MLB Trade Rumors

Dodgers Acquire Darwin Barney

By Steve Adams [July 28, 2014 at 1:36pm CDT]

The Dodgers have acquired second baseman Darwin Barney from the Cubs, tweets Chris Cotillo of MLB Daily Dish. Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune was the first to report that the two sides were close to a deal. (on Twitter). Barney was designated for assignment last week, though Cotillo noted earlier today that the defensive specialist was garnering trade interest.

The 28-year-old Barney hit just .230/.265/.328 in 217 plate appearances with the Cubs this season, but his bat has never been his calling card. Barney consistently rates as one of the best defensive second baseman in the Major Leagues, and this year was no different. His Ultimate Zone Rating per 150 games was +15.5, while Defensive Runs Saved pegged him at +7 runs in limited time. Per DRS, Barney has saved 46 runs over the past three seasons.

Dee Gordon has established himself as Los Angeles’ everyday second baseman this season, so it doesn’t seem likely that Barney will be seeing everyday at-bats with the Dodgers. However, his glove makes him a nice bench piece that the team can use to improve its defense late in games. Barney was drafted as a shortstop and spent more time at short than at the keystone in his minor league career. Despite a lack of experience at the position in recent years, Barney could be used as a replacement if the team wants to either replace the defensively challenged Hanley Ramirez or shift him over to third base late in games.

Barney is earning just $2.3MM this season and is controllable through 2016 as an arbitration eligible player. His bat makes him a non-tender candidate in the offseason, but he will only cost the Dodgers about $804K from here through season’s end.

Dodgers Nearing Trade For Darwin Barney

By Steve Adams [July 28, 2014 at 1:31pm CDT]

The Dodgers and Cubs are nearing a trade that will send Darwin Barney to Los Angeles, reports Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune (on Twitter). Barney was designated for assignment last week, though he was been said to be garnering trade interest earlier this afternoon.

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By Tim Dierkes [July 28, 2014 at 1:12pm CDT]

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Cubs Notes: Prospects, Price, Arrieta, Barney

By Mark Polishuk [July 28, 2014 at 12:57pm CDT]

The Cubs scored a league-best eight players within MLB.com’s midseason list of the top 100 prospects in baseball, and also topped the league in terms of the “prospect points” ranking system. Kris Bryant (fourth), Javier Baez (sixth) and Addison Russell (seventh) were the highest-rated young Cubs on the list.

Here’s some more news out of Wrigleyville…

Rumors linking the Cubs to David Price don’t make much sense, ESPN’s Buster Olney opines (Twitter links). While the Cubs have the prospect depth the Rays are looking for in a Price deal, Olney wonders why Chicago would give away top minor league talent when they could just sign a top free agent arm like Jon Lester this winter if they wanted to add an ace.
Olney figures the Cubs would only make a move for him if the Rays’ asking price severely dropped and if Chicago was allowed to negotiate an extension before making the trade, as the Cubs aren’t going to be contenders before Price’s contract expires at the end of the 2015 season.
“We called Theo [Epstein] and asked about Jake Arrieta and we were told they will NOT move him. Period,” an NL scout tells David Kaplan of CSN Chicago (Twitter link). There were rumors last month that the Cubs were gauging the market for Arrieta, yet it’s no surprise he could be untouchable given his excellent performance this year. The right-hander has a 2.18 ERA and 9.8 K/9 over 91 innings and is controlled through the 2017 season.
The Cubs have received trade interest in second baseman Darwin Barney and expect to move him before Thursday’s DFA deadline, Chris Cotillo of MLB Daily Dish tweets. Barney was designated for assignment by Chicago on July 22.
Neither the Cubs or the Diamondbacks will trade from their surplus of young infielders this summer, as both teams prefer to use that depth to look for pitching in the offseason, Metsblog.com’s Matthew Cerrone reports.

Sherman On Papelbon, Duda, Mariners

By Mark Polishuk [July 28, 2014 at 12:24pm CDT]

Here’s the latest hot stove news from four pieces by Joel Sherman of the New York Post…

