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Washington Post: Marlins In On Soriano

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Less than fifteen hours to go, and things are getting crazy.

Barry Svrluga of the Washington Post reports that the Marlins, yes, the Marlins, have made a bid for Alfonso Soriano.  Apparently they have offered pitchers Yusmeiro Petit, Renyel Pinto, and Jason Vargas.  That’s not a bad bounty, though it lacks a future star type guy.

I was surprised to discover this afternoon that the Marlins actually lead the NL in starter ERA.  Scott Olsen’s been lights out since June 1st, one of the best in baseball.  Dontrelle Willis has been a touch above average.  Josh Johnson and Ricky Nolasco have far exceeded expectations.

The Fish are eighth in the NL in slugging, so Soriano would provide a nice boost.  Where would they fit him in?  Center field? 

If the Marlins miraculously sneak into the playoffs, it’ll make a fantastic story.  Remember back in December, when most people thought this would be a 100-loss team?  I liked the front part of their lineup, but no one expected this kind of starting pitching.         

Soriano Suitors Down To Two

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Word from a source is that the teams still standing in the Alfonso Soriano sweepstakes are only the Astros and Angels.

The White Sox, Tigers, and Twins appear to be out of the game, decreasing Jim Bowden’s leverage.  Would’ve been nice to play off the AL Central rivals against one another. 

Plenty of trade candidates have been connected to the Astros in recent days, including Roy Oswalt, Morgan Ensberg, Willy Taveras, Brad Lidge, and Adam Everett at the Major League level.  L.A. seems to be dealing more in prospects, with Erick Aybar likely on the way out.

Brent Clevlen Gets The Call

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Is there any reason to call up a Double A outfielder who’s hitting .224/.307/.350?  Brent Clevlen joins the Tigers today, in the midst of his best month with the Erie SeaWolves (a .776 OPS in July).

One possibility is that a trading partner wanted the kid showcased and the Tigers obliged.  Entering this season, Clevlen was ranked Detroit’s second-best position player behind Cameron Maybin.

Clevlen is a 22 year-old right fielder with above average power potential, according to Baseball America.  Back on July 17th, Jon Paul Morosi of the Detroit Free Press mentioned that the Tigers could offer a package of Clevlen, Jair Jurrjens, and Humberto Sanchez for Alfonso Soriano.

Trade Rumor Roundup: 6 Days Left

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What’s new in the world of trade rumors?

It wasn’t just Humberto Sanchez missing a start – Tigers prospect Jair Jurrjens is skipping two starts because of a stiff neck.  While it certainly seems that recent trade winds could be at play here, it may just be a case of bad luck for Detroit.  Both players can still be dealt despite the minor injuries.

A few more nuggets concerning the White Sox’s efforts to acquire Alfonso Soriano surfaced in newspapers today.  Phil Rogers notes sources indicating that Scott Podsednik, and not Brian Anderson, would be part of a package for Soriano.  In addition, Sam Borden of the New York Daily News suggests that Jim Bowden requested Double A pitcher Lance Broadway but was rebuffed.

Didn’t get to hear Tim Purpura on the radio yesterday personally, but it seems he may have inadvertently indicated that Willy Taveras is not in the team’s future center field plans.  I imagine plenty of teams would have interest in Taveras despite his .280/.319/.331 line in 905 career ABs.  On the plus side, Taveras truly is an excellent defender according to The Fielding Bible.  They actually think he deserved the Gold Glove last year over Jim Edmonds.

Harold Reynolds got the axe from ESPN today; Deadspin has the thirdhand info. 

Dayton Moore did well with reliever Elmer Dessens in a trade back to the Dodgers.

Many thanks to all those who visited MLBTradeRumors.com yesterday. June 24th was our best-ever day for traffic, beating out December 8th.  Keep on comin’ back for all the latest trade rumors; I love writing about this stuff.

Soriano, Sanchez, Meche: Much Ado About Nothing

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Seems that a couple of the more interesting rumors to come up today have proven to be nothing at all.

The first was ESPN’s rumor that Brandon McCarthy would be included in a Soriano to the White Sox deal, which was to be extremely close.  It seems that the deal has fallen through at least in the short term, and Kenny Williams stated publicly that neither McCarthy nor Josh Fields will be traded.  Still in the stockpile: Brian Anderson, Ryan Sweeney, Jerry Owens, Sean Tracey, Lance Broadway, Casey Rogowski, and Charlie Haeger. 

It has also been noted that Humberto Sanchez missed his start tonight due to a tender elbow.  Not exactly a way to pump up a prospect’s value, so the Tigers may have to deal other prospects.  They’ve still got Brent Clevlen, Jordan Tata, and Jair Jurrjens, among others.  Still, Sanchez seems like the one available trading chip who could help bring a star player to Detroit.      

Also, we’re unclear at this point whether the rumored ESPN Radio report of a completed Aaron Heilman for Gil Meche trade is legit.  Indications are that it was a hoax.  Sorry ’bout that.  Here’s MetsBlog’s take on this (non)rumor.

ESPN: White Sox Alfonso Soriano Trade?

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Breaking news from ESPN is that the White Sox are "extremely close" to acquiring Alfonso Soriano.  It seems that Brandon McCarthy is the main piece of the deal.

The result would be a Murderer’s Row with five players currently slugging .539 or better: Thome (.632), Dye (.620), Soriano (.594), Konerko (.555), and Crede (.539).  The Sox already lead baseball in home runs with 146.

