Darwin Barney Rumors

Cubs Notes: Villanueva, Marmol, Barney, Draft

Earlier today, Cubs General Manager Jed Hoyer, manager Dale Sveum, and president of baseball operations Theo Epstein all spoke with the Chicago media.  Here's a look at some highlights with all links going to Twitter..

• Sveum told reporters, including Carrie Muskat of MLB.com, that the club expects to finalize a deal with Carlos Villanueva today.  The hang up, he said, was over clearing a roster spot for the right-hander.
• However, Bruce Miles of ESPNChicago.com hears that the deal won't be inked today.
• The deal that would have sent Dan Haren to the Cubs for Carlos Marmol was never a completed deal and Hoyer doesn't understand why the word "botched" was used to describe it, Miles tweets.  The trade, which was discussed before the Angels' deadline to exercise Haren's option, was initally reported to be agreed upon but was never finalized.
• Hoyer said that second baseman Darwin Barney is a part of their long term plans "for sure", tweets Jesse Rogers of ESPNChicago.com.  The Tigers inquired on the youngster last summer.
• Epstein said that if the club sees a can't miss position player available at the No. 2 spot in the draft, they may go that route and stockpile pitching later, tweets Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune.

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Bowden On Padres, Tigers, Indians, Royals, Pirates

Here's the latest from around the league, courtesy of ESPN's Jim Bowden...

• The Padres have fielded offers for both Huston Street and Carlos Quentin, but they've yet to seriously debate any of them internally.
• The Tigers are seeking a second base upgrade and would like to acquire Darwin Barney from the Cubs for a mid-level prospect.
• The Indians are looking all over to acquire an outfield bat, but they are unable to take back a significant contract and are unwilling to move their best prospects.
• Meanwhile, the Royals are trying to convince the Indians or Reds to take Jeff Francoeur so they can promote Wil Myers from Triple-A.
• The Pirates are aggressively trying to land a middle of the order bat while the Orioles are seeking starting pitching and a third base upgrade.
• There have been rumors of a Mike Morse for B.J. Upton trade, according to Bowden. The Nationals are also looking to add a starter with Stephen Strasburg's innings limit approaching.
• The Giants have no plans of making a deal similar to the one they made last year, when they traded Zack Wheeler for a rental (Carlos Beltran). They are looking for a bat or two, however.

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Cubs Rumors: Garza, Barney, Wood, Stewart

Pitching amid trade rumors yet again, 28-year-old Cubs righty Matt Garza blanked the Diamondbacks at Wrigley Field this afternoon, lowering his ERA to 4.02 while being scouted by the Yankees, Blue Jays, Rangers, Tigers, Dodgers, and Pirates, according to ESPN Chicago's Doug Padilla.  With just over two weeks remaining until the trade deadline, Garza may have only a handful of starts remaining as a Cub.  The latest on the club:

• "The rumor mill can wait," Garza told reporters, because his wife is due in less than a month.  Garza knows he can't control the trade rumors, but noted that he is open to an extension. 
• According to Padilla, the Tigers have asked about Garza, second baseman Darwin Barney, and starter Ryan Dempster.  Padilla says the Tigers' interest in Barney began over a month ago.  Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports first reported on that situation on July 6th, adding that "talks didn't progress." 
• "It's nice to know people are interested but I want to be here," Barney told reporters including Padilla after powering the Cubs' victory today with his fourth home run.
• Fan favorite Kerry Wood visited the Cubs' clubhouse today, telling MLB.com's Rowan Kavner and other reporters he's enjoying his first summer off in 25-plus years.  Wood says his kids are still too young for him to ponder a coaching career.  The former strikeout artist hung up his cleats in May this year.
• Third baseman Ian Stewart also made an appearance, expressing relief to reporters that a surgeon finally found the cause of his persistent wrist problems.  The solution involved removing a bone from Stewart's wrist, and he currently has no timetable for his return.  The 27-year-old's salary would likely remain in the $2.2MM range if the Cubs decide to tender him this winter and try again in 2013.  Including Stewart, Cubs third basemen have tallied a dismal .223/.297/.374 so far in the post-Aramis era.
• It "wouldn't be cool" to see rotation-mate and mentor Dempster traded, Jeff Samardzija told Rick Morrissey of the Chicago Sun-Times yesterday.  The Cubs are best-served trading Dempster now to clear a path for a Garza deal later this month, opined ESPN's Buster Olney earlier today.

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Tigers Inquired On Darwin Barney

The Tigers asked the Cubs about second baseman Darwin Barney a couple of weeks ago, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reports (on Twitter). However, talks didn't progress.

Tigers second basemen have combined for a .198/.272/.266 batting line, so it's no surprise that Dave Dombrowski's front office is looking into potentially available trade targets. No team in baseball has a worse OPS from the second base position in 2012.

Rival teams have asked about Barney, who has a .262/.307/.369 batting line in 302 plate appearances for the Cubs. The 26-year-old won't be arbitration eligible until after the 2013 season. The Tigers are also interested in Cubs right-hander Matt Garza, Morosi reported today.

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Rosenthal On Royals, A’s, Barney, Orioles

Many baseball people expect the Padres to trade Carlos Quentin, but the team is in a fluid situation, so that assumption is not safe, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports writes. The Padres should have some payroll flexibility this offseason, so they could keep the outfielder despite their modest budget. Here are Rosenthal’s latest rumors:

• Jeff Francoeur has played through ailments and injuries this year and the Royals like his leadership, so they aren’t necessarily looking to trade him.
• Last August the Royals offered Melky Cabrera the same two-year, $13.5MM contract Francoeur eventually signed, but Cabrera declined the offer and the Royals traded him a few months later.
• Rosenthal suggests the A’s aren’t eager to trade veterans for marginal returns. The team is hovering around .500 and plays 18 of its next 28 games at home. The A’s would probably love to trade Kurt Suzuki, Rosenthal writes.
• One exec predicts the Phillies don’t have enough confidence in their outfield depth to trade Hunter Pence this summer.
• An agent predicts Cole Hamels will sign a monster free agent contract this coming offseason and Rosenthal says the Phillies won’t go near $150MM for six years or $175MM for seven years.
• Rival teams frequently ask about Darwin Barney and it’s possible the Cubs will trade the second baseman.
• The Orioles seem to have the most interest in trading for Diamondbacks left-hander Joe Saunders, Rosenthal reports.
• The Orioles’ Triple-A team, which includes Miguel Tejada, Jamie Moyer and Dontrelle Willis, tops the Orioles’ MLB team in career earnings, Rosenthal notes.
• One executive suggested a growing number of teams could request 72-hour windows to negotiate extensions with trade targets this summer because of the provision in the new collective bargaining agreement that prevents teams from obtaining draft pick compensation for players acquired midseason. However, players wouldn’t necessarily be interested in signing and it’d cost teams time and leverage.

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