With the Nationals signing Adam Dunn, Nick Johnson asked for a trade. Dave at U.S.S. Mariner thinks he'd be perfect in Seattle.

Update: Dunn playing first base isn't set in stone. The Nationals will give Nick Johnson a chance to show he's healthy. The danger, of course, is that Johnson wins the job then gets hurt in May. Trading him and giving the job to Dunn might be the better long-term move for the team.

Peter Abraham looks at the comparative advantages the Braves and Yankees hold in players and suggests that interleague trade might occur.

The Yankees manage to trade Chase Wright after he was designated for assignment to make room for Andy Pettitte. Wright was the pitcher who gave up four consecutive home runs to the Red Sox in 2007.

The Yankees get Eric Fryer, who is described as an outfielder-catcher:

The 23-year old Fryer hit .335 with 10 homers and 63 RBIs in 104 games for Class A West Virginia last year. He led the South Atlantic League in batting average and on-base percentage (.407) and was third in slugging percentage (.506).

It's pretty good to get someone who is leading his league in these categories, although his age means he's more mature than a lot of players at that level. If he's a real catcher with those numbers, he might be a real steal. If, however, you're labeled as a an outfielder-catcher, I suspect his defensive abilities behind the plate aren't that good. Needless to say, it's an intriguing trade.

Joe Christensen reports on a possible Twins deal with the Mariners.

John Hickey, of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, reported yesterday that the Twins and Mariners recently discussed a trade of OF Delmon Young for LHP Jarrod Washburn and C Jeff Clement.

If that's true -- and we haven't confirmed this - perhaps the Twins had plans to spin Clement off as part of another deal. The Twins have this Mauer guy at catcher, and one of their top prospects is catcher Wilson Ramos.

The Yankees have interest in Washburn, and could use a long-term option at catcher. Might the Twins have interest in Cano as well?

Aaron Heilman spends only about six weeks with the Mariners as they trade him to the Cubs for a shortstop and a pitcher.

In exchange for Heilman, the Mariners received shortstop Ronny Cedeno and left-hander Garrett Olson. Heilman, long coveted by Cubs general manager Jim Hendry, will compete for the Cubs' fifth-starter job or pitch out of their bullpen.

Cedeno will challenge both second baseman Jose Lopez and shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt for starting jobs, Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik told FOXSports.com.

So Zduriencik puts pressure on his middle infielders. Given Cedeno's poor career offensive numbers, however, there might not be that much pressure. Garrett Olson has horrible major league walk numbers, but good ones in the minors. The people who commented to this post on Olson's trade to the Cubs don't think much of him as a major league pitcher.

The Orioles traded for Felix Pie because that Corey Patterson deal worked out so well.

A year after they couldn't get Felix Pie from the Chicago Cubs in the failed Brian Roberts talks, the Orioles acquired the multi-tooled outfielder today for starting pitcher Garrett Olson and Single-A pitcher Henry Williamson.

Pie, who the Orioles have coveted for the past couple of seasons, was out of options and going to have a hard time making the Cubs' Opening Day roster after their additions of outfielders Milton Bradley and Joey Gathright. With the Orioles, Pie, who turns 24 next month, is expected to be used in an outfield platoon with Ryan Freel. Luke Scott, who started 100 games in left field last season, will likely move to designated hitter with Aubrey Huff becoming the team's everyday first baseman.

Pie is someone who never translated his good minor league numbers into major league success. In this way, he's very similar to Corey Patterson. You would think the Orioles would have learned their lesson.

Of course the same can be said of Olson. He's a high K, low BB pitcher in the minors, the opposite in the majors. However, at age 24, I suspect he's just coming into his own as a pitcher. I'll go on record as saying I don't like this deal for the Orioles. I'm betting Olson has a lot more upside than Pie. Williamson also looks like he has some upside as well. Maybe the Orioles should have allowed Pie's options to expire and then pick him up off waivers.

Dave Sheinin reports that a deal between the Athletics and Nationals is close. Nick Johnson would be going to the A's:

It is unclear what players the A's would be willing to give up for Johnson, but the Nationals have shown previous interest in 23-year-old first baseman Daric Barton, and a deal centering upon Johnson and Barton would make sense for both sides.

The Nationals, who made a failed run at free agent Mark Teixeira this winter, are searching for a young first baseman with upside, and Barton, a former A's top prospect who is under club control until 2013, fits the bill. He hit .226/.327/.348 (batting average/on-base/slugging) with nine homers and 47 RBI in 523 plate appearances last year, but was a .299/.410/.456 hitter as a minor-leaguer.

While I love Nick Johnson, he takes forever to heal after an injury. Maybe Oakland can invent an airbag uniform that inflates whenever there's a chance of a collision. :-) That said, a four man lineup of Johnson, Cust, Holliday and Giambi should generate a bit of offense for Oakland.

The Angels deny they're interested in trading for Jermaine Dye.

A Jermaine Dye for Chone Figgins rumor surfaces at the Chicago Sun-Times.

According to a major-league scout, the Angels are the latest team to express interest in acquiring Jermaine Dye now that the Mark Teixeira ship has set sail to New York. Unlike the talks with the Reds that stalled during the Winter Meetings, the Sox and Angels actually have a fit.

The South Siders covet speed - with Williams telling the Sun-Times back in June that Figgins was "interesting.'' The Angels want a power bat to offer some protection for Vladimir Guerrero and Torii Hunter.

The one problem is Los Angeles has a surplus of outfielders in Hunter, Guerrero, Gary Matthews and Juan Rivera, but could convert someone to first base, as well as platoon Guerrero and Matthews in the designated hitter spot.

Or maybe they can make it two for one with the White Sox taking Matthews off the Angels hands, with LAnaheim kicking in some money.

Michael Young asked the Rangers to trade him.

The Rangers would like to move Young to third to make room for highly touted prospect Elvis Andrus at shortstop. Andrus came to Texas in 2007 in the trade that sent Mark Teixeira (Mount St. Joseph) to the Atlanta Braves. Young, a career .300 hitter who has played nine seasons with Texas, earned his first American League Gold Glove award last season.

Young was okay at shortstop last year but didn't deserve the Gold Glove. A team picks him up for his offense at the position. Young is one of those players whose value lies mostly in his batting average. A career .300 hitter, his OBA is .346. If his batting average drops 20 points, he's suddenly below average at getting on base. He's lost some power the last two seasons also, so a team trading for him would be getting a shortstop on the downside of his career who is likely not to age well because he is too dependent on his batting average. (He did bring his walks up a little last season, so maybe he's adjusting.) In a trade, he's a short term fix.

He would help the Athletics, but I'm not sure Texas would trade in the division. The White Sox might be an option also.

La Velle Neal can't believe the Twins couldn't come up with a better package for Mark DeRosa than the Cubs.

The Cubs sent Mark DeRosa to the Indians today, teaming him one again with Kerry Wood:

The Cubs acquired three pitching prospects from the Indians for DeRosa -- left-hander John Stevens, who was added to the 40-man roster, lefty John Gaub and right-hander Chris Archer.

The addition of three prospects could signal the rekindling of talks with San Diego for right-hander Jake Peavy, now that Colorado has agreed in principle to take starter Jason Marquis for Luis Vizcaino, opening up a spot in the rotation.

DeRosa is a versatile players with a an above average OBA, meaning the Indians can use him wherever they see fit. He played six different positions in each of the last two seasons.

According to Baseball Reference, John Stevens is really Jeff Stevens and a righty. He's posted great strikeout and walk number in his career and keeps the ball in the park. Gaub is a lefty and strikes out a ton of low minor batters but shows little control. Archer is very young, but also not very impressive. Looks like a good trade, as the Cubs get a pitcher who should be useful this year, a good prospect and one that needs a good bit of polishing. The Indians get a solid offensive player who gives them a lot of flexibility in the field. A nice way for both teams to end the year.

The Cubs shipped Jason Marquis to the Rockies for setup man Luis Vizcaino:

The deal, first reported by ESPN, likely won't become official until next week. The Rockies made the math work to get a starter they have coveted for a month, while removing a setupman who asked to be dealt at season's end after expressing unhappiness with his role.

The Rockies will ship the $4 million remaining on Vizcaino's deal for the $9.875 million left on Marquis' contract. The Cubs are expected to eat around a $1 million on Marquis' contract, leaving the Rockies to pay approximately $5 million for one season of the right-hander.

Chicago, meanwhile, still nets a $5 million savings, crystallizing the motivation for both clubs.

I'm not crazy about this deal for the Rockies. Marquis's FIP has been higher than his ERA in four of the last five years, and the big park in Colorado is tough to defend. He does induce a high number of ground balls, however, and although he hasn't pitched much at Coors, the Rockies haven't hit him there. We'll see how he holds up over a full season.

Bleeding Blue and Teal analyzes a potential Hideki Matsui for Erik Bedard trade.

MouthpieceBlog looks at the Jake Peavy trade negotiations as a game of chess. However, I can't wait for this:

Tune in next time, when I compare interleague baseball to Hungry Hungry Hippos!

Might Jake Peavy be headed to the Brewers? Hat tip, Brew Crew Ball, which also makes this remark:

There's likely not any truth to the rumor that Doug Melvin has refused to make the trade until Brian Cashman agrees to send over all of his disappointing players.

The Mets acquire Connor Robertson from the Diamondbacks for Scott Schoeneweis. I don't understand this move from the Diamondbacks perspective. Robertson is nine years younger and struck out a high number of batters in the minor leagues. They must see something they don't like about him. Maybe he has a tendency toward fly balls, which would hurt him in Arizona? I'm curious what Arizona fans think of this deal.

The Mets, Mariners and Indians completed their 12-player swap. If nothing else, the Mariners certainly restocked with young players.

I couldn't find the story on the New York Daily News web site, but ESPN picks up their story that the Yankees traded Melky Cabrera to the Brewers for Mike Cameron.

The acquisition of Cameron would give the Yankees a veteran center fielder to hold the position until prospect Austin Jackson is ready for the big leagues.

Cameron a bit better OBA to the team and more power than Melky. He's a $10 million stop gap. It's clear right now that the Yankees want to win their first year in their new park, and the Brewers are dumping payroll. Maybe this will be the wake up call Cabrera needs (he'll be 24 this season), but at this point it seems the talent just isn't there.

Correction: Fixed the name of the team in the last paragraph.

Update: This deal hit a roadblock.

Bless You Boys opines on the Matt Joyce for Edwin Jackson trade:

What I'll tell myself as I sign off for the night, however, is that maybe this trade won't ultimately be judged by itself. Could this be the precursor to another move? Might Jackson be flipped in another deal? Did Dave Dombrowski do this, knowing he has something in the works for one of his other starting pitchers? Then this trade might make sense to me. Right now, however, it doesn't quite smell right.

Jackson showed a big improvement in his ERA in 2008, but it was mostly due to giving up many fewer hits. That was probably attributable to Tampa Bay's improved defense, especially with Jackson's strikeout rate going down. I don't see this improving the Tigers staff.

Meanwhile, the Rays pick up another good, young player.

A coast to coast deal is in the works between the Mariners, Indians and Mets:

The Indians are reportedly involved in a three-team trade with the Mariners and Mets. The Mets would receive closer J.J. Putz from Seattle to set-up newly-signed closer Francisco Rodriguez.

As for the Indians, they would send outfielder Franklin Gutierrez and minor leaguers to the Mariners for infielder Luis Valbuena. They would also receive Mets right-hander Joe Smith.

But that's not all:

The Mets would receive Putz, outfielder Jeremy Reed and right-hander Sean Green from Seattle. The Mariners would receive Gutierrez from the Tribe and Aaron Heilman, outfielder Endy Chavez and first baseman Matt Capps from the Mets.

If it goes down, this one will take a while to sort out. I wonder if Putz is really ready to assume the setup role? This makes C.J. Wilson the only AL West closer left.

Update: It's a done deal:

From the Mets' perspective, the deal is Heilman and Smith for Putz. Chavez and Reed are simply an exchange of backup outfielders, Smith and Green are an exchange of right-handed groundball specialists.

The Yankees just became a bit more attractive to Jake Peavy.

The trade of Ramon Hernandez to the Reds for Ryan Freel opened up space for a Baltimore prospect:

Orioles president Andy MacPhail,pictured, said the Hernandez deal was almost entirely about clearing a spot for Wieters to play regularly. "It had been our goal to introduce Matt on to the major league scene in the '09 season," he said. "As a franchise we realized our future was probably with [him]."

Wieters went from A to AA in 2008, his first season in professional baseball, and saw his numbers improve at the higher level. His numbers are better than Joe Mauer and Taylor Teagarden. He looks like the type of hitter that just doesn't have anything to prove in the minors.

Jake Peavy seems to think he's going to the Cubs, but the Cubs don't think so.

If Dayton Moore makes the Zack Greinke for Jeff Francoeur deal, I'm never saying anything nice about the GM again. What happened to the "better OBA" plan?

Update: Craig Brown squashes the rumor.

Rays Index explores the possibility of the Rays getting involved in the Jake Peavy deal with the goal of landing Brian Giles. One of the problems facing the Padres is both Peavy and Giles, two of their most valuable trading chips, hold strong no-trade options. Peavy's is built into his contract, while Giles is a 10-5 player. Unless the Padres can identify places these players want to play, or pay them off, they'll have a difficult time completing a deal.

Via The Hardball Times, the Rangers moved one of their catchers:

The Tigers acquired catcher Gerald Laird from the Texas Rangers late Sunday night, fulfilling one of their major off-season needs on the eve of baseball's winter meetings.

Detroit parted with two pitching prospects in the deal, right-handers Guillermo Moscoso and Carlos Melo.

Melo certainly impressed in Rookie League ball. He was seasonal age 17 and struck out 61 in 49 innings, mostly as a starter. Depsite allowing two home runs, however, his ERA was over 5.00. Still, this should be someone Nolan Ryan could develop into a pitch-count resistant hurler. He's young enough that he's the perfect test subject for Ryan's plans.

Moscoso suffered a shoulder injury at one point, but overall put up great minor league numbers. His low walk rate is most impressive, under 2.0 per nine innings. He's also old enough to step into the majors now. It's a very nice trade for the Rangers, getting good potential for an extra player. It also takes a team out of the market for a starting free-agent catcher, which should depress the market for Pudge and Varitek a bit.

Update: Billfer likes the trade.

Hal McCoy reports that the Reds are trading Homer Bailey to the White Sox for Jermaine Dye:

A major-league source close to the situation told The Dayton Daily News on Sunday, Dec. 7, "The deal is done and will be announced this week."

The Reds are in the market for an outfielder and moving Bailey makes sense. The 22-year-old righthander, the team's No. 1 draft pick in 2004, has not lived up to high expectations and some club officials believe a change of venue would be best for him.

Bailey was 0-6 with a 7.93 ERA in eight starts with the Reds last year and was only 4-7 with a 4.77 ERA at Class AAA Louisville.

Bailey's seasonal age in 2009 will be 23, so he's still very young. His minor league strikeout and walk rates are still very good. If this deal happens, Bailey might turn out to be the next Edinson Volquez.

Dye's been up and down the last four seasons, but he's still an above average hitter. Both the White Sox and Reds home parks are good for long ball hitters, so Dye should be as comfortable in Cincinnati as on the south side.

Update: The Chicago Tribune has a source that says the deal is not going to happen. I love dueling sources.

The Rangers may be in a payroll squeeze. The team that once signed Alex Rodriguez to a record setting contract now may be moving players to save money.

Rangers general manager Jon Daniels said the club has not been given a directive to significantly cut payroll, but he acknowledged the team could make a deal or two that would look that way.

"I wouldn't say we're in cost-cutting mode, but we're certainly conscious of all our expenditures," Daniels said. "We're going to look at all the ways to improve our club. For the most part, we've been focused on trying to add players who fit with our long-term plan. Those are younger players."

Frankly, that's not a bad strategy. The question for the Rangers as always is pitching, however. If they want to compete now, they need to add pitching now, and this may not be the best strategy for that.

Gaslamp Ball sums up a Kevin Tower interview on the Khalil Greene trade. The most interesting tidbit:

It's not a secret that they needed to reduce our payroll from $50 million and get closer to $40 million. The way the Padres looked at it, if they moved Khalil they would have a better chance to keep Peavy.

It seems obvious to me that if your choice is to keep Peavy or keep Greene, Khalil gets traded.

Gaslamp Ball experiences a deja vu moment over the Khalil Greene trade:

Trading away short stops who haven't quite lived up to promise to St. Louis? Something about this is vaguely familiar.

Of course, in the earlier trade, the Padres were supposed to be improving their offense.

Howard Sinker interprets Ron Gardenhire's comments in Fargo, ND as signaling the end of Delmon Young's career with the Twins:

According to the Fargo Forum, Gardy said he wants a starting outfield in 2009 of Denard Span, Carlos Gomez and ...

... Michael Cuddyer.

Been nice knowing you, Delmon.

Gardenhire said about his outfielders-of-choice: "Those three guys need to play every day. Delmon is in the mix. He's a hell of a player, a hell of a talent. But to me, those three guys should be your outfield and then you go from there."

This is the strongest indication yet that Young is available to a team that can offer up something reasonable in return. Gardy told the Fargo group that teams have inquired about Young.

I'm not sure why Gardenhire values Cuddyer over Young. Delmon is seven years younger in seasonal age and put up better offensive numbers at age 22 than Cuddyer did at age 29. One would suspect that difference will only get bigger over the next few years as Young reaches his peak and Cuddyer declines.

It also seems to me that if a team wants to trade a player, they don't make him worth less by taking him out of the starting lineup in December.

It appears the Padres and Cardinals engineered a trade for Khalil Greene. The Padres will received some pitching, but the details are not known right now.

Greene should be a bit of an offensive improvement over Cesar Izturis. For his career, Greene hit much better on the road, PETCO Park killing his power. His 2008 slump, however, came from hitting very poorly away from San Diego.

Tyler Flowers goes to the White Sox to complete the deal for Javier Vazquez. In the minors he produced a great OBA and decent power. He's called a catcher, but he played a lot at first base his first two years in the minors. That doesn't give me a lot of confidence that he'll do well behind the plate in the majors. If his power develops more, however, I could see him as a very effective first baseman.

The deal is unofficial, but it appears that the White Sox traded Javier Vazquez and Boone Logan to the Braves.

Among the players expected to go from Atlanta to the Chicago organization are Jo-Jo Reyes, Brett Lillibridge and another top prospect.

With obvious holes in the rotation, Braves general manager Frank Wren has said he hopes to add two starting pitchers this winter. Atlanta pursued Padres ace Jake Peavy before Wren said last month "we have moved on and shifted our focus" after San Diego didn't agree to what he called "a strong package of players."

Trading away young players for Vazquez may not leave much if Atlanta still wants Peavy.

Vazquez is at worse an average pitcher, and will occasionally post very good seasons, as he did in 2001, 2003 and 2007. At least 2009 is an odd numbered year. Logan's major league career has seen too many walks and too many home runs, but he does strike out a good number of batters.

Reyes suffers from the same problem as Logan, although his minor league walk numbers are very good. Lillibridge hasn't played enough in the majors to make an impression, but at least at the minor league level he posted a good OBA for a shortstop. He's a cheap, possibly long-term solution at the position for the White Sox. We'll wait to see who Chicago lands as the last prospect.

Hat tip to Lone Star Ball.

Bleed Cubbie Blue does not believe Jake Peavy will land with the Cubs, because Lou Piniella is happy with his starting pitching.

The Oakland Athletics appear to have an interest in Nick Johnson. Do they reall want both corner infielders constantly on the disabled list?

There is an unconfirmed report that the Royals and Red Sox worked out a deal for Coco Crisp:

Sports radio station WHB 810 in Kansas City reported this morning that the Red Sox have traded center fielder Coco Crisp to the Royals for righthanded relief pitcher Ramon Ramirez.

But during an on-air interview a few moments ago, Royals senior adviser Mike Arbuckle would not confirm that the deal was complete.

"I would say Coco is a good player and we're always interested in getting good players," said Arbuckle, who recently joined the Royals after working in the front office of the World Champion Philadelphia Phillies.

Crisp's career OBA is .331, which is okay, and an improvement over the Royals .320 mark of 2008. So, unlike the Mike Jacobs trade, the Royals would be moving toward their goal of a better team OBA, and ramping up their defense in center as well.

In the two seasons Ramirez picked up a decent amount of innings, he pitched well. He's good at keeping the ball in the park, strikes out batters without giving up too many walks. This looks like a good move for the Red Sox, trading away a spare part and improving the bullpen. We'll see if the deal actually goes down.

Update: The Red Sox confirmed the trade.

The Braves are officially out of the Peavy sweepstakes.

It looks like Ken Rosenthal was right on this one. The Padres don't have a deal with the Braves or the Cubs, and now they are looking to trade Jake Peavy to an American League team:

The Yankees and Angels could be next in line. At season's end, Peavy said he doesn't want to go to an American League team, but during the GM meetings at Dana Point last week, Towers said Peavy might be open to going to the Yankees and Angels.

If the Yankees and Angels become viable trade partners, Towers' leverage would increase, but because Peavy's consent is needed for a trade, that leverage is contingent on Peavy reversing his position. Barry Axelrod, Peavy's agent, gave no indication Thursday night that Peavy suddenly has become excited about going to the AL, but he did not rule it out.

That Kei Igawa deal is looking better all the time. Igawa, Kennedy and one of the Yankees outfielders to San Diego for Peavy. His contract is relatively cheap for an ace, and gives the Yankees plenty of money leftover to sign Sabathia. That would give New York a rotation of CC, Peavy, Wang, Chamberlain and either Pettitte or Hughes as a fifth starter, or even Mike Mussina if he still wants to pitch. Not bad, and they'd still have enough money left over to sign either Manny Ramirez or Mark Teixeira.

Peter Abraham posts audio of Brian Cashman talking about the Swisher deal and sums it up also:

Swisher is not here to play CF. Cashman made that clear. He's here to play 1B. Cashman did not close the door to anything else happening (he never does), but it's pretty evident that they see Swisher playing 1B and having the ability to play LF or RF on occasion. That would enable them to keep Jorge Posada in the lineup once in a while as the 1B.

...

This move allows the Yankees to focus their attention (and money) on starting pitching. Mark Teixeira just lost a lot of leverage.

I wonder how much of that last bit was the plan all along. The Yankees might see how the bidding goes on Teixeira, and if it's not too high sweep in at the last moment with a great bid. That's pretty much how they got Johnny Damon. They made him a tough to refuse offer and gave him very little time to accept or reject it. It's easy enough to move Nick to the outfield if Cashman manages to land Teixeira anyway.

More likely, however, is that they'll buy two starting pitchers.

Dave Cameron at FanGraphs doesn't like the Cubs/Marlins trade in which Chicago appears to be replacing Kerry Wood with Kevin Gregg.

The Yankees acquired Kanekoa Texeira from the White Sox, along with a slightly better known player:

The New York Yankees acquired center fielder-first baseman Nick Swisher in a trade with the Chicago White Sox on Thursday.

The Yankees traded infielder Wilson Betemit and minor league pitchers Jeff Marquez and Jhonny Nunez to Chicago in exchange for the switch-hitting Swisher and minor league pitcher Kanekoa Texeira.

Swisher is coming off a very disappointing season. I would have thought moving from Oakland to Chicago would have improved his power because of the park. He did hit well in Chicago, but was abysmal on the road. His career road numbers are much better, so if 2008 was a fluke, the Yankees are getting a good hitter.

I'm not sure he's the answer at first, however. I would rather see him in right, and have the Yankees sign a real power hitter at first base.

As a minor league reliever, Texeira does exactly what a team wants; lots of strikeouts, few walks and a minuscule number of home runs.

New York dumps Wilson Betemit, but gives up two decent enough pitchers in Nunez and Marquez. In general, the trade makes the Yankees younger, and the White Sox get a utility infielder and two pitchers who might help them in the future.

If the Yankees play Swisher in the outfield, I like the deal for them. If they think he's the answer at first base, I think they'll be disappointed.

Hat tip to YFSF.

CBSSportsline says yes. Ken Rosenthal says maybe.

The Athletics-Rockies trade is official:

Matt Holliday hardly could have expected to land with the low-budget Oakland Athletics.

The A's completed their trade with the Colorado Rockies for the star outfielder Wednesday, securing the big bat Oakland sought for the middle of its order.

''Originally, it was a little bit of a surprise considering I've never been traded before,'' Holliday said. ''I spent my first 11 years of professional baseball in the Rockies organization. Any time you make a change there's a bit of an unknown.''

Colorado received right-handed reliever Huston Street, lefty starter Greg Smith and promising outfielder Carlos Gonzalez from the A's. The clubs reached a tentative agreement Monday, but had to wait for the results of physicals and other details to be worked out.

Now I wonder what other moves might come as a surprise from Oakland this winter? Maybe they'll sign a big name free agent!

The Nationals will hold a 3:30 PM EST news conference to announce their deal with the Marlins.

David OhNo at Purple Row explains why he likes the Holliday trade with Oakland.

The Florida Marlins are expected to send Josh Willingham and Scott Olsen to the Washington Nationals today (Tuesday).

The agent for starting pitcher Scott Olsen and outfielder Josh Willingham said Monday they are being traded from the Florida Marlins to the Washington Nationals. Agent Matt Sosnick said a news conference in the Washington area was being planned for Tuesday.

"They've both voiced they're excited for a fresh start. Neither of them has really played for anybody else except the Marlins," Sosnick said in a telephone interview. "They're both trying to process the information."

Willingham is a solid player. He should improve both the OBA and power of the Nationals, although that's not difficult to accomplish given their poor play in 2008. Olson will give the Nationals innings, but it's disconcerting to see his strikeout rate fall for the second year in a row. He struck out 8.3 batter per nine innings in 2006, 5.0 in 2008. Both players qualified for arbitration this season, however, and the Marlins would rather part with good but not great players rather than pay them a lot of money.

These moves, of course, open spots in the outfield and rotation, possibly filled by the two players acquired from Detroit last season, Andrew Miller and Cameron Maybin. The Nationals get better, but they're still a long way from contention. Willingham and Olsen are complementary players, not the centerpiece of a championship team.

Update: Does it seem the Marlins have shortened the player life cycle? There are teams, (the Athletics and Braves come to mind) that get as much as they can out of a player during the six years of control, and are then happy to let them walk via free agency and get a draft pick, or trade them just before they walk for prospects. The Marlins are now taking that down to three years. Their philosophy appears to be, pay someone as little as possible for as long as possible, then trade them for prospects. That way, there's always young, cheap talent coming up. Both are predicated on young players being just as good as older veterans. However, the traditional way of handling this (six years) allows teams to capture a player's prime.

In the case of Willingham, the Marlins did just that. He'll be 30 in 2009. So they also managed to get Willingham's prime at an extremely low cost. The Marlins front office really knows how to manage a roster and get a lot for a little.

Via Phillies Nation, Sports Illustrated reports the Athletics are close to a deal to land Matt Holliday. That would be an unusual deal for Oakland, trading for an established star. Are they trying to capture the draft picks they would receive when he leaves for free agency? Or, after two losing seasons are they afraid they are going to lose fans if they don't start winning again?

Update: Here's more on the deal:

The A's are working to complete a trade with the Rockies that would bring Matt Holliday to Oakland in exchange for reliever Huston Street, starter Greg Smith and outfielder Carlos Gonzalez, major-league sources said Monday.

Smith confirmed Monday that he is flying to Denver for a physical in the next day or two.

"I don't know how official everything is," Smith said. "All I know is I've been called, and I'm flying to Denver probably tomorrow."

He emphasized he does not know any details about other players who might be involved in a deal.

Street is the only sure thing in the deal. Smith was a high strikeout, low walk pitcher in the minors, but a low strikeout, high walk pitcher his rookie season in the majors. Gonzalez put up okay OBA and power numbers in the minors, but very poor number in half a season in the majors. It's better than getting nothing for Holliday, but I really wonder if he wouldn't be worth more at the trading deadline.

The Cardinals announced they are not pursuing Matt Holliday:

Mozeliak insisted Sunday that discussions involving Colorado Rockies left fielder Matt Holliday have ceased and that "nothing is imminent. That one's not happening -- at all."

Irritated that details of his discussions with Rockies general manager Dan O'Dowd had leaked, Mozeliak did not deny the seriousness of the talks but took exception to momentum assigned them.

"For me to say there were not serious discussions would be inaccurate," Mozeliak said. "But some of the details reported about it were misleading, at the very least. It was never my intention for it to become front-page news."

It appeared the Rockies wanted too many players for Holliday, who may walk at the end of next season to test free agency.

Jarrod Saltalamacchia idolizes Jason Varitek, and would love to catch with him in Boston. A scout analyzes the two:

Saltalamacchia is far from Varitek defensively, but a veteran scout who has watched both of them said, "They are very similar. Jason wasn't a finished product at 23 years old, either. It took a lot of work to get him where he is right now.

"Jason just made the decision that 'I'm going to pull this off' and he went about it by putting his nose in the sand and making it happen. Salty has a chance to get there, too. I think the difference might be that Salty is going to hit and hit for power. He's a big kid and he looks like he could be an offensive force."

When Saltalamacchia was apprised of those comments, he said, "Oh my God, that's so amazing. I just want to get my catching abilities where Jason is."

Reaching that goal would certainly make Saltalamacchia a very valuable free agent when his time comes.

Bill Lee rants on how the Red Sox losing the 1975 World Series led to the Manny Ramirez trade:

If the team had won the World Series in 1975, Lee said, he would have been mayor.

"And if I had been mayor, I would have banned private vehicles in downtown Boston," Lee said. "We would have all been walking, we'd all be cross-country skiing and we'd all be in better shape. And if we were all in better shape, there'd be no parking and (Boston parking czar Frank) McCourt would never have been able to buy the Dodgers and Manny would never have gone to LA."

I do agree that everyone should walk in downtown Boston.

Jake Peavy may block a trade to the Braves, because the trade weakens Atlanta!

"Escobar's a pretty good player," Axelrod said. "To be honest, Jake and I have said, 'If that kind of trade gets made, who plays short for them?'"

...

"One of the things we will want to look at some point is, 'Who are you giving up? How much are you weakening your team to make this deal?'" Axelrod said. "If Team X trades three starting pitchers and a starting shortstop to get Jake Peavy, that lessens their chance of being a successful team."

I don't remember a player using his no-trade in this way. Sure, they may prevent a deal to a non-competitive team, but I don't remember one judging the competitiveness of the team based on who the acquiring team traded away.

Tim Brown floats this rumor about a three-way trade between the Yankees, Mariners and Rockies:

One source mentioned a potential three-way deal that would send outfielder Hideki Matsui from the New York Yankees to the Seattle Mariners for a pitching prospect, perhaps Ryan Rowland-Smith. The Yankees would package the prospect with second baseman Robinson Cano and another young player to the Rockies for Holliday.

Bleeding Blue and Teal feels this deal should not be sealed.

Wow, if this has any truth I will be insanely angry. There is no way that the most we can get for Rowland-Smith is Matsui, who is an aging, below average defensive outfielder. Sure, his bat is definitely a positive, but in two of the past three seasons he's been hurt, and been limited to less than 100 games.

On the other hand, if I'm the Yankees with a need for pitching, I'm stopping at Matsui for Rowland-Smith. He's a pretty good pitcher, and I really like his minor league strikeout and walk numbers. With the Yankees poor defense, they need pitchers who keep the ball out of play.

Joe Posnanski complained the other day that the Royals were not sticking to their plan to acquire hitters with a high OBA. Now we hear from Sabernomics that Jeff Francoeur is at the top of the Royals acquisition list. If the Royals do trade for Francoeur, Moore will start moving into the Dave Littlefield space of GMs, who talk a better game than they deliver.

The City of Champions floats the rumor of a trade between the Marlins and Dodgers. The story is Scott Olsen and Dan Uggla for Russell Martin.

If this deal came to fruition, it would be the fourth good catcher in a row traded to a Florida team by the Dodgers. They sent Mike Piazza and Paul Lo Duca to the Marlins. They also traded away Dioner Navarro to the Rays (although Dioner was not good yet). I wonder if Dodger fans will be as upset about Martin as they were about Lo Duca. That turned out to be the right move. I'm not so sure about this one.

Update: The rumor denied.

I wonder if the value the Padres gain by trading Jake Peavy isn't lost by the Padres trading Khalil Greene?

The consensus of polled general managers is that Jake Peavy will be traded.

Peavy is a valuable commodity due to his under market contract. Since the Padres don't feel that the money saved on Peavy can be used to turn them into winners while keeping Jake, a trade is in the offing.

As much as I understand these deals, I really don't like them. Maybe it goes back to Bill James's article on the Oakland Athletics in his 1985 Baseball Abstract. After giving reasons why the A's might come out ahead on the Henderson trade, James concludes:

Butt (sic) I wouldn't have made it. Did they get a fair price for Rickey Henderson? It's kind of like if you're an art collector and you have the Mona Lisa, what's a fair price for it? The idea in building a championship team is to acquire players like Rickey Henderson. It's a sad day when you have to give one away.

The A's did do well in the Henderson trade, although Jose Rijo came back to bite them in 1990. The Padres may make out well also, but it may be three or four years before we know that for sure.

I was going to link to this Joe Posnanski post on the Mike Jacobs trade anyway, but the Music Man reference sealed the deal before I even finished the article.

Evan Grant notes the Rangers depth of catching talent puts them in an excellent position to acquire starting pitching via the trade route.

The Rangers have a little something to offer anybody seeking catchers.

Want an experienced big league starter whose contract is still affordable and who would be under a club's control for more than one year? There is Gerald Laird, who can't become a free agent until after 2010.

Aren't too worried about defense, but need some power and plate discipline? The Rangers can discuss Max Ramirez.

Want to gamble on a toolsy top prospect who has struggled at the major league level but has the potential to be a franchise catcher? That would be Jarrod Saltalamacchia.

The Rangers could deal all of them and still hold on to Taylor Teagarden, who hit .319 with a 1.205 on-base-plus-slugging percentage in September.

When two of my college roommates took introductory economics, they liked to make fun of the example, "The US has a comparative advantage in baseball bats. Japan holds a comparative advantage in Saki. Therefore, international trade will occur." With the Rangers holding such an advantage in catching, trades almost certainly will happen.

The Marlins and Royals make a deal:

The Marlins made their first trade of the offseason Thursday, sending first baseman Mike Jacobs to Kansas City for right-handed reliever Leo Nuñez.

Jacobs is a one-dimensional power hitter. As one dimensions go, power is a good one. Nunez has seen his ERA come down each of the last three years. His real strength appears to be keeping the ball in the park, at least in 2008.

Moving Jacobs opens up a spot for Gaby Sanchez, who at the minor league level showed Jacobs power with a much better ability to get on base. If Sanchez comes up and posts a .350 OBA and a .470 slugging percentage, this will be a nice improvement for the Marlins.

Jake Peavy is going to use his no-trade clause to capture the home town discount he gave San Diego if he is traded:

Translation: if you don't give us cut, we'll exercise the no-trade clause. Peavy can use his veto power to make sure that he captures a good portion of the economic rents generated by his contract.

This is very interesting to me. The Padres got a good deal out of Jake because he wanted to stay in San Diego. If they had signed him for more money, but without the no-trade clause, they likely would still have an under-market contract. They then could trade him and reap the rewards in prospects. With Jake and his agent standing up for themselves, the Padres may end up with Jake the continuing to pitch for a poor team.

This may change the Padres mind on offering no-trade clauses in the future. In general, salaries tend to rise faster than anyone expects. So a fair contract today may be under-market tomorrow. Paying a bit more for a no-trade clause is likely well worth it in that scenario.

Red Reporter wonders if the Cincinnati Reds should go after Adrian Beltre:

Fun Fact: The last time Beltre was playing for a contract, he batted .334/.388/.629 for the Dodgers and hit 48 home runs while finishing 2nd in the MVP race.

I wonder if that will go down as one of the great contract seasons sever, at least compared to the rest of his career. With Cleveland also looking to make a move at third, Ohio appears to be ground zero in the hot corner hot stove this winter.

The Cleveland Indians may use one of their excess outfielders to acquire Mark Teahen to a move to solidify third base.

Talks are believed to center on three possibilities for the Royals in the deal: Franklin Gutierrez, Ben Francisco and minor-leaguer Trevor Crowe.

The Royals previously tried to pry either Gutierrez or Francisco from the Indians when shopping reliever Octavio Dotel midway through the 2007 season.

...

The Indians are searching for a third baseman after souring on Andy Marte as a replacement for veteran Casey Blake, whom they traded in July to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Over the last four seasons, Indians third basemen produced a .247/.310/.377 line. Teahen's career spans that time, and his averages are .268/.322/.421. He will be seasonal age 27 in 2009, the age when players reach their peak. With luck, he'll improve off a down year with a move back to third base.

Paul DePodesta does an excellent job of explaining why the Padres might trade Jake Peavy. His summary:

So, to answer the most basic question: are we going to trade Jake Peavy? We'll see if someone offers us a compelling deal that makes us better.

The whole post is well worth the read.

It looks like we'll spend a good deal of the winter wondering where Jake Peavy will land.

Ted Berg weighs in on how a story about the Mets being willing to talk about trading Carlos Beltran erupted into a rumor that he was going to the Yankees for Cano and Kennedy.

Joe Christensen now thinks Johan Santana for Jon Lester straight up would have been a good trade.

With the CC Sabathia deal done, Waiting For Next Year reviews the transaction from both sides.

The Padres received two minor league pitchers to complete the trade for Greg Maddux. Both are very young. Eduardo Perez is still at Rookie Ball at age 20. Michael Watt is just 19. Both post high strikeout rates, low walks and low home runs allowed.

Bugs and Cranks suggests a New York trade involving their two third base stars, David Wright and Alex Rodriguez. I was talking to my friend Jim Storer about this yesterday, more sarcastically than anything else. (I think the conversation started with, "David Wright is no Scott Brosius.") I'm guessing the Yankees would jump at the offer. They'd get younger and save a ton of money without losing too much in the way of offense. This, however, goes in the "no chance in hell" folder.

It looks like the Tigers lost out in more ways than one with the Kyle Farnsworth/Ivan Rodriguez deal. They thought they were getting a type B free agent in Farnsworth, which would have netted them a draft pick. It appears now that Pudge will be a type B free agent, not Farnsworth.

Micah Owings, the player to be named later in the Adam Dunn deal, made his Reds debut tonight. Instead of coming out of the bullpen, however, he came off the bench to deliver an RBI double in the tenth inning to give the Reds a 3-2 lead over Micah's former team, the Arizona Diamondbacks. If Francisco Cordero and preserve the lead, the DBacks fall to 4 1/2 games behind the Dodgers.

Maybe the DBacks should have waited until after they played the Reds to finish the trade. :-)

Update: Cordero gets the save and the Diamondbacks season looks over.

The Reds and Diamondbacks completed the Adam Dunn deal today. Micah Owings goes to the Cincinnati Reds. I wonder if they'll add him to their young pitching staff or make him Dunn's replacement in the outfield? Given how poorly he pitched this season, the Reds may be better off with the latter move.

Brew Crew Ball notes that the team which gets to choose the player to be named later in the Sabathia deal depends on Milwaukee making the playoffs. If they do, Cleveland gets to choose. If not, Milwaukee gets to pick.

Just in the nick of time, the Arizona Diamondbacks acquired David Eckstein from Toronto for pitcher Chad Beck. I wonder if they are looking for Eckstein to improve the OBA at shortstop or the batting average at second base?

Beck is in his third year of A ball. The Diamondbacks couldn't seem to decide if he should be a starter or a reliever. Maybe the Blue Jays can give him some direction.

Via Phillies Nation, the Phillies acquire Matt Stairs from Toronto for a player to be determined. He'll be the replacement for Geoff Jenkins.

Stairs power disappeared this season as he's slugging just .394. He can still draw a walk, however. He may not be able to get the big hit in a rally, but he won't kill one either.

ESPN reports that the Braves and Red Sox are close to a deal that would send Mark Kotsay to Boston.

It appears Eddie Guardado is headed back to the Twins for Mark Hamburger. Eddie's having a good year out of the pen, giving up just three home runs in 49 1/3 innings. Opponents are hitting .220 with a .286 OBA. Plus, he's only pitched in 55 games. Not used everyday, his arm must be far from tired! :-)

Hamburger is just 21 years old. His ERA is high in rookie ball this season, but his strikeouts, walks and home runs are all good, just what you want in a reliever. This could be a juicy pickup for the Rangers down the line, as long as they don't fry his arm.

Toronto picks up Jose Bautista from the Pirates:

On the other hand, it is important to remember that even though Bautista's been languishing in Indianapolis since August 10, he's still hit more homers in 2008 (12) than anyone on the Jays roster.

That's just sad.

Peter Abraham points out that the Ivan Rodriguez trade hurt both teams. Especially damning is this:

Andy Pettitte threw to him once then asked not to again.

Pudge's defensive credentials are based on his ability to stop the running game. I've heard others question his game calling skills before, but never so directly.

It looks like Greg Maddux will become a Dodger today. It's his second stint with the club:

Maddux, who has 353 career victories, has pitched well in his last three starts, posting a 2-1 record and 1.89 ERA in that span. In his last start, he dropped a decision to the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday even though he held them to a run and five hits over seven innings.

He has had trouble away from pitcher-friendly Petco Park, where he has a 2.62 ERA. His road ERA is 5.75.

To make the deal happen, Maddux had to waive his full no-trade clause.

Maddux also pitched 10 games this season in which he went at least six innings, allowed three runs or less and received a loss or a no decision, including his most recent performance against the Phillies. Despite a lack of strikeouts, he's pitched well against the Dodgers this season.

Joe Christensen updates the reasons the trade for Jarrod Washburn fell apart. The Mariners did not turn down a trade for Boof Bonser.

Lookout Landing is just a tiny bit upset the Mariners turned now a deal that would send them Boof Bonser for Jarrod Washburn:

Boof Bonser is a 26 year old righty with two years of service time and a career 4.70 tRA that's 5% above the league average. His 2008 salary is $0.4325m and he won't be eligible for free agency until the winter of 2012. Evidently the Mariners came to the conclusion that, in exchange for Washburn, he wasn't enough.

To summarize, Bonser:

-is better than Washburn
-is younger than Washburn
-is cheaper than Washburn
-is under team control for longer than Washburn

And somehow we were the ones to turn down the deal.

Are we sure the Mariners actually replaced Bill Bavasi?

Update: Joe Christensen updates this deal, and it seems the Mariners didn't turn down Bonser for Washburn.

SportsHubLA examines the different receptions Manny Ramirez and Mark Teixeira received from fans of their new teams.

Also, there was some attachment among Angels fans to the guy they gave away. Casey Kotchman isn't as good a player as Teixeira, but was so deeply steeped in Angelness he practically had wings and a harp. The fans loved him. He was one of their guys. I was shocked, reading through the chat boards on sites like Halos Heaven and 6-4-2, as to how many people were angry they moved Kotchman in the deal, even for a superstar power bat like Teixeira. Is Kotchman a good player, likely to get better? Sure. Still, I was surprised he was all it took to get Teixeira. It was a no-brainer for GM Tony Reagins.

I would also suggest that because Teixeira was a Ranger for so long, the Angels fans are used to rooting against him. That feeling may take a while to fade.

Jarrod Washburn was claimed on waivers, and the Mariners will try to work a deal by Thursday afternoon:

The Yankees were not the team that claimed Washburn, sources say. They had interest in the pitcher before the July 31 non-waiver deadline, but consider their hitting to be a greater problem than their starting pitching.

The White Sox, another team in need of starting pitching, have indicated that they do not consider Washburn a fit.

Could Texas have claimed him?

This should make Reds fans a bit happier about the Dunn trade. One of the players to be named later is Micah Owings.

It's unclear if Owings has yet to be placed on waivers. He will have to clear waivers if he is to be traded before the end of the season.

It's possible that Owings has been placed on waivers already and was claimed by another team, at which point the Diamondbacks would have pulled him back off waivers. That would mean he would not be able to be traded until the conclusion of the regular season.

It's also unclear is Owings' physical condition could be a factor in the deal. He is expected to miss his start Wednesday with shoulder stiffness.

He can take over for Dunn in leftfield and pitch. Owings started this season well but hasn't pitched well since the start of June. It makes you wonder how much his stock has dropped in the last year and a half. The Diamondbacks wouldn't give him up in the Randy Johnson trade, but he goes as a PTBNL in a trade for Dunn.

My latest column at SportingNews.com examines what the Pirates pitching trades says for the future of the team.

The Red Sox picked up Paul Byrd off the waiver wire today:

The Boston Red Sox acquired pitcher Paul Byrd from Cleveland on Tuesday, hoping to boost a rotation hurt by an injury to Tim Wakefield and the struggles of Clay Buchholz.

The Red Sox will send either a player to be named or cash to the Indians.

The 37-year-old Byrd is 7-10 with a 4.53 ERA this season. But he has won all four of his starts since the All-Star break with a 1.24 ERA.

The only thing that's changed for Byrd since the all-star break is his home runs allowed. He gave up 23 before the break, 0 since. If this is a real adjustment instead of a lucky streak, he should be able to help the Red Sox.

The Arizona Diamondbacks acquire Adam Dunn from the Cincinnati Reds:

The Diamondbacks acquired slugger Adam Dunn from the Cincinnati Reds today in exchange for minor league pitcher Dallas Buck and two players to be named later.

Dunn is a free agent at the end of the season. He's likely to be a rental player. Arizona leftfielder have a .308 OBA and a .387 slugging percentage. Dunn, despite a low batting average, posts a .376 OBA and a .528 slugging percentage. A very good move for the Diamondbacks. Dunn hits for power so well he might actually make up for some that was lost with the injury to Hudson as well.

Dallas Buck looks okay, but not great. It will be interesting to see who else the Reds get out of this deal.

The Commissioner's office started an investigation into the Manny Ramirez trade:

Here's why Selig's office is looking into the matter:

The Red Sox had an option to retain Ramírez in 2009 for $20 million. They had the same option for 2010. Ramírez, who will turn 37 next season, wanted to be a free agent at the end of this season. His agent wanted the same thing. Boras inherited Ramírez's old contract and stood to earn nothing until Manny signed a new one. It was in the interest of the player and the agent to have the options dropped.

Manny's only leverage was withholding services and playing at half speed. So that's what he did.

So Manny acted like a jerk in order to get traded. That's a tried and true way to force clubs into action. I remember Billy Sample talking about this in 1991 during his time on Baseball Tonight. You mouth off a lot, become a bad person in the clubhouse. He didn't talk about not playing hard, but how can you measure that? Manny gone half speed plenty of times in the past. What makes this different?

Waiver deals are starting to happen. The Tampa Bay Rays get Chad Bradford from the Orioles.

The Rays claimed the submarining right-hander on waivers, then got him from the Orioles in a trade for a player to be named.

The 33-year-old Bradford is 3-3 with a 2.45 ERA this year. The durable reliever has made 47 appearances and thrown 40 1-3 innings.

The Tampa defense needs to be at their best with Bradford on the mound. His K per 9 is way down this season, just 2.9 K per 9 innings. He does, however, have great control and gives up few home runs. He certainly adds depth to the Rays bullpen.

The Marlins broadcast reported the Phillies picked up Scott Eyre from the Cubs for a minor leaguer. Scott is having a strange season as he's giving up lots of hits despite lots of strikeouts.

Update: Here's the story on Eyre.

Some team claimed Brian Giles on waivers and the Padres are trying to make a deal. That team may be Texas, and Lone Star Ball wonders why they would be interested.

Update: YFSF points to reports that the Red Sox claimed Giles. Sounds like a backup plan if one or both of Ortiz/Youkilis are really injured.

Sixty Feet, Six Inches looks in detail at the haul the Pirates received for Jason Bay.

Steve Silva at Extra Bases does an excellent job of rounding up the reaction to the Manny Ramirez trade. There will be a news conference on the field at Dodger Stadium tonight.

I'd like to add one thing to this story. Manny, to a certain extent, has moved criticism from his playing ability to his personality. Remember the story of the off season? Manny was working out and was going to be in the best shape of his life. Despite the intense training, Ramirez put up numbers very similar to last year, with a little more power. The Red Sox had to look at that and say to themselves, "He worked his butt off this winter and he didn't improve much. The decline is real. Let's wait this out."

Manny probably thought he would come out like gangbusters, reaching 500 home runs quickly and wowing the front office with his return to dominance. Age, however, is eroding Manny's skills. He's so good that he can still be the best player on many teams playing at a lower level, but teams will pause before committing to an expensive, long term deal.

I suspect that was the big cause of the breakdown. Manny didn't meet his own expectations, but couldn't blame himself. He worked hard, said the right things to the press, even showed up to spring training on time. The Red Sox front office, however, saw the numbers, and the numbers said wait. Ramirez wouldn't accept that, so he acted in such a way that the Red Sox had to trade him, and received his wish.

It's too bad. Terry Francona, the front office, the players, and a good deal of Red Sox Nation cut Manny a lot of slack for a number of years. They respected Manny's ability to perform on the field. Ramirez should have more respect for their generosity.

I was just looking at the VORP difference between Manny Ramirez and Jason Bay. Manny's VORPr (runs per game) is .378, Bay is .309. Over 54 games that mean Manny would generate 20.4 runs over replacement, Bay 16.7. Four runs isn't much over 1/3 of a season.

Juan Pierre is the highest ranked Dodgers leftfielder at 0.029. Over 55 games, that's 1.6 runs over replacement. Manny would be at 20.8. That's two wins, and can easily make the difference in the pennant race in the NL West.

When I told my wife Manny Ramirez as going to play for Joe Torre, she said:

He worked for Steinbrenner and survived cancer, he can handle Manny.

Ken Rosenthal says the three-way deal that would move Manny Ramirez is dead.

Curt Schilling is his usual frank self in this interview:

On Manny's effort running up the first-base line on a ground ball behind third base during John Lackey's no-hit bid on Tuesday night.

"I laugh at the fact that people are like, 'Oh my God, I can't believe that... on this night he didn't...," like that night was any different than any other night for him. .. It's stunning to me that it just was OK I guess, the other day for things to go the way they went. It's gonna be funny to watch all the people jump if Manny does get traded and things happen, how many people in the media area going to come out of the woodwork and say, 'you players are idiots, you let him be like this for so long,' and the media's given him, for the mos part, every bit the free ride everybody else has... I thought it was telling the other night when someone asked about Manny's run down to first and I thought Terry's answer was something like, 'well, he does that a lot.' Think about that. That's someone saying, 'what do you think about this guy half-assing down the line and the manager saying, 'yeah, that happens a lot.' Again, things you kind of look at and go, 'What, we just move on?' Why is that the breaking point for people. Why after all this stuff in all the years, why is that like the breaking point?"

I wrote my answer three years ago.

I believe the same thing is true of Manny. It doesn't matter that Manny is better than Sosa over his full career. What matters is that people are willing to excuse his actions because of his greatness. Once Manny's production falls to a level that's easily replaced, the fans won't be so forgiving. Rather than pleas to keep Manny when he wants to sit out a game, Red Sox fans will be calling for his head.

This deal makes no sense to me, unless Dye or Thome is secretly injured:

Despite all his achievements, Griffey's productivity has been limited in recent years due to injuries. It is unclear where the White Sox plan on playing him, since they have Carlos Quentin and Jermaine Dye playing the corner outfield positions. Griffey has played primarily in right field over the last two seasons for the Reds.

Griffey is no longer the fielder who won 10 straight Gold Gloves patrolling center field for the Mariners, so, unless the White Sox think he can return to center, perhaps he is headed for some time at first base. Chicago's current first baseman, Paul Konerko, is hitting .214 with nine homers and 35 runs batted in this season.

If you want to replace Konerko, it probably makes more sense to put Thome there and DH Griffey. We'll see what happens.

Update: Fox says Griffey accepted the deal.

It looks like the Marlins picked up Arthur Rhodes. Rhodes missed a season due to Tommy John surgery, but has pitched well in 22 innings this season. His strikeouts are high, he hasn't allowed a home run, but his walks are high.

Because my internet access is iffy today, here's a post that you can use to comment on whatever happens this morning and this afternoon.

Manny Ramirez continues to act like he wants to be traded:

No one disputes Ramirez is on the market. His often turbulent relationship with the Red Sox took a new twist Sunday when he said, "I'm tired of them. They're tired of me."

On Wednesday, he spoke by telephone with ESPNdeportes.com.

"The Red Sox don't deserve a player like me," Ramirez said. "During my years here I've seen how they have mistreated other great players when they didn't want them to try to turn the fans against them."

As for the Marlins, I disagree with this:

The trade would seem improbable because Ramirez makes nearly as much as the Marlins' entire roster - he's in the final guaranteed season of his eight-year, $160 million contract. The Red Sox have options for each of the next two seasons at $20 million.

The Marlins' payroll of $22 million is by far the smallest in the majors. They're among the most surprising teams in the majors, and a 7-5 victory Wednesday over the New York Mets left them 11/2 games behind NL East leader Philadelphia. The Mets fell a half-game behind the Phils.

The Marlins are sitting on all their revenue sharing money. They can not only afford Manny, they probably have enough money to corner the market on Ramirez's if they could pry Aramis from the Cubs. :-) This is the kind of deal Florida should have made in 2006. We'll see if they make it now.

Bilfer at The Detroit Tigers Weblog thinks Detroit should have received more for Pudge:

Farnsworth kind of fills a need, but not that well. The Tigers don't take a huge hit in terms of production and aren't giving up on the season. But my issue is that I think the Tigers could have done better for Pudge. He's having a good year at a hard to fill position. Factor in the loss of a draft pick and it's not good. No young player coming back? Not awful, but Dave Dombrowski failed to maximize Pudge's value. Yankees win this one easy.

Update; Replacement Level Yankees Weblog picks up on the free agent angle as well and likes the deal.

Brian Cashman reunites Alex and Ivan Rodriguez. With A-Rod and I-Rod in the fold, can E-Rod, O-Rod, U-Rod and sometimes Y-Rod be far behind!

The Tigers get Kyle Farnsworth. Cashman admits the move is a gamble:

"Pudge is an everyday guy," Cashman said. "You get an everyday catcher who will catch your staff for nine innings ... versus someone who is doing an outstanding job for us in the eighth inning.

"It is robbing Peter to pay Paul, no doubt about it."

Jose Molina's defense is great, but the Yankees lose little with Pudge behind the plate and gain a good deal of offense. I-Rod is very hot over his last 30 games, coming out of a 1 1/2 year OBA slump. I guess the hope is:

1. Pudge gives them enough offense that they have big leads in the eighth inning.
2. Veras and Marte are able to shoulder the load, with occasional help from Mariano Rivera picking up a long save.

The Yankees are certainly going for playoffs. I get the feeling they're going to try to win one more before George dies, but without giving away the farm. It's going to be tough.

It looks like there's a 50-50 chance that Jason Bay could end up with the Rays. More OBA and some pop is just what the team needs, and Bay is a good choice.

Gregg Zaun expressed his desire to be traded during an mlb.com interview Tuesday:

Zaun became the first Jay to openly express interest in leaving the club yesterday when he told mlb.com it would "probably be a good thing" if he were traded to a contender. After beginning the season as the team's frontline catcher, Zaun has recently been relegated to the backup's role by the emergence of Rod Barajas.

"I'm just disappointed that he went to the media with this," general manager J.P. Ricciardi said when told of Zaun's comments. "We have a good enough relationship that he can talk to me."

Ricciardi ends up looking a bit foolish over that remark:

The 37-year-old catcher said he had requested a trade from Ricciardi "quite a ways back." Zaun is in the final year of a two-year, $7.25 million (all figures U.S.) deal.

"We'll gladly move him if we can find someone who wants him and that's where we're at," Ricciardi said. "Right now, there's been no takers for him, there's been no inquiries about him."

He's a switch hitting catcher who still posts a decent OBA. I find it tough to believe no one is interested in him at all. Maybe the Jays are asking for too much.

In 1993, the Atlanta Braves faced a problem. They consistently trailed the San Francisco Giants in the middle of July by 8 or 9 games. Their first baseman, Sid Bream, hit like a poor shortstop. So they traded three prospects for Fred McGriff, having an off year for the Padres. The three prospects amounted to very little, but McGriff caught fire power wise and helped the Braves to a great comeback. (The change of park probably helped.)

Tuesday, trailing the NL East leader consistently by 6 1/2 to 7 1/2 games over three weeks, the Braves trade a top hitting first baseman away. While Casey Kotchman is no Sid Bream, he's still hitting below average for a major league first baseman.

First Basemen, 2008

Stat	Teixeira	Kotchman	ML Average
Batting Average	.283	.287	.271
On-Base Average	.390	.327	.354
Slugging Percentage	.512	.448	.454

The Braves have changed. Frank Wren made a trade that turned a strength into a weakness. John Schuerholz did just the opposite during his tenure. He was excellent at identifying a weakness on the Braves, and trading for or signing a player to shore up the position. Wren certainly has a huge hole in the outfield with Jeff Francoeur and needs help in the back of the rotation. By not addressing the real weaknesses of the team, Wren shows that he doesn't understand the model that made the Braves successful for well over a decade.

