Rumors for July, 2010
Boston Red Sox and San Diego Padres ready to make a deal?
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A Major League source close to Peter Abraham and Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe says that Red Sox GM Theo Epstein is discussing several trade possibilities with San Diego Padres GM Jed Hoyer.
The Boston Globe says:
The Padres were seeking an infielder before they acquired Miguel Tejada from Baltimore yesterday. They also need outfield help. In Bill Hall, Jeremy Hermida, and Darnell McDonald, the Red Sox will have an excess of outfielders once Jacoby Ellsbury returns. The Sox could be interested in Padres left-handed reliever Joe Thatcher.
Red Sox manager Terry Francona is not sure if a trade is needed:
“I don’t think about it. We spend so much time and get consumed with what we’re supposed to get consumed with, trying to win. The stuff about the trade deadline, I haven’t given it much thought because it doesn’t help,’’ he said. Read More→
San Francisco Giants working hard on a deal
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Michael Urban of Comcast Sportsnet tweets, “No names yet, but the #sfgiants are working hard on a deal at this hour. More details to come if they come available.”
Since there are no names, we can only speculate given the rumors that we’ve heard over the last few days. Here are a few candidates:
Hitters: Adam Dunn (Washington Nationals), Prince Fielder or Corey Hart (Milwaukee Brewers – but it is believed that they are off the trading table, Jose Guillen (Kansas City Royals), Ty Wigginton (Baltimore Orioles), Jose Bautista (Toronto Blue Jays), Cody Ross (Florida Marlins), Lyle Overbay (Toronto Blue Jays)
Pitchers: Scott Downs (Toronto Blue Jays), Will Ohman (Baltimore Orioles), Brandon League (Seattle Mariners)
Giants turning focus to bullpen arms
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Sources familiar with the Giants’ trade talks said team officials constantly found that the “prices” for competent hitters, in terms of players San Francisco would have to part with, were far too costly. Giants general manager Brian Sabean has stated his unwillingness to trade left-handers Jonathan Sanchez or Madison Bumgarner, who routinely appear on other teams’ most-wanted lists.
But the Giants believe they aren’t so desperate offensively that they must overpay for a proven hitter. Despite Thursday’s 5-0 loss to Florida, they lead the National League with 141 runs scored in July. They’re 18-8 this month. As a result, they’re willing to stand pat.
“I like this club, I do,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. “If it’s the right fit, I’m sure something would happen, but this is a good team with a lot of movable parts. …”
San Francisco reportedly has expressed interest in Toronto lefty Scott Downs, Baltimore’s Will Ohman and Seattle’s Brandon League.
Information from MLB.com was used in this article.
Rangers offered top 3 prospects for Marlins Josh Johnson
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Joe Frisaro of MLB.com heard that the Rangers, in talking to the Marlins about acquiring Jorge Cantu, also figured it was worth a hail marry pass and inquired to see if the Marlins would consider trading All-Star Josh Johnson.
Texas right out of the gate was willing to part with their top three prospects, just to get the conversation rolling for the hard-throwing Florida ace.
Before a conversation could even get started, the Marlins made it clear that Johnson is “unmovable.”
In the first of a four-year, $39 million contract, Johnson is one of the top talents in the game. The 26-year-old right-hander is 10-3 and he holds a MLB-leading 1.72 ERA.
7/29 21:20: The Nationals requested either Gordon Beckham or both Daniel Hudson and Dayan Viciedo in exchange for Dunn, according to Jon Heyman of SI. At that price, the White Sox are reluctant to make a trade as they earlier in the week told Beckham he was staying in Chicago.
7/29 13:14: So what’s going on with Washington Nationals’ first baseman Adam Dunn? He’s somewhat in trade limbo.
The last we heard, was that the Washington Nationals were either working on or will present a contract extension offer to Dunn sometime before the Trade Deadline on Saturday. It will likely be a last minute deal. If Dunn accepts the deal, he stays. If he declines the deal, the Nationals will likely trade him.
Buster Olney of ESPN reminds us that the Chicago White Sox have been aggressive, but are not “well-armed’ to go after him. Olney adds that the Tampa Bay Rays and the New York Yankees will be the most motivated to not only add him to their already potent lineup, but also keep him out of their rival’s hands.
The Nationals says they are not engaged with the Yankees, but the Yankees and Rays are hovering.
Earlier today, Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports said the Yankees are out of the Dunn chase, but we’ll see if that holds up.
Minnesota Twins C Wilson Ramos Traded to Washington Nationals for RHP Matt Capps
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7/29 19:16: Scott Miller of CBS Sports confirms that the the Twins acquired closer Matt Capps from the Washington Nationals for Triple-A catcher Wilson Ramos. The deal will announced later tonight or tomorrow.
La Velle E. Neal III of the Star-Tribune was the first one to report that Wilson Ramos was removed from the lineup at Triple-A Rochester.
