Nationals Not Pursuing Manny
Yesterday, Yahoo’s Tim Brown suggested the Nationals and Jim Bowden were "promising everyone they’re going to be players in the Manny bidding." However, Bowden sent an email to MLB.com’s Bill Ladson today: "We are not pursuing Manny Ramirez."
Ladson says the Nationals are still in the market for a lefthanded slugger – Mark Teixeira, Adam Dunn, and Prince Fielder remain on the radar. And despite their abundance of outfielders, they’ve expressed interest in new Rockie Carlos Gonzalez.
Rockies Talking Trade With Reds
8:50pm: Reds GM Walt Jocketty says nothing is close with the Rockies; he’s talked to a lot of clubs. His snide remark: "They all didn’t allow it to get out."
Jocketty talked to the Rockies about Matt Holliday, but it was a short discussion.
7:37pm: Tracy Ringolsby of the Rocky Mountain News says the Reds have definite interest in Atkins, but not Torrealba or Taveras. The Reds like the idea of adding Atkins’ righthanded bat. They don’t like Torrealba’s price and Taveras’ inability to get on base. Ringolsby says the Phillies, Angels, and Twins are also after Atkins.
3:28pm: Troy Renck confirms Rosenthal’s report, and also speaks of speculation that the Red Sox will make a run at Chris Iannetta. A long shot to be sure.
Other Rockies notes: Renck says the Rox told people close to Manny Corpas that he’s still the closer, meaning Street might be on the outs. Additionally, the Rockies have expressed interest in Carl Pavano.
1:17pm: Ken Rosenthal says the Rockies aren’t done dealing – they’re talking trade with the Reds and other clubs. The Reds like Willy Taveras, Yorvit Torrealba, and Garrett Atkins, with a "definite interest" in Taveras.
Meanwhile the Indians like newly acquired Huston Street and the Nationals are one club eyeing Carlos Gonzalez. Rosenthal says the Rockies figure to hang on to Greg Smith.
It seems we can’t yet judge the Holliday trade for the Rockies. It did seem odd that they would acquire a closer and a young center fielder, two positions at which they already had solid options.
Brown’s Latest: Furcal, Manny, Abreu
Tip of the cap to Yahoo’s Tim Brown, who was the first reporter yesterday to name the three players the Rockies would receive in the Matt Holliday trade. Now let’s take a look at Brown’s latest column.
- Brown believes everyone cleared their physicals in the Holliday deal, so expect news conferences soon. He says the A’s may add a couple more hitters, possibly Rafael Furcal and/or Jason Giambi.
- Brown says Jim Bowden is promising everyone the Nationals will be in on the Manny Ramirez bidding. With Josh Willingham, Lastings Milledge, Elijah Dukes, Austin Kearns, Wily Mo Pena, and Willie Harris already under team control, where does Manny fit in? Bowden has already said he plans to use Willingham as an outfielder.
- The Yankees have yet to contract Bobby Abreu. They still figure to offer him arbitration, of course.
Olsen/Willingham Trade Roundup
It’s official – the Marlins traded Scott Olsen and Josh Willingham to the Nationals for Emilio Bonifacio, Jake Smolinksi, and P.J. Dean. Let’s round up commentary on the surprising deal.
- Jim Bowden says he acquired Willingham as an outfielder, not a first baseman.
- MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro has Larry Beinfest saying the Marlins will move forward with both Jeremy Hermida and Dan Uggla.
- Mike Berardino and Juan C. Rodriguez also believe Uggla will stay put this winter.
- Olsen talked to Frisaro and the Palm Beach Post’s Joe Capozzi about the trade. He’s happy it’s over, but doesn’t sound bitter.
- Also at MLB.com, Jonathan Mayo evaluates the prospects the Marlins received.
- ESPN’s Keith Law calls it an "easy win for Washington." He notes that Olsen’s velocity rebounded in September.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post reminds us that the Marlins excel at evaluating young talent. He says Nick Johnson, if healthy, figures to be trade bait now that the Nats have Willingham.
- Dave Cameron weighs in. He says the neither Olsen nor Willingham are as good as their reputations, but the Nats didn’t give up much.
Angels Hold Off On Teixeira Bid
Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times describes the Angels’ strategy regarding free agent first baseman Mark Teixeira. He says that since Tex will test the open market regardless, the Halos will not make an offer within their exclusive negotiation period. So much for resolving the situation quickly.
The Angels do not want Scott Boras shopping around their offer to the Yankees, Red Sox, Orioles, and Nationals and driving up the price. Just a guess, maybe the Nats consider Josh Willingham their cleanup hitter acquisition and will back out of the Teixeira derby.
DiGiovanna adds that the Angels "plan a serious run" at C.C. Sabathia and could bid on A.J. Burnett. He also describes their stance on their own free agents aside from Teixeira:
The team will look to re-sign reliever Darren Oliver, is open to retaining closer Francisco Rodriguez and outfielder Juan Rivera, and seems lukewarm to the idea of retaining pitcher Jon Garland and outfielder Garret Anderson.
Nats Trade For Olsen, Willingham
9:44pm: Juan C. Rodriguez of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel was assured this evening that Dan Uggla will not be traded this winter. Additonally, Mike Berardino says the Marlins won’t be signing Ivan Rodriguez for a second stint.