Baseball Digest Daily just sent an email that Mark Teixeira is headed to the Angels for Casey Kotchman.

More details to follow but according to 890 ESPN Boston, the Atlanta Braves traded Mark Teixeira to the Angels for Casey Kotchman and more. Thanks to our own Brian Joseph for the update.

More to come.

Update: Here's the story from SportingNews.com:

The Los Angeles Times reported on its website today that the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim have acquired the slugging first baseman from the Atlanta Braves for first baseman Casey Kotchman and minor league pitcher Stephen Marek. The Angels pulled Kotchman off the field at Fenway Park this afternoon to inform him of the trade.

Kotchman is a super two, meaning the Braves control him for three more years as he avoided arbitration with a $1.45 million deal this season. There really isn't much of a comparison between the two first basemen. Kotchman's had two good years in terms of OBA, but for his career it's just .327. He has little power for the position with a career .426 slugging percentage.

Teixeira is just three years older, still in his prime, and averages a .373 OBA/.526 slugging percentage for his career.

Marek might turn out to be okay. He's putting up a decent ERA in his first season at AA, and for his career his strikeouts look good, while his HR are a just okay. Frankly, I suspect the Braves could have done better with the two draft picks they'd recieve if Teixeira walked.

The Angels made a very good deal here. With the best record in the league despite not having the best run differential, Teixeira could help them live up to that record the rest of the way.

Dave Cameron looks at Mark Teixeira's value in trade and concludes he would not be a difference maker for any of the potential suitors.

I have to disagree that Boston is out of it. It's possible there is some multi-team deal that allows the Red Sox to move Manny and replace his offensive productions with Teixeira at first and Youkilis is left, or upgrading another weak position. I think the odds of it happening are low, but it depends on how much Boston wants to get rid of Manny right now.

The Red Sox may have some interest in Miguel Tejada:

The Boston Red Sox have contacted the Astros about Miguel Tejada, and the All-Star shortstop wouldn't be intimidated about playing at Fenway Park if a deal is made.

According to a person familiar with the talks, the Red Sox would like Tejada if they ultimately trade Manny Ramirez.

It seems the Red Sox may be taking a trade for Manny more seriously than I thought they would.

With Matt Treanor not getting healthy as quickly as expected, the Marlins could turn out to be a good trading partner for the Texas Rangers. Florida stock-piled pitching the last few years, and the Rangers own plenty of catchers. Seems like a perfect match.

Cardinals Diaspora examines rumors that St. Louis might trade for A.J. Burnett or Roy Halladay. Halladay's cost would be very high in terms of prospects, so a trade for Burnett sits at a higher probability.

Baseball Time in Arlington notes that with four catchers in the Rangers fold, teams are inquiring about the availability of Gerald Laird.

Not surprisingly, the Rangers' catching quartet is at the forefront of those talks. At least 20 teams have inquired about at least one of Laird, Saltalamacchia, Ramirez or Teagarden, with the Cincinnati Reds - who reportedly assigned a scout to McAfee Coliseum to watch Laird on Sunday - and New York Yankees thought to be the most interested parties to such a potential deal.

It makes sense. Good catching talent is tough to develop. With an abundance of talent at the important defensive position, Texas should be able to fill other holes, either now or over the winter.

The Yankees are sending two different players on the back end of the Pirates deal.

The package the YankeesNew York Yankees surrendered for Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte is not as originally reported. It is fronted by outfielder Jose Tabata and pitcher Ross OhlendorfRoss Ohlendorf , but the other two pitchers the Yanks gave up in the trade are Jeff KarstensJeff Karstens and Daniel McCutchen.

The original trade did have Phil Coke George Kontos in it, but the Pirates had enough concerns about the medical reports on Kontos and Coke that they decided to do Karstens and McCutchen instead.

It looks like the Indians are being both sellers and buyers. They trade a minor leaguer to the Cardinals for Anthony Reyes. He's a pitcher who was great in the minors but struggled in the majors. Maybe the Indians think they can turn him around with Meloan. They give up Luis Perdomo, who looked pretty good in the low minors.

The Dodgers acquired Casey Blake for two minor leaguers, pitcher Jonathan Meloan and catcher Carlos Santana. Even if Blake falls back to his career norms, he'll be a big improvement over this season's Dodgers third basemen.

I assume the Indians are looking at Santana to replace Martinez when he eventually moves to first base. He was rising slowly through the Dodgers system. After a poor 2007 he's rebounded with an excellent 2008. Meloan posted great strikeout, walk and home run numbers in the minors. Pitching at AAA this season, however, he's walked a ton of batters.

This looks like a good trade for both teams as the Dodgers are solid at catcher and Blake is a good but not great player. Cleveland will be looking for Santana to make a smooth transition to the majors.

There's been a number of rumors about Jason Bay and Xavier Nady lately. The Nady rumors are over:

Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte from Pittsburgh for Jose Tabata, Ross Ohlendorf, Phil Coke and George Kontos.

Peter Abraham also has a good analysis of the trade at the link. Nady is hitting well above his career norms. If he falls back to his career averages, he'll just be okay. If he keeps up the .383 OBA, he'll be great for New York.

Update, 7/26/2008, 4:25 PM EDT: The Yankees and Pirates changed the back end of the deal.

It appears that Jim Bowden asked for too much in trying to trade Jon Rauch and ended up with too little. A frustrated baby bear could not be reached for comment.

Beyond the Boxscore analyzes the deal that sends Randy Wolf to the Astros:

I suppose my only problem with Houston's part of this deal is why? The price isn't too great, but being double digits back doesn't, nor should it, inspire an all ready aging ballclub to add a soon to be leaving piece.

I does seem like a useless move, unless they think they can sign Wolf, or Wade is hoping to get a draft pick for the free-agent loss.

The Arizona Diamondbacks acquire Jon Rauch from the Nationals for Emilio Bonifacio. Arizona's closer Brandon Lyon blew five saves this season, as did Rauch. I have not yet seen how Arizona is planning to use Jon, but for the moment I'll assume he'll be the setup man. That pretty much leaves Washington without a closer. Maybe they think the job isn't that difficult. :-) Rauch walked a lot of batters early in his career, but his control improved and the last two seasons he's been very good.

The Nationals think Bonifacio will develop into a lead-off hitter. Looking at his minor league stats, I really don't see it. Overall, it doesn't seem like a very good trade for Washington.

The Nationals also extend Cristian Guzman's contract two years.

Ray Durham found himself in a division race Sunday. He stayed with the Giants during the game even though he knew he was traded because he didn't want to suit up against his former team:

An emotional Durham could only stand to be in the Giants' dugout for a few innings during the series finale against Milwaukee, but was prepared to make the switch right afterward and head to St. Louis with the Brewers. The 36-year-old second baseman, in his sixth season with San Francisco and the final year of a two-year contract, had to approve the deal.

"He's a veteran guy that can come in here and help our club," Milwaukee general manager Doug Melvin said. "We're trying to add as many good players as we can. We're trying to win this thing."

I like that quote from Melvin. That attitude was evident in the Sabathia trade, as they didn't insist on signing CC. After an off year in 2007, Durham came back strong in 2008, posting a .385 OBA. Rickie Weeks is at .326, based mostly on a very low batting average. Durham should improve the club.

The Giants get Steve Hammond, who has excellent strikeout and walk numbers in the minors. At 26 he's mature, and his path to the majors should be short. They also receive Darren Ford, a non-slugging outfielder.

Bottom line, I like that Milwaukee is pulling out all the stops to win this thing. They may end up a poor team for a few years afterward, but it's been a very long time since the city saw a championship baseball team.

A.J. Burnett wants to stay with the Blue Jays this season:

"It seems like there's only bad things get written. ... I'm always saying that I'm a Blue Jay and my loyalty is to this team and you still see some people writing stuff like my heart's not in it," Burnett said.

"I think I had a quote in the paper last weekend about I still had a Blue Jay on my chest and on my hat. Then a writer wrote, `Yeah, but not in his heart.' And when you got a guy pitching on three days' rest, you got a guy that came in the day after his bullpen to pitch an extra-inning game, take the ball and throw, I don't want people to question that (heart). You know I'm here.

"Just because my name's out there and all this stuff, and I made one mistake talking to a Chicago writer ... I enjoy being a Blue Jay and that's where I'm at. That's where I plan on being."

Burnett mentions in the article how is stats are weird:

I think I've pitched better than my numbers indicate, but I've taken us out of games, too.

Indeed. His FIP is 3.61, 1.35 runs below his ERA. Similar numbers in the second half could lead to a much better record, but it also should make him someone highly sought after in a trade.

Paul DePodesta discusses the Tony Clark trade on his blog. He likes the pitcher the Padres received in return:

While primarily a starter in his amateur days at Central Connecticut, the D'Backs have used Evan as a reliever. Standing 6'3" and featuring a 90-91 mph fastball with a big curveball, Evan has posted the following line so far in his pro career: 2.27 ERA, 91 innings, 70 hits, 24 walks, and 123 strikeouts.

Not bad.

The Philadelphia Phillies acquire Joe Blanton from the Athletics for three minor leaguers:

The Athletics get second baseman Adrian Cardenas, pitcher Josh Outman and outfielder Matthew Spencer, all minor leaguers.

I'm not a big Blanton fan. He doesn't strike out many batters. The A's lowered his ERA a bit by pitching him mostly at home this season. In 14 starts in Oakland, he posted a 4.63 ERA. In six starts on the road, he posted a 5.73 ERA. In less than half the innings on road, he allowed the same number of home runs. He's going to a park known as a haven for power hitters, so I don't think he'll do that well in Philadelphia.

The other problem with Blanton is that he blows up in the middle innings. One through three, he allows a .245 BA, but in innings four and five that jumps to .369. Given that he's likely to replace Eaton, however, he'll probably be an improvement.

Adrian Cardenas is a 20-year-old middle infielder with a great OBA. Outman is 23, good K and home run numbers, but does walk a bit too many batters. Spencer is 22 with a OPS over .700 in 484 minor league at bats. Two of the three could turn into useful players for Oakland.

Correction: I misread Spencer's stats. The .700 was his OPS, not slugging percentage. He doesn't look like a great hitter.

Jim Moore wants the Mariners to consider trading Ichiro:

Nothing against Ichiro, but isn't it time to blow this thing up and start over? Realizing they had no shot at an NBA championship, the Sonics dealt Ray Allen to Boston and began a process that will someday turn Oklahoma City into a perennial contender.

When you blow things up, you don't hang on to your best player, especially one who will be 35 in October. You don't let the player's popularity get in the way. If you're truly serious about winning, you forget about the marketing consequences, understanding that a successful team is more essential to long-term fan appeal.

I agree. The fans will hate it, but if Seattle is really serious about rebuilding, Ichiro is their most valuable commodity, assuming they want to make Felix Hernandez the center piece of the rebuilt team. His contract is very reasonable and he's signed through 2012, so you can actually trade him for value. I would guess Seattle could get two top prospects and two low prospects for the great combination of hits and defense.

The Marlins are asking the Tigers about the availability of Ivan Rodriguez, but so far the Tigers are saying no.

Kudos to the Detroit Free Press for linking to the original article!

It looks like the Phillies are the leading suitor for A.J. Burnett.

Are the Athletics giving up on the season?

Trading a pitcher of that caliber raised immediate questions about where the A's are headed the rest of the season, and whether the front office had concluded that any hope of contending had slipped away.

"It's more an indication that we've got a lot of guys injured and we're selling, not buying," said A's closer Huston Street, whose name also surfaces in trade rumors. "That said, since the beginning of the year, we've exceeded expectations, and for the guys remaining, we're going to work to continue to do that."

One of the first things Beane mentioned when discussing the deal was Oakland's recent spate of injuries (Eric Chavez, Bobby Crosby and Keith Foulke went on the disabled list in the past week). He described the deal as not a step back, "but a step forward for the next four or five years. ... We've always viewed it as where we're headed, not necessarily where we are."

Harden's health is often a concern, and there was speculation in the wake of the trade that his dip in velocity the past two starts, when his fastball was down 4 to 5 mph, might have spurred the trade. If Harden were to blow out his arm in his next start or two, the thinking went, the A's would get nothing for him, and he has been on the DL six times in the past four years. An A's source said that did not factor into Oakland's thinking, but the source did confirm that Gaudin was included to provide insurance for the Cubs in the event that Harden were to land on the DL again.

Harden's trade value was as high, and Beane tends to pull the trigger in those situations. I don't think this trade takes the A's out of the race, but it doesn't make them a better contender, either.

A huge trade goes down between the Cubs and the Athletics. Rich Harden goes to Chicago with Chad Gaudin for four players:

The Cubs answered the Brewers acquisition of CC Sabathia, picking up Rich Harden and Chad Gaudin from Oakland on Tuesday for Sean Gallagher, Eric Patterson, Matt Murton and Josh Donaldson.

The right-handed Harden is 5-1 with an 2.34 earned-run average and 92 strikeouts over 13 games for Oakland, bolsters a Cubs rotation that just got saw the return of Carlos Zambrano.

Wow. My first reaction is that the A's didn't get enough, but I'll have to explore that further.

Update: The Athletics obviously recognize Murton's ability to get on base. While that's something that's needed on this season's Cubs team, the A's offense sure can use it. Same with Eric Patterson. He's a middle infielder who has a decent OBA in the minors. Gallagher is very young, and his minor league strikeouts, walks and home runs are great. Basically, he's someone who can take over the ace roll with a little more maturity. Donaldson is a catcher with minor league stats much like Patterson.

The question I'm trying to answer for myself; was this the A's giving up on the season or trying to improve for this season? Murton, Patterson and Gallagher can help this season. If Sean can come close to replacing Harden, without the threat of injury, I can see this deal improving the A's now. I'm always amazed when I look at a Beane deal at how it always looks better than I expected.

Obviously, Harden answers the Sabathia trade very well. He doesn't go as deep in games as CC, but the Cubs now send out three aces with Zambrano, Dempster and Harden. It's like having Maddux, Glavine and Smoltz from the mid 1990s. It looks like a great move for both clubs.

The Phillies failed to acquire CC Sabathia due to the lack of a power hitting prospect.

Now that Sabathia is gone, that leaves the Phillies looking at Plan B.

"There was Sabathia and then a big drop," Gillick said.

Maybe Gillick can make a deal with his old team in Toronto. They have pitching and can certainly use some offensive help.

You can see the news conference on MLB.com.

Update: Melvin is thanking everyone in the organization. He basically said that without building up the minor league system, they would not have been able to make the trade.

Update: C.C. T-Shirts will be ready.

Update: They're not saying who are the possibilities for the fourth player, yet to be named.

Update: WaitingForNextYear wonders how long the Indians will suck this time.

Update: Shapiro is speaking now in Cleveland.

Update: Mark says they want to bid for Sabathia if he becomes a free agent.

According to Baseball Digest Daily, the Brewers will hold a news conference at 12 PM EDT, 11 AM CDT. Here's the latest on the players involved from the Plain Dealer:

The Indians received Class AA outfielder Matt LaPorta, Class AAA pitcher Zach Jackson, Class AA pitcher Rob Bryson and a player to be named from the Brewers. Sources said the player to be named -- which could be Class AA outfielder Michael Brantley or Class A third baseman Taylor Green -- is the second key player to the deal from the Indians perspective.

I'm also wondering if the Indians will resign Sabathia once the season is over. The Orioles did that with Sidney Ponson a few years ago. That way, the Indians get some prospects and keep their pitcher.

Paul Hoynes says the Indians are still talking about getting Alcides Escobar, although other reports indicated the shortstop would not be included.

The key to the deal is outfielder Matt LaPorta. He could be playing left field for the Indians by next July. The sticking point has been the two other prospects the Indians would receive in the deal. The Indians preferred one of them to be shortstop Alcides Escobar, third baseman Taylor Green or outfielder Michael Brantley. Escobar and Brantley are with LaPorta at Class AA Huntsville.

Update: Tom Haudricourt at JS Online comes up with the other players in the trade:

A source familiar with the Brewers' trade for Cleveland lefty C.C. Sabathia just told me that the other players going to the Indians with Matt LaPorta are minor-league pitchers Zach Jackson and Rob Bryson and a fourth player, perhaps minor-league third baseman Taylor Green.

The fourth player currently is listed as "to be named later" but it is believed the Indians want to look more at Green, with the idea of moving him to second base.

Zach Jackson had two stints in the majors, and his minor league strikeouts are unimpressive. His walks and home runs allowed are fine, however. Bryson, however, is very young and has already struck out 143 batters in 109 innings.

Peter Gammons just reported during the ESPN game that the Brewers are trading straight for Sabathia, without the condition of signing him. It appears that Milwaukee is pulling out all the stops in an effort to win a championship this season.

According to the Brewers Blog at JS Online, the Brewers reached an agreement to trade for C.C. Sabathia.

All I know so far is that top prospect Matt LaPorta is in the deal. I was told two lower-level minor leaguers also are included. The Brewers refused to include another top prospect such as Alcides Escobar or Mat Gamel.

Look for Sabathia to make his debut for the Brewers Tuesday night at Miller Park against Colorado.

Wow. The Indians didn't even wait to see if there was going to be much bidding over the next three weeks. I'll have more in a few minutes.

Update: I was just looking at LaPorta's minor league numbers. What's impressive is his home run rate, 32 in 411 minor league at bats. That's one every 12.8 at bats. He's also getting on base at a .395 clip. What I don't like is that he's pretty far along on the offensive side of the defensive spectrum, as he's played left, first and DH in the minors. We'll see what kind of prospects the other two players are.

The Brewers now match Zambrano and Dempster with Sheets and Sabathia. That should make for an exciting NL Central race.

Baseball Primer Newsblog links to this article on the Rays thought process on the upcoming trade deadline. They're looking for a player who fits on the club, not to make a big splash. The comment is great:

That sounds much more business-like than baseball-like. Somewhere, TLR is frowning.

There is something to be said for making a splash, however. That's the difference between an orderly retreat and a rout. Waterloo is an example of the latter. The French army became so demoralized at some point that they lost their cohesion and troops just ran away. A Tampa Bay team solidly in first place that picked up a star might cause their opponents to give up on first place in the AL East and concentrate on the wild card.

Evan Brunell makes the case for the Red Sox trading Kevin Youkilis for Mark Teixeira. Alex Remmington is all for it and thinks it will be a steal for the Braves.

This post at Bats suggests the Padres are giving up on 2008 and are willing to trade to pick up prospects. The post mentions both Maddux and Wolf as players to be traded, but what about Brian Giles? He's old, so his future value to the San Diego organization is small. Giles's OBA is .399, which means he's still a valuable player. The Oakland Athletics could certainly use a rightfielder who gets on base and can bat leadoff. Does Oakland make a move for the now?

Giles would also be useful to the Rays and Angels, although LAnaheim has plenty of older outfielders at this point.

Dennis Manoloff does a nice job of summing up the C.C. Sabathia situation with the Indians. Here he is on rebuilding versus reloading:

Assuming the answer is the Indians are not a playoff team, Shapiro must get the word out that Sabathia is available. Before fielding offers, though, Shapiro needs to determine whether his club is in rebuild or reload mode.

If it's the former, his search could tilt toward prospects. If it's the latter, his search likely will target major-leaguers or prospects ready to make an impact now.

Shapiro already has been through a rebuild, which he triggered in the summer of 2002 with the trade of Colon one month before the nonwaiver deadline. He has given no indication he wants to do it again. The fan base no doubt would be restless and annoyed if he did.

Despite the 2002 rebuild and a few poor seasons after, the Indians haven't been able to set up a pipeline of minor league talent, at least on the offensive side. Right now, that's making their success look short lived. I doubt many teams would trade a great second or third baseman for Sabathia. So getting offensive minded prospects may be Shapiro's best bet.

Of course, signing Sabathia would ensure a pretty good pitching staff for a few years, so maybe the offense wouldn't need to get that great.

Paul Hagen examines pitchers the Phillies might attempt to acquire at the trade deadline, and comes across this gem of a quote:

No matter how many games the Royals lose, it doesn't appear that righthander Gil Meche will be traded. "If we're going to make a run at this thing in 2010, how are we going to do it without Gil Meche?" a club official asked the Kansas City Star.

With Meche in 2000, the Mariners took the wild card. Without him in 2001, they won 116 games. Hmmm.

Via USS Mariner, Paul DePodesta talks about the Baek/Wells trade on his blog.

We believe Baek is a very good strike-thrower with all of his pitches (Fastball, Curveball, Slider, and Change), which keeps hitters off balance and makes him effective. Our scouts also believe that he pitched a little better than his ERA would indicate from last year. According to the FIP statistic, a defense-independant statistic developed by Tom Tango and utilized by The Hardball Times, Baek had been getting better in each of his past three ML seasons (2004-2007), which goes hand-in-hand with our scouting evaluations.

All you internet sabermetricians, your work is not going to waste!

Brian Kamenetzky looks back at a potential Angels deal for Miguel Cabrera and is glad the team didn't pull the trigger. While in the short term that may be true, the odds are Cabrera turns out to be very good over the life of the contract he signed with Detroit.

I've seen rumors about Griffey going to the Mariners for about a week, but this is the first time there seemed to be some meat to them:

The Seattle Mariners covet Ken Griffey Jr., want him as much as a loving mother wants to see her children on Mother's Day.

Club President Chuck Armstrong wants the Cincinnati Reds outfielder desperately, wants him to inject excitement into the Mariners and boost attendance, because Armstrong knows Griffey is a deity in the Northwest.

That's why Duane Shaffer, a special assistant to the executive vice president, was in Shea Stadium on Sunday, May 11 -- to check out Griffey.

The Mariners most likely would use Griffey as a designated hitter, something that Griffey has said in the past he wouldn't like to do. And he has said he wants to win a World Series ring before he says goodbye.

Griffey is 38 years old and currently sports a .333 OBA and a .384 slugging percentage. This is not your father's Ken Griffey Jr. Nor is it the kind of number a team wants from a designated hitters. The scary thing is that with Seattle DHs currently hitting .201/.266/.299, Griffey would be a big improvement.

So does the team trade a prospect for Ken, or do they realize that anything can happen in 100 at bats and give Vidro a chance to come out of his slump? Wouldn't it be better to sign Bonds, a player who only costs them money and is likely to hit better than Griffey?

I was just reading this postive story on Carlos Quentin and it reminded me of something I was thinking about yesterday. The Arizona Diamondbacks made some very good deals this winter, not only for their teams, but for the other teams as well. At this point, the White Sox have a very productive player, the Oakland Athletics have two productive players, and I'm guessing Valverde will be okay for the Astros as the season progresses. In other words, the Diamondbacks established themselves as a fair trader. That should make it easier as time goes on for Josh Byrnes to plug holes in his team. Combine that with this being a good, young team that's going to stay together for a few years, and the future of the Diamondbacks is looking very bright.

Josh Hamilton and Edinson Volquez swapped teams over the winter, and both were instrumental in helping their teams win today and this year. Hamilton picked up three hits today, including a home run. He scored twice and drove in two and sports a .385 OBA and a .581 slugging percentage in the middle of the Texas order. Combined with a complete game shutout by Vicente Padilla, Texas took home a 10-0 victory over the Twins.

In San Francisco, Edinson Volquez continued his dominance of the National League. He lasted seven innings against the Giants, allowing one runs while striking out ten. His walk rate remains high, but with only three today he's his K/BB is over two at 33/16.

Volquez lowers his ERA to 1.23, tied with Lincecum for second in the NL. With a 4-0 record, he's making an early bid to win both the Jackie Robinson and the Cy Young Awards.

Lone Star Ball links to an article indicating that Nolan Ryan isn't happy with the pitching trades made by Jon Daniels.

Tony Massarotti puts the Mets trade of Brian Bannister on a par with the trade of Scott Kazmir:

A little more than two years after trading Kazmir to Tampa Bay for the forgettable Victor Zambrano in what might qualify as The Worst Trade Ever, the Mets sent young right-hander Bannister to the Kansas City Royals in December 2006 for reliever Ambiorix Burgos. And tough Burgos went 1-0 with a 3.42 ERA in 17 appearances for the Mets last season, he needed major elbow surgery at the end of the season.

On top of that, Bannister is one of the smarter pitchers out there, who really works at learning his craft. It's not as bad as the Kazmir deal yet, but there's still plenty of time.

SportsHubLA looks at the Brad Penny deal a few years later. Maybe DePodesta knew what he was doing after all.

The St. Louis Cardinals take the early lead in the challenge trade of Scott Rolen for Troy Glaus:

Acquired from the St. Louis Cardinals in an offseason trade, Rolen was injured when he was hit on the hand by a ball during a fielding drill Sunday on a back field at Dunedin, Fla. A screw was inserted in his finger during surgery Monday.

"The doctor gave a 4-6-week window from the time of surgery," said Rolen, whose team beat the Houston Astros, 8-3, in an exhibition game yesterday.

The Cub Reporter provides a useful graphic for knowing where you are in the Brian Roberts trade talks.

There's an old saying about trading a player too early rather than too late:

From what I saw on the tube this weekend, Crede appears healthy, if just a little rusty. His swing mechanics look fine; the hands are high, there's no wasted motion. But it's not showing up in the results. He had a particularly terrible game against the Giants Saturday, which included an 0-3 on a number of hittable pitches and at least one 'Crede would have gotten it' moment. He couldn't have laid an egg against a more inopportune opponent.

The Giants are probably happy they waited on the deal.

The latest rumor sends Coco Crisp to the Cubs for Jason Marquis and a low level prospect.

Marquis would provide depth in the rotation and be more of "sure thing" than Bartolo Colon. Given how easily a misstep can occur and cause an injury to a starting pitcher, pitching depth of any kind is invaluable. However outside of Major League experience and health, Marquis, who is currently fighting for a spot in the Cubs rotation, doesn't have a whole lot going for him. Coming off a 2007 season where he was 12-9 with a 4.60 ERA in the National League, I wouldn't expect too much more out of Marquis than the Red Sox got last year out of Julian Tavarez.

Watching the Red Sox pitching moves this spring, signing Colon, looking at Freddy Garcia, and now a rumor about Marquis, I get the feeling they were woefully unprepared for adversity in the starting rotation. The depth that was a great strength for them last season seems to have vanished. In all likelihood, they'll be very good, but an injury to one of the projected top five starters and one of the rookies not working out and you suddenly have a team that's very dependent on the offense.

With the Dodgers suffering at third base, South Side Sox wonders if the market for Joe Crede is heating up:

Crede and Inge are very similar players in that they're both low-OBP, defensive minded, slugging third basemen. But Crede brings more power, a better contact rate, and a smaller salary -- Inge is owed $19.1M over the next three years. Why wouldn't the Dodgers be interested?

They wouldn't be locking themselves into a 2.5 years of an overpriced bench player when LaRoche gets healthy. And Crede might be movable at the trade deadline to a team like the Indians, who might be looking for 3B help by then.

If the White Sox can get the Dodgers and Giants into a bidding war over Crede, that could help Chicago now. Of course, those two teams might go for the more expensive but healthier Inge, which might bring Detroit some extra bullpen help.

Emma Span looks at why the Yankees and Red Sox fans were happy they didn't get Santana. She closes with a great paragraph:

Of course, these concerns are a luxury few teams can afford, and you won't hear many Mets fans complaining about overspending. Their team hasn't won a championship since 1986, and last year's nominal ace, Tom Glavine, cemented the team's epic September implosion by throwing one-third of an inning of seven-run ball on the last day of the season. The Mets needed Santana, and--thanks in large part to the Yankees' and Red Sox's abstention--they got him. As the fans at Shea know all too well, you need to have success before you can worry about how it's achieved.

The Hardball Times staff and guests hold a round table over the Erik Bedard trade. The most interesting thing to come out of the discussion is how much of the Mariners Pythagorean luck was caused by losing blowouts. If Bedard replaces the pitchers who allowed those blowouts to happen, maybe the Mariners do have a chance to be better in 2008.

Mark Gonzales suggests the White Sox might trade Crede to the Giants for Noah Lowry:

Giants general manager Brian Sabean, who desperately needs a middle-of-the-order hitter of Crede's caliber (with Bengie Molina as the Giants' current cleanup hitter), told reporters Friday his team currently has pitching depth.

I thought most of the Giants hitters were of Crede's caliber.

Baseball Digest Daily just emailed that the Erik Bedard deal is done. More later.

Erik Bedard is scheduled to start his physcial in Seattle today.

Erik Bedard still hasn't traveled to Seattle for his physical. Since it was reported that Jones and Sherrill took their physicals, it makes one wonder if something showed up in one of those.

My latest SportingNews.com column looks at why the most talented pitcher brought the least in trade value.

Luis Castillo had a hand in bringing Johan Santana to the Mets:

"When I got traded," Castillo said on a conference call yesterday from the Dominican Republic, "I remember Johan, in the locker room, we talked for 20 minutes. He told me he wanted to play for the Mets.

"So when I got over there I told (GM Omar) Minaya that Johan liked the Mets. I told him, 'I know he'll make a lot of money, but he's a great pitcher, and we need him here.' "

It makes you wonder, if the Twins had kept Castillo, would Johan have accepted the organization's contract offer?

Erik Bedard is still in Canada.

Here's the latest Orioles rumor:

Once completed the deal will likely be announced this afternoon or tomorrow morning. League Officials now expect the deal that would send Roberts to the Cubs to be finalized and completed by the weekend. They now expect that George Sherrill to be part of the deal. The O's have no use for a 31 year old reliever in there pen and want to get younger. Sherrill will ensure that the O's will get at least two pitchers in the deal from the Cubs.

Remember to take everything you hear about this deal with a huge grain of salt. Thanks to David Gerstman for the heads up.

More evidence the deal between Baltimore and Seattle is going to happen:

The long-awaited blockbuster trade that would send Erik Bedard to the Seattle Mariners for five players is finally nearing completion. According to a league source, Adam Jones, the young outfielder who is the centerpiece of the Mariners' offer, is in Baltimore today and the deal is now pending results of physicals.

If all goes well with Jones' physical, the trade could be announced as early as this afternoon. It is expected that the Orioles will send Bedard, the organization's first legitimate ace since Mike Mussina, to Seattle for Jones, a 22-year-old who is one of baseball's best prospects, reliever George Sherrill and pitching prospects Chris Tillman, Tony Butler and Kam Mickolio.

Stay tuned.

Jim Souhan muses on the Twins and George Steinbrenner:

For decades, the Twins complained privately about George Steinbrenner. The bombastic Yankees owner inflated salaries, campaigned against low-revenue teams and often embarrassed himself and the game.

Today, the Twins might miss King George more than they miss Johan Santana.

Jim's thesis is that George Steinbrenner would have made the Santana deal, and the Twins would wind up with a better package of players.

Didn't we do this story last week?

Mariners outfielder Adam Jones traveled to Baltimore on Sunday, a source said, presumably to undergo a physical examination that originally was scheduled for Jan. 29.

This keeps getting more bizarre:

There are also some other crazy rumors out there today regarding a possible 6-for-2 deal that may or may not include Brian Roberts, and there is also something out there about Erik Bedard currently in Seattle.

The Roberts thing has been going around for a while but has recently been gaining steam. It wouldn't surprise me, because the Mariners could stand to upgrade at second base. If Roberts was added to the deal we would probably see one of the above pitchers dropped from the proposal, and possible Carlos Triunfel and Jose Lopez or Yung Chi Chen being added.

A week ago Jones told a reporter he was going to Baltimore for a physical, and we still have almost no clue as to what's really going on. I wonder what the breaking point is for Seattle? At some point, you might expect them to just throw in the towel and stop dealing with Baltimore.

Joe Christensen publishes the details of the Santana deal. The 2014 option vests:

It's a vesting option that can be triggered with innings pitched or a high finish in the Cy Young voting. Santana also received a full no-trade clause. The average annual value of Santana's six-year deal is actually $22 million. Only Alex Rodriguez (at $27.5 million) will make more.

The Mets also tore up the old contract, so Santana receives $19 million in 2008. Johan got a very good deal here. Santana and his agent played this whole deal perfectly. They used the no-trade cause to force the Twins to make a deal, then used the short negotiation window to force the Mets to pay free agent money without free agency. On top of great money and seven years, they also get a full no-trade! Not even a short list of teams! I can't imagine what he'd get if he actually became a free agent.

Johan Santana passed his physical with flying colors.

Jayson Stark writes an excellent column today on how the Santana trade changes baseball:

So that contract extension Johan Santana negotiated with the Mets on Friday -- all $137.5 million of it -- made a lot of people happy, all right. He's a franchise-changing guy. He's a pennant-race-changing guy. And now he's also a salary-structure-changing guy.

Which means he already has left an indelible imprint on the baseball universe, before he has even thrown his first pitch as a Met.

He also makes a very important point about the trade, as well as letting Torii Hunter go. These were choices by the Twins. The offer Minnesota made to Johan Santana shows they could have kept him. They could have gone more money/more years. It was their business plan, not their revenue that the prevented them from doing that.

And remember, offer to Santana would have made him the highest paid pitcher in terms of yearly salary. That wasn't enough for Johan. He wanted a bigger total contract that Barry Zito. So I'd argue it was Zito's contract that actually changed the landscape. The Giants made a good but not great pitcher the highest paid in the game for a very long time period. If the Giants sign Zito for five years, $18 million, then the Twins might actually keep Santana with a five-year, $20 million per year contract. But if the Twins have to beat the total dollar amount, that makes it much tougher.

The Mets and Santana had their deadline extended two hours.

Update: The deal is done:

...Update...6:44 pm...

The Mets have issued a statement saying negotiations are complete and Santana is scheduled to take a physical.

...from what i can gather, the physical will be tomorrow...

...Update...6:46 pm...

...i have reason to believe the deal is for a guaranteed six years, and $137.5 million...as expected, he'll stay under contract on his current deal, but paid roughly $7 million on top of that...i can't confirm that with people connected to the team, though...

Update: The New York Daily News has more.

The deal bumps this season's salary to approximately $20 million and adds six guaranteed years at $22-23 million.

I believe this is only the third player to receive $20 million a year for a long term contract, the others being A-Rod (twice) and Manny Ramirez.

Via MetsBlog.com, Ken Davidoff predicts the negotiations:

Within the baseball industry, there is near unanimity on these two predictions when it comes to the Mets and Johan Santana:

1. They will come to an agreement on Santana's contract extension by Friday afternoon's 5 o'clock deadline.

2. They won't complete that agreement until 4:59.

This is one of those situations where there's no reason to reach an agreement early. Both sides know they want to get the deal done, it's just waiting and seeing which side is most willing to go that extra million or ten at the last minute. Santana was willing to play the season out with Minnesota, then test free agency. As long as he maintains that attitude, he should come out ahead.

Erik Bedard's agent denies that the Orioles are working on a long term contract for the pitcher.

We know nothing, as Roch Kubatko tells us:

Meanwhile, just to recap: Half the nation believes the Orioles and Mariners are within minutes of completing a trade. The other half believes the trade is being held up while team president Andy MacPhail attempts to negotiate a long-term deal with Bedard.

The Mets have until 5 PM EDT on Friday to finish a deal with Johan Santana.

Oriole Central brings us the lastest news.

Jon Weisman looks at why the Dodgers didn't compete for Johan Santana.

Joe Christensen rounds up reactions of Twins players to the Santana trade. They're mostly positive, in the sense that they're glad the distraction is gone.

Bob Klapisch details the inner workings of the Santana deal:

This was late Monday night, about 12 hours before the Mets would pounce upon their most dramatic trade in recent history. Twins' general manager Bill Smith, in a panic to move Johan Santana, called the Yankees and admitted surrender: Phil Hughes was no longer a prerequisite, he said. Instead, the Twins asked for Ian Kennedy, Melky Cabrera and a top prospect. Would the Yankees still be interested, Smith wondered?

The Yankees considered the idea, but only briefly and not seriously. Their passion for Santana started waning as far back as December, when Andy Pettitte announced he was returning to the Bronx. The Yankees' internal straw vote was unanimous: The Twins had waited too long. On Tuesday Yankees' GM Brian Cashman told Smith he was passing on the deal, prompting the Twins to call the Red Sox. Equally devastating news awaited. Both Jacoby Ellsbury and Jon Lester were unavailable.

The Red Sox, in lock step with the Yankees, had essentially backed out, too.

The Mets were smart enough to know they were in the driver's seat, and took full advantage of that position.

How many wins does Johan Santana add to the Mets in 2008? It depends on who Johan is replacing. If you assume he's pushing likely fifth starter Mike Pelfrey out of the rotation, then it's a huge boost. Baseball Prospects (subscription required) rated Pelfrey at 0.5 wins above replacement in 2007. Maybe over a full season and some improvement, Pelfrey might reach 2.0 in 2008. Santana's WARP in 2007 came in at 9.1. So compared to the fifth starter, Santana is adding seven to nine wins.

But Pelfrey was in the rotation due to the loss of Tom Glavine. Tom posted a WARP of 4.1 in 2007. In that case, Santana is adding five wins over 2007. That's fantastic. The Mets needed those five wins last season. It's also difficult to find players who can make a five win impact. Landing a player like that without losing a major league starter or their number one prospect makes this a great deal for New York.

Update: PECOTAs are not out yet, but Nate Silver unveils Santana's in this BP post. They project Santana's WARP to be 7.5 in 2008, meaning he's adding 3 1/2 wins over Glavine. That would still have put the Mets into the playoffs last year.

Aaron Gleeman looks at the details of the Santana trade.

In a perfect world Santana would christen the new ballpark with an Opening Day start in 2010 and wear a Twins cap on his Hall of Fame plaque, but for whatever reason his remaining in Minnesota never seemed to be a legitimate option once the trade rumors began swirling. Swapping him for packages led by Hughes or Ellsbury would have put the Twins in a better position for both short- and long-term success, so if either of those deals were passed on then Smith made a major mistake.

With that said, getting Gomez, Guerra, Mulvey, and Humber from the Mets likely beats keeping Santana for one more season and taking a pair of draft picks when he departs as a free agent. A toolsy center fielder who hasn't shown much offensively, a very raw 18-year-old pitcher, and a pair of MLB-ready middle-of-the-rotation starters is no one's idea of a great haul for Santana, but it's not a horrible one and Smith may have backed himself into a corner by not jumping on better offers immediately.

The end result of a bad situation handled poorly is a mediocre package of players that has no one excited, but even acquiring Hughes or Ellsbury wouldn't have made losing Santana easy to live with. Trading away one of the best players in franchise history while he's still at the top of his game is a horrible thing and doing so without getting the best possible return for him is extremely disappointing, but the Santana trade still has a chance to work out in the Twins' favor. It just could have been better.

I still don't see why the Twins didn't offer Santana $140 million for seven years. Baseball revenues are growing. The Twins are moving into a new stadium, and that's likely to increase revenue as well (especially if both Santana and Liriano are at the top of the rotation). An argument could be made that Santana is worth $140 million over five years, so the Twins could look at the seven year deal as one in which money is deferred. The team did nothing to endear themselves to the Minnesota fans with this deal.

MetsGrrl writes BatGirl and gets her thoughts on the Johan Santana trade.

Update: This is just cold.

Baseball Digest Daily alerts us that the Mets and Twins agreed to a deal for Johan Santana:

The deal is pending the Mets and Santana reaching agreement on a six- or seven-year contract extension and that Santana passes a physical; they have been granted a 48 to-72-hour window to do so. Santana has a no-trade clause that he will waive if agreement is reached on a contract extension.

The Mets paid a high price in prospects to land Santana, agreeing to send the Twins outfielder Carlos Gomez and pitchers Phil Humber, Deolis Guerra and Kevin Mulvey.

There's still time for the deal to go south, but it looks like the Yankees and Red Sox successfully kept the other from acquiring the big ace.

Shea should be a great park for Johan. Imagine the best parts of Jerry Koosman and Sid Fernandez combined.

Here we go again. According to The MLB Source, the Mets pulled Carlos Gomez out of the Caribbean Series. Carlos is rumored to be involved in the Johan Santana deal. However, reading the translation of the article, it seems the Mets didn't give permission, rather than actually pulling Gomez out of the series. I'm not getting too excited over this one.

The Bedard-Jones deal is on hold:

A source familiar with the talks said a potential deal is being held up on the Orioles' end and unspecified complex issues still need to be resolved for the trade to go through. One of those might be Orioles president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail getting the approval of club owner Peter Angelos.

Mariners center fielder Adam Jones, the centerpiece of the Seattle offer for Bedard, was originally expected to be in Baltimore later Monday in preparation for a physical Tuesday, according to a club source. However, those plans have been scuttled, an indication that the deal has either hit a snag or is currently on hold.

The Orioles currently don't have a physical scheduled for Jones, the source said.

"We are where we were last night," said MacPhail on Monday. "We have no agreement."

MacPhail said that he didn't expect any developments for a couple of days. Asked if an agreement could be pending, MacPhail said, "I don't know."

Interesting. Obviously, Adam Jones was told something on Sunday that made him think a deal was happening. Sounds like someone talked too soon.

According to Jayson Stark, Peter Angelos hasn't had a chance to approve the Bedard trade:

The same source also indicated that Angelos wasn't informed of the particulars of this latest proposal until late Sunday and that he won't be available Monday to confer with the Orioles' baseball officials because of a personal matter.

Given Angelos' long history of vetoing trades, one baseball man who has dealt extensively with Angelos predicted that "this could get more interesting as it goes along" if Angelos has yet to approve this deal.

It's a good thing Adam Jones has a big mouth, otherwise we wouldn't be having so much fun today!

Roch Kubatko tries to analyze what is happening in Baltimore with Adam Jones:

At this point in the morning, there isn't much to add, but I feel the need to point out, after reading another Seattle Times blog entry, that nobody on this end is disputing that Jones told a reporter in Venezuela that the Mariners instructed him to fly to Baltimore. We don't need a translator to understand his quotes.

The confusion comes when Orioles president Andy MacPhail and a team source insist that no agreement has been reached. That denial isn't the same as saying a deal isn't finalized, which could simply mean no announcement comes until certain players pass their physicals. An agreement is a different animal.

You don't schedule a physical without an agreement. If the two sides are still working out some details, most important being which final player is included in the package, you don't line up a physical for Adam Jones. And you certainly don't fly him to Baltimore and arrange transportation to Camden Yards without telling Erik Bedard's agent, Mark Pieper.

Roch points out that it is very tough to get information out of the Orioles front office right now, but also that MacPhail is trustworthy. The situation remains murky at best.

Update: Here's Geoff Baker's latest take on the deal.

Dectect-o-Vision really likes that the Mariners are about to acquire Erik Bedard.

The goal in baseball isn't to stockpile resources high enough to fill the acorn silo, kiddies. It's to configure those resources so as to win baseball games.

Joe Christensen notes the Twins are good at identifying the top prospects in other organization, but his inclusion of Cristian Guzman sort of ruins the story.

Noting that nothing is official yet, U.S.S. Mariner reacts to the Erik Bedard trade:

It is confusing and distressing to witness a team that claims to be interested in fielding a competitive team over the long term trade a player of Jones' talent and value, along what we reasonably expect to be highly valuable pieces, to the Orioles for a pitcher determined to test free agency at the end of his contract.

I don't know about that last bit. The other day there was an article in which Erik was complaining that the Orioles and the lack of a long term contract. MacPhail noted:

"We wanted to talk about a multiyear deal and they suggested that they just do a one-year deal," MacPhail said. "That's the truth."

If the Mariners show Bedard the money, I be he'll be happy to sign a long term deal.

Hat tip, 6-4-2.

Adam Jones is not in the lineup tonight for his winter league game. This time, it really appears to be the sign that Jones is headed to Baltimore:

Jones did not mince words when he spoke to a reporter from Diario Panorama in Venezuela today. We have a relationship with the reporter and paper and they have graciously supplied us with quotes from the interview with Jones.

"I received a call from Seattle saying that is no more playing for me and I can't do anything about that,'' Jones said. "I leave tomorrow morning...It sucks. I want to play. This is Game 4 of the finals and I really want to be there for my team, but it's something that all the guys understand. I really want to play, but I can't."

On the actual deal itself: "(Bill Bavasi) called me yesterday and told me the news. I've got to go to Baltimore tomorrow morning and handle things there. I'm the centerpiece of the deal on the Mariners side. It's an honor to get traded for such a highly talented pitcher as Bedard is. He's one of the best. Last year he finished up as arguably one of the top candidates for the Cy Young. He's that good, so for me it's an honor. You know, I like Seattle, but if I am in Baltimore, as I think now I am, I'm going to embrace it and have the best time of my life in Major League Baseball."

Thanks to the readers who pointed out these two stories. Bedard gives the Mariners a top notch front of the rotation starter, and I suspect Bedard-Hernandez-Washburn to make the Mariners one of the top rotations in the AL this season. Of course, this leaves a hole in the outfield. However, it's easier to fill that hole than find a number one starter.

Update: MacPhail denies the report:

Orioles president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail said tonight that the club has not agreed to trade ace pitcher Erik Bedard to the Seattle Mariners for a package headed by young center fielder Adam Jones, despite reports that a deal is done.

"We do not have an agreement with the Mariners," MacPhail said.

Either Jones is playing with a reporter, or MacPhail is sticking to a strict line that they don't have a deal until the physical is passed.

The Cubs also deny that a nine-player deal was nixed by Peter Angelos.

Oriole Central looks at the possibility that Peter Angelos killed a deal that would have sent both Roberts and Bedard to the Cubs for seven players. Given Angelos's past history, I wouldn't be surprised it this were true. The Orioles, however, deny the story.

I've seen almost all the Yankees blogs linking to this economic analysis of a possible Santana trade by Vince Gennaro. The Yankees do better keeping Hughes, and Santana makes the most economic sense for the Mets.

Metsblog.com has a very good take on why a trade for Johan Santana hasn't happened yet:

...and this, to me, is why it's taking so long for a deal to be made...they have several unique offers that would each shape their team differently for the next 5-10 years...the near future of the Twins organization is essentially riding on this trade and the front office can't afford to screw it up...

My latest column at SportingNews.com looks at the Rolen/Glaus trade.

That didn't last long.

Both the Rolen/Glaus deal and the Kotsay to the Braves deal are done.

The Athletics get Joey Devine, a young relief pitcher who blows away batters with strikeouts but also walks a ton. In his 19 2/3 innings of major league work, however, he's walked more than he's struck out. On the positive side, his walks allowed showed great improvement in 2007 at the minor league level. If he can strike out over nine per nine in the majors, he should be an effective relief pitcher.

The Yankees appear to be out of the Johan Santana sweepstakes. That puts less pressure on Boston to meet the Twins demands. So, does Minnesota take less than they want in a deal, or do they continue to wait to see if anyone else gets interested, or if the Mets come up with a better offer?

It looks like the Brian Roberts trade to the Cubs is dead.

Ken Rosenthal reports the Blue Jays and Cardinals are close to trading Troy Glaus and Scott Rolen.

The Cardinals and Blue Jays are closing in on an exchange of their third basemen, major-league sources say, but both former All-Stars must pass physicals before a deal is completed.

Those physicals are no small issue since Rolen is coming off surgery on his right shoulder and Glaus surgery on his left foot.

I don't know why the Blue Jays would make this deal. Glaus has been more productive over the last three seasons than Rolen, and his seasonal age is two years younger. I understand Glaus wants to play on real grass, but this looks like a step back for the Blue Jays.

Hat Tip, Baeball Think Factory.

The Yankees are moving away from making a deal for Johan Santana:

But while stressing there is "absolutely nothing new" in terms of recent trade discussions with the Twins, Hank is beginning to sound convinced - if not nearly ready - to walk away from any potential blockbuster deal for Johan Santana.

"We went into this with me making the final baseball decisions and Hal more addressing the financial aspects of the company, but we both do everything," Steinbrenner said yesterday in a phone interview. "We're equal partners, but at this point, to tell you the truth, I'm leaning away from it anyway, so it doesn't matter. Same thing with Brian, he's another integral part of it, obviously, being the general manager, and one day he's leaning to do it and the next day he's not sure.

"But what it comes down to right now is giving up a lot (in a trade) and then having to do the big contract, as well. If (Santana) was just a free agent, we could just go ahead and do it. There's a big difference this way. We have to sign him as if he's a free agent, plus you have to give up major talent. That's a tall order."

So if Johan can last until free agency, the Yankees are more than willing to pay him. Of course, the Mets might trade for him first.

Detect-O-Vision ponders trading a great prospect for a great pitcher.

Someone posted a comment that Brian Roberts was traded to the Cubs. Roch Kubatko checked and word from Andy MacPhail is reports are inaccurate.

Aaron Gleeman makes a good case for the Twins preferring a Jacoby Ellsbury package to a Philip Hughes package.

There's a report the Twins are modifying their demands to part with Johan Santana. If this is true, we could see the pitcher move quickly.

Hat tip, Metsblog.com.

Sox Machine discusses how you can tell Kenny Williams is about to make a trade.

Evan Grant believes the Athletics rebuilding will help the Rangers compete in 2009 by taking out one potential opponent.

I've had a hard time tracking down stats on Fautino de los Santos. Some people spell his first name Faustino, but MiLB has him as Fautino. As you can see, he's a strikeout artist, setting down 153 batters in 122 1/3 innings via the K in 2007. Just the kind of pitcher the A's like.

Ray Ratto correctly points out that Oakland is now a baseball desert:

Understanding the Swisher trade from the A's view is easy - it's the same justification that they made when they shipped Haren to Arizona for twice as many bodies. But the starker truth is that for the short term, the A's are very likely the worst team in the American League, and without question the least interesting for the casual fan.

Swisher may have been a flawed player, a sort of supercharged Eric Byrnes with a more disciplined strike zone if you must, but he did have his clientele, just as Haren had his. Now what is left is the oft-injured Eric Chavez, Huston Streeet and Bobby Crosby, the efficient but largely spectral Mark Ellis, and a new, younger Sacramento farm team. As a ticket buyer, you can be forgiven if that doesn't heat your home this winter.

The Athletics are doing what the Indians did at the start of the decade and what the Marlins appeared to be doing two years ago, dumping players for prospects to rebuild. It took the Indians a while to get there. The Marlins just keep going backward. Up until now, Beane tried to keep fannies in the seats with a competitive team. It will be interesting to see how quickly he can turn these prospects into a winning MLB team.

Nick gives the White Sox a formidable outfield and solves their centerfield problem much more cheaply than if they had hired one of the three free agents. Swisher makes just over $5 million a year. That's another good reason to sign youngsters to long term contracts; it makes them very easy to trade.

Update: At Athletics Nation, Blez interviews John Sickels:

Blez: If you put the Swisher deal together with the Haren deal, how much have the A's improved their farm system?

Sickels: Well, look at the Top 20 list I posted a few days ago at MinorLeagueBall.com. These two trades, plus the good early returns on the 2007 draft class, completely rebuild the farm system. It has been a huge infusion of talent in a short period of time. 2008 might be a rough year, but the future looks really good. Masterful rebuilding by Beane.

Sox Machine doesn't like the deal, and neither does South Side Sox. Will Chicago flip Swisher for pitching?

Baseball Digest Daily reports that the Oakland Athletics traded Nick Swisher to the Chicago White Sox. The A's get three prospects in return, including White Sox number one prospect going into 2007, Ryan Sweeney. Given his rather poor minor league numbers, that doesn't say much for the White Sox prospects. Pitcher Gio Gonzalez, however, has great K and BB numbers. I'm off to the dentist, more when I get back.

Matt Cerrone comes up with a novel way for the Mets to pay for Johan Santana:

in the report, egan writes that the Mets will get $800 million from Citigroup...however, this is incorrect...according to previous reports, the stadium will cost $800 million to build, while the Mets could get up to $400 million over 20 years from Citigroup...

...hmm, $400 million divided by 20 years is $20 million...hey, so, assuming Citigroup is still in business next season, how about they kick in a few more million, the Mets trade for Johan Santana and they write Citigroup on his back instead of his last name...

...that's a joke, by the way...

It's crazy, but it just might work! :-)

Peter Abraham gives his reasons why the Yankees should pass on Johan Santana:

Spend the money on draft picks, Dominican shortstops and Taiwanese pitchers. Go find kids in Korea, Australia, Venezuela and everywhere else. Hire more scouts and go see every junior college prospect in Texas. Go find the next Santana, don't trade for the old one.

The Yankees do have time on their side. The Twins, of course, run the risk that Hughes turns out to be so good next season that there's no reason for the Yankees to trade him. They also run the risk that Santana and a healthy Liriano have Minnesota in the playoff race come late July. In that case, it would be very difficult to trade away Johan.

David Ortiz comments on the possibility of the Red Sox getting Johan Santana:

"No," Ortiz said when asked if he thought his good friend, Santana, would be traded to the Red Sox. "I was (following it) for a minute, but I guess they stopped. They don't want him to go. (Minnesota) already gave Boston too many good things already. Me, and now Santana? No way."

The Texas Rangers acquired Josh Hamilton from the Reds for Edinson Volquez and Danny Herrera. I find it strange that Texas would trade a top pitching prospect, given their lack of depth on the mound. Volquez, however, while a great minor league pitcher has been just terrible in his major league outings. At the minor league level, he keeps the ball in the park, doesn't walk too many batters and strikes out a ton. But in the majors, all those numbers go in the wrong direction. Maybe he just needs some maturity, but I also could understand why Texas might want to let him go. Herrera, however, also is putting up great numbers in the minor leagues.

It could be the Rangers feel they just don't have a good way of improving the pitching this year, so they might as well make the offense as potent as possible and hope they get lucky.

Brew Crew Ball notes the Brewers made bad decisions on the Estrada-Mota-Wise deal.

Detect-o-Vision discusses the Mariners-Orioles negotiations for Erik Bedard. The Mariners are negotiating backwards:

We remind negotiators of this, and they go, "Well, no duh." They are aware of the idea, but then you sit and watch them go ahead and direct 80% of their discussion time towards trying to subtract from their side of the deal. It's human nature.

It is the guy who spends 90% of his time on the opposite paradigm -- "what does the deal look like if you get everything you want" -- who gets deals closed.

Not that any of the M's suits listen to advice on this kind of stuff ... but for D-O-V readers following the script? You may want to pay more attention to what Baltimore would be willing to kick in (a realistic hope), than to whether they're willing to cave in on Wlad (probably not a realistic hope).

The trades for Miguel Cabrera and Dan Haren are great examples of this.

Lookout Landing weighs the pros and cons of trading for Erik Bedard.

Look, in no way do I want to just write off both 2008 and 2009 in anticipation of making a run three years from now. This isn't a bad team, and conceding defeat this early on the heels of the first interesting summer in ages isn't going to make people happy. With that said, there are ways to make this team better, ways to make it more competitive, that don't involve sacrificing so much of our promising future. Trade for one of the Devil Rays. Pay someone to take Sexson and bring in a left fielder. Sign Colon, Clement, or some other reclamation project and hope they stay healthy long enough for Morrow to make some major strides in AAA. And so on and so forth. None of these things is nearly as sexy as bringing in a clear #1, but as a whole they're just about as effective, and none of them involves giving away many things we may need down the road. That's the key. What Bill Bavasi should be doing right now is figuring out a way to make this team better while simultaneously protecting much of the talent that could help us later on, when our chances will be better.

Bedard is not the final piece of the puzzle, although I wonder if LL would feel differently if the Mariners managed to sign him long term?

The Baseball Zealot thinks Arizona is doing a better job getting talent for White Sox prospects than Chicago.

Correction: Included link.

Joe Christensen notes the Yankees are still interested in Johan Santana if they can move Hideki Matsui. From Joe:

Another development to follow is the Hiroki Kuroda derby. The Dodgers and Mariners are both trying to sign the Japanese pitcher, and the team that misses out might make a last-ditch effort for Santana. Once Kuroda lands, the Twins should have a crystal clear picture of Santana's trade market, and I'm guessing they will take their best offer, with the whole thing settled by Christmas.

It seems the Twins are being very patient, waiting for teams to be out of options with Santana the only great pitcher left.

The San Diego Padres and St. Louis Cardinals have a deal in place to send Jim Edmonds San Diego way.

The deal was waiting approval from the commissioner's office because it will involve around $1 million going from the Cardinals to the Padres, according to a source with knowledge of the deal, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal hasn't been finalized.

The Cardinals will get minor league third baseman David Freese.

Edmonds has seen his OBA and slugging percentage each fall three years in a row. He's coming off a very poor season at the plate, but says he's not healthy again.

Freese posted great OBAs in his two years at A ball. He'll be seasonal age 25 in 2008, however, and I wonder why he hasn't moved up through the Padres system. Players drafted out of college should be close to major league ready, so I wonder why he wasn't moved through the Padres system sooner. He's an obvious replacement for Rolen if and when the Cardinals part with Scott.