A source close to Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune was the first to say that Ramos was headed to the Washington Nationals.
7/29 19:03: Jon Paul Morosi says “Source says Capps is “close” to being traded to #Twins.”
7/29 18:55: Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune says “Ramos is headed to Washington by a reliable scouting source.”
7/29 16:45: According to sources close to Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports, the Twins are unlikely to get Ted Lilly from the Cubs.
He also adds that the Twins are more confident about adding a reliever than a starter.
7/29 14:58: A source close to Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports says the Minnesota Twins are beginning to think prices won’t come down for starting pitching, so they may have to wait until August to acquire a pitcher.
On Tuesday, we mentioned the Minnesota Twins are looking to acquire additional starting pitching despite the fact that their starting rotation posted a 1.06 ERA during their last turn around, but as many general managers in baseball say – you can’t ever have enough pitcher.
Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports said the Twins have asked the Chicago Cubs about left-handed pitcher Ted Lilly. The problem is that the Twins are on Lilly’s no-trade list. Lilly is being paid $4 million, and he’s a free agent after the season. Rosenthal says that it will take additional compensation for Lilly to waive his no-trade clause.
Lilly could possibly clear waivers in August, so he could still be apart of a contender before the end of the season. Keep in mind that Lilly is probably the best starting pitcher available out there now that the big names are off the table, so there will be fierce competition for the left-hander.
Wow! What a day.
We started with the Roy Oswalt rumors late last night into this morning, then we saw the Astros quickly move newly-acquired OF Anthony Gose to the Toronto Blue Jays for IF Brett Wallace (yes, Brett not Michael – inside joke), then the Rangers and Marlins finally agreed on Jorge Cantu, then the Padres snagged Miguel Tejada from the Orioles, and finally Buck Showalter unofficially became the manager of Tejada’s former club. But the day is not done yet! So who knows what may happen.
We still have about 43.5 hours before the Trade Deadline hits, and there may be a few more trades, so keep on checking back. In the meantime, check out these PRO Rumors:
When Los Angeles GM Tony Reagins was asked if he was buying or selling, he said, “We’re looking to improve. That’s about as plain as I can put it. We’re still looking at opportunities. I got a lot of phone calls today.” (Ken Rosenthal, FOX Sports)
PRO Rumors will be on the air with the Friarhood tonight at 8:00pm PST. Check it out at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/friarhood
Tom Krasovic of AOL FanHouse says the Padres are working on another trade, and he specifically said it’s a move beyond the 1-for-1 for Tejada.
The Angels are not ready to become sellers yet, but it could change in the next 36 hours, according to Buster Olney of ESPN. If they hit the market, Maicer Izturis is safe from being moved.
Ken Davidoff of Newsday says the Mets and Cubs are talking about Ted Lilly, but Davidoff doubts a trade will occur.
Milwaukee Brewers take Prince Fielder and Corey Hart off the trading table
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ESPN Insider Keith Law says the Milwaukee Brewers are “closed for business”, meaning player like Prince Fielder and Corey Hart are off the trading table.
“They have decided they’re close enough to contention that they’re not selling, so Hart and Fielder are off the market,” Law said, citing an executive from a rival club that was interested in a Brewers player.
Teams such as the San Francisco Giants were looking at acquiring either Fielder or Hart.
So if they are not selling, could the Brewers be buyers?
Law wonders if pitchers like Ted Lilly, Jake Westbrook or Edwin Jackson could be key pieces the Brewers could add to the their roster via trade. Many of these pitchers could clear waivers, so that buys the team another month to get seriously back into the NL Central race, and then the front office can commit to one of these bigger name starting pitchers.
Arizona Diamondbacks trying hard to trade Edwin Jackson and Chris Snyder
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Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times says the Arizona Diamondbacks are trying hard to deal right-handed pitcher Edwin Jackson and catcher Chris Snyder by the July 31st Trade Deadline. The Dbacks are trying to reduce payroll in a season that is going nowhere. Jackson is scheduled to make $8.35 million next year and Snyder is set to make $5.75 million.
The Diamondbacks are young, and will be very competitive in the next few years with their core group including outfielder Justin Upton and Chris Young and infielder Mark Reynolds. By getting rid of payroll now, they can set themselves up to financial cover their youth when it comes time to write up new contracts.
Jackson is rumored to be a part of a three-team deal where he would be sent to the Washington Nationals.
Ty Wigginton Rumors: Interest by Twins, Phillies and Giants in Orioles infielder cooling
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Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports says the interest by the Minnesota Twins, Philadelphia Phillies and San Francisco Giants in Baltimore Orioles infielder Ty Wigginton is cooling. However, he adds that there’s a 50/50 chances that the O’s could still move him.
The New York Yankees were in on Wigginton earlier this month, but recently dropped their interest in him.
Wigginton was recently suspended for an on-field altercation, but president of baseball operations, Andy MacPhail, doesn’t believe that would impact his trade value.
