Uncategorized News & Rumors

A lot has changed with the Cubs since I wrote their Team Outlook in September.  Check out the completely revised outlook for the Cubs here.

About.com’s Brad Marchand has a fine offseason calendar up; bookmark it.  As you know, free agents can sign with new teams on Sunday.  Also, all sorts of awards will be handed out next week.

Lucky dude that I am, I will be on my honeymoon in Cancun from November 21-28th.  The wedding is on the 18th so you can imagine that that’s going to come before this lil’ blog.

However I would hate to see MLBTradeRumors go stale for a week or longer during the offseason.  That just seems wrong.  So I have two ways to combat that.  One, I will ask my blogging friends to write some guest posts for me.  Two, I will find one individual to keep the site going throughout the days and perhaps nights by reporting all the rumors that appear in print.  That way we can at least keep the commentary going and the site can remain a one-stop shop for trade rumors.  I’m thinking short posts, a few paragraphs each. 

I need help finding that person to keep the site fresh with the news while I am gone.  My offer: fifty bucks and a free copy of my ’07 Fantasy Guide.  I know it’s not much but that’s what I can do.  Here’s what I’m looking for:

– College graduate or attending college.
– Fine writing skills – good spelling and grammar and no-brainer stuff like that.
– Blogging experience would be helpful.
– Writing/blog samples would be a good way to convince me.
– Roughly two free hours a day for about 10 days in November.
– Round the clock Internet access to stay on top of breaking news.
– Passion for baseball but no obvious bias.  It would be mostly objective writing.

I should add that there is some chance that if you’re really good, I would request your help beyond November just to post news and the like when I don’t have the time.

For my own sanity, please direct your emails to mlbtraderumors@gmail.com and no other email address.  I will ignore stuff about this sent elsewhere.  I’ll give it about a week and then choose the best person.  Don’t take it personally if I don’t reply or pick you; I’m only taking one person after all.

Thanks for visiting and helping me out.

I heard that Buster Olney was going to do a column with this topic soon.  Before I read his here’s my two cents.

1. Padres: Sign Akinori Iwamura for third base.  The Phils would be a fine fit as well.  Japan produced bargains like Kenji Johjima and Takashi Saito last year; Iwamura should come at a reasonable salary as he’s something of an unknown.  He’ll play good defense and could even spell Khalil Greene at shortstop if needed.  I’d give him $7-8MM annually.

2. Cardinals: Trade Chris Duncan to the Cardinals for Mike Gonzalez.  Both clubs need to capitalize on fine seasons by these two players, and each could fill a need.  Duncan is a natural first baseman, and the Pirates have a glaring need for a cheap power hitter who can draw some walks.  The Cards have a void at the back end of their bullpen with Adam Wainwright moving to the rotation.

3. White Sox: Trade Freddy Garcia to the Diamondbacks for Scott Hairston and Juan Cruz.  Now don’t yell at me Sox fans, it’s more of a general idea than the exact trade.  If Garcia is worth more then I’m sure Kenny will extract that.  But in Hairston and Cruz, the Sox would have their left fielder and a nasty bullpen arm for Don Cooper to work with.  At the least, these two clubs get along so perhaps they can help each other.

4. Devil Rays: Keep Elijah Dukes.  To me, a guy needs a change of scenery when he’s not playing up to his talent.  Dukes posted a .400 OBP as a 22 year-old in Triple A.  He could be a great option at first base in the near future for Tampa Bay.  The D-Rays should find a way to make it work instead of trading him for fifty cents on the dollar.

5.  Cubs: Trade Bob Howry and Jacque Jones to the Yankees for Gary Sheffield.  Is this lopsided towards the Cubs?  Probably.  Feel free to tweak it so as not to outrage Yankee fans.  But if the Cubs could move one or two of their expensive but effective relievers and rid themselves of Jones, it’d be a great deal for them.  I would also sign Gary Matthews Jr. to play center to balance out Sheff’s defense.

6. Tigers: Sign Barry Bonds.  This is stolen directly from Nate Silver.  What can I say?  I’m on that bandwagon.  Bonds is exactly what Detroit needs.

7.  Astros: Sign Jose Guillen for right field.  Coming off an injury, Guillen could be a bargain.  His defense paired with Willy Taveras in center could be an excellent combo.  With Luke Scott in left I think they’d have a solid outfield.

