Twins Rumors: Bonser, Beltre, Roberts, Monroe
La Velle E. Neal III and Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune have the latest Twins buzz.
- The Twins would like to trade Boof Bonser to make room for Francisco Liriano. The Giants and Rangers might be interested.
- Targets for the Twins: relief help, third base, and second base.
- Talks for Adrian Beltre are not dead. The Mariners are eyeing Nick Blackburn, Scott Baker, Kevin Slowey, Glen Perkins, and Denard Span. The Twins aren’t biting. Sounds like the Mariners want a premium arm for Beltre from the Twins or Giants, but those teams see it as more of a salary dump.
- The Twins asked about Brian Roberts but couldn’t get anywhere.
- The Rays might be looking at Craig Monroe as a bench option.
Adam Dunn Rumors
THURSDAY, 10:33am: SI.com’s Jon Heyman says the Reds seek players such as Jeff Niemann and Jeremy Hellickson in a Dunn trade. Niemann probably could be had.
WEDNESDAY, 10:13pm: Finally, some Dunn rumors. ESPN’s Jayson Stark says the Rays are talking with the Reds about Dunn, though he’s their Plan B to Jason Bay. I imagine Dunn would DH for the Rays.
9:25pm: According to SI.com’s Jon Heyman, the Diamondbacks offered Chad Tracy to the Reds for Adam Dunn. He says another NL team has also inquired on Dunn.
However, GM Walt Jocketty said a few hours ago he hadn’t talked to anyone about Dunn today.
Jason Bay Rumors: Wednesday
8:37pm: Bay doesn’t seem to be on the Cardinals’ radar. However, talks continue with Tampa Bay according to John Perrotto. Bay could also end up in Boston in a three-team deal.
5:59pm: Jayson Stark reports that the Rays and Pirates haven’t had much dialogue today, and that talks have slowed. The Pirates have backed off just a bit, but may want to see what happens with Manny Ramirez in case they can get the Red Sox interested.
3:16pm: Kovacevic has more. Brignac and Jeff Niemann‘s names are coming up in the Tampa Bay talks. ESPN’s Jayson Stark heard the same, and adds that Hellickson, David Price, and Wade Davis are off-limits.
The Cardinals are in on Bay but not John Grabow. Kovacevic says Colby Rasmus is untouchable, making the Pirates lean toward the Rays. He adds that the Mets seem out of the running.
1:23pm: The Pirates and Rays are still talking, with the Cardinals lingering. Dejan Kovacevic says Reid Brignac and Jeremy Hellickson are on the Bucs’ radar.
12:30pm: Heyman talked to one NL source who puts the chances of a Bay trade at 50-50. The Pirates are looking around to see if they can beat the Rays’ offer.
11:13am: SI.com’s Jon Heyman checks in on Bay. He says the Rays are flirting, while the Mets, D’Backs, and Cardinals are also in the mix. ESPN’s Buster Olney says the Rays and Pirates are "talking constructively to bridge the gap." Rays manager Joe Maddon admits some "very interesting stuff" is on the table.
8:43am: According to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Pirates are deep into talks with the Rays and other teams about left fielder Jason Bay. However, no "truly elite prospect" has been offered yet, and the chances are better than 50-50 that Bay stays. And who would move to right field for the Rays – Bay or Carl Crawford? The Braves are considered out of the mix.
Shortstop Jack Wilson seems likely to stay, while reliever John Grabow will probably be dealt.
Graziano’s Latest: Schoeneweis, Rhodes, Pavano
Here’s a look at the fresh rumors from Dan Graziano of the Newark Star-Ledger.
- The Yankees, Tigers, Rangers, and Rays have talked to the Mets about Scott Schoeneweis. The Mets might prefer to acquire a replacement if they move Schoeneweis. Arthur Rhodes is one possibility if he doesn’t end up in Florida. Geoff Baker believes it’s down to the Marlins and Brewers for Rhodes, with the other getting Eddie Guardado.
- The Yanks might have to acquire a reliever now that they’ve dealt Kyle Farnsworth. Rhodes isn’t on their radar though.
- The Ivan Rodriguez trade could kick off other trades for catchers.
- The Yankees have been getting calls on Carl Pavano. One unconfirmed rumor has the Mets interested.
Stark’s Latest: Ibanez, Washburn, Redding, Rhodes
Some additional notes from ESPN’s Jayson Stark:
- The Mariners still want Jon Niese and another prospect for Raul Ibanez; the Mets are not biting. Similar situation with the Ms asking the Cubs for Felix Pie and another player.
- The Mets aren’t in on Jarrod Washburn or Tim Redding.
