Baseball Rumor News

In Ken Rosenthal’s most recent story (for Fox Sports) he touches on a plethora of trade possibilities that I found very intriguing. It’s a lot of information, so here are some of the key points:

Dodgers after a slugger: Some of the names that came up as targets for L.A> are Detroit’s Maglio Ordonez, Pittsburgh’s Jason Bay, and maybe even Colorado’s Matt Holliday. Bay and Ordonez seem like more realistic options. Holliday would require a boatload of young talent and I don’t think the Dodgers would love the idea of seeing Kemp, Loney, Ethier, or any other guys they have been developing playing for a division rival. For any one of the three OF vets, expect that Kemp would likely have to be included.

Milton Bradley: Rosenthal sees him as a very valuable commodity if the Rangers give up on the season. They got him on the cheap and could collect a couple high-level prospects for him. Bradley is currently leading the AL in OPS. Starters Kevin Millwood and Vicente Padilla are two other players that the Rangers will entertain offers for.

Pirates OF available: Either Bay or Nady will be traded, but probably not both. One point that surprised me, the Pirates’ outfield ranks first in the majors in OPS.

Cubs want pitchers: The story is already out there, but the Cubs will strongly pursue C.C. Sabathia, as he is the best starting pitcher who appears available. Chicago is also asking about Rockies’ reliever Brian Fuentes. Fuentes, who has assumed the closer role in Colorado, would be used as a setup man if the Cubs acquired him so that the workload for Carlos Marmol and Kerry Wood could be lessened.

Brewers still looking for a starter: This is nothing new, but the Brewers are still looking. Rosenthal thinks that they have the minor league talent to bring in just about whoever they want. Whether or not they will be in contention when trades start happening is another question, which may take them out of the ‘buyers’ market.

Yankees making LaTroy available:The Yankees are aggressively shopping right-hander LaTroy Hawkins, two rival executives say, intending to clear a spot for a reliever who currently is at Triple-A, Righty J.B. Cox. Hawkins has a 6.08 ERA in 22 appearances, so don’t expect there to be much interest.

Phillies want relief: Philadelphia wants to add another left-handed reliever to complement J.C. Romero. They really want another starter (C.C. Sabathia) but they realize they don’t have the prospects that the Indians will want.

If you want anymore details, click on the link at the top of the page.

Jonathan Mayo now has his predictions for the upcoming draft for picks 1-30. Some have changed, but for those of you that haven’t been keeping up with the predictions here is a list:

1. Tampa Bay Rays: Tim Beckham, SS, Griffin HS, Griffin, Ga.
2. Pittsburgh Pirates: Pedro Alvarez, 3B, Vanderbilt
3. Kansas City Royals: Eric Hosmer, 1B, American Heritage HS, Plantation, Fla.
4. Baltimore Orioles: Aaron Crow, RHP, University of Missouri
5. San Francisco Giants: Buster Posey, C, Florida State
6. Florida Marlins: Brian Matusz, LHP, University of San Diego
7. Cincinnati Reds: Yonder Alonso, 1B, University of Miami
8. Chicago White Sox: Gordon Beckham, SS, University of Georgia
9. Washington Nationals: Kyle Skipworth, C, Patriot HS, Riverside, Calif.
10. Houston Astros: Justin Smoak, 1B, University of South Carolina
11. Texas Rangers: Andrew Cashner, RHP, Texas Christian
12. Oakland A’s: Aaron Hicks, OF/RHP, Woodrow Wilson HS, Long Beach, Calif.
13. St. Louis Cardinals: Ryan Perry, RHP, University of Arizona
14. Minnesota Twins: Christian Friedrich, LHP, Eastern Kentucky
15. Los Angeles Dodgers: Zach Collier, OF, Chino Hills HS, Calif.
16. Milwaukee Brewers: Brett Lawrie, C/3B, Brookswood SS, Langley, B.C.
17. Toronto Blue Jays: Brett Wallace, 1B/3B, Arizona State
18. New York Mets: Ike Davis, OF, Arizona State
19. Chicago Cubs: Casey Kelly, SS, Sarasota HS, Fla.
20. Seattle Mariners: Shooter Hunt, RHP, Tulane
21. Detroit Tigers: Ethan Martin, RHP, Stephens County HS, Toccoa, Ga.
22. New York Mets: Jason Castro, C, Stanford
23. San Diego Padres: Daniel Schlereth, LHP, University of Arizona
24. Philadelphia Phillies: Anthony Hewitt, SS, Salisbury School, Conn
25. Colorado Rockies: Jake Odorizzi, RHP, Highland HS, Ill.
26. Arizona Diamondbacks: Josh Fields, RHP, University of Georgia
27. Minnesota Twins: Brett DeVall, LHP, Niceville HS, Fla.
28. New York Yankees: Brett Hunter, RHP, Pepperdine University
29. Cleveland Indians: Jemile Weeks, 2B, University of Miami
30. Boston Red Sox: Lance Lynn, RHP, University of Mississippi

Those are the predictions, but we’ll find out for sure in two days.

According to The Philadelphia Daily News, Mets GM Omar Minaya is making inquiries about several players to fill needs at 1B, LF and right-handed relief pitching. Kevin Millar, Jason Bay and Xavier Nady are names that have been tossed around as possible targets for the Mets.

