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Percival To Rays, Riske To Brewers

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UPDATE, 11-29-07 at 8pm: Marc Topkin reports that Percival did indeed take and pass a physical with the Rays.

FROM 11-29-07 at 6pm:

Couple of notes for your drive-time commute. Ken Rosenthal reports that Troy Percival will sign with the Rays for two years and $8 million. Incentives could push it to $10 million. Here’s something you don’t see every day: they’re not making him take a physical — though they have seen his medical records.

Apparently the Yankees threw more cash at him, but he opted for the closing opportunity in Tampa Bay. I wonder where that leaves Al Reyes.

Over on the ESPN side, Buster Olney says that David Riske is close to a deal with the Brewers. Olney supplies no details beyond it being a multiyear deal. As he notes, the Royals offered him two years and $6 million earlier this off-season. This deal could be comparable to Scott Linebrink’s four years and $19 million.

Stark’s Latest: Edmonds, Pierre, Guillen, Santana

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ESPN’s Jayson Stark always cranks out a bunch of new rumors when he writes a column.  This week is no exception.

  • Jose Reyes: going nowhere.
  • Probably since they hope to include him in a Johan Santana deal, the Red Sox won’t trade Coco Crisp until that situation is resolved.  The Rangers liked Crisp, but are considering interesting alternatives: Rocco Baldelli, Jim Edmonds, and Juan Pierre.  If only Ned Colletti could get someone to take his Pierre contract.  Then he could sign another one almost equally as bad.  Then he could trade Aaron Rowand a year from now and repeat the process.
  • The Braves also liked Crisp, so they’ll move on for now.  Stark speculates a stopgap like Dave Roberts could work.
  • More speculation: Andruw Jones as a darkhorse signing for the Royals.  I guess that would push David DeJesus out of center field.
  • Is there an unmentioned Mystery Team in on Johan Santana?  Stark’s sources suggest the Mariners, but those guys must not read Jon Heyman’s column.  I’ll go with the Reds as my guess on the Mystery Team, if there is one.
  • Speaking of guesses, Stark surmises that the Padres and Mets could be interested in Jose Guillen, aside from the Royals.
  • More rumblings that Vicente Padilla could be traded this winter.  Funny quote about how Padilla doesn’t have baggage – he has luggage.  In fact his luggage cannot be carried, rather it requires a mid-sized cart.

Troy Percival Close To Deal With Rays

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UPDATE, 11-28-07 at 10pm: Olney is still certain Percival is going to the Rays on a multiyear deal.  One other note is that the Giants had been in on him.

UPDATE, 11-28-07 at 7:40pm: Not so fast, says Ken Rosenthal.  The Rays may be in the lead on Percival because he is close to Joe Maddon and they’ll offer two years.  But the Yankees are in the mix offering a setup role and the Brewers are offering a one-year deal and a closer job.

FROM 11-28-07 at 3:40pm:

According to ESPN’s Buster Olney, the Rays are "moving toward a deal" to sign free agent reliever Troy Percival.  This could give them a potentially solid veteran relief group in Juan Rincon, Dan Wheeler, Percival, and Al Reyes.

Percival was known to have been seeking a multiyear deal (I’m guessing two years, $10MM or so).  Other suitors: Yankees, Brewers, Giants, and Astros.

Matt Garza Traded For Delmon Young In Blockbuster

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UPDATE, 11-28-07 at 9pm: It’s now a done deal.  The Twins substituted 21 year-old reliever Eduardo Morlan instead of Rincon.

UPDATE, 11-28-07 at 7:30pm: This thing hasn’t gone through yet because of concerns over Rincon’s elbow.  The deal will either be finalized or killed by Thursday, according to Scott Miller.  The trade has been in the works for a few days.

UPDATE, 11-28-07 at 4pm: Neal reports that the Twins have interest in Aaron Rowand, which is really surprising given his reported demands.  I don’t see it.  Neal adds that Craig Monroe may now be non-tendered and the Garza trade will not stop Bill Smith from shopping Johan Santana.  By the way, talks for Coco Crisp persist.

FROM 11-28-07 at 2pm:

Wow!  That rumor really didn’t die!  La Velle E. Neal III says the Twins are close to a multiplayer deal.  They’ll send Matt Garza, Jason Bartlett, and Juan Rincon to the Rays for Delmon Young, Brendan Harris, and Jason Pridie.  I can’t remember any kind of young player blockbuster like this recently. 

It’s exciting to see Bill Smith pull the trigger on a deal to get that possible elite slugger.  Will he be more hesitant to trade Johan Santana now?  Or maybe it doesn’t matter since he’d require an elite young hurler like Phil Hughes in return.  Beyond Young, you also have to applaud Smith for getting Pridie, who immediately becomes the Twins’ center fielder of the future.  The 24 year-old came back from injuries this year to rake in Triple A.  Just like that, the Twins have an outfield.   

Meanwhile the Rays suddenly have an awesome young trio fronting their rotation in Scott Kazmir, Jamie Shields, and Garza.  Rincon’s ability is questionable at this point but he could be the setup man the Rays are craving.

I’ll give the advantage to the Twins but I like this deal for both teams.

Odds and Ends: Livan, Bartlett, Willis, Webb

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Random pieces of rumorage…

Unfounded Rumors: Bonser, Morneau

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UPDATE, 11-28-07 at 10:50am: LaVelle E. Neal III and Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune looked into both of these rumors, and found nothing.

FROM 11-27-07 at 10:25pm:

We have seen some Unfounded Rumors come to fruition in the past; you never know.  No insult is intended towards the originators of these, but they are reports I have not been able to verify.  I know most of you just want rumors any way you can get them.