6:34pm: According to ESPN’s Peter Gammons, the Nationals acquired Scott Olsen and Josh Willingham from the Marlins for second baseman Emilio Bonifacio and two minor league players, pitcher P.J. Dean and shortstop Jake Smolinski.
Bonifacio was the prospect the Diamondbacks traded straight up for Jon Rauch. He fits into the "speed and defense" plan. Smolinski was ranked 11th among Nationals prospects heading into the season according to Baseball America. They consider him a polished hitter with gap power. Dean was ranked 30th, but he projects well and could become a mid-rotation starter according to BA.
I have to say, I thought the Marlins would get more for these two players. There’s not really a sure thing in the bunch. Did Jim Bowden pull a heist, or was this the true market value of these two players? Olsen’s peripheral stats weren’t great this year, while Willingham has back problems.
Tim Dierkes also contributed to this post.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Nationals, Manny, Peavy, Vazquez
We’ve already touched on Ken Rosenthal’s Matt Holliday update, but there are other good tidbits in the article as well:
- "Club officials believe" that the Nationals are "reasonably close to a breakthrough." They blame 2008’s sorry performance on the raft of injuries Washington suffered, which is why they’re willing to spend now for a big bat — the key names floating around have been the aforementioned Holliday, Adam Dunn, and Mark Teixeira, though Rosenthal seems skeptical they could snag any of them. But what about Manny Ramirez? "Jim Bowden, the Nats’ unconventional GM, probably would love the idea, but D.C. might not be big enough for Manny and Barack Obama." Looking at the impact that Manny has had on the LA’s attendance, and looking at the empty seats at Nationals Park, it could make sense.
- Obligatory Jake Peavy update: Padres discuss keeping the ace, Braves grow impatient. Cubs are still in the mix, while the Dodgers and Yankees are "on the backburner." (Buster Olney had a subtly different take posted a few hours later — that Peavy would be dealt before the turkey hits the sideboard.) Rosenthal also quotes Pads GM Kevin Towers as wanting to move the fences in at Petco (which is hard enough just to write without typing in "cavernous" as an automatic prefix).
- The Mets, among other ballclubs, are interested in Rays’ righties Andy Sonnanstine and Edwin Jackson, but the Rays are in no hurry to make a deal.
- "The White Sox are in an ideal position with" Javier Vazquez if they wait until Peavy, CC Sabathia, et al are placed and then shop him, Rosenthal argues. The 32-year old righty will make $23 MM through 2010, which he calls "a bargain for a pitcher who has produced four straight 200-inning seasons, albeit with a 49-51 record and 4.41 ERA." On the other hand, Vazquez has also hit the 200-strikeout mark in each of the last two seasons.
Sarah Green can be reached here.
Matt Holliday Rumors: Saturday
According to Ken Rosenthal, the Cardinals’ offer for Matt Holliday includes Ryan Ludwick, Skip Schumaker and Mitchell Boggs. Rosenthal thinks the Cardinals would try to sign Holliday to an extension if traded to St. Louis.
Rosenthal also weighs in on the gap between Holliday’s .997 home OPS and his .891 road OPS this year.
The Phillies and A’s remain in the mix for Holliday, and the Nationals are involved as well. Rosenthal says that if the Rockies are likely to get quantity rather than quality if they deal Holliday to Washington.
MLB.com’s Matthew Leach asked Ludwick about the possibility of being traded. Ludwick said that even though "St. Louis feels like home," he knows trade talks are part of the business.
Four Teams Eyeing Chad Cordero
According to MLB.com’s Bill Ladson, the Angels, Mets, Rangers, and Tigers have asked to look at Chad Cordero‘s medical records. The Nationals are not in the mix. Cordero, 26, had shoulder surgery in July.
Ladson says Cordero’s first choice is the Angels, as he’s from Anaheim. After that would come the Mets due to the Omar Minaya connection from Montreal.
Heyman’s Latest: Furcal, Jenks, Nats, Yankees, White Sox
Here are a few of the latest notes from Jon Heyman…
- The Dodgers offered Rafael Furcal a two-year deal worth $25-30MM. A source close to Furcal told Heyman that the Dodgers know that it will take more and at least eight teams have expressed interest in Furcal.
- In the same piece Heyman says the White Sox are open to trading Bobby Jenks, but Heyman’s source says it will "take quite a bit."
- Heyman says the Nationals are not likely to land any of the big names they covet noting they do not have the pieces for a trade and few free agents would be willing to play for a 100-loss team. Heyman does say Adam Dunn could be one player that is willing to sign with the Nats based on his relationship with Jim Bowden.
- Heyman says the Yankees may be serious about trading for Mike Cameron noting that they have even asked for Alex Rodriguez’ opinion of his former teammate.
- Heyman reports that the White Sox could trade several of their bigger players. Most of the names have been heard here over the last couple of days, but one we haven’t heard in a while is Paul Konerko. Heyman says Konerko could be an attractive backup plan to any team that fails to sign Mark Teixeira. Heyman also says the White Sox could go after Orlando Hudson if they can unload some of their bigger contracts.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.