What’s more, ESPN also reports that Kenny Williams is looking to strengthen his bullpen by sending 23 year-old southpaw Double A starter Tyler Lumsden to the Royals for Mike MacDougal.  Lumsden isn’t striking anyone out, but still has a 2.69 ERA for Birmingham.  He had elbow surgery in January of last year.

MacDougal has thrown four scoreless innings for the Royals since returning from a shoulder strain.  He was able to cut his walks to a reasonable level last year and had his best season.

UPDATE: MacDougal is a done deal.  Another pitcher was added to complete the trade.

Trade Rumor Roundup: 7 Days Left

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Here’s the latest from around baseball…

Dejan Kovacevic mentions that the A’s are considering Sean Casey.  Casey’s doing his usual good batting average/low slugging thing and he’s getting $8.5MM for it.  The combined efforts of Dan Johnson and Nick Swisher have been inadequate at first, but would Casey really help?  Johnson is hitting .485/.575/.848 in 33 Triple A at-bats; maybe he deserves another look.  The Athletics, who are dead last in the AL in slugging, wouldn’t be helped by adding the powerless Casey.  They need Alfonso Soriano, Carlos Lee, Pat Burrell, or even Raul Ibanez to make a difference. 

The Yankees have decided to hold on to Philip Hughes, and the Phils aren’t biting on whatever else they offered.  According to George King, the Yanks think assuming Abreu’s contract and exercising his option should be enough.  Still, it would be cool to see a nasty young Phillies rotation in 2008 with Hughes, Cole Hamels, Gio Gonzalez, and Scott Mathieson.

Also, I’m hearing that WPEN in Philadelphia has mentioned a trade rumor: Tom Gordon for Trot Nixon.  Nixon is a good hitter (.400 OBP), though he’s 32 with declining power numbers.  Given that Flash would be hands down the best reliever on the market, I’d expect the Phils to get more.   

Kenny Williams didn’t deny the recent Soriano rumor, so now you know it’s legit.  Kenny has been pretty shrewd with the media, so this is probably all part of his plan.  Despite word of a possible contract extension with Washington, Buster Olney all but assured us of a Soriano trade in today’s blog.

Also, Olney nixed the A-Rod to the Cubs idea, explaining that Rodriguez is a bargain in the Yankees’ world.  This column is kind of weird to me.  Phil Rogers almost seems like he’s just cooked up a brilliant scenario or something, with Aramis Ramirez and Jacque Jones being swapped for A-Rod.  Thing is, Bleed Cubbie Blue broke out this exact trade rumor three weeks ago.

RotoAuthority has a look at which pitchers have been abused this season.

Trade Rumor Roundup: 8 Days Left

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To begin with, this just isn’t true.  With the Kearns deal and probably Soriano trade, the 2006 deadline just can’t be classified as a dud.  That honor belongs to 2005 for sure.  The trading action never matches the buildup, but this year’s still a good one.

Read Ken Rosenthal’s latest.  The White Sox are in the Soriano game, the Rangers have interest in Luis Gonzalez, the Braves could add another reliever, Julio Lugo still might become a Blue Jay, and the Brewers look like sellers.  In my opinion, some Brewers besides Carlos Lee that could be unloaded: Geoff Jenkins, Corey Koskie, Brady Clark, and Dan Kolb.  Koskie will need to recover quickly from his concussion, however.

Still hearing that the Cubs like Willy Taveras, which would definitely fit their m.o. of players who don’t get on base.  Phil Rogers also mentions that Seattle’s Rafael Soriano is being asked about. It would be surprising to see the Mariners deal that kind of young talent.

Tons of great rumors coming from Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe.  He’s got a rundown of the Red Sox, all sorts of teams scouting Humberto Sanchez, and more. 

Buster Olney mentioned in his blog today that the Astros are among various teams scouting Elmer Dessens.  The Astros are also looking at Damaso Marte.

Unfounded rumor department: Could the Dodgers be after Aramis Ramirez?  Ramirez has picked a fantastic time to heat up, and L.A. has some top shelf young talent…is there anywhere Julio Lugo could go besides Toronto?  How about the Rockies?

Rumor Roundup

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Another day, another rumor roundup.  Let’s throw everything fresh into the mill.

The Orioles are thinking about taking on one of Philly’s huge outfielder contracts, for some reason.  I guess this could help next year’s push for third place.  Baltimore is one of baseball’s most baffling teams to me.  Abreu rumors have been floating around the Orioles since at least November.

The Cubs and Yankees may have something cooking, with Scott Williamson the likely candidate to be dealt.  If the reliever market is really so inflated, why don’t the Cubs trade Howry and Eyre?

The Pirates are offering up all sorts of non-difference makers, but Mike Gonzalez could actually get them something decent.  The 28 year-old southpaw has a 2.27 ERA in 39 innings this season.  Fantay leaguers should start thinking about Matt Capps as his successor.

Trade rumor All-Star Ken Rosenthal is getting into the game more lately, with a full plate of whisperings posted an hour ago.  Jose Vidro could become a Giant, and the D’Backs would love to trade Shawn Green (of course).

Unfounded rumors: Billy Beane may be shopping Mark Ellis and Jason Windsor, with possible interest in Brian Roberts…the Angels could be after David Dellucci…teams are calling the Mets about Alay Soler…Dallas McPherson is definitely on the block…there’s a decent chance Jon Lieber ends up a Yankee…the Mets and Nats are still talking about Livan Hernandez.

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