Mets Interested In Luis Ayala
2:28pm: Joel Sherman says the Mets have an outside chance of snagging Ayala, a Minaya favorite.
1:12pm: According to Jon Heyman of SI.com, the Mets are discussing reliever Luis Ayala with the Nationals. Omar Minaya "badly wants a reliever."
The 30 year-old carries a 5.54 ERA in 50.1 innings, though he’s pitched better than that.
Rockies Rumors: Fuentes, Redding, Fogg, Byrd
1:38pm: Jayson Stark says Fuentes is staying put. A little more than an hour left til the deadline.
9:33am: Mark Zuckerman of the Washington Times says the Nationals are leaning toward keeping Redding, and have even had preliminary extension talks with him. Trades of Paul Lo Duca, Odalis Perez, and Felipe Lopez are also unlikely.
THURSDAY, 8:31am: Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post indicates the Rockies want to keep Fuentes. He says they’re looking at starters such as Tim Redding, Josh Fogg, and Paul Byrd. Redding’s stock dropped last night with an ugly start.
WEDNESDAY, 9:12pm: On Sunday, Rockies GM Dan O’Dowd termed a Brian Fuentes trade "highly unlikely." However, ESPN’s Jayson Stark says the Rockies will decide late tonight whether to put Fuentes on the market. The Mets, Phillies, and Rays are out given the high asking price.
Ken Rosenthal wrote earlier that the Rockies were "poking around" with interested parties, still asking for a young MLB starting pitcher or two good prospects.
Jarrod Washburn Rumors: Wednesday
6:41pm: Dan Graziano says the Yankees aren’t looking at other starters. They’re waiting to see if the Mariners will drop their price on Washburn. They may try to acquire him in August.
11:17am: SI.com’s Jon Heyman says the Ms are asking for quite a bit for Washburn – two of one NL team’s top prospects, for example. Meanwhile, Buster Olney talked to one exec who speculated that Washburn might make sense for the Mets.
9:42am: I spoke too soon – the Rockies are indeed interested in Washburn. Tim Redding and Josh Fogg are a couple other names on the radar.
Ken Rosenthal characterizes the Fogg interest as legit, but feels that the Ms are just trying to stir Colorado’s interest in Washburn.
9:29am: According to Ken Davidoff of Newsday, the Yankees’ trade talks for Jarrod Washburn are dead. The Yanks will turn to Ian Kennedy, Phil Hughes, and maybe Freddy Garcia. They can also rekindle the Washburn talks in August if they think he will clear waivers (most do).
I am surprised other teams aren’t looking more seriously at Washburn given the weak market for starting pitching. The Rockies, White Sox, and Mets would all make sense.
Stark’s Latest: Ibanez, Washburn, Redding, Rhodes
Some additional notes from ESPN’s Jayson Stark:
- The Mariners still want Jon Niese and another prospect for Raul Ibanez; the Mets are not biting. Similar situation with the Ms asking the Cubs for Felix Pie and another player.
- The Mets aren’t in on Jarrod Washburn or Tim Redding.
- The Marlins are making it clear that there is no done deal for Arthur Rhodes. Clark Spencer had written the Fish "could be closer" to a deal for Rhodes than a catcher. Stark says the Mariners are driving a hard bargain for Rhodes, with the Red Sox, Marlins, Phillies, Brewers, Tigers, Mets, Cardinals, and Rays checking in.
Rays Scouting Jayson Werth
Mike Tingle of ESPN 840 in Charlottesville spoke to Rays scout Mike Cubbage yesterday. Cubbage said that he plans to scout Phillies outfielder Jayson Werth, and that Werth may be available in the right deal. Werth, 29, is hitting .272/.358/.485 in 268 plate appearances (most of the damage done against lefties).
Additionally, the Rays offered a package of players for Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte but the Bucs chose the Yankees’ offer. The Rays also looked at Jon Rauch previously, though he was not at the top of their list. And of course, the Rays would like to acquire Brian Fuentes.
Red Sox Have Little Interest In Tejada
10:39pm: Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle says the Red Sox have "almost no interest" in Tejada. Other teams are considering Tejada, but a trade is unlikely.
