Rays Rumors

Odds And Ends: Spivey, Kazmir, Washburn

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 24, 2009 at 4:59pm CDT

Another round of odds and ends for the afternoon…

Remember Junior Spivey? He signed with the independent Tucson Toros, according to the AP (via the Arizona Republic).
ESPN.com's Buster Olney reports that the Rays have been scouting the Angels' minor leaguers extensively. The Angels have interest in Scott Kazmir and the two teams could match up as trade partners. Keith Law says Kazmir has gone backwards for two straight years.
Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle hears that the Giants can take on a reasonable amount of payroll and expects GM Brian Sabean to make a deal.
The Phillies are scouting Jarrod Washburn as an alternative to Roy Halladay in case the Seattle lefty becomes available, according to Danny Knobler of CBS Sports.
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports calls Billy Beane the Scott Boras of general managers, and he means it as a compliment. At least one rival GM believes the A's got a great haul for Matt Holliday.
I'll be talking trades tomorrow morning on The Big Jab at 9:25CST and on 940 ESPN at 10:00CST.

Knobler On Holliday, Giants, Tigers

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 24, 2009 at 9:13am CDT

A number of baseball officials tell Danny Knobler of CBS Sports that they expect plenty of activity in the final week before next Friday's trade deadline.

Billy Beane is apparently looking for young position players if he trades Matt Holliday.
The Giants are "very interested" in Holliday.
The Giants and Tigers have both checked out the Pirates and Nationals in their respective searches for bats. Adam Dunn and Nick Johnson have appeal, but the Giants would prefer a right-handed bat and the Tigers are hesitant to take on Dunn's $12MM salary for next season.
Knobler says Tigers owner Mike Ilitch could always make a last-minute push for Holliday or Roy Halladay.
There's no way to know how much flexibility the Rays, Rangers and Braves have until the deadline passes.

Odds & Ends: Orioles, Angels, Rangers

By Eddie Schmid | July 23, 2009 at 10:29pm CDT

It's getting late for big news, but do GMs (or beat writers) ever sleep this time of year? Still a chance for some bedtime stories. Here are some sheep for the non-believers to count:

Jeff Zrebiec at the Baltimore Sun checks in on five players teams could be targeting on the Orioles and his predictions on where they might end up.
Though he says he's fine with the current roster, Angels manager Mike Scioscia says that GM Tony Reagins has been active, reports Rhett Bollinger at MLB.com. Scioscia wants a bullpen arm.
Marty Noble at MLB.com answers questions about what the Mets might do at the deadline.
Jeff Wilson at the Dallas Morning News says Tanner Scheppers' agent vouches for the top pick's desire to sign with the Rangers, though talks have progressed little.
Bill Ladson at MLB.com has an extensive and fairly candid chat with Nationals owner Mark Lerner.
Tommy Rancel at Inside the Rays previews the team's targets and candidates to be moved.

Major Indians Deal “Doubtful”

By Eddie Schmid | July 23, 2009 at 6:10pm CDT

According to Ken Rosenthal at FOX Sports, despite the swirl around a possible blockbuster involving Cliff Lee or Victor Martinez, sources say it's "doubtful" either one is traded. The source calls a Lee deal "a longshot" and a Martinez one "more of a longshot."

The Indians are still pushing for a young, MLB-ready starter, but the Red Sox have been reluctant to deal Clay Buchholz. As noted earlier, the Rays have been in on both Lee and Martinez.

Rays Could Move Kazmir

By Eddie Schmid | July 23, 2009 at 5:54pm CDT

According to Ed Price at AOL Fanhouse, the Rays are itching to deal, with Roy Halladay, Victor Martinez and Cliff Lee on the radar. Now, they're apparently willing to dangle Scott Kazmir as part of a deal, and the Angels are said to have "some interest" in acquiring him.

The Rays are four games out of first place and were on the bad end of Mark Buehrle's perfect game today, which could be an impetus to make an impact deal. Kazmir has struggled mightily this season, putting up a 6.69 ERA and 58/40 K/BB ratio. He makes $6MM this year and has $22.5MM remaining on his contract after this season.

“Slim” Chance Rays Make Blockbuster Deal

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 23, 2009 at 4:09pm CDT

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says the Rays are pursuing the biggest stars available, but remain unlikely to acquire any of them. Payroll limitations could prevent the Rays from adding Victor Martinez, Cliff Lee or Roy Halladay. The Rays would consider parting with Scott Kazmir and Carl Crawford, though the chances they deal their star left fielder are "close to zero."

