Rolen Trade, Latest: Glaus/Rolen swap (reply #795)

[ELCABALLO45]

Ken Rosenthal reports that the Cards really don't want to trade within the divison...

[AJAY]

Just to add to the previous post, Rosenthal also suspects Rolen would love to come here. . .

 

 

The Brewers and Cardinals met Monday to discuss Scott Rolen and expect to meet again Tuesday. However, the Cardinals are reluctant to trade Rolen to a division rival, according to major-league sources.

 

The Cardinals still figure to move Rolen, whose relationship with manager Tony La Russa has become untenable. If no deal with the Brewers is possible, Rolen could be sent to one of the teams that loses out on Marlins third baseman Miguel Cabrera.

 

The Brewers, though, might be Rolen's first choice, and his no-trade clause gives him the right to veto any deal. Rolen, a native of Jasper, Ind., likely would prefer to remain in the Midwest. He also is close with Brewers pitcher Jeff Suppan, his former teammate with the Cardinals.

 

Rolen is owed $33 million on the final three years of his contract, and injuries have limited him to fewer than 115 games in two of the past three years. The Cardinals almost certainly will need to contribute cash to the deal, particularly if they want better players in return. Left-hander Chris Capuano likely is one of the Cardinals' targets.

[jwill535]

Ken Rosenthal reports that the Cards really don't want to trade within the divison...

well i am not a baseball insider and i could have come up with that.

 

[fondybrewfan]

Well Rolen should be nice to Brewer fans and say that he would veto any trade to every team except the Brewers. That would make Doug's job much easier, because you get the sense that their is no way Rolen is on the Cards next year.

[splitterpfj]

The two other teams that have been mentioned are the Rangers and Giants. Rolen wants to be in the midwest, Rolen is friends with Suppan, Rolen will be paid the same wherever he is, neither the Giants or Rangers will contend next season, at least.

 

Rolen has a full no-trade clause.

 

That's good math.

[splitterpfj]

12:43 a.m., from Steve Phillips

• Jose Guillen is close to signing with the Royals for three years and $36 million.

 

OK, that's basically what Rolen is due over the next three years. Guillen has had a boatload of injuries, and has been dumped for character issues multiple times. Looking at the market, if the doctors say they'd bet on Rolen, I don't think money should be a huge sticking point here.

[Fear The Chorizo]

Jose Guillen was also mentioned in the HGH/PED stuff, which makes his recent injury-riddled years (after the testing program was started) all the more interesting. Giving 12 million a year for a player who probably had inflated stats due to PEDs and who suddenly can't stay on the field may not be the smartest move.

[jwill535]

Jose Guillen was also mentioned in the HGH/PED stuff, which makes his recent injury-riddled years (after the testing program was started) all the more interesting. Giving 12 million a year for a player who probably had inflated stats due to PEDs and who suddenly can't stay on the field may not be the smartest move.

Which shocks me that its the Royals and not the Mariners signing him.

 

[jjfanec]

AJAY wrote:

From Rosenthal

Rolen is owed $33 million on the final three years of his contract, and injuries have limited him to fewer than 115 games in two of the past three years. The Cardinals almost certainly will need to contribute cash to the deal, particularly if they want better players in return. Left-hander Chris Capuano likely is one of the Cardinals' targets.

I thought it was 36 million. Did Rosenthal just mess up there?

 

[mrwisconsin]

Jsonline is reporting that the Brewers now have access to Rolen's medical records.

[fondybrewfan]

Jsonline is reporting that the Brewers now have access to Rolen's medical records.

That might mean they have a deal in place pending physical and the obvious review of medial records

This all but guarantees I will be checking this site every 30 seconds or so at work today, to make sure I dont miss the very second that the trade happens. If it doesnt I will very disappointed probably

[fondybrewfan]

Just read the blog post. ANy team that is interested would have access to his medical records. TH also says Rolen would like to stay in the midwest and is good friends with Jeff Suppan. This could perhaps mean he would veto a deal to Texas or SF, two other interested parties.

[chinabob99]

FYI, the St. Louis Post's Cardinals beat reporter Joe Strauss is doing a live chat at 1 today. He has been all over the Rolen stuff, so one imagines there will be some interesting tidbits in there.

[RyDogg66]

1. I just read a few blog entries at a Cardinals blog, and even their fans wonder why we dont move Hall the 3b and Braun to LF while keeping Cappy or using him to get another piece (Gary Matthews, Jr?)

 

2. If Bill Hall is included in this, or any deal, I am going to be livid. Im excited about the prospect of adding Rolen (for Capuano) but his injury history does worry me a little bit, and I think Hall is fantastic.

[TooLiveBrew]

I don't want Hall as any part of this deal. If it takes more than Capuano & Mench, et al, keep lookin'.

[Patrick425]

The more I look at this, the more I wonder if it's such a good idea.

 

Rolen is one of my favorite players and I was pretty geeked when I heard that there was a possibility of the Brewers trading for him. However, after I looked at things a little closer, I'm really concerned about his shoulder issues. I know it's in his left shoulder and should not effect his fielding (God knows the Brewers need some better fielding), but I'm wondering if Rolen will ever be able to hit more than 15 HRs or drive in more than 80 runs with his bad shoulder. Didn't they just let a guy go that was making $3 or $4 mil less than Rolen and put up similar offensive number...and was a pretty good defensive player?? I know, not a 3B man, but putting Braun in the OF is not going to help the defensive situation out there.

