The latest from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports…
- Rosenthal discussed Prince Fielder in his Full Count video on Saturday and has a bit more today. The FOX writer spoke to agent Scott Boras, who talked up Fielder's "flexibility, dexterity, and athleticism," noting that his small strike zone gives him an advantage. You have to think Boras will set the bar at seven years and be aiming for eight, so he'll need to be able to convince NL teams that Fielder will hold up through his early 30s.
- The White Sox made a two-year offer to J.J. Putz early in the winter meetings, but it wasn't close to the $10MM the Diamondbacks offered.
- The Twins "probably won’t be a factor in the Jose Reyes sweepstakes" due to the shortstop's $11MM salary, in the opinion of Rosenthal. My take: if Reyes is dealt on deadline day he'll have $5.4MM remaining, and I'd be surprised if the Twins couldn't find a way to fit that in if money was the only holdup.
- Stan Kasten "will step on toes," says one exec who thinks he'd be an excellent choice as the Dodgers' trustee. On Wednesday, Commissioner Bud Selig said in a statement, "I will announce the name of my representative in the next several days."
I just bought a billboard outside the mlb fancave in nyc that says “Torre for President” …hope it works!
where in nyc is the mlb fancave?
Remember where the old tower records store used to be like 10 years ago lol. It’s on Broadway and like 4th or 5th street, around the nyu campus a few blocks from soho.
I passed there the other day… tried to open the door, but it was locked. Apparently, it’s more of a “look what we have and you don’t” type of deal. There were a few people inside, just chilling, and you can see them through the large glass doors/windows. I don’t really understand the reasoning behind it. =/
Marketing BS.
Don’t ya ‘love’ it?
I wish I shared your optimism in the Twins’ chances of spending money at the deadline, Tim. I hope you are right, but I feel that trading for Reyes would pretty much undo the entire point of the Hardy trade and then some.
Don’t worry about that, Reyes is staying in NY anyway.
Yep, he’ll just go to the Yankees
I think Reyes is the type of special player that ownership of many teams would stretch payroll $5MM for, especially if the price in players was reasonable.
it depends on how close the twins are to the division at that point
do you foresee them sticking around?
As a tigers fan I can say that the twins always stick around…
I wonder how many times thats been asked since 2000..
Yeah, the money won’t be the issue. It will be whether or not they would be willing to part with one or more of the top prospects: Hicks, Gibson (Gulp), Sano etc Perhaps the Twins best bet is for one of Revere/Benson to come on like gangbusters so they can center the trade around one of them+ other C+/B- type prospects.
The market for Reyes will be high, I just don’t see the Twins being willing to part with 2 of Hicks/Gibson/Sano/Benson etc
I don’t think it would take two of those players you named though.
Agreed. Given his injury history, impending free agency, and merely good skill set, Reyes shouldn’t be prohibitively expensive on the player front. The Twins might be able to package one of their MLB starters with some mid-level prospects in order to save payroll and prospect cost.
I do not think that Reyes is a “special” player anymore. Yes, he had some nice years ’06-’08, however, he has only been slightly above average since then (both offensively 3.2 WAR + -0.4 WAR defensively for ’09-’10). Now, that being said…I agree that it would not be out of the question for a team to pick up Reyes & his $5+ mil. at the trading deadline. That’s not an exorbitant amount of money. And, before anyone brings up the Yankees and their shortstop…No, I do not think that Jeter is “special” anymore either. He was up until last year, but age finally caught up to him. And, yes, I do not understand why he is still batting lead off?? It boggles my mind as well…Hanley Ramirez & Troy Tulowitzki are “special.” Jose Reyes is certainly not!
Furthermore, if a team has playoff aspirations come July and a blackhole at shortstop, Reyes can reasonably be expected to “pay for himself.” If Reyes is the type of piece standing between the Twins and the playoffs, I have to imagine that the Smiths will scrounge up the money to pay for him.