- The Marlins are making it clear that there is no done deal for Arthur Rhodes. Clark Spencer had written the Fish "could be closer" to a deal for Rhodes than a catcher. Stark says the Mariners are driving a hard bargain for Rhodes, with the Red Sox, Marlins, Phillies, Brewers, Tigers, Mets, Cardinals, and Rays checking in.
Rays Scouting Jayson Werth
Mike Tingle of ESPN 840 in Charlottesville spoke to Rays scout Mike Cubbage yesterday. Cubbage said that he plans to scout Phillies outfielder Jayson Werth, and that Werth may be available in the right deal. Werth, 29, is hitting .272/.358/.485 in 268 plate appearances (most of the damage done against lefties).
Additionally, the Rays offered a package of players for Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte but the Bucs chose the Yankees’ offer. The Rays also looked at Jon Rauch previously, though he was not at the top of their list. And of course, the Rays would like to acquire Brian Fuentes.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Ibanez, Ohman, Fuentes
The latest from rumor guru Ken Rosenthal:
- The Mariners are not having much luck stirring interest in Jarrod Washburn and Raul Ibanez. Only the Mets are seriously looking at Ibanez, and they don’t like the price. The D’Backs aren’t interested. Exacerbating the situation is that interim GM Lee Pelekoudas may feel compelled to make a good impression on the higher-ups.
- The Braves chose Casey Kotchman and Stephen Marek over an offer of Chad Tracy and Micah Owings from the D’Backs. I’m surprised the Diamondbacks didn’t go a little further. The Braves tried to expand the deal and send Will Ohman to the Angels, but a match could not be found. Ohman remains likely to go, with the Rays, Cardinals, and Red Sox named as suitors.
- Rosenthal notes that the Angels have a ton of offseason decisions to make, with club options and free agents all over the place.
- The Rockies might be slightly more willing to trade Brian Fuentes following recent losses. However, they still want a young starting pitcher for him.
Odds and Ends: Rhodes, Happ, Manny
Let’s round up some links and rumors.
- The Brewers scouted Arthur Rhodes last night, according to Jon Heyman.
- About a "half-dozen" Braves are subject of trade talks, according to GM Frank Wren.
- Baseball Prospectus’ Kevin Goldstein notes that Brandon Wood‘s stock is rising in case the Angels want to use him as a trade chip.
- Phillies prospect J.A. Happ wasn’t necessarily pulled from his start last weekend because of a big league promotion. Phillies assistant GM Mike Arbuckle admitted that a trade is another option. [UPDATE: Happ has indeed been recalled to the Majors, though.]
- Tom Verducci of SI.com believes the proper business decision for the Red Sox will be to keep Manny Ramirez and exercise his $20MM option for ’09.
- Richard Durrett of the Dallas Morning News says the D’Backs, Rays, and Tigers had scouts at last night’s Rangers-Mariners contest.
Molony’s Latest: Ohman, Fuentes, Sherrill, Tejada
Here’s a new column from MLB.com’s Jim Molony.
- Will Ohman suitors: the Marlins, Red Sox, Rays, Tigers and White Sox. Molony says the Braves aren’t highly motivated to trade Ohman, as they might want to re-sign him for ’09. Odd.
- The Rockies would need to be bowled over, but the Cardinals, Mets, Phillies, Rays, Red Sox, White Sox and Yankees still like Brian Fuentes.
- George Sherrill suitors: Cardinals, Dodgers, Marlins, Phillies, Red Sox and Tigers. He’s another reliever unlikely to be dealt.
- Molony disagrees with other reports on the Red Sox and Miguel Tejada; he says they did inquire but were rebuffed.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Tejada, Laird, Renteria, Sherrill
New one from Ken Rosenthal…
- The Padres will ask Greg Maddux again to consider accepting a trade to a team not located on the West Coast. The Dodgers haven’t shown interest.
- One big league source told Rosenthal that the Astros have had "absolutely no dialogue" about Miguel Tejada.
- The Marlins are the most aggressive suitor for Gerald Laird. The Brewers, Reds, and Yankees are also in on the Rangers’ catcher. Rosenthal points out a Doug Melvin connection – Melvin acquired Laird as the Rangers’ GM back in ’02. [UPDATE: Rangers guru Jamey Newberg tells me that it was actually John Hart and Grady Fuson who acquired Laird in ’02, not Melvin.] The Rangers continue to target young starting pitching in return.
- Looks like speculation, but Rosenthal wonders whether the Cardinals would consider re-acquiring Edgar Renteria.
- So far the Orioles have had no success trying to acquire shortstops like Erick Aybar, Alcides Escobar, and Reid Brignac for George Sherrill.