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Join Date: May 2003 My Local Time: 06:46 PM Location: City of Champions
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Points: 59,374, Level: 100 | | Stark's Hot 13 for todays Deadline. (Insider material)
| THE HOT 13 |
|---|
| NO. | PLAYER, TEAM | POS. | LAST
RANK | | 1 | Jason Schmidt, Giants | SP | -- |  MARKET REPORT
In a starting-pitching market devoid of juicy names, Schmidt has been the two-ton gorilla waiting to enter the room for weeks. Well, that room is now officially open. Clubs that made contact with the Mets on Sunday say they were talking to the Giants about a potential deal to bring Schmidt to New York. And the Giants were said to be listening. A trade like that would have been out of the question a week ago, when the Giants were actually considered a hot team. As a matter of fact, a week ago -- heck, a few days ago -- the Giants were still buyers. But is a club that just went winless on a six-game journey to Washington and Pittsburgh worth adding to? That's a question that Giants GM Brian Sabean is going to have to burn a whole lot of brain cells on between now and the deadline. And it's become an issue because the Mets have made one final pre-deadline run at Sabean's ace. Clubs that have been speaking to Sabean over the last few weeks say that in early July he was ready to start entertaining offers for Schmidt and some of his other veteran names. (Not the left fielder, of course.) But then a funny thing happened: The Giants ripped off five straight wins the week after the All-Star break -- including three in San Diego against the first-place Padres. And the next thing they knew, they were actually in first place. But then, just as they were about to sweep a four-gamer in Petco, Armando Benitez blew the Game 4 save, and they haven't won since. So while they're telling teams they still think they're in both the NL West and wild-card races (they're four games out in each), there are indications that the Mets have gotten their attention. It's believed the Rangers and Red Sox have also inquired about Schmidt. And there were conversations with the White Sox about him earlier in the month. So the Giants at least will have some interesting options. But they've made it clear that for someone to pull this off, it's going to be "expensive." They would want at least two players back -- either two top-tier young players they can rebuild around or one player like that and a young starting pitcher who could replace Schmidt in the rotation now and down the road. But the Mets are adamant that they aren't trading Lastings Milledge for a rent-a-pitcher. So an official of one team described this deal Sunday as "more unlikely than likely." But given the other pitching choices on the buffet table, even a Jason Schmidt rumor is sounding good at the moment. | | 2 | Alfonso Soriano, Nationals | LF | 1 |  MARKET REPORT
If the Yankees can steal Bobby Abreu just by transferring some extra cash into Boss Steinbrenner's checking account, wouldn't you expect the Red Sox to search for the perfect counterpunch? Well, what could be more perfect than making a fun-filled little play for Soriano? And there were indications that the Red Sox rolled their shopping cart through Soriano-ville on Sunday, just for the fun of seeing what happened. Well, the odds are: not much will. Since the Red Sox are not a team interested in unloading its supply of young, electric arms, they don't seem like a good match with the Nationals. But these are two imaginative franchises doing the talking. So never say never. Meanwhile, the Nationals had another surprise shopper on Soriano on Sunday -- the Marlins. Florida seems like the least likely bidder out there. But if you think creatively -- which is the Marlins' specialty -- it's actually the most likely bidder. If the Nationals want bright young pitching prospects back, there's no team that has more of them than Florida. Heck, the Fish traded for about 12 of them last winter. So the Marlins could lop off some of their pitching depth, reel in Soriano and then spin him to address its position-player needs, to a bidder that couldn't make it work with Washington. There was some buzz Sunday afternoon, in fact, that the Marlins and Tigers had had some conversations about Soriano in the event Florida pulls this off. So watch out for that possibility. In the meantime, it's believed the Nationals continue to talk to the Astros, Angels and Twins. But the Dodgers seem to have faded nearly clear off the Soriano radar screen. So at this point, with just hours left until the deadline, Soriano's ultimate destination couldn't possibly be tougher to figure. | | 3 | Miguel Tejada, Orioles | SS | 2 |  MARKET REPORT