Jonathan Papelbon has told the Phillies that he won’t waive his no-trade clause to go to a team that will use him as anything less than a full-time closer. Between the lack of teams looking for closing help and Papelbon’s large remaining salary, this is yet another obstacle that would hamper the Phils’ ability to trade their stopper, though they’re reportedly willing to eat at least some of Papelbon’s salary in a trade.
The Rays were one of several teams who tried to obtain Lucas Duda from the Mets over the years, yet the Mets held onto the young slugger and are reaping the benefits of Duda’s breakout season. Playing largely against right-handed pitching, Duda has 18 homers and a .259/.356/.500 slash line over 365 PA.
The Mets and Yankees both sorely need to add some power, Sherman opines.
The Rays had talent evaluators specifically watching Mariners right-hander Taijuan Walker‘s start against the Mets last week.
The Mariners have been linked to David Price, though one scout doesn’t know why Seattle is looking to add pitching and not hitting. “Their rotation can do damage in the playoffs, but I don’t know if that offense can get to the playoffs,” the scout told Sherman. “If you are going to trade a prospect as good as Walker, don’t you have to get the bat you so desperately need?” Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik, however, says it’s all about the caliber of talent available to be added to a team. “If you consider David Price a [grade] A and the only thing available to you as a hitter is a C-plus hitter, you are better off with the A pitcher. It really all depends what opportunity presents itself. What are you giving up to what are you getting back?“, Zduriencik says.
Speaking of Price, the Rays‘ recent hot streak has convinced one rival executive that the club will hold onto its star left-hander though the deadline. Tampa can always re-open trade talks about Price in the offseason and in the meantime keep their ace and keep gunning for the top of the weakened AL East, the executive tells Sherman.

Phillies Release Tony Gwynn Jr.

By Mark Polishuk [July 28, 2014 at 11:34am CDT]

The Phillies have released outfielder Tony Gwynn Jr., the club announced. Gwynn had been designated for assignment last week.

The 31-year-old outfielder hit .163/.281/.204 in 119 PA this season and saw time at all three outfield spots. Gwynn signed a minor league deal with the Phillies this past offseason after spending the previous three seasons in the Dodgers’ organization. Gwynn’s father and namesake, Hall-of-Famer Tony Sr., passed away in June.

Eight players remain in ‘DFA limbo’ according to MLBTR’s DFA Tracker: Darwin Barney (Cubs), Matt Guerrier (Twins), Jim Johnson (A’s), George Kottaras (Cardinals), Juan Carlos Oviedo (Rays), Esmil Rogers (Blue Jays), Jose De Paula and Nick Noonan (both Giants).

Blue Jays Notes: Prospects, Asdrubal, Headley

By Mark Polishuk [July 28, 2014 at 11:21am CDT]

After going into the All-Star break on a 2-8 slide, the Blue Jays have righted the ship by winning seven of 10 games since the Midsummer Classic. This hot streak has gotten the Jays back into the postseason picture, as they currently hold a one-game lead over the Yankees for the second AL wild card slot. Here’s the latest hot stove buzz out of Toronto…

The Phillies specifically scouted a recent rehab start by Jays southpaw prospect Sean Nolin, Rogers Sportnet’s Shi Davidi reports. Nolin was rated as the 97th-best prospect in the sport by Baseball America prior to the 2013 season, and he owns a 3.12 ERA, 7.5 K/9 and 1.62 K/BB rate over 13 Triple-A starts.
Also from Davidi’s piece, the Rangers are one of a few clubs who have been sending more scouts to watch the Jays’ short-season Class A team in Vancouver. Righty Miguel Castro, left-hander Jairo Labourt and shortstop Franklin Barreto appear to be drawing the bulk of the scouts’ interest.
Indians shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera is “an option” for the Jays, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal reports (Twitter link). Cabrera would presumably be a candidate at second base for Toronto since Jose Reyes is locked into the shortstop job; Cabrera saw lots of action at the keystone over the first three years of his career but hasn’t seen any action at 2B since 2009. He is a free agent this winter and is thought to be an expendable piece for the Tribe since top prospect Francisco Lindor is on the way.
The Padres were willing to pay all of the $4MM that was owed to Chase Headley for the rest of the 2014 season as part of a proposed deal that would’ve sent the third baseman to Toronto, Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun reports. An executive familiar with the negotiations between the Padres and Jays tells Elliott that San Diego was asking for Juan Francisco and two “not big-time prospects” in return. Francisco (.242/.313/.529 with 16 homers in 249 PA) is having a much better season than Headley (.238/.300/.371 with eight homers in 330 PA) and comes with three years of control while Headley is a free agent after this season, though Headley has obviously been the more high-profile player in recent years. San Diego ended up dealing Headley to the Yankees for Yangervis Solarte, Rafael De Paula and all but $1MM of Headley’s remaining salary.
The Blue Jays were one of 28 teams at the Rusney Castillo showcase on Saturday, Shi Davidi tweets, with the Jays sending “multiple people” to check out the Cuban outfielder.

