The Phillies may be interested in D'Backs closer Chad Qualls, but they're certainly not his only suitor. Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic hears that nearly half the teams in baseball have asked about him. The D'Backs seem "unlikely" to move Qualls, but would ask for a strarting pitching prospect in potential trades.
Archives for July 2009
Closer Trade Candidates
Desperately seeking saves in your fantasy league? Head on over to our fantasy baseball branch, RotoAuthority, for a look at closer situations that could change due to trades this month.
Roy Halladay Rumors: Monday
10:26pm: ESPN.com's Keith Law hears from multiple sources that the SI report below is "bogus."
9:15pm: Mike DiGiovanna at the L.A. Times talked to Angels GM Tony Reagins, who "hasn't ruled out anything" in a trade for Halladay. Still, DiGiovanna notes the Angels may not have the premium prospects to make a deal, let alone the desire to trade the prospects they have in the first place.
5:55pm: Jon Heyman at SI tweets that the Mets rejected a package of Fernando Martinez, Bobby Parnell, Jon Niese and Ruben Tejada for Halladay.
5:47pm: Peter Gammons weighs in on the situation, and talked to one GM who said "The general feeling is that he won't be traded." Gammons thinks that since Halladay's addition would give the Phillies a feasible chance to be world champions for three straight years as well as potential tutoring for Cole Hamels, the team should pursue Doc.
4:42pm: Theo Epstein told MLB.com's Ian Browne that he wants to hold onto his core of talented pitchers, but admits it's tempting to acquire an ace. He doesn't say Halladay's name, but it's fair to assume that's who he's talking about.
4:34pm: Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel doesn't expect the Brewers to acquire Halladay, primarily because they'd have to give up so much to get him.
4:05pm: Olney says he thinks the Phils should deal for Halladay, but says they may be reluctant to part with young talent for him, now that they've won 12 of 13.
3:43pm: Jeff Blair hears that just a few teams are serious about Halladay: the Phillies, Dodgers and Angels.
Cards GM John Mozeliak seems less interested in Halladay now that he has "lowered his sights in the trade market" and the Yankees and Red Sox don't believe Ricciardi will deal within the division.
12:50pm: ESPN.com's Buster Olney says the Phillies' need for Halladay could diminish if their division lead (now 6.5 games) continues to grow. Olney hears from executives who don't expect anyone to meet the asking price for Doc.
12:33pm: A friend of Halladay's tells Jon Heyman of SI.com that Doc's top priority is winning, but the righty would apparently prefer a quiet environment and a team that trains in Florida. Heyman's source believes the Yankees, Red Sox, Cardinals and Phillies are among the teams to which Halladay would approve a deal.
10:43am: MLB.com's Ken Gurnick says the Dodgers have the need for Halladay and the talent to acquire him. However, ownership may not be willing to commit enough money to land the Jays' ace.
8:58am: The latest on Roy Halladay, one day after his complete-game effort against the Red Sox…
- Mike Rutsey of the Toronto Sun says Phillies executive Pat Gillick, Brewers assistant GM Gord Ash and scouts for the Rangers and Dodgers all watched Halladay's start yesterday.
- The Globe's Tim Wharnsby reports that Gillick discussed the severity of Halladay's recent groin injury with the Blue Jays' team physician.
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports says the Tigers, Twins and Red Sox also had people at the game, though the Red Sox "don't appear to have serious interest."
- It's possible the teams were around to scout relievers, position players, or the Red Sox.
- A rival GM says J.P. Ricciardi "won't trade Halladay unless he gets the deal he wants," Morosi hears. "But he wants to get a deal."
- Jeff Blair of the Globe and Mail says the Jays scouted the Phillies' Single A team last week.
- Blue Jays catcher Rod Barajas told MLB.com's Jordan Bastian that Halladay's the best pitcher he's ever caught. High praise, considering Barajas caught Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling with the D'Backs.
Minaya, Manuel Assured Jobs?
9:51pm: Despite Manuel's denial, David Lennon at Newsday talked to Minaya, who confirms earlier reports that they were given a vote of confidence.
6:22pm: Jon Heyman at SI.com reports that Mets COO Jeff Wilpon met with GM Omar Minaya and manager Jerry Manuel recently to give the two a vote of confidence that they would not be fired this season. Joel Sherman at the New York Post reports that Wilpon would be hesitant to fire Minaya because his three-year extension does not begin until next season and Minaya has many close assistants that have contracts as well.
But Bart Hubbuch at the New York Post talked to Manuel, who said he "never got that call."
The Mets continue to be ravaged by injuries, as pleasant-surprise starter Fernando Nieve hit the DL today.
Pedro Contract Details Revealed
Jayson Stark at ESPN has the skinny on Pedro Martinez's contract with the Phillies from sources. It's incentive-laden, and has a few intriguing facets (Many of which were also reported by Jon Paul Morosi at FOX Sports last week):
- The deal is a prorated $2MM base salary, which will ultimately be worth less than $1MM for the rest of the season.
- He has incentives to pitch as both a starter and a reliever.
