Category: Dailies
Colletti on Halladay
The price in players for Toronto ace Roy Halladay is “two or three players off our current club, including a young pitcher, or five or six prospects,” Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti told KABC Radio Friday morning. Colletti wouldn’t mention names, but presumably the young pitcher is either Clayton Kershaw or Chad Billingsley or Jonathan Broxton. Trading any of them would hardly improve the Dodgers’ chances this year, not to mention the other player off the Major League club, not to mention the long term impact. However, a larger deal (or separate deal) could be made with Toronto that would return reliever and former Dodgers farmhand Jason Frasor, according to the Toronto Globe. Frasor would address the Dodgers’ other need, a veteran reliever. — Ken Gurnick
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Washburn happy in Seattle
A report in The Seattle Times says Mariners starting pitcher Jarrod Washburn, a popular subject of trade rumors thus far, would like to stay in Seattle.
Washburn will be a free agent at the end of the season, but said he’d be open to an extension.
“If I’m traded, it means something bad happened in the next 10 days,” Washburn told The Times. “That’s the last thing I want to happen. I love winning, and we’re
winning here. We have maybe the best group of guys I’ve ever been a
part of, and that’s saying a lot. That ’02 team in Anaheim (that won
the World Series), we were a great team. Everybody loved each other. We
had fun. We did whatever it took to win. That’s the exact same feel I
have with this ballclub. I’m very happy to be a part of it, and yeah, I
want to continue to be a part of it.”
He also said it’s impossible to ignore the looming trade deadline. Nobody can, he said, even if most guys say they don’t pay any attention to it.
“Everybody lies,” Washburn told The Times. “I’ve always said what’s on my mind and don’t
sugar-coat anything. I think the guys that say they don’t are lying.
It’s just natural, I think, to pay attention.”
–Christian Caple
Cardinals acquire Holliday
A Major League source has confirmed that a deal is in place for the Cardinals to acquire Matt Holliday from the A’s in exchange for Brett Wallace, Triple-A right-hander Clayton Mortensen and Double-A outfielder Shane Peterson. ESPN reports that Oakland will send some cash to St. Louis to help offset some of the remaining cost of Holliday’s contract.
Holliday has long been a target of the Cardinals, who talked trade with Colorado over the winter before the Rockies shipped the three-time All-Star to Oakland. He bolsters the team’s outfield and offers the cleanup hitter that manager Tony La Russa has long coveted to slot behind Albert Pujols in the Cardinals lineup.
Holliday, 29, can be a free agent at the end of the 2009 season. His current contract pays him $13.5 million, of which approximately $6 million is still due.
Wallace, 22, was St. Louis’ first-round pick in the 2008 Draft and has rocketed through the Minor Leagues. He is currently playing at Triple-A Memphis. Mortensen, 24, is also at Memphis and was a supplementary first-rounder in 2007. Peterson, 21, was a second-round selection in 2008.
–Matthew Leach
Scioscia says Angels GM has been active
Angels manager Mike Scioscia reiterated Thursday that
general manager Tony Reagins has been active in discussions with other general
managers about trading for pitching depth, specifically in the bullpen.
“He’s been in contact with GMs the last couple weeks, I’m
sure on a daily basis,” Scioscia said. “There are a few things he’s looking at
that can make us better. But there’s also some things that could make us better
but leave a hole in our big league team that he has to consider.”
Scioscia didn’t name any players the Angels are after but the club has reportedly scouted Toronto’s Scott Downs and Brandon League, Baltimore’s George Sherrill and Arizona’s Chad Qualls.
Scioscia, though, said he wasn’t sure if a trade will happen
but said he’s fine with his current roster as it stands if a deal for a bullpen
arm doesn’t work out.
“It’s tough to say right now if we’re going to do anything that
is going to make us better,” Scioscia said. “If we don’t, then particularly in
our bullpen, we’ll have to rely on guys like [rookie Kevin] Jepsen. There’s
potential there but not the certainty that an experienced power arm could bring
to the mix. So if it happens, it happens and even if it doesn’t, we’re going to
play baseball and I like our team.”
— Rhett Bollinger
Betancourt heads to Rockies
The Rockies have a late-innings reliever in right-hander Rafael Betancourt, whom they acquired from the Indians on Thursday for Class-A right-hander Connor Graham. Betancourt gives the Rockies an experienced arm for, potentially, the eighth inning as primary setup man for closer Huston Street.
With the Rockies leading the National League Wild Card race by 1 1/2 games over the Giants, who come to Coors Field on Friday, and with Rockies righty Manuel Corpas undergoing arthrtscopic surgery on his throwing elbow on Friday, the move became necessary. The Rockies also called up their top pitching prospect, Jhoulys Chacin, from Double-A Tulsa, for a right-handed middle role.
The Indians, who had no intention of picking up a $5.4 million option on Betancourt for 2011, add Graham, a Bowling Green, Ohio, native who has a 93 mph fastball.
Ricciardi: Doc not interested in extension
During a radio interview on The FAN590 prior to Thursday’s Blue Jays-Indians tilt at Rogers Centre, general manager J.P. Ricciardi shed a little more light on why Toronto is suddenly willing to shop ace Roy Halladay.
“What’s changed is Roy has told us that he’s going to test the free-agent market,” Ricciardi said.
