The Friday Night Rumor Mill

With 11 days to go before the annual trading deadlines, there are plenty of rumors to go around, but some scouts believe few trades will be made because of an industry-wide reluctance to part with prospects. That feeling, combined with the ridiculous asking prices attached to mediocre relievers, makes me wonder whether we’ll see much of substance take place between now and July 31… Still there are rumors…

It’s no secret that the Padres need hitting; it’s just a question of which position the Pods concentrate on in trying to bolster their lineup. They could use an offensive upgrade at second base, third base, or across the outfield. Dissatisfaction with the play of Marcus Giles at second base has resulted in some trade talk with the Astros regarding Mark Loretta. Another player who might interest the Padres is Wily Mo Pena, but the Red Sox are almost certain to ask for one of San Diego’s prized middle relievers. Two other hitters that could help San Diego are Baltimore’s Kevin Millar and Chicago’s Jermaine Dye…

The Dodgers could have Scott Proctor from the Yankees for Wilson Betemit today, but LA seems to prefer other relief pitchers, in particular Octavio Dotel. The Yankees really like Betemit—to the point that they’re willing to part with their most durable reliever of the past two years—but don’t want to part with prospects in return. Like the Dodgers, the Yankees also have interest in Dotel, who actually pitched for New York last season. It makes you wonder why the Yankees didn’t make more of an effort to re-sign Dotel last winter when he became a free agent… There’s absolutely no truth to the discussion that the Dodgers will give up James Loney for Dotel; the Dodgers have no intention of parting with either Loney or Matt Kemp for a journeyman reliever like Dotel. If a deal for Dotel gets done, it would have to involve a lesser package of young players, perhaps even centered on Betemit. The switch-hitting and versatile Betemit, who is still only 26, could play at first, second, or shortstop for the ever-rebuilding Royals…

The Dodgers and Yankees are just two of many teams making a play for Dotel. Other interested parties include the Red Sox, Indians, Tigers, Cubs, Brewers, and possibly the Mets. With a plethora of teams showing desire for Dotel, Royals GM Dayton Moore should be able to extract a fairly good package for the righty reliever. He just needs to stop asking for super young talents like Loney and Kemp, which is simply ridiculous…

While most of the current focus is on big name players in possible trades, the Mets very quietly made a solid move over the last week, signing former Dodger outfielder Marlon Anderson to a minor league contract before bringing him back to the major leagues. The versatile Anderson can play either second base or the outfield, has a good track record as a pinch-hitter, and won’t complain about not playing every day. With so many pennant-contending teams needing bench strength (the Tigers, Yankees, Braves, and Phillies come to mind), the Mets did well in bringing Anderson back into their fold.