8. Rangers: Trade Mike Young to the Orioles for Erik Bedard.  OK, I just pulled this deal out of my ass.  But in Bedard the Rangers get a 28 year-old who keeps the ball in the yard and has three years until free agency.  Young, while a great player, is poor defensively and will be 30 next year.  He has two more seasons under contract at a very reasonable price.  This trade is contingent on #9…

9. Orioles: Trade Miguel Tejada for Jeremy Bonderman.  If the Tigers are really shopping Bonderman, you just can’t pass this up.  Bonderman replaces Bedard in the rotation and becomes the ace; Mike Young moves in at short.  I think Orioles fans would be excited with these moves (I could be wrong though).  The Tigers would then move Carlos Guillen to first base and add an impact hitter in Tejada.  Would Bonds and Tejada be great for clubhouse chemistry?  No.  But that could be a very solid all-around club.

10. Mets: Sign Barry Zito.  The Mets need some stability here with Pedro out, Glavine and El Duque in question, and mostly question marks rounded out the rest of the rotation.  I see the Yanks getting Matsuzaka, so Zito is the best long-term bet for a starter.

Go ahead, have your say in the comments.  Remember that this is all in good fun and these are just ideas I cooked up.  You’ll notice I left out all sorts of good stuff like the Red Sox and Alfonso Soriano.  Have at it! 

Jamie Moyer will remain in the National League as a Phillie for the 2007-08 seasons.  He’ll earn $10.5MM plus incentives.

Moyer is now off the list of available free agent starting pitchers.  The Phils’ rotation now consists of Moyer, Brett Myers, Cole Hamels, and Jon Lieber.  Eude Brito or Gavin Floyd could fill in the fifth slot.  The team’s focus will now turn to third base.

Here’s a cool website in the vein of Digg.  It’s called Yardbarker, where users submit sports stories and readers vote the best ones up.  Here’s a link to Yardbarker’s MLB page.

I’m thinking about putting Yardbarker buttons on posts, which would give you the ability to submit my posts to Yardbarker so people can vote on them.  Thoughts?

MetsBlog confirms Scott Miller’s earlier scenario: the Mets have sent Oliver Perez and Heath Bell to San Diego for Scott Linebrink.

UPDATE: Seems that all outlets are backing off this deal; it had been reported everywhere.  Reportedly, Omar Minaya recently appeared on SportsNet New York and said rumors of the Linebrink deal are not true.

According to Jayson Stark:

"The Yankees are making a last minute run at Craig Wilson and are also talking to Pittsburgh about Salomon Torres."

UPDATE: ESPN reports that Shawn Chacon goes to Pittsburgh for Wilson.

In recent years, July 29th has been the calm before the storm for deadline deals.

Last year, not a single trade was made on this date.  Same goes for 2004 and 2001.

We have to go back to 2003 to find a July 29th with significant trading.  The Yanks picked up Raul Mondesi for David Dellucci and some bums.  The Red Sox snagged Scott Williamson. And a few other relievers changed hands.

2002 featured a blockbuster that is still reverberating: the Phillies sent Scott Rolen to the Cardinals for Placido Polanco, Mike Timlin, and Bud Smith.

Here’s the latest Trade Rumor Roundup.

Word is that TV broadcasts picked up Jerry Krause working the radar gun in Wednesday night’s Royals-Orioles game.  The former Chicago Bulls GM currently works for the Mets.  That particular ballgame included work by LaTroy Hawkins, Andy Sisco, and Jeremy Affeldt, all of whom could interest New York.

Buster Olney mentions in his blog today that Greg Maddux could go to the Brewers, Dodgers, or Padres.  The Chicago Tribune says the Mets are an option as well.  The Daily Southtown adds the Giants to the list.

Olney also indicated that the D-Rays and Blue Jays have been struggling to come to an agreement for Julio Lugo.

According to the Globe and Mail, the Blue Jays may have some interest in Rodrigo Lopez and Tony Armas, Jr.  J.P. Ricciardi inquired about Mark Redman, but didn’t get a callback.

Capitol Punishment: not big fans of Jim Bowden.  Blogger Chris Needham’s thoughts on Soriano:  "Man, we’re going to miss him. Trading him is like being grounded by your parents. It sucks at the time, but a few years later, you realize that, gee, maybe your parents were right."

AllCubs discusses Five Reasons to Get A-Rod…and Five Reasons Not To.

A Phillies fan says goodbye to Sal Fasano.