Cafardo’s Latest: Buyers & Sellers
Nick Cafardo kicks the tires in a full page spread in today’s Boston Globe, listing a handful of teams who are winding up to buy and sell. To paraphrase Cafardo’s recap:
Phillies: Smelling World Series, they see C.C. Sabathia, Erik Bedard, A.J. Burnett, Bronson Arroyo, and Derek Lowe as potential targets.
Braves: Still deciding whether to shop or re-sign Mark Teixeira, or neither, and in turn whether to trade for a starter to win a division, as Cafardo says, "nobody is running away with."
Mariners: The decision of whether or not to release Richie Sexson is imminent, and the M’s are expected to start shopping Raul Ibanez, Jose Vidro, Carlos Silva, and Bedard.
Blue Jays: Can their pitching carry them back into contention when Alex Rios and Vernon Wells aren’t producing as expected? The Jays can sell Burnett, Matt Stairs, David Eckstein, and maybe Scott Rolen.
Reds: On their way to last place, Arroyo can be dealt and replaced, perhaps, by Homer Bailey next year. Ken Griffey Jr. is still wearing red.
Indians: Will find it very difficult to deal Sabathia for a package comparable to what the Mets got for Johan Santana. Paul Byrd could also go.
Dodgers: Could perhaps deal Matt Kemp or Chad Billingsley for Sabathia. They’re also looking at Bedard. They need to get back to .500 to really compete and will need pitching to get them there.
Yankees: Giving up Melky Cabrera may be the only way the Yankees can land a front line starter to replace Chien Ming Wang, but Brian Cashman is not keen to do so.
Pirates: Looking for righthanded power, the Pirates still have Jason Bay (among others).
Be sure to check out Tim’s thorough Trade Market Summary for more insight.
By Nat Boyle
Odds and Ends: Bedard, Griffey, Minaya
A very nutritious Odds and Ends for lunch:
- Mariners fans are coming to grips with the lapse in judgment that was the Erik Bedard trade. Prospect Insider’s Jason A. Churchill takes a look at the possible market for Bedard.
- Ken Griffey Jr. told the New York Times that he doesn’t know where all those Tampa Bay Rays rumors are coming from. “I haven’t even thought about Tampa Bay or any other team. My focus is on what is going to happen tonight — not the what-ifs.”
- The Mets hired former Reds GM Wayne Krivsky as a special assistant to GM Omar Minaya. The news comes in the heels of escalating rumors that Minaya is on the hot seat.
Alejandro A. Leal writes for UmpBump.com.
Olney’s Latest: Sabathia, Sexson
Must-read alongside your bowl of Cocoa Pebbles is Buster Olney’s Saturday morning blog post:
If the C.C. Sabathia trade rumors were a horse race, he writes, as of today these teams would be the favorites:
- Milwaukee Brewers
- Chicago Cubs
- Los Angeles Dodgers
- Texas Rangers
- Boston Red Sox
The problem is, he notes, some of these teams may or may not be in contention by the trade deadline; and/or could be bluffing.
On more serious note, all the recent managerial changes in Seattle have clouded Richie Sexson‘s future with the Mariners. Olney points us to Seattle Times writer Larry Stone’s notebook, and the not-so-secret rumblings that Sexson’s days with the M’s may be numbered.
Stone reports the Mariners may be thinking about releasing Sexson or DFAing him. Before Friday’s game with the Braves, when asked if he expected to be with the team after the weekend series, Sexson told reporters:
"I don’t know. I’m just going to play. I really can’t worry about that, and I’m not going to worry about that. I know if things don’t work out here, there’s a lot of other teams out there. I know I can still play the game. I’m not worried about never playing again. It doesn’t concern me."
Alejandro A. Leal writes for UmpBump.com. Rumors? Comments? Email me: alexo05 [at] umpbump [dot] com.
Stark’s Latest: Sabathia, Bedard, Phillies, Freel
It’s Thursday, and you know what that means. Time for another installment of Jayson Stark’s Rumblings and Grumblings at ESPN.com.
- Stark runs through a laundry list of candidates for the Mariners’ and Mets’ manager and GM vacancies.
- The Indians will not be giving a negotiation window for a team hoping to sign C.C. Sabathia while acquiring him.
- Erik Bedard is "now officially on the market." Bedard’s value has diminished since the Mariners acquired him, however.
- The Phillies have already inquired on Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, Bronson Arroyo, and Jarrod Washburn. Stark sees Bedard joining that group, but believes it’d require Carlos Carrasco and Antonio Bastardo.
- Ryan Freel is drawing strong interest; Stark names the Phillies, Braves, Mets, and Marlins as suitors.
- Ken Griffey Jr. apparently still wants to finish his career in Seattle.
- Stark agrees with Ken Rosenthal – Mark Teixeira is not available. Nor is Ben Sheets, by the way.
- The Marlins are looking for center field, catcher, and bullpen help. Stark believes they’d be willing to give up a near-arb Josh Willingham type for players with less service time.
- The Yankees seem open to bringing back Jason Giambi next year, after they buy out his option. Giambi is currently third in the AL in OPS at .979.