By late Sunday night, the Orioles had next to nothing in the works for Tejada. But if they don't trade him, it won't be because they didn't have some fascinating names thrown at them. Teams that have spoken with them say they actually discussed Roy Oswalt, Lance Berkman and Brad Lidge with the Astros, for instance. Oswalt apparently would have been viewed as the centerpiece of that deal. But because he was a year away from free agency, the Orioles then tried shopping him around to see if he (and possibly Lidge) could be spun into an even younger, bigger package. Meanwhile, other teams are still stunned that the Orioles so quickly rejected the Angels' proposal of Ervin Santana and shortstop prospect Erick Aybar. "That's the kind of deal," said an official of one team, "where you wake up in the middle of winter and say to yourself, 'What the heck was I thinking?' " The Orioles also shot down a Dodgers proposal of Cesar Izturis and prospects. And they discussed a slew of names, big and small, with the Rangers. As the deadline loomed, only Texas was still actively trying to put some kind of deal together -- but was looking for a third club to get the pieces in place the Orioles wanted. So the chances of Tejada changing his address may not have dwindled to zero. But at this point, they're certainly in single digits. | | 4 | Brad Lidge, Astros | CL | -- |  MARKET REPORT
Lidge gave up a game-losing home run Sunday afternoon. Within the next 90 minutes, a bunch of teams had already called the Astros, wondering if they were ready to move their slumping closer. Well, from all accounts, the 'Stros have given that question some serious thought. But the honest truth is, even the Houston brass itself no longer appears certain what to do to turn this guy back into The Real Brad Lidge. On one hand, the Astros see a pitcher with spectacular stuff, just four blown saves and 67 strikeouts in 48 1/3 innings. On the other hand, they see a pitcher with a 5.77 ERA who has given up seven devastating gopher balls already (two more than all last season) and whose confidence is shaky enough to register on the Richter Scale. So do the Astros trade this man -- with his value at an all-time low? Or do they try to keep him and get him straightened out, assuming that's still possible if he stays in Houston? Clubs that checked in reported the Astros were definitely listening, but needed a compelling reason to make a deal. And so far, they haven't heard one. They turned down Texas' offer of Brad Wilkerson and Rod Barajas for Lidge. They didn't seem particularly interested in swapping Lidge for Hank Blalock, either. They've also had calls from the Orioles and Red Sox. But they eventually told all those teams there was nothing there worth pursuing. So there may well be more Lidge rumors as the Deadline Clock ticks down. But the best guess is, the Astros will decide there's more upside in getting Lidge fixed than there would be in changing his area code. | | 5 | Greg Maddux, Cubs | SP | 10 |  MARKET REPORT
It's no better than a 50-50 proposition at this point that Maddux's next start will come in a different uniform than his last start. The Dodgers are interested, as much because GM Ned Colletti has known and loved Maddux all his career as because Colletti can definitively see Maddux as the difference between playing baseball in October and playing 18 holes a day in October. The Padres, on the other hand, might actually need Maddux to serve as a vital piece in a larger plan. They've been working on finding a third baseman. They would almost certainly deal Scott Linebrink or another pitcher to get that third baseman. Then Maddux could fill the pitching vacancy they create with that trade. So as of late Sunday night, the Padres seemed to be running slightly ahead of the Dodgers in the race for the only available 327-game winner on the Deadline-Mart shelves. But given Colletti's respect and affection for Maddux, that could change by 4 p.m. ET. And the Cubs still appear to view Maddux as a big enough attraction and clubhouse force that they're obviously not wild about dealing him at all. So it wouldn't shock us if he's the biggest name who goes no place Monday. | | 6 | THE GANG OF SEVEN (Livan Hernandez, Rodrigo Lopez, Jon Lieber, Tony Armas Jr., Mark Redman, Ramon Ortiz, Kip Wells) | SP | 4 | MARKET REPORT
You know how you go to the grocery store, thinking you're going to buy a filet for dinner -- and then the price is so ridiculous, you wind up going home with rump roast? These seven pitchers comprise the rump-roast portion of the starting-pitching market. Every contender needs another starter this time of year. Well, unless the Barry Zito market erupts unexpectedly, this is what those rotation shoppers will find down at the old Arms Store. And the same group of six to eight teams (Red Sox, Blue Jays, Yankees, Rangers, Mets, Dodgers and Reds) is wheeling its shopping cart around and around that group, trying to figure out which of them might somehow make a difference. Wells is coming off seven shutout innings against the Giants (and his first win in a mere 355 days). The stock of Redman (7-1, 4.05 since June 1) and Hernandez (three straight quality starts) is also up at the moment. The other four are eyes-of-the-beholder type commodities. "Everybody's been sorting out those guys, but no one has shaken loose," said an official of one team in the pitching market. "When they finally go, it will be like the draft. One will set the market. Then the rest will go very quickly. You know they'll all get traded. It's just a matter of when and where." | | 7 | Julio Lugo, Devil Rays | SS | 5 |  MARKET REPORT
