Rumors for July, 2010
7/27 13:15: Joel Sherman of the New York Post says, “The one player that there is agreement will definitely be traded before the deadline is the Cubs’ Ted Lilly.” Sherman adds that the Yankees’ interest is miniscule.
Dodgers owner Frank McCourt wants to get some positive press and will authorize a small payroll bump to obtain a pitcher. Manager Joe Torre and Lilly had a good relationship when both were with the Yankees.
7/26 13:16: Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports says the Yankees are not in on Cubs’ Lilly at this time.
7/26 00:27: Carrie Muskat of MLB.com says that it’s not a question of if Chicago Cubs left-handed pitcher, Ted Lilly, will be traded but when. Lilly’s next start is Tuesday in Houston.
Cubs’ assistant GM Randy Bush spent a long time talking with Lilly prior to Sunday’s game.
Lilly is owed more than $4 million and the Cubs may want to move him not only to give him a chance to pitch in the postseason, but also to take money off the books.
The New York Mets have been known to be pursuing Lilly. The left-hander is 1-3 with a 5.44 ERA in his last seven starts and has about $4 million left on his contract. He will be a free agent after the season.
Update – Kansas City Royals Rumors: Giants working on OF Jose Guillen with Royals
Posted by: | Comments
7/27 13:02: Joel Sherman of the New York Post says, “The Giants are working on outfielder Jose Guillen with Kansas City sending back some money on the $4 million-ish he is owed the rest of the year”
7/27 10:41: Jayson Stark of ESPN tweets, “On Jose Guillen rumors: Was told by one club that KC has “no real options” to move him, even if they take $ & ask very little back”. Stark later adds, “In fact, the same source speculates KC “might be done.” DeJesus hurt. Very little action on Guillen, Bannister, Davies, Farnsworth.”
7/26 22:08: Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star says the Philadelphia Phillies and Toronto Blue Jays had scouts on hand to watch the Royals on Monday. Dutton speculates that the Phillies were on hand because of their need for relievers. He is not sure how the Blue Jays would match up with the Royals.
Players that are known to be available from the Royals include OF/DH Jose Guillen, outfielder Scott Podsednik and relief pitchers Kyle Farnsworth and Joakim Soria.
Earlier today, the San Francisco Giants, San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers were known to be pusuing Podsednik. The left-handed hitting Podsednik is hitting .309/.353/.399 with 5 home runs this season. Read More→
In a series of Tweets by Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports lays down a few rumors to keep an eye on:
One player who should be garnering more interest than he is: Cristian Guzman of the #Nationals. He’s hitting .336 vs. LHP this season. (Source: @jonmorosi)
#Rangers and #Phillies have some interest in Cristian Guzman, a source says. He’s played 2B, SS, RF this year. (Source: @jonmorosi)
#Tigers not pursuing [Russell] Branyan or [Lyle] Overbay, source says. (Source: @jonmorosi)
Update – Yankees and Red Sox nose-to-nose on Blue Jays LH reliever Scott Downs
Posted by: | Comments
7/27 12:38: Jon Paul Morosi and Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports points out that over the past three season, Downs’ numbers against the three AL East powers – the Yankees, Red Sox and Rays – are much worse than his numbers against all other clubs.
The Yankees, Red Sox and Rays are batting .289/.379/.454 against Downs since the start of the 2008 season. All of his other opponents are batting .205/.266/.276.
Downs’ ERA against the three AL East powers during that time is 4.35. His ERA against all other clubs is 1.66.
7/27 10:11: A source with knowledge of the Blue Jays’ plans (via George A. King III of the New York Post) says the Yankees and Red Sox are nose to nose on Jays’ left-handed reliever Downs.
“It’s the Yankees and Red Sox,” said the source”And he is clearly the best reliever out there.”
7/26 00:31: In addition to his likely Type-A status, the Blue Jays believe that Downs can command a multi-year deal next season, and therefore the team can justify a high asking price.
Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports says,
Meanwhile, a team that trades for Downs can re-sign him to a multi-year contract, attempt to retain him on a one-year, non-guaranteed deal in arbitration or receive two high draft picks if he signs with another club.
7/25 10:30: Buster Olney of ESPN is reporting that the Blue Jays are asking a high price for Downs which has made rival GM’s interested to see what Toronto will actually get for him. “To this point, they’ve asked for high-end return for Downs because they think they should be compensated for the fact that he could be a Type A free agent. Some rival executives think that shouldn’t matter, because they don’t believe any team would surrender a first- or second-round pick for a non-closer. Boston and the Yankees are among the teams that have spoken with Toronto.”
7/25 09:25: Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports tweets that there’s “Fierce competition” for Toronto Blue Jays’ reliever Scott Downs. He says the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox are the among the favorites, and the New York Mets, Cincinnati Reds and Minnesota Twins are involved too.
Last week, we heard from Ed Price of AOL FanHouse that the Yankees and the Red Sox had “big-time” interest in the left-hander.
Downs is making $4 million this season and has a 2.56 ERA. He’s particularly effective against left-handers, who at the time were just hitting .208 against him. Earlier this month, the Philadelphia Phillies also had interest in the lefty. One thing to note is that Downs will likely be a Type-A free agent after the season.
Chicago White Sox laying groundwork for the pursuit of a starting pitcher
Posted by: | CommentsJon Paul Morosi and Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports says that the Chicago White Sox are laying the groundwork for the pursuit of a starting pitcher.
