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.
Roy Halladay Rumors: Prospect Update
The Blue Jays want top talent in exchange for Roy Halladay, but we heard yesterday that the Phillies have some untouchable players, perhaps Kyle Drabek. Here's what the Cards and Mets are saying about their top prospects:
- Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post Dispatch confirms that John Mozeliak will call the Blue Jays, but suggests some in the organization would not consider dealing Brett Wallace, who the Jays wanted in last year's draft. Baseball America ranks Wallace as the 21st best prospect in baseball and the Cards' only prospect in the top 50.
- Jon Heyman of SI.com says the Mets want to keep Jennry Mejia, Brad Holt and Ike Davis. Along with Fernando Martinez, Mejia and Holt are considered their best prospects, so it's hard to envision a Halladay deal without them.
- Three Phillies prospects join Drabek in BA's top 50: Dominic Brown (17), Michael Taylor (23), and Jason Knapp.
- The Rangers and Giants each have three prospects in the top 50; the Red Sox and Yankees each have a pair.
Roy Halladay Rumors: Thursday
All of this morning's Roy Halladay rumors:
- Could the Red Sox make a play for Halladay? Sure, but Tony Massarotti of the Boston Globe says "they won't."
- Nick Cafardo of the Globe says the Red Sox hadn't inquired about Halladay as of late yesterday afternoon.
- Sean McAdam of the Boston Herald says the Red Sox would have to be prepared to surrender Clay Buchholz and two other top prospects to acquire Halladay.
- Josh Beckett told Rob Bradford of WEEI.com that he'd like to pitch in the same rotation as Halladay, but thinks the Red Sox have enough talent to win already.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post believes the Jays would need "near-perfect health and near-peak production" to contend next year, so their best chance to obtain more than draft picks for their ace could be right now.
- Halladay's one of the best, but as Joe Berkery reminds us, Doc struggled mightily before finding his place in the majors.
- Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun lists the Angels and Brewers as the leaders to acquire Halladay.
- Andy Martino and Jim Salisbury of the Philadelphia Inquirer report that the Phillies have been in regular contact with the Jays about Halladay and are "serious players."
- They may be the favorites, but Sherman hears that the Cardinals and Rangers have real interest, and the Angels do too.
Cardinals Have “Real” Interest In Halladay
According to Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Cardinals' interest in Blue Jays ace Roy Halladay is very real.
Here's what Strauss tweeted just a moment ago: Asked about the price tag for Halladay, a club source said: "Give Ricciardi all our minor-league rosters and let him circle any 5 names."
A deal with the Cardinals would start with Brett Wallace, and might also include shortstop Pete Kozma, catcher Bryan Anderson, outfielder Daryl Jones and/or right-hander Clay Mortensen. We're just throwing the Birds' top prospects out on the table, but that's what it's going to take. According to Erik Manning of FutureRedbirds.net, via the Post-Dispatch's Bernie Miklasz, the Jays "showed a lot of pre-draft interest" in both Wallace and Kozma.
Odds And Ends: O’s, Phillies, Braun, DeRosa
More links for the afternoon…
- Today's chat will take place in a little over an hour, at 2pm CST.
- It's worth checking out this Jerry Crasnick article at ESPN.com just for the photo of Nick Markakis balancing a folding chair on his chin. As Crasnick says, Markakis, Adam Jones, Nolan Reimold and Luke Scott will be an impressive group of outfielders on improved O's teams in the near future.
- In the midst of his mid-season awards, SI.com's Tom Verducci says the Tigers and Dodgers deserve credit for well-thought-out offseason moves.
- David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News lays out five possible packages the Phillies could offer the Jays for Roy Halladay. Every deal is headed by Dominic Brown or Kyle Drabek and includes other quality prospects.
- Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that Doug Melvin and Ryan Braun will meet today to discuss Braun's recent suggestion that the Brewers need pitching.
- One of this year's big acquisitions, Mark DeRosa, will hit the 15-day DL, according to Roger Hensley of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Miguel Angel Sano Rumors: Monday
9:25pm: Arangure also notes that the Aroldis Chapman defection could have a major impact on Sano's negotiations. As he tweets,
"Certain teams will save money for run at Aroldis. Last minute offer (for) Sano less likely now."
9:04pm: Seeking more information, I asked Arangure whether the Twins and Pirates also see Sano as a guy not worth a $4MM signing bonus. He was kind enough to respond:
"For me, the Twins aren't real contenders anymore. The Pirates won't give record money because they won't have to."
8:58pm: ESPN's Jorge Arangure, who's been on the ball since the international signing period began on July 2, just rattled off a couple of interesting "tweets" involving 16-year-old shortstop Miguel Angel Sano:
"Am convinced Sano will not get record money. Orioles see him as late-first-round talent, which does not equal $4 million. More like $1-$1.5."
"Those who think Orioles will give record $ for Sano remember: They gave $3.2m to No. 4 pick [Brian] Matusz last year. Gave [Matt] Hobgood $2.4 this yr."
"There's no way Orioles are giving more to Sano than they gave Matusz and Hobgood."
If Arangure is correct, and the other teams tracking Sano follow suit, Wagner Mateo, singed July 2 by the Cardinals for $3.1MM, will go down as the highest-paid international prospect from 2009. Sano has been courted this summer by the Twins, Pirates and O's, who are awaiting the results of an MLB investigation into his age and identification.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Mets, Pirates, Papelbon, Rivera
On this date 42 years ago, Brian Cashman was born. Cashman has been the General Manager of the Yankees since 1998 and is signed through 2011. With four weeks until the trade deadline, Cashman will certainly be active in the trade market. Let's take a look at what is being written in the Blogosphere…
- The Guttridge-Wang Trade Model attempts to quantify all aspects of a trade.
- MLB Notebook looks at how teams that are willing to spend will control this year's trade market.
- Mets Geek evaluates some buy-low trade targets for the Mets.
- Sully Baseball recommends that the Mets not make any trades.
- Around the Majors takes a closer look at the two deals the Pirates pulled off this week.
- The Basball Opinion dissects the Pirates moves and what they could mean for the team's future.
- Rockin' the Red takes a look at what the Mark DeRosa trade means for the Cardinals.
- Statistician Magician makes a case for trading Jonathan Papelbon.
- River Ave. Blues looks back at the deal that almost sent Mariano Rivera out of the Bronx.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com. If you have a suggestion for this feature, Cork can be reached here, and followed on Twitter here.
International Free Agent Update: Friday
Some updates on teams' moves and strategies as the international signings continue:
- Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports that the A's are focusing on Venezuela, rather than the Dominican Republic this year, since they believe prices are too high in the Dominican.
- In Derrick Goold's St. Louis Post Dispatch article, Cards GM John Mozeliak admits there's risk in signing a 16-year-old like Wagner Mateo to a bonus of $3.1MM, but says he's serious about being "more aggressive" in Latin America because the payoff can be huge.
- Kiley McDaniel of Baseball Prospectus says Yankees signee Gary Sanchez will start his pro career this year, unlike most international prospects.
- ESPN.com's Jorge Arangure Jr. reports that the Astros signed lefty Kirby Pena for $350k.
- Arangure Jr. reports that the Red Sox signed a second player named Alcantara, this time it's righty Mario Alcantara. He receives a $350k bonus.
Cardinals Sign Wagner Mateo
Baseball America's Ben Badler reports that the Cardinals signed 16-year-old outfielder Wagner Mateo, as expected. His bonus hasn't officially been announced, but we heard last week that it will be about $3.1MM. Along with Miguel Angel Sano, Mateo was considered one of the top prospects to become available this summer.
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.