- Bonuses are awarded for every start Pedro pitches after his fifth. He's also getting paid a $15K bonus for every fifteenth day he's on the active roster.
- Incentives are included for postseason awards and the Comeback Player of the Year award.
- In all, Pedro could receive an additional $1.275MM next to his salary.
That should put an end to the Pedro saga (for this year), which probably continued for a longer time than many of us expected. Longer than maybe Pedro expected, too, as he had been asking $5MM in a prorated deal for his services as late as mid-June, but he wasn't expected to get more than an incentive-laden deal like the one he finally agreed to. We'll see how he performs down the stretch, as it will determine his value when he re-enters the FA market this coming offseason.
Minaya: Big Moves Doubtful For Mets
Bart Hubbuch at the New York Post talked to Mets GM Omar Minaya, who agreed with manager Jerry Manuel's pregame comments that the team doesn't expect to bring in significant outside help before the deadline. Minaya ruled out any pursuit of rental players, which would include Matt Holliday.
Hubbuch also notes that Minaya did not deny an earlier report that the Mets refused to deal four of their top prospects for Roy Halladay, and Minaya wouldn't comment further on the situation. No word yet from Minaya on rumors that he was assured his job security by Mets COO Jeff Wilpon.
Odds & Ends: Brewers, Yankees, Braves
On this day last year, the Brewers acquired second baseman Ray Durham from the Giants for two prospects, and almost exactly a year later they landed Felipe Lopez for two more. Who will it be in 2010?
- Evan Brunell at the Hardball Times likes the Brewers' Felipe Lopez acquisition and thinks a starter could make the Brewers legit playoff contenders.
- Marc Carig at the Newark Star-Ledger reports that Hal Steinbrenner is "open to all possibilities" for the Yankees at the trade deadline.
- Peter Gammons thinks the Red Sox need to pursue a bat most of all. "The Dodgers will acquire pitching. The Giants will get a bat. Florida may get a closer. The Cubs will also do something," he believes.
- Dave Cameron at Fangraphs recaps the site's list of 2009 player trade values.
- Mark Bowman at MLB.com takes a deep look into the Braves' current position, and believes how they perform in their upcoming series will be a large indicator as to whether they buy or sell pieces before the deadline. Bowman thinks there's a chance the Braves could be done making major moves.
- Tom Krasovic posits that the Padres must stop offering no-trade clauses in their contracts, as such clauses have backfired with many players, a list potentially including Jake Peavy with his recent DL stint.
Sanchez And Wilson Reject Extensions
MONDAY 7:15pm: Langosch has an update on the situation, and says that Sanchez and Wilson both express desire to continue negotiations to stay with the Pirates despite their early contract rejections, citing a "miscommunication." The players believed the original offers to be "take-it-or-leave-it" and didn't think they were negotiable.
SUNDAY 2:27pm: MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch informs us that both Freddy Sanchez and Jack Wilson have rejected the contract extensions offered to them by the Pirates.
Sanchez, 31, received an offer for a two-year extension worth $10MM. Wilson, also 31, received an offer for a two-year, $8MM extension. Both extensions would have voided the players' options for 2010. Sanchez has an $8MM vesting option with 600 plate appearances, and Wilson has an $8.4MM club option. General manager Neal Huntington commented on the rejections:
Huntington felt both deals were fair, citing the fact that only four of the 107 position players that were free agents this offseason received deals greater than two years in length.
Rob Biertempfel reports that both Sanchez and Wilson responded "with a firm 'no'" to the offers.
With no counteroffers from Wilson and Sanchez, the Pirates will likely listen to offers on their middle-infield tandem as the trade deadline approaches.
Phillies To Continue Shopping
Andy Martino at the Philadelphia Inquirer talked to Phils manager Charlie Manuel and assistant GM Scott Proefrock, and both say that the team's current NL East lead does not affect their pursuits of help for their bullpen, rotation and bench. Says Proefrock:
"All you have to do is look back two weeks ago. We’ve got a long way to go. This isn’t over by any stretch of the imagination, and we still need to be prepared for a tough battle the rest of the way."
Martino says that Proefrock was envisioning a "potential playoff rotation," though he didn't mention Roy Halladay by name. The Phillies are six and a half games ahead in first, and this news comes after a number of reports wondered if the team would make a splash with such a comfortable lead.
Odds And Ends: Nats, Schedule, Wang
Some links for the afternoon…
- Jay Jaffe of Baseball Prospectus (via ESPN) determines that among contenders, the Yankees, Rays and Rangers will have the toughest opposition the rest of the way.
- ESPN.com's Rob Neyer suspects the Pirates extended offers to Freddy Sanchez and Jack Wilson so they could say they did. Realistically, Neyer says it's hard for the Pirates to pay veteran players fair market value.
- Count Nationals interim manager Jim Riggleman among those who believe teams will continue to trade well into August, according to Tracee Hamilton of the Washington Post.
- Within the piece, acting GM Mike Rizzo hints that Nick Johnson could return to the Nats next year.
- Tyler Kepner of the New York Times suggests we shouldn't expect Chien-Ming Wang to return for a while, "if at all." He experienced tenderness playing catch today.