The Octavio Dotel live-blog

From MLB Trade Rumors:

UPDATE: Word via the Kansas City Star is that the Royals will get Kyle Davies in the deal. The Teixeira trade needs to be finalized first though. Nice job by Dayton Moore. Apparently he preferred Davies over Wladimir Balentien.

Dear god yes, if this is true...

The authority that is Royals Authority predicts Dotel will be moving to the Dodgers for Major League-ready second baseman Tony Abreu. I'd be ecstatic if this were true. According to Clark Fosler -- and I think this is speculation on his part, but I'd trust him -- the Dodgers "seem" (his italics) to be willing to part with shortstop Chin-Lung Hu. You know how I feel about him -- my first choice.

Of course, now that Kyle Davies is in the discussion, all that changes.8:10 p.m. CT

Not quite Crunch Time, but this is when Dayton Moore earns both his money and validates the title of this blog. Folks commenting on the KC Star Dotel-for-Davies story seem to be discouraged about Davies's record -- 4-8 with a 5.76 ERA in 17 starts -- but this is where someone has to step in and give the "don't worry about the numbers, look at his potential" spiel. He's 23, which is very young, and probably got called up before he was completely ready in '05 (when the Braves desperately needed all their rookies to produce), ala Greinke in '03, and needs maybe a half-year of seasoning in the minors before he can take the place in a Major League rotation. He was known as a control pitcher early on, but he's had to tweak his delivery and is still trying to find his form. Once he gets it, he'll be a Brian Bannister type, but with better stuff.

Here's an excerpt from the KC Star story:

The holdup appears to be on the Braves’ end and concerns their ability to work out final details on a trade earlier in the day in which they acquired first baseman Mark Teixeira and reliever Ron Mahay from the Rangers for catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia, shortstop Elvis Andrus and two pitching prospects.

The non-waiver trading deadline is 3 p.m. Tuesday. The Royals continue to discuss trade possibilities with other club in case talks break down with the Braves.

The Dodgers, Indians and Mariners have strongly pursued Dotel, who entered Monday’s series opener against the Twins at 2-1 with a 3.91 ERA and 11 saves in 14 opportunities since returning May 22 from the disabled list.

[David DeJesus made a fantastic catch running wall-wards in center to rob Torii Hunter of an RBI-double.]
8:40 p.m. CT

I'm guessing Dayton Moore, sly fox he, is playing teams off one another, namely the Dodgers, Indians and Braves. Mostly the Dodgers and Braves, who will be competing for the same pennant.

A second update out of MLB Trade Rumors (link above) says "based on this MLB.com report and reports from Sports Radio 810, the deal is not complete and Davies for Dotel was simply an offer." No word on which end the offer came from. There doesn't seem to be any scoops in that MLB.com report, so for now, we'll be watching Bob Dutton and Ken Rosenthal, who's fast becoming as synonymous with trade rumors as Kurt Cobain is to grunge.
9 p.m. CT

Dayton Moore probably isn't watching tonight's game, which is too bad because Gil Meche -- to whom he will be inextricably linked for the foreseeable future -- has six strikeouts through seven crisp innings. Unfortunately, the Royals are down 2-1 in the top of the 8th against Scott Baker, who's tossing a two-hitter.

Trade talk grapevine dry for the moment. The Braves, before all is said and done, could be acquiring a power-hitting first baseman (Mark Teixeira), an effective reliever (Octavio Dotel) and a No. 4 starter (Bronson Arroyo). Of course, they're more or less mortgaging their future, especially since they're sending their top three prospects -- including catcher/1b Jarrod Saltalamacchia, who's not that much less productive than Teixeira, if the team would just give him his deserved playing time -- to Texas.
9:14 p.m. CT

Peter Gammons just reported on Baseball Tonight that Teixeira's physical is tomorrow, which might mean, if Dayton really wants Davies, that the Davies-Dotel deal won't be done tonight. That's a lot of D's.

14 hours, 37 minutes till trade deadline.
9:24 p.m. CT

DEVELOPMENTS! DEVELOPMENTS!

But first I'd like to point out that Peter Gammons was on his way to explaining Kyle Davies to a national TV audience when Karl Ravech interrupted him with the question, "Would Bob Wickman still be the closer?" Boooo.

MLB Trade Rumors:

ESPN's Buster Olney is reporting that the Dodgers and Yankees are still talking about swapping reliever Scott Proctor and infielder Wilson Betemit. Betemit would act as A-Rod insurance and could even help out at first base this year. Proctor might be the reliever the Dodgers are craving. Keep in mind, though, that the Dodgers still might be able to sneak in a last-minute offer for Octavio Dotel.

This is bad news. In my heart of hearts, I'm holding out for Chin-Lung Hu, or Tony Abreu, or any of three other Dodgers prospects. Now it's also reported that the Dodgers might be shopping some of their youngsters for Joe Blanton. Terrible.
Gotta sneak this in: The Minnesota Timberwolves have traded Kevin Garnett to the Boston Celtics for -- reportedly -- forward Al Jefferson, guard Sebastian Telfair, swingman Gerald Green, forward Ryan Gomes and center Theo Ratliff. Ray Allen, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett on the same team equals Eastern Conference championship. Of course, the window of time is minuscule.
10 p.m. CT

I like Kyle Davies. But can you blame any fan for looking at Wladimir Balentien's Triple A stats and not feel like Dayton's being a little shortsighted for passing up on him? The offer was there, according to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. One can't help but question whether Dayton's too enamored with what he knows -- Davies, from the Braves -- over what he doesn't. Seattle's fans seem to believe Balentien is the next coming of Manny Ramirez.

From U.S.S. Mariner:

Update: Octavio Dotel to Atlanta for Kyle Davies. Winner? The Mariners. Thank you, John Schuerholz, for saving us from ourselves.

That post has received 197 responses, and counting. Crazy.
11:22 p.m. CT

MLB Trade Rumors:

UPDATE 3: Mark Bowman of MLB.com says the teams are not close to finalizing a deal and John Schuerholz has yet to enter into serious negotiations.

Trust no one. From the MLB.com story:

While the Braves have made inquiries about Royals closer Octavio Dotel, an American League source said there is no validity to reports that have indicated the teams are close to finalizing a deal.

In fact, this high-ranking official said Braves general manager John Schuerholz won't be able to get into any serious trade talks until the deal to bring Texas' Mark Teixeira and Ron Mahay to Atlanta is finalized on the Rangers' end. It's expected to be completed on Tuesday after all necessary medical reviews are completed.

Nothing new there. Now's probably a good time to sign off for the night. In conclusion: Dotel may be traded to the Braves, who may or may not need him in 14 hours, or the Dodgers, who may or may not meet Dayton's asking price, or the Mariners, who have offered -- maybe -- or the Indians, who may or may not still matter. My money's on Balentien. I still prefer either Hu or Abreu. No clue whether any of them are even close to actually being on the table.

Probably should've done this earlier...

ru·mor (rōō'mər), n.: a story or statement in general circulation without confirmation or certainty as to facts; unverified information received from another; hearsay.
One more thing: I think Dodgers GM Ned Colletti is on the brink of getting fleeced by Billy Beane. Just a hunch. That is all.