Rookie Daniel Hudson has a 6.32 ERA in three starts since replacing the injured Jake Peavy. Hudson will pitch again on Friday, and if he struggles, the White Sox could pursue a starter in the hours before the July 31st trade deadline.
Here’s a list of starting pitchers (minus Dan Haren) that the White Sox could go after.
7/27 12:24: According to Jim Bowden of XM Radio 175 and FOXSports he tweets, “Joe Maddon told us if they can improve their offense at the trade deadline they will..if not they will look to Farm System”
7/27 09:59: Yesterday, Tampa Bay Rays vice president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said (via Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times), “I look at it that we have a very good team right now, and if we can find a deal that makes us better and does so by using some of our depth, great,” Friedman said. “But I guess the challenge of navigating this week is to not make a move for the sake of making a move; doing something that fits us, that will have an impact on us and significantly improve our chances.”
Topkin adds that many names have been connected with the Rays from Adam Dunn and Prince Fielder on down. However, three that may be applicable to the Rays are Orioles OF/DH/1B Luke Scott, Phillies OF Jayson Werth and Nationals OF Josh Willingham.
To get names like that, the team will have to give up big name prospects such as right-handed pitcher Jeremy Hellickson or outfielder Desmond Jennings, or young active roster players such as right-handed pitcher Wade Davis or center fielder B.J. Upton.
Earlier this morning, we heard about Carl Crawford being at ease since since he hasn’t been named in too many trade rumors. The team as a whole has been at ease because of the club’s success. Read More→
7/27 12:13: Jayson Stark of ESPN tweets, “Braves looking for OF who can play CF. Chances of getting Cody Ross slim. Telling teams they’re set “unless somebody knocks us over”
7/26 16:58: “I think we’re still looking internally at the pieces that we have,” Wren said early Monday evening in regards to the outfield (via Mark Bowman of MLB.com). “Right now, I’d have to say that’s the way that we’re leaning.”
7/26 09:33: Mark Bowman of FOXSports says, “Kenshin Kawakami Kawakami and Jesse Chavez crowding the back end of the bullpen mix and left-hander Eric O’Flaherty still trying to regain the strength he lost because of a viral infection, the Braves may attempt to acquire a reliever before Saturday’s 4 p.m. ET trade deadline.”
The team may improve the bullpen internally by promoting prospect Craig Kimbrel or Stephen Marek. Other options include promoting Mike Minor to the big league rotation and giving Kris Medlen a chance to return to the bullpen.
Outfielder Nate McLouth has been struggling, and GM Frank Wren is evaluating options to improve his outfield. The team has minimal interest in Florida Marlins center fielder Cody Ross. Atlanta has also been interested in Milwaukee’s Corey Hart and Washington’s Josh Willingham, so it’s possible they may make a run for them before Saturday’s deadline.
“You don’t want to disrupt a good thing in a lot of ways,” Wren said last week. “But at the same time, we’ve got to put the most talented club on the field. If there is somebody out there who improves our club dramatically, we have to be open to it.”
New York Yankees on Joakim Soria’s no-trade list
Posted by: | CommentsAll-Star closer Joakim Soria has been a target of the New York Yankees over the past few weeks. The Yankees are looking to stabilize their eighth inning setup man by replacing incumbent Joba Chamberlain. However, according to a baseball official close to Andrew Marchand of ESPNNewYork.com, he says the Yankees are one of six teams on Soria’s no-trade list.
Marchand says that the no-trade clause is one hurdle, but the bigger hurdle is overcoming the Royals’ reluctance to trade Soria. “Kansas City has told teams it will listen on Soria, but it will take a boatload of talent to acquire the right-hander,” Marchand says.
Marchand adds that the no-trade clause to the Yankees is more of a leverage tactic if a deal were struck. Soria’s current contract is for three years, $8.75 million, with three club options that top out at $8.75 million for 2014.
Los Angeles Dodgers sign Juan Castro to Minor League contract
Posted by: | CommentsEd Price of AOL FanHouse says infielder Juan Castro who was released by the Philadelphia Phillies on July 17, has signed a Minor League deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Castro, 38, hit .198 with 13 RBIs in 54 games with the Phillies this season. He was released by the Phillies when Placido Polanco was activated off the 15-day disabled list.
Jayson Werth Trade Rumors: Phillies outfielder staying or going?
Posted by: | Comments
Officials of two teams close to Jayson Stark of ESPN.com say they no longer believe Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Jayson Werth is getting traded.
“They’re 2½ [games] out of the wild card,” said one of those officials. “I don’t see them selling Werth unless they’re overwhelmed by a [win-now] major league piece.”
“I really don’t think [Phillies GM] Ruben [Amaro] can get what he wants for him,” said the other official. “I don’t think he can get the right pitcher. I don’t think he can get the right pitcher/hitter combo. And at this point, he’s not going to take prospects. So I think [Werth] is going to stay right where he is and finish out the year.”
“I can’t tell you for sure what’s out there,” Werth said. “I mean, I’m aware of it. I get asked questions about it. My teammates joke around about it. But as far as the speculation about who or where — I have no idea. I’ve never really paid much attention to it. I’m not up late reading the blog sites.”
Werth’s name has been metioned in trade talks involving the Tampa Bay Rays, San Diego Padres and Boston Red Sox to name a few teams. There’s internal pressure to trade him because Werth is a free agent after the season, and the Phillies want to see something from him rather than let him go for nothing.
