Baseball
MLB Trade Rumors: Braves Looking To Deal Javier Vazquez And Yunel Escobar??
by raygu
on Jul 4, 2009 12:00 PM EDT
in Baseball
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ESPN's Buster Olney blog post for today includes a rumor that the Braves are looking to deal SS Yunel Escobar and/or starting pitcher Javier Vazquez. In his post, he mentions several teams who the Braves could hook up with in a deal.Olney mentions the Red Sox, Royals, Twins and A's as suitors for Escobar and the Brewers and Dodgers as suitors for Vazquez.
The trade that makes the most sense to me would be Braves GM Frank Wren making a deal with the A's for Matt Holliday. The A's are looking to move SS Orlando Cabrera along with Holliday, so Escobar in a package for both would fill the Braves needs for a big bat and a SS to take over for Escobar.
Olney also offers a deal with the Brewers involving Vazquez and Brewers OF Corey Hart. He mentions the Dodgers interest in Vazquez, and I have to think Dodgers GM Ned Colletti would have to make a serious run for him if he becomes available.
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MLB Trade Rumors: Chicago White Sox And San Francisco Giants Looking To Trade?
by faketeams
on Jul 3, 2009 8:18 PM EDT
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Are you following Will Carroll on Twitter yet? He tweets:
injuryexpert Giants and White Sox want to make deal quick. Williams always bold, but Sabean?
The Giants want hitting and have pitching to offer. In this market, I have a hard time believing the Giants would give pitching for a bat like Josh Fields and/or Brian N. Anderson.
That leaves me thinking of the Southsiders better known bats who own gloves - Paul Konerko and Jermaine Dye. Each is signed through 2010. (Yes, Dye has a mutual option at $12MM. Splitting hairs in pursuit of rumor mongering?) Either makes sense for the hitting-starved Giants.
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MLB Trade Rumors: Seattle Mariners, Garrett Atkins And The Pittsburgh Pirates Not Done Yet?
by faketeams
on Jul 3, 2009 12:15 PM EDT
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The Seattle Times peculates the Mariners could deal for Colorado Rockies' 3B Garrett Atkins of part of the package leaving Seattle includes pitcher Miguel Batista. This follows earlier reports that the San Diego Padres were having discussions about dealing 3B Kevin Kouzmanoff.
Either player would offer more than the current situation of Chris Woodward and others who can't wrest the position from him. The question, as always, will revolve around finances and prospects involved. With the Mariners having no 3B solutions for 2010, Atkins (3rd year arbitration eligible) or Kouzmanoff (1st year) would settle the situation, too.
Expect that to be included in any trade proposal from the Rockies or Padres.
In others trade rumors, SBNation's MLB Daily Dish reports sources have confirmed the Minnesota Twins are interested in Pittsburgh Pirates' veterans Freddy Sanchez and Matt Capps. While neither is mentioned in the local papers, the interest seems plausible.
2B Alexi Casilla has failed miserably following last season's breakout and 3B Joe Crede can't hit despite double digit HRs. Sanchez would offer improvements at either position. As for Capps, I highly doubt the Twins would meet the price tag of a proven, 25-year-old closer.
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MLB Trade Rumors: Nick Johnson To The Giants?
by raygu
on Jul 3, 2009 9:45 AM EDT
in Baseball
2 comments
I was listening to Christopher Russo's Maddog Unleashed show yesterday afternoon as he was intereviewing Yahoo.com's Gordon Edes. Edes was quite confident that the Giants were looking for bats and that Nationals first baseman Nick Johnson would land in San Francisco.
It appears that the Nats are cleaning up the house that Jim Bowden built, and it makes sense that they deal Nick Johnson to make room for....for...Brad Eldred? I assume he will be just a fill in at this point as Adam Dunn can easily move over to 1B with Josh Willingham, also rumored to be on the move, taking over in LF. Nyjer Morgan takes over in CF with Willie Harris and Austin Kearns sharing time in RF.
The Giants have one of the better farm systems in baseball, but I don;t see them dealing one of their top prospects for Nick Johnson. More than likely, they may deal recently demoted starting pitcher Jonathan Sanchez for Johnson, which wouldn't be a bad return for the Nationals.