It isn’t surprising that the Mets feel they can improve at those spots. Bay would be an obvious upgrade from the oft-injured Moises Alou in left, although there figures to be competition from several teams to acquire the Phillies star and a reunion with Xavier Nady might also work out well if he can stay healthy until the trade deadline.

As far as first basemen go, both Scott Hatteberg of the Reds and Kevin Millar of the O’s have been mentioned several times. I expect that at some point soon, the Mets will pick up one of them if Delgado doesn’t turn it around.

As the MLB draft approaches, these are going to keep popping up, but this mock draft comes from Jim Callis of Baseball America. They specialize in prospects and other young talent, so you can expect that the closest to reality prediction will probably be this one…
You can see that most of the picks are the same as Mayo’s.

1. Rays - Tim Beckham, SS.
2. Pirates - Pedro Alvarez, 3B.
3. Royals - Buster Posey, C.
4. Orioles - Brian Matusz, LHP.
5. Giants - Justin Smoak, 1B.
6. Marlins - Kyle Skipworth, C.
7. Reds - Aaron Crow, RHP.
8. White Sox - Gordon Beckham, SS.
9. Nationals - Yonder Alonso, 1B.
10. Astros - Shooter Hunt, RHP.

Even though the MLB First Year Player Draft isn’t until June 5th, Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com has some early predictions for the top 10 picks. He admits that the order is basically a stab in the dark, but this gives a good look at who will be around the first to go.

1. Tampa Bay Rays: Buster Posey, C, Florida State
2. Pittsburgh Pirates: Pedro Alvarez, 3B, Vanderbilt
3. Kansas City Royals: Eric Hosmer, 1B, American Heritage HS, Plantation, Fla.
4. Baltimore Orioles: Brian Matusz, LHP, University of San Diego
5. San Francisco Giants: Tim Beckham, SS, Griffin HS, Griffin, Ga.
6. Florida Marlins: Kyle Skipworth, C, Patriot HS, Riverside, Calif.
7. Cincinnati Reds: Aaron Crow, RHP, University of Missouri
8. Chicago White Sox: Gordon Beckham, SS, University of Georgia
9. Washington Nationals: Justin Smoak, 1B, University of South Carolina
10. Houston Astros: Tanner Scheppers, RHP, Fresno State

He also lists a couple wildcards that should be somewhere near the top: Stanford catcher Jason Castro and Casey Kelly, son of Reds coach Pat Kelly.

Is there anybody you think he missed?

Just a little disclaimer, these standout picks are a little bit behind schedule so they are really ‘April+the beginning of may’ standouts.

In a press release, the Pittsburgh Pirates have announced the acquisition of OF Jason Michaels from the Cleveland Indians. He will join the team by Friday and in order to make room for him on the roster, the Pirates have optioned Nyjer Morgan to Triple-A. Cleveland had designated Michaels for assignment a few days ago and were obligated to trade him, release him, or put him on waivers. The Pirates also received cash along with the OF and in return the Indians will get a player to be named later.

According to The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Pirates are hoping to work out a deal that will allow them to keep Rule 5 pick in their system. Evan Meek, a reliever, would have to be sent back to Tampa Bay if no trade can be agreed upon. He was recently DFA’d to clear a spot for Sean Burnett to be called up. The Pirates can either make a trade, pay cash to keep Meek, or they will have to give him back.

“Our hope is that we can keep Evan,” Huntington said.

MLB.com reports that Matt Morris will retire. He was recently released by the Pittsburgh Pirates. He wasn’t going to find a spot on any major league rosters and I think he realized that he just doesn’t have it anymore.

“It’s over and I’m happy where I am right now,” Morris told the New York newspaper. “In my heart, I’m happy. At the end, it all came to a head very quickly, but I’ve had a great career. It was time to move on and, obviously, the Pirates felt the same way.”

According to The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, there are several players that the Pirates will be willing to part with in order to rebuild their team for the future. It isn’t surprising that they want to sell off what veteran players they have left and it seems that waiting this long might turn out to be beneficial for them. If Pittsburgh plays their cards right, they should easily corner the market on trade value as we near the deadline. Here is a breakdown of who might be headed out of Pittsburgh…

- Xavier Nady: The Pirates tried to move him this winter but nobody was interested. His hot start to this year has already increased his worth. A possible destination that has been tossed out there is New York. The New York Times suggests Nady’s former team the Mets would be a perfect fit. He would add depth and power to an injury depleted OF.

- Jason Bay: The biggest name on the Pirates almost became an Indian this offseason, but the deal didn’t work out. He started off a little slow this year, but has turned things around. He is a consistent offensive producer and probably has the highest trade value of the available Pirates players. If Pittsburgh is really interested in rebuilding, they need to make sure that they are well compensated for Bay, who has been the face of the organization for a few years.

- John Grabow: This left-handed reliever could get a lot of attention. Bullpen problems are really hurting several teams already (Cleveland, Detroit) and if there is a bidding war over Grabow, the Pirates could find themselves in a great position. Don’t be surprised if you see Grabow packaged with one of the OF’s for some huge deal.

- Damaso Marte: The reliever will be available, but his numbers so far are not impressive. He is in no way part of the Pirates future, so if anybody wants him, he’ll be on the move.

It is time to change the game plan in Pittsburgh. Bay was supposed to be the future but it didn’t work out. Maybe Nate McLouth will be the centerpiece for a new push towards success.