Marlins Still After Gathright
Today, a source close to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays updated me on their efforts to trade Joey Gathright. The word is that the Marlins and Dodgers are the frontrunners, while the Rangers and Cubs are still "in the mix."
Three days ago, Joe Frisaro of MLB.com mentioned that the Marlins could send Scott Olsen to the Rays for Gathright. Gathright essentially is Juan Pierre, and the Marlins would have a formidable 1-5 in their order, believe it or not. Call me crazy, but the Fish are a few well-timed breakouts, reliever success stories, and a couple of miracles away from sniffing .500 in ’06. I know you’re probably bookmarking this story right now to disparage me at the end of the season for hinting that the Marlins could be a .500 team.
Anyway, it’s unclear to my source whether the Marlins actually offered Olsen for Gathright. He did mention that the Devil Rays like Olsen a lot, despite his late-season elbow inflammation. Olsen flashed huge strikeout potential in the minors, and jumped past Triple A this year to start four games for the Marlins.
The Dodgers’ interest probably hinges on Kenny Lofton‘s decision, as L.A. has an offer out to him. The Cubs seem an unlikely destination. Plugging in Gathright could result in a severely power-deficient outfield. Gathright would be a nice fit for Texas, and could score a boatload of runs fronting that lineup.
Cubs Still Chasing Aubrey Huff
Eduardo Encina is a Devil Rays beat writer for the Tampa Tribune. In today’s article, Encina makes it clear that Aubrey Huff is prepared to leave Tampa Bay this winter. He mentions the Cubs, Mariners, Red Sox, Angels, and Orioles as the interested parties.
I spoke to Encina late last night, and he elaborated on some of the details concerning Huff. Encina listed five different suitors for Huff in his article, but mentioned to me that there are actually seven teams hot on his trail. He told me the Cubs are the "most interested team." One team not mentioned in his article that is in play is the Mets.
Encina mentioned that Huff rumors get complicated mainly because of all the possibilities for a package deal with Julio Lugo, Toby Hall, or Danys Baez. He said Huff is the player the Rays are most eager to deal, but they require a "top-prospect pitcher and a position player add in." This quote from Huff in Encina’s article makes it clear that Aubrey has packed his bags:
"It always seems like they’re shopping me around to see what they’re going to get. You don’t shop unless you mean it."
Given that the Cubs are the frontrunners at the moment, who could they send over to acquire Huff? In my estimation, the pitcher required would be one of Angel Guzman, Rich Hill, and Sean Marshall. In perusing the position players on the Cubs’ 40 man roster, it makes sense that catcher Geovany Soto could be involved as well.
UPDATE: I spoke to Encina a little bit more, and he told me a trade of Toby Hall is becoming "more unlikely by the day." Given that and an impending Lugo deal, the Rays could try to obtain a shortstop as part of a Huff trade. Regardless, the focus of the Devil Rays will continue to be pitching.
Angels Pursuing Joey Gathright, Toby Hall
According to Ken Rosenthal, "The Angels are believed to be talking to the Devil Rays about a deal for center fielder Joey Gathright and/or catcher Toby Hall."
We reported yesterday that the Angels were hot on the trail of Tampa Bay outfielders. While our source named Ervin Santana as likely trade bait, Rosenthal thinks young infielders and/or catchers would be sent over. It does make sense that Jeff Mathis would go to the Rays if Hall is dealt. Mathis had a great age 22 season for a catcher at Triple A Salt Lake. It is expected that Steve Finley will be benched or traded to clear a spot for an imported outfielder like Gathright.
Rosenthal also mentions, "acquisition of Hall almost certainly would end the chances of free-agent catcher Bengie Molina remaining with the Angels." An interesting scenario could develop if Molina decides to play it safe and accept arbitration, which is still a possibility. Last year, Placido Polanco unexpectedly accepted arbitration with the Phillies, creating an awkward situation with Chase Utley ready to play every day. Polanco was quickly dealt for just Ugueth Urbina.
Carl Crawford On The Block?
A source close to the Devil Rays’ scouting department filled me in recently on their outfielder extravaganza.
It’s well known Joey Gathright is on the block. If you’re looking for a scrappy player with no power who runs real fast, Gathright is your man. It’s unknown whether Gathright can make his on-base skills shown at Triple A Durham translate to the big leagues, but some team besides the Rays will find out soon enough. I’m not yet able to narrow down the list of his suitors to a single digit number.
Infinitely more interesting than Gathright is the possibility (albeit slim) that Carl Crawford could be dealt. Crawford was "a little shocked" by Rocco Baldelli‘s deal, and rightfully so. After all, where was Baldelli while Crawford was busy being the 10th best LF in the game in ’05? 2006 could be the year Crawford busts out and hits 20 HR.
According to my source, the Angels are hot on the trail of Baldelli, Gathright, and Crawford. The Rays are quite enamored with 22 year-old righthander Ervin Santana. Santana had a solid rookie season in ’05, winning 12 games for the Angels.
Another team in the running for Crawford is the White Sox. They’re not entirely sold on Brian Anderson in center field for a defending World Champion, and the Devil Rays are asking for Brandon McCarthy and/or Josh Fields.
McCarthy pitched with a vengeance in September and October of 2005, tossing 43 innings of 1.69 ERA ball. He led the Minor Leagues in strikeouts in 2004.