The Arizona Diamondbacks executed three trades, sending prospects to the Oakland Athletics for Dan Haren, but replenishing the system from elsewhere. Josh Byrnes explains:

So aside from getting Haren, who had the third-best ERA in the American League last season (3.07), the Diamondbacks acquired a proven and reliable reliever in Qualls, whom they have under control for three seasons; partially replenished their upper-level pitching depth with Buckner and Gutierrez; and rounded out their roster with Burke, who has played all three outfield positions as well as second base and shortstop in parts of four seasons in the majors.

"They were very much connected," Byrnes said of the deals. "I think again one of the hesitations of the Oakland deal was giving up depth, which is invaluable. The Houston deal brought back some of that depth."

And they did it without having to give up any of their young talent in the majors - Chris Young, Justin Upton or Stephen Drew - or top pitching prospect Max Scherzer.

It will be three years before Haren is a free agent, giving the DBacks a Webb-Haren 1-2 punch for a few years. The trades don't address the Diamondbacks offense, however. While improving the pitching staff certainly will help a negative run differential, there's a lot more room to improve the offense. Maybe Arizona feels that letting their young hitter mature will be enough to score more runs.

Athletics Nation sees this as a deal for 2009, and is ready to write off the 2008 season. Possibly, the Athletics are looking toward going into a new stadium at the top of their game.

Ed Wade explains the Valerde trade from his point of view:

"This something we worked on for a long time, and we felt that with the trade of Brad Lidge it opened up an opportunity for Chad Qualls, and we thought Chad was able to handle it," Wade said.

"But at the same time when we pursued the Valverde trade and thought we would be able to bring it to closure, it made all the sense in the world for us to do it because we believe it takes us one step closer to being a champion."

In my mind, you need a team capable of getting to the closer before you can start talking about a World Series champion. But the Astros didn't pay too high a price to land the closer they wanted, and given the level of play in the NL Central, they may very well be competing for a playoff spot this season.

Arizona Diamondbacks GM Josh Byrnes set the trade wire on fire tonight. He starts by acquiring Dan Haren from the Oakland Athletics in a seven player deal. All five players sent to the Athletics are prospects. Brett Anderson will be 20 in 2008 and had an outstanding season at A ball. Dana Eveland hasn't translated his low minor league walk numbers to the majors yet. Greg Smith also posts good walk and strikeout numbers in the minors. Aaron Cunningham is developing power as he rises through the minors. Carlos Gonzalez is the least impressive one of the group, but he's only 21 and already at AAA. Basically, the Athletics restocked their system with five good players.

Then Byrnes changes Valverde into Chad Qualls, Chris Burke and Juan Gutierrez. The DBacks now have two aces in Webb and Haren, and a possible third if Randy Johnson comes back. Not a bad day for the Arizona GM.

Update: I missed that Chris Carter also went to Oakland, so it was an eight-player deal.

Roch Kubatko wonders why Adam Everett wasn't included in the Miguel Tejada trade.

My question, which might be answered later in the day, once the trade is announced: What happened to Adam Everett?

If you told me earlier that the Orioles would get five players from the Astros, I would have bet the ranch that Everett was one of them - though perhaps his inclusion would have reduced the total to four. But you get my point. It seemed certain that he'd be in there somewhere.

So who plays short now for the Orioles?

The Padres are interested in acquiring Jason Bay and Xavier Nady.

The Padres still have some financial flexibility, after trying and failing to sign Andruw Jones and Kosuke Fukodome, and they have some prospects to deal, such as infielder Chase Headley, a second-round pick from the 2005 draft. San Diego may also consider dealing catcher Michael Barrett, who surprised the Padres last week by accepting their offer of arbitration -- an offer that the Padres made with the hope of recouping a draft pick.

San Diego may also have interest in right-hander Matt Morris, a 33-year-old right-hander acquired by the Pirates in the last minutes before the July 31 trade deadline. Morris, who went 10-11 with a 4.89 ERA last summer for the Giants and Pirates and is 121-88 in his career, has one year remaining on his current contract, for $9.5 million, and there is an option year for 2009, with a $1 million buyout.

It will probably do Bay a world of good to get out of Pittsburgh.

The Baltimore Orioles send Miguel Tejada to the Astros for five players:

In return for the four-time All-Star, the Orioles will get outfielder Luke Scott, pitchers Matt Albers, Troy Patton and Dennis Sarfate, and third baseman Michael Costanzo.

I'll assume here that the Astros will play Tejada at third base, since they have a defensive wizard at shortstop:

MacPhail met for nearly an hour with Tejada on the final weekend of the 2007 season. During the meeting that both sides described as productive, Tejada told him that his preference was to remain at shortstop, but that wasn't his main goal.

"I want to win," Tejada said of his message to MacPhail. "It's not about changing positions. My point isn't about changing positions. My point is winning. I don't want to play every day just for money. I'm not that kind of person. I play for pride. I don't care about changing positions if we're going to be a winner, and I want to be on a team that is going to compete to win."

This gives the Astros an even stronger middle of the order. Pence, Berkman, Lee and Tejada make up a decently potent lineup. However, given the Astros record last season, I'm not sure Tejada is really going to a winner.

What did the Orioles get? Luke Scott is good, but he was an old rookie. He'll be 30 in 2008. Albers walks a lot of batters and gives up lost of home runs, but he's only 23. Sarfate kicked around the minors a long time, but has shown better control in the majors. It's a pretty small sample size, however. Troy Patton looks like the best pitching prospect. Mike Costanzo had a power surge last season, but he'll be 24 in 2008 and hasn't played above AA. It seems to me the Astros gave up quantity, but not a lot of quality to get Tejada. I think that says something about how far Miguel's stock fell in the last couple of seasons.

The Giants are still thinking about trading Tim Lincecum for Alex Rios:

On the weekend, Giants GM Brian Sabean told a San Francisco radio station that he planned to resolve the Lincecum-Rios affair in the near future.

"By the end of the weekend, maybe the first of the week, we're going to have to flesh this out one way or the other," Sabean said, according the San Jose Mercury-News.

I'd be surprised if this deal happens, but you never know.

Metstradamus explains to the Orioles why the Mets are not three-card Monty dealers:

Peter, once upon a time our devious underhanded organization was so devious and underhanded, that we traded Scott Kazmir for Victor Zambrano, and Lastings Milledge for a defensive catcher and a journeyman outfielder. But obviously those trades begin to reveal a grand master plan that will only be evident to everyone in about fifty years as we try to take over the world, right?

If we're this great savvy organization when it comes to trades, then you've got problems. Seems to me that you were the guys that misread John Maine's potential. Don't worry, it happens (again...Kazmir.) If we didn't get him, somebody else would have. You threw him in to the Julio deal because you didn't want to throw in Adam Loewen. Omar wanted Loewen, you threw in John Maine. Jim Duquette threw in John Maine...you know, the same guy that traded Kazmir. You hired him after that! And the guy you hired actually succeeded in somewhat returning the favor for the Kazmir trade by throwing in John Maine in the deal. The guy you hired chose to throw him in.

And we're the ones you don't want to deal with?

Metsblog.com says the Mets are Santana's first choice for a trade:

...having talked with a variety of people over the last few days, ranging from those who are connected to the team to people connected to player reps to those who work in media and for teams who are following the negotiations, from what i can gather, Johan Santana prefers to be on the Mets, where he can a) be in New York City, and b) get out of the hitter-dominant American League...

The Twins may take quantity over quality to get that deal done.

Salmon Torres doesn't want to uproot his family:

Milwaukee general manager Doug Melvin said Friday evening that he hoped newly acquired reliever Salomon Torres was not serious when he told a Pittsburgh newspaper that he might retire instead of reporting to the Brewers.

"I think it was all the emotion," Melvin said. "I don't think it will come to that."

Continuing to focus on his bullpen, Melvin acquired the 35-year-old workhorse earlier in the day in exchange for minor-league relievers Marino Salas and Kevin Roberts. Torres had a confrontational year with the Pirates' front office, but told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette he would consider retiring rather than moving his family, including three young children, from the city.

"It's a giant move and I have to make a decision if I want to go forward," Torres told the newspaper. "This is going to change my life, my family's life.

"If I leave them here, they're going to have to be without me for a full year. If I take them with me, they're going to be affected."

I suspect Torres' competitive nature will win out in the end. Going to Milwaukee gives him a chance to play for a contender, something that hasn't happened in a decade.

The Pirates picked up two minor league pitchers from the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for Salomon Torres.

Former Pirates closer Salomon Torres, the majors' most-used reliever in 2006, was dealt Friday by Pittsburgh to the division rival Milwaukee Brewers for pitching prospects Marino Salas and Kevin Roberts.

Salas isn't really a prospect as he'll be 27 in 2008. He should be useful, however, with a high strikeout rate. Roberts also strikes out batters, well, but his control is poor.

Update: Brew Crew Ball likes this trade:

If true, this is increasingly looking like Melvin is building a bullpen for a closer-by-committee. Turnbow, Riske, Torres, plus the wildcards of Mota and Wise, are all guys who have closed with varying degrees of success in the past, or have pitched well enough to do so. Add in Shouse, Villanueva, and Parra, and you have eight guys who are (or have been in the recent past) credible 7th/8th inning guys. In that case, it would seem like a waste to spend big to bring in a Gagne type, who is not at all guaranteed to be better than all of these guys.

Anyone who can work a Planet of the Apes reference into a Tigers trade post deserves a link:

Had I slipped into a coma 4 years ago and woke up today to find the Tigers had joined the Red Sox and Yankees as baseball's superpowers I would have immediately assumed that society had crumbled and the world was being run by apes.

I'm sure some other teams are thinking, "Damn you all to hell!"

The Yankees should go for this:

A source says the Giants did call the Yankees about Hideki Matsui. They're offering their starting pitchers (Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain or Noah Lowry) for bats, but they are just exploring to see if there is a match. Matsui has a full no-trade clause, and it isn't known whether he would waive it to go to San Francisco or anywhere else.

This is a lot better deal than trading the farm for Santana, especially if they can get Lincecum or Cain.

FishStripes notes that Larry Beinfest disputes Arte Moreno's description of the trade talks between the Marlins and the Angels. Craig comments:

I have no trouble believing Beinfest, because that is the way the Marlins have always done it in the past. And I find very hard to believe they changed styles just for this one instance.

The Orioles and Cubs are talking about moving Brian Roberts to Chicago. It's good to see the Cubs looking to acquire a middle infielder who can get on base. They seem to be doing better in that regard lately. DeRosa did a good job for them in 2007.

There's talk of the Blue Jays shipping Alex Rios to the Giants for either Lincecum or Cain:

The proposed trade of outfielder Alex Rios for either San Francisco's Matt Cain or Tim Lincecum rests with the Giants' decision-makers, according to major-league sources.

The Toronto Blue Jays will not add major-league pitching to their offer, sources say, and they also are unlikely to move right-hander A.J. Burnett in a separate deal.

Adding Cain or Lincecum while subtracting Burnett would be counter-productive for a team trying to build the best possible rotation to compete with the Red Sox and Yankees in the AL East.

It seems to me that the Giants would be giving up a great deal with either Matt Cain or Tim Lincecum. Rios is very good, but Matt and Tim might turn out to be great. I'd be a bit surprised if a deal went through.

FishStripes reacts to the Cabrera-Willis trade:

Of course, over time, the kids may work out and be everything they are hyped to be. And I hope they do. But for now, it is just like the trades in 2005, some of the players could make a favorable impact early on, or it may take some time, if they ever do.

We have been here before. It may not be our favorite place to be, but we know how to handle it.

The difference between now and 2005 is that the 2006 team still had Willis and Cabrera. Right now, all the Marlins have is Hanley Ramirez and some pitchers who might be good if they overcome their injuries. The 2005 house cleaning gave the Marlins the chance to build into a contender in a few years, because they kept their two best players. This is more like a step back to being an expansion team.

Of course, Loria is getting very rich off this as the Marlins pay their players next to nothing, and he gets to pocket all the revenue sharing money.

Anaheim Angels All the Way notes a possible upside of the Angels including Ervin Santana in a deal for Johan Santana:

All the reports today make it seem like the Twins are dumb enough to take a pile of second-rate prospects from the Red Sox. Some useful players to be sure, but no high ceiling players, certainly.

Can we top their offer? Almost certainly. A WWW offer (Weaver, Wood, Willits) is better than what has been offered. We could include Ervin Santana just so the Twins fans who bought Santana jerseys don't have to recycle them. That's probably too rich an offer, but one the Angels could afford, in fact it wouldn't hurt the 2008 25 man projected roster at all.

Nothing happened on the Johan Santana front over night.

The Angels GM said he never spoke to the Twins.

Peter Gammons reports that the Tigers and the Marlins made the deal:

The Tigers have won the Miguel Cabrera sweepstakes. Detroit will get Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis from Florida for six players -- Cameron Maybin, Andrew Miller, catcher Mike Rabelo and three minor league prospects.

Wow. Dombrowski understands the value of a superstar.

Update: The Detroit Free Press speculates on the others involved in the deal:

According to one club official with knowledge of the negotiations, Detroit has tentatively agreed to include catcher Mike Rabelo and right-handed pitchers Dallas Trahern, Eulogio De La Cruz and Burke Badenhop in the deal.

The White Sox are now competing with the Tigers for the services of Miguel Cabrera.

The latest from the Bradford Files indicates the Twins want to finish the deal with the Red Sox by the end of the day.

Joe Christensen talks to a scout unimpressed with Jed Lowrie's defense. That may cause the Twins to ask for an additional player:

Lowrie is a good hitting prospect, no question. The Twins have holes at both shortstop and second base, so they are somewhat flexible. But traditionally, they have shied from players who are considered defensive liabilities. The scout told me he views Alexi Casilla as a far better all-around prospect than Lowrie.

After hearing all that, it's no wonder there is now a buzz from Nashville that the Twins could be looking for a 5-for-1 offer from the Red Sox. We'll keep you posted if we hear other potential names.

The price just keeps going higher.

Here's the latest on the Yankees and Santana from Peter Abraham:

The Yankees, for all of the deadline talk, remain open to the Twins coming back to them. But the Twins seem to love Jon Lester and aren't crazy about Melky Cabrera.

Yankees fans in general put too much value on Cabrera. He's a nice player but he has a career OPS of .728. Outside of his arm, he's at best an average center fielder. I think he's fine with the Yankees hitting eighth or ninth. But it's not like he's a budding star.

The Twins love of Lester puts the Red Sox in the lead for Santana.

Update: Edes says the fifth player is Ryan Kalish.

Bradford files reports that the Athletics and Diamondbacks are working on a deal to send Haren to the desert:

The deal could take away a non-Johan Santana option for both the Yankees and Red Sox.

And that would make Johan Santana a bit more valuable.

Ken Rosenthal just reported the Tigers are talking to the Marlins about acquiring both Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis:

The Marlins, stalled in their attempts to trade third baseman Miguel Cabrera, could be laying the groundwork for an even bigger deal.

The Marlins and Tigers are engaged in preliminary talks about a blockbuster that would send Cabrera and left-hander Dontrelle Willis to Detroit for a package of young players, according to major-league sources.

Outfielder Cameron Maybin and left-hander Andrew Miller likely are among the Marlins' targets. The Tigers already feature two veteran left-handed starters, Kenny Rogers and Nate Robertson, possibly making Miller available in a deal for Willis.

Miguel would certainly make the Tigers much more dangerous for a decade. I'm no longer a big Willis fan, but why not take a chance on him? He's certainly fun to watch.

Update: Nick Cafardo says Detroit is looking at Dan Haren as well.

The Braves fill a hole in the bullpen as they pick up Will Ohman from the Cubs:

The Braves, filling their need for a left-handed reliever, have acquired Will Ohman and infielder Omar Infante from the Cubs for Class AA reliever Jose Ascanio, according to major-league sources.

The deal, first reported by ESPN Radio in Chicago, creates payroll flexibility for the Cubs for other pursuits. Ohman is under contract for $1.6 million next season while Infante is projected to receive about $1.5 million in arbitration.

The Braves, bracing for the loss of Ron Mahay as a free agent, entered the meetings intent on acquiring a left-handed reliever. Infante presumably will fill a utility role similar to what he did in the past for the Tigers.

Ohman can strike batters out. We'll see if the Braves can improve his control and make him extremely effective.

There's plenty of talk about the Rangers looking to move Hank Blalock, someone whose career can only be described as disappointing. The Cardinals might move Scott Rolen for Hank, and the Brewers might send Capuano the Rangers way. I guess Milwuakee isn't too happy with Braun's defense at the hot corner.

The Red Sox and Twins talks haven't stalled:

It was after midnight in the Music City, and the Red Sox and Minnesota Twins were exchanging medical information on pitchers Johan Santana and Jon Lester, indicating that the clubs may be closing in on a deal for the two-time Cy Young Award winner.

more stories like thisThe Sox and Twins were locked in negotiations after the Yankees refused to include another top prospect, pitcher Ian Kennedy, in a package that already included top pitching prospect Phil Hughes and center fielder Melky Cabrera.

It was uncertain whether the Sox also were including center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury in their offer.

I don't understand why Lester-Ellsbury is a better headline for the Twins than Hughes-Cabrera. I could see the Twins jumping at Buchholz-Ellsbury, but if it's L&E, I'm going back to the Yankees and taking Hughes.

Update: Here's a later update from Gordon Edes:

There were indications that the Twins would be getting center fielder Coco Crisp, pitcher Justin Masterson and infielder Jed Lowrie in addition to Lester, the winner of the Series-clinching Game 4 and a favorite of pitching coach John Farrell. But that was not confirmed. Repeat, That has not yet been confirmed. We're working on it.

Edes thinks an announcement could come this morning.

The Yankees and Twins failed to reach an agreement last night on a trade for Johan Santana. Cashman, however, is happy that teams are looking for his players:

Cashman made it clear it would take a lot to wrest away any of the Yankees' top young prospects, making a point of noting how far the system has come in the past few years.

"I'm definitely fully invested in a lot of young talent. You get attached to it," Cashman said. "There are a lot of guys here that we believe in. We're certainly proud of the work that we've done, because right now, I can sit at the table with any team in baseball and have a conversation. Two years ago, that wasn't the case."

The word is the Yankees will go after Dan Haren. They did trade for a Washington reliever:

The Washington Post is reporting that the Yankees have traded RHP Tyler Clippard to the Nationals for right-handed reliever Jonathan Albaladejo.

He's a big (6-5, 250) guy who made his debut in September and had a 1.88 ERA in 14.1 innings. Albaladejo is 25.

Albaladejo is 25 with a very low walk rate and decent strikeout numbers. Clippard strikes out more but walks more as well, and especially had control problems in the majors. It looks like the Yankees are trying to cut down on their bullpen walks. It's a good deal for both teams, as the Nationals get someone capable of striking out nine per nine.

Neither the Yankees nor the Twins are budging in their talks about Johan Santana:

According to baseball officials who were aware of the talks, the Twins again asked the Yankees on Monday night for pitcher Ian Kennedy -- a pitcher the Yankees have insisted for several days that they wouldn't trade -- as the third player in their proposed deal. The Yankees apparently turned down that proposal immediately.

The Yankees have held firm since Friday that if pitcher Phil Hughes and outfielder Melky Cabrera were part of their offer, the third player heading for Minnesota would have to be a second-tier prospect. So the highly regarded Kennedy headed a list of "untouchables" that included Joba Chamberlain, pitcher Alan Horne and outfielders Austin Jackson and Jose Tabata.

But the Twins also haven't budged since Friday. They wanted Kennedy then, and they still do. So unless one side or the other gives, it now appears a trade that once appeared inevitable could blow up for good.

I have no idea where this is headed, but I would not be surprised to see Santana pitching for the Twins in 2008.

Elijah Dukes is now a member of the Washington Nationals.

The Washington Nationals have acquired outfielder Elijah Dukes from the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for minor-league pitcher Glenn Gibson.

That's two problem players traded by the Rays this week. Along with Milledge, Washington is providing a sanctuary for these immature athletes.

Meanwhile, the Devil Rays get a high strikeout, low walk pitcher. Now if they can get some high OBA players, they might win some games.

The Diamondbacks traded Carlos Quentin to the White Sox for first base prospect Chris Carter. Quentin hasn't lived up to expectations, but he's still young enough that he might improve. In his three years in the minors, Cater posted a .373 OBA and a .514 slugging percentage, pretty much what a team wants from a first baseman.

The Diamondbacks, however, have Connor Jackson at first base. Given that Carter is at first base, he's probably not moving to a tougher defensive position. Jackson gets on base well, but his power is a bit lacking. His days might be numbered with the Diamondbacks.

Hat tip AZ Snakepit.

Johan Santana's agent says the pitcher isn't looking at just the Yankees and Red Sox:

"Johan told me to tell you that's completely inaccurate,'' Greenberg said. "He's upset about that. He's put no limitations on (Twins GM Bill Smith) to do his job.''

Greenberg declined to confirm if Santana would waive his no-trade clause if he's still with the Twins when the 2008 season starts. "That's a long way away,'' Greenberg said.

I was reminded by a Twins official this morning that Smith and Greenberg have an excellent working relationship, which likely is a key factor during this critical point in trade talks.

This makes more sense. If Santana wants big money, why limit the number of suitors?

It also appears the Twins might go after the Yankees for tampering:

A Twins official this morning confirmed that the club is not pleased with comments made by Yankees senior vice president Hank Steinbrenner about trade talks involving Santana.

When asked if he thought the comments constituted tampering, the official replied, "We're not happy. We'll deal with this internally.''

Everyone's playing hardball here.

Johan Santana will veto any trade during the 2008 season:

According to major-league sources, Santana has informed the Twins that he would not waive his no-trade clause during the season, ending any chance that he could be moved before the July 31 non-waiver deadline.

Players with no-trade protection occasionally adopt such positions when they are in the free-agent years, fearing that their performance could suffer if they change teams and/or leagues just months before hitting the open market.

The Twins have said privately that they will be content to keep Santana if they do not receive the right offer this off-season, then entertain the possibility of trading him in July. But Santana's stance greatly increases the chances that the Twins will act quickly.

It is in Santana's interest to be traded now because he will require a monster contract to approve a deal. It is expected that the contract would be at least six years and $120 million, and rather than enter the season with the risk of injury, he would prefer the deal to be struck as soon as possible.

Of course, I'm sure Johan could be cajoled into a July trade for the right price. I've also seen stories that right now, Santana will go only to the Yankees or Red Sox. There's a lot of pressure on the Twins to make a deal now. If the Yankees do indeed pull out of the bidding, do the Red Sox lower their offer? What's real and what's rumor? It's been a fascinating negotiation so far.

Sports Illustrated details the Angels offer for Miguel Cabrera that the Marlins turned down:

The Angels' big offer for young hitting star Miguel Cabrera included top young hitter Howie Kendrick, young catcher Jeff Mathis, one of two coveted young pitchers -- Nick Adenhart or Ervin Santana -- plus an additional pitcher prospect described as a "mid-level'' talent, SI.com has learned.

I'm not sure why this is considered just a great deal. Santana can't pitch outside of Anaheim. Mathis has done nothing in his brief stint in the majors and seems to have regressed in AAA. Kendrick doesn't walk. If you're going to trade away Cabrera, the Marlins should at least get a prospect that might turn into Cabrera someday. The Marlins decided they wanted both Santana and Adenhart, and I can't say I blame them.

MLB FanHouse notes the Pirates and Indians are in trade talks for Jason Bay. The FanHouse also notes this story:

"Right now, nobody wants Bay," another American League executive said. "That will change if he shows he's right again. But not now. He's got to get out there and be Jason Bay again."

Bay is coming off a career-worst season in which he batted .247 with 21 home runs and was hobbled by tendinitis in his knee all summer. He is signed for the next two seasons for a combined $13.25 million.

Was 2007 a fluke for Bay? If so, some team could get him on the cheap. His huge drop in walks is very bothersome, making one wonder if he lost his batting eye, or is just having vision problems in general. Maybe he's just depressed playing for a lousy team.

Joe Christensen writes that the Twins are holding out for the deal they want in order to trade Santana. Fred Claire did the same:

I tried finding a precedent to this madness, and former Dodgers GM Fred Claire has a similar memory. He was a first-year GM heading into the 1987 winter meetings, and he made it known that pitcher Bob Welch was available. Soon, the whole industry was waiting for that development.

"In some sense, we were controlling the tempo of the winter meetings," Claire said in a telephone interview this week. "In fact, [then Mets GM] Joe McIlvaine said, 'Nothing can happen because Fred's holding up the winter meetings.' "

Claire held his ground. Finally, he swung a three-team deal with the A's and Mets that brought the Dodgers shortstop Alfredo Griffin and relievers Jay Howell and Jesse Orosco. Welch went to Oakland, but the three new Dodgers helped them defeat the A's in the 1988 World Series.

My guess is that the Red Sox and Yankees would be happy to have the Twins pull out of the deals entirely, so that neither side gets the pitcher. Then the GMs can go ahead and develop their own talent.

Update: It looks like the Red Sox added Ellsbury to the deal, but told the Twins they can't have both Jacoby and Lester.

It looks like the Yankees saw the Red Sox bet and raised them:

The Twins reportedly informed the Yankees they were prepared to deal Santana to the Red Sox unless the 21-year-old Hughes was part of the deal. Fearing Santana would join Josh Beckett to give their rivals two aces, the Yankees decided to put Hughes on the table.

After hearing from the Yankees, the Twins asked the Red Sox for pitching prospect Clay Buchholz, but the Red Sox refused to part with Buchholz, according to the New York Post.

Ellsbury is also a sticking point. If the Red Sox were to include Ellsbury in a package for Santana, the Twins would probably be required to expand the deal and that is not likely either.

Drew Sharp thinks the Tigers should get involved in the Santana sweepstakes;

While the Red Sox and Yankees offer the Twins a package of primary prospects, the Tigers should dangle Jeremy Bonderman along with some lower minor league prospects. It would ensure them the best one-two lefty-righty starting duo in the American League with Santana and Justin Verlander.

A breakdown in starting pitching cost the Tigers more last season than an injury-riddled bullpen or Gary Sheffield's bad shoulder. There's no questioning that Verlander's inconsistency late in the season is more likely an aberration, but it's not a certainty that Bonderman can overcome the obstacles that rendered him a hostage to first-inning difficulties

.

Somehow, I don't think the Twins want to see Johan in the same division.

It looks like Bleacher Banter got his wish. There's a breaking news flash on WFAN that the Mets traded Lastings Milledge to the Nationals for Church and Schneider. I guess that solves the Mets catching problem. He doesn't have much of a bat, but he can draw a walk.

Thanks to Thomas Peretti for the heads up.

The Soxaholix alerts me to the last comment to this post:

A little birdie says the Boston Red Sox have become the favorite in the Johan Santana trade sweepstakes.

The Twins would receive four players for the Twins' two-time Cy Young Award winner, including center fielder Coco Crisp, 28.

Others would be shortstop prospect Jed Lowry, 23; left-handed pitcher Jon Lester, 23; and right-handed pitcher Justin Masterson, 22.

Before a deal could be made, the Red Sox would have to have time to negotiate a contract extension with Santana, 28, who can become a free agent after next season and could have a market value as high as $150 million over six years.

Justin Masterson doesn't quite look ready for the majors yet. I can't find Jed Lowry at baseballreference.com or at thebaseballcube.com, but Jed Lowrie is in the system. He has a very nice OBA for a minor league shortstop.

With the Garza trade, however, I'm not sure that's enough. Lester doesn't strike me as a potential ace. If it were Buchholz, I think the Twins would take the deal in a second.

Aaron Gleeman breaks down the Garza-Young trade in detail, noting that the undercard of the trade works in favor of the Rays.

On the most basic level the trade fits the team's logical, oft-stated plan to part with pitching depth in order to address weaknesses offensively, with the Twins swapping a former top pitching prospect for a former top hitting prospect. However, the trade actually involves specific players rather than simple team-building generalities and once you get past the Garza-for-Young portion of the swap it tilts pretty heavily in the Devil Rays' favor both short and long term.

The Bartlett for Harris swap of shortstops address a huge problem for Tampa Bay, defense. The two middle infielders were at opposite ends of the PMR list at shortstop in 2007. Bartlett ranked fifth best and Harris third worst. The 2007 Devil Rays pitchers struck out more batters than any other AL team, but also allowed the highest batting average. Those two stats don't go together unless there is a terrible defense behind them. Bartlett plugs the whole at shortstop and is a decent offensive player. Going from dismal to outstanding at an important defensive position might be the most important element of that trade for the Rays.

With the departure of Garza, and Carlos Silva leaving for free agency, doesn't this now require the Twins get two good pitchers in a Santana trade? Liriano fills one spot if his arm holds up, but they still need to replace Santana and Garza.

The Rays-Twins finished the deal discussed earlier.

A front-office source told ESPN.com's Keith Law that Minnesota acquired outfielder Delmon Young in a six-player deal that sends right-hander Matt Garza to Tampa.

The Twins also are sending shortstop Jason Bartlett and minor league right-hander Eduardo Morlan to the Rays for shortstop Brendan Harris and outfield prospect Jason Pridie.

I assume the Twins believe Young can fill in for Hunter's power. Garza will make a nice right-handed complement to Kazmir.

The Rays are also about to sign Troy Percival for the bullpen.

It looks like the Marlins are playing teams against each other as they bid for Miguel Cabrera.

Joe Christensen warns Twins fans not to be too optimistic about what they might get in return for Johan Santana:

I have been getting skewered over e-mail for the comment that Miguel Cabrera will bring a bigger return than Santana on the trade front. Cabrera's weight gain has been well-documented. The Yankees, Red Sox and Mets are set at third base, so they're not even in the hunt.

But think about the teams who could be in the running for both Santana and Cabrera -- the Dodgers and the Angels. I guarantee both would give up more talent for Cabrera than Santana. And again, a big part of that is because Cabrera won't be a free agent until after 2009.

The reaction I'm getting over e-mail proves a big point I'm trying to make. Readers expect the Twins to get a major haul if they trade Santana. If the team settles for anything less, this could be a PR nightmare, especially after losing Torii Hunter to free agency. Stay tuned, and please, stop killing the messenger. One of my best friends has two young boys who aren't speaking to me now after all this bad news on Hunter and Santana.

Rays Anatomy hears that a multi-player deal involving Matt Garza going to the Rays for Delmon Young is almost complete.

As of November 28th though, I think the Rays are giving up too much to get something they aren't sure about. Young can produce at the level he did last year and still bat in the middle of the lineup for Minnesota. While he needs to learn not to hack at everything, his value will always be higher than it is now. I just wonder did Tampa Bay not wait for a more established arm before they moved their starting right fielder.

The Rays need a better offense, and a better defense to complement their pitching staff. Getting rid of Young, a low OBA player, might help if they could pick up someone else to get on base. Another starter, good as Garza might be, shouldn't be a priority. However, if the Rays can get Garza for Young, they should go for it.

There's a lot of buzz about the Yankees talking to the Twins in order to acquire Johan Santana. It would seem for the Yankees to acquire the lefty, they would need to abandon building from within, as the Twins want a number of good prospects.

Maybe the Yankees are going after the wrong left-hander. Francisco Liriano continues to recover from Tommy John surgery:

The Twins say scouts and staff at their Dominican Republic development academy report that Liriano, 24, has been progressing as planned and should be ready for spring training in February.

There has even been talk that Liriano could pitch this winter in the Dominican Republic. His rehabilitation has ended, and the left-hander who dominated hitters in 2006 with a 12-3 record, 2.16 earned-run average and 144 strikeouts in 121 innings before his elbow injury has been throwing in the Dominican several times a week.

"He hasn't had one single setback," a Twins official said.

Liriano represents a huge risk and a potentially huge reward. His delievery is so violent that he may blow out the elbow again. But he may also last a few years before that happens. Why not trade one young player for Liriano? Melky Cabrera fills a need for the Twins right now. While he still has upside given his age, projections for him aren't that good. In other words, the Yankees trade a centerfielder with offensive risk (he may not turn out to be a great batter) for a pitcher with injury risk. The Twins fill their centerfield gap with a cheap player, and they get a chance to win with Santana, Mauer and Morneau. And maybe the revenue numbers look better next year, and they decide they can sign Santana to a six-year extension. Meanwhile, the Yankees get a pitcher who in the short term might be better than Santana.

I'm not sure the Twins should do it, but if they trade Santana and Liriano blows out his arm quickly, they've lost two great lefties in one season.

The Twins and Johan Santana reached an impasse over the length of an extension:

The Star Tribune had reported that Santana countered the five-year, $93 million offer by asking for a deal similar to the seven-year, $126 million deal Barry Zito inked with the Giants last offseason. But a person familiar with the discussions said Santana's comparison to Zito is only in reference to the seven-year framework. Santana told the Twins he is looking for a six-year extension, and since the Twins were only offering four, the sides agreed the team should begin exploring trade options.

Tuesday the Mets shipped Guillermo Mota to the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for Johnny Estrada. It's a deal for disappointing players. The Milwaukee press said little good about the catcher:

When the Brewers acquired Estrada in a trade with Arizona last Thanksgiving, they thought he was the answer to their catching situation. He slumped at the plate in the second half (.254, two homers, 20 RBI), in part because of an ailing hamstring.

Estrada also had a poor year behind the plate, throwing out just six of 79 runners attempting steals (7.6%). As it turned out, he had a bone spur in his throwing elbow, which was removed after the season (along with torn cartilage in his left knee).

The primary issues the Brewers had with Estrada, however, appeared to be off the field. He did not see eye-to-eye at times with pitching coach Mike Maddux as well as some pitchers on the staff. The Brewers also thought his energy level was low and his attitude not positive enough.

Estrada and teammate Tony Graffanino were involved in a dugout altercation with manager Ned Yost in early August - in a game against the Mets, no less - but that was not thought to be a factor in the trade.

Estrada did not become a regular until he was 28 years old. He'll be seasonal age 32 in 2008, and it looks like the best part of his career came and went quickly. The Brewers are looking at Jason Kendall as a replacement. He's two years older than Estrada and also coming off a poor season. I'm not sure he's going to be an improvement, but his OBA might rebound.

The New York Times reports the Mets to Estrada so they could save for another trade:

Estrada also represented an attractive choice because the Brewers' asking price was cheaper than what it would have taken to obtain Gerald Laird or Ramón Hernández, the other catchers the Mets had singled out in possible trades. That allowed the Mets to hold on to their prized prospects, which may enable them to make a run at an elite starting pitcher.

That pitcher will have the added comfort of knowing that his new catcher is well regarded for his game-calling skills and how he handles pitching staffs. Estrada, 31, who can be a free agent after the 2008 season, has already played for four teams -- Philadelphia, Atlanta, Arizona and Milwaukee. He made the All-Star team with the Braves in 2004, when he posted his best season: a .314 average, 36 doubles, 76 runs batted in with a .378 on-base percentage. Last season with Milwaukee, Estrada hit .278 with 10 home runs and 54 R.B.I.

That's an interesting contrast. Milwaukee doesn't like the way Estrada called games, the Mets do. We'll now wait to see if Estrada will be the every day starter or the backup.

Via Soccer Dad, there's speculation the Orioles might trade Erik Bedard:

The Los Angeles Dodgers and Baltimore Orioles have discussed the parameters of a trade that would send left-hander Erik Bedard to the Dodgers for a package that includes 23-year-old outfielder Matt Kemp, according to a source familiar with the talks.

The Orioles are in a rebuilding mode after 10 consecutive losing seasons. By making Bedard available, they are hoping to take advantage of a thin free-agent market for pitchers in order to stock up on position players and return to contention in the tough American League East within a year or two.

Bedard has won 28 games the past two seasons, last season striking out 221 hitters in 182 innings before a strained oblique shut him down. He is arbitration eligible this winter and is eligible for free agency after the 2009 season.

Do you build around Bedard or do you trade him at the height of his value? He was injured this season, which increases his chance of being injured again. The likelihood is that the Orioles aren't going to win with Bedard anyway, so why not build for the future? That assumes, of course, that they do a better job of building for the future than they've done in the recent past.

The Angels trade of Orlando Cabrera unleashed speculation that LAnaheim will go after Miguel Cabrera or Miguel Tejada.

The Angels' focus this offseason has been on the Marlins' Cabrera, and they reportedly are one of the front-runners, along with the Los Angeles Dodgers, for landing the slugging third baseman.

But if they can't, Tejada could become a priority in a market that already has lost Alex Rodriguez and Mike Lowell, who are close to returning to the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, respectively.

Today's trade gives the Angels a surplus of starting pitching, and they also have a boatload of position and pitching prospects to use in any potential deal. At this point, the Angels appear ready to hand over the shortstop position to Aybar.

"We're dealing from a position of strength, and we're confident that we'll be able to get the bat that we're looking for," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said from his California home tonight. "We're very confident in the position that we're in."

Truthfully, however, you really can't compare the two. Cabrera is young, and MVP candidate and still has upside potential. Tejada will be 32 and coming off a down year. He's still good, but in two or three years the Angels would be out shopping again. With Cabrera, they could sign him to a big, long term contract and sow up the position for a decade.

While we wait to see if the Marlins trade Miguel Cabrera, the Angels moved Orlando Cabrera to the White Sox for Jon Garland.

The 28-year-old Garland, an 18-game winner in 2005 and 2006, was 10-13 with a 4.23 ERA in 32 starts last season. He 92-81 with a 4.41 ERA in 246 games, including 223 starts, over eight major league seasons, all with the White Sox. Garland was acquired by the White Sox from the Cubs on July 29, 1998, for pitcher Matt Karchner.

Cabrera, 33, batted .301 with 35 doubles, eight home runs, 86 RBIs and a career-high 101 runs with the Angels last year. He had a career-high 192 hits.

He won his second Gold Glove and led AL shortstops in fielding percentage (.983). Cabrera, who has also played with Montreal and Boston during his 11-year career, is a career .273 hitter. He was on the 2004 Red Sox team that won the World Series.

I like this trade for the White Sox. Cabrera discovered the value of getting on base the last two seasons. While it's not a great OBA, his .340 make over 2006-2007 is above league average. Along with his skills fielding, that makes him a somewhat valuable player.

Garland doesn't strike me as a typical Angels pitcher. One of the strengths of the Angels is that they don't strike out much on offense but their staff strikes out lots of batters. Garland records about a strikeout every other inning, which is pretty low for a successful pitcher. I suspect he'll improve in a better pitcher's park, however.

Who moves to play shortstop for the Angels? Looks like Brandon Wood to me.

The Oakland Athletics traded Marco Scutaro to the Toronto Blue Jays for a pair of minor league pitchers. Bell doesn't look like a great prospect. Not enough strikeouts and way too many walks. Godfrey doesn't have much of a track record, but at least his walks and home runs are good.

Aaron Gleeman breaks down the Twins deal for Craig Monroe.

I must admit, I don't understand the Jacque Jones for Omar Infante deal. I'm not a Jacque Jones fans, but he's certainly worth more than Omar Infante, especially when the Cubs are sending $2 million the Tigers way. Jones' .335 OBA isn't great, but you can certainly get by with that. Here's The Cub Reporter's thoughts on the deal. It's not even a salary dump, it's just getting rid of a player at any cost.

The Soxaholix would gladly deal Ellsbury and a young stud pitcher for Miguel Cabrera. He points to his round up of the interest in the Marlins third baseman.

The Phillies traded for Brad Lidge Wednesday night, a move that sends Brett Myers back to the rotation. Ruben Amaro points to Lidge's positives:

Several questions immediately arose.

Isn't Lidge, 30, coming off a down season?

"That's the perception, but the reality is different," said assistant general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. "His hits-to-innings pitched, strikeouts-to-walks and strikeouts-to-innings pitched were extraordinary."

Lidge had a 3.36 ERA last season. In 67 innings, he gave up 54 hits, walked 30 and struck out 88.

Another way to look at it is that Lidge allowed a .219 batting average, but a .312 OBA. His K/BB was good, but his BB/9 was high. On top of that, 26 of the 54 hits he allowed went for extra bases. With men on base, he allowed a .212 BA, but 11 of the 21 hits he allowed were for extra bases, including five home runs. When he screws up, he screws up royally.

Gillick was honest about Myers' reaction to the news:

"He was disappointed, I think," Gillick conceded. "I think he really enjoyed [relieving] and really wanted to stay there. But I think he realized that this is best from a team standpoint."

Myers was 0-2, 9.39 in three starts last year and had an 2.87 ERA with 21 saves after being moved to the bullpen.

"We were reluctant to do this because Brett enjoyed that role so much," Amaro added. "But I think he's going to be accepting of this. I think he'll be a team player and make this move willingly."

The Phillies also get Eric Bruntlett, who'll serve as utility infielder. The Astros received Michael Bourn, a Houston native. Bourn throughout his minor league career posted good OBAs with no power. If he can get his major league OBA above .360 he'll work out well at the top of the Houston lineup. They also get a decent relief pitcher in Geoff Geary and a prospect in Mike Costanzo. Costanzo's minor league number don't blow you away, but he appears to be developing power.

It's a tough trade to call. This is a trade for pieces. There are no stars here, just players who might make certain positions incrementally better. It doesn't change the teams that much, but does move them in the right direction.

The Astros send Brad Lidge and others to Philadelphia for Michael Bourn and others. More tomorrow when I'm awake. :-) I guess Brad is following in the footsteps of Billy Wagner.

My latest SportingNews.com column discusses why the Marlins made a mistake by not signing Miguel Cabrera to a long term contract. It's also the reason why the Yankees should be willing to give up a front line pitcher to own Miguel. He has a very good chance of producing a Hall of Fame career and is just entering his most productive phase. In fact, if I were running the Red Sox, I'd be willing to trade Ellsbury and Lester to get Miguel, providing he would be willing to sign a long term contract. In the Yankees case, he would go a long way toward replacing A-Rod's power, and for the Red Sox, he would take Manny's spot when Ramirez's contract is up.

Players like Cabrera are rare. Acquiring one for prospects is more than worth it.

The Yankees are talking to the Marlins about Miguel Cabrera:

Brian Cashman met with the Marlins at about 6 p.m. last night at the GM meetings. No offers were made, but a source with knowledge of the situation said the Marlins made it clear that the Yankees would have to include either Phil Hughes, Joba Chamberlain or Ian Kennedy in any trade for Cabrera, something the Yankees are not willing to do.

The Yankees would likely offer a deal involving their next tier of prospects, which includes Alan Horne, Humberto Sanchez, Ross Ohlendorf and Jose Tabata.

"The Marlins have evidently let it be known that he's available, so we're looking into it," Hank Steinbrenner said. "But everything is really very preliminary."

With a huge hole to fill following A-Rod's opt-out, Cabrera, a .313 hitter with 138 home runs and 523 RBI in 4-1/2 seasons, is the top third baseman available. But Cashman said he would be "hard-pressed" to deal his young stud pitchers - Hughes, Chamberlain or Kennedy.

I just finished a piece for SportingNews.com about Miguel, so I'll comment more fully about this later when that's posted. However, I will say giving up one of the big three for Cabrera should be an obvious move. Cabrera is a proven commodity, still with great upside. Even great young pitchers can go bad quickly. The Yankees should decide which of those three they like the least and make the deal.

Update: River Ave. Blues agrees.

FishStripes notes the Miguel Cabrera rumor mill started up quickly.

If the Marlins were smart, they would have signed him to a long term deal after the 2004 season, or even 2005. The team, however, is cheap, so Cabrera will be to the Marlins what Barry Bonds was to the Pirates, the one that got away.

The Detroit Tigers acquired Edgar Renteria today:

The Detroit Tigers announced today that the club has acquired shortstop Edgar Renteria and cash considerations from the Atlanta Braves in exchange for righthanded pitcher Jair Jurrjens and outfielder Gorkys Hernandez.

"We are excited to add an all-star caliber shortstop in Edgar Renteria to the Tigers organization," Tigers President, Chief Executive Officer and General Manager David Dombrowski said. "Edgar is a quality player, proven winner and tremendous leader that solidifies our infield."

Renteria, of course, was Dombrowski and Leyland's shortstop when the Marlins won the World Series in 1997. This of course, cements Guillen's move to first base.

Jair Jurrjens posted great walk and home run numbers in the minor leagues, though at age 21 they didn't translate well at the major league level. But he's a solid pitching prospect. Hernandez is just nineteen years old. He posted a high batting average but just a slightly above average OBA in his two minor league season. With little power, it's not clear where he fits into the Braves plans. Given his high stolen base totals the natural position is leadoff, but he may become an out machine at the top of the lineup. Still, at nineteen the Braves might find a way to raise his OBA, as the Mets did with Jose Reyes.

MLBTradeRumors.com looks at the best trades of the last calendar year.

David Murphy homered for the Rangers today, and in his brief period playing with Texas is putting up good averages. He turned Gagne into two good young players in Murphy and Gabbard, not a bad use of free agency and the trading deadline.

Marlon Byrd just hit his second home run of the game, and Texas leads Detroit 6-0 in the top of the fifth.

Update: Saltalamacchia also homers in the fifth to make the score 9-0. Another nice trade for Daniels. Vazquez follows with the fifth home run of the game fro Texas. Since the trading deadline, the Rangers are 21-15.

In what amounts to a trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Padres acquired Brett Tomko:

Tomko, 34, was designated for assignment by the Dodgers when Los Angeles signed left-hander David Wells, who had been released by the Padres.

Tomko was 2-11 with a 5.80 ERA with the Dodgers, but experienced relative success with the Padres in 2002, going 10-10 with a 4.49 ERA.

Tomko gives up a very high batting average, especially to right-handers. The Padres DER is much better than the Dodgers, so that might turn around with playing in San Diego.

I haven't seen a wire story, but Baseball Digest Daily reported in their newsletter that the Brewers acquired Ray King from the Nationals for an undetermined player.

The Washington Nationals today traded left-handed pitcher Ray King to the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for a player to be named later. King, 33, went 1-1 with a 4.54 ERA (17 ER/33.2 IP) in 55 games with the Nationals this season. He signed with the Nationals as a minor-league free agent on December 18, 2006.

King won't be allowed on a Brewers post-season roster. This is King's second stint with Milwaukee, but he's not the strikeout pitcher he was from 2000-2002. But it does give the Brewers a second lefty out of the bullpen, and King is still very effective versus left-handed batters.

Update: A commenter points out that Capuano is in the bullpen. I guess he's not taking Para's spot in the rotation.

The St. Louis Cardinals acquire Russell Branyan. Branyan, with a .229 career batting average doesn't get hits that often, but with a career .481 slugging percentage, the few hits he gets tend to go a long way. If you divide slugging percentage by batting average, the result is the average hit for a batter. For Branyan, that's 2.1, meaning his average hit is better than a double. So, if you need a hit that's going to advance runners, Branyan is your man.

It looks like the Cubs reacquired Steve Trachsel.

Trachsel, who turns 37 on Oct. 31, cleared waivers and was perhaps the best of the starting pitchers currently available. He is 1-1 with a 2.37 ERA in six August starts, and 6-8 with a 4.48 ERA in 20 starts overall this season.

Despite his 60-69 his first time around with Chicago, he pitched decently enough. His record would have been better on a better team. No word on what the Orioles are getting in return yet.

Update: The Orioles get Rocky Cherry and infielder Scott Moore. Any time you have a chance to acquire a player whose name sounds like an ice cream sundae, you have to go for it.

Mark Teixeira hit another home run tonight, his tenth since joining the Atlanta Braves. He's doing everything Atlanta needed at the position, getting on base at a .400 clip and slugging over .700.

But the Braves trail Cincinnati 5-2 tonight. For the month of August, through Wednesday, they are just 10-10. They finished July 13-13. There's just so much one player can do. Teixeira improved the offense, but the pitching went south as the Braves ERA is 0.9 runs higher than it was in July. The Teixeira trade filled a weak spot in the lineup with a great player. But there were deeper problems with the Braves, and those swamped the acquisition of just one player.

The Mets completed the trade for Jeff Conine:

Cincinnati Reds Executive Vice President and General Manager Wayne Krivsky today announced the acquisition of SS Jose Castro and OF Sean Henry from the New York Mets in exchange for IF/OF Jeff Conine.

IF/OF Jorge Cantu will be recalled from Louisville to take Conine's spot on the roster. Castro and Henry will be assigned to Class AA Chattanooga.

The two minor leaguers get on base decently, but neither has a lot of power. They're young enough that they might turn into decent players.

Ken Rosenthal reports that the Mets are about to acquire Jeff Conine from Cincinnati for two minor league position players. We don't know who the minor leaguers are yet. Conine isn't much more than a warm body at this point in his career, although he has hit well with runners in scoring position this season.

The Red Sox trade Wily Mo Pena to the Nationals for cash and future considerations. That allowed them to make room for Buchholz on the roster.

Pena actually did improve with the Red Sox. His road numbers especially were much better with Boston than with Cincinnati. But Fenway Park just wasn't for him. I don't see why he can't be an everyday player with Washington, however. Like Renteria before him, maybe he just needs a change of scenery.

The Tigers are about to trade Jack Hannahan to the Oakland Athletics. The A's are trying ride out Chavez's bulging disk with a third baseman with even less power. No word on what the Tigers are getting in return.

Beane basically picks up a worthless player to fill a hole in a season where the A's are going nowhere. Hannahan is 27, and is probably as good as he's going to get. Judging from his minor league numbers, he'll get on base a bit better than league average, but he's not going to hit for power. Since he wasn't on the 40-man roster, he didn't need to clear waivers. It was an easy, low cost deal that temporarily fixes a problem without impacting the future of the team.

Update: A commenter takes exception to my use of worthless. It's an exaggeration for effect. This is a 27 year old who's only managed a cup of coffee in the majors and who isn't even on a 40-man roster. And it's not like teams were clamoring to get him from the Tigers. Low value might be a better description, but I'll modify the comment as "worthless to everyone but Beane."

The Morris for Davis trade is looking pretty poor tonight for Pittsburgh. In the sixth inning, Rajai is three for three with three runs scored, a double and a triple. He's 10 for 21 with three walks since joining the Giants. And just remind them how long they've been a poorly run organization, the player they couldn't find a way to keep after 1992 homered off them, his 758th. The Giants lead 4-2 in the top of the sixth.

The Giants sent Mark Sweeney to the Dodgers yesterday, the first trade between the clubs in twenty two years. This thing seems to happen when old friends are involved in the GM office. The rebuilding of the Giants continues:

Ten days ago, the Giants began this shift by shipping pitcher Matt Morris to the Pirates.

"I guess this has been something we all knew was going to happen," Randy Winn said. "It's something we knew was possible since right around the All-Star break. Obviously we haven't played as well as we've liked. When Matt got traded, that was the first sign it really was going to happen. It's the reality of the game."

A slow-developing youth movement might pick up steam. The Giants recalled Dan Ortmeier from Triple-A Fresno to replace Sweeney. The switch-hitting outfielder was batting .262 with 10 homers and 54 RBIs for the Grizzlies. He also has played some first base and could do so here.

The Giants might be forced to recall another outfielder from Fresno because Dave Roberts badly bruised his right knee in the first inning. During a failed attempt at a delayed steal of home, Roberts banged the knee into catcher Jesus Flores' shin guard. X-rays were negative, but the Giants were awaiting results of a late-afternoon MRI exam before deciding whether to place Roberts on the disabled list.

Meanwhile, Rajai Davis splayed his youthful exuberance all over the field in a defeat that resulted in a split of four games against the Nationals. Davis had his first career three-hit game with a bunt single, bloop double and solid single. He also stole two bases and scored the Giants' run.

This marks the end of the Giants trying to win a World Series for Barry Bonds. The attempt to secure a championship with older, once good players failed, and now Sabean will go back to the more traditional means of building a team, trading what value remain in these veterans for some youth. Too bad for him there aren't more patsies like the Pirates out there.

I've been hearing about this trade for the last hour or so, but I wanted to believe it wasn't true:

The Giants traded pitcher Matt Morris to the Pittsburgh Pirates today for rookie outfielder Rajai Davis and a player to be determined.

The trade was unusual in that teams not in the playoff contention don't look to add an aging and expensive starter such as Morris. But the Pirates thought their young rotation needed a boost with their two top starters - Ian Snell and Tom Gorzelanny - struggling since the All-Star break.

The Giants were looking for a team to take some of their high-salaried players, and the Pirates will pick up all of the remainder of Morris' $10,037,283 contract for this season.

The Pirates, with an old minor league system, trade a rookie for a pitcher who got off to a lucky start, and pick up all of his contract. I mean, Davis had a .375 minor league OBA. Why would the Pirates need a player like that! Here's what Littlefield had to say:

"We've talked about acquiring a veteran starter the past couple seasons and haven't been able to acquire the guy we were looking for," general manager Dave Littlefield said. "I think Matt Morris is the right player who kind of fits in with what we're trying to do. This is someone we think will be a good fit for us."

What are you trying to do Dave, keep finishing last? That's one of the worst reasons I've heard for acquiring a pitcher since the Royals signed Storm Davis to take his 17 wins from the Oakland Athletics. The sound of Pirates fans pounding their head against the wall can be heard here in Massachusetts.

The Padres made three deals at the deadline, none of them blockbusters.

The San Diego Padres made three trades Tuesday, getting infielder Morgan Ensberg from the Houston, outfielder-infielder Rob Mackowiak from the Chicago White Sox and reliever Wilfredo Ledezma from Atlanta.

San Diego, in the thick of the NL West and wild-card races, completed the trades shortly before the 4 p.m. EDT deadline for making deals without waivers.

BBTN just announced that the Braves and Rangers completed the Mark Teixeira deal.

Update: This move certainly helps the Braves. Combined first base statistics for the Braves this year: .211/.270/.363. That's a bad middle infielder. The Braves weakness on offense was obvious, and they've plugged the whole. I wonder about Teixeira's upside a bit. Looking at his career, he seems to have peaked at age 25. Maybe Bobby Cox will bring out his best. The move from Showalter to Washington didn't seem to help.

Then again, Teixeira may not be a long term fix for Atlanta as he's a free agent at the end of 2008.

As for the prospects the Rangers got, I'm reminded of the Fred McGriff trade. The Padres received three players. One hit 60 or so home runs in the majors, one pitched about 40 innings and the other one never saw the show. Jarrod Saltalamacchia is supposed to be the prize. He's only twenty two, so there's plenty of upside. But his overall numbers don't blow me away. One thing I do like about his minor league career is that he does adjust to his level. His second season at a particular level looks great. If the Rangers are actually going to let him catch, he'll be an offensive assest. At first base, he's just another hitter.

Elvis Andrus is still a teenager, so his upside is great. Not clear why they need him with Michael Young signed to a long term contract. If he develops into a good player, they can trade him for pieces they need. It's never a bad thing to have too many shortstops. The two pitchers haven't been officially announced yet.

Once the Teixeira deal was done, the Braves were able to trade Davies to the Royals for Dotel. I'm not sure why the Royals want Davies except Moore used to work for Atlanta. Then again, I thought the Meche deal wasn't a very good one, either. The Braves bullpen wasn't a weakness, but this does make them better.

All in all, the Braves improved, but they weren't that bad. The offense ranked fifth in runs per game, the bullpen ranked 8th in ERA, the starters sixth. Does this really make the team's run differential better enough to make up 4 1/2 games on the Mets? We'll see.

Baseball Tonight is talking about Eric Gagne going to the Red Sox for CF Murphy and Kason Gabbard. Gagne has to approve the trade, but will he if the Sox are going to continue to use Papelbon as the closer?

Update: Here's a story from Ken Rosenthal at Fox. (Thanks to David Sussman for the link.)

Update: Amy Nelson from ESPN.com reported on BBTN that an incentive change is trying to be written into Gagne's contract, changing a games pitched incentive to a games finished incentive. This indicates to me that Gagne would be closing in Boston.

Update: Someone in the comments pointed out that I had the contract switch backwards. That makes much more sense.

Update: Buster Olney just reported this deal is done. The Red Sox are going to pay Gagne's games finished incentive. At this point, Red Sox starters just need to go six, or Boston can rotate Papelbon, Gagne and Okajima in and out of setup and closer rolls.

The Red Sox do give up three players, but I'm not overly impressed with Gabbard and Murphy. Engel Beltre is sixteen years old, however, and playing decently in rookie league ball. His is the name to watch in the future.

ESPN is reporting a likely deal between the Yankees and Dodgers:

The Dodgers and Yankees have agreed in principle on a trade that would send reliever Scott Proctor to the Dodgers for infielder Wilson Betemit, sources told ESPN The Magazine's Buster Olney.

Here's why:

The Yankees view Betemit as another first-base/DH/bench option for this year, and a potential third-base replacement for Alex Rodriguez next year.

For his career, Betemit homers every 25.8 at bats, although this season it's every 15.6. And he does draw a lot of walks. He's not A-Rod, but he was certainly underutilized by the Dodgers. Proctor's walks were up and strikeouts down this year, a very poor combination. Maybe the Dodgers can straighten out his problems. It's a good move by the Yankees.

I see on Fox and other places that the Twins are trading Luis Castillo to the Mets for two minor leaguers.

Mets Class AA catcher Drew Butera and Class A outfielder Dustin Martin are among the players the Twins are considering.

