Category: Dailies
A pre-Deadline deadline for Doc?
If the Blue Jays are going to pull the trigger on a trade that sends ace Roy Halladay to a contender for a blockbuster package of players, the deal isn’t likely to be of the last-minute variety. In fact, Toronto may be inclined to set an internal deadline prior to the July 31 non-waiver Trade Deadline.
“If you ask me today if we’re going to trade Roy Halladay, I’d say no,” Blue Jays general manager J.P. Ricciardi told the New York Times. “Something could happen between now and the Trade Deadline, but this isn’t something that’s suddenly going to happen with someone on the 30th.”
As things currently line up, Halladay is scheduled to start on the road against the Mariners on July 29. According to the report in the NY Times, Ricciardi indicated that he doesn’t want Toronto’s ace taking the hill in Seattle with the thought that he could be dealt in the two days following his start.
Beyond that aspect, the Blue Jays would likely become sellers in the event that Doc is dealt. If Toronto is blown away by an offer and opts to trade Halladay, doing so before the 30th would give the club more time to shop some of its other players. Other Jays players involved in rumors include Scott Rolen, Alex Rios, Vernon Wells, Lyle Overbay, Jason Frasor and Scott Downs.
–Jordan Bastian
Dodgers Target List Might be Growing
The list of relievers the Dodgers are scouting (Francisco Cordero, David Weathers, Arthur Rhodes of Cincinnati and George Sherrill of Baltimore), as reported here Monday, also includes Pittsburgh’s John Grabow and Matt Capps, according to the Los Angeles Times. For all the noise about the Dodgers’ pursuit of Toronto ace Roy Halladay, which is true, they are equally focused on bostering their bullpen. Jason Schmidt’s winning start Monday night after two years on the shelf does not change management’s desire to make deadline acquisitions. — Ken Gurnick
Halladay fever rises on Monday
If anything, the heat in the Roy Halladay kitchen got turned up Monday night, with the performances of three starting pitchers of teams in the Trading Deadline crosshairs.
A need in the bullpen
Right-handed relievers Joel Peralta and Manuel Corpas struggled in the final two innings of Monday night’s win over Arizona, which means speculation over the Rockies’ trading plans began anew. Actually, the feeling that the Rockies need bullpen help has lingered for more than a month. Troy E. Renck of The Denver Post has linked the Rockies to Arizona’s Chad Qualls and Houston’s LaTroy Hawkins (who pitched for the 2007 NL Champion Rockies). Renck also reported recently that the price for obtaining Toronto’s Roy Halladay — righty Ubaldo Jimenez and prospects — is likely too high for the Rockies.
The player to keep an eye on is third baseman Garrett Atkins, who hit .327 in June but has dipped again in July. Teams continue to scout to see if his swing has returned to previous levels.
— Thomas Harding
D-backs dealing?
It’s already been an active month in Arizona.
On Sunday, the D-backs traded infielder Felipe Lopez to the Brewers for a pair of Minor League players. Earlier in the month, the club traded reliever Tony Pena to the White Sox for a Minor League prospect.
Are there more trades to come?
“I don’t know. As always, a lot of discussion. We have an idea of what it would require for us to make additional trades,” D-backs GM Josh Byrnes told The Arizona Republic. “If we don’t feel like we’re getting that value, we’re not going to make the trade. The two we have made” — Tony Pena to Chicago being the other — “have made sense to us and we obviously want to continue to play well the rest of this year and with now three prospects we’ve added have a little bit of momentum and some additional talent into the next year and beyond.”
According to MLB Fanhouse, the Phillies sent scouts to St. Louis this weekend to check out D-backs closer Chad Qualls. The 30-year-old righty makes $2.5 million this year and won’t be a free agent until after next season. He has 17 saves with 33 strikeouts and five walks.
— Jesse Sanchez
Salazar deal ignites trade season
The Orioles got the trade season rolling on Sunday with a minor deal that sent utility infielder Oscar Salazar to San Diego in exchange for right-handed reliever Cla Meredith, and Baltimore manager Dave Trembley said it could be the start of a hectic two weeks.
Baltimore may look to move veterans like Aubrey Huff, George Sherrill and Danys Baez before July 31, and Trembley said he wouldn’t be surprised if his team dramatically changed.
“I think we’ll all have to stay tuned to see what happens,” said Trembley of the non-waiver trade deadline. “I think it’s the time of the year right now when we’re not the only team that’s doing their due diligence. This is basically the second Hot Stove season. You’ve got the offseason leading up to Spring Training, when there’s all kinds of talk about movement of players. And now, obviously, there’s talk about moving players before the trade deadline.”
Trembley said he’d continue to talk to Andy MacPhail, the Orioles’ president of baseball operations, about the team’s prospective moves. And he also said that Salazar’s teammates were thrilled to see him get an opportunity elsewhere in the Majors.
“It would’ve been harder to lose him or send him back to the Minor Leagues,” Trembley said. “I thought Andy MacPhail did the right thing. Oscar Salazar deserved the opportunity to go play for somebody in the big leagues. We didn’t have a roster spot for him here.”
— Spencer Fordin
Doubtful Doc will make housecalls at Fenway
With t-minus two weeks until the trade deadline, Red Sox fans shouldn’t waste time having thoughts about a postseason rotation of Halladay-Beckett-Lester. The price — major prospects, not to mention the money to sign Halladay long-term — figures to be too steep for Boston’s taste.