Third baseman Josh Fields is in the Sox’s top ten prospect list for sure. However, he was just OK at Double A Birmingham in ’05, hitting .252/.341/.409 in 477 at-bats. Fields is a hard worker, but still needs plenty of seasoning in the minors.
Thanks to Matt
Braves’ Andy Marte Available?
Are you familiar with Atlanta Braves’ third baseman Andy Marte? Before the 2005 season, Baseball Prospectus rated him the #1 prospect in the game.
At age 21, Marte had an excellent 2/3 of a season for Triple A in ’05. Marte posted a .372 OBP and .506 SLG for the Richmond Braves. After Chipper Jones went down with an injury, Marte got a brief call-up to the Show on June 7th. He didn’t play regularly, and made several trips back and forth to the minors after that.
There had been whispers of Marte’s availability through trade, but it didn’t seem logical to me. Deal away a 21 year-old top prospect simply because of Chipper Jones? If there’s one thing Jones does not do particularly well, it’s play third base. I know he’s the well-respected veteran, but a move back to left field to clear the way for Marte seemed like a no-brainer.
On Friday, Will Carroll casually mentioned that Marte could be had for Julio Lugo:
"The Braves are said to be offering BP’s 2005 #1 prospect Andy Marte in return, which would be a nice deal both ways, considering that Marte has fallen as far as fourth on the organization’s depth chart at third base."
Now, I knew Marte was unpopular, but fourth on the depth chart? How did Pete Orr supplant Marte? But Carroll proved correct. Check out this excerpt about Marte from John Schuerholz’s interview Friday with Talking Chop:
Joe Hamrahi: Is there any possibility that Marte goes to camp at a different position or tries to learn a new position?
John Schuerholz: I don’t think so. I don’t think so. He’s too young…he’s a primary dominant third base candidate for a major league team in the very near future, whether it be for our team or someone else’s team. I mean this guy’s total package, offensively and defensively, his power potential, and excellent defensive skills make him a legitimate major league third baseman. Right now, though, there’s a guy named Chipper Jones ahead of him.
Italics added by me for emphasis. That’s not something you say about the future of your franchise. I think it’s pretty clear at this point that Marte is trade bait simply because he’s blocked by Chipper Jones. Now, the Braves have a history of trading away top-billed prospects and having them not pan out. But Marte looks like a can’t-miss future Eric Chavez (and then some).
With that in mind, which teams have a need at third base and could give the Braves the players they need?
Dodgers – L.A. has a stacked farm system, but the Braves are probably looking for a shortstop and/or a closer. While Cesar Izturis could be part of a future package, a deal probably won’t happen now for Marte.
Brewers – The Brew Crew could definitely give Marte an everyday opportunity at the hot corner. Problem is, the Braves don’t have a strong need for Lyle Overbay.
Twins – I’d love to see Terry Ryan get creative and make a deal for Marte. He’s got starting pitching and bullpen depth to deal from.
Devil Rays – Ultimately, they’re still in the best shape to acquire Marte. It’s sounding more and more like Baez and Lugo for Marte would appease both clubs.
Cameron For Nady Rumor Has Legs
A new Ken Rosenthal column was just posted over at Fox Sports. Some interesting nuggets in there, including a few that confirm rumors we reported on earlier.
The rumored Mike Cameron for Xavier Nady swap we mentioned on Sunday may have legs. Rosenthal adds that the Mets could spin Nady into a Manny Ramirez package if they don’t want to platoon him with Mike Jacobs. Nady could make sense for the Red Sox, a team with question marks at third and second base.
Cameron could also end up in Baltimore or Arizona according to Rosenthal.
The column mentions some interest coming from the Braves on Trevor Hoffman. I don’t buy this matchup, considering Hoffman’s outlandish demands. The Braves don’t seem like the types to give three years or $27MM to a closer.
Rosenthal also adds some info to the Julio Lugo to the Braves rumor. We confirmed before that the Braves would need more than Lugo to part with Andy Marte. Rosenthal suggests Johnny Estrada and another prospect as a more reasonable package going to the D-Rays.
Thanks to Brian B.
Julio Lugo To The Braves
Today the Tampa Tribune’s Scott Carter again brought up the idea of the Rays trading Julio Lugo. This time, he named names:
"While it remains too early to determine whether any of those players will be traded, Atlanta’s interest in Lugo appears real. Atlanta catcher Johnny Estrada, third baseman Andy Marte and pitcher John Thomson, who had his $4.75 million option for next season picked up recently, are all believed to be available. Meanwhile, Baez and Huff continue to surface in trade rumors with the Mets and Red Sox that erupted at last year’s trade deadline."
RotoAuthority has already busted out 2006 projections for Lugo, so we won’t go into detail about that here. But is the availability of Andy Marte legitimate? Marte was ranked the #1 prospect in all of baseball by Baseball Prospectus in 2005. I asked Scott Carter, the perpetrator of the rumor, to elaborate. He told me:
"I don’t think you would see any kind of trade straight-up for those two. I’m sure for Braves to depart with Marte, they would want Lugo and possibly Gathright/Gomes or more."
If I’m the Rays, I’m speed-dialing Schuerholz to offer Gathright and Lugo for Marte. Mark my words, the Devil Rays will be a contender by 2007.