Butera can't hit, so I assume he's a great handler of pitchers. Martin's put up good OBAs in his two season in the minors, but he's 23 and still in A-Ball. Coming out of four years of college he should be advancing faster if he's going to be a good major leaguer. Given that Castillo has a good OBA for a second baseman (no power), you'd think the Twins might get a player that has a decent chance of helping them in the near future.

Update: This is a done deal.

Trades are starting to happen or at least the rumors seem to be getting more substance. One that appears to be a done deal is Kyle Lohse to the Phillies.

Cincinnati Reds executive vice president and general manager Wayne Krivsky today announced the acquisition of LHP Matt Maloney from the Philadelphia Phillies in exchange for RHP Kyle Lohse. Krivsky will be available to the media in the GABP administration building lobby at 4:30 p.m. ET. Maloney, 23, this season at Philadelphia's Class AA Reading affiliate went 9-7 with a 3.94 ERA and 1 complete game in 21 starts. He allowed just 117 hits while striking out 115 batters in 125.2 innings. He leads the Eastern League in innings pitched and ranks fourth in strikeouts.

Maloney has nice career minor league numbers as far as strikeouts and home runs are concerned. Lohse is a mediocre pitcher, but the Phillies score about a run more per game than Lohse allows, so he's useful to that team.

Ken Rosenthal is reporting that the Braves and Rangers are about to make a deal that would send Teixeira to the Braves and Saltalamacchia to the Rangers. Texas also gives up Ron Mahay and receives three other minor leaguers. I'll wait for the deal to be completed before undertaking an analysis.

Baseball Digest Daily reports that the Astros sent Dan Wheeler to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays for Ty Wigginton. While Wheeler is having a poor season, he likely improves a terrible DRays bullpen. But it's sad all the Astros could get for him was Ty.

Doctors pinned Chase Utley's broken hand today, and his prognosis is good.

The All-Star second baseman could be back in only three weeks, encouraging news for a team that sorely needs one of their top run producers as it chases New York in the NL East race.

"It's going to be tougher," said NL MVP Ryan Howard. "That's a big bat out of the lineup."

Utley had a pin inserted into his hand to stabilize a broken right ring finger during surgery Friday and was placed on the 15-day disabled list. He was struck by a pitch from Washington's John Lannan in the fifth inning of the pitcher's major league debut on Thursday.

And the Phillies picked up Tadahito Iguchi from the White Sox as Kenny Williams starts breaking up the team. Iguchi's batting average and slugging average are off this year, but he's still putting up a .340 OBA. Not great, but better than the NL average.

For the third time in his career, Kenny Lofton joins the Cleveland Indians. Texas trades the aging centerfielder for minor league catcher Max Ramirez. It seems like a pretty good deal for Texas, as Ramirez's OBA has been consistently over .400 in his minor league career.

I assume the Indains want Lofton to play leftfield, where the Indians have a combined .309 OBA this season. Lofton is still doing a great job getting on base, posting a .380 OBA this year.

The Padres dumped Scott Linebrink after today's loss to the Rockies, sending him to the Brewers for three relievers.

In return for Linebrink, the Padres received left-handed relief pitcher Joe Thatcher, left-handed starter Steve Garrison and right-handed starter Will Inman. Thatcher is 25. Garrison and Inman, both 2005 draft picks, are both 20.

Thatcher's had a very good minor league career, high strikeouts, low walks and home runs. It seems the Padres are willing to try him at the major league level. If the Brewers needed a reliever, you wonder why they didn't bring up Thatcher and keep their young prospects in the organization. Inman's also been outstanding. My first impression is that the Padres got the better of the deal, but the Brewers are likely to get a draft pick out it.

Linebrink is a free agent after the season and thus considered a "rental" in the trade business. But Melvin noted he is a Type A free agent, meaning the Brewers would get draft picks in return should he go elsewhere after the season.

If Linebrink helps the Brewers win this year, it's a good trade. If not, Inman might be the next Jeff Bagwell.

I just turned on the Devil Rays/Yankees game, and the New York announcers are saying that the Yankees are trading for Jose Molina of the LAnaheim Angels. The word is the Yankees will send Jeff Kennard, AA relief pitcher to the west coast. Jeff is having a good year in 2007. In the past, he's walked a lot of batters.

The Yankees are getting their revenge for yesterday's blowout. They won game one 7-3, and are leading 17-5 in the night cap. Alex Rodriguez hit his 33rd home run of the season, and 497th of his career.

Barry Bonds will be in the lineup for the Giants when they play the Cubs this afternoon, but Cesar Izturis won't be on the bench for the Cubs. They traded him to the Pirates today.

The Chicago Cubs traded backup shortstop Cesar Izturis and cash to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday for a player to be named later.

Izturis, an All-Star with the Dodgers in 2005 before his season was cut short by elbow surgery, joined the Cubs at the trading deadline last season when Chicago dealt Greg Maddux to Los Angeles.

Pirates shortstops have a .320 OBA and a .361 slugging percentage this season. Cesar's career averages are .295 and .334, so Pittsburgh isn't exactly upgrading the position. But as a defensive replacement that cost them very little, he's fine. Still it would be nice to see the Pirates pick up somebody who can contribute offensively.

After a weekend sweep, the Giants were supposed to hold a fire sale, but it's the Athletics who start trading players. Jason Kendall goes to the Cubs:

The Chicago Cubs acquired veteran catcher Jason Kendall on Monday in a trade with the Oakland Athletics for catcher Rob Bowen and minor league left-hander Jerry Blevins.

Kendall, a .298 career hitter in 12 major league seasons with Pittsburgh and Oakland, was batting only .226 for the A's this season with two homers and 22 RBI. He was a three-time All-Star with the Pirates and is known for his ability to get on base. He has more walks than strikeouts during his career.

The Cubs began play Monday night 3½ games behind Milwaukee in the NL Central.

"We certainly feel we're going to be in it the rest of the way. His character and his leadership is terrific. We feel he's still got a lot left in the tank," Cubs general manager Jim Hendry said.

"It's a good fit for us, obviously it makes us better on the field and in the clubhouse. I spoke to him about half hour ago and I can't tell you how excited he is. He was thrilled."

Kurt Suzuki becomes the starter at catcher for the A's. Blevins is a reliever who strikes out a lot of batters and doesn't allow home runs. He seems to have gotten his walks under control this season, so I can see where the A's might be using him to plug one of the holes in the bullpen. I'm not sure Kendall helps the Cubs at this point, unless he's simply used as a backup to Hill.

Update: The commenter below is right, Hill is not a good catcher. The Cubs sent down Soto, who has good minor league numbers batting wise. At age 24, I don't know why they don't give him more of a chance.

Via MetsBlog.com, Roy Oswalt put himself on the trading block:

If the Astros approached Oswalt and told him it would be better for the franchise's future to trade him, he told the Chronicle two weeks ago he would consider waiving his no-trade clause. During the Astros' four-game series against the Mets, Billy Wagner told Oswalt that playing in New York isn't that bad.

Back at MetsBlog:

...i don't see why the Astros would trade him considering they've got a sweetheart of a deal at $73 million over five years...why would they have bothered signing the extension in the first place....

That's exactly why you trade him. With a low cost deal, you can get more in return.

Now Milton Bradley is headed to San Diego. I guess the oblique healed. I suppose it's possible that by the end of the year Milton will have played for all five California teams. After all, how can he not get along with Mike Scioscia and Barry Bonds?

MLB Fanhouse is already handicapping the action in the Padres clubhouse:

It's the second great trade in the last couple of weeks for the Padres, as they acquired Michael Barrett earlier in the week to also help an anemic lineup. Now the challenge for the Padres is keeping these two men who have, shall we say, "tempers", in opposite ends of the locker room so they don't rip each other's hearts out. After all, Michael Barrett has had heavyweight bouts with A.J. Pierzynski and Carlos Zambrano, while Bradley has had verbal spats with Eric Wedge and Jeff Kent. So are these two in the same clubhouse a recipe for disaster?

Given the recent poor reporting on trades, I'll believe this one when it's announced.

The White Sox appear to be keeping Mark Buehrle:

Right when the trade talks were heating up for LHP Mark Buehrle, the White Sox found seller's remorse. Call it a reality check. Last winter the Sox started putting themselves in position to rebuild the rotation, dealing Freddy Garcia to Philadelphia for Gavin Floyd and Gio Gonzalez. Then the Sox sent one of their own young arms, Brandon McCarthy, to Texas for pitchers John Danks, already in the rotation, and Nick Massett, already in the bullpen.

So the Sox came to the reality that before they did anything rash they needed to reassess Buehrle's status in Chicago, and reopen talks. While he turned down a three-year, $30 million extension a year ago the reality set in that if he is really serious about a five-year, $75 million deal, similar to what Roy Oswalt got in Houston, the Sox at least owed him a serious conversation.

This makes sense to me. Good starting pitching is tough to come by. Why trade away your best pitcher when you can get pretty good value for your second line pitching? We'll see if they can actually make a deal, but this is the right move for the White Sox.

Jacque Jones appears to be going to Florida, but the deal hit a snag:

Jones, 31, has been traded, according to the Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel, but the deal has hit a "major snag," a major-league source told FOXSports.com. As of 6:20 p.m. ET, the Cubs had yet to inform Jones that he had been dealt, another source said.

The snag likely involves money -- Jones is earning $4 million this season and $5 million next season. The low-revenue Marlins almost certainly would require the high-revenue Cubs to pay the majority of Jones' remaining salary as part of the deal.

Stay tuned. However, I don't really see how a player with a .623 OPS helps the Marlins. The current group Florida uses in center isn't good, but they're better than that.

Kenny Williams is ready to wheel and deal:

Last week, Williams said he would hold off on making trades because there was a chance his underachieving club might show some life, and players who have struggled might pick it up once some injuries healed.

But after watching the White Sox score only two total runs in consecutive losses to the crosstown rival Chicago Cubs, Williams is ready to shake things up.

"Something's got to happen. I'm tired of watching this," he said Sunday. "Change needs to happen and change is going to happen. When that happens, I don't know."

The big rumor revolves around Buehrle going to the the Red Sox. I'm not sure I understand that deal. I would think the White Sox would trade Mark for long term interests, for prospects. The front office of Boston is trying to balance winning with building a strong farm system. Given that the Red Sox have the third best ERA in the majors, trading prospects to improve a strength doesn't seem to make a lot of sense to me. If they were getting a great centerfielder or shortstop, I could see them pulling the trigger. I would guess competition for Buehrle would be strong, so the Red Sox would need to pay a high price.

ESPN is reporting Milton Bradley is going to the KC Royals for Leo Nunez. However, Baseball Digest Daily is reporting that Bradley has an injury and the trade is not going through. Stay tuned.

Update: Here's the story with this unusual ending:

Although it's unusual to acknowledge a trade that wasn't made, the Royals decided to go public when word of the deal leaked out.

The Athletics have not yet made a statement on the situation.

The Tigers are dumping pitchers to make room for players coming off the disabled list:

Seeking to bolster their rotation, the Cardinals have acquired left-handed pitcher Mike Maroth from the Tigers, FOXSports.com has learned.

The trade is the Tigers' second in three days as they prepare for the returns of left-handers Kenny Rogers and Nate Robertson from the disabled list. On Wednesday, Detroit sent left-hander Wil Ledezma to the Braves for left-hander Macay McBride, in part because McBride can be sent to the minors without restriction while Ledezma would need to clear waivers before getting demoted.

The Cardinals have also been actively dealing this week. Maroth becomes the second pitcher St. Louis has added, after they signed right-hander Tomo Ohka to a minor-league contract on Tuesday.

Mike walked more than he struck out this season (33 BB, 28 K), never a good sign.

The Cubs dumped Michael Barrett, trading him to the Padres:

The Cubs received catcher Rob Bowen and minor-league outfielder Kyler Burke.

The Padres, eighth in the National League in runs, have been searching for more offense. They are second in the league in on-base/slugging percentage at catcher, but Barrett would be an offensive upgrade over Josh Bard and Bowen.

I'm not sure "upgrade" is the right word. Bowen was having a good year offensively, and the tradeoff between Bard and Barrett is on-base average vs. power. Burke is very young (19) but so far has shown no power in the minor leagues. Not really what you want from a rightfielder.

This seems to me like the Padres helping out the Cubs, and maybe improving their offense at catcher a little.

Firebrand of the American League hears a Red Sox/Twins/Phillies trade rumor that makes sense.

FishStripes doesn't appear to be very happy with the Benitez deal.

It's looking like a deal that send Armando Benitez to Florida may happen. John Perricone thought it should have happened earlier.

Update: This story says it's a done deal, but there's still no official announcement.

Update: The Giants get Messenger.

I turned on the Cardinals game in the sixth inning. The Pirates homered to cut the lead to 2-1, and they had a man on first with one out and LaRoche. LaRoche, I'll note is batting fourth today despite a slugging percentage in the low .300s. He grounded into a double play to end the inning. Adam is hitting very poorly, and on top of that he's a left-handed hitter who hits into a lot of double plays. That was his eighth of the season, fifth among all hitters in the National League. Mike Gonzalez is hurt, but when he's pitched he pitched well for the Braves.

Until Adam starts hitting, there's no way he should be in the middle of the order. Breaking up Sanchez and Bay with LaRoche is idiotic.

Update: Gorzelanny is hit on the thumb by a batted ball in the bottom of the inning. He comes out of the game, but he had thrown 118 pitches and the bases were loaded, so he was likely to come out of the game anyway.

Larry Brown reports on Helton to the Yankees rumors, but gets the reason wrong:

I guess with the struggles of Jason Giambi, the Yankees could have a use for Helton.

Giambi's OBA is .386. That's not that big a struggle. The problem is Doug Mientkiewicz's .302 OBA. He's the problem at first base, not Giambi.

Catfish Stew sums up the latest Billy Beane trade:

The Chronicle reports, via blog, that Jack Cust is the A's answer to the latest injury woes. (When Jack Cust is the answer, you are, perhaps, asking uncomfortable questions...) The Chronicle further notes that Cust is "a longtime favorite of Oakland GM Billy Beane." If that particular phrasing sounds familiar, that's because a variation of it was used to describe the newly acquired Chris Snelling in the morning papers.

So... Cust and Snelling are examples of players that Billy Beane likes. You don't suppose someone could show him some highlights of guys like Albert Pujols and Alex Rodriguez so he can start to develop affinities for that class of player, do you?

Beane used to like hitters who were actually good, but other teams didn't recognize their value. Now he likes players who might be good if they live up to their minor league numbers. The fact that Cust, in his mid-20s, was seen as nothing but a DH by the Orioles says something about how flexible he'll be for the Athletics.

After the Mike Piazza injury, the Oakland Athletics trade Ryan Langerhans to the Nationals for Chris Snelling.

"I didn't even get to introduce myself to him," said Beane, who has been in Oakland while his team is in Boston.

Snelling put up great OBAs in the minors, but never hit it in his short outings in the majors. I wonder if the PCL inflated his stats?

J.C. Bradbury throws out the idea that the trade of Langerhans might mean the Braves are going to sign Andruw Jones.

The Oakland Athletics acquired Ryan Langerhans from the Atlanta Braves last night:

The Oakland Athletics got some relief for their injury-depleted outfield Sunday, acquiring Ryan Langerhans in a trade with the Atlanta Braves for a player to be named or cash.

Langerhans will join the A's in Boston on Tuesday and is slated to start in center field for the opener of the two-game series with the Red Sox.

"He plays all three outfield positions, and given our situation with all the injuries, we need as many healthy bodies as we can get," A's general manager Billy Beane said. "He's a player we've liked in the past. He's off to a rough start in Atlanta and he became available to us."

I assume Beane likes the 93 walks in 701 career at bats. That's not a lot of career at bats, so a pure picture of Ryan hasn't emerged yet. However, given that he's 27, the chance of him being much better than his career number is probably small. And while the 93 walks are good, the 188 strikeouts are not. Adam Dunn without the power?

The Diamondbacks and Marlins swapped pitchers, with Jorge Julio traveling to Florida and Yusmeiro Petit heading to the desert.

The Diamondbacks wanted any team that acquired Julio to pay his entire $3.6 million salary, but they made an exception for the low-revenue Marlins in order to get a better prospect.

The Cardinals, Pirates and Devil Rays also had been interested in Julio, who was perhaps the most attractive reliever available on the trade market.

Julio is an interesting pitcher. His major league strikeout numbers are very good, and his walks are okay. But his home runs are high. Dolphin Stadium should be a good park for a pitcher like that.

Petit owns tantalizingly good minor league strikeout numbers. However, his rate goes down as he rises through the system. Is that real, or did he just rise too quickly? I'm guessing Arizona thinks the latter.

The Dodgers and Brewers swap players, LA picking up an outfielder and Milwaukee grabbing a reliever:

The Los Angeles Dodgers, shy on right-handed hitting outfielders, acquired Brady Clark and cash from the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday for reliever Elmer Dessens.

Clark owns a decent OBA for his career but no power. Since becoming a reliever in 2004, Dessens allowed a mere .307 OBA coming out of the pen. Both bring some value in their limited roles.

Royals Authority expands on the idea that the Royals did not help themselves trading for Tony Pena, Jr.

The whole idea that Dayton Moore actually traded for a player who isn't any better than Berroa (or Blanco for that matter) makes me ill. The whole time I've been campaigning for the replacement of Berroa, it was with the idea that the Royals would actually try to upgrade the position. This isn't an upgrade. The Royals are a one armed man, treading water. They're going in circles.

What does Moore see in this guy? The official line from the Royals is, "His bat is starting to come around." Puh-leez. And then there's the line, "He's ready to be an everyday shortstop at the major league level." Oh, really? Glove, maybe. Bat, no way.

This move stinks. We've basically exchanged one hacktastic middle infielder for another.

This, my friends, is called polishing a turd.

Dayton Moore took Tony Pena, Jr. off the hands of his old employer. The Royals lost faith in Angel Berroa. However, I don't see where Pena is going to be an improvement. His career minor league OBA is .285. I'm surprised someone that offensively bad hung around in the minors for six seasons.

"Another good young player," Bell said after Kansas City's game against Arizona in Tucson, Ariz., was rained out. "We're going to get him in camp. He's going to play, and then we'll manage the position as we go. We don't have a whole lot of time, but we've got a lot of really good reports on him and we'll see what happens."

He better have a great glove, because describing him as good just doesn't jibe with reality. I can't help but think the Royals would be better off keeping the prospect and living with Berroa at short until they can find someone who is actually good to play the position.

U.S.S Mariner discusses two ways to look at trades:

1) Each trade should be evaluated on what's known at the time. If a trade turns out much better than expected, or much worse, that shouldn't affect our opinion of the trade.

2) Each trade should be evaluated on the results of the trade. If a trade looks like it's an amazing rip-off, even if at the time everyone acknowledges it as such, but the victim turns out the winner due to unforseen circumstances, the victim's still the victor.

Obviously, in practice it doesn't work out that way. Members of the first camp are willing to concede that results are why you make trades, and members of the second camp might well admit that you make the best deal you can and then it's a bit of a crapshoot.

I tend to use number 1, mostly because my interest in evaluating a trade is at the time it happens. But Zumsteg makes an important point. While any trade might work out good or bad by sheer luck, the long term track record of the GM might give us a clue at the moment of the deal:

Take the Braves. For a long time, the Braves ran up an almost unblemished record of giving up pitching prospects in trades that turned into dogs. Every trade, it would look like they might even have given up too much, and those guys would turn to dust. It starts to look suspect: that they knew so much that they gave up pitchers where they knew the perceived value far exceeded the actual value.

And this is where I think the people grinding an axe about the M's trades in the last... uh, forever... have a good point. As much as we can say that the Garcia-for-Reed trade looked great at the time (and we did, you can look it up), or they got good value dumping guys off left and right during the last three seasons, the total of everything they've received in trade is Mike Morse, Jeremy Reed, and Jon Huber. As a group of trades, you've got to look at that and wince.

So if the Mariners trade Ichiro, the trade might look good on paper, but be aware of Bavasi's track record.

Brew Crew Ball wonders if trading Derrick Turnbow if he has a good spring might be the best option for the Brewers:

Turnbow is not going to be our closer in April, and unless Francisco Cordero melts down like he did last April (and Ned Yost has a twitchy trigger finger), Derrick probably won't be our closer at any point this year. An injury to Coco is all that would make it happen.

But, obviously Turnbow can close. There are plenty of teams out there that believe no one can pitch the ninth inning except for guys with ninth inning experience, and plenty more who desperately need a better setup man. In other words, a few more outings like this for D-Bow, and Doug Melvin's phone will start ringing again.

So, do we trade him? If so, for what?

The team obviously in need of a closer is the Red Sox. Despite his poor ERA in 2006, Derrick's strikeouts were still high, and Boston will like that. I'm not sure what type of player Boston could send Milwaukee's way at this point, however, unless they're willing to let go a pitching prospect.

Baseball Musings is holding a pledge drive in March.

The Cubs pick up two young prospects for Jae Kuk Ryu, getting an outfielder and a pitcher from low in the Devil Rays system. Given how Reinhard and Lopez performed so far, this might be a deal that looks very big in a couple of season for the Cubs.

The Rockies announced the Todd Helton deal with the Red Sox is dead:

Rockies managing general partner Charlie Monfort said Monday night the team broke off talks with the Boston Red Sox about dealing Helton to the American League team, virtually ending the possibility the franchise's all-time leader in almost every offensive category will be dealt.

Helton, who has a no-trade clause in his contract, which goes through 2011, had said if a deal weren't made this week, he would not approve one. He also indicated he is not inclined to revisit trade possibilities at a later date.

Monfort, who worked with Red Sox president Larry Lucchino in the talks the past two weeks, said the discussions ended when Boston refused to include one of the players from a list of six potential impact prospects the Rockies gave the Red Sox.

"They wouldn't give us a player compatible with what we felt we needed," Monfort said. "When you are talking a player of Todd Helton's ability, you need to get someone back who is going to make an impact."

Good for both sides. The Red Sox didn't give up their future for a long term commitment to an aging player, and the Rockies didn't trade a star just to trade him. If Helton is healthy again, why not try to use him along with a good pitching staff to bring the franchise back?

Todd Helton confirms to the Denver post that he will waive his no trade clause to go to the Red Sox. However, he appears to want this resolved quickly:

Helton was asked Saturday night whether he has provided the Rockies a deadline or - as major-league sources indicated - was prepared to veto any deal in the future if this trade was not consummated soon.

"That's between me and the Rockies," Helton said. "But they know how I feel."

To the question of whether he would have interest in going to Boston, Helton answered: "Yes."

This is a difficult trade to analyse since the players involved are so fluid. It could turn out to be a good deal for Boston. However, trading for a highly paid, declining first baseman doesn't sound like the best way to spend your money, even if the Rockies are picking up half the tab. I'm tending to the negative on this deal based on that point.

It seems there's a rumor going around that the Red Sox and Rockies are working a trade for Todd Helton. Firebrand of the American League doesn't like the idea of the deal:

1) Not a fan. $90.1 million over six years? Edit: That's only if the option is picked up. Otherwise, it's five years and $45 million. That's more palatable, but it's still far from convenient. Yeah, he's got three Gold Gloves. Yeah, he's a great guy with plate discipline. HE'S THIRTY-THREE AND JUST HAD A SEASON CONSIDERED A FALL-OFF.

2) Where does Mike Lowell or Kevin Youkilis fit into the lineup with Helton? If we acquire Helton, Lowell simply has to go. With Lowell's contract, easier said than done.

3) Where was all this money when we could have had Johnny Damon and Bobby Abreu? One may say that Beckett, Crisp, Drew and Helton is superior to Helton and Abreu, but still. What's going on with the Red Sox? All of a sudden they're acting like the Yankees. I don't like it. Don't burn your farm system for a 33-year old owed $19.1 million in 2011 (club option 2012).

I'd also remind people of this for Todd's ten-year career:

• Home line: .371 BA, .465 OBA, .676 Slug.


• Road line: .294 BA, .393 OBA, .507 Slug

He's still was a great hitter away from Coors, just not so amazing. However, unless they move Youkilis back to third, I'm pretty sure it's more cost effective to keep Kevin at first.

The Good Phight suggests five possible trades for Jon Lieber.

The Athletics traded Kirk Saarloos to Cincinnati today for a minor leaguer and a player to be determined. Saarloos is a very low strikeout pitcher who walked more batters than he K'd over the last three seasons and saw his home run jump dramatically last year (granted, he was injured). The A's get in return a 24-year-old relief pitcher with great minor league K, BB and HR numbers, and one other body in the future.

Update: Redleg Nation doesn't like the deal.
If I'm a Reds fan, given the bullpen problems of last year, I'm not very happy with the deal.

Update: C. Trent Rosecrans likes the move better than his commenters do. I like this one:

Considering Oakland's knack for knowing pitching, I'd say we're in deep crap here.

Both Sabernomics and Baseball Crank don't like this deal from the Braves side.

The Crank:

But it's still trading a guy who his 32 home runs and slugged .561 with a .354 OBP as a 26-year-old regular last season for a short reliever, one who has spent more than a month on the DL each of the past two seasons, including missing the end of 2006 with elbow tendinitis, and issued 5.02 walks/9 IP (excluding intentional walks) over those two seasons. The only way this makes sense is if the Braves are really certain that LaRoche not only had a career year last year (which I suspect he did) but that he will not come especially close to those numbers again. Otherwise, they are drastically overrating the value of a single reliever compared to an everyday player.

Crank dwells on the negative (walks) without looking at the positive (Ks, HR).

From Sabernomics:

In 2006, I estimate the Gonzalez's play generated $5.12 million, which is $4.67 less than LaRoche's $9.79 million. Granted that 2006 was a career year for Adam--and steady sailing for Gonzalez--but I think LaRoche's break-out is for real. PrOPS has him right at what he actually produced, which is a good sign.

...

So, straight up, I don't like this deal, even if LaRoche falls back to an .850 OPS player. However, this isn't a straight-up deal. Brent Lillibridge, the prospect coming to Atlanta, is intriguing. He's a college product who has put up good numbers in the minors, and he plays a difficult defensive position. His minor league performance is a bit difficult to judge since he's never been past high-A ball even though he's 22. He certainly makes the deal better for the Braves, but I don't know if it's enough.

It looks like Brent Lillibridge heads to Atlanta and Jamie Romak winds up in the Pittsburgh system as part of the LaRoche-Gonzalez trade. Romak is young, 21 in 2007 and put up decent numbers at A ball after three seasons in rookie league. That seems like a long time in rookie ball, but he started when he was 17. Lillibridge put up .400+ OBAs in 2006 at both levels of A ball. Why didn't he advance more? As someone drafted out of college, as someone who was playing very well at A ball, shouldn't the Pirates be moving him along faster? One of the reasons to draft a college player is less minor league development time. I wonder if the Braves will move him to second as a possible replacement for Giles? Or let him develop for a couple of more years, then replace Renteria?

The Pirates finally landed the player they covented, Adam LaRoche.

The Pittsburgh Pirates' two-month wait to try to swing a deal for Atlanta power hitter Adam LaRoche ended Wednesday when they agreed to acquire the first baseman for left-handed closer Mike Gonzalez and another player.

The trade is subject to physicals for the players required by the two teams, according to a baseball official familiar with the negotiations who requested anonymity because the deal was still being finalized. The identify of the other player was not immediately known.

I assume that means it's not Chris Duffy. I'm not a huge LaRoche fan. He had a great year at age 26 after not reaching the majors until age 24, and then being platooned with someone older than me. I don't think he's going to have a long and productive career. However, the Pirates are getting him at his peak, so if he can at least repeat his 2006 performance, he'll improve the team. But he's by no means a savior.

Mike Gonzalez, on the other hand, does two things really well that you like to see in a closer. He strikes out lots of batters and doesn't allow many long balls. He walks a lot of batters, about one every other inning. But he's so tough to hit he can live with that. It looks to me like a very good move for the Braves. They trade someone who should be fairly easy to replace, using his career season to hype his value for a pitcher who possesses two important skills. And John Schuerholz even picks up another player in the bargain! A classic Braves deal.

Randy Johnson passed his physical and returns to the Diamondbacks today:

Randy Johnson passed a physical with the Diamondbacks, as expected, and the team will formally announce during a 1 p.m. news conference today at Chase Field that he has been reacquired from the New York Yankees.

"I just spoke to Randy and Lisa (Johnson's wife), and they're thrilled," said Barry Meister, one of Johnson's agents. "They're so happy to be back in Arizona and are so looking forward to being with the Diamondbacks.

"We're looking for a long relationship and Randy finishing his career there with a World Series patch on his sleeve."

I've seen more negative than positive comments about the trade from the point of view of the Diamondbacks. I don't agree. Sean Smith points out that all the projections for Johnson are pretty good. And if Randy's problems in 2006 were back related, that problem is fixed now. I could see Johnson posting a 4.00 ERA easily in 2007. Given that the starters with Brandon Webb had a 4.55 team ERA in 2006, a season like that from Johnson would be an improvement. Remember, despite the bad back, he still struck out batters and walked few. If a healthy back causes him to hang fewer pitches, Diamondbacks fans will be very happy with his performance.

Arizona sees a window of opportunity here to win the division. Johnson will bring in fans, and if the team wins consistently, that will bring in even more. More fans equal more money equals the ability to build a better team in the future. Think of it as a high risk, high reward move, with decent confidence that the risk pays off.

I wondered why the Diamondbacks were so willing to give Johnson big money without a physical:

Though Johnson is 43, has been bothered by knee and back problems in the past and in October, underwent back surgery to repair a herniated disk, the Diamondbacks seem convinced he will pass a full physical and a review of his medical history today with flying colors.

That's because Johnson, who won four consecutive Cy Young Awards and a World Series for the Diamondbacks during his earlier six-year stint in the Valley, apparently has been consulting with the club's head physician for months, primarily about the pitcher's back.

Dr. Michael Lee wouldn't advise the Diamondbacks to continue their pursuit of Johnson if he had significant doubts about Johnson's health. Lee, entering his seventh full season as the team's chief physician, is expected to conduct most of Johnson's physical today in the Valley.

"Everything should check out OK," a source familiar with the situation told The Republic.

Nothing like inside information.

The Arizona Republic reports that there are just language issues to work out in the new Randy Johnson contract. The sides have until 5 PM EST, 3 PM MST to work out the deal and complete the trade.

On another note, the article mentioned that Mike Swanson is leaving the Diamondbacks for a job with the K.C. Royals. I worked with Mike for a year at ESPN and want to wish him best of luck in his new position!

It looks like Randy Johnson is on his way back to Arizona:

The Yankees reached a tentative agreement with Arizona on Thursday to trade Johnson to Arizona for reliever Luis Vizcaino and three minor leaguers, a move that allows the Big Unit's agents to get him a contract extension.

Arizona general manager Josh Byrnes confirmed what he called "an agreement in principle" but did not identify the players that would go to the Yankees.

New York would receive Vizcaino and minor league right-handers Ross Ohlendorf and Steven Jackson, and shortstop Alberto Gonzalez, a baseball official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The Yankees also would pay $2 million of Johnson's $16 million salary this year.

Teams are granted a 72-hour window by the commissioner's office to close tentative deals, and the Yankees and Diamondbacks must finalize the trade by 5 p.m. ET Sunday.

On last night's podcast, I looked at the three starters the Yankees might get, and rated Ohlendorf number two. I thought the Yankees would hold out for Owings, but Ohlendorf is still pretty good. Owings had moved up so fast through the Arizona system, I thought it was more likely he could move into the Yankees rotation right away.

I'm not overly excited about Luis Vizcaino. He fills a need, but he's not the centerpiece of the deal. Jackson's not a bad prospect. His home runs and walks allowed are very good, but his strikeouts are just okay. Still that makes two more starting prospects in the Yankees system. They're pretty flush with young arms right now.

The DBacks were pretty deep at shortstop, and so they could afford to send Gonzalez to the Yankees. He's posted pretty good OBA his last two seasons. The Yankees could certainly use a better defensive shortstop as Jeter ages.

For all this, the Diamondbacks get a questionable Randy Johnson.

Newsday reported Thursday that Johnson had agreed in principle through "back-channel conversations" to a $10 million contract extension for 2008.

"We're going to start talking tomorrow," said Alan Nero, who represents Johnson along with Barry Meister. "We have a conference call set up."

I like the deal for the Yankees. If Johnson is healthy, he'll improve the DBacks rotation. If Ownings can continue to advance quickly, a Webb-Johnson-Owings front of the rotation may not be that far away. Both teams should be happy with this deal.

It seems more teams than just the Padres and Diamondbacks are interested in Randy Johnson.

And a person with direct knowledge of the talks said that while Arizona and San Diego have been the most likely landing places for Johnson, other clubs have called to discuss potential trades, too. The person refused to identify the clubs, but added that other teams have been involved since the Yankees first began discussing trading Johnson.

The more clubs that are involved, the more likely Cashman is going to get what he wants from this deal. My guess is he's waiting to see if Arizona budges on the money.

According to Rotowire, San Diego is making a last attempt to win Randy Johnson. This is a perfect strategy by the Yankees, getting two teams to bid against each other.

Rays of Light discusses the Devil Rays acquistion of Brendan Harris, and throws in some physics just for fun.

In fact, this move is so difficult to understand that I fear criticizing it. If I'm so smart, why don't I just criticize Bernoulli's Equation while I'm at it? If you tell me that in an irrotational fluid, the sum of the static pressure, the weight of the fluid per unit mass times the height, and half the density times the velocity squared is constant throughout the field; I will believe you. And at this point if you tell me acquiring Harris is a brilliant move, I really want to believe you also.

John Walsh at the Hardball Times looks back at the deal of Soriano for Wilkerson and tries to determine why so many of us got it wrong. (My original post on the subject is here. Dan from New Haven should be gloating right now.)

John goes into a lengthy discussion about park factors, and how we might have used those to overestimate this trade in favor of Wilkerson:

Soriano's new park in Washington, RFK Stadium, had a park adjustment of 93 in 2005, the only year of data available for that park. I'm using Baseball Reference as a source for park adjustments, because I'm guessing that many people do the same. That's a good pitcher's park, but it's only based on one year of data, and hence is "polluted" by statistical noise. In fact, the park adjustment for RFK in 2006 was much higher, at 97. Where the number settles down is anybody's guess, but the point is that putting too much faith in a one year park factor is rather dangerous.

The problem is, if you go back and look at RFK in the 1960's, it was also a pitcher's park. So there's more history there that just one year. No matter how you slice it, Soriano was moving from a more friendly hitting environment to a less friendly hitting enviornment.

The two things we missed were what people like to call intangibles. The influence of Frank Robinson and the fact that Soriano was playing for a contract. Somehow, Robinson got Soriano to show some plate discipline. That made a huge difference.

I still stand by what I wrote over a year ago. This was a good move for Texas that didn't work out due to injury. And it's not like Washington has a lot to show for it at this point. Maybe after 2007, we'll again change our minds about this deal.

USA Today reports that the Diamondbacks and Yankees have agreed on players to be traded in the Randy Johnson deal, but there are still details to hammer out:

The deal has not been completed because of money issues, including how much the Yankees will pay toward Johnson's $16 million contract in 2007.

The Diamondbacks official also said they would like to sign Johnson to a one-year extension that would be a pay cut from his '07 salary, as well as restructure the $40 million deferred payments the left-hander is owed from his 1999-2004 stint with the team.

I've been skeptical of this deal getting done, but at this point it looks like the odds are on the side consummation. We don't know the names of the pitchers yet, so it's impossible to evaluate at this point. However, The Big Lead suggests this strategy:

So perhaps the rumors are true - the Yankees are stockpiling prospects to ship to Minnesota when it becomes inevitable the Twins cannot resign ace Johan Santana in a year or two.

Or, the Yankees are just tired of old pitchers trying to stay ahead of a great offense. Depending on the pitchers in this deal, the Yankees will end up picking up quality pitching prospects like the Marlins did last year while still remaining a playoff contender.

The Randy Johnson deal keeps running into snags.

The Yankees' possible trade of Randy Johnson to the Diamondbacks, a deal that appeared to be gaining steam toward the end of last week, has slowed over the structuring of a potential contract extension for Johnson, according to a person with knowledge of the negotiations. As part of an agreement for waiving his no-trade clause, Johnson is looking for an extension, but the Diamondbacks, who already owe Johnson about $40 million in deferred money, apparently are looking for a way to factor some of that cash into the extension, the source said. Arizona also is trying to convince the Yankees to kick in some of Johnson's $16 million salary for next season.

But if the Yankees are going to include money in the trade, they want at least three players back - either all bona fide prospects or two top prospects and a major leaguer who would help them this year, another baseball official said.

It's struck me that all three sides in this deal know what they want to get out of the deal, and all are willing to walk away. My guess is the deal hinges on how much Johnson wants to play in Arizona vs. how much money he wants to make doing it. Arizona appears to be willing to part with the players if Johnson doesn't demand too much of a contract.

Alex Belth rounds up news about Bobby Murcer and the Randy Johnson trade.

The Diamondbacks are on the same page as the Yankees in the Johnson deal. They'll only make the move if it's right for the team.

"He's 43 and has two back surgeries," said a source close to the decision-making process. "There's an upside to him, but there's a high degree of risk, as well."

That high degree of risk, and the progress the Diamondbacks feel they have made this off-season with the acquisition of starter Doug Davis, have put the front office in a win-win situation. General Manager Josh Byrnes and his staff can take or leave Johnson.

"The fact of the matter is that Randy is a Yankee right now," Diamondbacks President Derrick Hall said Tuesday night. "Josh Byrnes is working hard all day, every day in an effort to improve what we already consider a strong team.

"If there is a deal that makes sense for both sides, he and (Yankees GM) Brian (Cashman) will make it happen. Randy is a big part of our history and brings value to any team, but our baseball staff will not sacrifice a balanced roster if the asking price is too steep."

I still feel a deal for Johnson is a long way from getting done. All sides are basically in a take it or leave it mode, and there doesn't seem to be any urgency from anyone to make a deal.

The New York Daily News names San Diego, not Arizona, as the leading contender for Randy.

San Diego right now appears to be the most likely destination for the five-time Cy Young Award winner, but the Dodgers, Angels and Diamondbacks are all said to be in the mix. One of the officials, familiar with the ongoing discussions, used the phrase "several bona fide offers" to describe what the Yankees are mulling and said the Yankees probably would not have to include any money.

In exchange for Johnson, it's possible the Yankees could be looking at San Diego reliever Scott Linebrink, a righthander they've always liked.

I still think a trade of Johnson is unlikely for a number of reasons:

• Johnson's health.
• Johnson's no trade clause.
• The price the Yankees are asking.

However, there does appear to be a bidding war developing between San Diego, Los Angeles and Arizona as each team tries to keep Johnson away from the other. I'm sure we'll hear lots more on this over the next few days.

And of course, there's the Zito speculation:

Freeing up $16 million also may open the door for them to enter the bidding for top free agent lefthander Barry Zito, in which the Mets are a major player.

I always thought the Yankees might swoop in on Barry if a deal made sense. This might light a fire under the Mets, Rangers and Giants to try to get a deal done before a Johnson trade happens.

Ben Kabak links to an article suggesting the Diamondbacks and Yankees are working on trading Randy Johnson back to Arizona.

The deal doesn't make a lot of sense to me. So far, Byrnes has gone about building the Diamondbacks by jettisoning veterans for younger players. The Johnson move would do just the opposite. It's the kind of trade you make if you think you're ready to win. Given that Byrnes seems like a pretty smart GM, and the NL West is such a weak division, maybe Josh sees a chance here. If the Yankees can get a couple of good prospects for Randy, then in three trades this winter the Yankees will have made their future look pretty good.

The Dallas Morning News reports that the Rangers and White Sox agreed on a trade to send Brandon McCarthy south:

According to two Rangers sources, the club agreed to send top pitching prospect John Danks, the team's No. 1 pick in 2003, and reliever Nick Masset to the Chicago White Sox for 23-year-old hard-throwing right-hander Brandon McCarthy. Both teams will also exchange low-level minor leaguers.

McCarthy, who already has 151 innings of major league experience, spent last year mostly as an apprentice in the White Sox bullpen. He worked in 53 games with just two starts.

The White Sox have typically had their promising young starters work for a year in the bullpen before joining the rotation for good. The same plan worked well for both Mark Buehrle and Jon Garland.

McCarthy made 10 starts in 2005, most of them before his 22nd birthday. He is 4-3 with a 4.12 ERA in his 12 career starts. He has averaged 6.8 strikeouts per nine innings in those outings and has also held hitters to a .237 average.

McCarthy is not yet eligible for arbitration, which means the Rangers would control him through at least 2011.

What's not to love about the trade. The Rangers fill another hole in the rotation with a good, young and developing pitcher. While they're giving away a little bit of their future, McCarthy at 23 still has plenty of years. Danks, in terms of seasonal age is only a year younger, and has not major league experience. His minor league stats are very nice. Looks to me like a trade that helps both teams.

Now if the Rangers can sign Zito, they'll go into the season with at least Millwood, Zito, Padilla and McCarthy. That might be the best Rangers rotation in a long time.

The Phillies send two Jeff Conine to the Reds for two minor leaguers of little value. Even though not much value passed between the two teams, you'd really like to see the Reds moving in the opposite direction, picking up youth for veterans.

The trade of Sisco for Gload between Royals and White Sox didn't seem like a good deal from the Royals point of view. Royals Authority explains why Sisco had to go:

Which leads us to this interesting tidbit, as reported by Rany Jazayerli:

A little over two weeks ago, I got an email forwarded to me by Paul Swydan, one of our BP interns, from a gentleman named Bruce Baskin, who apparently writes a newsletter on Mexican baseball. Here's a copy of that email:

"Check this out: Andy Sisco, the 6′9″ kid from Eastern Washington who pitches for the Royals, was just cut by Mazatlan. He was pitching well enough, however the team director saw Sisco munching on a couple of tacos in the stadium concourse...during the first inning of a game. Apparently, he showed up in the dugout sometime in the second, but his fate was sealed.

"What a bonehead! Hadn't he been down there long enough to figure they take the game a whole lot more seriously in Mazatlan than they do in Omaha? Hope he got his tacos to go."

Maybe the White Sox can talk some sense into him.

A three-way trade rumor is making it's way through the New York papers, with Melky Cabrera, Adam La Roche and Mike Gonzalez moving clockwise from New York to Atlanta to Pittsburgh to New York. With the way the Yankees are trying to put together this team, Cabrera is the odd man out. They appear set on hiring a defensive first baseman and playing Giambi at DH, when instead they could easily absorb Giambi's glove and play Melky everyday at one of the outfield positions as Matusi, Damon and Abreu takes turns at DH. Just when I thought the Yankees were trying to cut the age of the team, they're going to trade away one of the younger players.

If the deal goes through, it's a nice pickup for the Braves. Melky is a good defender, and if Andruw Jones leaves next season, Melky can move in to center. And he still has plenty of time to develop offensively.

The Boston Red Sox pick up Brenden Donnelly from the Angels in exchange for a career minor leaguer. For someone who didn't pitch in the majors until he was 30, Donnelly's had a very good career. Fire Brand of the American League likes the deal. It's a case of the Angels trading a known quantity for a younger unknown.

Lisa Gray takes an in-depth look at the Astros-Rockies deal.

U.S.S. Mariner is very unhappy with the deal in which the Mariners get Jose Vidro and the Nationals get Snelling and Fruto.

The Mariners have traded two players, one finally healthy and tearing the cover off the ball who can play right or left, and a still younger, cheap, effective reliever in order to acquire a 31-year old passable hitter who plays a position where team has another cheap, effective player (if Hargrove would just stop telling him to ground out over and over).

I've tried to come up with a justification for this, and I can't. There must be another deal waiting, which makes this hard to justify in isolation: at least one of Broussard/Lopez/Sexson is going to be booted.

But this move hurts the team. More than just next season: Snelling and Fruto were both the kind of players who could be parts of the next Mariner championship team. Snelling in particular could be one of the best hitters on any team (if he stays healthy, of course), and he's under team control for years for very little money. Jose Vidro's a declining, increasingly immobile player on the wrong side of his peak who'll be paid an immense amount of money. Vidro will not help the M's win a pennant. If it comes to be, this will be one of the worst trades the team's ever made, even if Snelling never plays another game and Fruto doesn't throw another strike.

Vidro's not a bad player, but he's the last piece of a puzzle. If you need a second baseman to win a championship and all the other pieces are there, it's a good move. But the Mariners are nowhere near that.

The Rockies traded Jason Jennings to the Astros for a package of players:

The Astros exchanged Hirsh, right-hander Taylor Buchholz and center fielder Willy Taveras for Jennings and right-hander Miguel Asencio -- a steep price, considering that Jennings is a free agent after this season.

"I wouldn't have traded Hirsh for Jennings straight up," one executive said.

Jennings, 28, will replace left-hander Andy Pettitte, who left the Astros for a two-year, $32 million free-agent contract with the Yankees last Friday. The Astros still could re-sign free-agent right-hander Roger Clemens to join right-hander Roy Oswalt, who will earn $5.5 million next season.

There's a huge problem trying to evaluate Jason Jennings, and it's called Coors Field. However, we can look just at his road record. Even taken out of Coors, it's not pretty. Still the Astros can live with his 0.83 home runs per nine, and hope that at age 28 he's finally coming into his own as a pitcher.

I'm not a Willy Taveras fan, but Coors will help his offense and Willy's defense will help the Rockies pitchers. I must be missing something about Hirsh. While his minor league numbers are good, they don't scream superstar. Maybe the Rockies really like his low home run rate. But his K and BB rates are good, not great.

If the Astros can sign Jennings long term, I think it's a fair trade for both teams.

The rumors about the White Sox trading a starter to the Phillies turned out to be true, but the players going to Chicago were a surprise.

In the first major trade of the winter meetings, the Phillies acquire right hander Freddy Garcia from the White Sox in exchange for right-hander Gavin Floyd and minor-league left-hander Gio Gonzalez.

Floyd, to put it mildly, is a poor major league pitcher. He's walked 64 and allowed 20 home runs in 108 2/3 innings. Yes, he's young, but he's also going to a park a lot like the one in Philadelphia. His minor league numbers are decent, but not blow you away decent.

Gonzalez posted great strikeout numbers in the minors, 10.3 per 9. He in fact, was traded away by the White Sox last year to get Jim Thome. So if you put both deals together, the Phillies get Rowand and Garcia for Thome, Floyd and Gonzalez. Looked at in that light, it seems like a fair deal. The current trade, however, as far as the White Sox are concerned, is strictly for the future. If one of the two youngsters they picked up turns out to be a decent major league pitcher, the deal was worth it.

The rumors about the White Sox trading a starter to the Phillies turned out to be true, but the players going to Chicago were a surprise.

In the first major trade of the winter meetings, the Phillies acquire right hander Freddy Garcia from the White Sox in exchange for right-hander Gavin Floyd and minor-league left-hander Gio Gonzalez.

Floyd, to put it mildly, is a poor major league pitcher. He's walked 64 and allowed 20 home runs in 108 2/3 innings. Yes, he's young, but he's also going to a park a lot like the one in Philadelphia. His minor league numbers are decent, but not blow you away decent.

Gonzalez posted great strikeout numbers in the minors, 10.3 per 9. He in fact, was traded away by the White Sox last year to get Jim Thome. So if you put both deals together, the Phillies get Rowand and Garcia for Thome, Floyd and Gonzalez. Looked at in that light, it seems like a fair deal. The current trade, however, as far as the White Sox are concerned, is strictly for the future. If one of the two youngsters they picked up turns out to be a decent major league pitcher, the deal was worth it.

The Bannister-Burgos trade is done, and Royals Authority likes the move.

Maybe the Diamondbacks and Red Sox should work a deal for Manny Ramirez. Arizona's been using their draft picks to stockpile shortstops, a need of Boston. The Diamondbacks can use a replacement for Luis Gonzalez. GM Byrnes worked for Theo, so he knows how the Red Sox operate, and has a good idea of what it would actually take to land Ramirez. What do others think?

Manny Ramirez trade talks won't embroil the Red Sox this winter:

Epstein, who has spent the last four winters - and a few summers - trying to deal Ramirez, made it clear that talks for the outfielder would not drag on through the winter. If a deal is not completed by the end of this week's meetings, Epstein will not actively shop Ramirez.

'If we get past Wednesday, it's not going to take up our time,' Epstein told Boston writers. 'We would strictly be listeners. By Wednesday at midnight, we'll have flushed out the major trade market, and we're moving on.'

It's impressive that through all the years to trying to trade Manny, the Red Sox never dealt him simply to get rid of the player. He helps the team win and to move him they want players that will help them win in his place. And I guess the fact that they try to move Manny keeps a certain amount of peace between Ramirez and management. It almost makes me think the Red Sox don't really want to trade Manny, since he could be gone in a minute if they simply lessened their demands.

MetsBlog.com likes this trade:

According to the Boston Herald, the White Sox would like to swap 3B Joe Crede and either RHP Mark Buehrle or RHP Freddy Garcia for Rodriguez.

Here's why:

...ok, well, first of all, the yankees should pull the trigger on that deal, assuming it is available to them...it's custom made to fit their exact needs...and crede is cut from the Derek Jeter mold of baseball players, which is the exact type of talent the yankees should be looking to build from...

Well, if Jeter had a .308 OBA. Crede is not someone you build around. He's a good defensive third baseman with some power, who's on the wrong side of 27. He's also coming off his only good offensive season. He'd be going to a ballpark that hurts his power, so he's worth less to the Yankees than he is to the White Sox. And as much as I like the idea of the Yankees getting a front line left-handed pitcher, I'd rather see them get one whose strikeouts didn't fall off a cliff last year.

The Cincinnati Reds will file a grievance over the trade of Gary Majewski.

ProTrade asks its researchers to look at what a trade of Manny Ramirez to the Dodgers would mean.

The Diamondbacks and Brewers completed a six player deal today. And while the deal is billed as Estra for Doug Davis, the pitcher I bet Arizona is most interested in is Dana Eveland. His minor league numbers are terrific, and he'll be just 23 in 2007. The Brewers get three veterans in the deal, but I'm not sure how much they really help the club.

Update: Brew Crew Ball likes the deal.

Steve Bisheff speculates on a trade of Chone Figgins for Joe Crede:

What the outstanding defensive outfielder - a basic singles and doubles hitter - doesn't fill, however, is the Angels' still-desperate need for a big-time power bat.

That means Stoneman must continue to search for one at either of the two corner infield positions. And because third base is where more of the current tradable power hitters reside, Figgins' future suddenly appears as shaky as his 2006 performance.

There have been persistent rumors of a possible Figgins trade to the White Sox for third baseman Joe Crede, whose 30 home runs and 94 RBIs would give the Angels the power guy they're looking for to protect Vladimir Guerrero in the lineup.

Either way, Figgins is among the few marketable players the club would have to offer in a deal, especially after Stoneman made his intentions clear.

Both players are the same age, and both are good third basemen. Crede hits for power but doesn't get on base. Figgins gets on okay but doesn't hit for power. The White Sox have plenty of power, (Dye, Konkerko, Thome) but they could use a leadoff hitter. The Angles feel they need more power. Seems like a perfect fit. What do you think?

The Daily Lancer makes the case for the Royals shopping Mark Teahen.

He finished with an 874 OPS--good for 2nd in the AL for third basemen and 8th for all third baseman. As we approach 2007, Teahen is being readied for the outfield because of Mr. Alex Gordon. Teahen's numbers actually translate well to the OF as his OPS would rank 6th out of all LFers and 5th out of all RFers. However with the lack of pitching the Royals have, it seems prudent that they should listen to offers for Teahen.

It's not a bad idea. The Royals have depth at that position. They also are desperately in need of pitching. Anyone acquiring Teahen would also control him for four seasons. It sounds like a pretty good deal could be made here.

The New York Mets signed Moises Alou to a one year contract with an option for 2008.

The 40-year-old slugger finalized an $8.5 million, one-year contract on Monday with the NL East champions, who also declined their $14 million option on left-hander Tom Glavine and swapped young pitchers with the Florida Marlins in a four-player trade.

Alou's deal includes a $7.5 million club option for 2008 with $1 million buyout. The six-time All-Star, who gets a $7.5 million salary next season, said he turned down two-year offers from other teams to join the Mets.

"The length of my contract doesn't really matter at this point in my career," Alou said. "I wanted to come here because this year -- I wanted to win this year."

This, of course, puts Lastings Milledge in limbo. Rather than spending a lot of time at AAA, I suspect Milledge will get time in the majors replacing Alou when he's down for a month with injuries. Alou is a good hitter, but at his age he can become a bad hitter pretty quickly. The Mets are filling a hole, they're not paying too much, and there's no long term commitment. If Alou can't play and Milledge matures, New York is out just $8 million or so. It might have been more cost effective to work on Lasting's attitude during the off-season and give him a chance to earn the job in 2007, but if he needs a full season at AAA, I can't really argue with the move.

The trade doesn't look like all that much. The two pitchers the Mets received walk a lot of batters. Florida looks like it's trying to improve its bullpen with more mature pitchers who haven't really broken into the majors yet. Owens struck out a lot of batters in the minor leagues, and at 27 can go straight into an major league pen.

The Mets and Padres swap 25 and 29 year olds. Metsblog.com sums up the trade nicely:

...once again, Omar Minaya dumps two valued pitchers, with limited value to him, for two younger, equally, intriguing players, who he has control over for many years to come...this is becoming his patented move...

Not a blockbuster by any means, but it's the kind of deal that teams need to make to keep the roster in balance.

The Yankees made their second deal of the week, once again trading an older player for young pitching:

The Orioles have agreed to trade reliever Chris Britton to the New York Yankees for starting pitcher Jaret Wright and cash, according to two team sources.

While the specifics of the deal have been worked out, the trade won't be official until it gets the commissioner's approval, which is necessary when more than $1 million in cash exchanges hands in a deal. That could happen as early as today.

The Yankees are paying the Orioles the amount it would cost them to buy out Wright's contract. In essence, they buy him out and get a pitcher in exchange.

Britton, a 23-year-old right-hander who was the Orioles' eighth-round selection in the 2001 draft, was possibly the team's second-best reliever as a rookie this past season behind closer Chris Ray . Britton was 0-2 with a 3.35 ERA and one save in 52 games.

However, team officials were concerned about Britton's lack of command of a second pitch behind his fastball, and they also were worried about ongoing conditioning problems.

Britton is listed at 6-3, 278 pounds. See yesterday's comment on Sanchez. The positives are that he put up a very good K/BB, and allowed just four home runs in 53 2/3 innings. I'm impressed that the Yankees continue to trade age for youth, something they haven't done in many years.

The Orioles reunite Wright with Leo Mazzone. If you look at Wright's career, he's only posted one outstanding season, the year Mazzone coached him in Atlanta. For $3 million dollars, the Orioles hope Leo can coax another one out of him.

The Yankees do seem to be woefully short of starters right now. Mike Mussina filed for free agency yesterday, leaving Wang the only starter healthy and officially on the team. I'd suspect that Barry Zito becomes a priority, especially if the report of the Red Sox winning the bidding on Matsuzaka are true.

Ken Rosenthal makes a point about Humberto Sanchez, whom the Yankees acquired from Detroit Friday:

Sanchez, 23, throws 94-96 MPH with a big curveball and developing changeup, but his weight and durability are concerns. Listed as 6-foot-6, 230 pounds, he has battled a variety of injuries the past two seasons. But he was good enough to start the Futures Game last season, and it's still possible that he could wind up as a middle-of-the-rotation starter.

Ken obviously doesn't read The Hardball Times.

Tall pitchers, we find, are slightly worse-off than short pitchers, and overweight pitchers tend to perform better than their skinny brethren. Given that overweight pitchers also survive for much longer time periods in the major leagues, all else being equal, invest in fat guys. But generally, all else is not equal, in which the case the answer should be obvious: Go for the better ballplayer, always.

Bring on the pounds!

Yesterday I looked at the Sheffield deal from the Yankees perspective, but now we know how the Tigers plan to use Gary.

Leyland said he plans to use Sheffield as his primary designated hitter. He said Sheffield could spell Craig Monroe or Magglio Ordonez at either corner outfield position -- a hint that Monroe will return. But Sheffield would not play first base, Leyland said.

"You talk about adding a bat to your ballclub, and then you add Gary Sheffield," said Leyland, who described himself as "tickled to death" during an afternoon teleconference. "This is one of the ultimate bats in baseball, and one of the ultimate people. I can't tell you how happy we are."

Leyland was so happy he was up in the middle of the night working on lineups. Tigers designated hitters posted a mere .310 OBA in 2006, although they did collect 62 extra-base hits and 93 RBI. Sheffield's OBA has been over .350 every year since 1992, and 2006 ended a streak of 8 straight seasons slugging over .500. I suspect at his age a decline in offense is expected, but even a 10% drop off his career averages gives a big boost to the Tigers offense.

I thought Friday afternoons were supposed to be slow for news. I go out for 45 minutes and Gary Sheffield is now a Tiger. He's traded for three prospects instead of an established pitcher:

In return for Sheffield, the Tigers sent Humberto Sanchez, Kevin Whelan and Anthony Claggett to New York. Detroit agreed to a two-year contract extension with Sheffield through the 2009 season.

