Sabean Defuses Martinez, Dye Rumors
Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News says Brian Sabean quelled rumors of the Giants interest in Jermaine Dye and Victor Martinez, referring to each as "pie in the sky." Last month it was rumored that the Giants were scouting both.
Baggarly quoted Sabean saying V-Mart would require "a (Madison) Bumgarner-plus type of blockbuster deal. And that's not going to happen because we're not going to trade Bumgarner."
Giants, Pirates Discussed Sanchez, LaRoche
From Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:
The Pirates and San Francisco have had trade talks regarding second baseman Freddy Sanchez and, to a lesser extent, first baseman Adam LaRoche, each of whom can be a free agent after this season. The Giants have had a scout following Sanchez, a source confirmed yesterday, and their interest in LaRoche goes back several months. Their preference at first base, though, is for a right-handed bat.
Sanchez sports a .316/.355/.477 line, a huge improvement on the .224/.280/.276 aggregate performance from Giants second basemen (primarily the demoted Emmanuel Burriss, though Juan Uribe has snagged recent starts). The Giants have a 1.5 game lead for the Wild Card, but their .705 team OPS ranks second-to-last in the NL. Sanchez's contractual situation will be a factor in the trade talks; an $8.5MM option for 2010 appears likely to vest. Charlie Manuel's All-Star selections will affect Sanchez's contract – if Sanchez makes the team the option vests with 600 plate appearances rather than 635. It figures to be between Sanchez and Zach Duke for the Bucs' representative.
Kovacevic adds that the Pirates have discussed Jack Wilson, John Grabow, and Matt Capps with teams, noting that those talks "vary in their intensity." In another article, Kovacevic digs deeper into the Grabow/Wilson/Sanchez situations. He believes the Pirates will seek shortstops and left-handed relievers in trades. I'm guessing the Pirates would find Jonathan Sanchez desirable (he's currently serving as the second lefty in the Giants' pen).
Edes’ Latest: Giants, Teahen, Relievers
Currently standing atop the National League wildcard standings, the Giants are looking for a lefthanded bat to add to their lineup according to Gordon Edes of Yahoo Sports. He cites a major league executive who says that San Francisco has focused their efforts on three first baseman: Nick Johnson, Aubrey Huff and Adam LaRoche. Edes also says that the Giants have spoken to the Padres about a potential Jonathan Sanchez–Scott Hairston swap.
Let's round up the rest of Edes' rumors…
- Royals GM Dayton Moore has heard from multiple teams about Mark Teahen, including the Red Sox, Cubs, Angels and Giants.
- The Braves "might be inclined to take a look at" Jose Guillen. The Royals would love to discuss Yunel Escobar.
- We've heard this before, but if Boston moves a reliever, it will most likely be Takashi Saito.
- Padres' closer Heath Bell may command the most attention amongst relievers.
- The Astros are likely to hold on to LaTroy Hawkins and Jose Valverde, barring a collapse before the trade deadline.
- The Blue Jays would love to move BJ Ryan, but are more likely to see interest in Jason Frasor and Scott Downs.
- Bronson Arroyo is back on the trade block.
Odds & Ends: Boras, Nationals, Bedard, White Sox, Giants, Astros
Some evening links for those of you who haven't checked out for the long holiday weekend yet.
- Billy Witz of the NY Times wrote about the relationship between the Dodgers and superagent Scott Boras.
- The Nationals have agreed to terms with five international players according to Bill Ladson. A formal announcement of the signings will come in a few days.
- Pete McElroy of MASNsports.com notes that the Nats have signed a pair of draft picks, including fourth rounder AJ Morris.
- Geoff Baker of The Seattle Times notes that Erik Bedard threw a 54-pitch simulated game today and will start on Tuesday. Teams will have just enough time to evaluate him before the trade deadline.
- Will Carroll tweets that the Giants and White Sox "want to make a deal quick." He later backs off a bit and says that the two teams won't necessarily made a trade with each other, but both are looking for good deals.
- Kiley McDaniel has a list of four international players the Astros have signed.
- Remember, you can get all your rumors instantly via MLBTR's Twitter feed.
