Odds & Ends: Sheffield, Washburn, Pirates, Irabu

Some links to start your Sunday morning off right…

• MLB.com's Anthony DiComo says not to assume Gary Sheffield will be traded. Sheff is currently on the disabled list, but may have been attractive to contenders in need of a bat because he can still produce (.286-.388-.481 in 245 PA) and the Tigers are paying pretty much his entire salary.
• Bob Klapisch of The Bergen Record mentions in this piece that the Mariners reportedly asked the Yankees for outfielders Melky Cabrera and Brett Gardner in exchange for Jarrod Washburn.
• Pirates owner Bob Nutting says that finances are not dictating moves, according to Dejan Kovacevic of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "There is no pressure on Neal to shed any payroll dollars, from me or anyone else. Every decision made will be a baseball decision, not a financial one. Any money saved will remain committed to the baseball operations budget to be used as they see fit."
• Meanwhile, Chuck Finder of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that the Bucs are continuing to negotiate with some of their higher profile unsigned draft picks.
• Patrick at NPB Tracker passes along a report that Hideki Irabu is looking to continue his comeback in Japan. Irabu signed with the Long Beach Armada of the independent Golden League back in April, and has a respectable 3.87 ERA in eight starts.
• David Mayo of Mlive.com says that standing pat might be the Tigers best option at the upcoming trade deadline.
• Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald writes about the Marlins' cache of impressive young position players in their farm sytem.
• With teams unlikely to risk taking on salaries in a bad economy, we may see more waiver trades in August than usual, writes Pat Mitsch of The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.