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Trade talk heating up
By Peter Gammons
Special to ESPN.com
DIAMOND NOTES: June 22
There were a lot of trade conversations around both the AL and NL this week, with little apparent impending promise, except that the Padres likely will move left-handed reliever Alan Embree to either Boston, Seattle, Anaheim, Cincinnati or one of the 6-8 teams looking for a power lefty reliever.
Here is a brief rundown of news to report:
Tampa Bay needs money, partly to sign draft choices. So the Devil Rays are asking for cash in every deal. Lefty reliever Doug Creek has value, especially to a team like the Giants.
"They're not going to move Joe Kennedy," says one GM of the Devil Rays, "but they have some interesting players that could help contenders like Paul Wilson, Carlos Zambrano, Aubrey Huff. The question is whether or not the Commissioner's Office will allow anyone to pay a million dollars, even if it helps the franchise."
Kansas City GM Allard Baird called around this week with a list of "12 or 13" players he's trying to move, like Roberto Hernandez and potential free-agent starters Paul Byrd and Jeff Suppan. Baird is not interested in trading Mike Sweeney, Carlos Beltran, Mark Quinn or his good young players, and there may not be much of a market for shortstop Neifi Perez, Michael Tucker, et al.
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| Floyd |
There are strong denials about Florida moving Cliff Floyd right now. The Marlins are winning, they're in the midst of a long homestand during which time they could gain ground on the Braves, and they are getting a lot of national attention because of Luis Castillo's hitting streak.
"They're telling teams that they'll make a decision on Floyd after the All-Star break," says one GM. It has been widely assumed that Floyd will go to the Yankees, but don't underestimate the Mets, especially now that the Yankees may have lost prized left-hander Brandon Claussen for at least a calendar year after he went underwent Tommy John surgery.
Anaheim is working hard to get a couple of relievers, a power lefty like Embree and a right-hander who can provide some innings. Interested teams keep asking the Angels for Triple-A right-hander John Lackey, who one scout claims is the best he's seen in the Pacific Coast League, where he is 8-2, 2.57 with an 82-27 strikeout-walk ratio.
There have been reports the Braves are pushing to get Jim Thome or Scott Rolen, but GM John Schuerholz continues to insist they don't have that kind of available revenues. According to their staff, they're more likely to take a Travis Lee or a lower-cost bat near the deadline.
The Phillies continue to market Rolen, but it's a difficult market because of his free-agent status at the end of the year. After waging a PR war against him, Rolen is easy to trade in the public eye, but if indeed the Mets are backing off on Edgardo Alfonzo to hold their bullets for an outfielder -- and Joe Sheehan of the Baseball Prospectus wrote an interesting comparison between what happened to Don Mattingly and Alfonzo when they began experiencing serious back problems -- the Phillies have no market, for now. They will trade Lee, Robert Person, Terry Adams (will they allow him to get to 175 IP, which would kick in his 2003 contract?) and Doug Glanville.
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| Hidalgo |
Toronto keeps hoping someone will bite and take the Carlos Delgado and Raul Mondesi contracts, but it's highly unlikely. Those are contracts no team will take, and Mike Hampton makes three. Hey, Richard Hidalgo's contract is virtually unmoveable -- in three years, he will make $12 million with a $3 million buyout, so it's essentially a $15 million salary at that point.
The Jays are shopping Jose Cruz Jr., they may have to talk Shannon Stewart rather than go to arbitration, Chris Carpenter -- a surefire non-tender -- is available along with Darren Fletcher and, for a high price, Kelvim Escobar.
The Cardinals don't know if they can increase payroll, but most of all GM Walt Jocketty would like one more quality starter, especially with Bud Smith's disappointing season. They could use a third baseman or left fielder to settle Albert Pujols in one spot and they'd like a right-handed-hitting outfielder, but the pitcher is the priority. They would like someone to take the contract of either Dave Veres or Mike Timlin, two pretty darned good setup men.
Reds GM Jim Bowden continues to shop an outfielder for a quality starting pitcher despite having serious payroll restrictions. "The funny thing is that our pitching has been pretty good and our hitting's been terrible," says Bowden. "So I just may trade for a bat." Six straight games without a hit with a runner in scoring position wll do that to you. Scouts covering that team cannot fathom what's happened to Sean Casey and wonder why he's trying to pull everything when his career was made using the whole field.
Cleveland may move Chuck Finley as soon as the right offer comes in. But GM Mark Shapiro is not going to move Bartolo Colon unless he can rebuild his corner power positions, and that's unlikely.
