Blue Jays Rumors

Odds & Ends: Pudge, A-Rod, Wilson, Hill

By Tim Dierkes | March 19, 2009 at 9:59am CDT

Links for Thursday…

Chat today, 2pm CST.
Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the Houston Chronicle talked to various Astros players about the Ivan Rodriguez signing.
John Brattain of The Hardball Times asks what might have happened with Alex Rodriguez if he hadn't had Scott Boras whispering in his ear.
Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette assures us that the Pirates shopped shortstop Jack Wilson aggressively this winter.
Eric Seidman of FanGraphs questions the Nationals' decision to release Shawn Hill. If Hill is useful in future years, this one's on Mike Rizzo.
Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star discusses the Royals' signing of Sidney Ponson.
Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star has a funny story involving Roy Halladay and Travis Snider.
RotoAuthority looks at the fantasy prospects of Nationals top prospect Jordan Zimmermann.

Blue Jays Sign Dutch Closer

By | March 18, 2009 at 1:05pm CDT

According to Jeff Blair of the Toronto Globe and Mail, the Blue Jays have signed right-hander Leon Boyd to a minor league contract.

Boyd, 25, closed for The Netherlands in the World Baseball Classic, posting a 2.25 ERA in four innings of work. He also pitched for the Dutch during the 2008 Olympics and collected the team's only win.

Jays, Wade Miller Agree To Minors Deal

By | March 7, 2009 at 4:02pm CDT

4:02pm: The Canadian Press adds that the Jays have an option on Miller’s deal for 2010.

11:03am: According to ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick, the Blue Jays have reached agreement on a minor league contract with pitcher Wade Miller.

The deal is pending a physical exam. Miller, 32, hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2007 and hasn’t been effective on the mound since 2004, when he was with the Astros. He’s a longshot to make Toronto’s final roster.

Nomar Garciaparra, A’s Agree To Terms

By Tim Dierkes | March 3, 2009 at 2:37pm CDT

2:37pm: Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle says Nomar agreed to terms on a one-year deal with the A’s.

8:22am: According to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, Nomar Garciaparra has decided to play in 2009 and is on the verge of a one-year deal with the A’s. He’ll spend time backing up the infield corners and DHing.

A’s GM Billy Beane has been active this winter, adding Matt Holliday, Jason Giambi, Orlando Cabrera, Russ Springer, and Mike Wuertz. Joel Sherman of the New York Post suggests owner Lew Wolff "wanted to accelerate the timetable for winning."

Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle talked to incumbent shortstop Bobby Crosby, who would like to be traded. Slusser says the Blue Jays aren’t "convinced that Crosby is an upgrade over Marco Scutaro." Presumably, the A’s would have to eat salary or take back a bad contract to move Crosby (or simply release him).

Odds & Ends: Contraction, Pudge, German, Jays

By Tim Dierkes | March 2, 2009 at 10:23am CDT

Links for Monday…

Squawking Baseball talked to Braves exec John Coppolella about the salary arbitration process as well as various topics about the team.
The Marlins renewed their remaining players, including Cameron Maybin and Matt Lindstrom. The Braves signed 10, including Yunel Escobar.
Bill Madden of the New York Daily News wonders if contraction will be considered during negotiations for the next Basic Agreement.
Justin Murphy of Seamheads.com talked to Brian Bannister, as did Joe Posnanski of the Kansas City Star.
MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro talked to various sources who expect Ivan Rodriguez to wind up a Marlin, though that’s based on opinion rather than insider knowledge.
We forgot to mention that the Royals designated Esteban German for assignment to make room for Juan Cruz. Rany Jazayerli liked the Cruz signing. My opinion: Cruz has great stuff and upside, but he has a ways to go before being considered a top setup man.
Blue Jays president Paul Beeston says the team will go over slot in the draft for the first time, according to Jeff Blair of the Globe and Mail (hat tip Drunk Jays Fans).
Tracy Ringolsby and Jack Etkin, formerly of the Rocky Mountain News, can now be found at Inside The Rockies.

Toronto Eyeing Orlando Cabrera?

By Alex Walsh | March 1, 2009 at 5:15pm CDT

SUNDAY, 5:15pm: According to Blair, the Blue Jays have discussed the possibility of swinging a "sign-and-trade" deal with the White Sox for Cabrera.

If you’re looking for a refresher on what exactly a "sign-and-trade" deal is, check out Ken Rosenthal and La Velle E. Neal III’s explanations.

SATURDAY, 4:45pm: In a post for The Globe and Mail, Jeff Blair writes about the Blue Jays’ rumored interest in Orlando Cabrera. According to Blair, "The Blue Jays interest in Cabrera extends back for a few seasons."