...

Sanchez, 23, was a combined 10-6 with a 2.53 ERA and 129 strikeouts in 123 innings with Triple-A Toledo and Double-A Erie this year. Whelan, 22, was 4-1 with a 2.67 ERA and 27 saves for Class A Lakeland. Claggett, 22, was 7-2 with an 0.91 ERA and 14 saves for Class A West Michigan.

All are young. Sanchez is a high strikeout, low home-run pitcher. He walked a lot of batters so far, but his BB per 9 improved as he went through the minors. Whelan is the same, except he looks pretty unhittable. Claggett also has high strikeouts and low home runs, and his walks are already decent. This looks like a deal the Marlins would have made last year. I like the fact that the Yankees are going for strikeout pitchers. That really takes pressure off their defense. I don't know if any of these players can step in next year, but suddenly the Yankees minor league pitching looks pretty good.

Ed Price reports that the Yankees and Tigers are working on a deal for Gary Sheffield:

An official with one of the teams involved, who requested anonymity because he didn't want to jeopardize the negotiations, said the Tigers were "very interested" in acquiring Sheffield and had had multiple conversations about a deal in the past two days.

It was unclear what the Yankees would be getting in return, though the official said the Yankees were seeking "pitching, but that could mean starting or relief."

If the Tigers are really down on Bonderman, he's the pitcher I'd want. But I doubt the Yankees will turn up their nose at prospects. The question is, how much will other teams bid up Sheffield's services. Cleveland may be in the mix, which would make for an interesting bidding war between the two AL Central rivals. If the Indians can't land Gary, they might as well make Detroit pay a high price.

Ducksnorts reviews the Padres' busy Wednesday and reminds me of something involving the newly created hole at second base. After reviewing the free agents:

This doesn't include guys like Atlanta's Brian Marcus Giles, or the Padres' own Todd Walker. So, really, we're looking at five relatively useful guys, one of whom (Durham) stands out a bit from the others.

There's been talk about Giles brothers playing together for a while. Marcus would certainly fill the hole of second baseman and leadoff man quite nicely.

Via MetsBlog.com, Josh Barfield is now a member of the Cleveland Indians:

The Padres have ignited the hot-stove season Wednesday, trading second baseman Josh Barfield to the Indians for highly regarded Triple-A third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff and Triple-A pitcher Andrew Brown. Barfield, 23, gave the Padres a strong rookie season this year, batting .280 with 32 doubles, 13 home runs, 72 runs scored and 21 stolen bases in 26 attempts. He also earned solid marks for his athletic defense.

The right-handed bat of Kouzmanoff, however, has strong appeal. In 244 at-bats in Double-A last season, Kouzmanoff batted .389 with 19 doubles, 15 home runs and 55 RBI. Triple-A pitching wasn't much of a problem for Kouzmanoff, 25, who went on to bat .353 with nine doubles and seven home runs in 102 at-bats for Buffalo.

Of course, with Marte, a third baseman was expendable for the Indians. Josh is just 24, so he's still developing as a player. Barfield's strength on offense was his ability to hit doubles and steal bases with a high percentage of success. He also ranked second in the NL in defensive win shares at second base. Defense should be a high priority for the Tribe this winter.

Andrew Brown struck out a lot of batters but walked a lot also. He put up very good numbers with runners in scoring position.

Time will tell how this trade works out. On the surface, it appears to be a fair deal. My one concern is Kouzmanoff is a couple of years older than Barfield. That gives the Padres a better short term upside, but the Indians the better long-term gain.

Anthony McCarron in the New York Daily News lists the teams interested in Gary Sheffield:

Now the Yankees will continue trade talks with the seven teams that have inquired about Sheffield - Detroit, Houston, Cleveland, Texas, San Diego, Baltimore and the Chicago Cubs. By picking up the option, the Yankees effectively blocked Sheffield from becoming a free agent and took control of where he will play next season.

Gary certainly helps all those clubs. San Diego and Detroit appear to be the best fit on the list and they are known for rich pitching staffs. I would think Sheffield would DH in Detroit, unless he's a better outfielder than Ordonez. An outfield of Giles, Cameron and Sheffield in San Diego would certainly bring some offense to the table.

Andrew Baggerly in the Contra Costa Times speculates on Pat Burrell for Armando Benitez trade. It seems Burrell is willing to waive his no-trade clause for a move closer to home.

On Burrell:

Burrell, the first overall pick in 1998, hit .258 with 29 home runs and 95 RBI last season. He strikes out often but gets on base; he drew 98 walks and had a solid .388 on-base percentage.

He also has chronic pain in his right foot that did not improve after surgery following the 2005 season. He remained in left field because the Phillies have Ryan Howard at first base.

But Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said Burrell could be an adequate first baseman.

"He's more athletic than a lot of first basemen I've seen," Manuel said. " He'd be fine over there."

Burrell isn't an ideal fit for the Giants, who want to build a more dynamic lineup and eliminate station-to-station runners. But there are few available hitters who can match Burrell's run production.

Baggerly even thinks Philadelphia would be a good fit for Benitez:

A Phillies source said Manuel wants new choices in his bullpen, that he isn't afraid to take on difficult personalities and would welcome an effective Benitez.

Benitez told head trainer Dave Groeschner this week that his right knee rehabilitation is going well and he has no pain or swelling.

"It's an arthritic knee so anything can change, but we're pleased with his progress," Groeschner said.

It would be more of a money swap than a talent swap.

Andrew Baggerly in the Contra Costa Times speculates on Pat Burrell for Armando Benitez trade. It seems Burrell is willing to waive his no-trade clause for a move closer to home.

On Burrell:

Burrell, the first overall pick in 1998, hit .258 with 29 home runs and 95 RBI last season. He strikes out often but gets on base; he drew 98 walks and had a solid .388 on-base percentage.

He also has chronic pain in his right foot that did not improve after surgery following the 2005 season. He remained in left field because the Phillies have Ryan Howard at first base.

But Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said Burrell could be an adequate first baseman.

"He's more athletic than a lot of first basemen I've seen," Manuel said. " He'd be fine over there."

Burrell isn't an ideal fit for the Giants, who want to build a more dynamic lineup and eliminate station-to-station runners. But there are few available hitters who can match Burrell's run production.

Baggerly even thinks Philadelphia would be a good fit for Benitez:

A Phillies source said Manuel wants new choices in his bullpen, that he isn't afraid to take on difficult personalities and would welcome an effective Benitez.

Benitez told head trainer Dave Groeschner this week that his right knee rehabilitation is going well and he has no pain or swelling.

"It's an arthritic knee so anything can change, but we're pleased with his progress," Groeschner said.

It would be more of a money swap than a talent swap.

Red Sox fan Zach Hayes rehashes the Josh Beckett trade. On Sanchez:

Former a member of the Portland Sea Dogs, Anibal Sanchez is having a year beyond anyone's expectations at just 22 years old. His 7-2 record, along with a 2.89 ERA and 1.19 WHIP, are hugely impressive, along with the .208 BAA. Surely these numbers won't continue throughout Sanchez's career, but there's reason to believe we not only traded a future All-Star and potential .300 career hitter in Hanley, but also a 18-game winner in Sanchez. Oh yeah, HE THREW A NO-HITTER LAST NIGHT!!!!! It's like dumping 10,000 pounds of salt on the wound (seriously, I almost went on a neighborhood killing spree last night when I found out the news).

He leaves Mike Lowell out of the mix, forgetting that the Red Sox received two good months from him as well!

The Padres acquired David Wells to beat the Mets. Right now, the most likely scenario puts the Padres in the wild card slot in a five game series against New York. The Mets own the best offense in the league, and the Padres need someone who can stop that.

Why is the Mets offense so good? They hit for power. The team's batting average and OBA are middle of the road for the NL (that surprised me, I thought the team's OBA would rank higher). But they are number one in slugging percentage.

(Note, the Mets are a much better offensive team than they look, since Shea pulls down their averages. If you look at them on the road, they are quite good in OBA.)

Wells does two things that help specifically against New York. The Mets power drops against left-handed pitching. Delgado and Beltran especially go down when they face a southpaw. The second thing Wells does is not issue walks. Whenever you do that, you reduce a team's OBA to it's batting average. At least, that's my hypothesis

The hypothesis doesn't hold up to scrutiny very well, however. I looked at the record of left-handed control pitchers starting against the Mets this season. It's not pretty. I took as control pitchers anyone with walks per 9 innings below 3.00. There have been eight starts against the Mets by pitchers with those parameters. Those pitchers are 1-6 with an 9.21 ERA. The pitcher who got the win was Erik Bedard. The others were, Randy Johnson, Jamie Moyer, Odalis Perez, Eric Milton and Chris Capuano. Old lefties don't fare well against New York.

I just got home and see Julien Tavarez pitching for the Red Sox. Sure enough, David Wells is now pitching for San Diego.

Details on what the Red Sox will get from the Padres were not immediately available.

Trade talks with the Padres had centered on George Kottaras, a minor-league catcher. Kottaras is playing for Triple-A Portland, where he is hitting .233 with two homers and 13 RBI. The Red Sox organization is in need of catching, and Kottaras has a reputation as a solid defender.

Wells is expected to start for the Padres on Saturday against the Reds.

The Padres were short a starter with Chan Ho Park suffering from internal bleeding. It looks to me like Mike Thompson will be the odd man out of the rotation for the Padres. David Wells had a very good August, which no doubt increased his trade value.

The Mets finally worked a deal for Shawn Green:

The Diamondbacks sent Green, 33, and slightly more than $6 million to the Mets for Triple-A pitcher Evan McLane, FOXSports.com's Ken Rosenthal reports.

The cash, to be paid over three years, will cover nearly half of the approximately $13.5 million left on Green's contract - the pro-rated portion of his $8 million salary this season, $9.5 million next season and a $2 million buyout for 2008.

Metsblog.com likes the deal, because Green is a complementary player, he's not meant to be a star. I agree. Green's power and ability to get on base took a big hit when he reached 30. He's not the future, but he helps this team now, and gives the Mets a chance to let Milledge develop.

The prospect's name is spelled MacLane, by the way. His K, BB and HR were very good at AA this season, but his K's fell off at AAA. He looks like a decent prospect for the Diamondbacks. His first three years in the minors look very good.

I'm somewhat shocked to see Jamie Moyer traded to the Phillies. I assumed at this point he would finish his career with the Mariners. Jamie was traded around quite a bit early in his career, but eventually found a home in Seattle and is one of the faces of the franchise. He goes to the Phillies for two Andrews, Baldwin and Barb. Baldwin is the starter. His main strength is his control, walking just 22 batters in 145 1/3 innings. Barb is a closer, high strikeouts, high walks but keeps the ball in the park. When Moyer retires, the Mariners get nothing, so in a season in which they're out of the running, they turn their leader in wins into two prospects.

So can Moyer help the Phillies? He's going from a fairly neutral park to a more hitter friendly one. And on the road this season, Moyer has a 5.29 ERA. And while Jamie's not giving up homers as he did in 2004, he's likely to post the second highest total of his career. He's better than Mathieson, but Philadelphia is going to need to score some runs when he's on the mound.

Here's how the Red Sox plan to use Eric Hinske:

Epstein deferred to manager Terry Francona for how Hinske will be used, but depending on the matchups and multiple other factors, he can spell Kevin Youkilis at first base, Mike Lowell at third, Wily Mo Pena in right field and Manny Ramirez in left. "He's got a .950 OPS against right-handed pitching - a guy like that should be able to find his way into the lineup four or five times a week," Epstein said. "He's not here to take any one person's job, he's here to fit in."

In regards to the move for Hinkse, SawxBlog notes that Trot Nixon might be out for the rest of the year.

Late yesterday afternoon (08/17/06) I discovered some bad news. According to my source, Trot Nixon's infection in his elbow is bad enough that it's going to derail him coming back this year and maybe even next year. As recently as Tuesday people were saying this would not derail Trot's comeback process.

The trade is official, by the way.

There's a report that Eric Hinske is going to the Red Sox.

It was not immediately known what the Red Sox sent the Blue Jays in return for the 2002 AL Rookie of the Year, a left-handed hitter who has played the corner positions in both the infield and outfield.

Hinske, who has become a part-time player this season, was pulled from the Blue Jays' lineup shortly before the start of Wednesday's game against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. He wasn't told why he was pulled, but was informed he wouldn't play at all Wednesday night.

"That's usually a sign something is probably going to happen," Hinske said. "I'm just kind of waiting around to see what's up and see what happens. That's all I can do."

My question is, where is Hinske going to play? The obvious place would be in a platoon with Lowell at third base. Look at the production at the position since the All-Star break. Averages of .234/.300/.387 isn't exactly getting the job done. If you look at Lowell by month, he's slowly returning to his 2005 form. Hinske is their insurance in case that continues.

I'm very surprised the Jays are willing to help out a division rival like this. I guess Toronto considers itself out of the race.

Ken Rosenthal speculates on why the Nationals placed Soriano on waivers. Something like this happens every year, and I think this is the best explanation:

The Nationals' placing of Soriano on waivers doesn't necessarily mean that the team wants to trade him; some clubs put all of their players on waivers in August as a matter of course, trying to mask their intent with the two or three players they might want to deal.

I really doubt he'll get traded.

The Cincinnati Reds picked up Todd Hollandsworth from the Indians for a PTBNL. So the Reds trade away Kearns for an injured pitcher, then find they need another bat? To paraphrase Dennis Moore, Wayne Krivsky might be saying to himself, "This redistribution of talent is trickier than I thought!"

It seems Gary Majewski was damaged goods.

The Reds didn't know that the right-hander had a cortisone injection in his shoulder before the All-Star break. Majewski was placed on the 15-day disabled list Monday after telling the team that his shoulder has bothered him since spring training.

A medical test found no serious injury. There's no telling how long he will be sidelined with what was diagnosed as a tired shoulder.

"I'm still trying to figure out what's what here," Krivsky said. "I'm glad we have Gary Majewski, and I'm glad he's not hurt seriously. I'm disappointed he's not active for us right now."

Obviously, this doesn't reflect well on Jim Bowden.

Finally, someone figured out how all this works. :-)

Orlando Hernandez didn't work out, so the Arizona Diamondbacks are trying Livan.

The Nationals received two 23-year-old prospects: right-hander Garrett Mock and left-hander Matt Chico. Both will report to Washington's Double-A affiliate in Harrisburg.

The move is symptomatic of last-place Washington's desire to build for the future under new owner Ted Lerner, while Arizona is looking for an edge in the competitive NL West. The Diamondbacks trailed first-place San Diego by two games entering Monday's play.

Mock strikes out a good number of batters, but he's allowing a .345 OBA this season. Chico looks like a much better prospect.

Livan's pitched very well over the last month. It looks like the DBacks are taking a chance to win this year. They didn't appear to give up too much, although I don't know how deep their pitching goes in the minors.

Buster Olney notices that Andruw Jones might be going to another team:

That Jones was placed on waivers is unremarkable; he was one of hundreds of players, including many stars, who were placed on waivers earlier this week. What makes Jones' situation interesting is that on Aug. 15, he will gain 10-and-5 rights -- 10 years in the big leagues, five with the same team -- to block any proposed trade.

Multiple teams placed claims on Jones, according to major-league sources. But on Thursday afternoon, one team was awarded a claim on Jones. Now the Braves have two choices -- either work out a trade with the team who placed the claim by Saturday or pull Jones back from waivers. If they pull him back, they cannot trade him again for the rest of this season.

It's an interesting dilemma for the Braves. They're not really in the wild card race, but like all the NL teams, they're not really out of it either. Can they get enough talent for Andruw? And do they really want to let him go? I don't think the 10-5 is such a big deal, as he'll be a free agent after 2007. So the Braves won't be stuck with him indefinitely.

The Boston Globe provides more details on the potential Javy Lopez to the Red Sox deal. It's being held up by the amount of money involved and to see if the player(s) Baltimore wants will clear waivers:

The deal must be approved by the commissioner's office, possibly as early as today, because at least $1 million is changing hands, according to Duquette. The deal shouldn't be jeopardized because of the money, but until the stamp of approval comes from the big office, it can't be official. If it happens today, Lopez could be in uniform tonight in Tampa Bay.

Indications are the Orioles could receive one of the following players: switch-hitting center fielder Adam Stern, switch-hitting infielder Alejandro Machado, or, less likely, lefthander Abe Alvarez. Whichever player is involved must clear waivers before the deal is consummated.

ESPN is reporting that the Red Sox and Orioles are close to a trade for Javy Lopez.

Lopez has been upset over the lack of playing time he was receiving in Baltimore and asked for his release. The 35-year-old Lopez is hitting .265 with eight HR and 31 RBI.

Varitek underwent arthroscopic surgery for a cartilage tear in his left knee on Thursday and is expected to be sidelined four to six weeks.

Lopez hasn't caught much this year. Only about 1/4 of his at bats came as a backstop this season. On the other hand, he's probably pretty fresh, and he'll be less of an offensive loss than Mirabelli.

Ed Barkowitz remembers Kevin Stocker:

It appeared to be just another innocuous baseball trade.

On Nov. 18, 1997, the Phillies, coming off a 68-94 season, dealt shortstop Kevin Stocker to Tampa Bay for Bobby Abreu, the Houston Astros outfielder the Devil Rays had just selected in the third round of the expansion draft.

Stocker, who five seasons earlier solidified the Phillies' only hole during their magical run to the 1993 pennant, remembers the day clearly. He was at home with his wife, Brooke, and the two were cooking dinner and keeping an eye on the draft (which is about as romantic as most major leaguers get).

"I didn't know who Bobby Abreu was at the time, I don't think anybody did," Stocker said. "Obviously now it turned out to be a pretty good trade for Philly."

You don't hear that one discussed in all-time bad trades, but it should be up there. Stocker never had a good full-season with the Phillies. He was okay for Tampa in 1999. Tampa at the time seemed much more interested in veterans than untested youth, and it cost them dearly. Houston, of course, let him go in the first place.

Jayson Stark opines on a trade that might have happened: Roger Clemens to the Red Sox.

Multiple sources say it was a trade that could have been made, even as late as Monday afternoon. All Astros owner Drayton McLane would have had to do was say: "You know, it's the right thing to do."

But apparently, that isn't what he said. Drayton McLane isn't ready to give up on his season. And he isn't ready to give up Roger Clemens.

Bob Dutton summarizes the Royals moves:

Left-hander Jeremy Affeldt, once viewed as a cornerstone of the club's future, went to Colorado along with underperforming right-hander Denny Bautista in exchange for first baseman Ryan Shealy and right-handed reliever Scott Dohmann.

Veteran DH/first baseman Matt Stairs was dealt to Texas for minor-league pitcher Jose Diaz.

For the last couple of years I've complained about the Royals problems at first base, that it should be an easy problem to solve. Moore got himself a .300/.400/.500 player at his athletic peak, which is exactly what you want at the position. Things are looking up for the Royals.

Jay Jaffe calls it a slam dunk.

Nate Silver ran through various permutations matching up several teams with the potential acquisitions of Alfonso Soriano, Carlos Lee and Abreu to see which ones improved which team's Postseason Odds the most (nice visuals of the day-by-day Odds change by a BP fan here). Conclusion: the Yanks' addition of Abreu was a 14.2% upgrade -- the largest bump possible of the 21 scenarios he evaluated (he neglected to include Texas, whose chances with Lee must have jumped 10-12 percent) and that's without considering the effect of Lidle.

Rays of Light looks at the players acquired for Julio Lugo:

I think we made out like bandits.

Dodger Thoughts isn't crazy about the deal:

The message being sent by Colletti is twofold: 2006 isn't a lost cause, and Guzman did not have a place in the Dodger lineups of the future. There are arguments to be made on both sides of these messages - and don't forget, the Dodgers can pick up some draft pick compensation for departing free agents - but it's hard for me to take Colletti's side.

I'm not saying he's wrong. You know Colletti has consulted with the Dodger minor league staff before making this deal. And if they don't think Guzman is going to make it, then from the Dodger point of view, it's simply two free months of Lugo and what's the fuss?

I'm just saying it's hard for me to be so cutthroat about Guzman, for me to feel sure that people aren't focusing too much on what he lacks instead of what he offers. That can be a disease when you apply it only to your own players. One can just as easily point out that Lugo's 2006 performance, with an OPS about 100 points above his previous career high, is fool's gold.

According to ESPNews, Alfonso Soriano is staying in Washington, and the Nationals are going to attempt to sign him to a long term deal.

The idea that Washington would flip him for talent after his great first half made me like the original deal that brought him to the Nation's Capital a lot more. Signing him long term doesn't appeal to me at all. He's past his peak and playing for a contract. Washington's likely seen the best they're going to get from Alfonso.

Julio Lugo goes to the Dodgers for two minor leaguers, according to ESPNews.

No details yet, but the Rangers picked up Kip Wells. He pitched well his last three times out. Texas must take that as a sign he's recovered from his earlier surgery.

FoxSports is reporting Maddux likely going to the Dodgers. No other details are available as the deal needs to be approved by the commissioner. It's a good place for Maddux, as he can use some time in a pitcher's park. At this point, however, I don't think he can really help a club. He looks done to me.

Update: ESPNews is reporting the Cubs are getting Cesar Izturis. The perfect Cub. Low OBA, low slugging percentage.

The Yankees dump Shawn Chacon on the Pirates for Craig Wilson, according to ESPNnews. Once again, I don't understand what Pittsburgh is doing here. Wilson has some value. And although I had hope for Chacon, he's at best inconsistent. What are the Pirates gaining from these trades?

The San Diego Padres pick up Todd Walker from the Cubs:

The San Diego Padres, having spent most of Sunday night talking with Houston about third baseman Morgan Ensberg, have acquired infielder Todd Walker from the Chicago Cubs for minor-league right-hander Jose Ceda, CBS SportsLine.com has learned.

It is unclear whether a Walker deal means the Padres and Astros reached an impasse on Ensberg or whether that deal remains a possibility. Regardless, the left-handed Walker, who has hit everywhere he has been, could be a very good fit in Petco Park.

I like Walker's OBA. It's a huge improvement over what they've had all year. Ceda walks a lot of batters but strikes out a lot as well. He's only 19.

The Mets trade for two pitchers:

The New York Mets have sent outfielder Xavier Nady to Pittsburgh for starting pitcher Oliver Perez and reliever Roberto Hernandez, CBS SportsLine has learned.

If Rick Peterson can return Oliver Perez to his 2004 performance, this is a great deal. Nady gives the Pirates some power, but they need players who get on base. He's 27, so there's not much up side left to the X-man. Typical Pirates deal, doesn't help the club all that much (unless you consider getting rid of Perez addition by subtraction).

This deal comes on the heels of the Sanchez injury.

Jon Heyman has the latest, including this juicy tidbit:

The Braves are shopping Andruw Jones around, hoping to land young pitching in return for the eight-time Gold Glove center fielder. Atlanta asked the White Sox for right-hander Brandon McCarthy but were rejected. They are still in talks with the Red Sox for a package that may include left-hander Jon Lester, who is 5-1 with a 3.49 ERA during his rookie season.

Lester's been real lucky so far. I'd trade him for Jones in a minute, even if it's a rental deal.

The Reds keep trying to keep their pen from running dry added veteran Rheal Cormier, sending the Phillies Justin Germano. Cormier's kept the ball in the park this season, something that's tough to do at GAB. Germano's strength is his ability to keep his free passes low. This year, at least, he's not striking out many batters, leading to more hits, but that's not true of his career as a whole. Not a bad move, trading someone at the end of his career for a potential starting pitcher.

Update: The remake continues as the Reds get Kyle Lohse.

The Detroit Tigers traded for Sean Casey:

The Detroit Tigers acquired first baseman Sean Casey from the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday in exchange for minor-league pitcher Brian Rogers.

What shocked me a bit was this:

To make room for Casey, Detroit optioned the contract of first baseman Chris Shelton to Triple-A Toledo.

Shelton hit 10 home runs in the month of April -- nine in the first 13 games -- but has hit only six since.

Talk about 15 minutes of fame. I wonder how much the ball through is legs yesterday had to do with it? Shelton certainly has not been slugging like a first baseman the last three months. However, Casey's weakness as a first baseman was always his lack of power. He does bring a much higher and steadier OBA to the position. He definitely improves the offense.

Rogers is in his first year of AA ball and is posting very good numbers after a fine season in A-Ball last year. His walk and strikeout numbers are consistently good throughout his minor league career. He's a nice pickup for the Pirates.

Yankees fan Lisa at Subway Squawkers compares recent performances by Melky Cabrera and Bobby Abreu, and is afraid Melky is going to be the odd-man out next year.

Roch Kubatko explores the myriad Tejada trade rumors and decides the Orioles aren't going to move the shortstop.

Rays Index discusses the various scenarios that might result in a Julio Lugo trade.

The Sporting Brews looks more in depth at the Yankees prospects traded in the deal. He's not high on C.J. Henry either, and notes the Yankees had cornered the market on catchers named Jesus.

The Yankees-Phillies deal is done.

Update: The only real prospect the Yankees give up in the deal is Carlos Monasterios, who is just 20 years old and doing a very good job in rookie league. The catcher is a 31 year old former pitcher who is trying to remake himself. The lefty reliever is 27 and just getting his first taste of the majors. The shortstop is just 20, but he's hitting very poorly at Class A. As I said in the earlier post, the Yankees were basically buying Abreu and Lidle by picking up their salaries.

Correction: I was led astray by the Baseball Cube. They had Jesus Sanchez listed on the same page as another Jesus Sanchez. The Jesus Sanchez in the trade is a teenage prospect.

Fox is reporting that Ron Belliard is head to the Cardinals if he gets through today's game in one piece. The Indians are batting in the bottom of the ninth trailing the Mariners 7-4 after Carmona pitched a disasterous ninth. Belliard's been in the field the whole game and is 2 for 4 on the day.

Update: The Indians do not score in the bottom of the ninth, and Belliard does not bat. We'll see how long it takes to make the deal.

Update: The deal is done. The Indians get Luna for Belliard. Why would the Cardinals trade for someone five years older with only slightly better career OBAs and slugging percentages?

ESPN is reporting the Yankees and Phillies have a deal to send Bobby Abreu and Cory Lidle to New York:

Stark reported the Yankees will send the Phillies 20-year-old minor-league shortstop

C.J. Henry -- their No. 1 pick in 2005 -- and 27-year-old left-handed reliever Matt Smith. The Phillies will also pick one other minor-league player from an agreed-upon list, while the Yankees will take on responsibility for Abreu and Lidle's contracts. Abreu is owed $15 million for 2007 alone.

Abreu was in the Phillies' starting lineup Sunday but was pulled for Shane Victorino 10 minutes before their game with the Florida Marlins. In the fourth inning, he was seen in the Phillies' dugout, still in uniform, huging teammates.

It appears the Yankees are giving up very little. By picking up Bobby's contract, they're freeing lots of money in Philadelphia. It will go down as a trade, but the Yankees are really paying Philadelphia for the rightfielder and pitcher.

Obviously, Abreu improves the Yankees offense. If Sheffield and Matsui come back healthy, one of them goes to DH, which is a big improvement over Bernie Williams. Long term, I suspect the Yankees will either not bring Sheffield back for 2007 or make him the full time DH.

Lidle is a decent pitcher. His strikeout and walk numbers are good. He does allow home runs, but part of that is his home park. He's likely better than anyone they've used in the fourth or fifth slot lately. Given that they didn't give up their top prospect, it's a good deal if it goes through.

The Braves send Wilson Betemit to the Dodgers for pitcher Danys Baez and infielder Willy Aybar.

The Braves acquired Wickman, a two-time All Star, from the Cleveland Indians last week. Baez, a right-hander, had a total of 71 saves the last two years with Tampa Bay, and the Braves tried to acquire him during the winter meetings.

Instead, he was traded to the Dodgers, where he went 5-5 with a 4.35 ERA and nine saves this season.

"We like how he pitched in Tampa Bay the last two years," Schuerholz said. "We think in the role he's going to fill for us, he'll be another big arm to add to our bullpen to make it stronger."

The Braves also tried to sign Wickman during the offseason in the search for a new closer. He re-signed with the Indians, but agreed to a trade when Cleveland fell out of the race in the AL Central.

"It took a few months, but we got them," Schuerholz said.

Of course there's some reason to believe Baez isn't the same pitcher he was with Tampa Bay. Through 2005, his K per 9 was 7.3. This year that's off 2, to 5.3. With it, for the first time in his career, he's allowing more hits that inning pitched. Now the Braves defense might help him out, but he doesn't look as dominant as he once was.

On the other hand, the swap of Betemit and Aybar is probably good for the Braves long term. Aybar is two years younger in seasonal age (Betemit turned 26 yesterday). The Braves weren't going to use Wilson everyday, and so he moves to a team that can take advantage of his peak years.

The Phillies trade David Bell for a minor league pitcher. Phillies Nation speculates that this is just the first move of the weekend for Pat Gillick. Phillies Nation also doesn't seem that impressed with the prospect, but 62 strikeouts in 63 2/3 innings is a good sign.

Pete Morisseau writes:

In a move to add offensive punch from the left side of the plate, the Mariners on Wednesday acquired left-handed-hitting first baseman Ben Broussard and cash considerations from the Cleveland Indians for Minor League outfielder Shin-Soo Choo and a player to be named later.

Broussard, 29, was hitting .321 with 13 home runs and 46 RBIs in 88 games for the Indians. He'll likely be the team's designated hitter against right-handed pitching now that the Mariners have parted ways with Carl Everett by designating him for assignment earlier Wednesday.

So the Indians get rid of their first base platoon. I'm running out the door, but here's an article on the trade. Feel free to leave you analysis in the comments!

Matt Cerrone at MetsBlog.com interviews Buster Olney on the possibility of the Mets acquiring Barry Zito. My feeling all along was that the Athletics would keep Zito and get the draft picks, but Olney makes this point:

unlike in years past with Jason Giambi, Johnny Damon, and so on, the A's are very thin at major-league ready prospects, who they control financially over the next few seasons, and need to bring some in via trade...

Does this mean Beane's draft strategy isn't working? Or no matter how well you draft, you're only going to get a small percentage of major leaguers? Opinions are welcome.

The Los Angeles Dodgers try to boost their pitching staff by picking up Elmer Dessens from the Kansas City Royals for Odalis Perez and two prospects. This isn't Dessens for Perez. This is Elmer for two prospects and we'll take Perez off your hands. Perez's walk numbers are good, but it might be due to his being very easily hit this season. Batters get such good pitches to hit, they don't wait for the walk. As far as walks and strikeouts go, Dessens and Perez are not that different, but Dessens gives up about 1/2 the home runs.

The deal for KC is the prospects. Julio Pimental is a converted outfielder who walks a lot of batters but also strikes out a ton. Blake Johnson posts decent strikeout numbers but great walk numbers. It's going to be a couple of years before we know if this was a good deal for the Royals.

Royals Authority likes Kansas City's deal with the White Sox.

According to this report on ESPN.com, the White Sox are close to acquiring Alfonso Soriano for Brandon McCarthy. McCarthy is supposed to be a great prospect, but his home run numbers are a concern, especially when he gives up a higher slugging percentage away from his band-box home park. Still, his career .299 OBA allowed is impressive, and RFK might be a great stadium for him.

The trade seems strange to me for another reason. Podsednik is in left to provide more defense than slugger Carlos Lee. Why is the team going away from its winning ways? Are they more concerned, as some think, that the Tigers might get Soriano?

The White Sox trade a minor league reliever to the Dodgers for Sandy Alomar, Jr. It's his third time with the White Sox in the last six seasons. Can Carl Everett be far behind?

Talk of trading Dontrelle Willis appears to be over:

"I really believe that we're done trading for the year," manager Joe Girardi said Sunday. "We like the club we've got. I think the only way we trade someone is if someone blows us away."

Rumors always heat up as the July 31 trade deadline nears. But speculation has cooled regarding Willis, who is 5-1 since starting the season 1-6.

"I don't hear about myself anymore," Willis said. "I don't think they want me anymore. When I was 1-6, everybody wanted me. Now I've battled back and I don't hear anything. Nobody wants me anymore, but I'm happy where I'm at."

The Marlins turned out to be a better team than people imagined. With the Marlins likely to be in contention for a number of years with a young, improving team, why not keep your two best players (Willis and Cabrera) around?

The Toronto Blue Jays trade Shea Hillenbrand to the Giants late last night.

The Giants sent reliever Jeremy Accardo to Toronto for Hillenbrand and reliever Vinnie Chulk, getting in Hillenbrand the first baseman and offensive threat they had been seeking before the trade deadline. Both players were expected to be in uniform for the Giants on Saturday night against the San Diego Padres.

His former teammates on the Giants campaigned to bring Shea to the team. It will be interesting to see how he gets along on the team. Feliepe Alou is a tough man, and I hear Barry Bonds isn't the best teammate.

The Jays get a good reliever in Accardo. His strikeout, walk and home run numbers are much better than his ERA. He's allowed a lot of hits with runners in scoring position this year. Thirty-one at bats is a small sample size, however.

As for Hillenbrand, will he help the Giants? His career batting average is .290, his career OBA is .328. He's been around .340 in OBA the last three years, but couple that with a slugging percentage in the mid .400's and he's not a typical power hitting first baseman. On the other hand, those numbers are much better than what the Giants saw at the position so far this year. I don't agree with this, however:

Sabean said he is interested in keeping the 30-year-old Hillenbrand around beyond the 2006 season.

He really should be looking for a more complete offensive player for the position.

Update: Humbug Journal sums up the trade much better than I can.

The Indians sent Bob Wickman to the Braves for prospect Max Ramirez. The Indians give up an old pitcher for a 21-year-old catcher with a .401 OBA, who's offense is good enough to be used as a DH on days he doesn't catch. It's a good trade, although it doesn't do anything to address Cleveland's short and long term need for better starting pitching.

Shea Hillenbrand wants out of Toronto. The Padres got rid of their third baseman. International trade should occur.

In 2002, Jose Cruz Jr. for David Wright.

Balls, Sticks and Stuff reports on a possible trade of Bobby Abreu or Pat Burrell. It seems the Orioles are willing to send Rodrigo Lopez to the Phillies and take on most of the salary of one of those players.

While Lopez, 31, supposedly has a lot of potential, he has been less than stellar this season.

He's actually 30, but even so, at that age your potential is behind you. This move would be nothing but a salary dump. Is the market for prospects so scarce that the Phillies can't get anything more than another lousy pitcher and save some cash?

Jim Storer messages me that the callers to WFAN in New York want the Yankees to trade A-Rod. Whom do they want to play third, Miguel Cairo? They think they can make a deal for Tejada and move him to third. Brilliant.

Maybe they can trade him to Toronto. Baseball Primer Newsblog points to this story criticizing Ricciardi's failure to find a shortstop during his tenure. How about that, Yankees fans, Glaus for A-Rod straight up?

Ken Rosenthal at FoxSports.com reports that the Mariners are interested in acquiring Alfonso Soriano, if for no other reason than to keep the Angels from getting him. One place I disagree with Ken:

The Nationals' asking price for Soriano remains high; GM Jim Bowden wants Class AA right-hander Philip Hughes or Class A outfielder Jose Tabata from the Yankees, right-hander Ervin Santana and/or second baseman Howie Kendrick from the Angels. But Bowden figures to lower his demands as the July 31 non-waiver deadline draws closer.

As long as he has multiple teams interested in Soriano, I see no reason for him to lower his trade demands. The worst that happens is Soriano stays, becomes a free agent, and the Nationals get an extra-first round draft pick. If there are five teams bidding, Bowden can wait until the last minute to see what he can get, and decide if that's enough. Unless bidders start dropping out, Jim's in the driver's seat.

Aaron Gleeman at the Hardball Times looks at disaster trades in light of the Reds/Nationals deal yesterday.

According the the New York Daily News, the White Sox are talking to the Mets and Phillies about trading a starter for bullpen help.

The White Sox have been calling around to clubs - including the Mets - letting it be known that Javier Vazquez or Freddy Garcia would be available. The price: top-notch relief help, which would allow the Sox to fortify their bullpen leading to closer Bobby Jenks, sources told the Daily News. Chicago has 23-year-old Brandon McCarthy ready to step into its rotation.

The Phillies, also looking to add to their rotation in a thin market, are willing to give up closer Tom Gordon in a deal with the Sox, according to a source.

Redleg Nation is not happy.

I take back everything good I've ever said about Reds GM Wayne Krivsky. Jim Bowden robbed Krivsky today.

The commentors aren't happy, either.

Capitol Punishment likes the deal, as does Nats Triple Play.

The consensus here at NTP is that this is a good deal for the Nats. Nate is happy to see that we got three young players with one of them being a legitimate power outfielder and a possible lead off candidate in Lopez. Dave and I aren't thrilled we gave up Bray and Majewski, especially with Bray being a left handed pitcher who's shown some potential, but time will tell if this was worth it.

Whatever the outcome, this first volley in the Nationals trade war has lived up to expectations. We said we were going to go younger and build for the future and it looks like that's what they're trying to do.

The Reds gave up two offensive players for two relief pitchers today, send Austin Kearns and Felipe Lopez to the Nationals for Gary Majewski and Bill Bray. In the eight player deal, the Nationals managed to stick the Reds with Royce Clayton. Lopez had a breakout season at age 25 in 2005, showing an increase in both OBA and slugging percentage. He's maintained the on-base, but not the power. Kearns was a player of promise, but at age 26 he's healthy for the first time. Again, Washington picks up a player with a decent OBA. Majewski isn't great, but he'll help the Reds. Bray's home/road split scares me, especially going to GAB. If Cincinnati is really going to play Clayton at shortstop, it may negate any help they get in the pen. This is a nice deal for Washington.

The Astros received Aubrey Huff from the Devil Rays in exchange for two minor-leaguers. The Trop was a pretty neutral park for Huff, so the Astros are getting a player with an okay OBA and an okay slugging percentage. He gives them flexiblity as he can play third, first and right. Lane goes to minors and Ensberg will get less playing time.

I hope this isn't a long term move with Ensberg and Huff. I assume Morgan is still recovering from his injury. A healthy Endsberg is a better player than Huff, and I'm not sure a hurt Ensberg isn't a better player.

The Devil Rays get pitcher Mitch Talbot, whose strength is his control (but he's developed into a strikeout pitcher this year), and Ben Zorbist, who has a great OBA and hits lots of doubles. There's lots of upside for the Devil Rays in this deal.

Everyday Eddie Guardado is now a member of the Cincinnati Reds:

The Cincinnati Reds today announced the acquisition of All-Star LHP Eddie Guardado and cash from the Seattle Mariners in exchange for minor league RHP Travis Chick.

I suspect to make room for Eddie the Reds will somehow lose Brian Shackelford.

Thanks to Jason McAdams for the heads up.

The Cardinals trade a prospect for Jeff Weaver. The Birdwatch has analysis:

WHAT TO HOPE THE CARDINALS ARE THINKING: Both sides of the trade are a simple bet on regression to the mean. I don't know of any health issues with Weaver and I'm a numbers guy, so I like this bet. Sidney Ponson has managed to get by (relatively speaking) to this point with a 4.82 ERA as a starter, but you didn't have to be a superscout or Voros McCracken to hear the robot yelling "Danger Will Robinson Danger." Ponson is the obvious man to kick out of the rotation, based on innings pitched if nothing else. I'm ambivalent to the idea of moving him to the pen.

WHAT TO FEAR THE CARDINALS ARE THINKING: Rookies don't belong in a contending rotation!

If La Russa and Duncan can figure out Weaver's tipping point, they might be able to get him out of games before he goes from great to terrible in four batters. He's Sidney Ponson without the weight.

In the previous post, I took a more positive view of acquiring Mark Hendrickson than Jon Weisman at Dodger Thoughts. The deal is done, and it's a pitcher and a catcher for a pitcher and a catcher. The Dodgers send Navarro and Seo to Tampa for Hendrickson and Hall. I thought Seo for Hendrickson straight up would be worth it. Seo didn't live up to his 2005 season, and if the Dodgers can carry Hendrickson's luck forward, they'd be better off. Navarro hit well when he was up, but Martin hit better. Dioner suffered a wrist injury that inhibited his hitting, but he'll get over that soon enough.

So the Dodgers get an older but decent pitcher and an older backup catcher, neither with great long-term upside for a catcher with great long term potential and a pitcher who showed flashes of brilliance. Seems like a pretty good deal for the Devil Rays.

Jason Johnson, that is. Even though the Red Sox are going with a four-man rotation through the end of June, they've picked up Johnson as insurance against other or continuing injuries. It stirkes me they're just trying to give themselves plenty of options.

The Mets relieved themselves of Kaz Matsui today, trading him and cash to the Rockies for Eli Marrero. Offensively, Marrero has a little more power, but neither is someone you really want in the starting lineup. Mostly, Marrero gives the Mets a player who can plug into almost any fielding position. Matsui isn't even on the big club; he's been assigned to AAA. With the offense at second base very good for the Rockies, he won't be playing there. As bad as it is, however, his offense would improve the shortstop position for Colorado, so don't be surprised to see him shift back to short.

The Cardinals are actively looking to find another hitter to help during Pujols' injury:

The Cardinals are disinclined to trade either Reyes or reliever Adam Wainwright, both of whom are projected to be in the team's 2007 starting rotation.

Reyes' standing has improved since he faltered during competition for the No. 5 starter's role in spring training. He has exhibited greater command while no longer addicted to strikeouts.

The Cardinals would much prefer to deal from their pitching depth at Double-A Springfield, where 2003 second-round draft pick Stuart Pomeranz, 2004 first rounder Chris Lambert and Michael Parisi have excelled.

With their pitching depth, the Cardinals should be able to make a good deal The question is, who is willing to trade power for pitching right now? While Soriano is an obvious player, the Nats might want to wait until the trade deadline to get the best deal (of course, there's the danger that Soriano reverts to form and becomes less valuable). How about Texas? Plenty of offense there, and they can always use pitching.

It looks like the Cubs are about to acquire Phil Nevin in exchange for Jerry Hairston and a pile of cash. The Cub Reporter offers his thoughts here:

The Cubs have traded Jerry Hairston to the Rangers for Phil Nevin, which would have been a great trade two years ago, and would have been a decent trade a month ago, but now just seems like a whatever trade.

At 35, Nevin's OBA faded over the last two years, along with his power. He's not a replacement for Derrek Lee. Why don't the Cubs have a Ryan Howard in the minors, who can step in and pound the ball when the big first baseman goes down? They're not that hard to find.

With the Colorado Rockies in the thick of the NL West race, Mark Knudson encourages the team to make a bold move:

If the Rockies want to separate from the pack in the NL West, there's a move out there that could not only push them in the right direction but allow them to stay the course in their overall building plan. The Florida Marlins are going to trade all-star lefthander Dontrelle Willis at some point this season. The Red Sox and Yankees are both after him, and it's likely he'll end up at one of those two places. Doesn't mean the Rockies couldn't join the bidding.

Yes, trading for pitchers hasn't necessarily worked out for the best here, but Willis could be different. He's not someone who relies on a breaking ball or off speed stuff, as Darryl Kile or Denny Neagle did, and he seems to have more on the ball than Mike Hampton. With Coors Field playing much more normally now, it seems like Willis would be worth the risk.

One problem, Willis never pitched at Coors, so his ability to perform there is an open question.

The Mets are not done trading pitchers. Jermi Gonzalez is sent packing to the Brewers for Mike Adams. It seems to be a trade where each team gets rid of someone who isn't doing well.

Meanwhile, for the second time in a month, Cody Ross is traded for an undetermined player, this time to the Marlins.

The New York Mets picked up Dave Williams off the scrap heap today, sending minor league pitcher Robert Manuel to the Reds. The Reds were in the process of releasing Williams, so I guess the Mets didn't want him to get away.

Williams big problem with the Reds was nine homers allowed in 40 innings pitched. He gave up 20 last year for the Pirates in almost 140 innings. I'd like to say it was the move to Great American Ballpark, but seven of the nine against Williams came on the road. His overall road numbers with the Reds were awful, so that doesn't give me much hope that he'll be any good for New York.

Update: MetsBlog.com heard an interview with Minaya on the subject and recalls the salient points.

The Mets trade Jorge Julio for Orlando Hernandez straight up. Hernandez didn't fit in with the Diamondbacks as he had an 8.16 ERA at Chase Field but a 2.65 ERA away from there. Shea should be a much better park for him. Julio was having a good May after a horrible April. For his career he has excellent strikeout and walk numbers. This could turn out to be very good for both clubs. I'd much rather have Hernandez starting than Lima.

Thanks to RYANOTRD for the heads up!

The Indians sent Steve Karsay to the Oakland Athletics for cash. Given the state of the Indians bullpen, the fact that they sold Karsay to Oakland rather than bringing him up tells you something about the Indians opinion of the veteran.

Doug MIrabelli arrived at Fenway Park in a State Police SUV. It's good to see my tax dollars being wasted in a good cause. He changed into his uniform in the SUV. Just amazing.

Fire Brand of the American League is not at all happy with the Doug MIrabelli trade.

Basically we trade a young catcher who was doing pretty good with the stick save for his power outage, and a young reliever, plus cash or a PTBNL, all because he was doing exactly what Doug Mirabelli did when he first caught Tim Wakefield.

It’s a desperation move. It helps now, sure, but it’s a desperation move which leaves us less options for the future. I love Doug Mirabelli, and I’m going to cheer him on the rest of the season, but I won’t forget what he cost.

Make sure you catch his update as well.

Bob Sikes at Getting Paid to Watch believes the Mets can make a deal for Johan Santana:

With tonight's start by Victor Zambrano ominous and tomorrow's John Maine debut not much more than that, one can assume Omar Minaya must note the same. This team is built and invested to win now, and I believe Minaya won't let his cellphone go unused.

Look first toward the struggling. The Minnesota Twins come first to mind. Terry Ryan and Joe McIlavaine know the Mets well and have been trading partners in the past. Johann Santana has struggled, but might be had. But Ryan and Joe Mac wont go for a care package of four of five.

Santana is in the second year of a four year contract that will pay him $25 million over the last two seasons (2007, 2008). That's a lot of money to spend on one player on a losing team. Of course, without Santana they're likely to lose more. But this is how small market teams survive; trade your value for potential value that's a lot cheaper.

The Red Sox send Josh Bard away from Tim Wakefield and re-acquire Doug Mirabelli. (Thanks to Edward Cossette for the tip!)

The Boston Red Sox have finalized a trade to obtain catcher Doug Mirabelli from the San Diego Padres in exchange for catcher Josh Bard, minor-league pitcher Cla Meredith and cash, ESPN The Magazine's Buster Olney is reporting.

In 96 minor league innings through 2005, Meredith did everything right as a pitcher. Seems like a good deal for the Padres, sweetened by the Yankees going after Doug as well.

My gut is that the postal worker decided to play a mind game with a Marlins fan, but here's the rumor: Dontrelle to the Astros.

The Rangers had a comparative advantage in offensive outfielders. The Phillies had a comparative advantage in starting pitchers. Therefore, interteam trade occured. The Phillies sent Robinson Tejeda and Hank Blalock's younger brother Jake to the Rangers for David Dellucci. The acquisition of Wilkerson along with Phil Nevin's ability to DH made Dellucci expendable. He'll give the Phillies more options on offense.

Tejeda is a power pitcher, but he walks lots of batters. In high home run environments like Philly and Texas, that's going to hurt him. With Eaton undergoing surgery on his finger, however, the Rangers needed to find another starter. Robinson has potential if he learns to control the strike zone. It's a good trade for both teams.

15 Sport claims to have inside information estimating the chance of Julio Lugo being traded to the Mets in the next week at 85%.

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The Athletics and Diamondbacks made a deal today, swapping Juan Cruz and Brad Halsey. Halsey was slated to fill the fifth starter role in Arizona. No information yet on how the pitchers will be used on their new teams.

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Boston Dirt Dogs links to an article in Spanish about Juan Gonzalez being traded to Oakland. Unfortunately, Google can't translate the page into English.

David Forst, assistant GM in Oakland, denies the report.

Contrary to a report in a Puerto Rican newspaper, the A's have no interest in former MVP Juan Gonzalez, according to assistant general manager David Forst.

I predict one of these stories will be correct!

Anyone who can send me the gist of the story from Puerto Rico, please leave a summary in the comments. Thanks!

Update: Thanks to Pawnking for providing a translation in the comments. It looks like it's not a trade. As far as I can tell, since the Red Sox acquired Pena, Gonalez was going to be assigned to the minor leagues. He doesn't want to go to the minors, so he's trying to sign with Oakland in case Frank Thomas can't play. Is that how the rest of you read it?

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The Mariners and White Sox swap bench warmers. U.S.S. Mariner mentions the trade and promises analysis later.

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After a good outing yesterday by Bronson Arroyo, the Reds traded for the pitcher, sending Willy Mo Pena to the Red Sox and getting some cash to boot.

Where to begin with this trade. The Red Sox are getting a player whose stats are highly inflated by his home park. He's been a passable player at Great American Ballpark. On the road, all he has going for him is power. He is young, however, so there is upside potential.

For all Arroyo's potential, he's a pitcher with a 4.00+ ERA. His falloff in strikeouts in 2005 had to worry the Red Sox. He threw more innings and struck out fewer batters compared to 2004. Batters put the ball in play against him. With the Reds poor defense, that's going to make Bronson's ERA go higher. He does a good job keeping the ball in the park, however, especially away from Fenway.

The Reds staff is so bad, Arroyo probably helps them. The Red Sox obviously believe their rotation is very well set, and picked up another hitter with potential. If their outfielders get injured or underperform, they now have Juan Gonzalez and Willy Mo Pena waiting in the wings. I don't see the trade improving the Red Sox in the short term, but it does provide insurance.

Update: Until someone reminded me in the comments, I had forgotten about Arroyo's recent contract. The home town discount didn't prevent the trade. Sometimes it's a good idea to listen to your agent.

Update: There's a discussion of the trade from the Reds point of view over at Redleg Nation.

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From Robin To Rickie is a new Brewers blog. Stop by and say hi. Also check out the post proposing a possible Brewers-Angels swap. I like the idea.

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None of the news from the northside is sitting well with the Cub Reporter lately. The latest is a possible trade of Todd Walker for Luis Matos. Why wouldn't he want a 27-year-old with a .316 career OBA?

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For the second time in just over a week, the Diamondbacks swap an infielder for a relief pitcher. This time, however, they move in the opposite direction.

Infielder Alex Cintron was acquired by the Chicago White Sox from the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday for pitcher Jeff Bajenaru.

Cintron is a low on-base, low power guy. He's a good back up for the White Sox middle infield. Jeff Bajenaru has great strikeout and home runs numbers in the minors, and decent walk numbers, too. It looks like he missed 2002 with an injury, so maybe that took him off the White Sox radar. At 28 years old, he should be ready to help the Arizona bullpen.

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The Angels and Diamondbacks swapped minor league players yesterday. The Diamondbacks, already with two good major league middle infielders and some prospects in the pipeline, picked up Alberto Callaspo from the Angels for relief pitcher Jason Bulger. Jason's walks are a bit high, but he should do well in Anaheim with his strikeout totals. I love this trade from the point of view of the Diamondbacks, however. They are now loaded with good, young, middle infield talent. That's always valuable. Josh Byrnes opened a savings account and is squirreling away lots of talent that can be traded to improve any position. It's easy to find a good first baseman or left fielder. It's much harder to find someone who can handle a position up the middle. When teams go looking for one of those positions, Byrnes is going to get the first call.

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There's a rumor of a potential Red Sox/Nationals trade:

The Washington Nationals are believed to be eyeing the Red Sox for a potential deal for a starting pitcher after losing right-hander Brian Lawrence until at least August with a torn labrum in his right shoulder. Matt Clement, who is owed $9.5 million each of the next two seasons, is probably out of Washington’s price range, but Bronson Arroyo, who inked a three-year deal worth $10.5 million in January, certainly would be appealing. To acquire Arroyo, the Nationals may have to part with a package including first baseman Nick Johnson or outfielder Ryan Church.

Seems to me the obvious deal is Clement for Soriano, although I don't see much difference between Soriano and Loretta at this point. The Sox would need to decide if they need more on-base or power as a team.

Dave Van Dyck at ChicagoSports.com postulates that the Nationals signing Sammy Sosa sends Soriano somewhere, maybe Chicago.

Strange as it may sound, the Cubs could benefit from Sosa accepting the tryout and then playing well enough to make the team.

Here's the shortened scenario that would involve the Cubs:

Sosa proves in the spring he still has something left in his 37-year-old body, making the Nationals' Opening Day roster for about $1 million guaranteed. That would fill the outfield spot presumably taken already by Alfonso Soriano, who then might be expendable.

The Cubs long have had an interest in Soriano, but Washington came up with a better trade offer from the Rangers over the winter. So Soriano, a career second baseman, was dealt to the Nationals and promptly installed as the probable left fielder. He continues to insist he will not play the outfield, creating a National problem because Jose Vidro is their second baseman.

Either Soriano or Vidro might have to go if Sosa makes the team and it probably would be Soriano, who will make either $10 million or $12 million next season, depending on the outcome of Thursday's arbitration hearing. The Nationals most likely would like a front-line pitcher in return, although they may have to settle for less.

Terry Pluto compares the Coco Crisp trade to another one that was strong for the Indians; the Joe Carter deal:

But if I'm sitting in Mark Shapiro's office, I make the trade because this can be another Joe Carter deal.

Remember when Carter was the Tribe's best player, and he was shipped to the San Diego Padres for a couple of prospects named Sandy Alomar Jr. and Carlos Baerga? Most of the risk rested with the Indians, but that trade sparked a revival of the franchise.

Update: Dayn Perry agrees that the Indians will make out the best long term in this deal.

The blog Rotisserie Baseball Musings makes an interesting point about the Indians interest in Kelly Shoppach, especially since they have a fine offensive catcher in Victor Martinez:

With Victor Martinez cemented as one of the best offensive catchers, why did the Indians get a catching prospect who looks ready for his major-league chance? Shoppach will be 26 shortly after the season starts while VMart is going to play all of the 2006 season as a 27-year-old. There is no room for Shoppach.

If you recall where Shoppach was going last July, then it begins to make sense. A three-team trade was set to occur where Larry Bigbie would go to Boston, Eric Byrnes to Baltimore and.... Kelly Shoppach to Colorado!

Of course, it never hurts to be deep at catcher, since that position wears down a player rather quickly.

The Red Sox and Indians completed the long rumored (and oft rumored to be dead) trade that sends Coco Crisp to the Red Sox and Andy Marte to the Indians. The Red Sox did sweeten the deal, although the actual players involved didn't change much.

Mota’s physical Tuesday concerned the Indians enough that the Red Sox had to sweeten the deal with the cash considerations, believed to be in excess of $1 million. The player to be named later/further cash considerations option also seems to be the second step in assuring Cleveland that they will not be disappointed with Mota, who has some shoulder weakness.

So Cleveland pried more money and possibly an extra player out of the deal. Good for them. They had a commodity the Red Sox needed, and got as much as they could for him.

The Indians also made a deal for Jason Michaels, dumping Arthur Rhodes on the Phillies. This is almost the opposite of the Milton Bradley deal, where they dealt away a talented trouble maker. Michaels, however, makes his trouble off the field, so maybe the Indians are more open to that kind of player.

Michaels gets on base more than Crisp. Jason posted a career .380 OBA compared to Crisp's .332. Michaels, however, is four years older, so there isn't much upside there. Still, any increase in OBA is good for the team, and Michaels should be a very good table setter.

The risk with Riske for the Red Sox is the home run. David strikes out lots of batters, doesn't walk many, but has allowed 44 home runs in just 317 1/3 career innings.

Shoppach showed a lot of power in the minor for a catcher. He's probably a better player than Bard, but not exactly a prospect, as Kelly will be 26 in 2006.

The Indians appear to come out the best in this deal. The replaced their outfielder with a better OBA, picked up a hot prospect who's likely to replace Aaron Boone before 2006 is out, and made an even swap on relievers and catchers. The Red Sox plugged their hole in centerfield with a player who still has some room to improve offensively, and they control for four years. It's not a bad deal for the Red Sox, given their needs. However, if you look at this as Renteria for Crisp, the Sox just plugged one hole by creating another.

As for the Phillies, Michaels was expendable after they picked up Rowand, but you would think they could get more for the outfielder. I guess brushes with the law made Jason less desirable, and the Phillies paid for that.

Finally, the Indians may not be done. As the second link suggests, Cleveland and Cincinnati are talking about Westbrook for Kearns. Stay tuned.

Update: In response to a comment, Michael's splits are here. Yes, he goes down vs. righties, but he's still much higher than Crisp.

According to Jayson Stark's sources, Arthur Rhodes is taking a physical in Philadelphia, raising the likelihood of a Crisp for Marte deal between the Indians and the Red Sox. As always, stay tuned. It could just be the Indians are dumping Rhodes.

