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Carl Crawford Available?

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Just a mini-rumor of sorts, only a notch above speculation.  But hey, this is a rumor site.  Yahoo’s Tim Brown mentions that Tampa Bay outfielder Carl Crawford can be had, and suggests the Angels make an offer.

It’s early yet, but it looks like Crawford will set a career high in walks at age 25.  He’s never topped 37 in a season, but already has 15 in 34 games.  This is an excellent step forward in development, and convenient for the walk-allergic Angels if they’re interested.  Hopefully they wouldn’t unteach the new skill.  Crawford is also maintaining his power with a .481 SLG.

Crawford is signed through his prime on a very team-friendly contract: assuming all options are exercised, he’s owed $27.5MM for 2007-10.  A package of prospects centered around oft-rumored Ervin Santana seems to make sense.  The mass media is calling for the Halos’ pitching surplus to be used for a bat, and I agree.  However, I’m not sure Crawford would give them the significant jolt of OBP and SLG they need.  I’d like to see the Angels revisit the Todd Helton talks, or maybe go after Pat Burrell or Adam Dunn.

Juan Salas Suspended for 50 Games

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Juan Salas, a Tampa Bay reliever, was suspended for 50 games for violating MLB’s drug policy.  Salas was having a decent year: 3.95 ERA in 15 appearances, though he was walking nearly a batter an inning, and that never bodes well.

Salas is in his first full big-league season, so he probably wasn’t going anywhere, but the suspension does make it harder for the Rays to trade any relief arms that draw interest.  At this point, the only guy who would probably do that is Al Reyes, and while he’s off to a great start, he’s only desirable by comparison to the rest of the Rays pen.

By Jeff Sackmann
Brew Crew Ball

Trading Rich Harden

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Rich Harden’s name first popped up in trade rumors in December.  John Delcos spoke with Mets GM Omar Minaya and indicated that the A’s starter was surprisingly available, perhaps for a package of Lastings Milledge, Aaron Heilman, and Philip Humber.  Ken Rosenthal later indicated that it was Dan Haren the Mets really wanted.  A confusing situation all around.

Buster Olney brought the rumor back to life today in his blog with some informed speculation.  He thinks that if Harden could stay healthy for a month or two, there could be a huge market for him at the deadline.  He’s locked up at a reasonable price through 2009.

Olney speculates that the Diamondbacks, Dodgers, or the big money teams could make a play.  One source Olney spoke to liked the Devil Rays as a suitor.  Personally I think Kazmir/Harden would be a lot better on paper than in reality, much like Prior/Wood.  I have to admit that putting Elijah Dukes and Milton Bradley on the same team could be cool.  Sidenote: Dukes seems like a changed man.  He sounds like a normal guy now, hanging out and eating Red Lobster with his family. 

Acquiring Harden in exchange for top tier talent would certainly be a risky move for a GM.  One GM not afraid to take risks: Kenny Williams.  The White Sox have a great medical staff, too.

Rockies Inquire About Cantu

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A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned the Rockies as a possible fit for Jorge Cantu in a Let’s Make A Deal post.  Turns out they really were interested, inquiring about him sometime before Sunday.

The question remains – would the Rox really pair rookie shortstop Troy Tulowitzki with Cantu?  Playing alongside one of the worst defensive second basemen in the game wouldn’t seem likely to help Tulo’s development.  Clint Hurdle is dedicated to Tulowitzki despite a slow start (.191/.296/.234 in 47 ABs).

Cantu is hitting .250/.302/.354 with zero home runs in 48 ABs in Triple A.  He’s batting cleanup and commiserating with teammate Seth McClung.  Besides hoping for Cantu’s bat to heat up, the D-Rays plan on using him at first, second, and third base to increase his value.  Of course, first and third are fully locked up on the Rockies. 

Latest On Lidge

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Today brings four new articles mentioning ousted Houston closer Brad Lidge.  MLBTradeRumors reads them so you don’t have to.

Ken Davidoff of Newsday simply drops one sentence on the topic, writing that Lidge is not available for the moment.  Well, that’s a start.

Dan Graziano of the Newark Star-Ledger names Lidge one of his "Five Closers Who Had A Tough Week."  I really think Ugueth Urbina belongs at #6.  Graziano mentions that the Devil Rays have been one of the most aggressive teams calling on Tim Purpura for Lidge, but that the Astros have shown no eagerness to trade him.

Speaking of those Devil Rays, Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times is well-connected to the club as the beat writer.  He says Lidge trade chatter is ongoing, but that if the Astros do decide to trade him they might avoid the Rays.  Why’s that?  Former Astros pitching coach Jim Hickey might be able to fix him, and the Astros don’t want to be shown up in a trade.  In essence, they want Lidge to continue to fail if they trade him. 

Side note: I couldn’t figure out a good destination for Jorge Cantu, ultimately leaning toward the Mets.  But Topkin says the Blue Jays and Twins have come up in rumors in the media.  I didn’t catch those articles, but maybe he is referring to reporter chatter.

Scott Lauber of the Wilmington News Journal again connects the Phillies to Lidge.  I’m starting to think he’s got more than speculation there.  Lauber feels that Lidge needs a change of scenery, but obviously the Astros are reluctant to sell low.

Wagner on Lidge

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Jon Heyman has been talking to Mets’ closer Billy Wagner, who is apparently close friends with the down-and-out former Astros’ closer Brad Lidge.  Who knew that Wagner was an expert insider in major league baseball– he refutes the Astros’ claim that they are not planning on moving the shell-shocked reliver.

