Brad Lincoln Rumors

NL Central Notes: Drew, Marte, Cardinals

The Reds have been nearly unbeatable since losing their top player to injury and now have the best record in baseball at 64-41. Here are today's NL Central links after another Reds win...

• The Pirates considered and rejected a trade that would have sent two minor leaguers to Arizona for Diamondbacks shortstop Stephen Drew, Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports (on Twitter). The prospects -- not Jameson Taillon or Luis Heredia -- are at the mid-to-low levels of Pittsburgh's farm system.
• The Phillies asked the Pirates for Starling Marte, Brad Lincoln and more in possible trades for Hunter Pence, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney reports (on Twitter). The Phillies ultimately obtained Nate Schierholtz, minor league reliever Seth Rosin and minor league catcher/first baseman Tommy Joseph from the Giants for Pence.
• MLB terminated the contract between the Cardinals and right-handed pitching prospect Andres Serrano, Ben Badler of Baseball America reports. The Cardinals had signed the Dominican for $750K, but he failed the age and identity sections of his investigation, according to Badler. Brian Walton of TheCardinalNation.com had the story last month.

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Blue Jays, Pirates Swap Snider, Lincoln

The Blue Jays and Pirates have agreed to swap outfielder Travis Snider for right-hander Brad Lincoln, the teams announced. Both players were selected in the first half of the first round of the 2006 amateur draft.

Snider, now 24, has spent considerable time in the Major Leagues since debuting as a 20-year-old in 2008. However, he has battled injuries and the Blue Jays have optioned him to the minor leagues for extended periods, so his career high in games is 82 (reached in 2010). The left-handed hitter has a career batting line of .247/.305/.429. He has a .235/.270/.559 line in 37 plate appearances this year, including three homers against left-handed pitching.

Snider is on track for arbitration eligibility following the 2013 season. He's under team control through 2016. He joins a left field mix that currently includes Starling Marte, Drew Sutton and Alex Presley.

Lincoln has developed into a dependable late inning reliever for the Pirates, though that's not necessarily what they had in mind when they selected him fourth overall six years ago. He has a 2.73 ERA with 9.1 K/9, 2.1 BB/9 and a 37% ground ball rate in 59 1/3 innings for Pittsburgh this year. The 27-year-old has also started at least five games in three consecutive seasons. His average fastball checks in at 93.2 mph.

Lincoln could be arbitration eligible as a super two following the 2013 season, but he'll remain under team control though 2017. He'll join a Blue Jays bullpen that doesn't have many sure things other than Casey Janssen going forward.

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Stark On Greinke, Headley, Indians, Wells

The market for Zack Greinke appears to consist of the Rangers, Angels, White Sox and Braves, ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark reports. Rival teams say the Red Sox, Blue Jays and Dodgers aren’t involved on Greinke, and the Indians and Orioles have limited interest in pitchers headed for free agency, Stark writes. Here are more notes from Stark:

• The Yankees are exploring their third base options with Alex Rodriguez out, Stark reports. Marco Scutaro could be an option for New York.
• There’s an expectation that Chase Headley will be traded, but the Padres continue saying they’re happy to keep him, Stark writes.  One team says the Padres are looking for a Mat Latos-like return if they trade the third baseman.
• The Phillies are looking for a proven, young setup reliever and a young outfielder or third baseman for Victorino, Stark reports. They’ve asked about relievers Brad Lincoln, Wade Davis and Logan Ondrusek in trade talks.
• It’s already been a busy month for the Astros, but they’re still willing to consider trades for anyone but Jose Altuve.
• The Indians and Cardinals have talked to the Rays about James Shields, Stark reports.
• The Angels are telling teams they’d rather trade Vernon Wells than keep him when he returns from the disabled list. They’re looking for a trade partner and saying they don’t want to eat all of his salary, Stark reports. It’ll be challenging to find a taker for Wells’ salary; he earns $21MM per season through 2014.
• The Indians aren’t likely to deal Chris Perez or Shin-Soo Choo, but they’ll listen on either player.

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Quick Hits: Drew, Arrieta, Pirates, Mariners

A few odds and ends to pass along as this busy Tuesday night winds down ...

• The Diamondbacks are less likely to trade shortstop Stephen Drew now that they've removed Ryan Roberts from the roster, tweets Jack Magruder of FOXSportsArizona.com. GM Kevin Towers said there's no deal out there for Drew "that's going to make us better."
• The Orioles may not have a choice but to trade starter Jake Arrieta if they'd like to improve their Major League roster without dealing any of their prized prospects, a source tells Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com. Baltimore has told potential trade partners that Dylan Bundy and Manny Machado are off the table, tweets Britt Ghiroli of MLB.com.
• The Pirates made a bid to acquire Phillies outfielder Shane Victorino, but talks hit a snag when Philly asked for right-hander Brad Lincoln, tweets Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
• The Pirates are "definitely going for it" and would like to acquire an outfielder or first baseman, tweets Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com.
• The Mariners have released minor league pitcher Jeff Marquez, tweets Triple-A Tacoma announcer Mike Curto. In his place, D.J. Mitchell, acquired from the Yankees in the Ichiro Suzuki trade, will start.

