Olney On Nats, Rockies, Halladay
ESPN.com's Buster Olney likes the looks of the Mariners, especially with a top three of Felix Hernandez, Erik Bedard and Jarrod Washburn. Here are Olney's latest rumors:
- Nats GM Mike Rizzo says he doesn't have to dump payroll, which gives the team flexibility when considering deals for Nick Johnson, Austin Kearns and others. If they find a worthwhile deal, the Nationals could likely contribute money to make it work.
- As much as the Rockies would like to add a reliever, there are few desirable options out there now, so they may have to wait until closer to the deadline.
- No team has come forth with an aggressive offer for Roy Halladay so far.
- Olney hears that the Phillies would like to add two starters. Halladay and Pedro Martinez are the names they've been connected to recently.
Heyman On Halladay, Pedro, Ackley, Andruw
SI.com's Jon Heyman hears that the Blue Jays could keep Roy Halladay, especially since Toronto fans would not be receptive to a deal that sends their ace elsewhere. If the Jays do deal Halladay, they say they're looking for two premium prospects who will be ready for the majors next year and two other prospects who are further away from making big league contributions. Here are the details and the rest of Heyman's rumors:
- One executive says the Phillies, Giants and Angels have the best shots at acquiring Halladay.
- The Yankees and Mets have both spoken with the Blue Jays.
- It seems odd for teams to set some prospects off limits when the Jays are making Halladay available, but teams like the Rangers and Giants could conceivably deal for Doc and hold onto one or two of their top prospects.
- Executives haven't heard that the Blue Jays are trying to unload Vernon Wells' salary in a combined deal with Halladay.
- No executives believe teams would take Wells under any circumstances. They have "no shot" at moving him, according to one executive.
- Heyman credits Pedro Martinez's agent, Fern Cuza, for some impressive deals but doubts the report that suggested the Phillies will pay Pedro $4MM, unless it's prorated.
- Scott Boras met Mariners people to discuss second-overall pick Dustin Ackley, but the two sides made little progress.
- Heyman praises Andruw Jones for turning down offers from the Braves and Yankees to sign in Texas with coach Rudy Jaramillo.
Yuniesky Betancourt Rumors
11:32am: Ryan Divish of the Tacoma News Tribune reports that Betancourt is healthy and was genuinely puzzled after being removed from last night's lineup. As Divish points out, Zduriencik's "no comment" suggests something's up.
9:22am: As MLB.com's Jim Street notes, the Mariners have been pleased with Ronny Cedeno's performance during Yuniesky Betancourt's DL stint, so there's a chance they deal Batancourt within the next week.
Odds And Ends: Moneyball, Draft Signings, Halladay
A few more links for your evening…
- Jon Weisman of the LA Times reports that the movie based on “Moneyball” has once again been green-lighted with Aaron Sorkin signed on to finish the script.
- The Mariners have signed their supplemental first round pick, Steven Baron, for $980K.
- Keith Law reports that negotiations between the Brewers and one of their supplemental picks, #39 overall Kentrail Davis, have “gotten ugly” after the Brewers agreed to his demands and then he turned it down.
- Joel Sherman reports that if Roy Halladay is traded to the NL before the All-Star game, he will not be permitted to pitch in the mid-summer classic for the AL, but could be allowed to pitch for the NL representing his new team.
- Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News says the Roy Halladay situation is unlike two other situations in which big-name pitchers were traded within the AL East, including David Cone and Roger Clemens.
Odds And Ends: Glaus, Magglio, Halladay
More links for the afternoon… for those on Roy Halladay alert, he pitched well today, though he wasn't exactly lights-out.
- Troy Glaus could begin rehabbing this weekend, according to Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
- ESPN.com's Rob Neyer says it will be "exceptionally difficult" for Magglio Ordonez to bat 166 more times if he remains in a platoon. If he bats 165 times or less, his $18MM option for 2010 doesn't vest.
- Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News says there's almost no way the Yankees would agree to take on Vernon Wells' salary in a potential Roy Halladay deal.
- Jay Jaffe of Baseball Prospectus writes on ESPN.com that the Phillies need Halladay now. The Rangers, Brewers, Angels and Cardinals fill out Jaffe's list of teams that need Doc most.
- Diamond Leung reports that the Padres acquired minor league catcher Yamid Haad from the Mariners organization and assigned him to Triple A.
- Lost and found: Bartolo Colon will start tonight for Triple A Charlotte, according to Mark Gonzales.
Olney On Halladay, Bay, Mulder
Any team with serious plans to acquire Roy Halladay cannot approach the Blue Jays with a list of untouchable players, as ESPN.com's Buster Olney points out. Here are the details:
- If the Phillies want Halladay, they'll have to be prepared to discuss players like Michael Taylor, Dominic Brown, Kyle Drabek and Jason Knapp.
- The Nats have a powerful young catcher in SIngle A. Derek Norris has already clubbed 20 homers, one for every year he's been alive.
- If Jason Bay signs a contract extension early, he'll determine how much Matt Holliday receives on the open market after the season. Bay's older than Holliday, but he has 12 more homers and an OPS that's 100 points better than Holliday's, so he figures to sign for more.
- The Mariners could think about extending Jarrod Washburn, Erik Bedard and Russell Branyan after the season if they don't trade them.
- Mark Mulder wants to pitch in the majors soon and he expects to begin auditioning for scouts in the next week or ten days.
M’s Ink Cintron To Minors Deal
According to the Tacoma Rainers' official Twitter account, infielder Alex Cintron has signed a minor league contract with the Mariners.
Cintron was designated for assignment on May 20 by the Nationals after going 2-for-26 to start the season. He'll try to work his way up to the big leagues once again. The 30-year-old has a .275/.313/.394 career batting line.
Rosenthal On Vazquez, Hairston, Teahen
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says Javier Vazquez has more value than any available hitter. Here are the details and the rest of Rosenthal's rumors:
- Not even Matt Holliday or Corey Hart would be fair value for Vazquez, so Rosenthal asks why the Braves would want to trade him at all.
- The Mets inquired on Scott Hairston, who could have been an affordable stopgap, but balked when the Padres asked for Bobby Parnell.
- The Marlins offered Gaby Sanchez for Manny Delcarmen, but the Red Sox weren't interested.
- The Mariners, Tigers and Rays weren't far from agreeing to a deal that would have sent Edwin Jackson to Seattle and J.J. Putz to Detroit last offseason.
- Kevin Towers compares Rule 5 pick Everth Cabrera to Rafael Furcal.
- The Royals "do not seem terribly inclined" to deal Mark Teahen.
- The Pirates covet Eric Young Jr. of the Rockies.
- Some predict that the distribution of amateur talent- through the draft and international signings- will be the biggest issue in the next Collective Bargaining Agreement.
Odds And Ends: Bedard, Astros, Marquis
Links for Tuesday morning…
- Be here at 2pm CST for this week's chat.
- Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette profiles controversial acquisition Lastings Milledge, who seems energized and motivated.
- It would be hard to argue with Amber Theoharis of MASN.com, who says the Orioles won the Erik Bedard deal since they acquired two All-Stars in George Sherrill and Adam Jones.
- As MLB.com's Christian Caple reports, Bedard will be on a 60 pitch limit as he returns to the hill tonight against his former team.
- Nomar Garciaparra told Mike McDermott of the Providence Journal that he didn't turn down $60MM from the Red Sox.
- Experts consider the Astros' system weak, but at least they have Bud Norris and Yorman Bazardo in Triple A, as Zachary Levine of the Houston Chronicle reports.
- The Jason Marquis deal has worked out better-than-expected for the Rockies, but, as Dave Krieger of the Denver Post notes, the Rockies have made plenty of smart deals over the years.
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.