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Adam Dunn Rumors: Thursday

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The latest on Adam Dunn, with more updates to come throughout the day…

  • The Nats are believed to have requested either Gordon Beckham or both Daniel Hudson and Dayan Viciedo in exchange for Dunn, tweets Heyman. That price was too high for the Sox, who told Beckham he wouldn't be on the move this week.
  • The price for Dunn is high, but not ridiculous, according to Heyman (via Twitter). The White Sox and Rays are still involved.
  • The Giants have minimal interest in Dunn at his current price, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (Twitter link). Morosi notes that the Tigers are not pursuing Dunn.
  • The White Sox and Tigers have plenty of interest in Dunn, according to Heyman (on Twitter).
  • Three-way scenarios involving the Nationals, White Sox, Diamondbacks and Edwin Jackson are in play, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (via Twitter). Rosenthal reported that such talks were underway earlier in the week.
  • The Rays are the favorites to acquire Dunn, according to one executive who spoke to Joel Sherman of the New York Post. The Giants are the only other team Sherman hears in connection to Dunn (Twitter links).
  • The Tigers are not pursuing Dunn, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (Twitter link).
  • The White Sox are saying internally that they're out of the Dunn sweepstakes, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney (on Twitter). 
  • Earlier today, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported that the Yankees are now out on Dunn. Joel Sherman of the New York Post explains that the Yankees would give up top prospects for a piece they need, but not for a luxury like Dunn. The Yanks lead the majors in scoring, so Dunn's bat is not an absolute necessity for the Bronx Bombers.

White Sox Tell Beckham He Will Stay In Chicago

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Gordon Beckham isn't going anywhere. GM Kenny Williams told the second baseman he won't be traded, according to Scot Gregor of the Daily Herald. The Nationals and Mariners are among the teams that like Beckham, but Williams wants to hold on to the 2008 first rounder. Gregor reports that the White Sox appear to have provided Carlos Quentin with similar assurances.

Beckham struggled early on, but has hit .345/.356/.586 with 14 extra base hits since June 25th. Yes, it's an arbitrary date, but we can safely say Beckham is hitting well. The 23-year-old posted an .808 OPS in his rookie season and still appears to be a major part of his team's future. He's under team control through 2015, so the White Sox have quite an asset.

Beckham doesn't face uncertainty this week, but others within the organization do. Daniel Hudson, Jordan Danks, Tyler Flowers and Brent Morel have all popped up in the latest rumors, partly because the White Sox are eyeing premier power bats such as Adam Dunn and Prince Fielder.

Odds & Ends: Hamilton, Rangers, Moyer, Wilson

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As Alex Rodriguez takes a step closer to the 600-homer club, here are some news items…

White Sox Focused On Dunn, Not Fielder

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TUESDAY, 12:07pm: The Sox are focused on Dunn, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, and they're not in on Prince Fielder or Lance Berkman.

MONDAY, 11:15pm: White Sox GM Kenny Williams has been trying “desperately” to acquire Adam Dunn from the Nationals, according to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times. Cowley’s source says the White Sox don’t want to move Carlos Quentin or Gordon Beckham to acquire Dunn, but would move any minor leaguer, and would trade Dayan Viciedo or Daniel Hudson. But Williams still finds that Nats GM Mike Rizzo is asking a lot, according to Cowley’s source.



"The problem Kenny is finding out is that Rizzo is acting like Dunn is Ryan Howard,'' the source said.


Though the White Sox appear to have interest in Dunn, Williams said that he isn’t optimistic about completing deals this summer.


"If I'm being honest and completely transparent right now of the price that is being asked for some of the players that we've inquired about, for us, it's more detrimental to our present and our future than we'd like,” Williams said.

The White Sox could definitely use an upgrade at DH, but as Williams pointed out, the team could still add a player in August. The White Sox acquired Alex Rios from the Blue Jays in an August 2009 waiver claim.

What The Mariners Wanted For Cliff Lee

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Annoyed your favorite team didn't strike a deal with the Mariners for Cliff Lee?  At least consider the details of Jack Zduriencik's high asking price, as reported by Joel Sherman of the New York Post.

According to Sherman, the Mariners general manager set out to acquire "an interested organization's best position prospect with less than one year of service."  He was offered none better than the Rangers' Justin Smoak.  The Yankees' Jesus Montero was apparently the next-best position prospect offered.  Zduriencik also targeted players such as Ike Davis of the Mets, Desmond Jennings of the Rays, Domonic Brown of the Phillies, Gordon Beckham of the White Sox, and Brett Lawrie (who would've had to have come from the Brewers in a three-way deal).  Sherman notes that the Mets never offered a player better than Fernando Martinez; Jenrry Mejia and Wilmer Flores "were never part of discussions."

Sherman also gets into the failed Yankees-Lee deal like only he can.  He gathered that the Yankees and Mariners had a deal in principle, at which point teams expect you to stop talking to other clubs.  Sherman expects the bad blood to linger, making the Yanks unwilling to deal with the Mariners in the future.  The Yankees were also apparently "rankled" by Seattle's confusingly high asking price for Jarrod Washburn last summer.  Another thought: an executive recently wondered aloud to me how Kevin Towers was involved in the Lee trade talks.  Towers has a close relationship with both Brian Cashman and Zduriencik.

From the Rangers' point of view, GM Jon Daniels indicated today to The Ticket's Norm Hitzges that he continually had an open dialogue with the Mariners.  Daniels felt that the Rangers were in second place Friday morning, until he adjusted his offer.