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MLB Trade Rumors: Will the Milwaukee Brewers Deal J.J. Hardy or Corey Hart Now Or In The Off-season?
by faketeams
on Jul 2, 2009 2:15 PM EDT
in Baseball
6 comments
The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel rites that Milwaukee Brewers' GM Doug Melvin wants to make a trade but is finding it difficult to match-up well with another team's wants. With top prospects Alcides Escobar and Mat Gamel unavailable, one naturally infers there are major league players on the current roster who are just keeping their positions warm until both players are ready for regular playing time.
At SS, J.J. Hardy is the obvious current Brewer blocking Escobar. The more difficult question to answer is which Brewer is blocking Gamel. Is it Prince Fielder at 1B? I doubt that more than I doubt the presence of an honest politician.
How about Bill Hall at 3B? Credible but one wonders whether Gamel has the defensive chops to play everyday. My guess is the Brewers have not forgotten the Ryan Braun experience from 2007.
That leaves the outfield. With Braun entrenched in leftfield and centerfield reserved for excellent fielding players, rightfield is the only place left. Residing in RF is Corey Hart.
Is Corey Hart enough for the Brewers to get starting pitching help? I definitely think so especially if you're talking about Jarrod Washburn types. Entering his second year of arbitration eligibility offers the acquiring team control. The escalation in salary is a concern, but that can be mitigated by acquiring an already "expensive" pitcher.
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Wednesday Roto Highlights - Brewers love YoGa
by RJK
on Jul 2, 2009 1:00 PM EDT
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Leo Nunez - He's battled an ankle injury this past week but notched 2 saves, hit 96 on the gun, and K'd 4 in 2.1 innings since Marlins closer Matt Linstrom went down. He and Dan Meyer are sharing the closer job for the time being but Nunez is the righty and looks to get the majority of the chances.
Hank Blalock - Despite the low batting average I've really enjoyed owning Blalock this year. If you play his matchups correctly he can be a very effective spot starter. Against righties he's hit 14 HR in 165 AB. You can find uses for a 1B/3B eligible player with numbers like that.
Adam Wainwright - I was shocked to see Wainwright come out for the 9th inning in Tuesday's game against San Francisco. He had just given up the tying run in the 8th and was at 105 pitches. All he did in the 9th was strike out the side (all swinging) after giving up a leadoff single to Edgar Renteria. It was an ace-like performance with 12 Ks and allowed the Cardinals the opportunity for a win despite being shut down by Matt Cain. He still walks a few too many and isn't efficient enough to regularly go deep into games but the Cards figure to improve their offense with trades and the back end of their bullpen has been strong. Wainwright is a solid #3 fantasy starter.
Ricky Romero - I'm kicking myself after letting Romero get picked up in my shallow 12 team mixed league yesterday. He dominated MLB's leader in runs scored (the Rays) Tuesday morning with 8 innings of shutout ball giving up 4 hits and striking out 7. If you take out his 2 starts after coming off the DL (impossible I know but just follow me) he'd be 6-1 with 1.85 ERA. Those 2 starts were at Baltimore, when they were raking, and at home against Boston. He's also gone at least 6.1 innings in every start since that 5/31 start vs. Boston. If he's somehow available in your mixed league stop reading this and go get him.
Yovani Gallardo -YoGa has quickly turned into a fantasy #1 starting pitcher. With his 12 K's over 7 innings on Tuesday his K/9 now sits at an impressive 9.80. Only Verlander, Vazquez, and Lincecum best him in that category. I started thinking about keepers on my 12 team mixed keeper league and began wondering if Gallardo is a definate keeper. If he keeps up his pace he should be a 3rd-6th rounder in '10. He just turned 23 this February.
Hanley Ramirez - He's not giving up the title of consensus #1 fantasy pick to Pujols without a fight. Ramirez is on a tear right now with a 33 RBI June. He's hit .360 since May 1st and looks to finish the year with .330+, 100 runs, 30 HR, 100 RBI, and 25 steals. He's currently 5th ranked in Yahoo's player rankings.
