I hope everyone is having a great holiday. Here in rumorville, there’s still some action, mostly the fallout of the Brandon McCarthy deal that shocked the baseball world. On the heels of this, I’m hearing from trusted sources that Texas is all but out on Barry Zito. They came over the top on the Mets, but weren’t able to make that stick. Those same sources are hearing that the Mets aren’t the shoo-in we all thought, but that Seattle and San Francisco have made credible pitches as well. Zito may actually prefer the San Francisco offer, though it is shorter than the others (4 years.)
Zito’s former teammate Mark Mulder is also popular, with Arizona, Cleveland, and, yes, Texas as rumored destinations. One published report had Mulder signing soon, but Mulder’s on his honeymoon in the South Pacific and, we hope, has other business at hand. He won’t sign anywhere until after the calendar flips.
With Jeff Suppan now a Brewer (and let me go on record as saying I don’t like how this sequence ended for the Brewers, who essentially traded Doug Davis for Jeff Suppan and Johnny Estrada and found themselves lighter in the wallet), teams will be getting more desperate for the remaining pitchers. If Zito makes a final decision in the next ten days, as expected, then the rest of the musical pitching chairs should fall into place quickly. There are also several trades in the works, including the long-rumored Randy Johnson to Arizona deal and one three-team deal that has three BIG names. I’m going to tease you with the last one because it’s close enough that reporting it just might jinx it.
0 comments have been left for this post.
