Winter Meetings: Tuesday Breakfast

Looks like the GMs laid off the hookers and booze last night out there in Vegas, because the rumours are flying again this morning.

For other teams, that is. The Jays still don't have much going on, apart from these few nuggets. Most of it, I must point out, via our friends at MLB Trade Rumors-- which you should be checking religiously.

Yahoo's Tim Brown is suggesting that the Rangers are quietly shopping Michael Young, but isn't sure if he's movable, considering his defence blows a little bit these days, his OPS+ has declined each of the last three years (96 in '08), and his gigantic contract extension kicks in next year. He actually suggests that the Jays are among teams with "the need and financial wherewithal to make it work."

Umm... yeah, so does this guy have his head up his ass, or is he actually on to something? I don't think the Jays would actually be willing to give up young pitching to get this shitbag-- as much as it might give a hard-on to the anti-Loaiza-trade crowd-- but what about the money? This is the second time Brown has suggested that the Jays could be bigger players than a lot of people think (he was the one on the Furcal story), and it goes against, say, Richard Griffin, whose article in this morning's Star takes the Jays' crying poor completely at face value. Maybe that's just doomsaying from Griff-- because we all know there has never been a bad thing about the Ricciardi era that he wouldn't run with-- and it wouldn't be entirely surprising if outside media knew more about the Jays than the local boys, but I'm probably going to have to go with Griffin on this one. No, really.

And more good work from Griffin (no, seriously) who ponders whether the reports yesterday about AJ Burnett calling his former Marlins teammate Carl Pavano to ask about his New York experience maybe had it backwards-- or at least only half-right. Perhaps Pavano was asking Burnett about the Jays...

Not a Jays rumour, but I have to post this because I've had both these guys in my keeper pool for years, so I've followed them fairly closely, and well... there's talk that the Royals are contemplating sending Zack Greinke to Atlanta for Jeff Francoeur, and I just cannot fathom that the Royals would be that unbelievably fucking stupid. This would make Rios for Lincecum look like a fair trade, if you ask me, and yes, I'm aware of what a ridiculous fleecing that would have been for the Jays.

Roch Kubatko-- the man who was fucking certain that Adam Loewen wouldn't leave Baltimore-- suggests that the Jays are one of several teams that have interest in Kris Benson. This is exactly the kind of guy we've thought the Jays would ultimately be looking at, and honestly, I'd totally take him on the cheap. No, he's not going to blow the balls off anybody, and he's coming off a season lost to injury, but there are plenty of reasons to like this idea. Benson was with the Orioles in '06 and posted a very average-ish 95 ERA+, going 11-12 in 183 innings with a 4.82 ERA and 1.40 WHIP. Certainly not spectacular, but he's generally been good for a lot of innings, and I'd definitely be more comfortable with him on the mound than Purcey, Romero or Richmond, for whatever that's worth. Plus: cheap.

Bob Elliott reports that the Cardinals are interested in Scott Downs. I touched on this yesterday, and didn't really think that the Cards were that interested in left-handed relief, so... I guess I don't get this. I know the Jays want to move some salary around, but Downs is just way too valuable, isn't he? I suppose it depends on what you get back, but I just don't see how the Jays could move a dominant setup man / potential desperately-needed rotation filler on a team-friendly contract. Then again... selling high on Downs might not be the worst idea in the world, either. And JP has been fairly clear (though I don't believe him) that they're set against trading the Beej.