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Odds and Ends: Indians, Rays, Jays

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Time to cobble together today’s links.

Fuentes, Taveras Placed On Waivers

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3:25pm: Rosenthal says Fuentes’ trip to the bereavement list pretty much kills the chances of a trade.

WEDNESDAY, 10:55am: Troy E. Renck weighs in, suggesting that Taveras might clear waivers.  The Nationals like him, but don’t want to add payroll.  He expects the Dodgers, Rays, and Cardinals to put in claims on Fuentes (the Dodgers would win).  The price remains a premium young starter, even though now the receiving team would get one less month of Fuentes.

TUESDAY: As expected, the Rockies have placed closer Brian Fuentes and center fielder Willy Taveras on waivers.  Ken Rosenthal does not expect either player to clear.

As Rosenthal says, the Rockies will still require a return superior to two draft picks for Fuentes.  He is certain to sign a multiyear deal elsewhere in the offseason.  The Dodgers have first crack among contenders, though a non-contender could put in a claim just for sport.

Taveras is under team control through 2010, unless he is non-tendered before then.  The speedy 26 year-old is hitting just .264/.316/.312 in 465 plate appearances.

Odds and Ends: Indians, Livan, Braves, Friedman

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Let’s round up today’s random links.

Odds and Ends: Kazmir, Thomas, Sweeney

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We’ll kick it off with a few links today and add more bullets periodically.

Post-Draft Roundup: Hosmer, Smoak, Strasburg

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Below I’ve collected more interesting remaining links regarding the amateur draft.

  • The Royals bumped their offer from $5MM to $6MM and signed top pick Eric Hosmer. Rany Jazayerli was surprised to see Hosmer effectively get more than #1 pick Tim Beckham.  The Royals joined the Red Sox and Pirates as teams spending around $10MM on draft picks this year.
  • The Rangers resisted a Major League deal for Justin Smoak, and ultimately signed him to a $3.5MM minor league deal.  Owner Tom Hicks pined for a hard slot system.
  • The story of pitcher Chris Gruler, picked third overall by the Reds in ’02, reminds us to temper our enthusiasm for these kids.  Many will bust.
  • Tim Lincecum says Buster Posey can expect other minor leaguers to treat him differently because of the bonus he received.
  • The race is on for Stephen Strasburg, who is separating himself from the pack as the top talent in the ’09 draft.  The Mariners, Padres, and Nationals all have a shot at him, with the Nats in the "lead."  Would the Nats avoid Strasburg due to signability concerns?

More Odds And Ends: Rays, Rangers, Burnett, Pirates

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A few more random notes from the MLBiverse…

  • Rays executive VP Andrew Friedman says the team’s waiver position makes it "extremely unrealistic to expect that [the Rays] will be able to get something done in August."
  • Tom Hicks says the Rangers will look for free agents this offseason that fit the team, but he doubts they will offer any long-term deals to pitchers over 30.  That doesn’t rule out C.C. Sabathia or Oliver Perez.
  • A.J. Burnett denies he has already decided to opt out of his contract, but Jays manager Cito Gaston thinks the pitcher won’t be back.
  • Dejan Kovacevic says now that the signings are concluded, the Pirates’ draft bonanza was unprecedented for the organization.

Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.

Cafardo’s Latest: Ausmus, Towles, Mariners, Giants, Sheffield, Salty

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Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe has a few items in his Sunday column…

  • Cafardo says that the Red Sox, despite being in the market for a catcher, are not interested in Brad Ausmus.  They did inquire with the Astros about J.R. Towles, who is currently in Triple A, but were told he is unavailable.
  • One executive told Cafardo that the Mariners continue to demand other teams take entire contracts and give up prospects for players like Raul Ibanez, Jarrod Washburn and Adrian Beltre.  In the cases of Ibanez and Beltre, that position is defensible.
  • Cafardo interviewed Brian Sabean about several topics: 1) When asked about trading veteran players, Sabean responded "There’s still time"; 2) When asked whether the Giants would "go young"  or target free agents in the offseason, Sabean was noncommital but said they will look for free agents and trade pieces to fix problems, specifically mentioning the bullpen and first base; 3) When asked if he was tempted to sign Barry Bonds, Sabean would not answer.
  • Cafardo was just musing on a few players, but feels that Gary Sheffield could help the Rays, but only if the Tigers pay some of the salary. He also thinks Jarrod Saltalamacchia would be a nice fit in Boston next season.

Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here .

Rays Not Interested In Bonds

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Just to hammer the point home, Barry Bonds’ agent Jeff Borris told Ken Rosenthal today that Rays GM Andrew Friedman failed to respond to his text message.  The Rays would like to add a hitter, but they’ve never had serious interest in Bonds.  Borris believes his client has been "blackballed" by MLB.