According to a Jayson Stark source, the probability of the Indians dealing Coco Crisp is going down. The talks go on, and it looks like the Reds are involved:

The Red Sox, however, prefer not to trade away one of their top young pitching prospects, Manny Delcarmen, whom Cleveland likes. So it appears Boston has turned its attention back to Cincinnati to see if it can put together a deal for left fielder Austin Kearns. The Red Sox then would turn around and deal Kearns to Cleveland for Crisp, with several other players (yet to be determined) also switching area codes.

Cleveland also is believed to have talked directly with the Reds about Kearns. While interim GM Brad Kuhlman has told a number of teams this week that he has the authority to make a trade, other baseball people who have talked to new Reds owner Bob Castellini say Castellini is reluctant to rush into a major deal just days after taking over the club.

Hal McCoy notes that a similar deal was turned down by the Reds two weeks ago, and that might be a reason O'Brien was fired:

Maybe, though, the last event that sealed O'Brien's firing Monday was a deal he didn't make as late as last week.

The Reds, Boston Red Sox and Cleveland Indians were in a three-way discussion, working on a proposal that would have brought pitcher Matt Clement to the Reds from the Red Sox. The Reds would have sent outfielder Austin Kearns to Cleveland and the Tribe would have sent outfielder Coco Crisp, catcher Josh Bard and pitcher David Riske to the Red Sox.

At the last moment, Boston front office people say, the Reds backed out.

The saga continues.

Guillermo Mota's shoulder is now holding up the deal. Although some are reporting he failed his physical with the Indians, Mota's agent puts a different spin on what happened:

Katz contended that Mota ''did not flunk his physical." Instead, Katz said, the acquiring club in these instances is ''allowed to have higher standards. It's their right and entitlement.

''He's working his tail off and will be fine for whichever team he's pitching for."

So the rumored deal remains just a rumor. The trade with the Phillies is a go.

The two-part trade included the Indians sending left-hander Arthur Rhodes to Philadelphia for outfielder Jason Michaels to replace Crisp. That part of the trade, according to a major league source, has been approved by both teams, but is in limbo awaiting the first part of the transaction to be completed.

So why is Mota's shoulder good enough for the Red Sox but not good enough for the Indians? Boston needs this trade more than the Indians do. The leak reinforced that, as Red Sox Nation is very excited about getting Crisp, judging from the comments on this site. That puts the Indians in the driver's seat. The Indians front office appears to want a sound pitcher, not just a healthy one. Cleveland is in a position where making or not making the deal doesn't change the short term prospects of the team. They can walk away from the trade. They're holding out for the deal they want. Good for them.

The Boston newspapers are reporting different sets of players involved in the Marte for Crisp trade. The Globe sources say it's a six player swap, with Boston getting a reliever and a catcher, while the Herald reports:

Also, the Indians, in an expanded deal, are said to be asking about Red Sox pitching prospect Manny Delcarmen.

Both papers agree the trade is at the stage of physical examinations for all involved. Obviously, the deal is still in flux, so stay tuned.

Update: Here's the deal from the Cleveland side:

If the Indians are satisfied with Mota's physical, they may keep him and send David Riske or Arthur Rhodes to the Phillies. Riske wasn't used much down the stretch, and Rhodes took a leave of absence in August and September due to a serious illness in his family and a sore knee. Rhodes pitched for Phillies GM Pat Gillick in Baltimore and Seattle.

Riske recently signed a one-year, $1.8 million deal to avoid arbitration. Rhodes will make $3.7 million this year.

Marte, 22, is the key to the deal for the Indians. They don't consider him a finished player and he'll probably open the season at Class AAA Buffalo. Aaron Boone is expected to open the season at third after the Indians picked up his 2006 option last year. Boone has a mutual option for 2007.

The Boston Herald reports that the Red Sox and Indians agreed to a deal for outfielder Coco Crisp. The deal, however, is contingent on the Indians finding a replacement for their left fielder:

According to baseball sources, the Red Sox and Cleveland Indians have agreed in principle on a deal that will bring outfielder Crisp to the Sox in a multi-player trade. The deal was agreed upon several days ago under the condition that Cleveland be able to acquire another outfielder to replace Crisp, presumably Jason Michaels from the Philadelphia Phillies.

It's unknown if Snap, Crackle and Pop are included in the deal. The Herald also notes that the Sox are about to sign Alex Gonzalez (the one from the Marlins) to play shortstop. Red Sox fans who were so excited about getting Andy Marte won't get to see him play, as he and Mota are rumored to be part of the deal for Crisp.

Big caveat, this is all from unnamed sources and should be treated with skepticism.

Crisp and Gonzalez should improve the Red Sox defense. However, neither is much of an offensive player. I disagree that Crisp should step into the lead off spot. His career OBA is .332, and over the last two seasons he's been in the mid .340s. That's fine for a good glove man, but it's not what you want at the top of the order. The Herald projects the lineup to be:

Crisp, cf; Mark Loretta, 2b; David Ortiz, dh; Manny Ramirez, lf; Jason Varitek, c; Trot Nixon, rf; Mike Lowell, 3b; Kevin Youkilis, 1b; Gonzalez, ss.

They're probably better off with some combination of Lorretta, Nixon or Youkilis leading off. If this trade is real, it appears the Red Sox are following the White Sox model of improvement through defense and pitching at the cost of some offense.

FoxSports.com is reporting that Kris Benson is now an Oriole:

The Mets have traded right-hander Kris Benson to the Orioles for reliever Jorge Julio and a prospect, FOXSports.com has learned.

The trade with the Orioles will give Heilman a chance to become the Mets' No. 5 starter.

Benson will join a rotation that includes left-hander Erik Bedard, and right-handers Daniel Cabrera and Rodrigo Lopez.

Julio gives up a lot of home runs, but Shea might help that. Benson's strikeouts disappeared over time, so I'm not optimistic about his future value. I'm not really sure this trade helps either club.

Update: John Maine was included in the deal, going from the Orioles to the Mets.

The Dodgers and Devil Rays swapped a pair of pitchers yesterday. The trade to me looks like Danys Baez for Chuck Tiffany. Baez gives the Dodgers a good closer until Gagne returns. Tiffany is about to turn 21, and he's blowing people away in the minor leagues, averaging over 10 strikeouts per 9 innings. He does have a problem keeping the ball in the park, however. The other two pitchers involved in the trade are less impressive, with Lance Cater going to the Dodgers and Edwin Jackson joining the Devil Rays. I'm guessing this part of the deal was a salary dump by Tampa Bay.

The Dodgers strengthen their bullpen, and the Devil Rays get a hot prospect. On the Tampa side, this trade will be measured in years.

Evan Brunell at Firebrand of the American League sees a tip from a reliable scout:

A Philadelphia Phillies scout has reported that Bobby Abreu (RF), Jason Michaels (CF), and Robinson Tejeda/Gavin Floyd (both SP) will be traded to the Red Sox for Manny Ramirez, Matt Clement, Kelly Shoppach/Andy Marte/Kevin Youkilis.

“This is basically a done deal with some minor issues to iron out. I would anticipate a press conference later this week.”

Remember, this is a rumor. We'll see what happens as the week progresses.

Update: Read Nate's comment below. This is starting to look pretty unfounded.

Update: The more I look into this rumor, the less I believe it's true. Sorry to have bothered you with it.

The Orioles finally acquire a Cubs outfieler, trading two minor leaguers for Corey Patterson today.

For the Orioles, Patterson adds depth to a depleted outfield and could challenge Luis Matos for the starting center field job. Baltimore declined to offer left fielder Eric Byrnes a contract and saw a tentative agreement with Jeromy Burnitz fall through when he decided to sign with Pittsburgh. Burnitz likely would have started in left.

"It's a situation where Baltimore gets a chance to take a good gamble on a kid who still has a lot of upside if it works," Hendry said.

The Cubs get a very young shortstop who appears to be a triples threat and a minor league pitcher with very good strikeout and home run numbers. Given that Patterson never had a good OBA, even when he showed power, I suspect this will be a very good deal for the Cubs down the road.

Miguel Tejada finally called the Orioles management, and now wants to stay.

"This is the first time we heard this directly from him," Duquette said. "We're elated that he's chosen to stay. We're all committed to improving the team, and it's easier to do it with Miguel than without him."

Tejada in recent weeks refused to return calls from Flanagan, Duquette and first-year manager Sam Perlozzo. But on Saturday he told Mora, one of his closest friends on the team, that he wanted to clear the air.

He couldn't do that two weeks ago? It's looking more and more that Manny and Miguel play for their current teams when the 2006 season starts.

The Toronto Blue Jays relieved their infield corner log jam last night by trading Corey Koskie to the Brewers for minor league pitcher Brian Wolfe (also a former member of the Twins organization).

The Blue Jays are saving a few million dollars and picking up a mature minor league pitcher with good walk and home run numbers. The Brewers are getting a third baseman to compete with Bill Hall. It's not clear who is the better choice right now. Hall took a leap forward in offense last year and is much younger. Koskie took a leap backward in offense last year. Both could be flukes, but Hall is entering his peak years while Koskie is well past his. All the Brewers need, however, is for one of them to work out.

Tom Gage of the Detroit News uses a no comment as confirmation of trade interest:

When asked if he wished to deny the Tigers had interest in Tejeda, Dombrowski wouldn't even acknowledge that. "It's just something I don't wish to comment on at this time," he said.

Sound familiar? It should.

Dombrowski didn't wish to comment about Rodriguez two years ago at the first smattering of smoke that the Tigers might be interested in him.

Dombrowski also wouldn't comment about Ordonez last year when it was initially learned that the Tigers had expressed interest.

That's just his way. Cautious to the hilt.

It would be easy for Dombrowski to say the speculation is incorrect, which he's been known to do when that's the case . But when it's not the case, or more specifically not yet the case, Dombrowski envelops himself in secrecy -- often in overcast January secrecy.

The last two times, however, the Tigers ended up with major additions to their roster.

Meanwhile, Ken Rosenthal at FoxSports.com talked to Manny Ramirez's agent:

The latest intrigue over Ramirez comes after he told ESPNDeportes.com, "There will be no trade. I'm staying in Boston, where I'm familiar with the system and where I have a lot of friends, especially David Ortiz."

Genske, however, said he called Ramirez after learning of the slugger's remarks, and Ramirez denied making the comments.

"If Boston is able to work out a trade with Baltimore or another team, Manny is still open to making a move," Genske said.

He also reports on another suitor for Tejada:

The Phillies have proposed an Abreu-for-Tejada exchange with the intention of playing Tejada at third base. The Orioles want pitching in addition to Abreu, according to sources with knowledge of the negotiations.

Tejada for Abreu is pretty even talent wise, and the Orioles save a lot of money. If they want to get rid of Tejada, it's a good move without the pitching.

The Mets and Dodgers compelete the trade rumored earlier:

The Los Angeles Dodgers, in search of starting pitching, acquired right-hander Jae Seo and left-handed reliever Tim Hamulack from the New York Mets on Wednesday for right-handed relievers Duaner Sanchez and Steve Schmoll.

It looks like a good deal for the Dodgers. Jon Weisman has more.

New York Newsday has the latest trade rumor concerning the Mets, with Jae Seo going to the Dodgers for reliever Duaner Sanchez. Both pitcher showed great progress last season; Sanchez greatly upped his strikeout rate and Seo found his control, cutting his walks allowed way down. It seems to me the trade favors the Dodgers, as they're getting someone who will likely give them many more innings as a starter than Sanchez will give the Mets.

Then again, given Seo's previous performances, 2005 might be a fluke season. We'll see if this trade pans out.

Update: The deal's done.

Josh Byrnes talks about the Troy Glaus deal and the future of the Diamondbacks.

"There are a lot of ways to score runs," Byrnes said. "I think last year the Diamondbacks were third in home runs and 10th in runs. I think our lineup this year will probably have a little less power and a little more tough at-bats and on-base ability and speed and the ability to score, one through eight.

"To the extent that we gave up some power, I don't think we gave up offense."

It's good spin, but I'm not sure how true it is. Certainly Hudson's strength is his defense, not his offense. The DBacks are expecting a lot out of Conor Jackson and Johnny Estrada. Given that Estrada had one good offensive year at age 28, the OBA is going to need to come from Jackson.

It's likely the Diamondbacks will be weaker offensively in 2006.

The Blue Jays and Diamondbacks completed the deal for Troy Glaus today.

The Arizona Diamondbacks traded power-hitting Troy Glaus and top minor league shortstop prospect Sergio Santos to the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday for gold glove second baseman Orlando Hudson and pitcher Miguel Batista.

The Blue Jays were not exactly weak at third base. Toronto third basemen posted a .361 OBA with 52 extra-base hits in 2005. With Overbay at first, Koskie may move to DH or be packaged to another team.

Glaus is one of my favorites, especially before injuries took their toll on his playing time. His resurgence at the end of the 2002 season helped the Angels to their only World Championship. He'll bring some needed power to the Blue Jays lineup.

The Diamondbacks are getting a fine defensive second baseman in Orlando Hudson. He led American League second sackers in fielding win shares in 2005. He's no offensive threat, however. Batista became expendable with the acquistion of B.J. Ryan. Batista came to closing late in his career and did a decent job. He doesn't blow people away; his 6.5 K per 9 in 2005 doesn't inspire a lot of confidence in the 9th inning. It looks to me like a pretty good trade for Toronto.

Correction: Arizona is getting Hudson.

The Cubs and Orioles are reportedly in discussions over Miguel Tejada. It's sounds like a discussion between two bad fantasy GMs so far:

According to team and industry sources, the most serious discussions the Orioles are having about Tejada appear to be with the Chicago Cubs, who are dangling a package that includes standout right-handed pitcher Mark Prior.

According to industry sources, however, the Cubs want Orioles left-hander Erik Bedard included in the deal and don't want to trade top outfield prospect Felix Pie, whom the Orioles covet. The Orioles also are slightly wary of Prior's recent history of elbow troubles and would prefer obtaining Carlos Zambrano, but the Cubs reportedly have no interest in trading him.

It seems to me the Cubs could really use Tejada. With the Cardinals doing a poor job of rebuilding and Clemens out of action, the NL Central is wide open. Landing Tejada makes the Cubs a different team (remember, the alternative right now is Neifi Perez). The Cubs shoud decide who is untouchable, then offer the Orioles their pick of two or three players from the rest. The Cubs have gone 40 years more than any other team without winning the World Series. Getting Tejada should be a no-brainer.

As for the Orioles, I can't blame them for wanting Zambrano over Prior, but Prior isn't exactly nothing. His injury last year was an accident. He's young, and has less service time than Carlos, so he'll be cheaper to keep for a few years. If the Cubs won't budge on Zambrano, Prior is more than worth the risk.

The Angels and Giants agreed to a deal last night, sending Steve Finley north and Edgardo Alfonzo south.

The Giants continue their love affair with aging outfielders:

In joining Bonds -- for whom he'll likely fill in quite a bit -- Finley exacerbates the Giants' trend of aged outfielders. Last year's Opening Day trio of Bonds (40), Marquis Grissom (38) and Moises Alou (38), the AARP outfield, will seem almost young next season when Finley is on the field. He turns 41 in March, and Bonds is now 41 and Alou 39. Randy Winn is the kid of the group, at 31. (This is nothing new. In 2001, the Giants had an outfield that at times included Bonds, then 36; Shawon Dunston, 38; and Eric Davis, 39.)

"I still don't view myself as a 40-year-old," Finley said. "I see my age next to my name, but I don't feel like that. It's a testament to all of us (Bonds, Alou and Finley) that we're still able to play at that level.''

Are the Giants incapable of developing a young outfielder? Do they ever draft any? There's got to be a 22-year-old in their system who can play as well as Finley for 1/20th of the price.

I also take it this mean the Angels won't be trading Figgins to the Red Sox for Manny Ramirez.

But the Giants needed a fourth outfielder to spell aging Barry Bonds and Moises Alou, and the Angels needed some insurance in case young third baseman Dallas McPherson doesn't fully recover from hip surgery and/or struggles at the plate.

The Giants had no need for Alfonzo, having declared Pedro Feliz their third baseman, and the Angels had no need for Finley, having all but handed his job this winter to Chone Figgins or Darin Erstad, though Stoneman said Wednesday's trade "makes it more likely that Figgins will play more center field than he has in the past."

It's a good trade for LAnaheim. And Finley's in the right role as defensive replacement, but that's still a lot of money for a part-time player.

The Rangers picked up a starting pitcher today, getting Adam Eaton from the Padres in a six player deal.

The Texas Rangers have helped address their pitching woes by reaching agreement to acquire San Diego Padres right-handed pitchers Adam Eaton and Akinori Otsuka and minor league prospect Billy Killian in exchange for right-handed pitcher Chris Young, first baseman Adrian Gonzalez and outfielder Terrmel Sledge, ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick has confirmed.

This Chris Young is not to be confused with the Chris Young recently traded to the Diamondbacks. I guess with the two players in the same division, we'll be seeing Chris Young facing Chris Young soon!

I have to say that Adam Eaton looks like another Chan Ho Park to me. He's a guy that posted an unimpressive overall ERA pitching in park that's tough on offense. Last year, his ERA was 1.5 runs higher on the road. On top of that, he's only had two seasons in which he's made 30 starts or more.

Otsuka is the same sort of pitcher. Great at PETCO, terrible away. Killiam is very young and hasn't done anything much in professional baseball yet.

The Padres get Gonzazlez, who had decent minor league numbers, but didn't show the power you'd like to see in a first baseman. Chris Young is probably a better pitcher than Eaton, even though he did go to Princeton. :-) And Sledge was expendable given the outfield depth on the team.

I'm not sure why a team would want Adam Eaton over Chris Young. Young strikes out more per 9 innings (7.3 vs. 7.0) and is the better road pitcher, without taking into account the designated hitter difference. In a trade where no one involved is that good, it looks to me like the Padres got the better of this deal.

Unlike A.J. Pierzynski, Josh Paul won't be getting a raise from the Angels. He was traded to the Devil Rays today. Paul was the catcher on the strikeout that allowed A.J. to reach first and score the winning run in the ALCS.

The Angels get Travis Schlichting. Given his batting stats so far, it's not much of a trade.

The Mariners are on the verge of signing Jarrod Washburn to a four year contract, worth about $9 million a year. There's a good FYI at the bottom of the article showing how Washburn declined the last four years. While he posted a very good ERA in 2005, it's mostly because the opposition hit very poorly against him with runners in scoring position.

The Mariners are also trying to acquire Matt Clement or Bronson Arroyo from the Red Sox for Jeremy Reed. There's also a story that the Red Sox may trade one of those pitchers for Coco Crisp. Either Arroyo or Clement seems to much to give up for either outfielder, so I wonder if Boston is making these inquiries to put pressure on Damon. When a club is not desperate to sign a player, they should be able to get a better deal.

The deal is done pending various physicals and league approvals. Javier Vazquez is about 1000 miles closer to home, and the Arizona Diamondbacks get three players in return. Orlando Hernandez, Luis Vizcaino and prospect Chris Young are now Diamondbacks, as rumored earlier.

Speculation is that the White Sox will turn their depth in starting pitching into a superstar position player:

What makes this deal so exciting is the door it opens for another blockbuster trade. The Sox could go into 2006 with six starting pitchers, allowing plenty of rest to their weary staff and providing insurance for an injury. But given the scarcity and value of quality starting pitching around the league, the Sox can dangle one of their starters for a huge return in a trade. The possibilities are tantalizing enough to make even the most stoic of Sox fans froth at the mouth with giddiness.

Just look at these names, each of which is a legitimate possibility: Miguel Tejada, Bobby Abreu, Carl Crawford, Vernon Wells, Carlos Beltran, Ken Griffey Jr., Ichiro Suzuki, Alex Rodriguez. Sounds ridiculous, but you can make a case (and don’t worry, I will) for any of those names suiting up in the Silver and Black next season.

I don't know if I'd put Carl Crawford in that class, but you get the point. The White Sox will be dealing from strength. They have the commodity everyone needs, and they should be able to improve the team with that commodity.

The Arizona Republic has more on the Vazquez rumors. It looks like Jon Garland isn't the likely pitcher:

But an American League source intimated Tuesday that neither Garland nor Contreras was likely to be a part of the deal.

That would leave Hernandez, the Cuban right-hander with four World Series rings and a reputation as a big-game pitcher.

Of course, the downside of having a big game pitcher is he's pretty useless unless you play big games!

The real trade is for Chris Young. Chris is a centerfielder who gets on base and has shown power in the minors. He'll be 22 in 2006.

Late today the Dodgers traded Milton Bradley to the Oakland Athletics. The Dodgers also send infielder Antonio Perez for hot prospect Andre Ethier. The Dodgers dump their malcontent and get a pretty good player in return. In Perez, the Athletics get a middle infielder who can draw a walk.

Off the the top of my head, the A's appear to have the better of this deal, getting two major leaguers for a prospect. Ethier, however, may prove to be great, and there's no telling how long it will take Bradley to wear out his welcome in Oakland. Two years appears to be his limit.

In other Bradley news:

Bradley became a parent for the first time Sunday, when his wife gave birth to a son, Jeremiah.

If your name is Milton Bradley, isn't it incumbent on you to name your son something equally creative, like "General Omar" or "Dollar Bill"?

According to Ken Rosenthal, the Diamondbacks and White Sox are working on a deal for Javier Vazquez. Arizona wants Jon Garland and the White Sox to pick up all of Javier's salary. That would allow the Diamondbacks to keep the money the Yankees are sending Arizona to offset Vazquez's contract.

National Interest took a few days to chew on the Alfonso Soriano deal and decides it wasn't a good move.

The Texas Rangers picked up Vicente Padilla from the Philadelphia Phillies today for a player to be determined. It's an interesting move by the new Rangers GM. Padilla isn't that good a pitcher, but he's also not as bad as his stats. Over the last two seasons, Padilla has a 4.98 ERA at home, 4.21 on the road. The big difference is home runs allowed, 28 at home vs. 10 on the road over that time. With Texas posting an ERA near five last season, a pitcher who keep his ERA at 4.50 or lower actually improves the team. It looks to me that the Rangers got a pitcher who can handle their ballpark and be pretty good on the road.

This deal has the potential to be very good for Texas. It's almost the reverse of the Chan Ho Park signing. The Rangers paid through the nose for someone whose stats looked much better than reality due to the ball park. Here, they're giving up a minor leaguer for someone whose stats look worse than reality.

Update: Fixed spelling of Vicente.

Alfonso Soriano does not want to play the outfield:

"I have the same position [on moving] as I always had when I was with Texas," Soriano told the newspaper. "I said that I'm not going to change from second base."

Although he said he hasn't spoken with anyone from the Nationals, Soriano told the Star-Telegram that he believes the club traded for him to play second base.

"I think that if they traded for me, it's to play second base," he told the newspaper.

However, Washington already has a past All-Star at second base in Jose Vidro, though he was hampered by leg problems last season that limited him to 87 games.

Of course, this could be a negotiating strategy. A power hitting second baseman is more valuable than a power hitting leftfielder as Soriano approaches arbitration with the Nationals.

Did the Royals actually make a smart move yesterday? They drafted Fabio Castro first in the rule five draft and sent him to Texas for Esteban German. German was a walk machine in the minor leagues and sported a .300 batting average to boot. At age 26, he's only had about 100 at bats and they've been poor. But anything can happen in 100 at bats. Given his age and his history, Esteban will jump right into the leadoff spot and improve the top of the order. He's also an excellent base stealer, swiping close to 400 bases in the minors and doing it at a 83% clip. It's a nice move by the Royals.

Texas does well, too. It's the second minor league pitcher they've picked up this week with good strikeout and home run numbers, the same type of pitchers the Marlins have been acquiring all winter. Daniels appears to understand DIPS.

The Rangers gained outfield depth with their trade of Alfonso Soriano, and want to use that depth to bring in pitching:

"We're not evaluating this deal on what we got back," Daniels said. "We're not evaluating it in a vacuum. We're evaluating it on what this allows us to do."

At least five clubs have contacted the Rangers about such a deal: Toronto, San Diego, Baltimore, the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs.

The Rangers had previous talks with Toronto about Mench and catcher Gerald Laird, but those bogged down over the Blue Jays' reluctance to meet the Rangers' pitching demands. Toronto has long coveted Wilkerson, so it could make a deal involving some combination of pitchers Brandon League, Ted Lilly and Miguel Batista and perhaps second baseman Orlando Hudson.

It's a good deal for Texas even if they don't move any other players. If they land a good starter, so much the better.

The Yankees pawned Tony Womack off on the Cincinnati Reds, picking up a pair of 24 year-olds in the deal. I hate to call them prospects, because if you're in the low minors at age 24 you're more or less on your way to becoming a career minor leaguer.

The Colorado Rockies made some deals, acquiring Yorvit Torrealba and Ray King. Seattle will get a player to be determined, while the Cardinals pick up Larry Bigbie and Aaron Miles. King has never allowed a HR at Coors in 27 ab bats. Looks like all three teams are doing low level patching.

It appears from article and comments that the Red Sox are not going to flip Marte for Julio Lugo. Marte has very good minor league numbers, but I'm not awed by them, especially if this is true:

Marte, 22, has been one of the Braves’ top prospects for several years but with Chipper Jones expected to be manning third base for the Braves for the foreseeable future, Marte was deemed expendable by Atlanta. He will probably begin the year in Triple A, and the Red Sox expect to try him out at first base there. He is rated as an average defensive third baseman, with considerable upside as a run producer.

Right now, Marte has an OBA in the high .300's and a slugging percentage in the low .500s. I don't know if his parks hurt him or not. I'd love to see those numbers (especially the slugging percentage) much higher if he's going to be moved to first base.

And this still begs the question who will play short? Since they didn't do a three-way deal for Lugo, the Devil Rays can demand more if Boston comes knocking that way again. The free agents available aren't exactly top shelf. Could there be a massive deal in the works to trade Manny for a leftfielder, shortstop and first baseman?

The Red Sox traded Edgar Renteria to the Atlanta Braves for third baseman Andy Marte. This is probably not the end of the deal, as Marte may go to Tampa Bay for Lugo. More later, but right now the Red Sox have traded their starting shortstop and their shortstop prospect, leaving them with a big hole in the middle of the infield.

The Toronto Blue Jays acquired Lyle Overbay from the Milwaukee Brewers for the disappointing Dave Bush and two other players. Ricciardi sums up the move for Toronto:

"I think he's more of a gap hitter, he's more of an on-base guy,'' Jays general manager J.P. Ricciardi said of the 28-year-old slugger early this morning after the deal was finalized. "We can use a little bit more on-base in our lineup and I think he helps us with that.''

He'll be a bit of an improvement over Shea Hillenbrand, but Overbay is not a big bopper. Toronto is still low offensively at the position compared to other teams.

Of course, this opens the door for Prince Fielder to be crowned king of the first basemen in Milwaukee. Brewers fans are hoping for a long purple reign.

It looks like Jim Bowden's parting shot to Washington was the worst trade of the winter, sending three players to Texas for Alfonso Soriano. Wilkerson for Soriano straight up would be a bad deal, but the Rangers also get Termel Sledge and a minor league pitcher as icing on the cake.

First off, Wilkerson is younger than Soriano by over a year. Not only is he younger, but Brad over the last two years posted back-to-back 19 win share seasons. Soriano posted two 16 win share seasons! He's gone from years of 28 and 27 win shares with the Yankees to a combined 32 with the Rangers.

Sledge was an old rookie in 2004, so I don't see him being a long term star. But if he contributes at all, it's just widens the trade gap.

Texas also get Armando Galarraga, a right-handed pitcher. He strikes out a good number of batters and his control is improving as he moves through the minor leagues.

Washington fans, you got ripped off. And with this deal, I doubt Jim Bowden will ever be hired in Boston.

Correction: Fixed a typo.

The Braves and Diamondbacks traded players, giving up opposite poles of the battery. Arizona sent two pitchers to Atlanta for catcher Johnny Estrada. I take it this means the Diamondbacks aren't as high on their catching prospects as they were a year ago.

The Braves get Oscar Villarreal who had a great 2003 but has not pitched much at the major league level since. Cormeir has a 6.21 ERA in 124 2/3 innings pitched in the majors. Seems like both clubs were just dumping spare parts.

The Pirates continue to trim their bevy of lefties, sending Mark Redman to the Royals for sophomore Jonah Bayliss and a player to be determined. Bayliss has good strikeout numbers but walks a few too many. Like the deal above, this is not going to make or break either team.

This is big. The Marlins and Cubs agreed to a deal last night that send Renyel Pinto to the Marlins. Pinto is another high strikeout, low home run pitcher, which seems to be all the Marlins are getting in these trades. And all the Marlins had to give up was Juan Pierre!

Actually, the star of the deal appears to be Ricky Nolasco, a 23 year-old righty with impressive minor league numbers. Again, lots of strikeouts and few homers, but in Ricky's case he doesn't walk many either. Sergio Mitre was also in the deal, although he doesn't fit the profile of pitchers the Marlins are acquiring.

With the Marlins overflowing with live, young arms, I'm starting to wonder if they're not going to turn some of these pitchers around to bring in some position players for the 2006 season. Or maybe, in a couple of years when they know who is going to be the heart of a new staff, they trade the rest away for the talent to win. The more I see the way the Marlins are going about this restructuring, the more I like it.

The Cincinnati Reds are sending high-average, low-power first baseman Sean Casey to the Pirates for lefty starter Dave Williams. I guess the Reds liked Eric Milton so much they picked up a much cheaper version; a lefty who allows home runs.

Casey does get on base, something the Pirates need. Bat him second in front of Bay and watch Jason's RBI totals go up. The Pirates' #2 hitters managed just a .309 OBA last season. If Casey comes close to his career average of .371 (and Tracy bats him second), the Pirates will be solid 1-4 in their lineup. That's all the White Sox had this year. If their bevy of young lefties perform, this suddenly looks like a team that could finish over .500.

The Cubs are trying to acquire Bobby Abreu. Philadelphia is willing to trade him:

According to National League sources at the winter meetings here, the Cubs asked the Phillies yesterday what it would take to pry away two-time All-Star rightfielder, Gold Glove winner and reigning Home Run Derby champion Bobby Abreu.

The answer: Mark Prior.

The Cubs didn't say yes.

But they didn't say no, either; at least, they haven't so far.

Now that would be a blockbuster.

The Mets and Marlins make another deal. Paul Lo Duca heads north for two more minor league pitchers.

The Mets will send 19-year-old right-hander Gabriel Hernandez and another minor leaguer pitcher to be named, the Daily News reported.

The Mets replace Piazza's 13 win shares with Lo Duca's 11. That's just what they need. With the additions of Wagner and Delgado, they continue to look like a team that will win at least 90 games.

The Marlins get another pitcher who strikes out batters without walking many. And there's another one on the way. If half of the pitchers the Marlins acquire turn out to be okay, they'll have a great rotation in a couple of years.

There's lots of speculation that the Phillies will trade Bobby Abreu:

The Phillies say they are not shopping Abreu. They don't have to. Every team in baseball already knows that he could be had for pitching help.

It's not that the Phils don't like Abreu. They do. He's available because he could fetch some value as the Phils look to fortify their pitching staff.

The Red Sox are among the teams interested, and Abreu would be a perfect replacement for Manny. Since becoming a regular in 1998, Abreu never posted less than 23 win shares in a season. He's garnered 216 win shares in that time, an average of 27 a season. Manny, over the same period, earned 227 win shares, a little over 28 a season. On top of that, Bobby is two years younger than Manny, and you can see why Boston is interested.

Still, that's a lot of wins to trade for pitching. I suspect Gillick will do a good job getting value for Abreu if indeed the Phillies decide to go in that direction.
227 to 216

The Florida Marlins rid themselves of their third infielder today as they traded Luis Castillo to the Twins for two pitching prospects. Luis does a very good job of getting on base, something the Twins lacked in 2005. Twins second basemen posted a weak .320 OBA in 2005, so this trade should upgrade the offense.

Travis Bowyer is one of the pitching prospects going to the Marlins. He's a reliever who walks a lot of batters. But he keeps the ball in the park. He only allowed 12 home runs in almost 400 minor league innings (he did give up three in 9 2/3 major league innings).

Scott Tyler is similar. Over five walks per 9, but lots of strikeouts and few home runs. I'm not as impressed with these prospects as I was with what the Mets and Red Sox gave up. It's tough to believe that's all they could get for Castillo. He'd be a superb leadoff man on a lot of teams.

Are the Marlins done? Or is there still salary that can be moved?

Chad Finn really likes the Josh Beckett trade.

Bryan Smith at Baseball Analysts looks at the non-trade Rangers and decides they made the right move to keep their trio of pitching prospects:

In the end, it is a good sign that Daniels was slow to dip into the farm system that could shape the Rangers future. It would have been one thing to trade Eric Hurley, the fourth pitcher in the system that pitched well in the Midwest League, but another to swap one of their high potential, AA hurlers. Good first non-move for Daniels, while Red Sox fans are witnessing Theo Epstein's pride and joy (a rebuilt farm system) get torn apart quickly.

The Marlins completed their two big trades yesterday. The one involving Josh Beckett turned out to be bigger than rumored.

The Boston Red Sox and Florida Marlins announced a seven-player trade on Thursday that sends 2003 World Series MVP Josh Beckett, three-time All-Star Mike Lowell and right-handed reliever Guillermo Mota to Boston.

In exchange, Boston sends four minor-league players to Florida, including two top prospects. Shortstop Hanley Ramirez and pitchers Anibal Sanchez, Jesus Delgado and Harvey Garcia join the Marlins, the Red Sox said in a written statement.

It appears the Red Sox didn't like everything they saw in Beckett's shoulder, which is why they wanted Mota.

Mota's stock certainly went down quickly. Dodgers fans were very upset when Guillermo Mota went to Florida, but the former LA setup man did not thrive in Miami. He still struck out batters, but his walks went up (Mota with LA, Mota with Florida).

There's some evidence that Mota's stay in Florida was marred by bad luck. His quick and dirty DIPS ERA was 3.78, vs. the 4.74 actual number he posted. Mota, however, is 32, which means the Red Sox traded four very young prospects for two guys in their early 30s and a potentially great starting pitcher (if his shoulder holds up).

The three pitchers the Red Sox are sending to Miami all strike out lots of batters. Delgado and Garcia walk a few, but I'd be willing to take my chances that they can learn control. It's clearly a win now trade for Boston, a dump salary and win in the future trade for the Marlins.

The Marlins also complete the deal with the Mets:

The Mets, whose pursuit of the first baseman last winter got personal when Delgado accused team brass of trying to overplay their common Hispanic heritage, last night announced the acquisition of the slugger from the Marlins - along with $7 million to offset the $48 million guaranteed to him - for rookie Mike Jacobs, pitching prospect Yusmeiro Petit and Single-A third baseman Grant Psomas.

I don't know much about Grant Psomas. He's played a couple of years of A ball and had mixed results. Neither team really needs a third baseman right now, but the Marlins may be thinking that if Cabrera doesn't work at third the could bring along Grant in a year or two. I know that from now on whenever anyone asks me to spell my last name, I'm going to start, "P, as in Psomas."

Dan Le Batard sees the silver lining:

This flood of awful feels worse by the drop, Carlos Delgado the latest Marlin swept out of town by this godforsaken current, but there is at least one rainbow at the end of this Apocalyptic baseball reign: Management is getting back a wonderful array of the world's best baseball prospects for this or some other city to enjoy in a few years.

Remember, that's how Dontrelle Willis ended up here, in what was perceived as a salary dump. A.J. Burnett, too. And Juan Pierre. And Derrek Lee. And Carl Pavano. And Brad Penny. And all those guys did was knock over Barry Bonds, then Sammy Sosa, then the New York Freaking Yankees in the single best surprise in South Florida sports history.

If you're going to dismantle the team, this is the way to do it. It's not 1997 again.

Via Phillies Nation, Jim Thome is going to the White Sox. The Phillies are getting Aaron Rowand in return, two prospects, but they still are going to pay half of Thome's contract.

The teams are trading offense for defense. Rowand overall isn't an impressive offensive player. He had a great year in 2004, but a poor year at the bat in 2005. What he does do is catch everything from gap to gap. Given that the White Sox are built on pitching and defense, I'm surprised they would trade someone who makes their pitching staff better for an aging slugger. Do the White Sox have someone younger waiting in the wings? Without knowing who the prospects are, this looks like a very good trade for the Phillies. They got rid of an expendable player and upgrade their defense at a very important position. Another great Gillick trade.

Jon Heyman of the NY Newsday is reporting the Mets and Marlins have a deal to send Carlos Delgado to New York.

The Mets have reached an agreement for a trade to bring Carlos Delgado from the Marlins, Newsday has learned. The trade won't be finalized until medical examinations of the players involved are complete and commissioner Bud Selig signs off on the deal.

The Mets have agreed to send righthanded pitching prospect Yusmeiro Petit and young first baseman Mike Jacobs to the Marlins for Delgado, according to someone familiar with the deal. As part of the deal, the Marlins will send $7 million back to the Mets to cover part of the $48 million remaining on Delgado's contract.

So Delgado becomes the replacement for Piazza's bat, and the Marlins continue to pick up good, young prospects. While Jacobs is nothing special, Petit's had a very good minor league career. The Marlins keep picking up young pitchers with lots of strikeouts and few walks; you have to like that strategy. In a couple of years they could end up with a staff very similar to Willis, Burnett and Beckett at a fraction of the cost.

It looks like the Mets are going to make good use of their 2006 tax break. If they can land Wagner, you're looking at a team with Beltran, Delgado, Pedro, Wagner, Floyd and Wright. Based on their 2005 win shares, that's 47 wins right there. If Beltran's woes were caused by injury, and he's healthy in 2006, that could even be higher.

David Ortiz appears to have inside information on Manny Ramirez returning to Boston:

According to Ortiz, "Manny is not returning to Boston."

"Manny is living through a difficult situation (in Boston) that only he and his family know and he no longer wants to play there," said Ortiz after arriving early Monday in the Dominican Republic.

Ortiz indicated that Ramirez wants to play for a west coast team. Maybe the Red Sox can trade him straight up for Vlad! :-)

It looks like Boston moved into the lead for Beckett.

Update: Sorry, I had to post that quickly. The deal with the Rangers appears dead:

"In the end, a deal wasn't there," Rangers general manager Jon Daniels told The Dallas Morning News.

Before Texas was told they were eliminated from the running, Florida asked the Rangers to expand their deal even further, to include hot shortstop prospect Joaquin Arias, along with Blalock and a pitcher. In return, the Rangers would want a second pitcher back -- possibly setup man Guillermo Mota.

The Red Sox will be getting Beckett and Lowell, while the Marlins will receive three players in return:

Hanley Ramirez, right-handed prospect Anibal Sanchez and a minor leaguer pitcher.

So Boston has a new ace. I also take it that Bill Mueller is out of the picture. At this point I'd much rather have Mueller than Lowell. Mike's career took a big plunge in 2005, and I don't believe it's a fluke. Lowell came into 2005 a .277 career hitter. Given his 500 at bats, the 95% confidence interval for Mike's expected hits was 119 to 158. Mike banged out just 118 hits in 2005. Rather than just being bad luck, it looks like Lowell decline was real. The other indicator here is that his line drive percentage was down.

Correction: When I pulled 2002-2004 data from my database, I used the wrong key for batted ball type (I used a translation field instead of the actual type). Lowell's line drive percentage is down the last two years vs. the previous two years, but not by much.

Mike Lowell Line Drive Percentage
Year	Line Drive Percentage
2002	23.0
2003	23.8
2004	19.2
2005	20.6

Line drives fall for hits, and if Lowell can't line them anymore, he's not going to hit much again.

I'm somewhat surprised the Red Sox gave up Ramirez. Obviously, with Renteria at shortstop, Hanley is being blocked. The other thing that strikes me is that Ramirez was not able to repeat his awesome numbers in the low minors in AA. At age 21, he should be getting to the point where he's ready for the majors, not taking a step back in the minors. Could it be Boston lost faith in his future?

Anibal Sanchez may be the real steal here. He's so young, the Baseball Cube doesn't have his age yet. But one has to love a starter who strikes out better than 10 a games while walking less than three.

Long term, this is a good deal for the Marlins. Beckett helps the Red Sox for the next few years (barring injury), but I'm afraid Lowell is going to prove to be useless. The Red Sox seem to be taking the path of winning now rather than rebuilding from within. Maybe that was the heart of the difference between Theo and Lucchino.

Update: Athletics Nation sees the win now attitude in Boston as well:

Beckett and Lowell join the Red Sox while Lucchino and company begin dismantling the farm system Theo built.

Texas and Boston are competing for the services of Josh Beckett. According to the Dallas Morning News, the Rangers met the Marlins terms for a deal, offering Florida their pick of Texas' top two pitching prospects. Florida needs to decide which package best meets it's needs:

Who ends up with Beckett could in large part depend on just how drastically the Marlins want to reduce payroll. Blalock, 25, will make $3 million in 2006 and another $10 million over the next two seasons. That would be a large commitment for the Marlins to undertake – if they don't turn around and trade Blalock for more young players. Under that scenario, Florida could potentially realize more return from dealing with the Rangers than with Boston.

The advantage for Florida of dealing with Boston is in cost. Ramirez, who turns 22 in December, would make only the major league minimum ($316,000) in 2006 and would allow the Marlins to fill a hole created by the free agency departure of Alex Gonzalez. Boston, however, could up the ante by including more in the deal. The Red Sox's biggest shortcoming in failing to return to the World Series was a lack of starting pitching.

Stay tuned. Scroll down to the bottom of the article for good pros and cons on Beckett.

Joe Capozzi at the Palm Beach Post continues his coverage of the trade. He has six teams in the running, with the Rangers second at this point.

The Nady-Cameron trade is official. In general, I like trading a 33 year old for a 27 year old (2006 seasonal age). The big question is, will Nady develop the power and batting eye he showed in the minors. He should be peaking as a major leaguer at this age, rather than working to reach his potential.

Cameron should help the Padres defense in center. If any team should be playing little ball, it's San Diego at home. Cameron's speed should help on both sides of the ball in that park. Right now it looks like a trade for both sides.

The Palm Beach Post floats a Carlos Delgado rumor:

Marlins first baseman Carlos Delgado could replace Rafael Palmeiro in Baltimore if Orioles officials — currently divided over the idea — agree to give up a top pitching prospect, a baseball source said Thursday.

The Marlins and Orioles have not yet discussed a trade, but Baltimore's front office has talked about it since at least the general managers' meetings in California last week.

"Baltimore is seriously debating whether to get Delgado, but they are split over whether to pursue it,'' said the source, who was briefed on Baltimore's strategies.

I'm curious as to the nature of the debate; who is for it and why and who is against it and why. Is the debate over just money, or over a strategy of how to build a team. Does one side want the big slugger while the otherside wants to use the money to build a more balanced team? I guess we'll get a clue as we see the team take shape over the winter.

Nick Canepa likes the Cameron/Nady trade idea, but is concerned about the rest of the team.

Mike Cameron, vision willing, is an attractive acquisition. But it's still difficult to see exactly where this team is going – it hasn't gotten younger this offseason – and how long it will take to get there.

I have to admit, when I saw the trade for Castilla, I assumed the Padres were picking up a defensive replacement. But Nick seems to think the team will play Vinny full time:

Meanwhile, it appears that what Towers and Alderson promised at the end of a first-place-but-disappointing season is coming true. There may not be a dismantling of this baseball team, but the bosses – including owner John Moores – didn't like the way it played. Rightly so. There were going to be changes made.

Already, third baseman Vinny Castilla has been brought in from the Nationals, all but assuring hasta la vistas to Joe Randa and Sean Burroughs. Now this deal. And No. 2 starter Adam Eaton is on the block.

Castilla doesn't improve the team at third, but amazingly he doesn't make the team any worse. Still, if that's the Padres idea of making the team better, they're going nowhere fast.

ESPN is reporting that Mike Cameron is going to the Padres in exchange for Xavier Nady. I'm guessing the Mets would move Nady to first, possibly giving them an outfield of Floyd, Beltran and Victor Diaz.

If you are going to play Beltran in center, then Cameron isn't a good fit on that team. I assume Mike will play center on San Diego. Are they going to move Dave Roberts to right if they can't sign Giles, or is Roberts going to move in another deal?

Peoria Pundit looks at the possibility of Jim Thome moving to Chicago.

This quote at the end of today's Bill Madden column sums up the problems with trying to trade Manny Ramirez:

"He's not the kind of guy we want. We have a certain kind of chemistry here."

- White Sox GM Kenny Williams on why he has no interest in Manny Ramirez, even if he loses Paul Konerko.

Manny doesn't seem to realize that Boston fans are very tolerant of Manny's mental lapses and occasional lack of hustle. Other teams look at the price tag and the baggage that goes with it and say, "no thanks." So what do the Red Sox do in this environment? Do they take a poor deal just to get rid of the guy, or do they refuse to trade for less than fair value and hang onto Manny anyway. It seems to me from the way the request was worded, the Red Sox just need to make a good faith effort to move the left fielder. If they can't consummate a deal, Manny will stay.

Javier Vazquez will demand the Diamondbacks trade him closer to his home in Puerto Rico.

Vazquez, the Diamondbacks' No. 1 starter, indicated through his representatives to club officials that he plans to file the necessary paperwork and wants to play for a team east of the Mississippi River to be closer to family in his native Puerto Rico.

The right-hander, who went 11-15 with a 4.42 ERA and 192 strikeouts, has the right to request a trade after having been dealt by the New York Yankees to the Diamondbacks during the middle of a multiyear contract.

If nobody wants him, or a trade can't be arranged, Vazquez can elect to become a free agent on March 15, 2006. I find that path doubtful, since he's unlikely to earn as much money given his last two seasons. His home runs have soared, raising his ERA and lowering his winning percentage.

He would, however, be a good fit in a tough home run park. Since PETCO is out of the question, I suspect he'll do fine in either Washington or Miami, with the Marlins being best for visiting home. With the departure of A.J. Burnett, the Marlins can use another starter as well.

This, of course, is a pain for the new Diamondbacks GM Josh Byrnes. He now needs to devote resources to Vazquez that he could otherwise direct to building the team. It's not the way you'd like to start your tenure, being put in a situation where you're likely to come out at a loss.

The Yankees are talking about trading Jorge Posada. At first I thought it might be to trade an aging bat for a younger one, but unfortunately it's about money:

Of course, that contract is the reason the Yanks are interested in moving him. Posada, 34, will make $8 million next season, and if he starts just 81 games at catcher, a clause in his deal guarantees his 2007 option at a massive $12 million salary.

That, obviously, isn't something the Yankees are interested in paying. In addition to the trade discussions, there have been internal talks about shifting Posada to first base - even part-time, with some time at DH, too - in an effort to avoid that contract trigger.

This article, in my opinion, is looking at this contract from the wrong angle. The $12 million salary in 2007 is a reward for being able to play well for the previous three years. He has to start 330 games between 2004 and 2006 for the clasue to kick in. According to Baseball Reference, his earnings for the four years if the trigger is pulled:

• 2004: $9 million
• 2005: $11 million
• 2006: $8 million
• 2007: $12 million

So the contract says to me that Jorge was worth $10 million a year for four years if he could stay in the lineup, $9 million a year for three years if he couldn't. That seems about right. The fourth year is a reward for a career Yankee for doing well the previous three. While I'm sure the New York AL franchise would rather spend the money on something other than an aging catcher, given Posada's production over the years, they should be to willing to foot the bill.

And while I'm not much for team chemistry, Posada is the person in the clubhouse who bridges all the cliques that develop. Posada still posts excellent numbers for a catcher. He's earned the extra pay check.

According to the Daily News, the Mets and Tampa Bay are contemplating a trade:

The Mets and Rays are a good fit because each has something the other needs. The Mets must get a closer and cleanup hitter and the Rays have both. The Rays want young starting pitching and the Mets are one of the few teams with a surplus, including Aaron Heilman, Jae Seo and minor leaguer Yusmeiro Petit.

I would expect Mets fans to react to such a trade the way they did to a previous one with the Devil Rays.

Neil Hohlfeld remembers the deal of the Everetts:

The young player came to the Astros in a trade with the Boston Red Sox for a veteran whose salary was getting out of the club's range.

The young player matured and earned a spot as an everyday player. He was in the starting lineup Saturday night as the Astros played the Chicago White Sox in the first game of the World Series.

And it's not Jeff Bagwell.

Instead, it's Adam Everett, the shortstop who was involved in the second-best trade the Astros made with the Red Sox.

The deal was Everett for Everett, made Dec. 16, 1999. Both players are in the World Series, with Carl Everett the designated hitter for the White Sox.

I'm not so sure it was such a good trade. In the season since Carl left Houston, he's amassed 82 win shares to just 38 for Adam. If Carl never plays again, Adam will need to stay of the 12 WS a year pace for four years just to catch the White Sox DH. But Adam is 28 and his offense is declining. He had his lowest batting average, OBA and slugging of his first three full seasons. Another bad sign is that his strikeouts went way up. He struck out in 16% of his at bats in 2003-2004, 19% in 2005. Adam has no value offensively on the road, where his OPS is .565. My guess is that by the end of next year, Everett's offense will be two low to justify his defense, and he'll go from starter to late inning replacement.

The Red Sox traded two very young players whose names they couldn't spell for Mike Stanton today.

The Red Sox acquired left-hander Mike Stanton from the Washington Nationals on Thursday for right-handers Rhys Taylor and Yader Peralta.

If you're building a farm system you'd like the 19 and 20 year olds hanging around. Mike Myers isn't enough? All you have to do to beat the guy is bring in a righty. I guess they want one to pitch to Giambi and one to pitch to Matsui and bring in a righty in between. Somehow, it doesn't seem worth the two youngsters.

Torii Hunter thinks he's going to be traded in the off-season.

Although he's under contract with Minnesota for the 2006 season and the Twins have a club option on him for 2007, the center fielder has put his condominium on the market, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported Friday.

"I'm putting it up for sale and will be renting an apartment," Hunter told the Star Tribune. "It's a business sometimes. I want to be here, but you never know what could happen. I've seen good friends leave here.

Hunter told the newspaper that he's heard from people he trusts that he could be traded this offseason. Hunter's 2006 salary of $10.75 million would be the highest single-season in Twins history. The Twins have a $12 million option on him for the 2007 season, or could buy him out for $2 million.

It seems a dubious reason to sell your house. Maybe the Minneapolis housing market is so hot that Torii wants to cash out.

You know you have a problem at shortstop when you trade for Deivi Cruz and he actually improves your team. It seems all Bowden can get are low OBA shortstops:

To land Cruz, a .269 career hitter who rarely walks, the Nationals gave up Class A right-hander Ben Cox, a 19th-round selection in last year's draft. Cruz, who is scheduled to join the Nationals at least in time for the second game of Wednesday's doubleheader with the Braves, has a reputation for swinging at bad pitches, the origin of Guzman's problem. But while Guzman entered Tuesday's game hitting a horrific .196 with an on-base percentage of .238 -- 43 points lower than the next-worst offensive player in baseball, Pittsburgh's Jack Wilson -- Cruz's average in 81 games for the Giants was .268, his on-base percentage .301.

I guess there aren't that many Barry Larkins out there.

The Braves acquired Todd Hollandsworth from the Cubs for two minor leaguers. Hollandsworth won the Rookie of the Year award in 1996 mostly because he was with the Dodgers, and LA was on a streak of rookie awards. He was the last of five straight ROY's for the Dodgers. The only one who had a truly great career was Mike Piazza. Hollandsworth turned out to be a mediocre ballplayer, neither getting on base much nor hitting for much power. Even playing with Colorado in 2002, he only produced a .483 slugging percentage. I see him more as an insurance policy against injury for the Braves, rather than as someone who is going to make a significant contribution.

The Rockies acquisition of Larry Bigbie was for the Red Sox, not for themselves:

The Rockies traded Eric Byrnes for Baltimore's Larry Bigbie and then wanted to deal Bigbie and a minor leaguer to the Sox for outfielder Adam Stern and catching prospect Kelly Shoppach. The Rockies believed they were going to be able to complete the Sox trade before Saturday but late Friday night, when the Manny Ramirez trade talks heated up and Shoppach could have been involved, the Red Sox asked for more time.

I was wondering yesterday if the Manny Ramirez circus distracted the Red Sox from making needed deals at the deadline. If the need to trade Manny hadn't taken so much of Theo's time, what would he have done differently at the deadline?

The trade deadline is hear, and I've heard of no blockbusters. However, the deals just have to be in to the MLB offices by four. They still may not be announced until games are completed.

Update: Just made a quick check of the boxscores, and I didn't see anyone pulled out of the lineup for no reason in the middle of a game.

Update: The Marlins acquired Ron Villone from the Mariners. It's a good pickup for the Florida bullpen.

Update: I heard the Braves got Farnsworth from Detroit, but I can't find a confirming article. However, STATS, Inc. is now listing him with Atlanta. He's having a career year. Detroit has been very willing to part with good relief pitchers this season.

Update: The Cubs send Gerut to the Pirates for Matt Lawton. It's a good move for the Cubs as they get an outfielder who can get on base.

Manny Ramirez is not in the lineup for today's game vs. the Twins. If the Red Sox are not going to trade him, they should be playing him.

Update: Manny says he wants to win another World Series with Boston.

The Red Sox picked up Jose Cruz Jr. from the Diamondbacks last night in exchange for two minor leaguers. The Red Sox also received cash. I assume he'll fill in for Trot Nixon and give the Red Sox a little insurance if they do trade Manny Ramirez.

The Mariners did indeed trade Randy Winn, but not to the Yankees. The Giants picked up the center fielder, sending Yorvit Torrealba and Jessie Foppert to the Mariners. The Giants make themselves a little older again, and the Mariners pick up a catcher who might hit if he plays everyday. Foppert had Tommy John surgery, so it's not clear what path his career will take.

I haven't put much stock in the trade Manny rumors. But I had forgotten about this:

One source stressed to the Globe that the Red Sox have additional motivation to make this deal as Ramirez will have the right after this season to veto a trade under baseball's ''10-5'' rule, which applies to players with 10 years experience, five consecutively with the same club.

So if the Red Sox don't trade him before the season ends, they will be in a worse situation than the Padres were with Phil Nevin. Manny could veto any trade, giving the Red Sox very little leverage if Manny decides he'll only play for a certain team.

Eric Byrnes joins his third team of the month as the Rockies and Orioles swap outfielders. Larry Bigbie is now a member of the Rockies. I'm not sure what the Orioles are getting in Byrnes that they don't have in Bigbie. Larry's two years younger and should be at the prime of his career. I really don't buy the right-handed bat notion. Most of the pitchers in the majors, and certainly in their division are right handed. You'd think the Orioles would want to stock up on lefties.

Bigbie will probably slug .550 for the Rockies next year.

Correction: Corrected spelling of Bigbie.

The Padres finally swung a deal for a lousy pitcher. Phil Nevin could not refuse a trade to Texas, so the Rangers send Chan Ho Park to the Padres. I don't quite understand the trade from the point of view of the Rangers. They're down a pitcher with Rogers suspended, and now they're down another starter. Will we be seeing a three man rotation in Texas?

The move is probably a good one for Chan Ho. He had sucess in Dodger Stadium, and should be more comfortable in PETCO than in Arlington.

Jayson Stark is reporting that the Yankees have traded two minor leaguers to the Rockies for Shawn Chacon. Shawn becomes the Saturday starter. It's not official, so take it with a grain of salt.

I like the move for the Yankees. Chacon is 0-5 on the road, but he has a 3.12 ERA. He's only allowed 1 home run on the road vs. six in Colorado.

The problem with Chacon, is the number of walks he allows; one every other inning. The Yankees tend not to go with pitchers as wild as that. It's going to be fun to see what Chacon can do in a big park at sea level, however.

Update: The Yankees trade two young pitchers to the Rockies. Eduardo Sierra looks like Chacon, but with more strikeouts. Ramon Ramirez is also striking out a ton of people. Maybe the Yankees should have given one of them a try in the majors.

I just heard on the NESN broadcast of the Red Sox game that Phil Nevin decided to exercise his no-trade option and refused the trade to the Orioles. Here's the story from ESPN.

I have to think this is a positive for the Padres, as I just didn't see Ponson helping them at all.

Here's a thought to add to the wild speculation going on about trades right now. Why don't the Yankees trade Jason Giambi? His value may never be higher than it is right now. His hot streak is short enough that we don't know if it's for real, but his approach to hitting right now looks like the Giambi of old. The Padres, Mets and Indians all could use a slugging first baseman and have excess pitching. If the Yankees could get a starter and reliever for the first baseman, would you do the trade? Jeter, A-Rod, Sheffield and Matsui offer plenty of offense for a good pitching staff. The Yankees could afford to play Tino the rest of the way and solve first base next season. It certainly would be a bold move on the Yankees part.

I'm assuming that the Yankees would need to send money (especially to SD and Cleveland) to take care of part of Giambi's future salary.

The Dayton Daily News has a short profiles of the two pitchers the Reds received in the Randa trade. Both are young, and both are striking out a lot of batters. That's certainly a good sign.