The reason the Twins traded Hardy is because he sucks and some team was actually willing to offer the Twins something for him. Jose Reyes is still an elite SS, if the Twins are in it, which they usually are they should pull the trigger on a Jose Reyes trade.
JJ Hardy is one of the most overrated players around these parts. He’s rarely healthy and hasn’t hit in a few years, you’re paying good money just for some good defense, goes to show how shallow the shortstop position really is.
Couldn’t agree more.
“Fielder’s “flexibility, dexterity, and athleticism”
LOL.
What exactly funny about this? Fielder is the most athletic and agile fat man you will ever see. He almost never gets injured, he can run pretty quick for his size, the guy is vastly underrated in terms of his fitness.
the most athletic and agile fat man you will ever see.
Ehh…I think that title should go to Pablo Sandoval. He’s big and plays a position much more demanding of agility and athleticism than 1B. He even did it back when he was more of a fat-boy than he is now!
pablo’s not that fat anymore though, guys lost a ton of weight
True but since Tartan’ claims that Fielder is the most athletic and agile fat man you will ever see, I referenced his performance back when he was a human land mass. His performance at 3B was stunning as a fat-boy. He had chops I don’t think Fielder could match then or now (at his respective position).
Did a spit take at “Fielder is the most athletic and agile fat man you will ever see.”
What you say may be accurate, but it doesn’t help people with their fat jokes. Sometimes, it’s all about the fat jokes.
Fielder is awful defensively at 1B right now (according to all known defensive metrics), I shudder to think how he’ll be in 3 years, let alone 6 or 7. He’s a spectacular DH-in-waiting though, he’s deserving of a 5/120 or 4/100 deal for sure, but no one in their right mind would sign him to be a 1B in 7 years.
He is not worth $25 million a year. I wouldn’t pay more then $16 million a year for this DH.
You aren’t watching. First, he’s easily down 15-20 pounds from last year. He’s not great defensively, but he doesn’t hurt you there either. He’s poised for a huge year as his pattern is to follow up a disappointing year with a big year.
There’s no question he’s a good enough athlete to play 1B for 6 or 7 more seasons. He’s far more accomplished and works a lot harder than say an Adam Dunn, and a far better overall hitter.
He’s not worth $25 million, but he’ll get close, $150 million over 7 at least.
but yes he does hurt you there. over the course of his career he has cost (hurt) his teams an average of somewhere between 7 and 12 more runs per year than the average first baseman
Just once I want an MLBTradeRumors headline to be:
“Rosenthal on Putz, Johnson and A-Rod.”
Mature, I know.
Mets / Yankees blockbuster!
Santana, Reyes, Beltran
for
Hughes, Soriano, Gardner, Montero, Manny Buenloes and a prospect or two…
Yankees Lineup
Reyes SS
Jeter DH
Arod
Tex
Cano
Swisher
Beltran LF
Martin
Granderson
Rotation
CC, Johan, AJ, Garcia, Nova/Colon
Drugs are bad.
Drugs are bad…but which side would be taking more of them? Mets who gain payroll felxibility and add some prospects in the mix. Or the Yankees who could make a run at another ring?
I know NY teams never EVER make trades with each other, but I thought it could help both sides a little…
I like your imagination, but Santana might not even pitch until July, which leaves the Yankees with an extra hole in an already fragile rotation.
If I’m the Yankees, I save a Montero/Banuelos/Gardner+other prospects package for a stud pitcher you can control for at least a couple seasons. A lot of surprising names will be available once the contenders and the pretenders separate leading to the AS break. Maybe even King Felix if the offer is sweet enough.
KIng Felix is NOT HAPPENING you have a better chance of the Phillies trading you Roy Halladay for Phil Hughes than the Yankees ever getting even a discussion about King Felix, how many times does Jack Z have to tirelessly say he is never going to be available before it sinks into all Yankee fans thick skulls?
I don’t think the Yankees are going to give up every young guy they’ve shown faith in for every bad contract the Mets have.
You forgot to add in Jason Bay and Krod for Cano and Nova