Padres Could Trade Chris Denorfia “Soon”

By Mark Polishuk [July 28, 2014 at 11:04am CDT]

The Padres have received a lot of interest in outfielder Chris Denorfia and a trade is likely to happen “sooner rather than later,” sources tell Chris Cotillo of MLB Daily Dish. The Giants, Mariners and Blue Jays are all interested, and the Royals have also talked to the Padres about a possible move, and could get in on Denorfia if they can’t acquire Alex Rios or Marlon Byrd.

San Francisco and Seattle are new names connected to the Denorfia sweepstakes, and like the Jays and Royals, both teams would be helped by a right-handed hitting outfield bat. Denorfia could form a platoon with Gregor Blanco in center for the Giants, as Angel Pagan‘s injury status is still up in the air, or Denorfia could potentially platoon in left field with Tyler Colvin with Michael Morse seeing more time at first (if Brandon Belt‘s concussion continues to linger). The Mariners have also been linked to Byrd, though since the M’s are one of the four teams on Byrd’s no-trade list, Denorfia could be easier to obtain.

Denorfia is a free agent this winter, and the 34-year-old hasn’t helped his value by hitting only .244/.295/.321 over 266 PA this season. That total includes a .644 OPS against left-handed pitching, though Denorfia has an .810 career OPS against southpaws.

Red Sox Notes: Lester, Dodgers, Miller

By Mark Polishuk [July 28, 2014 at 10:25am CDT]

“There’s a growing expectation from rival execs that Jon Lester is going to be traded before [the July] deadline,” ESPN’s Buster Olney reports (Twitter link), and the Dodgers are seen as the likeliest candidate to add the Red Sox left-hander. Los Angeles has shown interest in Lester, though there were conflicting reports yesterday about whether the two sides had actually seriously discussed a trade.

Here’s some more news surrounding the defending World Series champs…

The Royals, Dodgers and Nationals are the latest known suitors for reliever Andrew Miller, according to ESPN Boston’s Gordon Edes and Peter Gammons of GammonsDaily.com. (Edes reported the Royals’ interest while Gammons reported on the two NL teams.) Boston is known to be shopping Miller, with the Braves and Pirates also amongst the clubs checking in on the lefty. Miller has posted an outstanding 2.45 ERA, 14.5 K/9 and 5.0 K/BB ratio over 40 1/3 relief innings for the Sox this season.
Also from Gammons, several other teams were interested in Edwin Escobar and Heath Hembree, the two ex-Giants prospects obtained by the Red Sox in the Jake Peavy trade. Two different rival executives told Gammons they tried to get Hembree as a future set-up man, while Escobar’s stock was higher before he began his tough season at Triple-A.
In a piece full of notes and observations about the Red Sox, Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe is baffled that Lester and the Sox seemed so mutually interested in a contract extension yet now Lester could be a trade candidate. “Why the Sox seem almost eager to chase away one of their cornerstone players is a mystery,” Abraham writes, predicting that if Lester hits the open market, he’ll sign elsewhere since another teams will spend big for the southpaw.
Also from Abraham, he opines that the Red Sox should extend Miller rather than trade him, stay away from Matt Kemp in any trade talks with the Dodgers and release struggling reliever Edward Mujica.

David Price Rumors: Monday

By Mark Polishuk [July 28, 2014 at 9:42am CDT]

Here’s the latest on Rays ace David Price…

The Brewers are one of the teams who have asked about Price, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal reports. A source tells Rosenthal that the Crew just put their “foot in the water” of the Price sweepstakes, so it remains to be seen if Milwaukee was making a due diligence move or if they have a deeper interest. As Rosenthal notes, the Brewers would be “a long shot” to end up with Price given the relative lack of depth in their farm system (especially compared to the Cardinals and other teams connected to Price) and their ability to afford Price’s possible $20MM salary through arbitration in 2015.
Rosenthal noted that some in the industry expect the Cubs to make an attempt to land Price. A Cubs executive tells USA Today’s Bob Nightengale (Twitter link), however, that Chicago has “zero interest” in acquiring Price now since the team prefers to hang onto its highly-regarded prospects.
In an appearance on FOX Sports Live (video link), Jon Morosi still feels that Price will be traded before Thursday’s deadline and the southpaw won’t make his scheduled start on Wednesday afternoon. This said, Morosi noted that it is still very unclear whether Tampa will decide to trade their ace.

