Blue Jays Rumors

Odds and Ends: Ricciardi, Guardado, Alvarez

By Tim Dierkes | August 26, 2008 at 11:26am CDT

Let’s round ’em up…

Chat today, 2pm CST.
Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star tries to view J.P. Ricciardi’s tenure from both sides. Drunk Jays Fans gives their take on the article.
Aaron Gleeman takes a closer look at Eddie Guardado, while Jamey Newberg tells us about Mark Hamburger.
Inspired by Nelson Cruz’s excellent ’08 MLB debut, Rob Neyer and Sam Mellinger discuss cheap talent and "4A" players. Do Jeff Bailey, Mike Hessman, Joe Koshansky, Scott McClain, Terry Tiffee, and Josh Whitesell fit the bill? It’s always fun when these guys get a legitimate shot.
The Pirates are getting frustrated with Scott Boras’ games regarding Pedro Alvarez – he’s signed, so let him take his physical already. Is Boras anti-winter ball for some reason? Speaking of Alvarez, Matt Bandi strikes back at Bob Smizik for his article regarding the scoop on the signing.
If the Padres have the #1 overall pick next June, will they pass on Boras-repped phenom Stephen Strasburg due to signability?
Andrew Baggarly wonders if the Giants should sign Mark Mulder this winter.
Ken Rosenthal examines the Yankees’ upcoming offseason challenges. River Ave. Blues responds to the piece.
Tigers reliever Francis Beltran was designated for assignment after 13 innings. The 28 year-old had been hittable in Triple A as well.

Odds and Ends: Indians, Livan, Braves, Friedman

By Tim Dierkes | August 25, 2008 at 12:20pm CDT

Let’s round up today’s random links.

The Pirates received catcher Robinzon Diaz from the Blue Jays in the Jose Bautista deal. Not too shabby, he should develop into a credible cheap backup.
Yahoo’s Gordon Edes sees Manny Ramirez playing for the Mets in ’09.
The point continues to be hammered home – the Indians intend to acquire a proven closer this winter. Brian Fuentes seems a reasonable target.
RotoAuthority takes a closer look at Cliff Lee.
Rockies manager Clint Hurdle wants to see if Livan Hernandez fits into their plans for 2009. Hernandez has allowed a remarkable 224 hits in 152 innings – a rate that will rank second in baseball history if he can reach the 162 innings needed to qualify. Even Jose Lima can’t make that claim.
J.C. Bradbury notes that the Braves’ attempts to extend star players acquired via trade have been largely unsuccessful.
Outs Per Swing chats with Rays exec Andrew Friedman.
Danny Knobler surveyed scouts about Francisco Rodriguez’s stuff.

Odds and Ends: Manny, Pavano, Gonzalez

By Sarah Green | August 23, 2008 at 2:29pm CDT

Some Saturday mid-day linkage:

Hitoki Iwase was lit up in the Olympics, possibly dropping his stock as a prospect. Iwase was one of several Japanese players being scouted by Major League clubs in Beijing.
Luis Gonzalez reminisces about his trade to the Diamondbacks ten years ago.
Manny Ramirez is not interested in talking about those old Philadelphia rumors. I’m shocked, shocked.
J.D. Drew’s back spasms are actually a herniated disk. According to Nick Cafardo, the Red Sox would love to add another outfielder, but can’t seem to lay their hands on one. No offense to Jason Lane.
He’s baaaa-aaaack: Free-agent-to-be Carl Pavano is starting tonight for the New York Yankees. Strike up the band and break out the rum punch.
Recently traded infielder Jose Bautista was at odds with Pirates manager John Russell.
Thomas Boswell talks about the possibility of Stephen Strasburg becoming a National next year.

Sarah Green writes for UmpBump and the Boston Metro and can be reached here.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Howard, Burrell, Burnett

By Tim Dierkes | August 22, 2008 at 4:29pm CDT

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports has a new column up today.