The Devil Rays' brass was telling everybody it talked to Thursday that it hoped to get Lugo signed to an extension in the next couple of days. But Lugo is a guy who wants $8 million to $9 million a year to stay. So there's no evidence to suggest that's D-Ray kind of money. "What we want to do is lay everything out on the table," said the Rays' executive VP of baseball operations, Andrew Friedman, "so we'll have a better sense of what (the chances) are. Then we'll weigh what our opportunities are if we make a trade, and we'll make a decision." The guess here is that sometime this weekend, Tampa Bay will turn back toward the two most interested teams -- the Blue Jays and Red Sox -- and make the best deal they can make. But this will be no giveaway. "He, [Miguel] Tejada and [Derek] Jeter are the three best offensive shortstops in the league," Friedman said. "And Julio is a guy who can make a difference as a leadoff man and as a [defensive] shortstop. For someone who needs a shortstop, his impact is comparable to a Soriano. The price won't be the same, and the expectations won't be the same. But he'll have an impact." The moral of that story is that that impact will cost somebody something -- either a whole bunch of dollar bills out of the Tampa Bay checking account or a legit prospect or two on someone else's roster. | | 8 | Brad Wilkerson, Rangers | OF | 6 |  MARKET REPORT
We talk round the clock these days about the impending trade of Alfonso Soriano. Well, guess what? The main piece he was traded for last winter is also eminently available all of a sudden. The buzz Saturday was that ever since they finished off their deal for Carlos Lee, the Rangers started offering Wilkerson around in an attempt to land an impact pitcher -- starter or reliever. They apparently tried the Astros on Brad Lidge. It's believed they took a similar run at Cleveland's Jake Westbrook. There were even indications they kicked the tires on one of the White Sox starters. But as of Saturday night, it looked as if they hadn't gotten anywhere. Another fascinating development: Texas was marketing Wilkerson mostly as a tag team with catcher Rod Barajas, a soon-to-be-free agent. But the Rangers had many other lines in the fishing holes Saturday. So Wilkerson could still go, depending on what else they're able to deal for. | | 9 | Coco Crisp, Red Sox | CF | 7 |  MARKET REPORT
Buster Olney reported Saturday that the Red Sox offered their greatest name since Pumpsie Green to the White Sox this week for Mark Buehrle, and got turned down. The question is: What does that mean? While it obviously indicates the Red Sox think they can find a replacement for Crisp in center field, it isn't necessarily a sign the Red Sox view Crisp as some kind of monumental bust. If they'd tried to trade him for, say, Bruce Chen, that would have been a bad sign. But offering him for a pitcher who leads the entire sport in innings pitched over the last six years and a pitcher who trails only Curt Schilling, Randy Johnson and Mark Mulder in wins over that span? Crisp could almost take that as a compliment. What it indicates to us is just how adventurous the Red Sox could be between now and Monday if the right deal or deals erupt around them. They're not trading any of their marquee young pitching (Jon Lester, Manny Delcarmen or Craig Hansen). So their ticket to a big, outside-the-box blockbuster is clearly to deal from their big-league position-player surplus. That means any of their outfielders except Manny Ramirez, and any of their infielders except Kevin Youkilis. So if they have an opportunity to grab someone like Julio Lugo at the right price, that would trigger companion deals involving an infielder -- and maybe more. An official of one team that has been brainstorming with the Red Sox says that chain reaction is "logical" and "obvious" -- but also says they're not as far along on those alleged three-team and four-team companion deals as has been advertised. All we know for sure is that they've spent a lot of time this week talking with the Padres, Indians, A's and Rangers -- and those teams have been networking with several other clubs. We also know it sure is tough trying to put together trades that complicated when the clock is ticking on the 31st. So Sunday, says one AL GM, "should be the big day." | | 10 | PIRATES OF THE MONONGAHELA (Craig Wilson, Roberto Hernandez, Salomon Torres, Kip Wells, Jeromy Burnitz and a cast of thousands) | -- | 8 | MARKET REPORT
