The Friday Night Rumor Mill

Here’s the bottom line on the Yankees’ quest to add Miguel Cabrera to the middle of their batting order. If they are willing to give up a package that features Ian Kennedy, Melky Cabrera, and Jose Tabata, they have a good chance of landing Alex Rodriguez’ replacement. If Brian Cashman maintains his refusal to part with Kennedy, then Cabrera will likely land with the Dodgers (who can offer Andy LaRoche, Matt Kemp, and pitcher Clayton Kershaw) or the Angels (who might part with Brandon Wood and pitcher Nick Adenhart, plus possibly one other player). One report indicated that the Marlins would demand that Howie Kendrick be included, but the Angels almost certainly won’t part with him. Possible destinations aside, expect the Marlins to trade Cabrera between now and the end of the winter meetings in December; they are absolutely committed to moving him before he becomes expensive (and even heavier)…
While Cabrera remains their top choice, the Yankees have made Miguel Tejada their backup plan. First off, they believe he can make the switch from shortstop to third base (he has the hands and the arm for the hot corner) and second, they believe that Baltimore’s asking price will be reasonable. Would you do a deal of Melky Cabrera and Kyle Farnsworth for Tejada? That’s one for the Yankees and Orioles to stew over…

One outgrowth of the Mets’ alleged interest in Alex Rodriguez is a rather wild rumor that has Jose Reyes going to the Twins as part of a package for Johan Santana. The rumor makes sense on some fronts: the Twins need offense, while Reyes would be well suited to playing on the artificial turf of the Metrodome. On the other hand, the Twins haven’t yet decided whether they will seriously entertain trade talks for their franchise pitcher. And I still have my doubts as to whether Omar Minaya has legitimate interest in signing A-Rod to begin with… I don’t believe the Mets are serious about moving David Wright to second base—which would allegedly happen if A-Rod came to Queens. At some point, the Mets will have to realistically tackle their second base dilemma. They have interest in re-signing Luis Castillo, but will face stiff bidding from the Astros, who need to replace the retired Craig Biggio… Other than Castillo and Kazuo Matsui, there isn’t much on the free agent market in terms of frontline second baseball. And we know the Mets won’t be revisiting Matsui, even after his successful rebirth in Colorado… On the trade front, the Mets covet Orlando Hudson, but it’s doubtful that the D-Backs would part with a player who means so much to their defensive scheme and their upbeat clubhouse attitude…

Any team that gives Andruw Jones a $100 million deal after his disastrous final season in Atlanta is flat-out bonkers, but there will still be active bidding for the onetime star. The Nationals have already expressed interest, but could soon be joined by the White Sox and the Rangers. The Sox have already shown their desire for Torii Hunter and Aaron Rowand, while the Rangers like Hunter better than any other free agent. Of the three, Hunter will probably command the largest contract on the open market; Rowand will likely have to settle for the smallest…

Finally, just one more reminder that I’ll be speaking at the Museum of the City of New York on Saturday, November 10 (hey, that’s tomorrow!) as part of a panel on Latinos in baseball. The 2:00 p.m. program will include former Yankees and Indians outfielder Rusty Torres.