Posts tagged NickAdenhart at FanHouse

With the trade deadline right around the corner, our MLB editor brings you the top five rumors every day until July 31.

- How much will it cost to pry Matt Holliday away from the Rockies? We might finally have an idea. Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times reports that the Angels have inquired about Holliday and Colorado's price started with pitcher Nick Adenhart, Los Angeles' top pitching prospect, and would likely include second baseman Howie Kendrick and either Ervin Santana or Joe Saunders.

Look, it's pretty clear that the Angels are going to coast to the AL West title. It's also become pretty clear over the past few seasons that they need another bat to get out of the divisional round of the playoffs. So it's easy to criticize the L.A. front office for not being aggressive enough in getting another big bopper. But that's an exorbitant price for any player, especially a nice one like Holliday, who happens to be pretty average away from the hitting paradise that is Coors Field. Adenhart and Saunders, in particular, are both a tad overrated, but a trade involving those two and Howie Kendrick would take away players contributing to the Angels right now. That's the definition of robbing Peter to pay Paul.

- As for the other big bat prominently mentioned in rumors, Mark Teixeira, the Braves appear more resolute to hold on to him and make a push in the NL East, despite the fact that the first baseman is likely to walk at the end of the season. Atlanta entered Sunday with the same run differential as the Mets, so perhaps there is reason for optimism. But there is also this: Atlanta is still 5 1/2 games behind New York in the standings and the rotation beyond Tim Hudson and Jair Jurrjens is in tatters. There is ground to cover and the Braves' best baseball might already be behind them. It might be time to swallow hard and become a seller.

Remember all the craze for Homer Bailey last year? It's weird because you rarely hear the hype on him anymore, and he's only 22. The Reds obviously think they tried to bring him aboard too early in his professional career last season, because they are running out the likes of Matt Belisle and Josh Fogg instead of letting Bailey take his lumps in the show. It makes sense, I mean, he had only 64 career minor league starts before this season.

So far this year he's been about the same command-wise as last year in the minors. In 66 2/3 innings he's struck out 54 and walked 29. The walks were the problem in the bigs last year, so the Reds would still like them to come down some more. His ERA (4.05) and WHIP (1.38) are far from impressive, either.

Verdict: I'd still stash him for help come mid-July on. He'll get things figured out soon and once the Reds realize they are out of race they'll start running out their future rotation. Rank him behind sure-things like Max Scherzer and ahead of injury risk gambles like Curt Schilling.

After the jump we'll check out a few others currently toiling in the minors.

Angels fans will get their first chance to see their team's top pitching prospect in action tonight, as Nick Adenhart will be making his Major League debut tonight against the Oakland Athletics. With Dustin Moseley being moved back to the bullpen, the Angels decided to bring Adenhart up and give him a taste for what they hope is three starts as they wait for John Lackey to get back from his current rehab assignment in the minors.

So far this season in Triple-A Salt Lake, Adenhart has made five starts, and is 4-0 with a 0.87 ERA. I've never seen Adenhart pitch, personally, but looking at his numbers down in Salt Lake, it does appear he's been having some trouble with his command. While he's managed to strike out 19 batters in 31 innings, he's also walked 15 others. The good news is that in those 31 innings, Nick has only allowed 18 hits and hasn't given up a home run.

Still, things are quite different once you make The Show. I know from personal experience, as it feels like only a few weeks ago I got the call up from Charlotte to join the Chicago White Sox while playing MLB 08: The Show. I called all my family and friends and invited them to watch me make my debut against the Kansas City Royals that day (they declined).

I only managed to stay in the bigs for a few weeks before Jermaine Dye returned from the disabled list, but those memories will no doubt last me for a lifetime. Surely, Nick will cherish the moments and memories from later tonight as well.

When last we left the Angels they were polishing off a giant novelty check for Torii Hunter. Spending $90 million on a centerfielder 12 months after overpaying for another centerfielder might seem like a lot for one offseason but it appears they may be making another big splash in the not too distant future. Their long-rumored discussions with the Marlins about Miguel Cabrera seem to be heating up.

The Angels, according to baseball sources, are willing to part with just about any player who has been mentioned in trade rumors -- second baseman Howie Kendrick, catcher Jeff Mathis, pitchers Ervin Santana, Joe Saunders or Nick Adenhart, outfielder Reggie Willits and perhaps top infield prospect Brandon Wood.

Adenhart, Kendrick and Wood are probably the most attractive of that group to the Marlins. The Angels don't want to include more than one of them in a deal, though, and the teams are trying to sort out how to make a trade work. I don't really get why the Angels would spend $90 million on Hunter, though, and then balk at trading,say, Adenhart and Kendrick.

Hunter's a fine player but probably not a $19 million a year one and, since he's 31, it's win-now time in Southern California. As good as Adenhart or Kendrick might be ,it's still a might while Cabrera would vault them to the top of the American League heap right now. Take those two, the superfluous Willits and Saunders or Santana and you have a deal that makes sense on both sides.

Major League Mongering will look at players rumored to be on the move between now and the July 31st pseudo-trade-deadline.

In what's been a pretty quiet trade market so far this season without any big name players switching jerseys, a lot of the focus has been on Mark Teixeira of the Texas Rangers. The first baseman is easily the best player available to any contending team who's interested, thanks to his big bat and gold glove defense. It's basically a given that Teixeira will get traded, but to whom?

The two teams who are competing against each other for Tex's services are the Braves and Angels. With a new movement by teams around the league to do everything possible to keep their top prospects, you would think that Jon Daniels would've jumped at the Braves offer. Jarrodd Saltalamacchia, Elvis Andrus, and the Braves best lefthanded prospect in Matt Harrison for Teixeira. That's three top notch prospects for one player. Considering the Rangers are entering a rebuilding process, that's exactly the kind of deal they'd have to be looking for.

The sticking point is that the Angels just won't go away. General Manager Bill Stoneman has told Daniels that he'd package Casey Kotchman, Joe Saunders and a prospect for Texeira, just as long as that prospect isn't Brandon Wood or Nick Adenhart. Daniels, of course, is telling Stoneman he wants either Wood or Adenhart in the deal.