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Cardinals Focused On Westbrook, Haren

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The Cardinals are trying to acquire a starting pitcher, wrote Ed Price of AOL FanHouse last night, and they're focused on Jake Westbrook and Dan Haren.

Recently we summed up the market for both pitchers.  Chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. told Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch ten days ago that he expected to "shy from a rental deal that requires us to give up a ton of talent."  Neither Westbrook nor Haren fits that description, so it makes sense that they'd be in play for newly-extended GM John Mozeliak. 

The Dan Haren Market

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Diamondbacks interim GM Jerry Dipoto recently told CBS' Scott Miller, "We're not to the point right now where we're aggressively seeking [a Dan Haren trade]."  Still, it's time for us to summarize the Haren situation.

Contract

Haren signed a four-year, $44.75MM extension in August of 2008 under previous GM Josh Byrnes.  He has $3.45MM left this year, $12.75MM in 2011, $12.75MM in '12, and a $15.5MM club option for '13 with a $3.5MM buyout. In other words, Haren is guaranteed $32.45MM through 2012.  If Haren had never signed the extension and hit free agency after this year at age 30, would he top two years, $29MM plus a club option?  His next dozen starts are a factor, and maybe in this cautious time he wouldn't reach John Lackey money.  But I still view the contract as a bargain relative to the free agent market.

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported this weekend that Haren's no-trade clause allows him to block trades to a dozen teams, including the Reds.  Rosenthal's source did not feel that Haren's no-trade list would be a factor, however.

Performance

Home runs and hits allowed are up this year for Haren, who has a 4.60 ERA through 20 starts.  Though Haren's groundball rate is down a touch, his continually strong strikeout and walk rates suggest a pitcher capable of a sub-4.00 ERA from here on out.  Since 2006, Haren has posted significantly higher ERAs in the second half.  Is this a reliable trend?  Haren's home run per flyball rate seems to jump every August.  This could be a fluke – the Sabermetrics Library says home run per flyball rates "have little predictive value" year to year.  It doesn't help that Chase Field inflates home runs by about 7%, according to The Bill James Handbook.

Asking Price/Availability

We have no trade history for Dipoto, as he's been a GM for less than a month.  He told Miller he's not sure if trading Haren is smart business, but "what we do know is what value Dan brings to this team and what value he should hold in the market."  All things considered, Haren is probably the best available starting pitcher.  SI's Jon Heyman talked to one GM who described Dipoto's asking price as "two starters plus bullpen help."  Earlier this month, Rosenthal and Bob Nightengale of USA Today both said the D'Backs would need to be "overwhelmed" or "blown away" to trade Haren.  Dipoto was upfront to Miller about his reservations, saying "you might bite off your nose to spite your face" by trading the ace.

Interested Teams

  • Tigers: Miller says they "appeared to be the only club with a scout dispatched solely to bird-dog Haren" Friday night.  Back in May I noted that the Tigers should have over $50MM to play with for 2011 if they hold payroll steady, so they could afford Haren.  The Tigers have plenty of young starters that would appeal to the D'Backs.
  • Cardinals: Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch says the Cards have interest in bringing Haren back and do have payroll capacity.  Still, they'd be committing half their payroll to the rotation in 2011.
  • Rockies: Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post doesn't feel that they'd overpay for Haren.
  • Yankees: A case could be made for the Yanks adding Haren.  However, ESPN's Buster Olney tweets that their top two priorities are improving the bench and adding a reliever.
  • Phillies: ESPN's Jerry Crasnick said they have Haren on the radar, though David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News wondered if they'd even have the prospects to pull it off. 
  • Nationals: MLB.com's Bill Ladson reported on June 30th that they had expressed interest.  GM Mike Rizzo craves "premier, front-line starting pitching."  With Haren, the Nats would have a fearsome rotation in short order.
  • Angels: Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times finds Haren to be "a natural trade target" for the Halos.
  • I imagine other clubs would be interested.  In my opinion, the White Sox, Brewers, Twins, Mets, and Padres could be fits, though the field becomes limited when you consider Arizona's asking price. 

Isringhausen To Audition For Reds

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Appearing on KFNS 590 The Fan with Doug Vaughn this morning, free agent reliever Jason Isringhausen said he has a tentative plan to audition for the Reds tomorrow.  Isringhausen added that he expects to hear back from the Cardinals this week and implied that his agent has been in contact with the Yankees, Rays, and Royals.

Isringhausen admitted it'd be weird to pitch for the Reds against the Cardinals this summer as the teams battle for the NL Central.  Walt Jocketty's Reds already count Scott Rolen and Russ Springer as organization members.  Izzy, of course, tallied 217 saves in seven seasons for the Cards from 2002-08.  Isringhausen's last appearance in the Majors came in June of 2009 with the Rays, after which he went down for Tommy John surgery.  He said he's currently throwing three times a week and working on a changeup.  He expects he'd need a couple of weeks in the minors to get ready.  

Odds & Ends: Molina, Machado, Wood, Montero

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Saturday afternoon linkage…

  • Bengie Molina has had an immediate impact in Texas, writes Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com.
  • The Orioles won't sign Manny Machado before August 1st, Baltimore's director of scouting told Brittany Ghiroli of MLB.com (via Twitter).
  • The Indians placed closer Kerry Wood on the disabled list with a blister on his right index finger according to MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince. The move is retroactive to July 12th, so unless he needs more than the 15 days off, Wood will be back just before the trade deadline.
  • Meanwhile, ESPN's Buster Olney says Wood's actual trade deadline is August 31st, because he will clear waivers next month given the $4MM still owed to him this season (Twitter links).
  • White Sox GM Kenny Williams often approaches his veteran players to get their opinions about potential moves, but he has not yet pulled Paul Konerko aside to discuss scenarios according to Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun Times.
  • Bernie Miklasz of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch says that Cardinals' GM John Mozeliak was well-deserving of his contract extension.
  • In a video on ESPN, Olney says the Yankees have determined that they would not trade catching prospect Jesus Montero for any player available on the trade market. They were willing to move him for Cliff Lee because it was a special case.