According to Wagner, Philadelphia wouldn’t be a good fit, because, well, it wasn’t a good fit for him.  From Heyman’s article:  "He needs to be in a place where he can [exhale],” Wagner said. "Houston’s so laid back. Maybe I’m biased against [Philadelphia] … [But] all it takes is one bad game, and fans would kill him."  Obviously the Phillies are part of the discussion because they need to improve their bullpen in order to compete in the NL East, but Heyman also mentions the Mets and Devil Rays.  Of the Mets, Wagner says: "He’d be a good fit here. In this clubhouse, it isn’t ’Who hit the home run?’ or "Who had the hit?’ It’s "Did we win?”’  Yea, when I think of a place to exhale, I think Shea Stadium, with its kind, gentle, forgiving Mets fans. Right.

Lidge is on a one-year, $5.35M contract, so despite all the Astros "connections" to the D-Rays, I don’t see it happening.  Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times named some candidates yesterday nonetheless.  In my opinion, any of those guys are too much to give up, especially for a team with no prayer of making the playoffs.  Why are they in the market for a closer? 

With so many teams in need of relief pitching, it is likely that Houston will be able to dump all of Lidge’s salary and still get some good value in return.  But who, what, and when?  It’s only speculation for now.

John Peterson is a Mets fan and writes for the blog Blastings Thrilledge.

Devil Rays And Brad Lidge?

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Combining a couple of reports this morning, it appears that the Devil Rays may have some interest in acquiring ousted Houston closer Brad Lidge.

Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the Houston Chronicle has a friend covering an AL East team reporting that his team is talking to Tim Purpura about Lidge.  Naturally one might think the Red Sox would be interested in Lidge for a setup role, as they’ve talked to the Astros about him in the past.

However, Jose’s friend may be Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times, who covers the Devil Rays.  Topkin reports that the Rays would make a good match with possible trading chips like Rocco Baldelli, Jason Hammel, Andy Sonnanstine, J.P. Howell, and Shawn Riggans.  Topkin thinks the presence of former Astros GM Gerry Hunsicker and the previous Aubrey Huff deal could inhibit a Lidge deal now.  I imagine the Astros would pounce on a Baldelli for Lidge trade, but I don’t see that happening.  The Astros are fairly well set in the outfield.

Drays Bay throws out Joel Guzman as a possibility, and notes that current Rays pitching coach Jim Hickey previously worked for the Astros.  Would the Rays really want to take on Lidge’s $5.35MM and give up a solid player for him?  This club is not expected to win this year, though Lidge will not become a free agent until after the 2008 season.

The Phillies certainly need some bullpen help, though I’m not sure that Lidge would change things.  Scott Lauber of the Wilmington News Journal suggests the possibility, but only as speculation.

It should be noted that de Jesus Ortiz spoke to Purpura, and the GM’s comments do not seem to indicate a trade anytime soon.

Let’s Make A Deal: Jorge Cantu

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Jorge Cantu DH’d for Triple A Durham last night, though his agent still refers to him as "an experienced second baseman with a power bat."  Cantu, of course, would prefer to be traded to a team that would let him start in the big leagues again.

Which teams could use a second baseman?  There’s the Braves, if you don’t believe in Kelly Johnson.  Personally, I do.  Ditto for the Mets and Jose Valentin, who I also think is at least as good as Cantu.  There really aren’t any perfect fits for the guy.  The Rockies seem reasonable, though they have guys they want to try first.  And would they really want to pair their rookie shortstop with a defender like Cantu?

Given that Valentin is on a one-year deal, I have to lean towards the Mets.  Minaya would only go for it if it was a bargain.  Just guessing, but maybe a Jason Vargas or a Joe Smith would be sufficient?

It looks like B.J. Upton might be here to stay, so Cantu is going to have to regain some of his value at Triple A.  The market for him should be fairly weak.

 

Cantu to Durham Confirmed

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Confirming what Buster Olney heard a few days ago, infielder Jorge Cantu will report to AAA Durham in time for Thursday’s season opener.

But that’s not to say he wouldn’t prefer to be traded.  "I’m not a minor league player," said Cantu.  That’s all well and good, but Cantu does not have enough service time or the type of contract that would force the Devil Rays to trade him.

Even in 2005, when Cantu was at the height of his powers, he did not get on base at a good rate, rarely taking walks.  With the young position player talent the Devil Rays have, Cantu has his work cut out for him to return to Tampa Bay.

Maybe that’s why he thinks a trade is a good idea.

Tom Goyne is the author of Balls, Sticks, & Stuff, a Phillies-centric site, and maintains the Phloggers’ Pheeds page, a source for the latest commentary from around the "phlogosphere".

Cantu Off To Durham

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According to Buster Olney in his blog today:

"Heard last night, by the way, that Jorge Cantu will swallow his frustration with being sent to Triple-A and head to Durham, rather than walk away, something he had initially talked about doing. He really doesn’t have a choice."

Cantu is just going to have to put his head down and put up some big numbers in Triple A to earn a trade back into a full-time job.  Last time he was in Triple A, he hit .302/.335/.576 with 22 HR in 368 ABs.  The 25 year-old might be able to help out in Oakland, Atlanta, Cincinnati, or Washington.  I know some people want him on the Mets, and I suppose that could happen.  But I’d rather have Jose Valentin right now.

Also an interesting D-Rays read – looks like Scott Boras’s camp never informed Seth McClung that he an option left.  Oops.

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