Rosenthal says the Rays would only consider Gary Sheffield if the Tigers picked up the majority of his contract, understandably.  They’re not interested in Kenny Lofton or Jose Vidro.

Bonser Not Discussed In Washburn Talks

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8:42pm: Hold the phone – John Hickey says Bonser’s name never came up in the Washburn talks.  Jim Street and Larry Stone agree.  The criticism of the Mariners may be somewhat unjustified.  Hickey says Nick Blackburn was on the table for a very brief period of time.  Lee Pelekoudas was tight-lipped on the topic.

4:52pm: Even Washburn can’t believe the Mariners wouldn’t trade him for Bonser.  He’s disappointed the trade didn’t go through.  Perhaps a new GM will deal him this winter.

FRIDAY, 12:19pm: Joe Christensen has details on the Twins’ uncharacteristic claim of Washburn.  He heard they offered the Mariners Boof Bonser (plus apparently the salary relief), but the Ms wanted someone like Nick Blackburn or Kevin Slowey.  It is hard to see this as anything but a blunder for the Mariners’ front office. 

On a related note, Scott Miller says Lee Pelekoudas will not become the Mariners’ permanent GM, while Jon Heyman says Kevin Towers is unlikely.  Pat Gillick is still rumored as a possibility for the next team president.

THURSDAY

11:48pm: Baker says the Twins put in claims on both Washburn and Ibanez, but only won the Washburn one.  With Washburn, the Twins would’ve put him in the rotation and moved a starter to the setup man role.  Baker notes that a deal still could happen.

4:58pm: SI.com’s Jon Heyman says the Twins won the Washburn claim and the Tigers won the Ibanez claim.  The Red Sox and Mets also put in claims on Ibanez.  Interesting on both fronts, but no deals were struck so both players will remain with the Mariners. 

Heyman says that while the Twins’ Washburn claim had the flavor of a blocking move, the two teams did have trade discussions.  There wasn’t really anyone to block, unless the White Sox were lying about their lack of interest.

4:56pm: The Cardinals did not put in a claim on Washburn, according to Derrick Goold.

3:00pm: Geoff Baker expects that the Mariners will hold onto Ibanez, given the compensatory picks they’ll receive this winter. He further speculates that Washburn’s next start will not be for Seattle.

10:54am: The Twins didn’t win the claim on Ibanez, according to Joe Christensen.  Ibanez doesn’t expect a trade, though the Mariners have not discussed an extension with him.

9:57am: Geoff Baker confirms both players have been informed they’ve been placed on waivers.  He sees the Jays, Red Sox, and Rays as possible AL claimants for Ibanez.  Buster Olney considers the Twins a possibility as well.  There seems little chance Ibanez would slip to the NL.  Baker and Olney also heard an unconfirmed rumor that the Cardinals claimed Washburn.

WEDNESDAY

According to Ken Rosenthal, Mariners players Jarrod Washburn and Raul Ibanez were claimed on waivers yesterday.  The Ms have until tomorrow afternoon to work out a deal with the claiming teams.  Rosenthal says the Yankees did not claim Washburn.

At the least, the Mariners have a chance to unload Washburn’s contract.  Ibanez is inexpensive, so they’ll want quality prospects in return.  The Mariners can also elect to keep both players if they don’t like the offers.

The American League received first crack at the two Mariners, in the following order (omitting non-contenders):

  1. Tigers
  2. Rangers
  3. Blue Jays
  4. Yankees
  5. Twins
  6. White Sox
  7. Red Sox
  8. Rays
  9. Angels

Odds and Ends: Kendall, Laird, Giles, Manny

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Today’s linkage…

  • A friend pointed out to me how strange it is that the Twins were willing to take on Jarrod Washburn’s salary and give up Boof Bonser but chose to trade Johan Santana before the season.  If Bill Smith could go back in time, would he still make that deal?
  • A Gary Sheffield acquisition by the Rays is "unlikely but not impossible," according to one Buster Olney source.
  • As expected, Jason Kendall’s option for ’09 vested.  He’s off the list!
  • The Rangers were willing to trade Gerald Laird and a solid prospect to the Marlins for Chris Volstad.
  • The Padres are wavering on Brian Giles’ 2009 option.  Scott Miller also wonders if they’ll be able to take on Trevor Hoffman for another year.
  • Miller says the Marlins had a deal for Manny Ramirez worked out, but the commissioner’s office killed it because the Marlins would’ve been getting draft picks rather than a second player.  Manny would’ve vetoed it anyway.
  • Rob Neyer thinks the Yankees will exceed a $200MM payroll if need be next year.
  • There seems a good chance Randy Johnson pitches next year.
  • Randy Winn and Bengie Molina may be traded this winter.
  • Missed this one from Monday – the White Sox acquired reliever Franklyn German from the Pirates for a player to be named later.
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