Chick's carrer through 2004 looks very good. Germano's strikeouts aren't quite as high, but his walks are a lot better. Not a bad deal for the Reds who finally get some young talent for the pitching staff.

The San Diego Padres picked up Joe Randa today for a couple of minor leaguers and appear to be ready to trade Nevin for Ponson if Nevin approves the deal. I understand the Randa deal; Sean Burroughs just hasn't hit. He's slugging .302, which is just unacceptable for a third baseman.

I don't understand the Nevin for Ponson deal, however. I understand the Padres need for a starting pitcher, but is Ponson really going to help? You can't even argue that Petco Park is going to help, because Sidney has a 7+ ERA on the road. Nevin is coming off an injury, but he's had a poor year overall. Like Ponson, he can't blame his home park, because he's playing worse on the road as well. I just don't see it as a trade that helps either team at this point.

The Indians and Cubs completed a deal last night, sending Jody Gerut to Chicago for Jason Dubois. I like the trade for both teams. Gerut is a known quantity; the Cubs need offensive help in both left and center, and Jody is better than the people they've been using there. By picking up Dubois, the Indians are getting two years younger at Gerut's position. Dubios' minor league stats are good, although that has yet to translate to major league success. The Indians are wagering he'll be a better player long term than Gerut.

Al Leiter is returning to the New York Yankees:

Leiter will be thrown right into action by the Yankees. He is expected to start Sunday in Boston for them.

The Yankees' pitching situation grew desperate after the shoulder injury incurred by rookie Chien-Ming Wang and a 17-1 defeat to archrival Boston on Friday night in which Tim Redding and Darrell May were both roughed up. While Leiter was just 3-7 with a 6.64 ERA for Florida, he is a veteran of the New York baseball scene, having starred for the Mets years after coming up with the Yankees.

I spent the afternoon driving around Connecticut listening to the Yankees game, and the radio broadcasters were very happy about this news. Unfortunately, their reasoning had nothing to do with reality. They talked about Leiter's intangibles, but dismissed his 6.64 ERA and his 60 walks in 80 innings because he knows New York and knows how to handle pressure. Even when Leiter pitched well this season, he hasn't gone deep in games.

I don't expect Al to do any better in New York than he did in a pitching park in Florida. If he's wild against the Red Sox tomorrow, he won't last long in the game. Once again the Yankees are solving a problem with an old, questionable pitcher. It looks like after Wang, the farm system is dry. Once again, the "win now" mentality has left the pitching staff in the lurch.

The Athletics, Rockies and Nationals completed a three-way deal that sends Eric Byrnes to Colorado, Preston Wilson to the Nationals and "The Patriarch" Joe Kennedy to the A's. Byrnes is a typical A's cog. He gets on base a little above average and has some power. Nothing outstanding, but he's an above average player who doesn't cost that much. He'll hit fine for the Rockies.

Preston Wilson is designed to fill a power hole left by the injury to Nick Johnson. If you want to get an idea how Wilson might hit for the Nationals, take a look at his time in Florida. His .262/.333/.473 numbers are okay, but with his age and injuries I would expect those to be a bit lower.

Jay Witasick returns to the A's, his first team. He's been excellent in relief for the Rockies, although not used much. He's striking out over 9 per 9 inning and looks capable of filling the Chad Bradford role.

The real interesting part of the deal is Kennedy. He looked great last year but faltered in 2005. He can't find the plate this year home or away, having ERAs of 7.00 both ways. I wonder if Oakland thinks the ball park will help him? Have they, like Washington with Drese, identified a problem they can correct? Or is it that someone who pitched for a year at Coors with a 3.66 overall ERA is worth a look?

The Athletics and Red Sox swapped players today. Chad Bradford is going to come off the DL for the Red Sox, while the A's get Boston malcontent Jay Payton. If Bradford is really healthy, it seems like Boston is getting the better of the deal. That makes me think that Chad's arm may be hanging. :-)

The Twins picked up Bret Boone today. Minnesota also gets cash and will send the Mariners a player to be named.

Although some think 2nd base is a problem for the Twins, they've gotten better offensive stats from 2nd than they've gotten at third.

I've been hearing rumors about this all day. One of my commentors reports that this was Omar making the noise and Cashman said no. If the Yankees are going to trade Sheffied for a center fielder, they should get a very young, very good one, not Mike Cameron who they'll have to replace in a couple of years.

John Eisenberg of the Baltimore Sun wants the Orioles to be agressive in going after more pitching. He points out the teams' complacency lately:

Manager Lee Mazzilli said after the trip that he was pleased the team didn't lose ground. Huh? The Orioles easily could have gained ground, having played mostly losing teams while the Yankees and Sox muddled along. For the Orioles, the lost series in Pittsburgh and Cincinnati represented blown chances to gain ground.

With all due respect, the manager should be pushing his division-leading team to continue surpassing expectations rather than allowing it to settle for treading water.

You can be sure the Yankees and Red Sox aren't satisfied with weeks in which they muddle along slightly below .500.

Exactly right. I saw a quote from Lloyd McClendon last week in the subject of the Pirates reaching the .500 mark:

"All it means it that we've won half of our games," he said. "That's not our goal. I don't know if it's significant at all in June."

I agree with Eisenberg's article. The Orioles have the rare opportunity to outrace the Red Sox and Yankees. It's time to pull out all stops and go for the division win.

The trading deadline is a month and a half away, but the Phillies and the Tigers got the ball rolling today. The Phillies send Placido Polanco to the Tigers for Ugeth Urbina and Ramon Martinez (no, not that Ramon Martinez). Palanco can play all three infield positions and is doing a good job getting on base this season. If he can keep that up, the Tigers improve greatly at 2nd base offensively, where their hitters have a combined OBA of .271.

Urbina is doing what a relief pitcher should do, striking out lots of batters. He has 31 in 27 1/3 innings. That gives the Phillies a great 1-2 combination of Urbina and Wagner, and should help the team shorten games to seven innings. The move should also improve the Phillies 5.68 ERA from the bullpen, 14th in the NL.

Looks like a good move for both teams. The Phillies had a comparative advantage in offense at 2nd base, the Tigers had a comparative advantage in relief pitching, so interleague trade occured. Economists will be very happy. :-)

The Cubs made a move today to gain some insurance against more injuries to their staff. They traded LaTroy Hawkins to the San Francisco Giants for two starters, Jerome Williams and David Aardsma. Both will go to the minors.

LaTroy has always been a better setup man than a closer, but the Giants will try him in that role until Benitez returns. A Hawkins/Benitez 1-2 punch in the bullpen should be very effective.

Jerome Williams is still young, and his major league career so far shows much promise. His strikeouts, walks and home runs are all okay. Aardsma's minor league numbers show he's a wild power pitcher. If he gets his walks under control, he should be an effective hurler. This looks like a good trade for the future as far as the Cubs are concerned.

It looks like the Boston Red Sox have found a place to dump Byung-Hyun Kim. The Rockies will take him in a trade for cash and an unnamed minor leaguer. This fills the Rockies need for a closer and the Red Sox need to open up a roster spot and rid themselves of an unpopular player.

I wonder what it must be like for a pitcher to be told he's being traded to Colorado. Something like this, I suppose. :-) For his career, Kim has a pretty normal ground out to air out ratio. He'll give up more HR in Coors, but everyone does. The question is will he be able to strike out batters. Because the ball doesn't break as much in Denver, it's tougher to fool batters with curve balls. Maybe the unusual delivery will compensate for that.

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Right now, the Randy Johnson deal is looking pretty good for the Diamondbacks. Not only is Javier Vazquez having an excellent spring, but it looks like Brad Halsey will be the fifth starter. You can see their spring training stats here.

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The rumored trade between the Mets and the Dodgers came off today. Kaz Ishii joins the Mets while Jason Phillips will head to the West Coast with the Dodgers and become their starting catcher.

Ishii had a huge falloff in strikeouts per 9 last year, dropping over 3. Phillips had a falloff offensively as well. His OBA dropped 75 points and his slugging percentage dropped 120 points vs. 2003. Who gets the better deal? The Dodgers save $2 million in the deal; I don't know how much either of these players is going to help their new teams, but the Dodgers are at least saving some money.

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Ivy Chat has some advice for the Cubs concerning Sammy Sosa:

When Sammy said, "They lie. I understand they want to move forward and they feel they have a competitive team, but I don't think nobody can replace me. They can say whatever they want to say, but it is going to be hard, my friend, to duplicate me," Kerry Wood should have smiled and said, "He's right."

When Sammy said that Lee Mazzilli is the first manager ever to be honest with Sammy, Dusty should have said, "That dude is so right!" and winked and moved away.

Instead, these Cubs are still trying to get the upper hand in the media with Sammy. What they miss is that they already have it. We know that Sosa lied. He said he left the last game of the season in the 7th inning. The truth was he left in the first inning. Sosa is a boldfaced liar. With videotape proof.

Maybe Sosa can get in on Jose's pay-per-view event. :-)

Studes has an excellent article over at the Hardball Times evaluating the Doyle Alexander/John Smoltz trade from 1987. He concludes that it was a very good deal for the Tigers.

I've never understood why people don't like this trade for the Tigers. (I've heard negative statements about this deal for at least 10 years.) There's always a balance between the now and the future when making a deal. The Tigers wanted to win now, and traded a prospect for a pitcher who brought them the AL East title. Yes, Smoltz worked out well long term for the Braves. It's not clear to me that John would have been so good for the Tigers. He was a bit of a head case when he was young, and who knows if he would have fared was well through his injuries if he hadn't had Leo Mazzone.

The Tigers made the deal they needed to make to win that year. I bet there are any number of Cubs, Indians and Giants fans who wish their teams had made such lopsided deals. It's not Anderson for Bagwell, after all.

The Cubs traded Kyle Farmsworth to the Detroit Tigers today. Farnsworth might do well in Detroit. He has a great K per 9 but tends to give up the long ball. Comerica is a tough HR park, so I could see Kyle doing well at home this season.

Update: More here from the Cub Reporter.

It's official; Sammy Sosa is now an Oriole. In addition to Hairston, the Cubs also receive Mike Fontenot and Dave Crouthers.

Fontenot is not bad, but at age 25 he should be stepping into a starting role somewhere, not backing up Todd Walker. Crouthers is a pitcher and the same age as Fontenot. He's had good strikeout and walk numbers in the minors even though his walks are high. His ERAs seem to be moving in the wrong direction, however, as he heads through the minors.

The Orioles got one sweet deal.

Ivy Chat has a good handle on how much the Sosa trade is costing each side in terms of Sammy's salary.

The Chicago Sun-Times has more on the Sosa trade story, speculating that Jorge Julio might be in the deal as well. Julio does one thing well, strike out batters. Unfortunately, he also does two things not so well; he walks a lot of batters and gives up a lot of home runs.

Hairston or Julio (or both with Farnsworth going to the Orioles as well), this deal is a give away. The Cubs are basically paying the Orioles to take Sosa off their hands. I wonder why more clubs aren't jumping in? According to the numbers in the article, it looks like a club can have Sosa for a marginal major leaguer, two prospospects and $17 million dollars in salary for two seasons. The upside is that Sosa hits 80 HR with a .360 OBA over two seasons and you get to promote Sammy chasing 600 HR, then Mays, then 700 if you decide to keep him. The downside is that you get 30 HR this year and 25 the next with more injuries and declining skills.

It looks like Baltimore is willing to take the risk. It will all depend on who they deal as prospects, I suppose, but Peter Schmuck sees parallels in another deal:

If the AL East is all about star power, than Sammy might be just the thing to boost the Orioles into the spotlight alongside the Yankees and Red Sox ... if he has anything left.

Remember, this is the guy who went swing for swing with Mark McGwire in the most exciting home run race ever. This is the guy who has hit 60 or more home runs in a season three times - more than any other player.

This is also a "me guy" who was suspended and fined for using a corked bat a couple of years ago and has heard his share of steroid inuendo. Nobody said he was perfect - just maybe perfect for an Orioles franchise that has spent the winter flailing around.

There is a precedent. Former Cleveland Indians and Chicago White Sox slugger Albert Belle was caught with a corked bat back in the 1990s, and look where he ended up in the twilight of his career.

Sorry I brought that up.

Actually, if Sosa comes anything close to Albert's 1999, it will look like a very good deal for the Orioles.

There's an unconfirmed report that Sammy Sosa is being traded to the Orioles. It looks like the Cubs will get Jerry Hairston and two prospects and still have to pay most of Sosa's 2005 salary. Unless these prospects turn out to be Trammell and Whitaker, it doesn't sound like a great deal for the Cubs. Hairston had a good year getting on base in 2004, but Sosa has 11 seasons in which he's had more HR than Hairston's had in his career (26). More when we know more.

The NY Post has more details today on the Mike Cameron situation:

Nicotera explained the timeline yesterday to The Post. Essentially, as has been reported multiple times, back in October, Cameron met with Wilpon, Minaya and Duquette and selflessly volunteered to move to right if the Mets signed Beltran. In December, Cameron and Minaya spoke again, this time on the phone, and Cameron again insisted he was willing to slide over.

But just before the New Year, Cameron began to have some reservations about moving. At that point, he decided to personally call Duquette and Minaya to let them know how he was feeling.

"He reached out to the club with the intent of discussing with the club those reservations," Nicotera explained, "not with the intent of affecting in any way their pursuit of Carlos Beltran."

Now with Beltran in the mix, the Mets and Cameron are trying to figure out their situation. Said Nicotera, "We are continuing to have discussions about this. The content of these discussion we still feel are best kept between Mike, myself and the club."

Related post here and here.

While the internet baseball community has been busy trying to figure out why Paul Depodesta signed Derek Lowe to a four-year deal, another Moneyball GM, J.P. Ricciardi just traded for Shea Hillenbrand. So much for Moneyball GMs liking walks. Gone from the Jays is Adam Peterson, who's had a great K per 9 in the minors but inconsistent control.

It's not a bad trade on value. But I would think an out machine like Hillenbrand would be the antithesis of what Ricciardi would want. Is he going to play first or third? If he's going to play third base well, his stats are okay. But as a first baseman he leaves a lot to be desired. Again, I don't understand why teams can't find a real OBA/Slugger guy floating around the minors who can catch a ball.

I'm watching it on Tivo now. It looks like you could put two Brian Cashmans inside Randy Johnson.

Update: Johnson on his condition:

"I might be 41, but I'm a young 41 and I feel great. I've never felt better and I'm looking forward to what I have left in me and I feel like I have a lot left to give and I'm looking forward to the challenge."

Update: Johnson has nothing but nice things to say about Arizona and the Diamondbacks.

Update: Good humorous quote about pitching in the New York pressure cooker:

I will have at least 35 starts here. I will pitch a lot of very good games here. I can tell you right now, I will lose at least 1 or 2 games here; (laughter) I'm not going to go undefeated.

The Diamondbacks and Dodgers finally got the deal finished. Arizona has obtained Shawn Green after coming to an agreement on reworking his contract.

The deal will give Green a $2 million signing bonus, $10.5 million this year, $8 million in 2006 and $9.5 million in 2007. The agreement includes a mutual option for a fourth year, with a $2 million buyout should the Diamondbacks decide not to retain Green.

I guess it's okay with the union that Green takes a pay cut this year as long as he's getting more years on the contract. The DBacks describe the deal this way:

The Diamondbacks also get pitchers Javier Vazquez and Brad Halsey, along with $9 million, from the Yankees.

"Our view of this is that we effectively traded Randy Johnson for Vazquez, Halsey, Shawn Green and $19 million," Kendrick said.

Of course, the DBacks still have an old team, and who knows how the minor leaguers they traded will pan out. William Juarez looks like the real deal. His strikeout and walk rates are excellent.

Green's career appears to be in decline. He peaked in win shares in 2001 at 34, and since has had 30, 20 and 17 in 2004. How much of that was injury is not known. He had a very good 2nd half in 2004; he could have finally healed, or it could just be luck. I suspect his stats will look very good this year as BOB is a very good offensive park. Whether or not his increased offense is meaningful is the question.

Finally, Kendrick's statement above seems to indicate that the Diamondbacks will keep Vazquez in the rotation. We'll get to see if his second half was a fluke in the 4th easiest NL park for home runs.

Correction: Fixed Shawn Green link.

The DBacks have a new window of opportunity to negotiate with Shawn Green.

If I were Green I might not want the extension. Arizona is a pretty good offensive park. Give Shawn a year there, and he might be a much more attractive free agent. That said, Shawn may also know that his skills are fading, and he's trying to get the greenbacks as a DBack while he has some leverage.

The new Diamondbacks management doesn't appear to be doing all that well so far. They've managed to dump Randy Johnson, but they're not getting the players they really want for him. They've failed to reach an agreement with Shawn Green, meaning that deal is dead. So now they have a minor league catcher they don't want, and a pitcher (Javier Vazquez) who wants to go back east. Moorad and company know what they want, but they don't have a solid plan for getting there, or at least a good backup scheme if things fall apart. I guess it's different game than auctioning players to the highest bidder.

It looks like Randy Johnson and the NY Yankees have reached an agreement on a contract extension that will run through 2007. Johnson gets the same $16 million a year he was earning with the Diamondbacks. That's a lot of money for a pitch who will be 43 at the end of the contract.

I guess the Yankees are thinking they have another Nolan Ryan on their hands. At age 40, Ryan went 8-16, but with a 2.76 ERA to lead the NL. At age 43 he went 13-9 while striking out 232 in 204 innings. If he's anything like Nolan was in his 40's, it will be worth the money. That's a big if, however. I'd still rather spend the money on Beltran.

One more obstacle is out of the way in the Randy Johnson deal as the commissioner approved the trade. And it will be three way swap as Navarro will end up with the Dodgers for Shawn Green. The stumbling block will be contract extensions for the Big Unit and Shawn Green.

As mentioned last night, it looks like the Yankees and Diamondbacks have completed the deal for Randy Johnson.

But for all intents and purposes, the most-anticipated trade of the offseason is complete. The Bombers will send Vazquez, Brad Halsey, Dioner Navarro and the $9 million, which will be paid out in increments over the next couple of years, to the D-Backs in exchange for the five-time Cy Young winner that George Steinbrenner has coveted for years.

The inclusion of Navarro, a 20-year-old catcher, was critical since the D-Backs -- who already have a premier catching prospect in Koyie Hill -- also are looking to trade for Dodgers slugger Shawn Green. Navarro was a player the Dodgers specifically requested when they got involved in three-way talks with the Yanks and Arizona last week, ultimately backing out at the 11th hour of the blockbuster exchange that included Green, Brad Penny, Vazquez and Johnson.

The big difference (as far as the Yankees are concerned) is that Brad Halsey is going instead of Eric Duncan. I really don't like it when the Yankees trade young lefties with good strikeout rates. I didn't like the Al Leiter deal, I didn't like the Ted Lilly deal. But the Yankees are no longer in the mode of the early 1990's where they are willing to sit back and let their prospects develop. They want to win today. And with Johnson, they have a pitcher capable of dominating any opponent. The Yankees could wind up 15 to 20 games over .500 when Johnson pitches this season; it's fairly easy to make the playoffs when you just have to be a bit over .500 in 80% of your games.

The Yankees and Johnson will negotiate a two-year extension; does that mean he'll get this year and another year, or two more years on the existing contract? I know the Big Unit is great, but that's a lot of money for a 40+ year old.

And it appears the DBacks will turn Vazquez and Navarro around, so the trade will end up looking a lot like the original deal with the exception of Vazquez ending up on the east coast. Until those deals are complete, it's difficult to judge this trade for Arizona.

But the value of this trade for the Yankees hinges on Johnson's health. If they win the World Series this season, it will go a long way toward justifying the deal. If they get a couple of more good seasons out of Randy, then it's fine. But if Johnson breaks down and Halsey is solid, it will have been a colossal waste of money and talent.

Monday April 4 is the Yankees home opener vs. the Red Sox. Schilling probably won't be ready. So it looks like the weekend of May 27th is the earliest they can face each other. And since the clubs not only open, but close the season against each other what could be better than Johnson and Schilling on the last day of the season for a playoff spot? It's going to be another fun year on the I-95 corridor.

The best thing the Diamondbacks could do for themselves right now is get another bidder interested in Randy Johnson. Of course, they need to convince Johnson to go somewhere other than the Yankees. Chris Lynch at A Large Regular has a deal that would probably work for the DBacks; Johnson to Boston for Arroyo and Millar.

The Diamondbacks would have received Green, starter Brad Penny and reliever Yhency Brazoban. The way I look at it - the Red Sox could offer Bronson Arroyo instead of Penny (that's pretty even), a top prospect instead of Brazoban (that's pretty even depending on the prospect) and Kevin Millar instead of Shawn Green.

In other words, the Red Sox have the type of players Arizona wants. (This of course, pre-supposes that the Red Sox would make such a deal.) If Randy wants out of Arizona so badly, why is he only interested in the Yankees? What's wrong with Boston? For that matter, what's wrong with any number of clubs? Imagine what an impact Johnson would have on Cleveland, for example.

Maybe it's time for Arizona's management to say to Randy that if he wants to leave, he'll have to give them flexibility. Otherwise, they'll just keep him and let him play out the contract. Arizona blinked a week ago on these discussions. I believe their best bet now is to call off all trade talks, and let Johnson or the Yankees come to them. And of course, they have to be willing to eat Johnson's contract if nothing happens.

The Dodgers have withdrawn from the three-way deal that would have brought Randy Johnson to the NY Yankees. It looks like Javier Vazquez was the monkey wrench in the works.

Newsday reported on its Web site Tuesday night that Javier Vazquez did not want to play for the Dodgers and refused to travel to Los Angeles for a physical. The paper, citing a source involved in the discussions, cited that as the "primary reason" for the deal's collapse.

I don't understand why Javier wouldn't want to pitch in LA. It's a great park for someone like him. I can't believe he really wants to pitch in the Bronx again.

Maybe it's time the Yankees and Diamondbacks stepped back and tried to simplify the deal. If it's true that the Johnson will only allow a trade to New York, the Yankees are in the drivers seat. Why not simply say, "Here's what we're willing to offer for Randy. If you don't like it, let's forget about the deal." It's awfully difficult for the Diamondbacks to get much from the Yankees when there's no one bidding against them.

Mike's Baseball Rants does not like the moves Billy Beane has made this off season.

My verdict is that Beane has jumped the shark, at least that’s how it looks so far.

I don't agree, but time will certainly tell.

As everyone eagerly awaits the big trade of Brad Penny to the Diamondbacks, it appears the three sides have figured out the details of the ten player deal and have submitted the paperwork to the commissioner. In the end, this trade could involve five teams as reports have Vazquez eventually going to the White Sox and Ishii ending up with the Mets.

What was the big 3 is now a Z-1. The Athletics traded another 1/3 of their famous trio, sending Mark Mulder to the Cardinals for three players.

Kiko Calero is the oldest of the group at 30. Kiko strikes out better than a batter an inning and walks one every three. He's a nice addition to the bullpen.

Danny Haren is 24 and has not performed well in the majors. His minor league numbers, however, are great; nearly a K per inning and 1.6 walks per 9. The Athletics are going to hope he matures into that kind of ML pitcher.

Daric Barton hasn't turned 20 yet. He's played two minor league seasons and his OBA has been over .400 in both seasons. Barton, a catcher will be in line when Kendall's contract is up in three seasons, or if the A's decide they want Kendall's offense at a different position.

Meanwhile, the Cardinals are getting a bit of a mystery in Mulder. His ability to strikeout batter disappeared in the 2nd half of the season as his ERA went from 3.21 before the all-star break to 6.13 after. Was he injured? Was it an aberation? The truth is out there.

It's a typical Billy Beane deal. All three have abilities the A's like. And if Mulder's 2nd half was an aberation, the Cardinals have found a fitting replacement for Woody Williams.

The Randy Johnson deal keeps growing. Now there are ten players involved, up from seven the last time I checked. The Yankees would also get Kaz Ishii. Kaz had a big falloff in strikeouts last year, which may be the reason LA is willing to part with him.

I'd like to expand on a couple of ideas that are floating through the comments on the Beltre signing and the Randy Johnson trade. The first is that the Beltre's career is inconsistent with his 2004 season. While that's true, as I said in this post,

His jump in statistics at age 25 is more likely to be real than someone who puts their first great year at 29 or 30.

But more telling, I believe, is that DePodesta offered six years guaranteed, although at a lower yearly rate (how much lower isn't clear). That DePodesta made that kind of offer tells me Paul believes there's a lot of future value in Beltre.

The second idea is that it's okay for the Yankees to trade Eric Duncan because A-Rod is blocking him at third. This reminds me of the Red Sox trading Jeff Bagwell because Scott Cooper was blocking him at third. Remember the defensive spectrum:

<-- Increasing need for defense
P  C  SS  2B  CF  3B  RF  LF  1B  DH
Increasing need for offense -->

A good offensive player who is blocked at third has plenty of room to move right on this spectrum. And a great defensive third baseman can actually move left to 2nd or even short. Remember Cal Ripken? I don't know enough about Duncan to say where he could be moved, but the idea that he couldn't play on the Yankees because of A-Rod is incorrect.

Update: ESPN is saying that the Johnson deal is not as close as reported last night.

NY Newsday is reporting that the Yankees have reached a deal for Randy Johnson in a three-way deal involving the Dodgers. Scrabble champ Javier Vazquez and former slugger Shawn Green are moving as well.

Vazquez is going to the Dodgers with two minor league prospects. (LA is becoming the dumping ground for pitchers who can't handle NY.) Dioner Navarro is a young catcher (21 in 2005) who gets a decent amount of walks. I don't know how good he is as a catcher. Lots of upside potential here. Eric Duncan, a third baseman is a year younger, and also has a decent minor league OBA. He hasn't been above A ball yet.

The Diamondbacks get Brad Penny and the best name in baseball, Yhency Brazoban (a former Yankees prospect). Yhency's another pitcher with a great K per 9 rate.

So the Yankees staff gets even older, but probably a lot better. Johnson, Mussina and Pavano is a nice 1-2-3. They get rid of a headache in Vazquez, but lose two good prospects. They are definitely falling into the old trap of selling the future for success today. It will eventually fall apart for them as it did in the early 90's.

The DBacks get a good starter in Penny, but the Shawn Green deal is interesting. Some people feel Glaus can't play third anymore and will move to first. The Dodgers seemed to like Green more at first than in right last year. Arizona may end up loaded at first base. That's a poor situation to be in, since the only place you can move a player from first is DH, and those aren't used much in the NL. :-)

The Dodgers take a risk in Vazquez, but a worthwhile one. I suspect Navarro will be their long term replacement for Lo Duca. A good Moneyball trade for the Dodgers.

Update: ESPN is saying that the Johnson deal is not as close as reported last night.

The Athletics and Braves pulled off a major deal today as Tim Hudson heads east for three young players.

Beane said he "needed to do something bold," but it still wasn't an easy decision.

"This was the most difficult phone call I've ever had with a player about a trade or a departure," Beane said. "I spent a lot of time on the phone with him. It was very difficult. We're going to miss him, there's no question. I don't think the expectation is that we'll be able to replace his personality and exactly what he brought to this franchise the last five years."

Given Leo Mazzone's success with broken down and bad pitchers, imagine what he'll do with someone good. Hudson may throw 300 innings this year and win 30. :-) But it's really a facsinating trade. Oakland gets Charles Thomas for the outfield. The 25-year-old started strongly for the Braves but faded every month. He's not as good as he showed in July and not as bad as he played in September. At his age, I don't consider him a prospect; he's more of a good throw in.

Juan Cruz is a pitcher with the ability to strike out 8 to 9 batters per 9 IP. His walks aren't bad, and his HR allowed are okay. He'll fit in fine on the A's staff.

Dan Meyer is the real prize. The 23 year old has struck out 381 batters in 350 minor league innings while walking only 87. His ERAs have been consistently under 3.00 in his three minor league seasons. In Meyer, the A's get a new six-year window in which they hope to have an inexpensive all-star hurler. It's a typical A's move. They let a star go and fill in with a player or players with good skills at a much cheaper price.

The Braves have effectively replaced Russ Ortiz with Tim Hudson. I like that move. If Smoltz stays healthy, they have a much better rotation than they did last year. Schuerholz shows once again that he's the master of slowly making over a team, patching every weakness as it appears. The Braves are once again in position to win the NL East.

This looks like a trade that will help both clubs. It's fun to watch the masters at work.

The White Sox and Brewers pulled off a significant trade Monday.

The Milwaukee Brewers filled their most pressing need Monday when they closed the winter meetings by acquiring right-handed slugger Carlos Lee from the Chicago White Sox in exchange for center fielder Scott Podsednik, reliever Luis Vizcaino and a player to be named later.

This strikes me as a very good deal for the Brewers. Carlos Lee earned 24 win shares last season; the most any member of the 2004 Brewers earned was 21. Podseknik and Vizcaino combined for 21 win shares. So there's a win right there for the Brewers. Both outfielders are 29, but there's no doubt in my mind that Lee has the better future. There's a reason Podseknik didn't have his rookie season until he was 27. He just wasn't that good.

Luis Vizcaino is interesting. He has great strikeout numbers, but he allows a ton of HR. If you look at his career, his one great year (2002) was the one in which he kept his HR down. The bad news for Luis, however, is that US Cellular Field has the highest HR index of any AL park over the last three seasons. (See the Bill James Handbook, 2005.)

So the Brewers get a good, slugging outfielder. The White Sox get a center fielder whose best days are probably behind him, and a reliever whose weakness will be accentuated by his home park. The player to be named better be pretty good.

The Brewers are not without problems due to their dealings, however.

Moving Vizcaino, who was 4-4 with a 3.75 ERA in 75 appearances last season, creates a second hole in the bullpen. The right-hander was the primary set-up man last season for closer Dan Kolb, who was traded to Atlanta Saturday for rookie right-hander Jose Capellan and minor league pitcher Alex Zumwalt - whom the Brewers assigned to their Class AAA team Monday.

That leaves right-hander Mike Adams as the leading closer candidate after just one season in the majors.

"Now we have to go out and find some relief pitching," Melvin said. "We already have a long list (of candidates) on our board. It's a new challenge for us."

If they keep making trades like this, the Brewers should be up to the challenge.

The Diamondback have tried to restart trade talks with the Yankees.

Jeff Moorad, the Diamondbacks' incoming chief executive officer, called Yankees president Randy Levine, a baseball official said on condition of anonymity.

Moorad asked if anything was new on Johnson but did not make a new proposal, and the discussion ended there, the official said.

Johnson can veto any trade, and it appears he wants to go to the Yankees. If Arizona really wants to trade in for a smaller unit, all the Yankees have to do is sit back and wait for the price to come down.

Jeff Quinton is on the Sosa watch. I find it amusing that the article to which he links describes the Braves as "financially strapped."

The Indians traded Matt Lawton to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Arthur Rhodes yesterday. The Pirates get a player who is a good leadoff man when healthy. The Indians get a set up man who was great in 2001-2002, but mediocre to bad in 2003-2004. On the surface, I'd say the Pirates got the better of this deal. Of course, if you look at this trade as Kendall for Redman and Lawton, it's probably just okay.

I'm not sure what's going on with the Indians. Shapiro is putting Coco Crisp in the leadoff spot.

"Coco's on-base percentage went up every month last season," Shapiro said.

Shapiro is putting a lot of stock about 200 plate apperances of good OBA. I hope he's right; we need ballplayers with names like Coco Crisp in the majors. But the Indians need good pitching, and I don't know where it's coming from. Looking at their AA stats from last season, I don't see any impressive starters. And Kyle Denney appears to be the only AAA starter with a good combination of K, BB and HR. His cup of coffee with the Indians was less than impressive, however.

The Indians have a terrific offense. They need to find another starter and another good reliever to carry the team to post season. I don't believe Rhodes is that reliever. It's time to spend a little money now to bring the fans back and try to break the 56-year championship drought.

The Pirates and Athletics have completed the deal that sends catcher Jason Kendall to Oakland. I was very surprised by this trade. It's not that the A's didn't make a good deal; Kendall has a career .387 OBA and hit .399 in both 2003 and 2004. He'll be someone the A's sluggers can drive in. It's that Kendall is an old catcher. According to the book Moneyball, Beane was going to replace Varitek with Mark Johnson once he took the Boston GM job. That was based on Varitek's age as a catcher, the same age Kendall is now. Of course the Varitek for Johnson move would have been terrible, so maybe Beane learned something.

The Athletics get the NL leader in win shares at catcher to replace Damian Miller. If you look at the deal as losing Miller, Rhodes and Redman, then the A's gave up 25 win shares among three players to recieve 25 win shares in one plyaer. If you assume the A's can find two other pitchers to generate 10 win shares, then Oakland has picked up 3 wins. That's a lot, considering they lost the west by 1 game in 2004.

I don't think Arthur Rhodes is a useful player anymore; I'm sure the A's just wanted to get rid of him. Redman was a disappointment. After a very good 2003 season with Florida, his strikeouts fell off and his HR went way up. He's an okay back of the rotation pitcher, but I don't see him making the Pirates a whole lot better. Any improvement in that team will come from spending the money they save on Kendall wisely.

Maybe they can obtain Prentice to go along with Tike and Mark and corner the market on Redman! (Although you'd think the Braves and Indians would be trading for these players. :-))

The Anaheim Angels have rid themselves of Jose Guillen, trading him to the Montreal/Washington team for Juan Rivera and Maicer Izturis. The Angels get a couple of younger players and Bowden gets a good power hitter for the middle of the lineup. Guillen is younger than I thought; he'll be 29 in 2005. He's only two years older than Rivera (although River's seasonal age will be 26 in 2005). It's unlikey that Maicer is going to turn into his brother. Cesear is only 7 months older, and he's already played four major league seasons. Seems like a decent trade for Washington.

Juan C. Rodriguez of the Sun-Sentinel explores the possibilities of a Florida-Arizona-Anaheim deal for Randy Johnson and Jose Guillen. In Juan's version, the Diamondbacks get some young arms, the Marlins get a troubled outfielder and a prime reliever, and the Angels acquire the Big Unit. The deal makes sense to me. Arizona saves money and gets help rebuilding. Anaheim dumps a troublesome player and gets a pitcher who can neutralize Johan Santana or Pedro Martinez in the playoffs. Florida improves the pen and the outfield. Each team assumes a different sort of risk:

• Arizona takes the risk of youth, that the pitchers might not pan out.


• Anaheim takes the risk of age, the Johnson might break down.


• Florida takes the risk of personality, that Guillen might get upset with Jack McKeon.

My favorite line from the article, however, is why the Marlins can afford to get rid of Juan Encarnacion.

To accommodate Guillen, the Marlins would look to jettison Juan Encarnacion. That's problematic as well, considering Encarnacion had the National League's third-lowest on-base percentages in 2004 and is coming off shoulder surgery.

A sports writer noting that a player is mediocre due to his low OBA. The world is changing.

Well, he ended up pitching 5 shutout innings and getting the win in his major league debut. I like the fact that Lou left him in for long enough to get the win but took him out after 101 pitches. That should help the kid's confidence. Pitching against the lowly Mariners couldn't have hurt either...

"Schadenfreud" is a German word meaning, roughly, the taking of pleasure in another's misfortune.

Tonight 20-year old former Mets' prospect Scott Kazmir makes his major league debut for the Devil Rays against the Mariners. Last year Mets' management described Kazmir as "untouchable" - I guess that meant that he just couldn't be touched, not that he couldn't be traded for a pitcher (Victor Zambrano) who already had arm problems.

I saw Kazmir pitch in AA this year - for the Binghamton Mets against the New Britain Rock Cats - and he looked good, sharp and poised. His minor league performance seems promising, but this is still a big jump for a kid this age.

Anyway, since Mets' GM Jim Duquette is already catching flak for this trade, he's got to be watching tonight's game with great interest. Although all parties involved will no doubt say the right things in public, I strongly suspect that if Kazmir gets pounded tonight then the entire Mets' brass will breath a little sigh of relief and experience a profound sense of "Schadenfreud".

Jim

Larry Walker is now a St. Louis Cardinal.

"What I like about (the trade)," said La Russa, "and what our team likes is that it sends the message that ownership and our front office recognize we've been humping for four months and they're trying to give us every chance they can to get to the finish line and get into October.

I like teams that don't rest on their laurels. The Cardinals have taken on a good chunk of salary to hire an injury prone star for a year and a half. The Cardinals are 2nd in the NL in runs scored (behind the Rockies). They are first in the NL in runs scored on the road by a wide margin, leading me to believe they have the best offense in the NL. Why would you want to spend money on a player like Walker to improve a strength?

Take a look at how the St. Louis lineup has fared 1-9 this year. The Cardinals have most of their offense concentrated in the three people at the heart of the order; Pujols, Edmonds and Rolen. This demonstrates two things to me:

1. You don't need a lot of great players to score a lot of runs. Bunching the good ones together helps.


2. The Cardinals aren't very deep, so an injury or a slump by one of the three would hurt the team's run production.

Walker adds another .400 OBA guy to the lineup. He provides insurance against an injury to the big three. And in the playoffs, he's one more great player the opposition is going to need to shut down to win. A great player can be shut down in the post-season (Ted Williams, Dave Winfield, Barry Bonds). The odds are pretty good that you could even shutdown two such players. But the odds of shutting down four of them are low. With their team as constructed before the trade, the Cardinals very likely going to make the playoffs. This move ups the odds of the Cardinals being successful in the post-season.

Update: Redbird Nation also likes the deal.

Talk about history repeating itself, not only do the White Sox get Carl Everett again, today they picked up Roberto Alomar again. Roberto and his .382 OBA should fit well into the White Sox two slot, where they've had a .297 OBA this year. Of course, what the White Sox really need is a power bat to replace Thomas and Ordonez, but improving a team's OBA is always a good thing.

I'm sorry I didn't look at this sooner, but here's a copy of the Hardball Times pitching and fielding graph from 7/28. This graph belies the notion that the Sox couldn't win with their current defense. DER measures plays made and not play, including errors. Per ball put in play, the Red Sox were making about as many plays as the Yankees, Rangers and Twins, all teams at the time in a position to be in the playoffs. Given their position on the graph, I would say the Sox combined defense (pitching and fielding) were better than those other three teams.

While their defense wasn't great, maybe it wasn't the main problem. Here's another chart from the Hardball Times, through games of 7/29.

Team Pitching Stats
          RA    ERA    FIP    DER   LD%   G/F IF/Fly  K/9  BB/9  HR/9   SLG
ANA     4.57   4.29   4.36   .696  .166  1.03  .146   7.0   3.1   1.1  .416
BAL     5.43   4.98   4.54   .679  .179  1.28  .153   6.7   4.4   0.9  .407
BOS     4.89   4.12   4.00   .687  .192  1.34  .133   6.9   3.0   0.9  .406
CHW     4.83   4.56   4.83   .699  .187  1.15  .140   6.0   3.2   1.3  .437
CLE     5.40   4.93   4.65   .678  .187  1.26  .156   6.7   3.6   1.2  .445
DET     5.20   4.89   4.77   .690  .174  1.30  .165   6.3   3.5   1.2  .436
KC      5.76   5.13   4.98   .675  .182  1.15  .167   5.2   3.3   1.2  .477
MIN     4.41   4.07   4.19   .687  .176  1.16  .173   6.7   2.6   1.1  .413
NYY     4.96   4.58   4.36   .688  .176  1.13  .153   6.4   2.5   1.2  .434
OAK     4.45   4.04   4.37   .695  .178  1.39  .184   6.5   3.4   1.0  .410
SEA     5.02   4.78   4.92   .699  .169  0.94  .157   6.5   3.6   1.3  .442
TBD     4.98   4.58   5.01   .714  .169  1.07  .164   5.6   4.0   1.2  .426
TEX     5.10   4.71   4.73   .686  .174  1.23  .151   6.0   3.3   1.2  .439
TOR     4.85   4.58   4.56   .694  .176  1.32  .199   6.2   3.7   1.0  .415

League  4.99   4.59   4.59   .690  .177  1.19  .160   6.3   3.4   1.1  .429

The Red Sox pitchers give up more line drives and get fewer infield flies than any other team. Line drives tend to go for hits, and infield flys tend to go for outs. So the Red Sox staff is not making it easy on the defense, and adding Adding Doug Mientkiewiz and Orlando Cabrera isn't going to change that.

Theo knows errors by themselves don't matter. What matters is the number of plays you make vs. the plays you don't. He knows this because Bill James has known this for over 20 years, and Bill works for Theo. This is a case where the pitchers aren't helping the defense, not the other way around.

Tricia, one on the most knowledgable baseball fans I know, writes me abou the Nomar trade:

I'm glad to hear that you think it was a bad deal too. Since he has been my favorite player for so long, I'm sure I lacked objectivity. I've started to run into a lot of disgruntled fans who were ready to trade him nothing, so it looks like they got their wish. And Theo seems to be changing his "spin" on this. He started out claiming it was about improving the defense (although the Sox still lead the known universe in unearned runs by a large margin before Nomar had even played his first game this season). Now it looks like he's citing concerns about Nomar's health and his availability to play regularly.

I really hate this organization. It's not like I've never seen a good player run out of town and then trashed in the media before, but I had hoped that this administration would handle it differently. Apparently they have learned their lessons well from their predecessors. Why couldn't they just make the trade, thank him for all he has meant to the team through the years, and wish him the best of luck. I don't see the need in trying to make the fans hate him. They think it will help people accept this unpopular trade, but what it is really doing is turning people agains the organization. I'm not too angry with Theo though, because it looks to me like the order to get rid of Nomar at all costs came from above. I don't think he even likes the trade he made.

I've been a Sox fan since before Nomar was even born, but I'm really finding this team difficult to root for right now. I hope he finds happiness, since he certainly has looked miserable lately. Go Cubbies! (I bought a hat ....)

I think these emotions are getting back to management. I just saw John Henry on the Red Sox broadcast praising Nomar. He also put this deal squarely on Theo's shoulders. Theo's biggest worry right now has to be the Cubs winning the World Series because of Nomar. If that happens, especially if it happens against the Red Sox, I would not be surprised to see Epstein joining Grady Little in the world of ex-Red Sox management.

The Transaction Guy is up with the complete list of weekend moves, along with his analysis.

Theo Espstein was just on NESN talking about the trade. He made the point that the Red Sox had been leading the league in runs scored and ERA over the last three months but were about a .500 team. The reason was the defense. The Red Sox are 41-39 since the start of may. They've scored 466 runs (5.8 per game) with an ERA of 4.44 (not that great) bu they've allowed 416 runs (5.2) per game. Sixteen percent of their runs allowed in that time have been unearned; the league average is 8%.

So Theo has identified the problem. He also took the blame for creating the problem. However, I really doubt this trade fixes the problem. First of all, between Nomar and Pokey, they've had good defense at shortstop all year. And as good as Mientkiewicz is defensively, defense at first doesn't make a big difference. And I don't think Dave Roberts is going to start, so his defense only helps late in the game.

Theo is trying to make this trade look good. But make no mistake, he did not get equal value in return. This was trying to get rid of Nomar in a market that was against him. He did the best he could.

I saw a headline, but no story on ESPN.com that Nomar has been traded to Cubs. Stay tuned.

Update: Fox just confirmed the trade, although I haven't heard details.

Update: Now ESPN is saying the trade is tentative. It's 4:55, how tentative can it be? I would assume the Cubs want a physical.

Update: Ken Rosenthal at FoxSports.com and the Sporting News has details of the trade. I'm still not sure it's a done deal.

Update: CBSSportsLine is reporting the story also.

The Red Sox sent Garciaparra, minor-league outfielder Matt Murton and cash to the Cubs. The Red Sox obtained shortstop Orlando Cabrera from the Montreal Expos and first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz from the Minnesota Twins.

Chicago dealt shortstop Alex Gonzalez, relief pitcher Francis Beltran and infielder Brendan Harris to Montreal.

The Twins end up with minor-league left-hander Justin Jones from the Cubs.

This is going to take a while to sort.

Update: The following update disappeared, and I've tried to reconstruct it from memory.

Update: If I'm a fan in Red Sox Nation, I'm upset. The Red Sox would have been better off keeping Nomar and taking the draft choicewhen he left. It looks to me, from the trade, that the Cubs are the more serious team when it comes to breaking their championship drought.

The two Mets deals are getting a very negative reaction in the comments to this post. I can sum it up as, "Why are we trading away the future for pitching when we can't score any runs to support that pitching?"

This New York Times article is a good reference for the deal.

Impersonating the Yankees, who traditionally sacrifice minor-leaguers for veterans, the Mets promptly dealt their best pitching prospect, Class AA left-hander Scott Kazmir, to Tampa Bay along with Class AA relief pitcher Joselo Diaz. Besides Benson and Zambrano, the Mets got two minor leaguers in return - Class AAA relief pitcher Bartolome Fortunato from the Devil Rays and Class AA second baseman Jeff Keppinger from the Pirates.

Heading into this season, the Mets advertised their plan to build from within. Owner Fred Wilpon even called Kazmir "untouchable." But in one day, the Mets gave up their two best pitching prospects in Kazmir and Peterson, and their best catching prospect in Huber.

The Yankees used to be able to do that because they first grew a solid core of home grown talent before they traded others off to win (Williams, Pettitte, Jeter, Posada, Rivera). I don't know how good the talent is in the Mets farm system. I know Benson and Zambrano are decent but not great pitchers. Maybe with a great pitching coach and a better stadium you'll see a big improvement. But the Mets have a tough road ahead of them if they are going to win this year. And I have to agree, that unless they get some offense, it's going to be difficult even for the best pitchers to win.

When I first heard of the Dodger-Marlins deal, my thought was great deal for the Dodgers. I based that on

1. The Dodgers get a good, young player for a good old player.


2. A starter being somewhat more valuable than a set-up man.


3. The Dodgers getting rid of a poor offensive player.

I watched the Tivo'd Baseball Tonight this morning, and Brantley was very negative about this trade for LA. He believes it has weakened them. I just don't see it. Even if they don't go on to get Randy Johnson, they've made themselves a better ballclub.

The biggest hole the Dodgers have offensively is right field. This trade gets rid of the reason for that hole, Juan Encarnacion and his .289 OBA. I assume Green will move to right, and Choi will take over at first. While Green has been an offensive liability at first, he'll provide more offense in right than Juan. And Choi has slightly more win shares than LoDuca. So, at worse, the Dodgers are about even in the trade offensively.

Penny and Mota each have 8 win shares. Win or without Mota, the Dodgers have a great bullpen. DePodesta traded a strength for a weakness. And the stronger your starting staff, the less you need your bullpen, and the better they'll look.

Robert Tagorda, in his excellent analysis of the deal, notes that the Dodgers are also saving a nice piece of change. And they'll save even more as Choi is still a while away from the big money, while to keep LoDuca (age 32) you'd have to shell out the big bucks.

I like the trade for the Marlins, also. With Mota and Benitez, they can turn contests into seven inning games. Lo Duca is a great hitter, and Encarnacion gives them depth off the bench. What I also like is that it shows the Florida fans that the Marlins want to win again, something they did not do after 1997. We'll see which of these deals worked best some October.

The Giants and Phillies swap Ledee and Felix Rodriguez. Off the top of my head it seems like a pretty even trade. I'll have more on all these tomorrow morning. Meanwhile, be sure to check out the Transaction Guy for the latest.

It looks like they are all coming at the last minute. The big deal so far has Choi and Penny going to the Dodgers for Mota, Lo Duca and Encarnacion. Off the top of my head, it looks like a great deal for the Dodgers. They may be doing more, so I'll hold off on more comments until it's done. I like the Mets deal, getting Victor Zambrano for Scott Kazmir. I saw Kazmir pitch in New Britian a couple of weeks ago, and he was hard to hit. Unfortunately, this means the Mets won't be trying to corner the market in Kaz's. :-) I'm sure more will come later.

Update: The Mets got Benson, also. That gives them a very deep starting rotation. Looks like they are trying to win this year and trading the future for that chance.

The Mets have traded Karim Garica to the Baltimore Orioles for reliever Mike DeJean. It seems to be one of those trades that hurt both clubs kind of deal. DeJean has had a rough couple of years, so the Mets have to think there's a chance that he will return to his pre-2003 form. He's struck out a lot of batters this year, but he's also walked a ton. Maybe the Mets believe they can fix that; if so, he'd be a good reliever.

The White Sox have obtained Freddy Garcia from the Mariners. The White Sox are currently 9th in the AL in starter's ERA. Their top four starters all have ERA's in the 4's, so this should give them a very solid five man core once Schoeneweis comes back from the DL. Garcia has 8 win shares this year, two more than the best starters on the White Sox.

According to the ESPN article, Garcia and Guillen are very good friends. I wonder if the White Sox think they can sign him to a contract based on that friendship and avoid losing Freddy to free agency?

A three way deal sent Carlos Beltran to the Astros, Octavio Dotel to the A's, and three young players to the Royals.

Here's the view from Oakland.

Unlike Arthur Rhodes, who began the season as the A's closer, Dotel has an established track record finishing games, with 14 saves in 17 chances this year. Over the past three years, he's compiled a 2.30 ERA, and opponents have hit just .179 against him.

"He throws 12,000 miles an hour,'' Beane said gleefully before describing how he'd watched Dotel strike out Angels slugger Vladimir Guerrero with a 98- mph fastball last weekend. "He's one of the most talented relievers in the game and he fills a very big need.''

Maybe the Orioles were right about Arthur Rhodes closing. Rhodes has almost walked as many and given more HR than he did all of last season. If he truly is best designed to be a set-up man, then a Bradford/Rhodes/Dotel combination to end the game should be very good for the A's.

Kansas City appears to have become resigned to not resigning players.

This is how jaded we baseball fans have become in Kansas City: I immediately thought, “Hey, that's a good trade.” That was my very first reaction. The Royals on Thursday evening traded Carlos Beltran, the most exciting player the Royals have had in a decade, for three guys that, until three days ago, I had never heard of.

And my first reaction was, “Yeah, good trade.”

This is how sad and illogical this game of baseball has become.

This is hogwash. It was a bad trade. The Royals have a payroll of $47 million, which is at the low end. They already pay Beltran $9 million. They could easily clear 6 million by getting rid of Gonzalez and Santiago, two old players who aren't helping. Hell, find a sucker team to take Mike Sweeney! His power went last year, and his selectivity this year, but I'm sure you could convince Bavasi in Seattle he'd be a great replacement for Olerud. It's too bad KC didn't sign him to a five-year, $45 million contract three years ago. They would have come out ahead in the long run.

Needless to say, Houston likes the deal.

This trade guarantees the Astros nothing except a chance. Even the best trades come with risks.

Carlos Beltran is worth the risk.

He's one of those players with a dazzling package of skills. That he's headed for a fourth straight season of at least 24 home runs, 100 RBIs and 31 stolen bases doesn't begin to tell you how good he is.

He'll hit third and make the hitters around him better. He'll win games with his defense in center. He'll make the corner outfielders better.

Sometimes, one player can change the entire fabric of a team. Not only does Beltran add production, but he elevates the attitude and confidence of those around him.

Beltran is very good, but I don't think he's exceptional like Barry Bonds or Alex Rodriguez. As of 6/10, Beltran had 10 wins shares, and Houston had three players with that many or more. But Dotel only had 4, so it's a big improvement for the Astros. An extremely formidable offense just got better. They may win a lot of games without the need for a closer.

And so, the trading season begins. The Mets have acquired Richard Hidalgo from the Houston Astros for Weathers and Griffiths.

Hidalgo is not a very consistent ballplayer. He'l have great years like 2000 and 2003, good years like 1998 and 2001, and terrible years like this year. If the Mets are really looking for him to improve their team, they have to hope he's going to hit better than he has so far this season.

The Astros bullpen problems seem to be walks and HR, and based on Weathers' stats this year, he's not going to help them much there. Maybe both these players needed a change of scenery.

Update: Win shares wise the Mets win 4-2.

My guess is that right now, Barry Bonds is frustrated with the Giants. All you have to do to beat San Francisco is walk Bonds. There's nothing behind him, nothing around him. And the Giants are stuck with a huge salary, and while they have the attraction of Bonds chasing Aaron, unless they make a move, they don't have much else.

I'm pretty sure Bonds wants to stay in San Francisco. But it could also be that the Giants would be better off using Barry to rebuild. If they could free up part of his contract and get some good prospects in return, one could believe that San Francisco would be better off making a deal. So why not trade Barry across the bay?

Bonds is the ultimate on-base power guy. He's the kind of player Beane tries to draft or pick up cheap. If the Giants offered to pay 1/2 of Bonds contract in exchange for three or four top prospects, would Beane do it? They haven't gotten out of the first round of the playoffs, and Bonds could be their ticket out of the LDS. My guess is that the A's could find $10 million to pay Bonds, especially since he'll put fannies in the seats. I have no doubt that this will never happen, but it makes a lot of sense to me. Bonds in Oakland? What do you think?

Kinja is a new service that provides members with a way to read all your favorite blogs in one place. They've said some very nice things about my site, so I signed up. Unlike my Feed Demon aggregator, this one seems to update whenever you refresh. And I just found that Milton Bradley has been traded to the Dodgers!

The other thing this site lets me do is share with all of you my favorites. So, if you'd like to read what I'm reading, check out this page.

Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez asked Tampa Bay's management to trade them to the Red Sox so they could be legally wed.

ALAN SCHWARZ: When did you guys first meet?

JETER: Back in ’76, huh?

RODRIGUEZ: It was earlier. When were we born?

JETER: No, really, we met over the phone. What were you, a senior?

RODRIGUEZ: I was a senior, yeah. 1993. Your first year of pro ball.

JETER: We had a mutual friend. No one you’d know. Alex had called and was asking about his last year of high school, because I’m a year older than him. Things about the draft. That’s how we initially met.

And then, at a University of Miami baseball game. They were playing Michigan. I went to the game in Miami with Jim Abbott and Scott Kamieniecki in my first spring training. We saw each other there. That was the first time we met face to face.

No doubt it was love at first sight. Tampa hopes to get Pokey Reese and Byung-Hyun Kim in the deal. When asked about being the first openly gay players in the game, Rodriguez responed, "At least no one is accusing me of taking steroids. I could never live with that stigma."

The Yankees had a little Lamb, but now he's an Astro. NY traded Mike Lamb to Houston today for minor league pitcher Juan DeLeon. I must admit I had forgotten Lamb was still a Yankee.

T.R. Sullivan of the Star-Telegram looks at Texas' needs and decides on an obvious trading partner:

The Los Angeles Dodgers have the greatest need for offensive help and are loaded with pitching prospects. But they're unlikely to give up their two best prospects, right-hander Edwin Jackson and left-hander Greg Miller, even for Soriano. If the Rangers want to discuss pitching with the Dodgers, they'd most likely have to talk about Odalis Perez, their 26-year-old left-hander who has won 27 games during the past two years.

How fast do the Dodgers want to win? The Angels are the hot team in southern California right now. With a new owner, will it be worth it for the Dodgers to build up the offense around an already fine pitching staff to try to win this year? The NL West appears to me to be the most wide open division in the majors. An offensive boost could easily put the Dodgers on top. We'll see if DePodesta sees any opportunities in Texas.

The rich get richer.

New York has sold nearly 104,000 tickets worth a total of $4.6 million since Monday, when it acquired the American League MVP from the Texas Rangers. The sales are double the amount for the same period last year, the team said Thursday.

Avkash Patel sends me this link to a NY Daily News story on Alfonso Soriano's age.

The Rangers revealed yesterday that Soriano is 28 - not, as originally believed, 26. The Yankees had his birth date listed as Jan. 7, 1978, in their 2003 media guide, but he was born two years earlier.

The Yankees knew about the age discrepancy and GM Brian Cashman told Texas GM John Hart about it as they discussed the trade for A-Rod. The Rangers, obviously, were not put off.

Cashman said he did not know the details, but Soriano and his agent came to him last year and admitted he had once lied about his age.

"Sori's a good guy and it was something on his mind," Cashman said. "He wanted us to know first, before it got out. It would've been updated in our media guide this year.

I guess A-Rod's not the only one who is lying. :-) This story also makes me much more confident of this post. The difference between 26 and 28 is huge. You're approaching the peak of your career at 26. At 28, you're likely starting downhill. Another plus on the Yankees side of the ledger for this trade.

Ken Rosenthal of the Sporting News does not believe that Alex Rodriguez has any credibility left:

No longer should anyone believe a word out of the mouth of Alex "Captain" Rodriguez.

His stated desire to stay with the Rangers was as comical as the Rangers' stated desire to keep him. And if you believe A-Rod will be content moving from shortstop to third base with the Yankees, you probably think Jack Nicholson would be willing to accept second billing to Ben Affleck.

Ken then goes on the make a very good argument why Rodriguez should be the shortstop, and I agree. Is Rodriguez and the Yankees playing politics with Jeter? Probably. I think A-Rod will be the shortstop eventually and Jeter will move positions. But Rosenthal certainly pulls no punches in the story when it comes to A-Rod's honesty.

