Soriano Rejects 5/$70MM Offer From Nats
Here’s a link to a Sportsline story quoting Listin Diaro, the oldest daily newspaper of the Dominican Republic. The news: Alfonso Soriano has rejected a five-year, $70MM offer from the Nationals. Here’s the original article for those fluent in Spanish. It appears that the Listin Diaro article is quoting a Mexican radio station that interviewed assistant GM Jose Rijo.
So the initial bar on Soriano has been set: he’ll require more than $14MM annually. That’s not going to end well. In fact, I’m not sure he’ll be worth it in year 1.
Soriano’s rejection of the offer will at least stop the Nats from compounding their own error. Jim Bowden failed to trade Soriano at the deadline, but signing him for five years wouldn’t have righted that wrong.
UPDATE: So much for everything I just said in this post – Rijo and Nats president Stan Kasten just denied this report.
Diamondbacks Acquire Livan Hernandez
Looks like someone got some faulty info about Livan Hernandez being pulled back from waivers; Ken Rosenthal reports that the Diamondbacks have acquired the 31 year-old righty. The Nats received Double A pitchers Matt Chico and Garrett Mock. Chico has had more success with Tennessee so far. Neither pitcher is on the 40-man roster, making it easier to get the deal done.
Hernandez is set to earn $8MM this season and $7MM in 2007. While his strikeout rate has remained steady from last year, his hit and home run rates have spiked. To his credit, his two August starts have been excellent. The D’Backs are middle-of-the-pack as far as starting pitching and are just two games back in the West. They’re only one game behind the Reds in the wild card.
Hernandez has 56 innings worth of playoff experience from his time with the Marlins and Giants. He was the NLCS MVP with the Marlins after winning two games.
Alfonso Soriano Stays Put
In the most surprising non-trade of the afternoon, the Nationals have retained Alfonso Soriano. Will the two sides be able to hammer out a long-term contract extension, or will the Nats just have to take a couple of draft picks for their left fielder?
It’ll be interesting to hear how the team spins this one. Right now it’s hard to see how this was the right choice.
Red Sox Trade Rumors
It’s tough to get anything out of Boston these days; Theo Epstein has plugged all of his leaks. Let’s see what we can piece together though.
According to Sean McAdams of The Providence Journal:
"Friends of the Rocket insist he’s sorry that he chose the Astros over the Red Sox." McAdams mentions that Clemens would love a trade to Boston if it could be done without infuriating the Houston fanbase. Also, a source of mine tells me that the Mets have inquired about Clemens.
Then there’s the possible three-way trade with the Rockies and Padres. The Padres would get Mike Lowell, the Red Sox would get Ryan Shealy and a starter, and who knows what the Rockies would get.
Don’t get that rumor confused with the other three-team scenario from Gordon Edes of the Boston Globe. In that case, the Red Sox get Julio Lugo and Scott Linebrink, the Padres get Mike Lowell, and the D-Rays get prospects.
Plus, Jayson Stark mentioned last night that the Red Sox are "making a late run at Alfonso Soriano." He doesn’t have much more than that, but it can’t be dismissed. Stark has also connected Boston to Jason Schmidt and Brad Lidge.
Washington Post: Marlins In On Soriano
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
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
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.
Soriano Removed From Tonight’s Game
Looks like something could be cooking, as Alfonso Soriano was just removed for Robert Fick in the 5th inning of tonight’s game.
The realist in me says it could just be that the Nats want to protect their top commodity given that they have no chance to win tonight’s game down 11-1.
Trade Rumor Roundup: 6 Days Left
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
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.