Odds & Ends: Sheets, Padres, Scutaro, Nationals

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A few links to check out while the Yankees play their first game without George Steinbrenner at the helm since 1972…

  • Susan Slusser of The San Francisco Chronicle reports that the Phillies have had a "top scout" on hand for the A's last four series, though Oakland isn't going to move Mark Ellis and Ben Sheets isn't scheduled to pitch this weekend. 
  • James Schmehl of MLive.com says that Sheets could be a "rather inexpensive" trade option for the Tigers if they're looking to add a starting pitcher. 
  • MLB.com's Corey Brock reports that Padres' GM Jed Hoyer told reporters he would like to make a move to improve the team, not just a cosmetic one (all Twitter links). He says the prices must first come down, and that he has the resources to add multiple pieces.
  • WEEI.com's Rob Bradford says (via Twitter) that the Braves did not talk to the Red Sox about a potential Yunel Escobar–Marco Scutaro deal. He says that the Blue Jays were the only team Atlanta spoke to about an Escobar trade.
  • Nationals' GM Mike Rizzo ranked the team's international free agent signings for MASNSports.com's Ben Goessling.
  • Dylan Hernandez of The Los Angeles Times tweets that the Tokyo Giants have a scout attending tonight's Dodgers-Cardinals game. If nothing else, it shows that Japanese teams scour the U.S. for talent just like MLB teams do in Japan.

Cardinals Extend GM John Mozeliak

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The Cardinals agreed to a three-year extension with GM John Mozeliak, according to Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The Cardinals, who currently trail the Reds by a game, won the NL Central last year, Mozeliak's second full season on the job. The GM's current deal was set to expire after the 2010 season.

Mozeliak's major moves include the Matt Holliday signing and extensions for Kyle Lohse and Adam Wainwright. The biggest decision of all has yet to come: Albert Pujols will hit free agency after 2011 and Mozeliak and his front office will have to decide how much they're willing to pay to keep the slugging first baseman in St. Louis. Yadier Molina and Pujols are two of the better-known players the Cardinals drafted when Mozeliak was the team's scouting director.

Odds & Ends: Red Sox, Marlins, Berry, Carroll, Pujols

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Links for Wednesday, on an eerily quiet day for baseball fans…

Odds & Ends: Cardinals, Mariners, Red Sox

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Four years ago today, the Rays sent Aubrey Huff and cash to the Astros for Ben Zobrist and Mitch Talbot.  The Astros finished 1.5 games out in '06 despite Huff contributing 13 home runs, and GM Tim Purpura chose not to offer arbitration after the season.  On to today's links…

  • ESPN's Buster Olney tweets that the Yankees have no plans to acquire a starting pitcher – "Cliff Lee was a special case."  Speaking of Lee, he told MLB.com's Todd Zolecki that the trade from the Phillies did not sour him on the team, and he's not opposed to any club once he reaches free agency. 
  • The Blue Jays had a scout at this weekend's Cardinals-Astros series, reports Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.  Strauss wonders if shortstop Alex Gonzalez could be a match for the Cards, and he notes that the Jays have had previous interest in Brendan Ryan.
  • Mariners president Chuck Armstrong and CEO Howard Lincoln weren't aware of the full extent of pitcher Josh Lueke's 2008 trouble with the law, reports Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times.  Lueke went to Seattle as part of the Lee trade.
  • Talking to WEEI's Alex Speier, Red Sox GM Theo Epstein explained that in the case of Casey Kelly and other prospects, he'd rather challenge them against advanced competition than allow them to compile numbers and trade value at more age-appropriate levels.
  • In the same article, Speier notes that the Red Sox have agreements, pending physicals, with a pair of international free agents.  One is a righthanded pitcher, the other an outfielder.
  • As part of an extensive Q&A with Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times, Commissioner Bud Selig says he would not consider contracting the Athletics or Rays if their ballpark situations are not resolved.

Odds & Ends: Rolen, Yankees, Astros, Jeter

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Links for Sunday, as the celebration continues in Spain….

Cardinals Notes: Trades, Payroll, Pujols, La Russa

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Bill DeWitt Jr. has "turned general manager John Mozeliak loose" to find a starting pitcher, writes Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. In a Q&A with the Cardinals' chairman, Strauss asks about the team's approach to the trade deadline and Albert Pujols' future in St. Louis, among other topics. Here's what DeWitt had to say:

  • The team's farm system isn't as deep as it was at this time last year, but they still have a few "premium prospects" that other clubs are interested in.
  • Giving up a lot of talent to rent a player whose contract expires at season's end isn't something the Cardinals want to do. However, they do have some prospects they'd make available in the right trade.
  • The team has financial flexibility to take on salary, in part because their attendance this year has been slightly stronger than expected.
  • It sounds like the Cards would prefer taking on salary rather than parting with blue-chip prospects: "Dollars is one thing; talent is another," said DeWitt. "Talent is harder to get."
  • Even taking into account Pujols' upcoming extension negotiations, the team is confident they have room to add a "quality player," as long as it's not one with a long-term, backloaded contract.
  • The Cardinals would never consider trading Albert Pujols this year, and view this coming offseason as the "optimal" time for contract negotiations.
  • DeWitt hasn't discussed with Tony La Russa whether the Cards' skipper will be back next year. They'll wait to see how La Russa feels after the season.
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