So there you go, a couple of Unfounded Rumors to mull over this evening.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Nathan, Garza, Bedard

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Ken Rosenthal recently dished out a slew of fresh rumors for us to devour.

  • Rosenthal still believes that if the Twins trade Johan Santana, they will also trade Joe Nathan in a separate deal.  Back on November 11th, Rosenthal first suggested this might happen.  About a week ago, Joe Christensen reported that the Twins exchanged contract proposals with Nathan.  Nathan is in line to earn at least $15MM per season, if he wants full market value.  Rosenthal suggests the Brewers, Indians, Tigers, Cubs, and Red Sox as possible fits for Nathan.
  • The Angels may want to keep Gary Matthews Jr., given Vladimir Guerrero’s declining defensive abilities.  Also, Guerrero may soon get a contract extension in the $18MM per season range to put him in line with Torii Hunter.  His contract runs through 2009.
  • The Twins may be close to getting a center fielder, but it may not be Coco Crisp.  Another team is chasing Crisp – perhaps the White Sox? 
  • Melky Cabrera could be dealt independent and regardless of a Johan Santana deal.  The Braves may be interested; the Yanks would then move Johnny Damon back to center.
  • Matt Garza or Boof Bonser may be moved for a bat.  Probably not Delmon Young, but some young slugger.  The Rays also want to find a young shortstop to compete with Reid Brignac.
  • The Yanks don’t want to overpay for a free agent reliever – 3/12 seems their limit on the Riskes and Mahays of the world.
  • Back at the GM meetings, the Mets inquired on Erik Bedard.  The O’s are waiting to see what happens with Miguel Cabrera since they covet many of the prospects being discussed there. 

Would You Trade Delmon Young For Matt Garza?

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I linked to this article earlier in regards to Francisco Liriano, but I missed a bit at the end:

Trade rumor that won’t die: Twins pitcher Matt Garza for Tampa Bay outfielder Delmon Young.

I can definitely see the positives for both sides in this deal. Garza would give the Rays another MLB-ready young pitcher to add to Scott Kazmir and James Shields. They also have Jason Hammel, J.P. Howell, Andy Sonnastine, and the six-foot-nine monster Jeff Niemann likely to break camp with the team. Arranging those guys between the rotation and the bullpen could work out for the Rays. The move would also allow them to slot Elijah Dukes in right field. Or hey, unlikely as it is, maybe Rocco Baldelli stays healthy (yeah, right).

The Twins would be adding a power bat in Young, a much-needed piece. A trade of Garza likely wouldn’t hold them back from trading Johan Santana, since they’d likely receive a starter in such a deal that could be plugged into the rotation in 2008 (Clay Buchholz/Jon Lester, Phil Hughes, Chad Billingsley, Mike Pelfrey/Phil Humber).

Does anyone see any aspects that would make this deal uneven? Let’s crank out the discussion.

Joe Pawlikowski is co-author of River Ave. Blues.

Pirates Rumors From Bucco Blog

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Jake at Bucco Blog has some hot stove material, in addition to his roundup of Pirates prospects.

The Rays are looking for a shortstop, and Jake hears that they might be interested in Jack Wilson. Jake said he debunked this rumor earlier this month, but there "might be renewed interest." I don’t see it. Wilson has had a few decent years, but with over $14 million left on his contract, I see the Rays taking a cheaper route.

Jake is hearing that the Pirates "we’re not actively shopping any players" line is just a front. According to his source, the Pirates are playing this game in order to generate better trades later on, once the smoke has settled. Teams that missed out on their top targets might be more desperate to trade for, say, Jason Bay or Ian Snell later on.

If the Pirates are willing to gut the roster, would that include fielding offers for Tom Gorzelanny, Matt Capps, and Freddy Sanchez? Jake thinks, and I agree, that Gorz should be as close to untouchable as you can get. He doesn’t think the numbers indicate that Capps can continue his dominance, though his low walk rate certainly helps his case.

Honestly, if Sanchez can fetch anything decent, he needs to be dished. Yeah, he won the batting title in 2006, but he had an average year at the plate in 2007, albeit above average for a second baseman. He’ll be 30 next year, and will start getting expensive. I’d hang on to Gorz, Capps, and Snell, as they’ll all be 25 and under in 2008.

Joe Pawlikowski is co-author of River Ave. Blues.

More Odds and Ends: Kuroda, Pena, Wolf, Percival, Molina

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Tim sent me a couple of items, so let’s create another bullet list:

  • Mariners GM Bill Bavasi and manager John McLaren have met with Hiroki Kuroda yesterday. There is no report of an offer, but it’s believed that four years and $45 million are expected. Kuroda hopes to make his decision on the 29th.
  • Impacto Deportivo, the same site that had first news of the Mets deal with Luis Castillo, reports that Carlos Pena has rejected a three-year, $30 million deal from the Rays. Pena, however, calls the report "a straight lie."
  • Randy Wolf is generating interest from the Padres, Phillies, and Astros. Ken Rosenthal notes that the market for high-risk, moderate-reward pitchers is strong, since the rest of the market isn’t very appealing. This includes Bartolo Colon, Jason Jennings, Freddy Garcia, Jon Lieber, Matt Clement, and Kris Benson.
  • The Brewers are in on Troy Percival after losing Francisco Cordero to the Reds. As has been said since the signing, this could also mean that Derrick Turnbow gets another shot in the closer’s role.
  • The Mets inquired about Bengie Molina at the GM meetings, and even though they have acquired Johnny Estrada, they could rekindle talks at the Winter Meetings. Rosenthal notes that the Giants might not want to trade Molina, since they lose considerable leverage because of the $12 million owed to him over the next two years.

Joe Pawlikowski is co-author of River Ave. Blues.

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