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Alcides Escobar

Brewers Rumors: Hardy, Escobar, Sheets

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Lots of Brewers news this Wednesday morning. Here's the latest:

  • MLB.com's Adam McCalvy reports that the Brewers fired pitching coach Bill Castro and demoted J.J. Hardy to Triple A. The Alcides Escobar era begins in Milwaukee.
  • In a different article, McCalvy writes that the Brewers are still looking for a starter on the waiver wire, though no top arms are available.
  • Brewers GM Doug Melvin has not heard from Casey Close, who represents Ben Sheets and wonders if the agent's silence means Sheets won't pitch this year: "I think he would call clubs if [Sheets] were going to pitch, wouldn't he?" 
  • Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel files the team's moves under the "What Have We Got to Lose?" category.

Brewers GM On Trades, Free Agents, Draft

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Brewers GM Doug Melvin said on 1250 WSSP in Milwaukee that he's glad he didn't go after some of the free agent arms that were available last offseason. Here's the clip and here are the details:

  • Melvin admits that pitchers like John Smoltz and Oliver Perez were tempting, but says he's glad he resisted.
  • The Brewers were interested in Jarrod Washburn at the deadline, but didn't have enough young pitching to complete a deal with the Mariners. 
  • The Brewers were in on the Roy Halladay sweepstakes, but were reluctant to give up Alcides Escobar and Mat Gamel.  
  • Melvin sounds hesitant to experiment with Rickie Weeks in center field.  
  • The Brewers will have some "some flexibility" to add free agents this offseason. 
  • Melvin expects the Red Sox to pursue free agent position players aggressively. 
  • As of today, Melvin says he's not motivated to move J.J. Hardy, but hints that the Brewers could move him after the season to make room for Alcides Escobar.
  • Melvin's pleased with the progress 2009 first rounder Eric Arnett has made.

Failed Deadline Blockbusters

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Today was hectic, but imagine how much wilder it would have been if these two deals had gone through:

  • Via Twitter, Jon Heyman of SI.com reports that the Padres almost dealt Heath Bell and Adrian Gonzalez to the Dodgers for James Loney, Russell Martin, Blake DeWitt, James McDonald and Ivan Dejesus. Wow.
  • Danny Knobler of CBS Sports confirms that the division rivals considered a blockbuster deal involving those players.
  • Knobler also says the Rangers and Angels both pursued Heath Bell aggressively this afternoon. The Angels and Padres were discussing Jose Arredondo, Sean O'Sullivan and Sean Rodriguez. 
  • Brewers GM Doug Melvin says his team was involved in a "big one that didn't happen," according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
  • The Crew also had interest in Jarrod Washburn and Brian Bannister.
  • Melvin says everyone asked the Brewers for Mat Gamel and Alcides Escobar. Since the Brewers didn't want to deal either prospect and don't have the young pitching to offer rival teams, they had limited options.

Deadline Roundup: Mets, Washburn, Nats, Rays

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Two Cy Young Award winners were traded this deadline and neither one of them was Roy Halladay. It's been a wild few days. Here's a recap of the action and here are some more details and reactions:

FOX Sports On Red Sox, D’Backs, Bell

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12:59pm: FOX Sports reports that Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski is aggressively looking for a hitter.

The Brewers are reluctant to trade Alcides Escobar and would probably hesitate to move him for Brandon Morrow and two months of Jarrod Washburn.

12:14pm: The Red Sox are "in" on Roy Halladay, but finding offense is the team's top priority, according to Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. Here are a few more rumors:

  • There hasn't been much interest in Doug Davis or Jon Garland so far, but D'Backs officials are optimistic that interest will pick up later in the week.
  • Minnesota has more interest in Freddy Sanchez than any of his other suitors do.
  • The Padres will listen on Heath Bell and Adrian Gonzalez, but aren't likely to deal either player. The Tigers had interest in Bell earlier in the month.  

Heyman On Halladay, Holliday, Indians, Nats

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9:34am: Heyman says the Yankees inquired about Cliff Lee and were told they'd have to give up Joba Chamberlain or Phil Hughes, plus other players.

8:34am: Jon Heyman of SI.com has the latest on the biggest stars available:

  • The Phillies are the frontrunners to acquire Roy Halladay. Heyman says the Jays are expected to ask for one of J.A. Happ and Kyle Drabek, one of Dominic Brown and Michael Taylor, plus others.
  • The Brewers may be the Phillies' biggest threat, but they'd probably have to part with Alcides Escobar, and maybe Mat Gamel, too. 
  • The Mets bowed out of the Halladay talks once Fernando Martinez's name came up. 
  • There's a "good chance" the Cardinals trade for Matt Holliday, according to one of Heyman's sources.  
  • Indians GM Mark Shapiro wonders if teams are holding onto their prospects too tightly: "It's almost to the point where there's an over-evaluation of these guys. There's almost an over-correction."
  • Heyman says the Nats should trade Nick Johnson, Adam Dunn and Josh Willingham. 

Roy Halladay Rumors: Wednesday

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6:49pm: ESPN's Peter Gammons says the Dodgers are still in the mix for Halladay. Pros for the Dodgers are a number of Single-A and Double-A prospects and the willingness to take on Halladay's contract. Cons are a lack of near-ready pitching prospects, and absence of Toronto scouts at Dodger games.

5:02pm: ESPN.com's Tim Kurkjian says he doesn't expect the Jays to deal Halladay because their asking price is "enormously high."