Blair says the Jays would need to clear some payroll before signing Cabrera. He expects the Jays to trade both Scott Rolen and Lyle Overbay, and depending on how things go this spring, perhaps include a young arm like Brandon League’s to "sweeten" the deal. Certainly, freeing up payroll would be an incredible achievement in this economy.

Whether it’s Orlando Cabrera or someone else, Blair says, "there is a sense among some baseball people that the Blue Jays quiet off-season has ended."

Nationals Considering GM Change

By Tim Dierkes | February 25, 2009 at 4:16pm CDT

According to John Perrotto of Baseball Prospectus:

The Nationals, according to multiple industry sources, are strongly considering firing general manager Jim Bowden and replacing him with Blue Jays assistant GM Tony LaCava.

This rumor first surfaced on Ed Chigliak’s Federal Baseball blog yesterday. Fire Jim Bowden rounded up a bunch of info on LaCava. I’ve heard the Nationals may also consider in-house candidates such as Deric Ladnier and Mike Rizzo.

Ricciardi Discusses Halladay

By Tim Dierkes | February 24, 2009 at 11:47am CDT

Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi is tired of the Roy Halladay rumors, even though they are entirely his fault. He told ESPN’s Jayson Stark:

"Roy Halladay is not going anywhere," Ricciardi says, as emphatically as he can possibly say it without grabbing a bullhorn or splashing it on a billboard. "This has become kind of a hot topic in baseball, but we’re not trading him. We have no intention of trading him. He allows us to be good. And we feel we are going to be good. And he’s going to be The Guy." So there. It’s settled, right? Trading his ace has never entered the GM’s mind? "Nope," the GM says succinctly.

But here’s Ricciardi about a week ago, to Joel Sherman of the New York Post:

"Ownership wants no part of trading Roy at this time. He’s the face of the organization. Right now we are not thinking about going down that road. But that is what we feel in February. Who knows how you feel in June? We have thought about it, this has not escaped us [that Halladay could leave as a free agent, and trading him might be best for the long-term health of the organization]. In June, we may have to say. ’Is this the way we want to go?’ It will be up to ownership, and ownership has a strong attachment to Doc."

Ricciardi left the door wide open in his quotes to Sherman, and that was his choice. Ricciardi also had this to say to CBSSports.com’s Scott Miller:

"The only way we’d trade him, I’d say, is if all hell broke loose and the stock market went nuts and (ownership) said we’ve got to take the payroll down to bare bones. And if that was the case, then we’d be trading a lot of people."

If Ricciardi had made his emphatic statements to Sherman or Miller, we wouldn’t be talking about Halladay.

Heyman’s Latest: Cabrera, Pudge, Pedro, Halladay

By Steve Adams | February 23, 2009 at 9:33pm CDT

Already linked to this article from Jon Heyman in the Manny piece, but it should have its own post as well, as the second half of it covers completely different material. Let’s take a look…

Orlando Cabrera and the A’s still face a gap in the numbers. The A’s would like to sign him for $2MM-$3MM, but Cabrera is holding out for more. The hit his reputation took based on problems with his former White Sox teammates is unlikely to be helping matters.
Heyman points out that the Dodgers did an excellent job of using Cabrera’s availability to drive down Orlando Hudson’s price tag.
Heyman says Pudge Rodriguez’s reputation also took a hit toward the end of his tenure in Detroit. Could that be playing a factor in the lack of interest toward Pudge? Heyman names the Marlins and Astros as good fits. Pudge will use the WBC as an audition to try to prove he’s better than he was with the Yankees (.580 OPS through 33 games).
Pedro Martinez will also use the WBC as an audition, but other than the Pirates, there’s not much of a market for him. That could change with a solid showing in March, however. The Indians made a run at Pedro early on, and the Dodgers could become a possibility.
Heyman speculates that with Vernon Wells’ health issues and declining production, the stars may aligning for a Roy Halladay trade mid-season. Wells will miss the next month with a hamstring injury.

What’s everyone else think? Is Cabrera being stubborn or are the A’s? Where will Pudge and Pedro end up? Are Halladay’s Toronto days numbered?

Odds and Ends: Griffey, Blue Jays, Roberts

By Tim Dierkes | February 19, 2009 at 12:02pm CDT

Links for Thursday…

ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick has details around the Mariners’ Ken Griffey Jr. signing, while Keith Law has criticism for it. David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution blogs about his "Griffey Chooses Braves" story. MLB.com’s Mark Bowman also has thoughts on the decision not to play for Atlanta, and another postmortem article where he talks to Frank Wren and Chipper Jones.
Drunk Jays Fans has a preview of the team.
Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun writes in praise of the Brian Roberts extension. I don’t like the argument that the Orioles needed to sign Roberts because they don’t have a clear successor at second base.
RotoAuthority ranks starting pitchers for fantasy baseball.

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