Rosenthal says ambitious trade talks aren't uncommon leading up to the deadline. One GM believes the Rays are "shooting in the dark" and doubts they will acquire a big name player. However, the Blue Jays are a potential fit for the Rays. They like Tampa's young talent, and Rosenthal hears that Halladay would accept a trade to the team.

Stark On Deadline Deals

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 23, 2009 at 2:53pm CDT

ESPN.com's Jayson Stark says this year's deadline will be different than others, since more players will clear waivers, allowing teams to deal until the end of August. Matt Holliday, Jarrod Washburn and Jack Wilson are all "likely to zip through waivers" next month. Here are the rest of Stark's rumors:

The Phillies are as motivated as ever to acquire Roy Halladay. Their goal is to win the World Series, not make the playoffs.
The Phils don't want to trade Kyle Drabek or J.A. Happ, but one GM believes they should include Drabek if one of the two has to go.
The Phillies may have to decide which outfielder to include in a deal: Michael Taylor or Dominic Brown. One scout says there's "nothing not to like" about Taylor.
Acquiring Cliff Lee would take a "four-for-one, Halladay-esque Package."
The Dodgers, Angels, Phillies, Rays and Brewers are scouting Lee.
Both the Blue Jays and Indians want top young arms for their aces, but the Indians aren't demanding big-league ready prospects, as long as they get a high-upside group.
Expect Lee to be traded close to the deadline, if he's moved at all, because the Halladay saga will need resolution first.
The Orioles have two prices for George Sherrill. Teams willing to take on his salary have to give up a premium prospect and another prospect, but if the O's have to pay Sherrill, they want a premium prospect and two other players.
Danys Baez's value has plummeted recently.
The Braves, unsure of how much Tim Hudson can contribute, are leaning heavily towards keeping Javier Vazquez.
Adding a reliever is now the Dodgers' top priority.
The Phillies have some interest in Ryan Spilborghs, Scott Hairston and Ryan Raburn.
The Reds would like to deal some of their expensive pitchers.
July 31st is also the deadline for Japanese teams to acquire foreign players for the rest of their season, so if Scott Boras is going to send Stephen Strasburg overseas, this will have to be the week.
The Cubs are looking at left-handed relievers, including Sherrill, John Grabow and Joe Beimel.

Rays Pursuing Victor Martinez

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 23, 2009 at 1:27pm CDT

The Rays are now pursuing Victor Martinez, Jon Heyman of SI.com reports. They have Jeff Niemann, Wade Davis and Jeremy Hellickson to offer the Indians, though the clubs aren't believed to have exchanged names. The Red Sox have many top young pitchers as well and have been discussing Martinez for weeks with the Indians. Boston remains interested in V-Mart, even after adding Adam LaRoche, but one GM believes the two clubs would have completed a deal weeks ago if one was going to happen.

Rays catcher Dioner Navarro has been a disappointment this year, hitting just .223/.253/.327. He has five homers, but his strikeout to walk ratio has deteriorated badly.

The Rays are also discussing Cliff Lee with the Indians and R.J. Anderson of DRaysBay hears that the club has interest in Chad Qualls.

Rays Talked To Indians About Acquiring Lee

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 23, 2009 at 1:07pm CDT

1:07pm: Ken Rosenthal now hears that the Rays may involve a third team in the deal to provide the Indians with more pitching.

8:25am: No deal is imminent, but the Rays and Indians discussed a deal that would send Cliff Lee to the Rays for prospects, accoding to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. Wade Davis is believed to be among the top prospects that interest Indians GM Mark Shapiro, but the Rays have been reluctant to deal the 23-year-old righty.

Davis isn't considered an elite prospect along the lines of Clay Buchholz or Tommy Hanson, but the Rays want to keep him and would be more open to dealing Reid Brignac. The Indians are said to want pitching in exchange for Lee, so it's likely the Rays would presumably have to part with some to acquire the reigning Cy Young Award winner.

The Rays are also interested in Rafael Betancourt, Jason Frasor and Michael Wuertz.

Stark: Cliff Lee Is “Quasi-Available”

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 23, 2009 at 11:26am CDT

ESPN.com's Jayson Stark says the Indians could deal Cliff Lee, but don't particularly want to. In other words, he's "quasi-available." We heard that the Rays and Indians discussed Lee and Stark says it's "not impossible" that the Rangers could pursue the Indians ace. Both teams would be able to trade the Indians the young, high-upside talent they seek.

Jon Heyman of SI.com says the Indians are more willing to part with Victor Martinez than Lee.

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