Giles Released, Snelling Claimed
Some odds and ends to catch us up in the minor-moves department:
- ESPN reports Marcus Giles was released by the Padres after an abysmal .229/.304/.317 in 420 at-bats. They declined his $4MM club option and bought out his contract for $500,000. He joins the 2B free agent market on the lower end of the talent spectrum.
- The Mercury News notes Oakland OF Chris Snelling was claimed off waivers by Tampa Bay.
Posted by Nat Boyle
Red Sox Rumors
The Boston Globe’s Gordon Edes has some mild hot stove chatter today.
- Tim Wakefield‘s $4MM option is likely to be exercised. There was some speculation a week ago that it could be declined, but no one really believed it. It’s still a bargain.
- Julian Tavarez‘s $3.85MM option is a borderline call, and Edes seems to think it will be declined.
- Nothing new with Mike Lowell – he wants to return, but the door’s open for the Phillies or Yankees if the Red Sox won’t pony up enough years.
- Most folks expect Curt Schilling to leave. But if he’s still up for one year and $13MM the Sox should do it.
- Mike Timlin will pitch again but it might be elsewhere. Timlin hasn’t been with another club since ’02, when he pitched for the Cardinals and Phillies.
- Matt Clement will depart. If his tryouts and MRIs come up clean and he can hit 90 mph there will definitely be teams offering him incentivized contracts. Here’s one I missed from a few weeks ago: the Padres may make a play for him. Tom Krasovic also throws Mark Prior into the mix for the Friars in that article. Back in December of ’04, Clement talked with the Angels, Dodgers, Diamondbacks, White Sox, Indians, and Blue Jays before signing with Boston.
Padres To Push For Fukudome?
One National League exec has indicated to a source of mine that the Padres plan to go hard for Kosuke Fukudome. Apparently, Kevin Towers nearly signed him out of high school as a shortstop.
We’ve heard Fukudome mentioned mainly as a right fielder, but the Friars have Brian Giles signed through 2008. Perhaps they’d try him in center field for one year, where he’d probably be adequate at best. Fukudome is currently recovering from endoscopic elbow surgery, but he should be ready for spring.
Previously we’ve seen the White Sox, Giants, Red Sox, Cubs, and Yankees linked to Fukudome at varying levels of speculation.
Padres Acquire Jason Lane
Ed Wade’s first move as Astros GM was something of a favor to his former boss, Kevin Towers. He dealt 30 year-old outfielder Jason Lane to the Padres for a player to be named later or cash considerations. MLB.com’s Alyson Footer expects the Astros to take the cash.
Lane was featured in our non-tender candidate list written back in August. He has a bit more than three years of service time and makes $1.05MM this year. I believe he’ll reach arbitration for the first time this winter.
The Padres apparently want Lane for more than just this week (he won’t be eligible for the postseason should they make it). Towers says Lane will be in the mix with Scott Hairston and Brian Giles for next year’s outfield. They might use Lane in center field.
So far Lane has a .241/.315/.458 line in about 1200 big league at-bats. The average NL center fielder is hitting .273/.336/.427 this year. If Lane can play to his career averages and not embarrass himself defensively the Padres might have something here. He has some interesting comparables in his list, including Jermaine Dye and Eric Byrnes on the optimistic end. This is a typical Towers stathead-type move. There’s really no downside to it.
More On Bonds
All the sportswriters have had a chance to weigh in on possible destinations for Barry Bonds in 2008. Here’s a summary.
- Nate Silver of Baseball Prospectus seems the Padres and A’s as the top two possibilities.
- Fielding guru John Dewan rates Bonds’ defense ahead of Manny Ramirez, Adam Dunn, Josh Willingham, and Pat Burrell this year. He’s still bad, but maybe we shouldn’t rule out the NL after all.
- Bruce Jenkins says there’s no market but seems to consider Seattle a possibility. Interesting note: Jenkins also mentions that Bonds cleared waivers in August.
- Jack Curry of the New York Times likes the Angels, A’s, and Rangers.
- Before we start penciling Bonds into the Oakland lineup, Susan Slusser reminds us that Jack Cust is effective and cheap as the team’s DH.
- Rangers manager Ron Washington says he would’ve liked having Bonds on his team this year. However, he sees the A’s as the favorite.
- Kevin Kernan of the New York Post thinks this puts the Giants in the A-Rod sweepstakes. Would Rodriguez want to join a team that is basically rebuilding?
Padres Like Josh Towers
Throw 30 year-old starter Josh Towers into a big ol’ ballpark in the National League, and he could be a very useful back-rotation guy. The Jays already saw this happen with Dave Bush. With a 3.6 K/BB and a home run problem, Towers is definitely San Diego’s type.
