Mets Interested In Edwin Jackson
Renewing an interest they’ve had for a while now, a source tells me the Mets hope to acquire Edwin Jackson from the Devil Rays for bullpen help. They feel that they can fix some mechanical flaws in the 23 year-old righty.
Not sure if the Mets would hope to acquire Jackson as part of a trade of Aaron Heilman. As you may have read in the papers, Tampa Bay has interest in Heilman as a starter.
Sherman: Carl Crawford Available
As you may have seen, Joel Sherman’s latest article mentions that the D-Rays will "dangle" Carl Crawford in return for a top starting pitching prospect. Sherman goes on to mention that TB would also explore trading Rocco Baldelli or – gasp – Delmon Young.
Given Young’s off-the-chart talent and future, I can’t see how this is feasible. Crawford makes a sense though, as he’s relatively well-paid and proven. But aside from Mr. Kazmir, how often do you see top-shelf pitching prospects moved? Here are some names: Scott Elbert, Homer Bailey, Philip Hughes, Jason Hirsh, Nick Adenhart, Humberto Sanchez, Donald Veal. Do you see any of these guys being traded? Apparently, that’s what it would take to land Crawford.
Exchanging outfield talent for an equally good starting pitcher makes all sorts of sense for the Rays. And Crawford is signed at a good price through 2010. Would Tim Purpura trade Hirsh or Troy Patton to snag Crawford, a Houston native? Just one of many interesting subplots to follow this winter. Sherman also mentions the Rockies, Dodgers, and Angels as suitors. The White Sox have shown interest in the past as well.
D’Rays Come Up Big With Joel Guzman
Given his insistence on playing shortstop after this season, it seems apparent that Julio Lugo truly is a rental player for the Dodgers. Lugo will certainly add more to the 2006 Dodgers than Joel Guzman could have, so the move is somewhat defensible for Ned Colletti. Still, the Devil Rays won big by getting the 21 year-old.
Tampa Bay surrenders two months of Lugo for six years of young Guzman. Entering the 2005 season, Guzman was a 20 year-old shortstop compared to Alfonso Soriano by Baseball Prospectus. He ranked 7th overall on their top 50 prospects list. Even then he was a little big for the middle infield.
Before the ’06 season the Dodgers decided to move Guzman to left field. He still managed to garner the 14th ranking on BP’s Top 50 list. After surprisingly contending for a job with the Dodgers out of spring training, the team wisely decided to give him some seasoning at Triple A. He was doing an OK job in Las Vegas when Jeff Kent injured his wrist in June. Grady Little decided to bat the kid cleanup in his first start for L.A.
With Kent and Chad Billingsley pushing for his roster spot, Guzman was sent back to Triple A a few weeks later. Cashman Field in Las Vegas inflates offense significantly, but Guzman has only slugged .443 there this season. His plate discipline is definitely a work in progress. The Devil Rays can afford to give him some time in Triple A to get comfortable in his position (not sure where he’ll play, but one article indicates first base).
The D-Rays now find themselves even more loaded with premium young talent (though Guzman may fit right in with the attitude problems prevalent on the Triple A Durham club). What’s more, the team should have the third overall pick in next June’s draft if the current standings hold up.
Julio Lugo Traded To Dodgers
Word comes via ESPN that the Dodgers have acquired Julio Lugo for Joel Guzman and Sergio Pedroza.
I definitely didn’t see this one coming. Jeff Kent should begin swinging a bat right around now after hitting the DL with an oblique strain on July 18th. The Lugo acquisition gives the Dodgers excellent depth in their infield. Former second base fill-ins Willy Aybar and Cesar Izturis have been sent out in other, solid deals. Once Kent is 100% and ready to play Wilson Betemit becomes an excellent bench player for the rest of the year. He’d still remain the second baseman of the future.
McAdam: Red Sox Discussing Extension With Lugo
Via RotoWorld:
"The Providence Journal’s Sean McAdam said on WEEI radio that the Red Sox have been in contact with Julio Lugo‘s agents to discuss a contract extension."
Nothing on this from the Boston Globe guys just yet. The D-Rays are going to have to scramble if they want to get something better than a couple of compensation draft picks for Lugo. One hour left.
Red Sox Trade Rumors
It’s tough to get anything out of Boston these days; Theo Epstein has plugged all of his leaks. Let’s see what we can piece together though.
According to Sean McAdams of The Providence Journal:
"Friends of the Rocket insist he’s sorry that he chose the Astros over the Red Sox." McAdams mentions that Clemens would love a trade to Boston if it could be done without infuriating the Houston fanbase. Also, a source of mine tells me that the Mets have inquired about Clemens.
Then there’s the possible three-way trade with the Rockies and Padres. The Padres would get Mike Lowell, the Red Sox would get Ryan Shealy and a starter, and who knows what the Rockies would get.
Don’t get that rumor confused with the other three-team scenario from Gordon Edes of the Boston Globe. In that case, the Red Sox get Julio Lugo and Scott Linebrink, the Padres get Mike Lowell, and the D-Rays get prospects.
Plus, Jayson Stark mentioned last night that the Red Sox are "making a late run at Alfonso Soriano." He doesn’t have much more than that, but it can’t be dismissed. Stark has also connected Boston to Jason Schmidt and Brad Lidge.