The Brewers are in the move mode, shopping Jamey Wright, Mark Loretta, Alex Ochoa, et al. Wright, a free agent at the end of the season, has value, but teams that are looking for starters like the Mariners, Red Sox and Reds thus far have passed on him.
"I don't hear of anyone willing to take on money," says Jocketty. "It's amazing. But as long as the strike looms, it's hard to think about taking on a potential free agent, then having them walk."
Once again: go back to July, 1994, when there were only five minor deals made before the deadline because of the pending strike, and in those deals the best player was Brian Hunter, the heavy Brian Hunter.
Around the majors
Former Rangers pitching coach Oscar Acosta didn't help himself when he was quoted in a suburban Chicago paper as saying "there's no one in this organization to talk baseball with," not that his fiery personality hadn't rubbed some people the wrong way before (when left-hander Doug Davis was optioned to Triple-A and Acosta was asked what Davis needed to work on, he replied, "getting a heartbeat").
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| Rodriguez |
There were obvious problems with Chan Ho Park, who has recorded one out in the seventh inning this entire season. But there are still strong rumblings that Jerry Narron's tenure as manager is tenuous, with GM John Hart looking for a stronger, tougher figure. Narron has been criticized for running lineups past Alex Rodriguez, but, hey, when A-Rod was signed, he was essentially given a quasi-management position anyway.
Across Texas, Astros manager Jimy Williams' relationship with the Houston media has soured as much as it did in Boston. "Manager's decision" doesn't go over big with that electronic media, either.
It doesn't help that with Shane Reynolds and Dave Mlicki on the disabled list, the Astros have $11.2 million worth of salary and all kinds of experience on the sidelines in favor of a rotation that makes $1.2 million. And if you're wondering, Tim Redding and Carlos Hernandez are a combined 0-5 in their last nine starts.
While folks in New York try to figure out why the Mets go through this two-month downfall each year, like the A's, there is this hope: since Bobby Valentine has managed the Mets, their post-June 15 record (through Friday) is 284-211, the best of any team except the Braves and Yankees.
The Padres say there is a chance rookie Sean Burroughs needs surgery to relieve the impingment in his shoulder.
This season, there have been 15 home runs hit from the eighth inning on that turned deficits into wins. Shea Hillenbrand has three of the 15 homers.
The Indians expect Jaret Wright and Jake Westbrook back before Aug. 1. Westbrook, who is throwing 92-94 mph, may be back soon, while Wright is going to need four or five more starts, although his first-start velocity (91-96, average of 92) was encouraging; he threw 92 pitches, but tired after 50. If Wright can start, it gives the Indians the option to use Danys Baez out of the bullpen for awhile so he doesn't take on too many innings in his first season as a starter.
That kind of significant jump in innings is one thing that concerns a lot of baseball people about Derek Lowe holding up at this pace for an entire season. "My rule is that it's a strain to go much more than a jump of 25 to 40 innings in one season," says one AL pitching coach. Lowe's major league high is 123 innings pitched, his pro high 154. In Lowe's favor is the 25 pounds he put on in his offseason program with Boston conditioning guru Chris Correnti.
If you have been watching the Cubs this week, Todd Hundley has been throwing as well as he has in years, and his bat is also coming along. It's amazing what health and a clear head will do for a career, especially that of a man who has been through a great deal these last few years.
Other GMs complain about the Jeff Weaver contract, but he's a legitimate No. 2 starter who will make $4.15 million in 2003, $6.25 million in 2004 and $9.25 million in 2005. That's not that bad when you compare it to Kevin Appier's deal (four years, $42 million, signed prior to the 2001 season).
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| Ohka |
Yes, that is Tomo Ohka who has become the Expos' No. 2 starter behind Javier Vazquez. Ohka is 7-3 with a 2.89 ERA.
"His velocity is (better) than it was in the past," says Expos GM Omar Minaya. "He's been a pleasant surprise. He's very good, very smart." But Carl Pavano, his velocity down 4-5 mph, has been a major disappointment and is out of the rotation after having been sent to Triple-A Ottawa .
The Diamondbacks plan to use Todd Stottlemyre as a setup man when he comes off the DL. They will also get Matt Mantei back next weekend, although his velocity isn't expected to be all the way back until next year. It's hard to know what to expect from Mantei. Matt Williams, meanwhile, begins his rehab on Tuesday.
Mike Sirotka was the Game 1 starter for the winningest team in the American League (the White Sox) in the 2000 playoffs. It was his last game. Since being traded to Toronto, Sirotka has not been healthy, and remains in Florida.
"What's a shame is that he still doesn't know what's wrong," says Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi. "All he knows is that he can't throw. He was a very good pitcher, too."