8:18pm: It’s possible the Tigers are also in the mix for Tejada. They are among many teams scouting the Astros (the Nationals, Mets, Rangers, and Giants are others).
7:04pm: According to ESPN’s Enrique Rojas, the Red Sox and Astros have discussed shortstop Miguel Tejada. Rojas is not sure how far the trade talk has progressed. Tejada seemed open to the idea in a quote given to Rojas.
Tejada is hitting .281/.318/.420 in 431 plate appearances this year. The Astros are hoping a move to the #2 spot in the order will continue to revive his bat. Tejada is owed about $4.6MM more this year, plus $13MM in ’09. It was revealed in April that Tejada is 34 years old rather than 32 as was previously thought.
Theo Epstein and Ed Wade have matched up on trades before, when Wade was working for Phillies. One of those was Jeremy Giambi for Josh Hancock back in ’02.
Odds and Ends: Happ, Igawa, Hawkins, Lowe
Rounding up rumors and links from the weekend…
- SI.com’s Jon Heyman says the Mariners are asking the Mets for Jon Niese for Raul Ibanez. Not likely.
- ESPN’s Buster Olney says the Braves would require Conor Jackson from the D’Backs in a Mark Teixeira deal, but Arizona is not biting.
- Another quick hit from Olney: the White Sox are surveying the relief market in the wake of Scott Linebrink‘s shoulder injury.
- Several readers have written in about Phillies’ lefty J.A. Happ being pulled early from a Triple A start (2.2 scoreless innings) with no sign of injury. Something to keep an eye on, as the Phillies hunt for a lefty reliever on the trade market. UPDATE: Happ may be getting the call to replace Adam Eaton.
- Even on the DL, Phil Hughes has been in high demand.
- The White Sox let Esteban Loaiza go.
- No team claimed Kei Igawa off waivers. Also, the Yankees designated LaTroy Hawkins for assignment.
- Ned Colletti on the possibility of trading Derek Lowe: "No."
- Jim Bowden and Chad Cordero patched things up, making a re-signing possible this winter.
- The emergence of Jeff Samardzija this weekend may make Scott Eyre or Jon Lieber expendable.
- At least 20 teams have called about one of the Rangers’ catchers.
- Jamey Newberg wrote a few days ago that most likely the only way Kevin Millwood can lock in his $12MM for 2010 will be to pitch 180 innings next year.
Week In Review: 7/20 – 7/26
This one will be a bit lengthy, which can be expected as the deadline approaches. Here’s a review of some of the major moves and rumors of the last week:
- The Yankees acquired Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte from the Pirates for OF Jose Tabata, RHP Ross Ohlendorf, RHP Dan McCutchen and RHP Jeff Karstens . I agree with Tim that Ian Kennedy would’ve been a better centerpiece, but Tabata is pretty highly-touted himself. Kennedy would have made a more immediate impact, while Tabata is only 19 years old.
- The Dodgers acquired Casey Blake for minor league RHP Jon Meloan and C Carlos Santana. The Dodgers get a nice boost to their lineup without giving up too much, although Santana’s putting together a very impressive season in Class-A ball.
- The Nationals sent Jon Rauch to the Diamondbacks in exchange for minor league 2B Emilio Bonifacio. Rauch adds to a strong bullpen for Arizona, while Bonaficio could become a very solid leadoff hitter in the future for Washington. They may have been able to get more for Rauch, but I personally like the move, regardless.
- The Brewers acquired Ray Durham from the Giants for minor leaguers Darren Ford and Steve Hammond. Rickie Weeks has been a disappointment to an otherwise red-hot club. Can Durham provide a bit more stability? The power’s gone, but he can still get on base.
- The Astros acquired Randy Wolf from the Padres for minor league pitcher Chad Reineke. This one confuses me a little bit; with all due respect, did the Astros forget they were 12.5 games out? I don’t see the logic in buying on a pitcher.
- The Cardinals traded Anthony Reyes to the Indians for minor league pitcher Luis Perdoma. I don’t get this one either. I feel like the Cardinals could have gotten more, despite Reyes’ struggles in the past. The Indians could make this one look like a steal, in my opinion.