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Pirates Notes: Upton, Quentin, Lincoln

The Pirates, who lead the NL Central with a 48-37 record, aim to improve their roster for the second half of the season. “We’re in a buying mode,” manager Clint Hurdle said, according to Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. The Pirates have inquired on Carlos Quentin and Justin Upton, two of the top bats available this summer. Here are the details on the Pirates...

• “Our focus is to exhaustively search all opportunities to add to this club and to execute the right move(s) to make this club better,” GM Neal Huntington said, according to Biertempfel.
• The Diamondbacks and Padres might have some degree of interest in right-hander Brad Lincoln in potential deals involving Upton and Quentin, Biertempfel reports (on Twitter). The Diamondbacks are scouting the Pirates’ Triple-A team and the Padres are scouting the Pirates’ Class A West Virginia team, Biertempfel adds.
• Biertempfel suggests the Pirates could use starting pitching depth.
• Within Biertempfel’s piece a handful of former general managers share thoughts on what the Pirates should do this year.

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AL East Notes: Bundy, Cervelli, Upton, Red Sox

Some news from the AL East...

• The Orioles have begun negotiations with fourth-overall draft pick Dylan Bundy, reports Steve Melewski of MASNsports.com.  Denver Bundy, Dylan's father and also part of his representation team from BBI Sports Group, said today's meeting was "a feeling out process" and the two sides would hopefully discuss figures at their next session on August 10.
• The Yankees and Pirates almost agreed to a deal that would've seen Francisco Cervelli go to Pittsburgh in exchange for right-hander Brad Lincoln, reports George A. King of the New York Post.  King hears from a Pirates source that the trade "was very close but [the teams] couldn’t agree on the value of the players."  Such a move would have given the Yankees room to call up Jesus Montero as both a backup catcher and as a potential DH platoon partner for Jorge Posada.  Brian Cashman said Montero could potentially be called up once the rosters expand in September.
• The trade deadline has passed and B.J. Upton is still wearing a Rays uniform, so Steve Slowinski of the DRaysBay blog is already thinking about what a potential Upton extension might cost Tampa Bay.
• With the Red Sox facing a crunch of prospects for 40-man roster spots this winter, Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal wasn't surprised that the Sox moved three of those on-the-bubble prospects in the Erik Bedard trade.  Boston would've risked losing Chih-Hsien Chiang, Tim Federowicz, and Stephen Fife for nothing in the Rule 5 draft had the club not been able to send Chiang to the Mariners and Federowicz/Fife to the Dodgers.
• By acquiring two first basemen (Chris Davis and prospect Aaron Baker) from their deadline deals, the Orioles appear to be taking themselves out of the Prince Fielder sweepstakes this winter, writes Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun.  I respectfully disagree with Schmuck -- if the O's have a chance at Fielder, they won't hesitate to sign him for the sake of Davis (who has struggled against lefties at the Major League level) or a minor prospect like Baker.  Davis could also be moved into a DH role, or moved to third base while Mark Reynolds become the designated hitter.

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Odds & Ends: Fielder, Lincoln, Gorzelanny, Lee, Haren

Links for Sunday..

• The Phillies demoted Phillippe Aumont from Double-A back to High-A after a disastrous start to the season, tweets Dave Cameron of U.S.S. Mariner.  Aumont was part of the Roy Halladay-Cliff Lee blockbuster.
• Peter Barzilai of USA Today explains why the Brewers should hold on to Prince Fielder.
• This week's Pirates/Nationals matchup may end up being the most interesting series between sub-.500 teams this season. Not only will Stephen Strasburg make his major league debut on Tuesday, but Pirates GM Neal Huntington says former first-round pick Brad Lincoln could make his first big league start on Wednesday, tweets Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
• Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times says the Cubs received some calls about Tom Gorzelanny's availability a few weeks ago, but that they have no immediate plans to move him.
• The newest Cardinal, Randy Winn, was a player Tony La Russa wanted the team to pursue this past winter, according to Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
• Larry Brooks of the New York Post would like to see the Mets aggressively attempt to trade for Cliff Lee.
• The Denver Post's Troy Renck hopes the Rockies will inquire on Lee, as well as Dan Haren, if only to see what would it cost to acquire another ace.
• If you play fantasy baseball, be sure to stay on top of the saves category by following our @closernews account on Twitter and tracking the latest news on late-inning relievers around the league.

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