 

Also, depending on how much StL is willing to kick in, can the Brewers afford to be strapped with a weak hitting 3B man who gets $12 mil/year? How does this effect contract extensions for Fielder, Week, Hart, Hardy, etc in years to come?

 

I'm not saying it would be totally stupid move by Melvin, but I'm not giddy about it.

[TooLiveBrew]

I'm wondering if Rolen will ever be able to hit more than 15 HRs or drive in more than 80 runs with his bad shoulder.

 

While I won't begrudge you being concerned with his power in the future, RBI really don't have anything to do with any past or future injury. I think 15 HR is a good starting point from what to expect from Rolen, just bc imho it's a good low-end expectation.

[BW23]

On Rolen's shoulder....the two main surgeries he had on it were done in 05. Look at his numbers in 06. They're pretty darn good overall, especially considering the dropoff in September. To me, it seems like the problems he had in 07 were due to him not continuing to rehab the shoulder the correct way and things getting tight in there. I'm not an expert by any means, but it almost sounded like if he had stretched it and kept it loose the correct way, it wouldn't have gotten the way it did. But I'm probably way off on that. And as bad as he was last year, I was pleasantly surprised that the injury didn't affect his defense...and neither did the psychological side of his struggles affect the defense.

 

As a Cards fan, I hate to lose him as I think he'll put up 25 HRs, an OPS .800-.850 and great defense for the remaining three years. I also hate to lose him for someone like Capuano. Not that he couldn't help initially, but the Cards need more of a frontline starter. In a trade for Rolen, I'd rather see young kids brought back to StL. But it looks like Mozieliak thinks differently.

[Brian the Automator]

I'm not sure if this was brought up already, but there were rumors of a Blalock for Rolen & Duncan swap (to even out salary). It would be interesting to see if the Brewers could land Duncan in the deal somehow, giving them a Braun-Hart-Duncan outfield, using Hall to land a quality reliever(s) or catching help.

[trwi7]

I'm not sure if this was brought up already, but there were rumors of a Blalock for Rolen & Duncan swap (to even out salary). It would be interesting to see if the Brewers could land Duncan in the deal somehow, giving them a Braun-Hart-Duncan outfield, using Hall to land a quality reliever(s) or catching help.

 

That was shot down last night. I don't think they would trade Duncan, what would their offense look like after that? Pujols and that's basically it until Rasmus is ready.

[MJLiverock]

If Rolen could put up a .280/.350/.450 line while playing well above average defense at third for $12MM a year that starts looking pretty attractive. Those numbers are still below his career averages accounting for age and coming off surgery but better than what most potential LF's the Brewers could sign. Moving Braun to LF would make two outfielders working on new positions but both Hall and Braun appear to be excellent athletes who should be able to surpass the likes of Brady Clark and Carlos Lee for defensive abilities. If some of the pitching woes are attributable to poor defense an upgrade of Braun to Rolen at third should help the pitching staff as well. Rolen might also make a good fit on the team being a veteran who has been through the grind and the playoffs as well. If it takes Capuano & Mench or Gamel or some mix I say go for it.

[Ralph Wiggum]

I would think that a package of Capuano, Bush/Vargas, Mench and maybe Gamel or Heether could land Duncan, Rolen and maybe Reyes. That would be an interesting swap. I know Reyes sucked last year, but he's got great stuff, and would be a nice long relief/reclaimation project.

[Patrick425]

I'm not trying to be too pessimistic, just maybe cautiously optimistic. My 15 HR number doesn't just come from his shoulder problems, but he's also getting older. I'm just wondering if he's going to put up much better numbers than Jenkins did at a more expensive price and longer risk.

I brought this up before. Not sure how many people remember the old Brewers web site and message board (before the official MLB site was started several years ago). It had a brown color to it. Anyways, I remember how giddy people were about Hammonds. Pretty much everyone on the board thought it was an awsome aquisition (I'm not kidding). I'm not saying that Rolen has nearly the health history that Hammonds had at the time, but if we are willing to chance having a $12mil/year aging 3B with a small history of shoulder issues, why are we so eager to trade away an #1 P with an injury history? I think everyone is willing to forgive injuries until the player is actually on the team. Then he gets injured and we are eating his contract and everyone is saying "Why did we sign this guy??"

[TooLiveBrew]

I'm not trying to be too pessimistic, just maybe cautiously optimistic.

This is the manner in which I try to evaluate/guesstimate. You don't get disappointed much this way.

 

The Jenks comp is interesting, Patrick. I don't really have time to dig into that more, but I'd guess Rolen should be reasonably expected to exceed Geoff's production.

[And That]

The defensive improvement from Braun to Rolen is so significant that Scott could hit .340/.410 and still upgrade the club quite a bit. And given the Brewers' OBP needs, I could almost (almost) care less about how much he slugs, as long as the OBP stays in the .340+ range.