The Pirates haven't made Johnny Depp available. But outside of that, "we've got to be open-minded to anything," GM Dave Littlefield told us this week. Well, after weeks of Pittsburgh (A) trying to bundle players clubs don't want (i.e., Burnitz) with players they do (i.e., Hernandez, Torres, John Grabow, etc.), (B) asking for everybody's No. 1 prospect, or (C) both, clubs were reporting Friday that the Pirates had finally lowered the asking price. So they were talking to six teams about Hernandez, to a handful about Wilson, and to a team here or there about Wells and Sean Casey. Several clubs have made a run at closer Mike Gonzalez -- but have reported he "isn't gettable," even though Littlefield says he'll listen on anyone. There also have been some inquiries from a bunch of teams about Oliver Perez, who is trying to rediscover his mojo in Triple-A. But Littlefield says he prefers to hang on to Perez because "we'd like to think we can get the guy back on track." One club to watch here is the Yankees, who have targeted Wilson, Hernandez and/or Torres for weeks. If they can add a reliever, it could allow them to turn around and deal Scott Proctor. | | 11 | Barry Zito, A's | SP | 9 |  MARKET REPORT
No matter how often you hear or read that it's the Mets' destiny to trade for Zito in the next couple of days, here's our advice to all Mets fans who may be tempted to believe that dream is real: Go to a museum. Sail around the Statue of Liberty. Ride the D train from one end of town to the next. It's just not happening. Yes, the A's keep suggesting they're willing to listen on Zito, a 28-year-old Cy Young winner who leads all AL left-handers not named Johan Santana in quality starts. Yet they have nothing going. Nada. The A's have done everything but rent a billboard on the Brooklyn Queens Expressway to advertise their interest in trading Zito to the Mets. And there is still no evidence to suggest the Mets have been swayed by that advertising blitz one iota. Instead, according to a variety of clubs who check in with the Mets, they've turned their focus back to the original starting pitcher on their shopping list, Livan Hernandez (if the Nationals will digest enough of his $7.5-million salary for next year). The Mets preferred a hard thrower. They just can't find one. They've backpedaled on Kip Wells. They don't think Jason Schmidt is gettable. They made a fruitless run at Oliver Perez. So there's no reason to think they're suddenly about to turn their attention to Zito, who would require them to deal Lastings Milledge or Aaron Heilman, plus another lesser player. Zito is a Nordstrom's kind of item. And the Mets clearly are just Target shoppers these days. | | 12 | Dontrelle Willis, Marlins | SP | 11 |  MARKET REPORT
OK, now that we've got your attention ... the Marlins made sure nobody would even waste their time asking about Willis this weekend. How? They put both Willis and their other walking trade rumor, Miguel Cabrera, on waivers late last week, according to multiple sources in both leagues. Those waivers were a meaningless technicality, and the Marlins clearly would have revoked both names if any team claimed them. So the only possible reason to place those particular players in waiver limbo at that particular moment in pre-deadline time was this: Players aren't allowed to be traded until their waivers expire. In the case of Willis and Cabrera, that happens to be just after Monday afternoon's trading deadline. So any Dontrelle rumors that pop up between now and the deadline are as fictional as "Gone With The Wind." And that's official. | | 13 | Morgan Ensberg, Astros | 3B | 12 |  MARKET REPORT
The Padres have checked out every third baseman except Brooks Robinson. But officials of two teams that have spoken with them said Monday they believe Ensberg is their No. 1 choice. Well, we'd advise they move on to Plan B, because one baseball man who has spoken with Houston GM Tim Purpura says he would be "shocked" if Ensberg winds up getting traded. Scott Linebrink (San Diego's big chip) might be the best setup man available. But the Astros aren't going to trade a 30-homer, everyday player even up for a setup arm. Houston also doesn't expect to re-sign Aubrey Huff, which means Ensberg still looms as their long-term third base solution. Plus, Ensberg is still on the disabled list with a sore shoulder, and there are doubts he'll even make it off the DL before the trading deadline arrives. So if we were setting odds in Vegas, a much more likely bet is that the Padres will end up dealing Linebrink for an even cheaper option, such as Cleveland's eminently available Aaron Boone. |
Jayson Stark is a senior writer for ESPN.com. |
07-31-2006, 07:27 AM
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