The latest from Jon Heyman of CBS Sports:
- The Dodgers, Blue Jays, and Giants "appear to have some interest" in Twins first baseman Justin Morneau. Heyman notes that the Dodgers are looking at many offensive options, possibly as many as 10. Morneau, 31, has somewhat bounced back to a .260/.322/.457 line after a 2011 season lost to concussion symptoms and other injuries. He has $5MM in salary remaining this year and is owed $14MM in 2013.
- The Athletics' top two choices for a shortstop upgrade are still Stephen Drew of the Diamondbacks and Yunel Escobar of the Blue Jays. The A's remain interested in Padres third baseman Chase Headley as well, but Heyman finds a match unlikely.
- The Mets have talked about Geovany Soto of the Cubs, Kelly Shoppach of the Red Sox, and Ramon Hernandez of the Rockies, but the prices are too high on these catchers. Heyman says the Mets may be willing to delay their catcher search until the winter.
I’d love for the jays to take on morneau, if you don’t ask for cash you probably shouldn’t have to give up any good prospects.
but i have a feeling the happ deal was the big move for 2012. sigh atleast morrows back soon.
“Heyman notes that the Dodgers are looking at many offensive options, possibly as many as 10.”
lmao
Why is that so funny to you?
Not excited by the Morneau option. I’d prefer adding Victorino and platooning Rivera at first with Loney. Speed and power at the top of the lineup. (Victorino/Ramirez/Kemp/Ethier) That could be awesome.
I like Victorino better short term, but Morneau better long term. If we can pull in a power bat at 1B we can go after somebody like Upton, Swisher, Victornio, or even Hamilton in the off season to fill out the outfield. There aren’t any great options for 1B.
Is Morneau that much of a HUGE upgrade over *cringe* Loney?
In 2011 and 2012, Morneau has played at pretty much the lowest level that he’s played at in his entire career, and he’s still having as good of a year as Loney. Morneau has incredible upside, where Loney does not. I can’t believe the Dodgers have kept him around for so long.
Huge? Maybe not. But significant enough to make the move.
I’d rather Pence or Soriano (provided the Cubs pay more than half the contract). I think Soriano will end up being the best bargain this trade deadline. He’s having a very productive season that is overshadowed by a ridiculous contract.
Considering the Dodgers just extended Kemp and Ethier and devoted $40m+ to Puig, I doubt they’re going to sign Upton, Hamilton or Victorino this off-season. Swisher might go for a short-term deal, but the Dodgers would be best off trading for Pence or Soriano, leaving room for Puig in 2014.
I just don’t see the Twins trading Morneau. He’s a huge favorite in MN so they can’t trade him for another teams C prospects but his injury history won’t let a trading team give up that much for him. It makes more sense for the Twins to hold onto him and trade him at next years deadline instead.
that would mean paying him 12 million, so you have to take that in to account
If the Twins could shed $19 million and get back a prospect or two, I think it could be worth it for them.
Reality is the Twins are not going anywhere with their current nucleus, including Morneau.
Better for the Twins to probably look to re-tool and shed some salary that they can re-allocate better next season.
one or the other, unless by ‘prospect’ you mean ‘minor league filler”
By prospect I am talking just that. A guy who COULD help down the line and, if he does, will be cost-controlled initially.
As opposed to hanging on to a declining 1B who you will be paying $14 million to so that you can continue to look up at Detroit and Chicago next year.
Shedding salary AND getting a possible usable piece in the future.
can’t do both. dump him or pay for him to get usable pieces
if he were hitting this year, maybe you’d get both. but right now he’s nothing
If they can get rid of his 2013 salary then they should do so. he’s negative value and if he can hasten the rebuilding of the team then that would be the right move to make.
Morneau is starting to turn things around as he is hitting .317 for July. The best thing for the Twins to do is to sit on Morneau until the off season. If he has a strong second half than the Twins could get a quality return on him and shed salary.
Maldonado should be a hot trade commodity, real expensive though. But he will be worth it.
Imma put a filter on all of these “interest” articles and replace “Blue Jays” with “Mystery Team.”
Will make the trade deadline a lot easier to take.
Lew Wolfe is just giving the fans hope that they’ll go for it… They’re going to bring up grant green to play ss/3b and won’t be trading for anyone.
or there’s not a good offer for a SS out there.
Yea i was mostly joking about the wolfe comment… I don’t think he was willing to take on the $ for hanley, and i doubt they want to give up the prospects it takes for escobar, and drew is a rental… so basically i’m hoping they bring up green. He couldn’t be any worse offensively than pennington, defensively i’m not so sure about him… but he could be a spark plug if he comes up and hits well, could work out nicely.
No matter what unfolds in the next day and a half, it’s pretty obvious that James Loney needs to get a good real estate agent soon. If he’s still in LA by the end of the year, I’ll be amazed.
Red Sox should dump Shoppach, and bring up Lavarnway ASAP. They shouldn’t have signed him I’m the first place. We need a youth movement in Boston. Lavarnway should have been up here along time ago.
Mets should be looking at Miguel Olivo as a solution for their #2 catching spot. Outside of Safeco, Olivo can rake. He’s excellent at throwing out baserunners, and his work ethic is outstanding, which can rub off on other players. The downside: he can’t block a ball in the dirt to save his life, and he has bad plate discipline. But he’d only cost the Mets about $1.2 million for the rest of the season, and the M’s wouldn’t ask much in return. Maybe a package of League and Olivo (with some cash) could yield a decent return for the M’s?
@zoinksscoob:disqus you are 110% right. He would be an excellent fit for the Mets. They tried to get him a few years ago, just about to actually, then the trade got pulled back. Possibly League and Olivo for Tapia and Lutz or Satin
Why oh why is the asking price on geo too high? Doesn’t MLB provide the bas of balls for the teams?