Cafardo On Phillies, Iglesias, Prado, Red Sox

By Mark Polishuk [July 28, 2014 at 7:50am CDT]

The Phillies have a number of major trade chips on their roster, but the perception around baseball is that they’re asking for too much in return, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe writes in his weekly notes column. Cafardo recently wrote that Philadelphia wanted three prospects in exchange for Cole Hamels, only to be told by a Phillies official that three was “too conservative” a number. The Phillies, for their part, say they’re simply looking for “a fair deal” for any of their veteran stars. Here’s some more from Cafardo’s latest piece…

The Tigers are so impressed with Eugenio Suarez‘s play that they could look to trade Jose Iglesias, according to some scouts. It would definitely be a sell-low move on Iglesias, who seemed to be Detroit’s shortstop of the future before stress fractures in his shins cost him the entire 2014 season.
The Red Sox were one of a few teams considering a move for Martin Prado, whose positional versatility and good clubhouse reputation would make a strong trade candidate, though the Diamondbacks have little desire to move him. The Blue Jays were another team known to be scouting Prado.
The Red Sox are facing a 40-man roster crunch with several notable prospects in the offseason, and Cafardo wonders if the club could package some of these youngsters in a trade rather than risk losing them in the Rule 5 draft.
One AL scout disagrees with the general belief that the Yankees lack the minor league depth to move any prospects at the deadline. “They have more in their farm system than people think. They have some arms, they have the Aaron Judge kid, [Luis] Severino, [Gary] Sanchez, [Peter] O’Brien, [Eric] Jagielo. If they wanted to make a deal, they have enough to give up,” the scout said.

NL West Notes: Zobrist, Giants, Ziegler, Tulo

By Mark Polishuk [July 28, 2014 at 2:05am CDT]

Jason Lane‘s improbable comeback story will add another chapter today when the outfielder-turned-pitcher will receive his first Major League start, getting a spot appearance in place of Padres ace Ian Kennedy (who’s battling a sore oblique). Lane began making regular mound appearances in 2012 in the minors in an attempt to revive his career, and the decision paid off earlier this season when he was called up by San Diego and threw 4 1/3 scoreless relief innings. That cup of coffee marked Lane’s first big league action since playing as an outfielder with the Astros and Padres from 2002-07. At age 37, Lane will be the oldest first-time starter since 38-year-old Troy Percival started a game for St. Louis in 2007.

Here’s some hot stove buzz from around the NL West…

Despite already trading two of their better prospects in the Jake Peavy deal, the Giants have maintained an interest in Ben Zobrist and had two scouts watching the Rays this weekend, FOX Sports’ Jon Paul Morosi reports (Twitter links). San Francisco is one of “multiple teams” who are “ready to act” if Tampa indeed makes Zobrist available, sources tell Morosi and Ken Rosenthal.
Multiple teams have shown interest in Diamondbacks right-hander Brad Ziegler, MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert reports, though the Snakes aren’t likely to move him. Earlier this month, we heard the Tigers were known to be one of the clubs who asked about Ziegler. Gilbert’s piece also summarizes some of the trade rumors circulating about what Arizona may do at the deadline.
Troy Tulowitzki would welcome a trade to the Red Sox, Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe hears from a source (Twitter link). Given Tulowitzki’s controversial appearance in the stands at Sunday’s Blue Jays/Yankees game, expect more trade buzz than ever about the Rockies‘ star shortstop both over the next several weeks and through the offseason.
Dodgers GM Ned Colletti said over the weekend that his club “may not do anything” at the trade deadline, and Mark Saxon of ESPN Los Angeles thinks this might not necessarily be a concern given how the current roster performed in sweeping the Giants.

NL East Notes: Howard, Colon, Mets

By Charlie Wilmoth [July 27, 2014 at 10:27pm CDT]

Ryne Sandberg’s handling of Ryan Howard is becoming a key to the early portion of Sandberg’s tenure with the Phillies, Matt Gelb of the Inquirer writes. “I do think it’s important to have players who fit my type of players,” Sandberg said last week. “That’s important going forward. I think getting younger will be a step going forward.” It’s becoming clear that Howard, who Sandberg has repeatedly (and arguably with ample justification) benched, is not Sandberg’s type of player. Gelb notes that Sandberg’s years managing in the minor leagues impacted him, meaning that he would rather play a youngster than an unproductive veteran. GM Ruben Amaro, meanwhile, recently said that he was planning on Howard playing first base for the Phillies next year. A report last week indicated that the Phillies were considering releasing Howard, although Amaro has denied that’s the case. Here are more notes on the NL East.