Turns out that Padres GM Kevin Towers pursued Josh Towers this summer but wouldn’t part with Nick Hundley, Will Venable, or David Freese. The Jays can either go to arbitration with Towers this winter or nontender him. Even if arbitration would result in a salary around $4MM, it might make sense to sign and then trade him.
You can view my complete list of non-tender candidates here.
Another tidbit: the same San Diego Union-Tribune column linked above mentions that the Padres asked for Tony Gwynn Jr. from the Brewers during the Scott Linebrink discussions.
Dodgers, Rockies Interested In David Wells
Who wants seven starts from David Wells? Apparently the Rockies and Dodgers do, as both teams have already inquired. Wells is now a free agent.
I say seven starts because Boomer still has a seven-game suspension to serve. We knew from this morning’s Denver Post that the Rockies were considering Wells, though that article cited only "internal discussions." Well it’s external now, baby. The Dodgers were also under heavy speculation with the whole West Coast thing, and now they’re officially in the game.
Rockies Rotation In Shambles
The Rockies are five games out in the NL West and two out in the Wild Card. Baseball Prospectus sets their playoff odds at a healthy 22-27%. Their main strength has been team OBP (second best in the league). The Rockies’ offense has dominated at Coors Field. They’ve also had some fine relief work from Manny Corpas, Jeremy Affeldt, and even Jorge Julio.
But to have a legitimate shot, the Rockies need to sort out their starting rotation. According to Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post, injuries to Jason Hirsh, Rodrigo Lopez, and Aaron Cook have decimated the starting staff. The current five consists of Jeff Francis, Josh Fogg, Ubaldo Jimenez, Elmer Dessens, and maybe rookie Franklin Morales. Recently-acquired Ramon Ortiz will stay in the pen for now. There doesn’t seem to be talk of using Taylor Buchholz in the rotation again.
While Jimenez was dominant yesterday against the Padres, control figures to remain a problem for him. Same deal with Morales. Cook should only miss three starts, and the Rockies desperately need him back. Lopez is out for the season and Hirsh’s contribution will be minimal. Fogg and Dessens are mostly just filler.
Since it’s August, the only real trade possibility is to acquire more filler. Renck specifically mentions Steve Trachsel and David Wells as pitchers on the radar. We’ve also seen the Rox linked to Josh Towers. Trachsel and Towers have already cleared waivers, and Wells probably will soon. As always, good starting pitching is hard to find.
A Possible 2008 White Sox Roster
Nathaniel Whalen of the Daily Southtown speculates on a possible 2008 White Sox roster. His scenario sends Jon Garland and Brian Anderson to San Diego for Khalil Greene, Heath Bell, and a pitching prospect. Not sure who the Padres would use at shortstop, then.
Whalen’s scenario also has the White Sox signing Aaron Rowand. Most folks around Chicago expect Kenny Williams to make a run at him, especially if it’s for Eric Byrnes bucks. But that leaves Ryan Sweeney and Jerry Owens as the corner outfielders. Neither fits the profile of a corner outfielder, and I’m not sure the Sox can sacrifice the offense as Thome, Konerko, and Pierzynski all get a year older. Whalen’s picture also includes Darin Erstad on the roster, which could quickly lead to Erstad as a regular again. Yikes.
Baseball Prospectus’s Nate Silver also came up with a plan for the ’08 Sox back on June 14th. His lineup involves free agent signings of Luis Castillo and Kosuke Fukudome, with Ryan Sweeney handling center and Josh Fields in left. He proposed the Sox swap Mark Buehrle for shorstop Brent Lillibridge of the Braves, but that was prior to Buehrle’s extension. He also thought Kenny Williams could swap Jermaine Dye for someone as useful as Chad Billingsley, which was wishful thinking even in June.
What do you think? Williams could go in many different directions, but one way or another he needs to come up with a shortstop and at least one decent veteran outfielder.
Yanks, Padres Fail To Reach Igawa Deal
Disappointing lefty Kei Igawa will not be traded this season. According to ESPN’s Buster Olney, the Yankees chose not to dump Igawa’s contract on the Padres, and the two sides couldn’t reach an agreement via trade. The Padres had won the claim on Igawa, which shows just how little interest there was around baseball.
As I mentioned a couple days ago, the Yankees don’t really have an opening for Igawa in 2008 if all goes according to plan. Many teams have shown past interest in Igawa, including the Orioles, Mariners, Padres, D’Backs, Dodgers, Mets, Cubs, Braves, Tigers, and Indians. Igawa had expressed a desire to pitch on the West Coast.