Pirates Acquire Jason Michaels, Brewers Mull Turnbow

After being designated for assignment back on May 5, Jason Michaels has been traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates for, what else, a player to be named later. As Tim noted on Monday, Michaels has been pretty terrible so far this year. Not that he was so hot during his tenure in Cleveland. He wasn't able to get his OBP above .330 or his SLG above .400. Not so hot for a corner outfielder. The Pirates options OF Nyjer Morgan to Triple A to make room for Michaels. The Bucs now have two open spots on the 40-man roster. Feel free...

Odds and Ends: Botts, Red Sox, McLouth

Roundup of links! According to Jamey Newberg, Jason Botts has cleared waivers. He probably won't get another chance with the Rangers though. Gordon Edes notes that the Red Sox have five picks in the first three rounds of the June draft. Even though they don't start until the 30th pick, the Sox have had much success in recent years. No extension talks have begun with Nate McLouth, but Dejan Kovacevic does expect it to happen. I updated the fantasy baseball closers depth chart over at RotoAuthority. SI.com's Jon Heyman says Freddy Garcia is "progressing nicely" in rehab and will throw...

Indians Designate Jason Michaels

2:31pm: According to Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com, Michaels will be designated. 10:30am: Outfielder Ben Francisco will join the Indians for Tuesday's game against the Yankees. The Tribe will have to make room for him by then, and Mike Harrington believes the jobs of Andy Marte and Jason Michaels are at risk. Marte could be designated for assignment, while Michaels might just be released. Michaels, 32, has been awful in 21 games this year. He earns $2.15MM this year. Michaels typically hits lefties well, but he's been an easy out this year. Marte, 24, is out of options and would have...

Ocker On Blake, Marte, Dellucci, Borowski And Lee

Sheldon Ocker of the Akron Beacon Journal does some speculating on the Indians' third base, left field, and closer situations. Casey Blake's contract expires at the end of the season, and at age 35, Ocker doesn't believe that Indians' GM Mark Shapiro will re-up for him. Ocker points to two reasons why Andy Marte probably won't work out as the in-house solution to Blake's potential absence: he could be lost on waivers if he doesn't make the team as a utility man coming out of Spring Training, and he shows no sign of figuring things out and becoming an impact...