White Sox Want Pitching; Unlikely To Deal Beckham

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Things were finally looking up for the White Sox after a terrible start to 2010. Since June 9, the club is an astonishing 24-5, and their ace, Jake Peavy, seemed to have rebounded to his usual Cy Young caliber form. He'd allowed just seven runs over his last 36 innings of work (1.75 ERA) while striking out 29 prior to a start last week that ended his season with a detached latissimus dorsi muscle.

According to this tweet from SI.com's Jon Heyman, the White Sox made a big play to replace their injured ace last week, when Sox GM Kenny Williams tried to swing a deal for Cliff Lee before his trade to Texas. The White Sox, however, were unwilling to part with Gordon Beckham, in spite of his terrible sophomore slump (.564 OPS). Now, Heyman says, the White Sox continue to look around.

Williams is typically one of the more active, aggressive general managers in baseball, so it's unlikely that missing out on Lee will spell the end of his trade thoughts. It's been known for months that Roy Oswalt will accept a trade, though there have been reports that the Houston ace would veto a deal sending him to Chicago. Keep in mind that these things can change, though. Peavy himself vetoed a deal to the White Sox last year before eventually accepting a trade in July. We've heard about Dan Haren's availability as well, though Arizona would need to be "blown away" to trade him.

There's plenty of other non-ace starters who could also be moved. Bronson Arroyo has pitched well lately and the Reds have a great deal of pitching depth, while names like Jeremy Guthrie and Ben Sheets figure to be available as well.

The White Sox do have some help available in Daniel Hudson, who was recently recalled from the minors and is starting today. Hudson was ranked by Baseball America as the game's 66th best prospect, and third-best in the White Sox system. The 2008 fifth-rounder appeared in six games for the Sox last year, totaling 18.2 innings and a 3.38 ERA, though he struggled with his control at the big league level. In 2010, Hudson owns a 3.47 ERA through 17 minor league starts, with a strong 10.4 K/9 to just 3.0 BB/9.

It's a known fact that the White Sox are very interested in Adam Dunn's big bat as well, so Williams may focus his energy on that department. One thing remains certain — with the White Sox surging to just a half-game out of first in the AL Central, Williams will be on the phone and inquiring on just about everyone under the sun as the deadline nears. 

Odds & Ends: AL East, Mauer, D’Backs, Sheets

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Some links to read with Opening Day just a month away…

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Utley, Matsui, Yankees, Lee

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On this date 44-years ago, Marvin Miller was elected as the first full-time president of the Major League Baseball Players' Association by the player representatives. Miller, who was previously the assistant to the president of United Steelworkers, negotiated the first collective bargaining agreement with the owners in 1968. Within his first ten years on the job, Miller was able to get salary arbitration included in the CBA and helped eliminate the reserve clause, ushering in the age of free agency. He is the reason the MLBPA is as powerful as it is today, but Miller has yet to be enshrined in Cooperstown. 

Here's a looking at what's being written around the web…

If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here.

Guillen: White Sox Will Keep Beckham Around

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The White Sox plan on keeping Gordon Beckham around for a while, according to White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen. He told Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune not to overreact when Beckham's name comes up in trade rumblings.

"We plan to have Gordon for a long time," Guillen said. "I don't see why people talk about it."

Here's the main reason: Beckham is one of the game's most valuable young players. He posted an .808 OPS as a 22-year-old in his rookie season last year, playing respectable defense at third, a position he'd barely played as a pro.

But Beckham's performance is only part of the reason the White Sox like the idea of keeping him around. He probably won't be arbitration-eligible until after 2012 or eligible for free-agency until after 2015, so the White Sox figure to get a lot of relatively cheap production from Beckham.

Peavy Has Spoken To White Sox About Acquiring Adrian Gonzalez

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MONDAY, 6:08pm: Gonzalez said he is "flattered" by Peavy's campaigning on his behalf, reports Knobler.  But Gonzalez unsurprisingly re-asserted his commitment to the Padres and said he hasn't made any trade demands himself:  "I don't have any control about it. If [the Padres] trade me, they'll let me know after it happens. I don't even want to hear that they're talking about it."

SUNDAY, 5:58pm: GM Kenny Williams first spoke to Peavy about Gonzalez in January, writes Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times.  Peavy gave his stamp of approval, but the "feeling around 35th and Shields" was that it would take a package including Gordon Beckham to land the first baseman, and the White Sox weren't willing to go there.

1:58pm: Mark Gonzales at Chicagobreakingsports.com spoke with Peavy about his campaigning for Gonzalez earlier today. Peavy confirmed that he's spoken with Williams about the big first baseman. "I went into recruiting mode," Peavy said.

Peavy speaks highly of Gonzalez as both a player and a person, and says that while Gonzalez loves San Diego, he wants to win and would go anywhere for a chance to do so.

SATURDAY: Jake Peavy has already spoken to White Sox GM Kenny Williams about the idea of acquiring Adrian Gonzalez, reports Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com. Williams didn't need to hear it from Peavy, because Knobler says he plans to be first in line whenever Gonzalez is made available.

"That's really what we need, a big left-handed hitter," one Sox person said. "They're saying Kenny would give anything to get him, maybe even [Gordon]  Beckham."

Although Chicago's lineup already features the lefty bats of Juan Pierre, A.J. Pierzynski, and Mark Teahen, none of them really qualify as a power bat. Gonzalez would certain rectify that, and since incumbent first baseman Paul Konerko may not be back next season, there's a natural fit. 

If the White Sox offer a package centered around Beckham, it's difficult to see any other team interested in the Padres' first baseman topping it. 

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