3:40pm: Rockies GM Dan O'Dowd told MLB.com that Halladay is not a fit for his team because the cost would be "devastating" financially and in terms of talent.

12:59pm: Wondering what kind of haul the Jays might bring in? ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick looks back at nine trades for top pitchers and shows that not all blockbusters are created equal.

11:08am: Jon Heyman of SI.com says the Brewers appear to be a threat to acquire Halladay. He's hearing Manny Parra's name and suspects Mat Gamel or Alcides Escobar would have to be involved, too.

11:06am: Ricciardi told ESPN.com's Jayson Stark that talks are expected to intensify early next week. The Blue Jays haven't exchanged names with interested teams yet, but Ricciardi expects to tell teams what he's looking for by Monday.

That wouldn't leave much time before Tuesday's self-imposed deadline, but Ricciardi said it's a soft deadline.

Ricciardi says four teams are "really, really serious" about Halladay. The Phillies are believed to be one of his top suitors and Ricciardi confirmed that the Jays will scout Kyle Drabek's upcoming start.

8:33am: Here's what we heard yesterday: the Yankees and Mets aren't major threats to acquire Roy Halladay; the Cards are still involved; the Phillies are considering other options and may have told the Jays Kyle Drabek is off-limits; the Jays have imposed a pre-deadline of July 28th on the negotiations and GM J.P. Ricciardi says a trade is becoming "unlikely." 

All that in one day? Sure, and there are more Roy Halladay rumors for you today:

Rosenthal’s Full Count Video: Halladay, Padres, Orioles, Holliday, Dodgers

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FoxSports.com's Ken Rosenthal has a new Full Count Video up. Let's dive in…

  • The Brewers are flying under the radar for Roy Halladay. The Blue Jays love shortstop prospect Alcides Escobar, but the Brew Crew might not have the young pitching needed to complete a deal.
  • Rosenthal isn't sure Halladay would approve a deal to Milwaukee either.
  • Don't expect the Padres to move either Adrian Gonzalez or Heath Bell before the trade deadline. GM Kevin Towers says it makes "no sense" to move those players now, but it could be a different story in the offseason since teams may be more willing to discuss Major League players then.
  • The Orioles aren't "terribly enthused" about trading either Aubrey Huff or Luke Scott. The O's could try to retain the free agent to be Huff in the offseason by offering him arbitration, and taking the compensation draft picks if he declines. Scott is still under team control for another few seasons.
  • Don't be surprised if the A's are "relatively quiet" at the deadline. Matt Holliday is drawing only minimal interest, but that could change if he heats up before the deadline.
  • Oakland has gotten calls about reliever Michael Wuertz and "to a lesser degree Brad Ziegler," but they aren't in a rush to move either guy since they're cheap and under team control for the next few seasons.  

In a separate video, Rosenthal says that Dodgers manager Joe Torre has "made it clear he wants Roy Halladay." The problem is that Toronto has asked for Clayton Kershaw as the centerpiece of any deal, and the money might be prohibitive for LA. The Dodgers are also looking for a setup reliever. Rosenthal also reiterates the lack of interest in Holliday.

Roy Halladay Rumors: Saturday

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3:11pm: FOXSports.com's Jon Paul Morosi reports the Tigers have had internal conversations about Halladay, but doesn't see a deal happening:

"Meantime, the Tigers have had some internal discussions about Toronto ace Roy Halladay," writes Morosi," but have yet to initiate a trade dialogue with the Blue Jays about him. It's unlikely that Detroit would be able to meet Toronto's price in prospects, and Halladay, who has a no-trade clause, would have to approve the deal."

12:39pm: SI.com's Jon Heyman tweets that the Phillies are still the favorites to land Halladay. He hears that the Angels want to keep their prospects while the Rangers don't have the money to bring Doc aboard.  

9:25am: Add the Brewers to the mix of teams who've talked to the Blue Jays about All Star Roy Halladay. Tom Haudricourt of The Journal Sentinel spoke to GM Doug Melvin, who confirmed that he did have a conversation with Toronto, but wouldn't go into details. It was previously reported that the Brewers weren't likely to part with top prospects Mat Gamel and Alcides Escobar, a point that was reiterated by Melvin.

Bill Shaikin of The LA Times reports that the Angels have pursued Halladay as well, but "club officials are not confident they can satisfy the Blue Jays in a trade." He says the Halos would consider parting with Brandon Wood, but would be hesitant to include one of their young Major League pitchers in a deal.

Brewers, Braves Not Discussing Vazquez

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4:35pm: Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel spoke with Brewers GM Doug Melvin and heard that the two teams are not discussing a trade for Vazquez.

3:40pm: The Brewers heard Ryan Braun's plea for help and they have responded. They called the Braves about Javier Vazquez, according to ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick. However, Atlanta likely won't part with Vazquez in a deal that doesn't bring back Mat Gamel or Alcides Escobar, a pair of youngsters Brewers GM Doug Melvin has repeatedly deemed untouchable. Buster Olney said this weekend that the Brewers wouldn't be able to acquire Vazquez for Corey Hart alone.

The Brewers need pitching and the Braves have rotation depth, as Tim Hudson's expected to return next month. However, Braves GM Frank Wren won't make a deal unless he's "overwhelmed," as Vazquez is a major trade chip in a pitching-thin market. Vazquez makes $11.5MM this year and next and he can't be traded to any Western division team without his permission.
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