- The Yankees are in deep discussion with the Mariners about acquiring Jarrod Washburn. Tim cites Buster Olney and Ken Rosenthal in saying that the Mariners want a top prospect in addition to the salary dump, but the Yankees are only offering a marginal prospect. Can’t say I blame them. A top prospect for an mediocre pitchers who’s due an additional $14MM? Sounds like Seattle’s getting greedy…
- A new, and surprising name surfaced in trade talks: Manny Ramirez. Manny has said he would waive his no-trade clause, and based on interviews, has basically said that 2008 will be his last season in Boston. I can’t see Boston trading their (arguably) best hitter in the middle of a pennant race, however. I’d bet on him finishing out the season.
- Speaking of corner outfielders, the Mets need one, and they know it. Having missed out on Nady and Blake, they will likely zero in on Raul Ibanez. Ibanez makes great sense for them, and the Mariners would obviously like to rebuild. I expect this one to get done.
- There was a report that Roy Halladay came out and told the Blue Jays that he is unhappy in Toronto, which has provoked the Jays to explore their potential options. Halladay’s price would have to be astronomical, I’d think. He’s signed through 2010 and pitching like it’s 2003 all over again. Personal speculation: I think Halladay to the Cardinals with a Colby Rasums centerpiece would make sense.
- Crisitan Guzman signed a two-year, $16MM contract extension. Guzman has revived his career after surgery following an awful 2005. I like the signing for the Nats.
- Jorge Posada could be out for the season. The Yankees are looking for catchers. In addition to the names mentioned there, they could take a shot at signing Johnny Estrada, who was DFA’ed by Washington this week. Estrada was terrible in Washington, but has put up solid offensive numbers for a catcher throughout his career.
- Brian Fuentes, Huston Street, and George Sherrill are all still potential trade pieces. Fuentes is the most likely to go, I’d say, although the Rockies are asking for quite a bit.
- Tim updated the left-handed reliever and left field markets.
Odds and Ends: Mets, Tigers, Rays, Nats
Tying up loose ends before lunch:
- The Mets are one of three teams that have inquired on the availability of Brian Giles. The Padres may be asking for Fernando Martinez in return.
- Larry Brooks of the NY Post, however, thinks the Mets shouldn’t force a trade for an outfielder.
- The Tigers will intensify their hunt for relief help if Freddy Dolsi’s shoulder keeps acting up. Dolsi was off since Monday, resting what the team deemed as a fatigued shoulder, and said he felt better after a side session on Friday.
- The Rays are still looking for a corner outfielder.
- MLB.com beat writer Bill Ladson believes the Nationals could trade Felipe Lopez before Thursday’s non-waiver trade deadline. Regardless, he thinks Lopez will not be with the team next year.
- The Brewers are not interested in Jarrod Washburn. Melvin did talk to the Mariners about the left-handed pitcher, but the conversations took place prior to the CC Sabathia trade.
Alejandro A. Leal writes for UmpBump.com. Comments? Rumors? alexo05 [at] umpbump [daught] com.
Rauch Ramifications
Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic has an article today about the implications of the Diamondbacks’ acquisition of reliever Jon Rauch.
- The loss of second baseman Emilio Bonifacio doesn’t exactly change the D’Back’s plans, as they were skeptical on his ability to become a regular anyway. Still, people are asking whether they’ll try to re-sign Orlando Hudson. Piecoro says Hudson is expected to test the free agent market, and doesn’t seem likely to offer a discount. His salary should exceed $10MM.
- If Hudson leaves, the D’Backs could either look for a new second baseman or shift Mark Reynolds over there and consider a third baseman. Take a look at the free agent market – options are limited at both positions. Perhaps a trade could be explored.
- Closer Brandon Lyon is a free agent after the season as well, and seems likely to leave. The D’Backs have plenty of in-house replacement options, starting with Rauch. Lyon will join free agent closers such as Brian Fuentes, Trevor Hoffman, Francisco Rodriguez, and Kerry Wood. It’s easy to see Hoffman and Wood staying put, leaving three solid options.
- Piecoro talked to team officials who downplayed the recent Mark Teixeira rumblings.