Daryle Ward is being shopped by the Astros as he still intrigues AL teams who are looking for a DH. Several AL teams keep badgering the Rockies, trying to get Jack Cust, but Rockies GM Dan O'Dowd is still intrigued by Cust's bat and the possibility that he could at least be another Dante Bichette in left field.
After watching Notre Dame, one cannot help but love center fielder Steve Stanley, Oakland's second-round pick in this year's draft. Teams passed over Stanley because he's 5-8, but he's a great defender, can run and gets on base. Teams are out there looking for leadoff hitters (the Pirates have a .279 on-base percentage out of that position), especially those who play in the middle of the field.
The Giants' Brian Sabean is widely judged to be one of the best GMs in the business. Since taking over in September, 1996, he has traded off 41 players who were supposed to be prospects, and only one of those prospects -- Keith Foulke -- is a legitimate top-level major leaguer.
The Mets have already got $65.5 million spent for 2003, and every one of their starters is a potential free agent (Pedro Astacio's option for $9 million will kick in).
It burns the Cardinals when they see Chad Hutchinson in a Cowboys uniform, since Hutchinson got all of his $3.5 million from the Cardinals, then jumped to football.
One of the AL's biggest surprises has been A.J. Pierzynski, who after Jorge Posada and Mike Piazza has the best offensive numbers of any catcher in the majors. And he's only 25.
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| Pierzynski |
"He's a big, strong, tough kid," says Twins GM Terry Ryan, "as well as smart and disciplined. He's worked hard to get where he is, and he's a real good player."
Ryan still hopes to get Brad Radke and Joe Mays back for a rotation that went into the weekend with the second-worst ERA In the majors. But the outfield leads the AL in the triple crown categories -- batting (.311), homers (39) and RBI (144).
"I had no idea Torii Hunter and Jacque Jones were as good as they are," says one Mets official. "They're tremendous players. They play hard, too" -- a Twins tradition. The big surprise has been that going into Saturday, the Twins had .322 BA/.910 OPS numbers out of right field thanks to Dustan Mohr and Bobby Kielty. Mohr (.309 BA, .830 OPS) was released by the Indians, Kielty (.322, .950) was an undrafted free agent signed out of the Cape Cod League.
So much for the humidor jokes.
"I told people that when it gets above 90 (degrees), this place will play as it always did," says Rockies GM Dan O'Dowd. The Yankees-Rockies series earlier this week set a Coors Field record with 70 toal runs, 41 of which were scored by the Yankees, whose staff was so beaten up that they had to use Mike Stanton for 5 2/3 innings in three games.
The Yankees then went to San Diego and gave up nine more on Friday. The three games averaged 23.3 runs, .385 hitting, saw 15 homers and a combined 327 minutes. As for O'Dowd's point about the heat, the Elias Sports Bureau reports the average runs per month at Coors have been 9.79 in April, 10.13 in May and 15.71 in June.
Since there are so many teams looking for pitching, it should be noted that Edwin Hurtado, 32, is 9-5, 1.37 with 78 hits allowed and a 27/113 BB/K ratio for the Cancun Lobstermen of the Mexican League.
So, how can Gabe White pop a pimple on the back of his hand while pitching Thursday night and end up in the hospital with a staph infection?
One Eastern League scout's reaction to his first sighting of Mets shortstop prospect Jose Reyes: "Wow. He's the Mets' Soriano." That Reyes went 5-for-6 in his Eastern League debut didn't hurt. One Florida State manager claimed Reyes was the best player in that league before being moved up. At Port St. Lucie, Reyes was hitting .288 with 10 doubles, 11 triples, five homers and 31 steals.
Montreal keeps producing talent, in this case pitching at Double-A Harrisburg. Lefty Cliff Lee (7-2) is regarded by some scouts as the best prospect in the Eastern League, and No. 1 types Justin Wayne (4-1, 2.34 at Harrisburg) and Josh Karp (1-1, 3.46 at Harrisburg after being called up from Class A Brevard County) are closing in on the majors.
Rod Allen's son Rod Jr., a center fielder at Arizona State, has been one of the early eye-openers in the Cape Cod League. Great talent, terrific kid.
How to endear yourself to your new boss as a No. 1 pick when your new boss is either J.P Ricciardi or Billy Beane: The Jays' No. 1 selection, second baseman Russell Adams, has seven walks in 19 plate appearances for Class A Auburn and has an on-base percentage of .584, while Oakland's Nick Swisher has five walks and a .500 on-base perentage in his first 20 pro plate appearances for Class A Vancouver. Note to Adams and Swisher -- Ricciardi and Beane are noticing.
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