jeff Sackmann
Brew Crew Ball

Wily Mo Pena And The Padres?

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Buster Olney had an intriguing thought in his blog yesterday.  The Padres’ bullpen is a source of strength, but they’ve got a lefty-heavy lineup and are tenth in the league in slugging.  How about Wily Mo Pena to the Padres for a top shelf reliever, maybe Scott Linebrink? 

I know what you’re thinking – the Red Sox have the best relief ERA in the league.  OK, maybe you weren’t thinking that.  I had to look it up.  But Boston’s relief success has been reliant on two players – Jonathan Papelbon and Hideki Okajima.  Are the Sox confident that this pair will remain healthy and effective all year? 

Wily Mo is an unfortunate story.  The 25 year-old has prodigious power and should be entering the prime of his career, but his development has been trifled with.  He essentially skipped Triple A, and now the Red Sox can barely find at-bats for him.  Pena’s comparables list is littered with names like Frank Howard, Matt Holliday, Dale Murphy, Jay Buhner, Jesse Barfield, and Richie Sexson.  Pena is a 40 homer season waiting to happen.  He won’t find an opportunity in Boston unless Manny Ramirez is traded.

Padres Need A Bat

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The Padres are currently 13th in the NL in OBP and 10th in slugging.  They could really use a hitter – Mike Cameron and Kevin Kouzmanoff have been offensive black holes, Brian Giles has less power than his brother, Khalil Greene never gets on base, and Josh Bard batted cleanup a few days ago.

Phil Nevin’s agent and apparently a San Diego radio station have been campaigning for the Padres to sign the free agent.  I think his supporters are more focused on the 22 homers than the fairly meager .438 SLG or the fact that Nevin can’t play defense.  Tim Sullivan of the San Diego Union-Tribune throws out three other possible upgrades at third base: Troy Glaus, Hank Blalock, and Ryan Zimmerman.

Blalock seems to be bouncing back so far; he’s at .292/.346/.467.  Kevin Towers and Jon Daniels have hooked up for two deals – one the infamous Adam Eaton trade, and the other a minor one that sent Freddy Guzman to Texas. 

We discussed Glaus yesterday – he would have to have a desire to come to San Diego.  Some scouts from other teams have been spotted at recent Blue Jays games, but the Padres were not among them.  As for Zimmerman, I would imagine the Nationals want to build around him.

We went through a Kevin Towers analysis last year, when the Padres were more clearly in need of a third baseman.  We learned that Towers has strong connections with Bill Bavasi and also the Red Sox.  That could make Adrian Beltre and Mike Lowell legitimate candidates.  Lowell is in his walk year and has slugged a surprising .549 so far.

 

Mets Sign Brian Lawrence

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UPDATE: Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post spoke to Lawrence’s agent, and he’s signed with the Mets.  Omar is just stockpiling arms.

Is it just me, or has there been a ton of interest in Brian Lawrence, dating back to this offseason?  He was admittedly a decent innings eater for the Padres for four years, but he missed all of ’06 and couldn’t crack the Rockies’ rotation.

Nonetheless, the Tigers have offered Lawrence a Triple A contract.  I suppose there’s nothing to lose here except a million bucks or so.  The Tigers have received excellent work from their front three starters, but are rightfully concerned about Chad Durbin and Mike Maroth eating up 40% of the starts until Kenny Rogers returns.

UPDATE: The Detroit Free Press says Lawrence likely won’t sign with the Tigesrs.

The Baltimore Sun says Lawrence’s name has come up within the Orioles’ front office; they’re currently running with both Jeremy Guthrie and Brian Burres in the rotation.  That was not the plan.  Lawrence might not be any better than those two, but it makes sense to stockpile some arms when Steve Trachsel is your third starter.

UPDATE: According to the Washington Post, the O’s contacted Lawrence’s agent on Saturday. 

Also, the Denver Post lists the Padres, Mets, and Mariners as other possible suitors.  Perhaps we can add the Cardinals to that list in the wake of the news about Chris Carpenter’s surgery.

Three Teams Interested In Lawrence

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Brian Lawrence couldn’t crack Colorado’s rotation, so the 31 year-old soft-tosser is now a free agent.  Since teams aren’t willing to give up much on May 2nd, Lawrence has multiple suitors.  The Denver Post reports that the Orioles, Tigers, and Padres have interest.

Tim Brown reported yesterday that Detroit is on the prowl for pitching, and the loss of Jaret Wright created a vacancy for the O’s.  Most likely, though, Lawrence returns to the Padres and tries to re-establish himself at Triple A.  He had flirted with San Diego in the offseason before David Wells signed. Boomer has not fared well in the early going.  Nor has Clay Hensley, but both have earned another month to set things right based on past results.

The Padres may feel an extra need for pitching depth if top pitching prospect Cesar Carrillo needs elbow surgery.  A healthy Carrillo likely would’ve been better than Hensley, Wells, or Lawrence (PECOTA called for a 4.63 ERA; ZiPS said 4.21).

Linebrink Long Shot For Phillies

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What’s the deal with Scott Linebrink?  Is he in line for a contract extension, or is he a top trading chip for the Padres?  MLBTradeRumors helps you sort it out.  A history of rumormongering:

  • 7/31/06: Gordon Edes writes of a three team deal where the Red Sox would’ve gotten Linebrink and Julio Lugo while giving up Mike Lowell and prospects.  This was a wild day though…even Alfonso Soriano to Boston surfaced at one point.
  • 1/26/07:  Buster Olney first brings up the possible Aaron Rowand for Linebrink deal.
  • 2/24/07: Tom Krasovic mentions past and present interested parties in the Phillies, Red Sox, and Mets.  He quotes Kevin Towers, who indicated that since a trade hadn’t happened yet it probably wouldn’t.
  • 4/21/07: Ken Rosenthal says the contract extension talks are on hold, as the Padres may consider Liney their best trading chip.
  • 4/23/07: Rosenthal says the Phils and Padres may revisit the Rowand/Linebrink idea, and that Linebrink is probably available.
  • 4/25/07: Todd Zolecki calls a Linebrink trade "remote at best," as he expects a contract extension.

The Padres are currently 6th of 16 in OBP (.335) and 6th in slugging (.420).  Their left field platoon has resulted in a .257/.402/.471 line so far in 70 ABs, with Jose Cruz Jr. providing the power.  San Diego’s pen has been nasty (1.98 ERA) while their starting rotation has fallen short of expectations early on (4.85 ERA).  Clay Hensley and David Wells have been knocked around.

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