Odds And Ends: Renteria, Lugo, Phillies
It's a busy day for international signings, but lots is going on at the major league level, so let's take a look:
- The Dodgers are looking for pitching, but how about Jason Schmidt? He pitched well at Triple A for the second time yesterday, according to MLB.com's Ken Gurnick.
- Newsday's Ken Davidoff creates a history of recent deadline deals.
- Edgar Renteria told Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle that he turned down two multi-year offers to sign with the Giants.
- Think it's too early to talk about Bryce Harper? Well Joe Dunand Jr., Alex Rodriguez's nephew, is just 13 years old and, as Ian Begley of the New York Daily News reports, he's already quite a slugger.
- The relative of another superstar signed with the Angels. Mike Piazza's second cousin will go pro, according to the Florida Tech Sports site.
- Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times crunches some numbers and suggests Franklin Gutierrez could be more valuable than Adam Jones this year.
- Kevin Towers says the addition of Bob Melvin to the Padres' staff wasn't meant to threaten Bud Black, according to Nick Canepa and Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune.
- Julio Lugo admits that his deal with the Red Sox hasn't worked out, according to Steve Buckley of the Boston Herald.
- Jim Salisbury of the Philadelphia Inquirer says the Phillies have more minor league pitching depth than ever.
July 2nd Update: Cubs, Nats, Giants
Some links to read as the international signing period kicks off…
- Baseball America's Ben Badler expects we'll hear of more signings when teams begin making official announcements this afternoon.
- ESPN.com's Jorge Arangure Jr. sees a parallel between this year's international signings and last winter's free agent market: the top players are getting top dollars, with big drop-offs afterwards.
- Arangure Jr. hears that the Cubs may have signed Venezuelan catcher Wilson Contreras for $850k.
- Chico Harlan of the Washington Post reports that the Nats will "hardly make a peep" in this year's market. They have Stephen Strasburg to worry about, after all.
- Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that the Indians plan on offering deals to 4-7 players.
- Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News reports that the Giants are looking at a few international players. Don't expect them to award any big bonuses, however.
Stark On Dodgers, Giants, Brewers
In this ESPN Radio segment, Jayson Stark says the Dodgers will go after the best starting pitcher they can find. There's no elite starting pitching out there now, but Ned Colletti is looking to turn some up. Here are the rest of Stark's rumors:
- The Giants need an impact hitter and they're "in on every bat out there."
- Matt Holliday is not a likely fit for the Cardinals.
- Stark says Doug Davis is a good fit in Milwaukee.
- The Mets are more interested in left-handed first basemen, so Nick Johnson still looks like a good fit for them.
- The Tigers are looking for a bat, The White Sox could add pitching and the Twins want relievers.
Tim Lincecum Contract Update
As one of the best pitchers in the game, Tim Lincecum can expect a massive payday when he goes to arbitration for the first time after this season. However, as Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News points out, the Giants could have saved themselves millions by keeping Lincecum in the minors for another month early in his rookie season.
Olney On Felix, Reds, Dye, Indians
ESPN.com's Buster Olney imagines there will be a long lineup of suitors for Felix Hernandez when he hits free agency after the 2011 season. Players as good as King Felix will sign massive deals regardless of the economy, Olney says. Here are the rest of his rumors:
- The Reds, who are looking for a right-handed bat, will probably choose between marginal improvements and busting the budget for a pricier hitter like Matt Holliday or Jermaine Dye. They'd have to give up better prospects to obtain the salary relief they'd like, but they're reluctant to part with top talent.
- For those wondering if Jermaine Dye could fit in San Francisco, Olney says the White Sox and Giants don't match up particularly well.
- Olney suggests the Red Sox should trade for a first baseman and move Kevin Youkilis over to third if Mike Lowell has to miss much time,
- It makes sense for the Rockies to play Garrett Atkins more. Not only is he hitting better, teams will have more interest in Atkins if they see him perform well.
- Any deal that makes the Indians stronger for 2010 is worth making if they aren't going to contend this year. Cleveland's now 12.0 games out of a playoff spot.
Giants Scouting V-Mart, Dye
Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune reports that the Giants are scouting Jermaine Dye and Victor Martinez. The Indians aren't shopping V-Mart and the White Sox aren't sellers at this point, but the Giants need a bat.