Ranger Rumors: Botts, Otsuka, Padilla
Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News recently did a Q&A, and there were some interesting hot stove-related tidbits to consider.
- Grant believes one of Nelson Cruz or Jason Botts will depart before Opening Day. Botts is out of options, so he may be more likely to go. While acknowledging that he is a 27 year-old DH, Botts’ recent Major League Equivalencies say he may be able to post an .800 OPS in the bigs.
- Grant answers a question about Akinori Otsuka and his "scary" elbow. He says Otsuka probably can’t pitch through the pain and if he did his ligament would be at risk of tearing anyway. That’s why Otsuka is a free agent (not because he recommended San Diego to Kosuke Fukudome). The Padres and Phillies have been linked to Otsuka, while the White Sox passed on him.
- Grant notes that the Mariners had mild interest in Vicente Padilla but that may be gone with their Carlos Silva signing. Since Padilla’s value is at a low point it may make sense to hope he has a solid first half and deal him then.
More Prior Details
Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune has more details on Mark Prior‘s contract and suitors.
Prior cited the Astros, Cardinals, Mets, and Rangers as the most aggressive; about half the teams in baseball contacted his agent.
Contract details: it has a $1MM base with another possible $3.5MM in incentives. However, much of the incentive money is tied to the number of starts he makes, so he’ll probably end up earning $3MM or less in 2008.
How bad was the shoulder injury? How far along is Prior in his rehab? I’ve talked to some people and read published reports and am unable to draw any consistent conclusion. Rick Wilton of Baseball Injury Report thinks the chance of a meaningful contribution from Prior in ’08 is close to zero. Others are a bit more optimistic, but we’ll just have to wait and see.
Rangers Trade Volquez For Hamilton
Today we had another bold swap of young players. The Rangers sent young pitchers Edinson Volquez and Danny Ray Herrera to the Reds for outfielder Josh Hamilton.
You all know the story with Hamilton. Former first overall pick by the Rays in ’99, immensely talented. Derailed by drug problems for many years, then posted an incredible half season in the Majors for the Reds despite little experience above A ball. He put up a .922 OPS for the Reds, and seems like a great gamble by Jon Daniels despite health concerns. He’ll turn 27 in May; hopefully the Rangers let him stay in center. Hamilton leaves a park that inflates left-handed home runs by about 28% to a park that inflates them by 24%. His departure clears a path for top prospect Jay Bruce.
Volquez, 24, is also immensely talented. He kept stalling at the big league level but finally seemed to figure it out in September. Baseball America calls his stuff "electric," describing a mid-90s heater paired with a mid-70s change-up. One concern here is that Volquez is a flyball pitcher. Wayne Krivsky took an interesting route to add an intriguing starter; I wonder if the move takes them out of the Erik Bedard sweepstakes. It’s been speculated that the Reds could go after Mike Cameron to fill their new center field void.
Herrera, 23, is a southpaw relief prospect. Check out this info from Baseball America. He barely registers 5-foot-7, 145 pounds. He tops out at 84mph but throws some kind of screwball to offset the weak heat. This trick helped him post an 11.0 K/9 in Double A this year.
Baseball America rocks, check them out by the way. They’ve already got analysis of this deal up here.
Rangers Rumors: Guardado, Cameron, Hamilton
MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan has all the latest hot stove buzz around the Rangers.
- The Rangers are nearing a deal with Eddie Guardado. Everyday Eddie might be a dark horse to close, if he can flash his late season form again. The Reds decided in October that he was not worth $3.5MM, and declined his option. Guardado is 37.
- The Rangers hope to add some kind of veteran starter. Bartolo Colon and Jason Jennings are still options, but Mark Prior and Freddy Garcia pretty much are not. Sullivan names Mike Maroth, Mark Hendrickson, and Josh Towers as pitchers of interest.
- Mike Cameron could be an option for center field if he’ll take a one-year deal. A multiyear demand would also take the Rangers out of the running for Corey Patterson.
- Sullivan notes that the Reds want Edinson Volzquez for Josh Hamilton, a possibility he first mentioned three weeks ago. Jamey Newberg doesn’t think Volquez would cut it. Other trade options could include Andre Ethier, Coco Crisp, and Juan Pierre.
- The Rangers will pass on a Kevin Mench reunion.
Padres Leading For Prior, Rangers Out
UPDATE, 12-21-07 at 11:02am: The Rangers took a look at Prior’s meds, and they are "completely out" on him according to T.R. Sullivan. Rosenthal had said they were aggressively pursuing him.
FROM 12-21-07 at 9:55am:
Yesterday we outlined the 14 teams involved in the Mark Prior Derby. Last night, Buster Olney provided an update to the situation.
Olney’s article was published around 8:15pm CST, and he said Prior may choose his new team within 24-48 hours. So perhaps we will know by Saturday evening.
According to Olney, the Padres "appear to be the frontrunner." They’ve apparently offered Prior a package heavy in incentives, and of course they have the draw of being near his home. Olney does believe one of the other dozen or so teams could jump in and get Prior with an aggressive offer, though. The Astros seem to be a good possibility.
The Mark Prior Derby
Let’s do a recap on the Mark Prior Derby, which is getting more confusing each day. Jerry Crasnick has added some good info this afternoon. Prior wants a one-year deal and hopes to be on a big league mound before the end of May.