Two NL East starters who could be traded, A.J. Burnett and Bartolo Colon, will face off Monday, Tim Healey of MLB.com writes. Colon says that he’s ignoring the possibility that the Mets might deal him. “I don’t know anything about that,” he says through an interpreter. “Those are decisions for the upper management, and you can’t control that stuff.”
The Mets are not likely to be buyers or sellers in the traditional sense, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com writes. That doesn’t mean they won’t be on the market, however — they will likely approach it with the goal of improving in 2015. GM Sandy Alderson says he isn’t likely to deal prospects for rentals. At the same time, they do not seem to be chomping at the bit to trade Daniel Murphy, although trading Colon could be a possibility.

Minor Moves: Chris Leroux, Zach Jackson

By Edward Creech [July 27, 2014 at 10:04pm CDT]

Here are Sunday’s minor moves from around MLB:

Yankees pitcher Bruce Billings has accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Chris Cotillo tweets. He also notes that Phillies catcher Koyie Hill has accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
The Yankees have outrighted pitcher Chris Leroux, according to MiLB.com. They designated him for assignment on Friday. Leroux has posted a 5.08 ERA with 7.3 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9 in 28 1/3 innings this season in Triple A.
The Nationals have released left-hander Zach Jackson from their Triple-A affiliate, per the International League’s transactions page. Jackson, who signed a minor league deal with Washington in January, came out of the bullpen 26 times for Syracuse this season posting a line of 6.06 ERA, 6.6 K/9, 3.3 BB/9, and 10.9 H/9. The 31-year-old last pitched in a MLB game in 2009 when he made three appearances (one start) for the Indians, who acquired him the year before in the CC Sabathia trade.
Per MLBTR’s DFA Tracker, nine players remain in DFA limbo: Esmil Rogers (Blue Jays), Juan Carlos Oviedo (Rays), George Kottaras (Cardinals), Jim Johnson (A’s), Matt Guerrier (Twins), Darwin Barney (Cubs), Tony Gwynn Jr. (Phillies), and Jose De Paula and Nick Noonan (Giants).

Charlie Wilmoth contributed to this post.

AL East Notes: Red Sox, Orioles, Blue Jays

By Charlie Wilmoth [July 27, 2014 at 9:15pm CDT]

The trade of Jake Peavy might just be the tip of the iceberg for the Red Sox. Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal lists ten more players the Sox could potentially deal at this week’s deadline. Among them are four relievers (Burke Badenhop, Craig Breslow, Andrew Miller and Koji Uehara), plus starter/reliever Felix Doubront. MacPherson notes that Doubront, like 1B/OF Mike Carp (who recently asked for a trade), is eager to get out of Boston.

Jason Mastrodonato of MassLive.com explains that Doubront sees himself as a starter and wants the Red Sox to put him in the rotation if they’re going to keep him. “I just want to be a starter and stay there,” Doubront says. “If I stay (with the Red Sox), they have to know I have to be a starter. If I go, the other team is going to give me this chance to be a starter.” The addition of player discontent to a disappointing roster full of highly tradeable players could make the deadline a very eventful one in Boston. Here’s more from the AL East.

The Blue Jays have a number of needs to balance at the deadline, MLB.com’s Gregor Chisholm writes. “I think we have enough resources to do what we want to do,” GM Alex Anthopoulos has said, although Chisholm notes that the Jays probably don’t have a lot of money to spend and doesn’t have a ton of nearly-ready young talent to trade, particularly given that the team is unlikely to deal Marcus Stroman or Aaron Sanchez.
The Orioles probably won’t acquire a top starting pitcher, but they might acquire depth in that area, writes MLB.com’s Brittany Ghiroli. They could look for a lefty relief pitcher, as well as a catcher (they’ve recently been linked to Kurt Suzuki) or second baseman. Orioles executive Dan Duquette seems disinclined to trade top young pitchers, including Kevin Gausman.

Dodgers Acquire Darwin Barney

Dodgers Nearing Trade For Darwin Barney

Advertise With MLB Trade Rumors

Cubs Notes: Prospects, Price, Arrieta, Barney

Sherman On Papelbon, Duda, Mariners

Phillies Release Tony Gwynn Jr.

Blue Jays Notes: Prospects, Asdrubal, Headley

Padres Could Trade Chris Denorfia “Soon”

Red Sox Notes: Lester, Dodgers, Miller

David Price Rumors: Monday

Cafardo On Phillies, Iglesias, Prado, Red Sox

NL West Notes: Zobrist, Giants, Ziegler, Tulo

NL East Notes: Howard, Colon, Mets

Minor Moves: Chris Leroux, Zach Jackson

AL East Notes: Red Sox, Orioles, Blue Jays

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