Padres Would Not Allow Mariners To Interview Towers
XX Sports Radio recently interviewed Padres CEO Sandy Alderson. The hosts asked whether the Padres would give the Mariners permission to interview Kevin Towers for their GM vacancy. Alderson stressed that the Mariners have not asked and he doesn’t expect them to. He added that if they did ask, the Padres would not grant permission.
Towers is signed through 2010, but Jayson Stark recently heard rumblings that he "might be willing to listen to inquiries from a place like Seattle" because he’s lost clout. Sounds like a moot point, given Alderson’s comments.
Mariners Fire McLaren
According to Baseball Digest Daily, the Mariners have fired manager John McLaren. Former Padres and Cubs manager Jim Riggleman will step in.
Odds and Ends: Bernazard, Sexson, Rangers
Time for another link roundup.
- I hadn’t realized this – the Royals offered Billy Butler for Yuniesky Betancourt a few years back.
- The Jays acquired pitcher Jonah Bayliss for a player to be named later.
- Buster Olney heard that Brian Sabean doesn’t like the idea of the Giants bringing in Rick Peterson. Wouldn’t be fair to Dave Righetti.
- Ken Davidoff of Newsday says Mets VP of Development Tony Bernazard has a bad reputation.
- David Andriesen of the Seattle PI has a source saying the Mariners are not ready to pull the trigger Richie Sexson‘s release. Still seems likely though.
- I did a Q&A on the Rangers with Uwe Blog.
- Speaking of the Rangers, I’m high on Chris Davis as a fantasy baseball pickup.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Teixeira, Liriano, Garcia, Willingham
Ken Rosenthal has a new hot stove article up.
- Rosenthal leads with some Mark Teixeira-Angels speculation, but admits the Braves aren’t considering trading him and the Angels are content with their team. The Halos’ .706 team OPS ranks 12th in the AL; something should be done.
- All kinds of Mariners turmoil. They could look to acquire a center fielder given the move back to right for Ichiro. Releases of Richie Sexson and Jose Vidro could be on the agenda. And chemistry problems abound, with Ichiro and Kenji Johjima at the center.
- The Ms might consider Chris Antonetti and David Forst for the GM job, but both could choose to wait for the position to open up on their current teams. Antonetti seems likely to stay put, based on his comments and actions.
- Adam Dunn likes the Reds’ future and wants to stay.
- If the Twins keep Francisco Liriano in the minors a bit longer, he will lose his shot at becoming a Super Two player.
- Past reports have named the Mets, Red Sox, Braves, Yankees, White Sox, Rangers, Indians, Mariners, and Tigers as clubs interested in Freddy Garcia. Rosenthal adds the Rays to the mix.
- On Sunday, Peter Gammons said the Red Sox "might look at a count worker like the Marlins’ Josh Willingham" if David Ortiz needs surgery. Rosenthal agrees that the Sox "indeed might be interested" but believes the Marlins want to hang on to him (even though he reaches arbitration after this season).
- The Cardinals "made a quick inquiry" on Michael Barrett but backed off when Yadier Molina’s injury turned out to be day-to-day.
Possible Replacements For Bavasi In Seattle
John Hickey of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer is reporting that the Mariners already have a list of names that they are considering to replace the fired Bill Bavasi.
Yesterday, we saw several sources that speculated on the next GM. Hickey spoke with a former GM who came up with a list of eight names that could possibly fill the post.
- Kevin Towers, current San Diego Padres GM: Hickey notes that Towers has stuck with San Diego through a recent front office transition and may prefer to stay with the Pads.
- Brian Cashman, current New York Yankees GM: The M’s wanted to talk to Cashman in ’03 but were rebuked. They may get a better chance this time to land a GM that once said "who wouldn’t want [The Mariners] job."
- Kim Ng, Los Angeles Dodgers assistant GM: Was previously a candidate for the Dodgers job and is considered ready to be a GM.
- Jerry DiPoto, Arizona Diamondbacks director of player personnel
- Tony Bernazard, New York Mets vice president of player development: Previously a candidate for the Pirates job, Hickey wonders if Bernazard might want out with the Mets in flux.
- Chris Antonetti, Cleveland Indians VP of baseball operations: Hickey notes that Antonetti may prefer to stay in Cleveland, having previously turned down an offer from the Pirates to interview for their GM post.
- Mike Rizzo, Washington Nationals assistant GM and VP of baseball operations
- Dave Forst, Oakland Athletics assistant GM
Mariners To Release Sexson
Kirby Arnold of the Everett Herald is reporting that the Mariners will release Richie Sexson, and it could happen in the next week.
According to one person familiar with moves that are planned, Sexson will be let go, possibly within days. The timing is not set because the team is dealing with other personnel issues that go beyond the procedures for moving Sexson.
Sexson is still due about half of his ’08 salary of $14MM. This was the last year of a 4-year/$50MM deal.
This move shouldn’t come as a big surprise. After the firing of Bill Bavasi, the M’s are clearly ready to shake up the roster and Sexson’s contract was dead-weight.