With Ryan Howard looking at maybe a $14MM salary in his second year of arbitration, the Phillies could shop him this winter. Rosenthal lays out a scenario where they trade Howard and use some of those young players to acquire Matt Holliday. In this scenario Pat Burrell could be re-signed to play first base. I was surprised to see that a club official sees the chances of retaining Burrell as better than 50-50.
If A.J. Burnett opts out, he will again favor teams such as the Nationals, Orioles, and Cardinals. Rosenthal thinks the Yankees and Mets are possible as well. And it’s still possible the Jays convince Burnett to stay by adding to his ’09 and ’10 salaries.
Rosenthal frowns upon the Mariners’ double-failure to unload Jarrod Washburn’s contract.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: O’s. Holliday, Glavine, Maddux, Cardinals, Jeter

By Cork Gaines | August 22, 2008 at 12:01pm CDT

A few notes on from around the baseball Blogospehere…

Camden Chat feels the Orioles are stuck with players like Melvin Mora and Aubrey Huff, even though both have cleared waivers.
Drunk Jays Fans thinks Matt Holliday will be too expensive in terms of contract and prospects for the Jays.
Talking Chop does not want to see Tom Glavine back in a Braves uniform next season.
Gaslamp Ball is not happy about San Diego trading Greg Maddux to the Dodgers and wonders why the Padres would want to help their divisional rival.
Ducksnorts hates the Maddux deal as a fan, but is happy for Maddux and understands the move from a business standpoint.
Viva El Birdos does not see the Cardinals signing any free agent starting pitchers for ’09, noting that would go against the organizational philosophy.
Derek Jeter is not a free agent until after the ’10 season, but that hasn’t stopped Was Watching from discussing his future.

Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.

Jays Acquire Jose Bautista

By Cork Gaines | August 21, 2008 at 2:06pm CDT

The Blue Jays have announced the acquisition of Jose Bautista from the Pirates for a player to be named later.

Bautista is making $1.8MM this season, his first of arbitration eligibility. He signed a one year deal last winter, avoiding arbitration. Bautista was hitting .242/.325/.404 in 107 games for the Pirates, very close to his career marks of .240/.328/.397. Nothing amazing, but a decent pickup for a team with some question marks in the infield next year.

Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.

Odds and Ends: Elias, Izzy, Silva, Colletti

By Tim Dierkes | August 20, 2008 at 12:49pm CDT

Linkage for Wednesday…

Eddie Bajek over at Detroit Tigers Thoughts has successfully reverse-engineered the Elias Type A/Type B formula. Today he assigns statuses to the American League catchers. Jason Varitek clings to Type A, while Ivan Rodriguez has slipped to Type B. Read more about how free agent compensation works here.
Jason Isringhausen’s season, and maybe his career, is over due to a torn flexor tendon in his elbow.
J.C. Bradbury puts on his GM hat for the Braves. Rather than plug in free agent signings, he’d sell off most of the infield.
MetsBlog’s Matthew Cerrone extinguishes a Carlos Silva rumor.
ESPN’s Buster Olney grades the deadline deals. He has Ken Griffey Jr., Kyle Farnsworth, and Damaso Marte bringing up the rear.
Tim Brown explains that Ned Colletti’s job is safe.
Johnny Damon hopes A.J. Burnett opts out of his deal. Does he just want Burnett out of the league, or is he hoping the righty joins the Yanks’ rotation next year?
Twins reliever Brian Bass may become a free agent, if he refuses a Triple A assignment.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Holliday, Fuentes, Kotsay

By Tim Dierkes | August 18, 2008 at 10:14am CDT

Ken Rosenthal posted a new Full Count video this weekend.

Rosenthal believes the Rockies are "almost certain to trade Matt Holliday this offseason." Should be a hot topic at the Winter Meetings in December. Rosenthal says to watch out for smaller-revenue sleepers on Holliday like the Nationals, Royals, and Blue Jays. Holliday, a Boras client, is set to earn $13.5MM in ’09 before he hits free agency.
Rockies closer Brian Fuentes has yet to hit the waiver wire, but he will soon. Rosenthal wonders if the Dodgers would win the claim if their record is worse than Arizona’s when Fuentes hits the wire. The Marlins, Astros, and the NL non-contenders would have to pass first. I could see the salary-shy Dodgers passing on Fuentes, but the Phillies probably wouldn’t let him get to the Mets. At any rate, a team would have to beat two draft picks to pry Fuentes loose in a trade.
Somewhat surprising new addition to our cleared waivers list – Braves center fielder Mark Kotsay. Apparently a number of teams are interested in the resurgent Kotsay, though not enough to take on his remaining salary.
The Braves nearly acquired Jason Bay in July, and will be in the market for a slugging outfielder this winter. They’ll also be looking for a quality starter, likely in the Ryan Dempster/A.J. Burnett/Jon Garland range. Click here to browse the free agent market.