Part of the salary reduction the Yankees were able to negotiate with Alex Rodriguez was the following:

Rodriguez gets a hotel suite on the road and the right to link his Web site to the Yankees' Web site.

As Columbia-Union points out, what possible value can A-Rod get out of linking to the Yankees web site? Well, I believe people are misinterpreting this clause. I don't think they are talking about a hyper-link from A-Rod's site to the Yankees site (although that would be included). As I read it, it's linking the sites in the sense that if you visit one, you visit both. Link, as in, their fortunes are linked. That's the only thing that makes economic sense to me.

A reader writes:

David, I'm thinking that the Yankees adding A-Rod is a bit like adding pig to pork. I took a look at Runs Created from 2003, A-Rod had 135 Soriano had 112. So unless I'm missing something the Yankees pick up 23 (offensive) runs with the trade. If I add the 23 runs they pick up to their total from 2003, (877) that gives them an even 900; which would put them 6 runs better than Toronto and 61 runs worse than Boston.

So is picking up 23 runs going to make a huge difference in the Yankees fortunes this year? Is their pitching staff 23 runs worse than last year? I doubt it since the bullpen looks much better and the starting five could at this point be considered a wash.

Other than defense which I really won't get into because I don't think the Yankees defense got much worse this winter, is there anything else of significance that I'm missing that A-Rod brings to the table, or does it boil down to 23 runs? Merchandising, PR, Ticket sales and ratings not included.

Now, 23 runs isn't nothing. That's 2 wins. And that's two wins over a pretty good player. The win shares difference last year was five, which is close to two wins, also. Here's the reply I sent to the letter.

I think A-Rod is just a better long term player than Soriano. To take a phrase from Moneyball, it's not the result, it's the process. A-Rod approaches hitting correctly. Soriano doesn't. And it's getting a little too late for Soriano to learn.

It became pretty clear to me at the end of last season that you can get Alfonso out by throwing a ball low and outside. My guess is that this year, that pitch is going to kill him. A-Rod doesn't (to my knowledge) have such a weakness. So as time goes on, that RC difference is just going to increase.

And I'll stand by this. I think we've seen the two best years we'll see from Soriano offensively. He's had OBP the last two years of .332 and .338. That just doesn't cut it, especially if he's used as a leadoff man. Maybe Showalter can get him to lay off the outside pitch. But at some point, he'll hit a HR off one and fall in love with it all over again. Pitchers realize this. There's no reason to throw the man a strike to get him out.

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In the comments to my previous post on Travis Lee, some people pointed to rumors of a Yankees-Rangers deal that would bring A-Rod to NY. They seemed more like speculation to me at the time, so I didn't comment on them. The last comment, however, points to this article by NY Newsday, which says the deal is just about done.

The Yankees are expected to send a minor-league pitcher along with Soriano to Texas to complete the deal.

The impetus for the deal was Rodriguez's surprising willingness to agree to play third base. Once Rodriguez signaled to the Yankees that he'd be willing to play third for them and defer the coveted shortstop position to Derek Jeter, a longtime friend, the talks moved very quickly.

Soriano for Rodriguez is a great deal, especially since money doesn't matter to the Yankees. It's the wrong move in terms of defense; Jeter is the one who should move. And of course, who's going to play 2nd?

Actually, they are going to score so many runs they can probably get by without a second baseman. A murder's row of A-Rod, Giambi and Sheffield (in any order you choose), surrounded by Jeter, Posada, Williams and Matsui. All Lofton and the new second baseman have to do is play defense.

You think Boston fans are a little upset?

Update: Looks like Bambino's Curse is taking the news just fine.

It looks like the Yankees are going to try to answer their third base problem with Mike Lamb of the Texas Rangers.

The 28-year-old Lamb was designated for assignment by the Rangers last week after hitting .132 in 38 at-bats and losing his everyday job to All-Star Hank Blalock. But the lefty-swinging Lamb showed decent production in 2002, batting .283 with nine homers and a .354 on-base percentage in 115 games. He is not regarded as a strong fielder.

You would think that if the Yankees are having a hard time finding anyone to play third, they at least would try to come up with someone who could field! Lamb's minor league numbers look pretty good; not a lot of power but he drew a decent number of walks with a .310 BA. If he can draw a walk every ten AB and keep his BA above .250, he'll be fine in the 9 slot.

I think this should put those A-Rod trade rumors to rest for a while.

Not any more!

Mark Hale of the NY Post tries to find some hope in a poor week for the Mets. He finds it in Duquette telling him that the Mets budget is not set in stone, but can be expanded for a player who might take them over the top.

If the Mets are hovering around playoff contention this summer and there is a top player available via trade, owner Fred Wilpon has given GM Jim Duquette the green light to add payroll and try to acquire him.

"If there's a unique and special player that we know about, I can go to [the Wilpons] and say this is a guy we want to have," Duquette said yesterday. "They've given us that flexibility in the past and I would expect that they'll give us that flexibility now."

With that in mind, the most alluring name could be the White Sox' Magglio Ordonez, the slugging right fielder whose averages over the last five seasons - a .312 average with 32 homers and 118 RBIs - would make Shea fans salivate.

My question is, why wait to see if you are in contention? Go for Ordonez now, and you actually might be in contention come July.

It looks like Jason Kendall is going to be traded to the San Diego Padres, his home town team. But reading the article, you have to be an accountant to understand why the teams are doing the deal.

The Pirates plan to cut their payroll from about $52 million last season to $35 million, and the combined $9,575,000 they would pay Cirillo and Hernandez this season is more than the $8 million they owe Kendall. But they would save more than $20 million over the life of Kendall's contract if they don't pick up any of the salary owed him from 2005-07.

Kendall will make $10 million in 2005, $11 million in 2006 and $13 million in 2007 under the $60 million, six-year contract he signed in 2000 -- coincidentally, just months before the Pirates moved into PNC Park.

Remember when trades were about talent?

The mega-deal of the millenium is no more. The Rangers are going to have to live with the best player in the game, and the Red Sox are going to have to live with two great hitters in their lineup.

I had wondered why the A's picked up Michael Barrett from the Expos. It turns out they wanted Damien Miller, and they knew the Cubs wanted Barrett. So they traded a young, poor hitting catcher for an older, somewhat better hitting catcher. I assume Miller is a stop gap until Jeremy Brown is ready.

In other catching news, Javy Lopez is reported to be close to signing with Baltimore. Where does that leave Ivan Rodriguez. Personally, if I had the choice between Lopez and I-Rod, I'm taking Ivan. He's younger and he's had a more consistent career.

Update: Lopez has been officially signed. Where will I-Rod go now?

Tom Fevola sends this thoughtful letter:

I've come to the conclusion that I was a bit hasty yesterday in chastising the MLBPA. Maybe we all were. I am beginning to see the picture clearer now.

Firstly, I understand why the MLBPA did what they did. Actually, I understood it yesterday too, but I just didn't agree with the decision. I felt that the "setting of the precedent" argument was wrong based on A-Rod's "special" situation. I don't see that today after reflecting on this subject.

It can set a precedent, and MLBPA is correct in what they did by nixing the deal. However, now I question the entire system. The MLBPA is in place for the players. I believe that they do indeed need some type of protection from the Owners and Clubs so they do not revert to the old days where they sorely underpay for a player's worth. The MLBPA is doing what they are supposed to be doing, albeit ridiculous sometimes.

But, there also needs to be some flexibility to take into considerations a player and an owner's feelings. The current system doesn't allow for the correction of "mistakes". One person on your comments section posed an excellent question, "Doesn't a player's value ever decrease?" Well, the answer is yes it does. Take any player nearing the end of a larger contract that's considered a bust. Obviously they could not get the same contract again if they aren't performing to the same level they did when the originally negotiated the contract. Using simple logic, the player's baseball value has decreased.

In this particular case, the player's value hasn't decreased. It's simply that Texas wants to undo a "mistake". Now, it's not as if Boston doesn't want to help, and even the player himself wants the deal to be done. This is evidenced of his willingness to take a pay reduction, whatever that value may have been. Did Boston try to take advantage of the situation as the Globe reports simply because it would be a nightmare for Texas if the deal doesn't go through at this point? Maybe. Possibly. Probably more than likely. But, and here is where I question the system now, what if Texas decides to simply bench A-Rod? We both know that wouldn't happen. But to a lesser player it might. The club's penalty is basically that they have to continue to pay whether that player plays or not.

But, what if A-Rod decided not to put forth the effort he has in the past? Or what if being somewhere he really doesn't want to be affects his performance? What I'm driving at is that even with the rule in place that a player's salary can't be decreased because then it might force clubs to make situations miserable for the players and use that to negotiate, players can certainly do the reverse and make situations miserable for the clubs. What are the clubs to do then? They don't seem protected. His baseball value will decrease and when the contract expires he may sign for less elsewhere. All of this could be avoided by allowing this to be done earlier if ALL parties agree.

The rule is a good rule, but it's not complete. It doesn't follow through for the clubs OR the individual players, and that is not fair, for either. It's only protecting the players to a certain extent. Look at Manny Ramirez. Do you think the club wouldn't love to have something in place that allows him to renegotiate a contract at a lower cost elsewhere? That may be a bad example because Manny wants to stay a Red Sox. But, having the option should at least be there. And remember, a player still has to want to do the deal. If a club signs a contract and wants to trade a player for a lower value, they should not be able to do that if the player refuses to take a pay cut. That's a mistake they then have to live with. Just as if a player signs a 5 year contract and the next 2 or 3 years the values for someone like him increases. But, in this case, if the new club, the old club and the player agree, then that should be allowed. It would be good for the sport in the PR department because it would show that teams and players can negotiate and get along and at least give off some perception that it's not all being done for "just the money".

Doug's Business of Baseball Weblog has a roundup of links both pro and con on the union's handling of the trade. Doug is quoted in the CNN/SI article:

"The union can't allow this to set a precedent," said Doug Pappas, a New York attorney and an expert in baseball salary structure and economics.

If players could negotiate a reduction in their contracts, he said, "instead of teams eating salaries the way they do currently when they dump salaries in these trades, they'll demand the savings come from the players."

Again, here's where arbitration is rearing its ugly head. The precedent isn't going to be that the union couldn't say no to other renegotiations that came down the line. The precedent would be that in a challenge to the union's no, an arbitrator would conclude that a salary reduction is perfectly in line with the union's decision on Rodriguez. If they never say yes to such a deal, they go into arbitration with the CBA in full force. If they say yes to this deal, they might lose that, and the union won't take that chance.

So I guess the Red Sox are just going to have to muddle through with Manny and Nomar. Poor them.

With all that's been going on today, I'd like to summarize the story and my thoughts for the day (I'm going off to a blogger party, so I'll be out of commission for most of the evening).

• Alex Rodriguez and the Red Sox work out a deal that will allow the Red Sox send Manny Ramirez to Texas in exchange for A-Rod's services.


• The union says no to the deal, based on a pretty clear rule in the CBA that does not allow the value of a contract to be diminished.


• Red Sox fans get very upset by this, go to protest in front of the MLBPA.


• The deadline for the deal is 5 PM, coming up soon, and no side has asked for an extension.

The argument in favor of the MLBPA position is that a rule is a rule, and you should follow the rule. If not, owners will start doing things like alienating players so they want a trade, then restructing their contract so they take less money. Or offering them a trade to a team where they would make less money, but become a starter.

The argument against the MLBPA is that there is non-monetary value to contracts. There is value to playing where you want to play, playing for a good organization, playing in a large market where you might get more endorsements. And all of these should be taken into account.

Well, here's the rule that Steve Bonner sent me:

No Salary Reduction
6.(c) The amount stated in paragraph 2 [i.e., Payment] and in special covenants hereof which is payable to the Player for the period stated in paragraph 1 hereof shall not be diminished by any such assignment, except for failure to report as provided in the next subparagraph (d).

The problem is that there is not a lot of room to finesse this rule. What the people who want the deal to go through would like is for the the MLBPA to take a very loose view of what constitutes salary. If the agreement had contained the word value instead of salary, I think they could have gotten away with it. Rob Manfred talked about potential benefit, but I don't see anything in the rule about potential. This rule is about money, and it's pretty clear that you can't reduce the money a contract is supposed to pay a player. This means, that if Bud takes them to arbitration, he'll lose.

Now, I disagree with the slippery slope argument, simply because players don't have to submit to coersion. No one in this deal is being forced to do anything. And if I'm a player who is told "take this pay cut or we won't trade you," I'll just stay where I am. It's not like the teams have that much power over players today.

No, it comes down to a rule that is too clear to finesse. If the deal had been completed, someone would have noticed that the union allowed the rule to be broken. And other players would have been upset by that. Someone more creative than I might have found a way around it, but it didn't happen.

Update: The deadline is passed and there's no word as of 5:15. Looks like the deal as it was structured is dead.

ESPN.com is citing Jayson Stark as saying that the deal is dead.

The Red Sox and Rangers appear to be at an impasse in their attempts to agree on a restructuring of Alex Rodriguez's contract before today's 5 p.m. ET deadline, thus making a proposed trade between the sides unlikely, ESPN.com's Jayson Stark reports.

There has been no indication that either Boston or Texas has applied for an extension of their window to negotiate a restructuring that would allow Rodriguez to be traded for Red Sox outfielder Manny Ramirez, Stark reports. The deadline for a deal to be finalized was set by commissioner Bud Selig.

Don't count on arbitration. Like their interference or not, the player's union has the rules on their side, and I have no doubt they would win in arbitration (they also have better lawyers than Selig). So unless their is a miracle in the next hour, Red Sox fans are going to have to put up with Manny and Nomar for another year.

Of course, what's so bad about that? There's been a lot of wasted time and effort put into a deal that wasn't going to improve the team that much. Not much to cry about here.

I just recieved an e-mail and a comment about my letter to Gene Orza. This is the comment to which I'm referring:

I'm sorry, I disagree with your position on this, Dave. Read Joe Sheehan's column on BP today, I think he hits the nail on the head.
Why should A-Rod be held to a different standard then the owners with whom he's negotiating? He's being asked to forfeit something like 50 million dollars; you think Tom Hicks and John Henry got to where they are today by walking away from that kind of money?
A-Rod shouldn't be allowed to tear up his contract in the same way that Tom Hicks shouldn't be allowed to. Just because things didn't work out quite the way the Rangers wanted doesn't leave them room to just abandon the contract. I don't think it's such a slippery-slope argument that this would drastically change the balance of power in labor negotiations. If A-Rod can negotiate away terms in his contract under pressure from the Red Sox, this gives teams plenty of leverage to demand concessions from players within the contract period. I think that's key here: A-Rod HAS a contract, and he should be protected by it, even from himself.

The Baseball Prospectus Article is here. Joe Sheehan spells out the slippery slope argument:

After reading that e-mail, I started thinking about it, and I realized that this is why the union gets involved. If a player renegotiates his contract to accept less compensation, the benefit of that accrues entirely to the player's owner. All the other issues, the reasons why the player might do this, are tertiary to this one. Alex Rodriguez is essentially giving money back to Tom Hicks, and I do see the interest of other players not having that become standard operating procedure.

If Rodriguez, to use the likely case, drops the player options in the years 2008-10 from his deal and forfeits somewhere between $30 million and $80 million depending on things we can't know, then all players become fair game for this kind of action. The balance of leverage would be shifted in favor of management, which could start pressuring players to lower their compensation in all kinds of situations. Once the first one happens--especially a high-profile one like this--the next one becomes easier, and the next one, until you have a relentless downward pressure not just on the market, but on existing contracts.

We saw this, only with less subtlety, when MLB basically extorted more road trips from the Expos by threatening to go Rachel Phelps on them if they didn't agree to another 22 games in Puerto Rico. Is it that hard to see, if this deal goes through with Rodriguez taking $20 mil., $30 mil., $40 mil. less, a future where teams actively alienate their superstars in an effort to push them into trades in which they have to take less money to get out of town?

I appreciate that there's an argument that Rodriguez would gain some non-monetary benefits by accepting this deal, but I don't think there's any way you can spin things to satisfy the CBA clause. There is no way that giving up as much as $81 million in guaranteed money "actually or potentially provides benefits to the player." This isn't a free agent changing teams for a few dollars more, or you deciding whether to take $70,000 in Denver versus $82,000 in Memphis. This is tens of millions of dollars, and a bellwether for future attempts by management to get out from under contract obligations.

So I think the union is again forced to defend an unpopular, not easily explained position, but one which is ultimately right.

What I find hard to believe in this argument is that A-Rod and his agent would be willing to give up that kind of money. If that is indeed the case, then I agree with the union. But I don't know what the terms of the new contract would be, and I find it really hard to believe that Rodriguez and Boras would agree to such a potentially large loss of money. For all I know, the options could be tied to the free agent market at the time; the Red Sox can only refuse to recognize the option if Alex isn't the most highly paid player at the time. More risk for Alex? Sure. But maybe not unacceptable to him.

I'm not as convinced as Joe and the other commentors yet. I hope we find out what the deal really is so we can know how much A-Rod really wanted to give up.

Alex Belth (A-Belth?) visited the protest and reports on his blog, Bronx Banter.

Here's the text of the letter I sent to Gene Orza.

Dear Mr. Orza,

I have posted an article on my web log about the A-Rod trade that I think you should read:

http://www.baseballmusings.com/archives/005800.php

I believe the MLBPA is making a mistake in this case. (I'm speaking as a baseball fan, not a Red Sox or Rangers fan). A-Rod moving to Boston will make Alex more popular, which will make the game more popular, which will mean more money, which will mean higer salaries for players in the future. As far as I can tell, salaries are going down right now, and with attendance flat to down over the last few years I can see why. Stopping the trade will not help anyone make more money, but letting it go through, and finding a new level of partnership with owners will. I hope the union will change its mind.

David Pinto

Mike's Baseball Rants questions Bud Selig's motives in the deal as well.

I just have to ask what is it that causes Bud to be so partisan when it comes to the Red Sox. I know that Bud, as a young, unctuous used car salesman in Milwukee, was upset when his beloved Braves moved from Milwaukee and that later spurred him to wrest the Brewers from Seattle. Maybe when he harkens back to the Braves moving, it’s not the move from Milwaukee that so aggrieves him but rather the move from Boston some 13 years earlier.

Perhaps he feels that he has to give back to the Beantown community in the form of Cliff Floyd, Kevin Millar-san, extensions to finalize the Curt Schilling deal, the gentle nudge to ensure that the Red Sox acquire the best shortstop in the game since the second-best one was sticking up the field, and a partridge in a pear tree.

Either that or John Henry has a Paris Hilton video starring Bud. Take your pick.

I think it's pretty clear what's going on. In return for letting Henry buy the Red Sox when there was likely a higher bidder, by letting the Red Sox acquire whomever they want, Bud gets a large market team to support his small market socialism. It's Bud buying power.

The time of the protest has been moved to noon. (See Boston Dirt Dogs.) If anyone can get me video, I'll be happy to post it and host it. If you have a handheld device that can take pictures, e-mail them to me and I'll post them. If you want to write a report on the protest, I'll post it. My bandwidth is cheap, load me up.

It's my opinion that the MLBPA is the greatest labor union the world has ever seen. Most labor unions set up systems that insure the continued employment of their least talented workers, while limiting the advancement of their most talented. The MLBPA has done just the opposite. They set up parameters for salary growth and negotiation, but how much you make depends in great part on how well you perform. They protect players rights extremely well, make sure they have generous benefits and proper legal counsel. It should be the model for how all unions operate.

Until now.

The union is blocking the A-Rod for Manny deal.

Rob Manfred, baseball's top labor lawyer, challenged the union's interpretation.

"The basic agreement contains a rule that requires any special covenant to be an actual or potential benefit to the player," Manfred said. "In a situation like the current situation, where there was a restructuring, where the player was getting something and the club was getting something, Gene Orza is not the final arbitrator on whether the restructuring provides an actual or potential benefit to the player. The commissioner currently is considering his legal options in consultation with the two teams."

While no one detailed the agreement between Rodriguez and the Red Sox, Boston president Larry Lucchino said the union proposed "radical changes."

The agreement called for some salary to be reduced and some to be deferred in exchange for giving Rodriguez the right to become a free agent earlier in the deal, a high-ranking baseball official said on the condition of anonymity.

Currently, Rodriguez can end the contract after the 2007 season. He also can end it after 2008 or 2009 unless he gets an annual increase from $27 million to either $32 million or $1 million above the largest salary of any position player.

"It is a sad day when the players' association thwarts the will of its members," Lucchino said. "The players' association asserts that it supports individual negotiations, freedom of choice and player mobility. However, in this high-profile instance, their action contradicts this and is contrary to the desires of the player. We appreciate the flexibility and determination Alex and Cynthia Rodriguez have shown in their effort to move to Boston and the Red Sox."

That's not the way Orza saw it.

"The principle involved is a transcendent one, affecting all of Alex's fellow players," he said. "To his credit, Alex, from the outset, recognized this."

Gordon Edes in the Boston Globe has the real money quote from Orza.

"The issue continues to be the essential difference between restructuring and reducing," Orza said when reached by phone last night. "We don't authorize reducing, we authorize restructuring. There has to be some added value to the player."

In other words, you can only renegotiate contracts up. A player (like Frank Thomas) can bitch and moan about his long term contract being too small, and that's just fine. But if a highly overpaid player is willing to take a pay cut to play where he wants to play, that's taboo.

What is the union thinking? That teams are just going to start tearing up contracts and forcing players to take less money? They don't need to do that, since no one has signed an outrageous contract since Jason Giambi. Look what Tejada got, look what Sheffield got, look what Vlad is not getting! The market has changed. This deal is a great example of what player/owner relations should be; everyone working together for the good of each other. The union stepping in like this will just continue the rancor between owners and players.

And they've gotten the fans hopping mad, also. Boston Dirt Dogs is trying to organize a rally against the union for today at 11:30 (it says PM on their site, but they really mean AM) in NY at the MLBPA headquarters. They also list Gene Orza's office number, fax number and e-mail if you would like to make your opinion known on the deal. I would encourage every baseball fan in the NY area to go, including Yankees fans. The union has overstepped its bounds today, and they need to know the fans care.

I had a lot of respect for Fehr, Orza and their colleagues. A lot of that went out the window today.

This deal appears to be over due to Omar Vizquel's knee. I think this is a good thing for the Mariners. I'm not sure why they would want an old Vizquel over a younger (and improving) Guillen. Sure, the Mariners lost out on Tejada, but Vizquel is no where near Miguel anymore. Guillen appears to me to be the best option they have at the moment. He's signed, he's not making a lot of money and I don't understand why they are so hot to get rid of him.

Edward Cossette at Bambino's Curse is counting his chickens. He links to the Boston Dirt Dogs, who say the deal is done.

(Dirt Dogs, we all love your site, but how about putting permalinks on your articles so 10 years from now people can easily see how right or wrong you were? If Peter Gammons says a trade is going to happen and it doesn't, it's there on the internet for all the world to see forever. You guys look pretty internet savvy, you should be able to figure this out!)

I'll believe it when I see the press conference.

The Kevin Brown deal is done, and it looks like Sheffield will be joining the team as well (on the Boss' terms). For all the rending of clothes by Yankees fans and analysts, NY is going to put a very good team on the field next year. I can't say I like the way they've built this team, and I think long term they are going in the wrong direction, but for 2004 I like them:

• The only bad offensive position on the club will be third base. If Alfonso Soriano is your 2nd worst offensive player, you're going to score some runs.


• Brown, Mussina, Vazquez is better than Martinez, Schilling, Lowe.

On the minus side, they no longer have any depth on offense and the fielding still stinks. We'll see what Cashman does to address those issues before the season starts.

The first big deal of the weekend was J.D. Drew and Eli Marrero of the Cardinals being traded to the Atlanta Braves for three pitchers, including Jason Marquis.

I think this deal will go down in history as Drew for Adam Wainwright, the minor league pitcher included in the deal. Drew is a very good player; he hits for a good average, draws a lot of walks and hits for some power. His main problem is that he's never been able to play more than 135 games in a season. A healthy Drew will be an adequate replacement for Sheffield in right. Marrero is someone who showed promise early, but health problems have never allowed him to reach his potential. I don't see him being a big contributor to the Braves.

The Cardinals are talking about Marquis joining the rotation. It's interesting, that if you look at his career stats as a starter and reliever, he's pitched better as a reliever, but has an ERA that's one run higher coming out of the bullpen. Jason's strikeouts are okay, his walks are okay, and his HR allowed are okay. He's still young, so we could see a big improvement, but if you can't pitch well with Atlanta, one has to wonder.

I do like Ray King. I think he's a very good setup man, and has perfromed much better in the majors than Marquis has. But the one to be excited about is Wainwright. In 539 minor league innings, he's struck out 560 while walking only 163. And he's only allowed 29 HR. So far, he's done the three things a pitcher has to do well extremely well. And he's only 22. I think the Cardinals have a real winner here.

This may be the best move I've seen all winter for the Yankees. Newsday is reporting that the Yankees have traded Jeff Weaver and 2 minor leaguers to the LA Dodgers for Kevin Brown. This does two positive things for the Yankees:

1. It gives the Yankees a quality replacement for Andy Pettitte.


2. It rids the Yankees of Jeff Weaver.

However, it continues to make the Yankees more right-handed and older, not a good thing for a Bronx team (see the 1980's).

The Yankees now have a solid top three starters in Vazquez, Mussina and Brown. I'd argue they have three #1 starters to the Red Sox two. Will Brown be healthy? I assume he has to/had to pass a physical, and he was one of the top pitchers in the NL last year. Just getting rid of Weaver makes the deal look real good to me.

Weaver was not cut out for Yankee Stadium, and I suspect he'll do better playing at Chavez Ravine. But on the face of it, the deal is a big downgrade for the Dodgers. We'll see if they spend the money they saved wisely.

It appears the Yankees have made a trade with Montreal, acquiring Javier Vazquez for Nick Johnson, Juan Rivera and Randy Choate. (Javier Vazquez has the highest scoring Scrabble name in the history of MLB.) Vazquez has a career 3/1 strikeout to walk ratio, and has been a very good, dependable pitcher over the last three years. He's a good acquistion. One the flip side, I think this Buster Olney piece is ringing more true that it did two days ago.

It all seems familiar. From 1976-1981 -- a period of six years -- the Yankees had dominant pitching, with Sparky Lyle and Ron Guidry and Goose Gossage and Catfish Hunter, won two World Series and played in two others and made the playoffs every year but one. Steinbrenner asserted even greater control, lured free agents, stripped the farm system. By 1983 the Yankees had a lineup of Roy Smalleys and Steve Kemps, aging hitters who had seen their best years, and by 1986 the Yankees' leading starter was Dennis Rasmussen, an 18-game winner; no other pitcher won 10 games.

Steinbrenner was running the show, and the Yankees' victory total declined. Ninety wins in 1986, then 89 victories, 85, 74, and 67. That's when Steinbrenner was suspended, and Michael became general manager.

It should also be noted that George was suspended during the runnup to the 1976-81 era. When I read this story Tuesday, I thought the comparison wasn't quite that good, given that the Yankees had Nick Johnson. But now I'm not so sure. If and when the Yankees sign Sheffield, they'll still have a very good team, but it's starting to look like an old team. In the late 90's, the Yankees were a young team with veteran role players. Now, they are a veteran team with no youth on the horizon. This is what led to the demise of the Orioles in the late 90's, and the same thing may happen to the Yankees.

The Transaction Guy offers his take on how the deal went down.

The Phillies have abandoned trying to re-sign Kevin Millwood, and have instead traded for Eric Milton of the Minnesota Twins. I'd rather have Millwood, but Milton's okay. His main weakness is giving up a lot of HR. It would be nice if you could blame that on the HHH Dome, but he's given up more HR in fewer innings on the road during his time in Minnesota. The trade doesn't really hurt the Twins that much, as they were able to win without Milton in the rotation last year.

I wonder what will happen to Millwood now? Since the Phillies are unlikely to offer him arbitration, teams would be wise to wait until after Dec. 7th to sign him. It seems like he would be of interest to the Yankees.

Al's Ramblings reports that Mike Gimbel thought the Brewers got the best of the Sexson trade. (Perma link is not up yet, scroll to Dec. 1).

I had missed this story about the Schilling trade (mostly because I was depending on old media over the weekend). Schilling logged into the Sons of Sam Horn chat room and spoke directly to Red Sox fans. And being impressed with those same fans helped him make up his mind to come to Boston.

I wonder, however, if he also logged into a Yankees chat room? I think Curt wanted to come to Boston, and this pushed him over the edge, but did he give the same chance to Yankees fans?

Milwaukee and Arizona completed the long awaited trade for Richie Sexson today. Arizona also gets Shane Nance and a minor leaguer to be determined. Milwaukee gets most of an infield, including Counsell, Spivey, Overbay and three others. The Brewers shave $3 million off their payroll (I thought they were the most profitable team in baseball?) and the Diamondbacks get the slugger they wanted.

In terms of win shares, the Brewers come out a little better, 28 to 26, based on what the players did in the majors in 2003. And while the fans will certainly miss Sexson, Milwaukee wasn't going to compete with him anyway. Until Bud uses the profit he makes to start building up the team, the Brewers will continue to bubble to the bottom of the NL Central.

A healthy Randy Johnson should now give the DBacks three players in the 20's in win shares next year (Johnson, Gonzalez and Sexson). That's very good, and should definitely put the DBacks in the playoff hunt again.

The Red Sox pulled it off, and worked a deal to bring Curt Schilling to Boston. It's a trade that helps both clubs; the Diamondbacks cut their payroll without decimating their roster and the Red Sox dramatically improve their rotation.

Ed Zipper points out to me that Schilling was interested in more than money:

Schilling also had a lot of initial concerns about issues other players might not be as interested in -- such as the level of detail in advance scouting reports and the amount of video and technological information that would be available. But Schilling told Stark that Epstein and his assistant, Jed Hoyer, were "very impressive."

"Obviously, they were thoroughly prepared, with a thorough understanding of what was important to me as a player," Schilling said. "They answered all of those issues right off the bat. And that made this a lot easier."

Schilling is a smart and outspoken player. It will be interesting to see how his outspokeness meshes with the Boston media.

One thing Schilling brings to the Red Sox is in-game durability. From 1997 on, Schilling has completed 52 games, the most in the majors:

Pitcher	CG
Curt Schilling	52
Randy Johnson	47
David Wells	36
Pedro Martinez	34
Livan Hernandez	31

So, unlike Pedro, you don't have to worry that Schilling is going to break down if he pitches more than 7 innings. That should reduce the amount of damage the bullpen can do next season.

This also makes it look like Terry Francona is going to be the manager. I wonder how he'll set up the rotation? Will he go with Pedro and Schilling back-to-back, or split them with Lowe or Wakefield to try to keep teams off balance?

Dan Shaughnessy, in typical Globe fashion, finds the dark clouds in the deal:

The Sox news doesn't end with last night's announcement. Boston will introduce new manager Terry Francona Tuesday. Meanwhile, they are still wooing Oakland closer Keith Foulke and think they can eventually talk the Rangers into a Manny Ramirez-for-Alex Rodriguez deal.

Unfortunately, Francona is going to be strapped with the notion that he was hired to lure Schilling. That's not a good start for a guy who had the reputation as a players' manager in Philadelphia. Francona certainly seems like a nice fellow, but the next Sox manager needs to address the star system in the clubhouse. Still, we're all in favor of any guy who has a dad named Tito. It has a nice ring -- Son of Tito managing the BoSox. Sounds like some kind of monster movie -- Son of Tito Meets Godzilla.

Meanwhile, Foulke strikes me as a guy who might be overwhelmed here in the Hub. He's a changeup artist and might not react well if he gets ripped after one or two bad outings early in the year. That's the beauty of Schilling. He lives for the big games, has played in the big games, and won't take the apple if things get a little tight and testy in this town without pity.

As for A-Rod, it seems too good to be true which means it probably can't happen. In their dreams, the Sox think Texas general manager John Hart might do something stupid because he likes Manny from their good old days in Cleveland. There's also the hope that the Texas owner, Tom Hicks, will be seduced by the idea of saving $80 million and still getting Manny's bat along with a Scott Williamson or Scott Sauerbeck. Nice try, Sox fans, but don't wait underwater for this deal.

One great thing about losing a close one is making you want to win that much more. The Red Sox told everyone yesterday they are not fooling around. They want the World Championship this year.

The A's and Padres have finally consumated this deal. Long and Hernandez move to the Padres, and Mark Kotsay joins the A's. I haven't seen any speculation about who the new cather will be, although I suspect he will come from the farm system.

The Cubs and Marlins made an excellent trade, swapping first basemen Hee Seop Choi and Derrek Lee. Lee will bring some much needed OBA to the Cubs lineup, and I suspect Wrigley will help his power numbers. In return, the Marlins are getting a younger first basemen who has had great minor league numbers but has struggled at the major league level. He was having a decent season until a head on collision put him out of action for a while. The Marlins are saving some money, and Choi has a decent chance of being as good as Lee with the bat.

There's a report that Curt Schilling has been traded to the Red Sox. ESPN.com has it has breaking news on their baseball page, but nothing official. Nothing on Google News yet, either.

Update: Here's a link to an actual story. And according to this on The Sports Network, Schilling has a no-trade clause in his contract, and has only named the Yankees and Phillies as teams to which he would move.

The Blue Jays made two moves yesterday to improve their pitching rotation, signing former Jay Pat Hentgen to a one year contract and trading Bobby Kielty to the A's for Ted Lilly. This should improve the Toronto rotation. The Blue Jays won 86 games last year; they have to improve by about 7 games to contend in 2004. Toronto's three and four starters combined for 10 win shares last year, Lilly and Hentgen combined for 20. However, the Jays may lose Kelvim Escobar to free agency, and he contributed 12 WS. If the Jays keep Escobar, they should improve by about three wins. If they lose him, they still improve by one win, and have a much more solid 1-3 in the rotation.

The Oakland A's have traded Terrance Long and Ramon Hernandez to SD for Mark Kotsay, according to ESPN. Details are sketchy right now. I wonder if this means they think Jeremy Brown is ready for the majors? He missed a couple of months this year with a broken thumb.

The Giants have traded Joe Nathan to the Minnesota Twins for A.J. Pierzynski. I think this is a fine trade. Pierzynski is a good catcher, and good hitter for a catcher, and still young enough to make a difference. Nathan had a solid to great year in 2003, and should fit right into the Twins bullpen. For the Twins, it clears both salary and a spot for Joe Mauer, who's likely to be one of the best hitting catchers in the league. The Twins also get two minor league pitchers who can strike people out, even though they walk too many for my taste.

Billy Beane gets a lot of press, but I think Terry Ryan deserves some credit. It's taken him a long time to get the Twins back to winning, but he appears to have drafted well and traded well along the way, building a fine minor league system. This trade shows that he's not afraid to trade a good veteran to take a chance on a rookie, and the way the Twins will keep winning is by always having younger, cheaper stars on the rise to take the place of someone eligible for arbitration or free agency. No one's written a book about Ryan, but it's basically the same philosophy the A's have.

The Phillies traded for Houston Closer Billy Wagner today. Wagner had 19 win shares for Houston last year. He'll be replacing Mesa and Williams, who combined for 0 win shares for the Phillies. Philadelphia loses Brian Duckworth in the trade plus future considerations.

I'm not a big fan of closers, but the Phillies just picked up six wins with this move. It's lopsided, one-sided, and just what is needed as the new ballpark opens. I suspect that even Ben Franklin is excited about this deal. :-)

As for the Astros, they've freed $8 million they can use to find those six wins they lost. It looks like Dotel will be the closer. Eight million dollars can go a long way if you're careful how to spend it.

Update: Note that the Astros don't necessarily need to look for those wins in the bullpen. They have Dotel, who has stats very similar to Wagner's and should be an effective closer. Dotel had 12 win shares in a set up role, and a set up man is one you should be able to find without having to spend too much money. I think the best bet for the Astros is to look for those six wins (or more) in their starting rotation.

I have the Marlins-Mets game on TV, and the NY announcers are debating the Preston Wilson-Juan Pierre trade. Healy and Kiner think the Rockies got the better of the deal. The third announcer (I'm not sure who it is) isn't so sure. What gets me is that they are comparing Wilson's RBI to Pierre's stolen bases. Yes, SB aren't as important as RBI, but they ignore that Pierre also has 91 runs scored, and his 77% success rate at stealing helps that a little. Plus, Wilson plays in a great offensive park, and Pierre plays in a pitcher's dream. So, I looked at win shares, and through Sept. 7, Wilson has 19 and Pierre has 18. Seems like a pretty even trade to me.

The Marlins added veteran and former Marlin Jeff Conine to the roster yesterday in hopes of replacing Mike Lowell's bat. What can they expect from Conine? He's been very consistent throughout his career, although he hasn't been very good. His OBA is a bit off his career, and his slugging is a bit higher than his career. He's no Mike Lowell, but he does give the Marlins more flexibility, and he's a consistent performer.

I was wondering how the Padres were going to make room for Brian Giles. They've sent Rondell White to the Royals, getting two pitching prospects in return. White gives the Royals more depth in the outfield, but he's not that different than the outfielders they already have.

Brian Giles was traded from the Pittsburgh Pirates to the San Diego Padres today. This give the Padres a legitmate number three hitter as they move into their new ballpark next year. The question is, who is going to go? Rondell White has been playing left most of the year for the Padres. Matthews is the most expendable. We'll see what happens when Giles arrives. Nothing on the SD Union site right now.

The Pirates get Oliver Perez, and minor leaguer and a player to be determined. Perez does one thing really well; strike out batters. He has 211 K in 193 2/3 big league innings. However, he walks a lot of batters, and this year he's giving up a lot of HR. He's young, but if he can cut down on the walks like Randy Johnson did about 10 years ago, he'll be a #1 starter.

I think it's a worthwhile trade for the Pirates. It's better to trade a veteran too soon than too late. While Giles is an excellent player, we've already seen his upside. Perez could be very good for a long time.

For the Padres, Giles will give them an offensive boost going into the new stadium. I doubt he'll give them enough to make the team a contender, even with the return of Phil Nevin.

The Royals picked up Brian Anderson in a trade with the Cleveland Indians. What I find interesting about Anderson is that he's posted almost identical numbers to last year, but has allowed 20 fewer earned runs. I thought it might be that he's doing better with runners in scoring position, but that's not true. He has taken more men off base than last year (17 DP vs. 13 DPs, 7 CS instead of 4 CS), but that' not much. I wonder if he's just had a better bullpen behind him this year? The Indians have been better at stopping inherited runners from scoring than the DBacks were last year. The Royals, however, are last in this category this year, with 46.1% of inherited runners scoring. I'll have to do more research later to see if this was really the difference with Anderson.

The St. Louis Cardinals added two pitchers to their staff last night. They picked up reliever Mike DeJean from the Brewers and left-hander Sterling Hitchcock from the Yankees. The Yankees got two prospects in return, and the Brewers will decide on a player later.

The first thing I notice about DeJean is that he's given up 12 HR in 64 2/3 innings. Doesn't look like the parks a big factor. I would be wary of bringing him in with men on base.

Hitchcock has bee good against lefties this year, but poor against righties. RHB are hitting .304 with a .356 OBA against Sterling. And five of the six HR he's allowed have been hit by righties. The Cardinals are talking about putting him in the rotation, but he may be better suited to designated lefty killer at this point.

The Yankees get prospects for a change. Ben Julianel was being groomed as a closer at A ball this year. He has the strikeout pitch; 77 in 50 2/3 innings at Peoria this year. He's really pitched well his three years in A ball, making me wonder why he still was there. In his minor league career, he's given up 11 HR in 236 1/3 innings. I'm less impressed with Justin Pope. His first two years were pretty good, but in 2003 his strikeouts are down and his walks and HR are up. He's another one that had two good years at A ball, but was not promoted. Are the Cardinals just flush with pitchers at the AA and AAA level? If so, why aren't they bringing them up to the majors instead of trading for marginal major leaguers?

The White Sox acquired Scott Sullivan from the Cincinnati Reds last night. I think this leaves the Reds' bullpen completely empty. Sullivan walks a lot of batters and strikes out a lot of batters. Only the Yankees and A's have had fewer innings pitched by their pens. Maybe with the addition of Sullivan, Manuel can use his pen more. He should be one of the top three relievers on the White Sox.

The Yankees traded recently acquired reliever Armando Benitez to the Seattle Mariners for former Yankee Jeff Nelson. I think after Nelson blasted the Seattle management, they decided to get rid of him, and my guess is that the Yankees would much rather have Jeff than Benitez. It's a pretty even deal, but I think Jeff has the better head.

The three big trades of the day were the Red Sox picking up Jeff Suppan, the Yankees getting Aaron Boone, and the Giants acquiring Sidney Ponson. Let's start with Suppan.

Suppan, like Jose Guillen, is having a career year. Prior to this year, his lowest ERA in a year in which he pitched 100 innings was 4.37. He's never been a strikeout pitcher and he ususally gives up a good number of HR. His walks are usually between 2.5 and 3.0 per 9 IP. This year, he's gotten those down to 2.0. He's also reduced his HR rate by 45%. Is it real? There's a good chance it's the park in Pittsburgh. He had a 2.88 ERA in Pittsburgh and a 4.36 ERA on the road. He's probably better than Mendoza, but I would not be surprised to see him get pounded at Fenway.

The Yankees were getting nothing out of the third base position. They led the league in walks at the position, but that was about it. Since June 1, Yankee third basemen have combined for a .222 BA (39/176) with nine doubles, one HR and 25 RBI. They did draw 23 walks, but that still is not a very good OBA. Boone had two good years in 2000 and 2001. Looking at his range factor and zone rating, he looks to be above average, although he does make errors. If he can keep his OBA at .330, he'll be an improvement. The Yankees weren't doing badly with Ventura playing; I'm not sure that it was really worth losing Claussen to pick up Boone. Of course, I suppose you can blame this all on Drew Henson not developing into a major leaguer.

Sidney Ponson is now part of the Giants staff. Like Suppan, he's having a career year, and he's going to be a free agent. Like Suppan, he's having a good year both preventing walks and HR. He's cut his HR rate by more than half compared to his career numbers. Of the three trades, I think this is the best one.

The Red Sox and Yankees look like they are going to fight to the death. I get the feeling that the management of the Red Sox is on a mission to win no matter what. Epstein's made some very good trades. It's going to be a fun stretch run.

Just because the deadline has passed, we will still hear about trades. Teams have to get the info to the commissioner before 4 PM EDT, but they can announce any time.

Jon Miller just reported while broadcasting the Giants game that ESPN is reporting that Sidney Ponson has been traded to the Giants.

Update: Here's a story from SunSpot.net.

He's not in the A's lineup today. Rich Harden had an easy first, however, and retired the side on four pitches, all strikes.

Here's the story from ESPN.com confirming both the Aaron Boone to the Yankees and Suppan to the Red Sox.

David Duncan writes:

Sports radio 1510 in Boston is reporting that the Red Sox trade Freddy Sanchez (2b prospect) for Jeff Suppan, and receive Brandon Lyon back

However, I'm listening to the Pirates game and have not heard a mention of it.

Alex Belth is backing off his Boone to the Yankees rumor. Three hours to go.

Alex Belth is reporting that Aaron Boone and Gabe White have been traded to the Yankees. Stay tuned.

Boone makes errors at third, but his range appears to be above average. He's not a great offensive player, but Ventura and Zeile have been horrible.

The A's traded three pitchers today for Jose Guillen of the Reds. It's an interesting trade. The A's must believe that Guillen's game is really different than it has been in previous years. I discussed this two days ago, and thought it was likely that the improvement was real.

Dan Shaughnessy has a surprisingly positive story on the Red Sox deal for Williamson. It appears that since the Red Sox lost out on Contreras (if you really want to call that losing), Epstein has gotten both Sauerbeck and Williamson, both pitchers the Yankees wanted. Shaughnessy is giddy:

You gotta love it. While George Steinbrenner issues statements, signs old guys, and worries about the Red Sox, Epstein keeps dealing for the best available Scott. He got Scott Sauerbeck last week and last night it was the hard-throwing Williamson.

Dan still has the #2 mentality, always having to compare the Sox to the Yankees, but he clearly likes what Theo is doing.

One thing I would be concerned about with Williamson is his high walk rate. Fenway is one of those parks, due to it's configuration, where strange things can happen on balls in play. It's best to have the bases empty when those things occur. Williamson walks better than one every other inning. That could be dangerous. But Theo keeps going after the weak spots, and says he's not done trading. Stay tuned.

The Yankees traded Raul Mondesi to the Diamondbacks last night for David Dellucci and two minor leaguers. The trade doesn't appear to be one made to improve the team, but one to rid the Yankees of a player who didn't fit their mold.

Still, Cashman said, Mondesi might have finished the season with the Yankees if not for Sunday night.

"He was upset he was pinch-hit for and he didn't stay and root on the rest of the team," Cashman said. "He decided to shut it down, shower and leave. He left the clubhouse and took off. He went back to New York and flew to the West Coast on the off-day (Monday), I guess.

"I'm not trying to create an issue with Mondy publicly," Cashman added, "but the facts are the facts. I guess he's not accustomed to different alternatives for managers.

"I'd rather have 25 guys one for all and all for one."

Dellucci is a part time outfielder that can't hit. The Yankees got a reliever in Bret Prinz, who traveled like a yoyo through the DBacks system over the last few years, A ball to the majors. They also got a 22-year-old catcher, Jon Sprowl, who strikes me as a Billy Beane ballplayer. He's spent the last four years at A ball, despite the fact that he has a career minor league OBA of .388. He has doubles power, and his average isn't impressive. He's never been a regular. It will be interesting to see if the Yankees recognize the potential of his OBA and give him more of an opportunity to play.

The Diamondbacks were willing to take Mondesi because their offense has been so poor lately. However, how much help can Mondesi give them? Since June 1, Raul is 31 for 155, an even .200 BA. His OBA is .273. Frankly, I'd rather have David Dellucci. Garagiola had better hope that Raul his like he did in April. The Arizona press seems to like the deal, focusing more on Mondesi's career than his recent failures. When I look at his career, however, I see only one good year, 1997, when he had a .360 OBA and a .541 slugging percentage. I think the DBacks will be disappointed.

The trades are starting to come fast and furious, and teams are grabbing relievers. The White Sox just picked up Scott Schoenweis from the Anaheim Angels. Schoenweis has a good K/BB, 2.9 to 1, and has only allowed 2 HR in 38.2 innings. He should be an improvement over Gary Glover.

The Red Sox also traded for a reliever, picking up Scott Williamson for a minor leaguer.

In a trade I don't understand, the Mariners have taken Rey Sanchez off the hands of the Mets for a minor leaguer. Why Pat Gillick would want Sanchez is beyond me. The Mariners are in a bit of a free fall, but you don't turn that around by picking up one of the worst offensive players in baseball.

The Clark and Addison Chronicle have a good set of links on the Cubs-Pirates trade.

Alex Belth got up early and has the news on the lefty reliever moves in the AL East. The Red Sox got Sauerbeck from the Pirates, and the Yankees tried to match that by getting Jesse Orosco from the Padres. Jesse is one of two players in the majors who is older than I am (the other being Rickey).

I don't think either move is especially great. People haven't hit Sauerbeck this year, but he walks a lot of batters, and when he has been hit it's been with men on. Orosco is completely neutralized by pinch hitting with a righty. RHB are 20 for 47 vs. Orosco, a .426 BA. Belth is not impressed either:

The Yanks answered by picking up old man Jesse Orosco from San Diego for a player to be named later. So far this summer the Yankees have added Dan Miceli, Karim Garcia, Ruben Ruben, Armando, and now Orosco for their stretch run. Not exactly an imposing group of players.

Excuse me for sounding like a mope, but I just don't get that championship feeling from this team. Which is not to say they can't do it. But they have a rent-a-wreck quality about them that is hard to deny. Orosco's theme music should be Quincy Jones' theme song for "Sanford and Son."

Maybe it's time for Orosco to join Elizabeth. :-)

I'm not sure I understand this trade from the Pittsburgh point of view. I guess they took Jose Hernandez because they need someone to play third base. Bruback is okay, but it's not like he lit up the minor leagues. He's 43-45 with a 4.20 ERA in his minor league career. Maybe the Pirates will hit a HR with the player with no name.

As for the Cubs, their centerfielders and third basemen are below average. Lofton and Ramirez should improve them there, and so far the Cubs haven't given up too much to get them. I'm a bit disappointed in Pittsburgh, I thought Littlefield would do a better job of acquiring talent in trades. We'll see who the third player turns out to be.

The Twins Geek takes a look at this trade, with some very insightful remarks. I'll also point out that the Cardinals trade of Keith Hernandez to the Mets in the early 80's was along these lines.

Ugueth Urbina has been traded to the Flordia Marlins for three minor league players, only one of them a pitcher. The question in my mind is why Flordia thought they had to replace Looper in the closer role. Yes, Urbina is a better strikeout pitcher, but Looper has only given up 1 HR to Urbina's six. I'm not really sure it improves the team, although Looper and Urbina should make a really good 8th-9th inning combo.

It is good to see a team like the Marlins trying to win instead of dumping players.

Roberto Alomar and Carl Everett are both in the lineup for the White Sox tonight. Not much yet from them; Alomar is 0 for 3 in the leadoff spot; Everett is batting 5th and is 0 for 1 with a walk. Chicago is tied with the Twins 4-4 in the fifth. Frank Thomas hit his 19th HR of the season, and now has a .427 OBA and a .580 slugging percentage. Just what you want from your #3 hitter. Yes, his BA is down, but he's having a great year.

Yesterday, after the Alomar trade, I suggested the White Sox more urgently needed help in centerfield. They got it last night when they traded for Carl Everett. Teddy Greenstein talked to White Sox players, and they feel he'll fit in just fine.

"Once the game starts, he plays as hard as anybody in the league," said Brain Daubach, a former Red Sox teammate. "That's all you can ask for."

Yeah, as long as he gets along with the manager, and as long as he's playing for a contract. I think most fans in Boston have a different view of Everett. He's not a nice guy. The trades and the Sox climb into the pennant race are already boosting attendance:

Word is out on the White Sox. They're no longer any secret.

The largest walk-up crowd in the 13-year history of U.S. Cellular Field, 14,573 out of a total attendance of 30,694, saw Sox sluggers hit three home runs Tuesday night to support Mark Buehrle's pitching in a 6-1 victory over the Minnesota Twins.

The AL Central has now turned into an even more exciting race. With Alomar, Everett, Thomas and Ordonez at the top of the order, the White Sox have as good a 1-2-3-4 punch as anyone. They've set themselves up to win the Central, and they did it a month sooner than most teams. All six divisions have good races. It's going to be a fun summer.

ESPN.com is reporting that Roberto Alomar has been traded to the Chicago White Sox for three prospects. The interesting thing to me is that the White Sox are not that bad at 2nd base. They are 9th in OBA and 7th in slugging percentage. Where they have a real glaring hole in the offense is centerfield, where only the Rangers have worse offense. Yes, Alomar improves the team, but not where they desparately need improvement.

Update: I forgot to mention the reason for the title. Roberto will be joining his brother Sandy on the team.

There is a petition on the internet aimed at convincing David Glass not to trade Carlos Beltran. Take a look, and if you agree, you may sign on-line.

Looks like Juan Gonzalez has rejected the trade, mentioned below.

If this is true, then it looks to me like the Expos are going to try to win in what is likely to be their last season in Canada. The Expos are getting Juan Gonzalez from the Rangers, although it's not clear what they are giving up, or how much of Juan's salary the Rangers are going to pay.

The Dallas Morning News has more information (registration required). Looks like the Rangers have their eyes on two pitching prospects:

The Rangers have made no secret - and their record certainly bears it out - of their need for pitching. Two Montreal prospects they may have zeroed in on are right-handed pitchers Chris Young and Josh Karp.

Young, a 24-year-old, 6-10 right-hander who played basketball at Princeton, is a native of Dallas. He was 11-9, 3.11 last season at Class A Hickory. This season, he was 4-1, 1.22 at Class A Brevard County before being promoted June 1 to Double-A Harrisburg.

Karp, 23, is a 6-5 right-hander. He was 7-5, 3.84 last season at Double-A Harrisburg and 4-1, 1.59 at Class a Brevard. This season he is 2-1, 3.86 at Double-A Harrisburg.

Young looks like a really good prospect. So far, in his minor league career, he's struck out 250 in 273 1/3 innings, while walking only 61. I'm not as impressed with Karp's numbers. This year, in 52 innings he's only K'd 36 while walking 23. Then again, he's probably better than most on the Rangers staff. Michael Barrett make also go to the Rangers to lessen the impact of Juan's salary.

Gonzalez still has power, but his OBA (.319) is poor. But him behind some guys who get on, and he'll drive in runs, however. If I were Minaya, I'd do just this, trade my prospects for vets who can get me into the playoffs. He has nothing to lose.

The Cubs acquired SS Jose Hernandez from the Colorado Rockies for Mark Bellhorn and a minor league pitcher. I was hoping the Cub Reporter had analyzed the deal, but he's on vacation in Europe.

Jose Hernandez had a very good season last year, but almost set the strikeout record. We're not even halfway through 2003, and already he has 95 K. However, the Cubs third baseman have been so pathetic (.206 BA, .313 OBA and a horrible .286 slugging percentage) that the Cubs felt the move was needed. However, I think it's a bad sign when a hitter goes to Colorado and declines. He probably won't get on base much better than the Cubs third basemen have, but he'll hit for more power.

So while I'm at my mother's wake, the Red Sox finally trade Shea Hillenbrand. In return, they get Byun-Hyung Kim from the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Baseball Crank does a good job of summing up the trade. I'm also waiting to see what Bambino's Curse has to say about the move.

I have commented on Hillenbrand a bit over the last year. I don't think much of his defense at third. Last year I commented that Hillenbrand seemed to be drawing more walks; after a good start, he slowed down and only drew 25 for the year. He hits much better early (April-May) than late, so the Red Sox probably got the best of the year out of him.

The Arizona third basemen have not hit well this year, but outside the Cardinals and the Marlins, no team NL team is putting up a lot of offense at third base. As Mark Gonzales of the Arizona Republic reports, Hillenbrand may also play first base (the article also gives a good view of the deal from the Arizona perspective, something you won't see much in wire stories).

Meanwhile, Kim pitched much better than his 1-5 record would indicate. His run support per nine innings was only 1.7, too low for an ERA of 3.56. He's given up six HR, but part of that is BankOne; he's allowed 3 HR in 11 innings at BankOne Ballpark, but only 3 in 32 innings on the road this year. One thing I was worried about with Kim moving to a stater role this year was the number of pitches he threw. He tended to use a lot as a reliever. He's been throwing 15.8 per inning this year, down a bit from last year, but a reasonable number.

This now gives the Red Sox two ex-closers in their rotation. I think it's a great trade for the Red Sox and a good trade for the DBacks. The Sox were able to get a good, possibly great young pitcher for a player whose stats aren't as good as they look. Arizona got the kind of player that seems to blossom in the desert. I'll give Gordon Edes of the Boston Globe the last word on the deal:

Epstein deserves credit for being able to get what he did in this deal. Rookie Freddy Sanchez, who has had an outstanding spring in Triple A, can spell Todd Walker at second, and Bill Mueller's other-worldly slugging has earned him the right to play every day at third. David Ortiz and Kevin Millar will platoon at first, and if Jeremy Giambi doesn't start hitting, the Sox will add another bat.

''I think the Sox did well,'' the NL scout said. ''The team is in the place in the standings where they want to be, and if I'm in your place, I'd do the same thing.''

According to Tyler Kepner of the NY Times, Mark Phillips was the key to this deal.

The Yankees also received Mark Phillips, a 21-year-old left-hander they considered the Padres' best pitching prospect.
The Yankees, who owed White $5 million this season in the last year of his contract, must pay Trammell $7.25 million for the next two years. But they save money this season and add a strong arm to a farm system short on premium prospects.
"The key component in this deal, for us, is Mark Phillips," General Manager Brian Cashman said. "That's not to put any extra pressure on him, but adding an extra power arm to our system was important."
When the Padres took Phillips with the ninth overall pick in the 2000 draft, they gave him a $2.275 million signing bonus. That is roughly the difference between the guaranteed money owed White and Trammell, and Cashman said the Yankees valued Phillips at least that much.

The Yankees and Padres made a deal today, swapping outfielders Rondell White and Bubba Trammell. I think the main thing here is that the Yankees are saving $2.5 million this year. Otherwise, the two players are pretty indistinguishable. White's probably a better player, but not much, and Trammell is probably more consistent.

The Yankees also picked up minor league left-handed pitcher, Mark Phillips. Now I always like to see the Yankees getting lefties. Phillips was 10-8 with a 4.19 ERA last year for the Lake Elsinore Storm. He looks like he might be hard to hit. He struck out 156 batters in 148.1 IP, and allowed a .225 BA. Bill James has pointed out a number of times that high K totals are a good sign of future success. He did give up a lot of walks (94), but maybe that's something the Yankees minor league staff can work on. If Phillips can contribute in a couple of years, the Yankees might look back on this as a very good deal.