The Red Sox strongly believe in building around their core of prospects instead of dealing them away.
Besides, GM J.P. Ricciardi — according to several reports — told both the Red Sox and Yankees that the price for them would be significantly steeper than a non-AL East team, which makes perfect sense.
Here is Epstein’s take on trying to trade for an elite starting pitcher, without mentioning Halladay by name:
“It’s always tempting but it always comes at great cost. When you do it through the free agent market, it comes at tremendous risk in terms of the years and dollars you have to spend and if you do it through trade, it comes at tremendous cost – your best and most promising prospects – the core of your organization in a lot of ways.”
“The only way to do it that seems to make the most sense every time is to develop them from within. We’re lucky that we have a talented starting pitching core here that’s doing a great job and has kept us where we are in the standings and a lot of talented young pitchers in the Minor Leagues, one of which is going to pitch here tonight for the Big League club, to fortify the organization going forward. We’ll see what happens on the trade front. Things are always tempting but those temptations always come at a cost.”
— Ian Browne
Tribe trade talk
His team is the subject of much trade talk in advance of the July 31 non-waiver Trade Deadline, but Indians general manager Mark Shapiro said he has “zero sense” as to whether or not the Indians will get a deal done.
“We’re extremely busy and active right now,” Shapiro said.
The two names on the lips of fans and writers alike are Cliff Lee and Victor Martinez. The Indians hold affordable options on both cornerstone players for 2010, and trading either or both of them before the ’10 season would be a tough sell to the fan base. But the Indians have to be open-minded about all serious offers for the Cy Young winner and the switch-hitting catcher because of the potential returns they could bring in.
That being said, if the Indians are active in the trade department this summer, it appears more likely that guys like Carl Pavano or Jamey Carroll — both of whom are eligible for free agency at season’s end — would be shopped. Reliever Rafael Betancourt can also be had, as the Indians aren’t likely to exercise his $5.4 million option for next season. The Tribe would listen to offers for closer Kerry Wood, but the $10.5 million he’s owed next year makes it doubtful that such offers exist.
Third baseman Jhonny Peralta and first baseman Ryan Garko could be deemed expendable by the Tribe, but those names, as well as those of Lee and Martinez, might be names to watch moreso in the offseason than at the deadline.
As far as how the deadline will shake out, Shapiro said the non-waiver component is perhaps less meaningful this year than in years past. Given the financial constraints holding back many teams right now, he expects the trades of very few players being blocked by the waiver system.
“This year, the [non-waiver] deadline is going to be far less relevant,” Shapiro said. “[The market] will probably be active all the way through August.”
What are the Indians searching for in the trade market? That’s easy. It’s pitching, pitching and more pitching.
— Anthony Castrovince
Nothing bubbling for Royals, who need run production
Now that the Royals have traded for Yuniesky Betancourt to fill their shortstop need and Ryan Freel to help in the outfield and infield, nothing seems bubbling.
General manager Dayton Moore was asked if more deals might be in the works before the deadline and he was noncommittal.
“At this time of year, it’s active, it’s unpredictable and things can pop up nightly as rosters change due to other trades and injuries and so forth. But right now we’re just monitoring our team and needs of others,” Moore said.
The Royals really need to do is add some offensive production to a club that has been running last in the American League in that vital category called runs scored.
What the Royals are not likely to do is part with the likes of pitchers Zack Greinke and Luke Hochevar, first baseman Billy Butler, third baseman Alex Gordon or closer Joakim Soria – the young core of their club.
“We need to hang on to our good young players as most clubs try to do so any deal we make would be centered around holding on to our good young players,” Moore said.
Vet pitcher Gil Meche isn’t likely to be on the market either although his current back woes would likely dull any interest anyhow. Brian Bannister has emerged as an effective pitcher and, at 28, he’s not really in the “super youth” category. Still, the most common names being floated, as usual, are outfielder David DeJesus and infielder-outfielder Mark Teahen.
“As you know, I won’t talk about the specifics but we’ll always be open to good baseball deals that help our team today and long-term,” Moore said.
–Dick Kaegel
Dodgers in on Halladay and Relievers
Dodgers assistant general manager Logan White and special assistant Vance Lovelace scouted Toronto starter Roy Halladay’s victory over Boston Sunday. The need for Halladay is clear in a rotation that lacks a clear ace and the club has enough prospects that it probably could put an enticing package together. The biggest obstacle is whether ownership is willing to take on the salary Halladay will command when all the negotiating over no-trade clauses and contract extensions is done. The team payroll dropped by $30 million this year, even with the money (some deferred) committed to Manny Ramirez. The Ramirez exception aside, this is a franchise committed to developing from within and controlling costs. Depleting the farm system and adding payroll for one player, even a Cy Young winner, runs completely counter to that. Especially with the horrible history the Dodgers have had with their highest-paid players over the last 20 years.
And there’s still the issue of acquiring bullpen help, which management considers at least equally important. The Dodgers might make that easier by sweeping the Reds this week and turning that club into a seller, because it has three relievers the Dodgers are watching — Francisco Cordero, David Weathers and Arthur Rhodes. Among the other veterans they are scouting is Baltimore’s George Sherrill. — Ken Gurnick
Trade Talk 