More Odds And Ends: Rays, Rangers, Burnett, Pirates

By Cork Gaines | August 17, 2008 at 12:55pm CDT

A few more random notes from the MLBiverse…

Rays executive VP Andrew Friedman says the team’s waiver position makes it "extremely unrealistic to expect that [the Rays] will be able to get something done in August."
Tom Hicks says the Rangers will look for free agents this offseason that fit the team, but he doubts they will offer any long-term deals to pitchers over 30. That doesn’t rule out C.C. Sabathia or Oliver Perez.
A.J. Burnett denies he has already decided to opt out of his contract, but Jays manager Cito Gaston thinks the pitcher won’t be back.
Dejan Kovacevic says now that the signings are concluded, the Pirates’ draft bonanza was unprecedented for the organization.

Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.

Bonser Not Discussed In Washburn Talks

By Tim Dierkes | August 15, 2008 at 8:44pm CDT

8:42pm: Hold the phone – John Hickey says Bonser’s name never came up in the Washburn talks. Jim Street and Larry Stone agree. The criticism of the Mariners may be somewhat unjustified. Hickey says Nick Blackburn was on the table for a very brief period of time. Lee Pelekoudas was tight-lipped on the topic.

4:52pm: Even Washburn can’t believe the Mariners wouldn’t trade him for Bonser. He’s disappointed the trade didn’t go through. Perhaps a new GM will deal him this winter.

FRIDAY, 12:19pm: Joe Christensen has details on the Twins’ uncharacteristic claim of Washburn. He heard they offered the Mariners Boof Bonser (plus apparently the salary relief), but the Ms wanted someone like Nick Blackburn or Kevin Slowey. It is hard to see this as anything but a blunder for the Mariners’ front office.

On a related note, Scott Miller says Lee Pelekoudas will not become the Mariners’ permanent GM, while Jon Heyman says Kevin Towers is unlikely. Pat Gillick is still rumored as a possibility for the next team president.

THURSDAY

11:48pm: Baker says the Twins put in claims on both Washburn and Ibanez, but only won the Washburn one. With Washburn, the Twins would’ve put him in the rotation and moved a starter to the setup man role. Baker notes that a deal still could happen.

4:58pm: SI.com’s Jon Heyman says the Twins won the Washburn claim and the Tigers won the Ibanez claim. The Red Sox and Mets also put in claims on Ibanez. Interesting on both fronts, but no deals were struck so both players will remain with the Mariners.

Heyman says that while the Twins’ Washburn claim had the flavor of a blocking move, the two teams did have trade discussions. There wasn’t really anyone to block, unless the White Sox were lying about their lack of interest.

4:56pm: The Cardinals did not put in a claim on Washburn, according to Derrick Goold.

3:00pm: Geoff Baker expects that the Mariners will hold onto Ibanez, given the compensatory picks they’ll receive this winter. He further speculates that Washburn’s next start will not be for Seattle.

10:54am: The Twins didn’t win the claim on Ibanez, according to Joe Christensen. Ibanez doesn’t expect a trade, though the Mariners have not discussed an extension with him.

9:57am: Geoff Baker confirms both players have been informed they’ve been placed on waivers. He sees the Jays, Red Sox, and Rays as possible AL claimants for Ibanez. Buster Olney considers the Twins a possibility as well. There seems little chance Ibanez would slip to the NL. Baker and Olney also heard an unconfirmed rumor that the Cardinals claimed Washburn.

WEDNESDAY

According to Ken Rosenthal, Mariners players Jarrod Washburn and Raul Ibanez were claimed on waivers yesterday. The Ms have until tomorrow afternoon to work out a deal with the claiming teams. Rosenthal says the Yankees did not claim Washburn.

At the least, the Mariners have a chance to unload Washburn’s contract. Ibanez is inexpensive, so they’ll want quality prospects in return. The Mariners can also elect to keep both players if they don’t like the offers.

The American League received first crack at the two Mariners, in the following order (omitting non-contenders):

Tigers
Rangers
Blue Jays
Yankees
Twins
White Sox
Red Sox
Rays
Angels

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