- Yankees – They’ll probably pass, per Hank Steinbrenner.
- Red Sox – Named only by Jayson Stark.
- White Sox – Named only by Stark.
- Mariners – Named by Stark, denied by Jim Street.
- Mets – Named by Stark, Crasnick, Ken Rosenthal, Ed Price
- Cardinals – Named by Stark, Crasnick, Rosenthal, Matthew Leach
- Padres – Named by many, made an offer according to Crasnick. Prior went to USC but would have to take less money to play in San Diego
- Astros – Named by many, made an offer according to Alyson Footer
- Giants – Named only by Stark
- Reds – Named by Stark, Crasnick. Prior previously played under Dusty Baker
- Nationals – Named by Stark, Crasnick, Bill Ladson
- Rangers – Named by Crasnick but not Stark, aggressively pursuing according to Rosenthal
- Marlins – Named only by Crasnick
- Indians – Named only by Crasnick
One more and we’re at half of all baseball teams linked at some point. The Phillies and Pirates are not interested, and it’s probably safe to count the Cubs out.
Odds and Ends: Giles, Chacon, Durbin
Here are today’s random rumor tidbits.
- The Rox are interested in Marcus Giles for their second base opening. Giles was awful last year, they should just try something internal. Other Rockies notes: contracts with Kip Wells and Luis Vizcaino aren’t quite finalized, and they may ink Victor Zambrano to a minor league deal. UPDATE: Wells, plus Mark Redman, are done deals.
- The Pirates still have their eye on Shawn Chacon and Chad Durbin. That”ll put butts in the seats. Also, Jake of Bucco Blog weighs in on a new Pirates hire.
- Speaking of Durbin, did he comment on this blog and suggest he’s headed to the NL? I’m not sure.
- Drays Bay talked to Gerry Hunsicker. Seth Speaks talked to Pat Neshek.
- New prize added to our Hot Stove Hysteria contest – three months free of Scout.com access.
- Things are mostly quiet with the Brewers, but this Tom Haudricourt blog post notes tepid discussions for Scott Rolen, Hank Blalock, and Andre Ethier.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Prior, Bedard, Haren
The rumor mill is picking up today, thanks in no short part to Ken Rosenthal. Check out his latest column.
- Rosenthal believes the Padres are Mark Prior‘s first choice, but as usual they won’t pay as much as other teams. Both Texas clubs are in the lead for Prior currently. Rosenthal also names the Cards, Mets, and Yankees are suitors, as we knew. The Pirates, by the way, have not inquired.
- Talks for Erik Bedard have slowed down, because the Orioles aren’t impressed with the offers. The Mariners, Reds, and Mets are the top contenders. Rosenthal indicates that the Reds may be overvaluing Homer Bailey, compared to the perception of other clubs.
- Interesting late-game suitors for Dan Haren: the Rockies and Braves. You wonder, then, whether they’ll also inquire on Bedard.
- Rosenthal notes that the Chris Burke acquisition could be a sign that the D’Backs won’t re-sign Orlando Hudson. Burke will have to show something first though.
- The Orioles don’t seem likely to flip Luke Scott; they like his style. The guy could hit 30 bombs this year, in the opinion of Ron Shandler and Co.
- The Twins are up to 39 on their 40 man roster, so they’ll have to be creative to take back four players in a Johan Santana deal. It could mean including a player with Johan.
Phillies Interested In Cameron, Benson
ESPN’s Jayson Stark wrote recently that the Phillies have expressed interest in center fielder Mike Cameron, now that the Padres are out of the mix. Pat Gillick, who had Cameron back in Seattle, may have warmed to the idea of a two-year contract. Back on December 6th Todd Zolecki said the Phils didn’t even want to go that far. Stark says the White Sox and Rangers are other contenders for Cameron.
Also, both the Phillies and Padres remain on the trail of Geoff Jenkins, according to Zolecki. His choices have been narrowed down to those two clubs since Friday.
The Phils will be among many teams watching Kris Benson throw tomorrow. Benson is a popular bargain option; we’ve known that the Yankees, Cardinals, Royals, and Marlins may be watching on Monday as well. Nick Cafardo says ten teams will observe Benson, adding the Rockies and Dodgers as new ones. We’re still three short!
The Phils also could give a minor-league deal to Sidney Ponson. I’ll let you add your own punchline there.
Rangers Signing Fukumori
UPDATE, 12-13-07 at 10:20am: Rosenthal confirms this signing; it kind of flew under the radar. Pretty cheap at $1.5MM per year.
UPDATE, 12-12-07 at 1:57pm: My Japanese-speaking friend says that this article indicates Fukumori signed with Texas for two years and $3MM. The $1.5MM salary is about twice what he made in ’07. Fukumori also had offers from the Pirates and Rays.
FROM 12-12-07 at 9:08am:
According to Evan Grant, the Rangers are "on the verge" of signing Japanese reliever Kazuo Fukumori. It would be a two-year deal.
As many as 10 teams were said to be interested in Fukumori, including the Yankees, Nationals, Royals, and Red Sox. Ken Davidoff recently spoke to a scout who described Fukumori as "not bad."