Halladay is under contract for $14.25 million this season and $15.75 million in 2010, which is the final year under his current deal. The Blue Jays originally planned on discussing an extension with Halladay this coming offseason, but Ricciardi’s comments make it clear that’s not going to happen.
The chances of Toronto retaining Halladay seemed slim already, considering the fact that the club has trimmed its payroll and the pitcher has expressed that he wants to have a chance to play October baseball. With the Jays in fourth place in the AL East, and a rotation filled with injuries and young arms, contending soon doesn’t seem realistic.
Halladay is scheduled to start for the Jays on Tuesday in Seattle and Ricciardi doesn’t want the pitcher taking the mound with the thought that he might be traded in the following three days leading up to the July 31 Deadline. Ricciardi said Toronto’s internal deadline of Tuesday is flexible, depending on how close the club might be to a deal.
“If we’re down the road with something, obviously the deadline can fluctuate,” Ricciardi told reporters earlier Thursday morning. “If we’re not down the road by the 28th, nothing’s going to happen.”
The team considered to be the front-runner to land Halladay continues to be the Phillies. Even though Philadelphia is believed to be opposed to including top pitching prospect Kyle Drabek in a possible deal, the Blue Jays sent assistant general manager Tony LaCava to scout Drabek’s latest start on Wednesday.
The Brewers are also considered to have serious interest in trading for Halladay. Other teams who have been tied to Halladay in various reports include the Dodgers, Cardinals, White Sox, Rangers, Red Sox and Yankees. Ricciardi said only a few teams have approached him with serious interest.
“Some are serious and some I would say are delirious,” Ricciardi said during the radio interview.
–Jordan Bastian
Rockies: Prospect on the way, so is a trade
The Rockies called up their top right-handed pitching prospect, Jhoulys Chacin, 21, from Double-A Tulsa to shore up their bullpen, but that isn’t all the news on Thursday. Club officials confirm that they’re making a trade today for right-handed bullpen help. Stay tuned to MLB.com.
Chacin won 18 games at two Class-A levels last season, impressed the club during Spring Training and pitched well enough at Tulsa to be invited to the Futures Game during All-Star weekend.
The club has been looking to increase its talent level, but also is in need of experience. That need became greater Wednesday when right-hander Manuel Corpas annonuced that he will undergo arthroscopic surgery to remove bone chips from his throwing elbow.
Maybe Tigers could use a Holliday
Considering the Tigers’ offensive woes, including another 2-1 loss Wednesday to the M’s, perhaps it isn’t a Halladay Detroit needs, but a Holliday. The San Jose Mercury News reported Wednesday that several teams had scouts this week in Oakland, where Matt Holliday put on a hitting display over three games against the Twins. The Mercury News names the Tigers and Giants among teams “known to have at least a degree of interest” in Holliday.
The Tigers have had internal discussions about Holliday, but their level of interest likely depends on how much the A’s demand in return. The Tigers arguably don’t have the depth in their farm system to offer Oakland enough talent to top the two First-Year Player Draft picks the A’s would receive if they lose Holliday as a free agent this winter instead of dealing him now.
For now, that doesn’t seem to be enough. Foxsports.com’s Ken Rosenthal suggests the Tigers would need to include lefty pitching prospect Casey Crosby, which is a deal-breaker for Detroit. Though Crosby was a fifth-round Draft pick in 2007, the same year the Tigers selected Rick Porcello in the first round, they view Crosby with top-round talent.
For now, no deal appears to be close for the Tigers, on Holliday or anyone. Any deal they make will likely come in the final days leading up to the July 31 nonwaiver trade deadline, given their history over the past several years.
“Normally if [president/general manager] Dave [Dombrowski] gets something going, he’ll fill me in on it,” manager Jim Leyland said Wednesday about Tigers dealings in general. “But we haven’t had any conversations about that.”
Again, Carlos Guillen’s situation could impact any decision the Tigers make on offense. He began the Triple-A portion of his Minor League rehab stint Wednesday at Toledo, and he could return as soon as this weekend. That would give Tigers officials at least the three-game series at Texas through next Wednesday to evaluate him and figure out how much he can help. That said, the Tigers could use more offense with or without Guillen.
— Jason Beck
Jocketty: Nothing has changed
Reds manager Dusty Baker heard about trades today involving Julio Lugo from Boston to St. Louis and Adam LaRoche going from Pittsburgh to Boston. He was asked if GM Walt Jocketty had brought anything up to him about possible Reds deals in the works.
“No, we’re not close on anything. We’re looking,” Baker said.
Are the Reds still hoping to make additions, rather than subtractions?
“I hope so. That’s where my mind is at,” Baker said.
Jocketty said the Reds’ rough run lately hasn’t altered his mood from buying to selling.
“Nothing’s changed,” Jocketty said. We’re still trying to improve the club. We’re not looking for any short term fixes. I think if we do anything, it would probably be closer to the deadline because that’s where these things seem to develop. I’m going to try and do something that’s going to improve the club for the long haul.”
The Reds are still seeking a bat to improve the 14th ranked offense out of the 16-team NL.
“We need someone to help pick up the pace and pick up the production,” Jocketty said.
— Mark Sheldon
Trade Talk 