The Friday Night Rumor Mill–April 7, 2006

The trade rumor involving Barry Zito, Lastings Milledge, and Brian Bannister didn’t have much life to begin with; it was given complete rest when Mets GM Omar Minaya told reporters that he had no interest in trading his top prospect for the Oakland left-hander. It was a rumor that really seemed to make little sense for either team, given Minaya’s desire to retain Milledge and Oakland’s standing as a legitimate title contender. If the A’s were to surprisingly fall out of the AL West race by July, then Billy Beane might have cause to trade his No. 2 starter for a package of prospects. But with the A’s cast as favorites to win the West, and with a stronghold of pitching and defense that could send them deep into the postseason, they’d be foolish to surrender their best left-handed pitcher without receiving some major league-ready help in return…

When the Phillies acquired David Dellucci from the Rangers last weekend, reporters asked if the deal might be a precursor to a larger trade involving one of his other outfielders. Gillick said no, temporarily putting to rest thoughts of a Bobby Abreu blockbuster that might bring in a third baseman and/or some pitching. Although I’ve actually not heard a specific rumor, I wonder if the Orioles might offer a package headlined by the underrated Melvin Mora, whose contract runs out at the end of the season…

In an era when most major league teams are carrying two catchers, the Yankees now have an eye-popping four after claiming switch-hitting Koyie Hill on waivers from the Diamondbacks. The Yankees snatched Hill for two reasons: they have an organizational dearth of catching and also wanted to block the Red Sox, who are looking for a backup catcher capable of handling Tim Wakefield’s knuckleball, from putting in a claim. The four-catcher arrangement won’t last too long in New York, however. The Yankees are expected to cut Wil Nieves, whom they hope can clear waivers so that he can be sent to Triple-A Columbus…

Teams looking for middle infield help might be wise to give Indians GM Mark Shapiro a call about Brandon Phillips. At one time the franchise’s top prospect, Phillips proved a disappointment and found himself buried behind Ronnie Belliard and Jhonny Peralta on the organizational depth chart. Last weekend, the Indians designated Phillips for assignment, essentially dooming his future in the organization. While Phillips will never become the All-Star player that talent evaluators once predicted, he has speed and power and can play either second base or shortstop, making him attractive as a backup infielder. And even though Phillips has seemingly been a prospect for years now, he’s still only 24. For teams like the Cubs, Mets, or Cardinals—all of whom could use help at either second base or shortstop—he’d be worth a mid to low-level prospect in a trade.