NASHVILLE -- Taking a load off for a couple minutes after spending a few hours wandering this enormous labyrinth of a hotel. Seriously, this place is like it's own little town. Plenty of hiding places for GMs and agents who don't want to be seen.A few notes of interest:
* The Rockies don't think they'll be able to re-sign lefty reliever Jeremy Affeldt. They've offered him $4 million for two years, but they think he's going to get $16 million for four years. Kind of makes the Phillies' deal for J.C. Romero (three years, $12 million) look affordable, doesn't it? Might the Phillies be interested in Affeldt? I guess so, but not for that much money.
* Aaron Rowand's options may be diminishing. The Dodgers reportedly aren't willing to give him more than three years. Rowand, of course, is looking for five. So, if the Phillies, White Sox (they'd prefer to trade for Coco Crisp) and Dodgers aren't biting, who's left? The Nationals don't need a center fielder after trading for Lastings Milledge last week, and the Twins figure they'll replace Torii Hunter by getting either Melky Cabrera from the Yankees or Jacoby Ellsbury or Crisp from the Red Sox in a deal for Johan Santana. If a Santana deal doesn't get made, maybe the Twins will look to Rowand. And if it does, maybe the Yankees will look to replace Cabrera will Rowand. Of course, Mike Cameron and Japanese import Kosuke Fukudome are free agents and figure to come cheaper than Rowand. So, it seems to me that Rowand may need to come down from his five-year demand.
* Pat Gillick loves the Rule 5 draft, which will be the final event of the meetings on Thursday. In 1980, Gillick swiped George Bell from the Phillies. Every few years, there's a steal in the Rule 5 draft. The Phillies got Shane Victorino from the Dodgers in 2004, and a few years (and two Cy Young Awards) earlier, Santana was taken by the Marlins (and later traded to the Twins). But the Phillies have only the 24th pick in this year's draft, and scouting director Marti Wolever said today that they'll likely have to trade up if they want to find a quality player.
More later.
1 comment:
I'd love love LOVE to see the Phillies and PG trade way up and take Chris Lubanski or Jamie D'Antona. Both would really help out the club off the bench, and Lubanski was a first-round pick by the Royals who was excellent until he hit triple-A. He's from PA, so it'd be a good public relations move. Another plus is his speed, which is good enough to play any outfield position. He's got youth on his side, as he's only 23.
D'Antona can play first, third, and catch in an emergency, and is blocked at all three positions in the Arizona system by Conor Jackson, Mark Reynolds/Chad Tracy, and Chris Snyder. The Big Club can't keep trotting out Wes Helms. On top of that, he's only 26.
I'd like to see them make a deal for a pitcher, preferably one named Hiroki Kuroda. Especially if they don't think they'll get Rowand to re-sign with them.
I'd also like to see them trade Adam Eaton. I don't care what they get for him. A bag of popcorn would suffice.
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