MLB Trade Rumors: The Latest on Zack Greinke, Prince Fielder and Others
MLB trade rumors have been flying around like crazy since Cliff Lee signed with the Phillies, which probably explains why most of them involve pitchers.
Zack Greinke has been on the block seemingly ever since the last out of the World Series was squeezed, and Carlos Zambrano is also rumored to be on the block.
But Brewers first baseman Prince Fielder's name has been bandied about pretty consistently the entire offseason, and he could still move before spring training starts.
Those are just three of the 10 names we have updates on. Start the slideshow for the latest hot stove news.
Red Sox Relief Options
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The Red Sox have had an outstanding offseason, but they still haven't fixed the club's biggest weakness: the bullpen.
According to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe, Theo Epstein is looking everywhere for help. One of the guys Cafardo says he wants is Justin Masterson, who was part of the package that netted the Sox Victor Martinez. He was great as a setup man for Jonathan Papelbon in 2008.
Aside from him, Cleveland's Joe Smith and Rafael Perez are possibilities, and Epstein could try to wrestle Dave Aardsma away from the Mariners. He also used to pitch for the Sox.
There are more names in his article, but it almost sounds like he's listing as many names as he can think of. The more likely scenario probably involves the Red Sox signing Brina Fuentes, Kevin Gregg, or Jesse Crain.
Joe Blanton
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With Cliff Lee back on Philadelphia's roster, Joe Blanton for some reason became expendable. Sounds a lot like the scenario that led them to trade Cliff Lee in the first place, but oh well.
In any case, the trade talks with the Red Sox got blown way out proportion, and ESPN Boston's Gordon Edes wrote on Twitter the other day that there was "no deal, and unlikely to be a deal."
Jeff Fletcher tweeted that the Brewers are interested, but only if the Phillies pick up the tab. This would be in line with what Buston Olney tweeted yesterday about the Phillies having to eat part of Blanton's contract if they do trade him.
So until further notice, much ado about nothing.
Geovany Soto
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It's true, there haven't been many Geovany Soto name drops this winter. But I came across one that is too intriguing to ignore.
You have to have ESPN Insider in order to read this for yourself, but ESPN's Jason A. Churchill wrotes early on Wednesday that Soto, who is arbitration eligible, could be an interesting option if the Cubs aren't willing to his contract.
So who would be interested? Well, that's getting a little ahead of ourselves, but Churchill says the Red Sox could look into things.
And we should know never to rule out anything when Theo Epstein is involved.
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Raul Ibanez
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Joe Blanton is probably going to move, but Raul Ibanez isn't going anywhere.
This is according to Foxsports.com's Ken Rosenthal, who tweeted on Tuesday that the Phillies have no plans to trade Ibanez just so they can clear some salary space for Cliff Lee's contract.
Exactly who would have taken him always was questionable, as he's due $11.5 million in 2011, and he didn't have a great year in 2010.
Besides which, he's still the perfect hitter for that ballpark.
Fausto Carmona
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While Greinke is the big name on the block, Fox Sports is reporting that "even more teams have asked the Cleveland Indians about Carmona."
They also say that the Indians aren't too eager to move him, but that they will listen to and explore trade possibilities. This would indicate that they think some teams might overpay for Carmona (ahem, Yankees).
Carmona is an intriguing idea. We've been pretty down on him since his brilliant season in 2007, but he did have a decent season in 2010, posting a 3.77 ERA.
He may not have a CY Young Award to his name, but he's certainly not lacking as far as stuff goes. And if the Yankees want to get in on him, reuniting him with Sabathia is a cool idea.
Matt Garza
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There hasn't been much movement on Garza in the last two days, but Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post wrote on Sunday that the Nationals were "aggressively pursuing" Garza, not to mention Zack Greinke.
In addition to the Nats, the Rangers have also asked the Rays about Garza, and apparently asked them about James Shields as well. That was before Cliff Lee signed, so their radio silence in the last two days could mean they're working on something.
The general consensus is that Garza will be traded sooner or later, and FanHouse's Ed Price tweeted a couple days ago that a source told him the Cubs are the favorite to get him.
Carlos Zambrano
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Bill Madden of the New York Daily News wrote early Wednesday morning that Zambrano is a "likely target" for the Yankees in the wake of missing out on Cliff Lee.
While this would at first appear to be nothing more than idle speculation, Madden does bring up that Zambrano had good rapport with new Yankee pitching coach Larry Rothschild, who of course used to be the pitching coach for the Cubs.
This deal would have one major hitch, however, as Zambrano has a no-trade clause in his contract. And Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune said via Twitter that he's not likely to waive it.
Nevertheless, the Yankees do make sense if the Cubs were to trade Zambrano. They're desperate enough to pony up the prospects, and rich enough to afford his bloated contract. Definitely stay tuned on this one.
Prince Fielder
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There hasn't been a whole heck of a lot of action regarding Prince Fielder lately.
But one thing that people have taken note of is that escalating prices, chief among them being the rumored contract extension for Adrian Gonzalez, should make the Brewers eager to deal Fielder sooner rather than later.
But despite the fact that Fielder's value should be pretty high right now, CBS Sports reported last week that the Brewers were "hardly overwhelmed" by what was floated their way by other teams.
As far as who those teams were, SI.com's John Heyman tweeted last Tuesday that the Brewers fielded calls from the White Sox, Dodgers, and Rangers.
One would think that the White Sox are no longer interested.
Zack Greinke
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Surprisingly, SI.com's John Heyman wrote on Twitter on Monday that the Yankees are "very reluctant" to go after Greinke.
Nevertheless, Greinke is still on the block. ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick wrote on Tuesday that Royals GM Dayton Moore is "actively gauging" the merket for Greinke. And the Blue Jays and Nationals have apparently talked to Moore about him.
One of the more interesting ideas concerning Greinke came from Foxsports.com's Ken Rosenthal, who wrote earlier on Wednesday that the Reds could be a dark horse possibility for Greinke.
"It would be difficult for the Reds to satisfy the Royals’ desire for up-the-middle players," he writes. "But the team seemingly has enough pitching and corner talent to figure out something."
The Dodgers have also been linked to Greinke, but they would probably have to give up Matt Kemp to get him. They're not going to do that.
Felix Hernandez
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If you think that Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee are the best pitchers in baseball, allow me to direct your attention to Felix Hernandez.
And the general consensus is that the Yankees have done the same thing.
That being said, asking the Mariners about Hernandez appears to be a waste of breath at this point.
As Sports Illustrated's John Heyman wrote on Twitter earlier on Wednesday, "[Yankees] believed on king felix's no-trade list. he loves seattle."
However, he also acknowledges "yanks 1 team that can sometimes change things (hint: $)."
Good point.
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