Carroll: Final Offers Made On Tejada
In his the latest Will’s Mill, Will Carroll indicates that the Astros and Angels have put in their final bids for Miguel Tejada. He also mentions that the Astros may turn to Julio Lugo if they can’t get Tejada. In that case they’d have to compete with the Blue Jays. Lugo was released by the Astros in 2003 by Gerry Hunsicker. Chuck LaMar was a bad GM, but you have to give him credit for the Lugo signing and the Kazmir deal. Even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while, right?
Carroll also tells us that not much is leaking out of Boston’s front office, so reporters are left to connect the dots with info from other teams. He leaves us with hope for some action soon enough:
"One of my best sources says the first of the Red Sox deals will happen this afternoon."
Trade Rumor Roundup: 8 Days Left
To begin with, this just isn’t true. With the Kearns deal and probably Soriano trade, the 2006 deadline just can’t be classified as a dud. That honor belongs to 2005 for sure. The trading action never matches the buildup, but this year’s still a good one.
Read Ken Rosenthal’s latest. The White Sox are in the Soriano game, the Rangers have interest in Luis Gonzalez, the Braves could add another reliever, Julio Lugo still might become a Blue Jay, and the Brewers look like sellers. In my opinion, some Brewers besides Carlos Lee that could be unloaded: Geoff Jenkins, Corey Koskie, Brady Clark, and Dan Kolb. Koskie will need to recover quickly from his concussion, however.
Still hearing that the Cubs like Willy Taveras, which would definitely fit their m.o. of players who don’t get on base. Phil Rogers also mentions that Seattle’s Rafael Soriano is being asked about. It would be surprising to see the Mariners deal that kind of young talent.
Tons of great rumors coming from Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. He’s got a rundown of the Red Sox, all sorts of teams scouting Humberto Sanchez, and more.
Buster Olney mentioned in his blog today that the Astros are among various teams scouting Elmer Dessens. The Astros are also looking at Damaso Marte.
Unfounded rumor department: Could the Dodgers be after Aramis Ramirez? Ramirez has picked a fantastic time to heat up, and L.A. has some top shelf young talent…is there anywhere Julio Lugo could go besides Toronto? How about the Rockies?
Trade Rumor Roundup: 10 Days Left
Couple of fresh rumors surrounding the Padres’ third base vacancy, and I’m proud to say that MLBTradeRumors was able to deduce these in advance. A week ago I compiled a spreadsheet of Kevin Towers’ trading history since 2001, nerd that I am. From that we learned that Towers loves working with the Red Sox and also Bill Bavasi. That he would consider Adrian Beltre and Mike Lowell for his vacancy followed logically. Today, the Beltre rumor comes courtesy of Ken Rosenthal and Buster Olney threw down the Lowell rumor. If those two big dogs fall through, Towers could pursue previous acquisitions Joe Randa or Rich Aurilia.
Plenty of speculation, newspaper articles, and quotes involving Julio Lugo heading to Toronto. Not that this would be a bad move, but this club has a clear need for pitching. Ricciardi only has so many bullets to fire as far as prospects and dollars.
ESPN’s Stark Market tells us that the Mets may have soured a bit on Lastings Milledge and could consider shipping him to Philadelphia for Bobby Abreu. Meanwhile, Baseball Prospectus’s Jay Jaffe reminds us that Milledge’s most comparable player is Ruben Mateo, and recommends the deal for New York.
Wacky rumor involving A-Rod to the Phils made the message board rounds yesterday afternoon, but I think it’s safe to say there’s nothing to this one. Mark Healey agrees. The best part is that this one actually got all the way to A-Rod himself, who said he’d veto a deal to Philly. Check out that Gotham Baseball column from Healey for some fresh rumorage.
I was just checking my referrers, seeing where people are coming from when they land here at MLBTradeRumors.com. A lot of the traffic comes from search engine queries. Turns out someone recently found this site by Googling: "what does dayn perry have against royce clayton." Now that’s a damn good question.
Astros Acquire Aubrey Huff
The Astros finally got their bat, and they didn’t have to give up their top prospects. Read all about their trade for Aubrey Huff at MLB.com.
If you recall, the Astros have had Huff on their radar as far back as January of this year. The D-Rays got decent prospects in the trade, but Huff’s value has been declining for a while now.
Ben Zobrist is a solid but not spectacular shortstop prospect. He may be ready to try Triple A for the first time with his new club. He kind of reminds me of Craig Counsell after reading about him a bit. Good guy to have around, gets on base, but not a star. The B.J. Upton as a shortstop experiment has officially ended because of Zobrist, and Upton should be in the bigs to stay by August if he takes to third base.
Talbot projects as a tolerable fifth starter perhaps; he’ll give up a good share of hits but stay around the plate. He’s got a 1.36 WHIP in Double A right now.
Looking at the numbers, the Astros might stand to gain one game in the standings from this trade when it’s all said and done. That could be the difference with the team currently 3.5 games out of the wild card.
I was just reading an excellent chapter in Dayn Perry’s book Winners. The biggest post-trading deadline gain ever from an outfielder was Jermaine Dye for the 2001 A’s, and that accounted for maybe two extra wins. Best ever trading deadline acquisition? Doyle Alexander for the 1987 Tigers, who went 9-0 with a 1.53 ERA after the trade. Of course, a young nobody named John Smoltz went the other way. Still, no trading deadline acquisition has ever contributed more than Alexander (Randy Johnson included).