Cody Ross - Ross isn't finding himself on too many mixed league waiver wires these days. He's up to 48 RBI and 14 HR and on pace to up his career highs in HR (22) and RBI (73)
Johnny Damon - With the short porch in right field, Damon's on his way to a new career high (26) in HR. He's currently at career high levels in SLG, OPS, and HR/AB. To begin the year we might have expected a 15/25 year but Damon's flipping his career norms and may end up with a 25/15. Either way, he's providing strong #2 OF numbers.
FYI, you can follow me on Twitter (@RyanKaltenbach). I know, so original. I swear I was doing it at least 2 weeks before everyone else . . . . meaning February.
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MLB Trade Rumors: Matt Capps To The Marlins?
by raygu
on Jul 2, 2009 12:00 PM EDT
in Baseball
2 comments
Yesterday afternoon, rumors spread that the Pirates are not done cleaning house and that they may make closer Matt Capps available in a trade for a power arm. The first team that came to mind was the Marlins who are back in the NL East race even though closer Matt Lindstrom is on the DL.
The Marlins have a couple of pitching prospects in Ryan Tucker and Jose Ceda who they could trade to get Matt Capps. Here is what John Sickels from www.minorleagueball.com had to say about Tucker and Ceda:
Ryan Tucker, RHP, Grade B: He needs another pitch if he wants to start, but the ceiling stands out as excellent.
Jose Ceda, RHP, Grade B: Yet another high ceiling arm with command issues. Also has to watch weight.
The Marlins would use Capps to close with Leo Nunez and Dan Meyer handling the setup duties. In return, the Pirates would get one of Tucker, who should start at the major league level or Ceda, who could replace Capps as the Pirates closer in 2010.
In 2008, Tucker pitched for AA Carolina, appearing in 25 games, including 12 starts, throwing 91 innings with a 74/37 K/BB ratio, and a 1.58 ERA. This year, he has appeared in only 2 games, both in April, making me thing he is injured.
The fact that the Pirates received Joel Hanrahan from the Nationals leads me to beleive they will deal Capps, and allow Hanrahan to close in 2009.
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MLB Trade Rumors: Roy Oswalt To The Dodgers??
by raygu
on Jul 2, 2009 9:45 AM EDT
in Baseball
0 comments
Last night, I took the chance to listen to the Jayson Stark interview on ESPN radio yesterday afternoon. He ran down several teams and threw a name out there that each team could be/are interested in trading for. One name that did not surprise me was Roy Oswalt to the Dodgers. I speculated about Oswalt to the Dodgers after the Dodgers signed Mark Loretta and Brad Ausmus in the offseason.
Stark did indicate that the Dodgers will be on "the best" starting pitcher that becomes available, so I do not see Dodgers GM Ned Colletti making a deal until one of Roy Oswalt, Cliff Lee, and Jarrod Washburn becomes available.
Right now, I can't see the Astros trading their best pitcher, especially when they are only 4 games out of the lead in the NL Central. The Astros have historically been a very good second half team, so they will wait till the very last day or so before deciding whether to become a buyer or a seller.
There have been no indications of which direction the Astros are headed, but should they become sellers, they could look to the Dodgers who are looking for that veteran ace starting pitcher to carry them into the playoffs and beyond this year.
Dodgers GM Ned Colletti would have to give up some of his young pitching prospects for sure, so one can surmise that AAA starter Scott Elbert, and AAA starter/major league reliever James McDonald will be on Astros GM Ed Wade's radar. In fact, the Dodgers would love to have Wade include middle reliever Latroy Hawkins in a deal should he become available as well. Wade could do well trading Oswalt to re-stock his depleted farm system.
The Astros also have needs at 3B and SS long term, so the Dodgers could throw in AAA 3Bman Blake Dewitt or High A 3Bman Pedro Baez, who will be representing the Dodgers in the Futures game during the All-Star break. Colletti could throw in SS Chin-Lung Hu for good measure.
Would Elbert, McDonald, Hu and Baez be enough in return for ace starting pitcher Roy Oswalt?
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