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Archives for July 2009

Olney On Nats, Blue Jays, Braves

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One GM told ESPN.com's Buster Olney that the Nats are in a tougher position than it seems. They can obtain value in return for players like Nick Johnson this week, but without veteran contributors, the team could win something like 45 games. That kind of season, says the GM, is "hard to live down." Here are the rest of Olney's rumors:

  • The Braves would like to add a reliever, but they're not likely to trade for any big-name players.
  • Justin Duchscherer looked good in his rehab start yesterday. 
  • Olney hears that the Blue Jays want to re-sign Marco Scutaro after the season even if they trade him this week.  

Blue Jays Rumors: Scutaro, Rolen

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12:23pm: Ed Price of AOL FanHouse reports that the Jays are scouting the Reds. Could the Rolen-Reds rumors have legs or are the Jays just doing their homework?

10:37am: The Blue Jays aren't expected to move anyone until they determine whether to trade Roy Halladay. But, as Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun reports, some other Jays are drawing interest:

  • The Twins, who are interested in Orlando Cabrera, inquired about Marco Scutaro. Both shortstops are likely to be Type A free agents after the season.
  • It doesn't look like the Reds will acquire Scott Rolen, now that they're nine games below .500 and in fifth place. A few weeks ago the Reds wanted to trade for Rolen, but asked the Jays to pay half of his $11MM salary next year. 

Twins Hope GM Deals For Help

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They're a game under .500, but the AL Central title remains well within reach for the Minnesota Twins. Historically the team has been quiet at the deadline, but the Twins' biggest stars hope this year's different. Justin Morneau, Joe Mauer and Joe Nathan all say they hope GM BIll Smith can add to the team by Friday, according to La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

Mauer feels "frustration" every time the team stands pat at the deadline, so Morneau wonders if the star catcher will want to return after 2010, when he becomes a free agent.

"If we don't do anything this year, I can't see how he's going to want to come back and go through this every year," Morneau said.

The Twins, now 4.0 games back of the division lead, are interested in middle infielders and relief pitching. 

Pirates Rumors: Grabow, Capps, Sanchez

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The Pirates have many attractive trade chips remaining, even after two months of aggressive trading. Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has the latest on all the team's trade candidates:

  • The Pirates are discussing Matt Capps and John Grabow with other clubs.
  • Grabow, who's more likely to be moved, has drawn steady interest from other teams. 
  • The Pirates are in regular contact with the Cubs. 
  • Freddy Sanchez and Jack Wilson are available and the Pirates are listening to offers. The Twins and Red Sox scouted the Pirates-D'Backs contest yesterday. 
  • The Tigers are interested in Triple A catcher Robinzon Diaz. 
  • Triple A starters Ian Snell and Tom Gorzelanny are drawing interest. The Yankees have scouted Snell's last two starts.  

Odds And Ends: Pena, Snell, Richard

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Some links to read on the day Alex Rodriguez turns 34…

Sabean Rules Out A Run At Halladay

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Don't expect the Giants to add Roy Halladay to their rotation. GM Brian Sabean "flatly ruled out" a run at the Jays' ace, according to Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News. The Giants have Madison Bumgarner, Buster Posey and Tim Alderson, but Sabean wants to keep his trio of top prospects.

"We don't want to deplete our assets when there's another route we need to go," Sabean said.

Instead, he expects Ryan Sadowski and Jonathan Sanchez to perform at a high level while Randy Johnson's on the DL. The Giants hope to add a bat, and Sabean says he has a 50-50 shot at making a deal.

Oddly enough, Halladay is scheduled to be in San Francisco on July 31st since the Jays are playing across the bay against the A's over the weekend. As many have noted, the Phils, who remain leading candidates to add Halladay, are staying in the same hotel as the Jays because they're playing the Giants.

Twins Eyeing A’s Orlando Cabrera

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SUNDAY, 10:31pm: As the San Francisco Chronicle's Susan Slusser notes, a few key members of the Twins are also pining for Cabrera.  

According to Cabrera," Slusser writes, "when the A's played Minnesota last week, every time Joe Mauer or Justin Morneau got on base, they'd say, " 'We're trying to get you! We want to get you here!'"

But, Slusser also adds this: "An A's source told The Chronicle last week that the Twins' offer wasn't what Oakland was looking for. Minnesota sounds motivated enough to have improved the offer, but it's also possible that it would take a multi-team deal to make it happen."

SATURDAY, 11:36pm: I just swapped emails with ESPN's Buster Olney, who recently discussed Cabrera and the Twins in a radio appearance.  Olney says the Twins are "deep into talks and talking composition of a deal" with the A's for O-Cab.

4:31pm: According to Kelsie Smith with the St. Paul Pioneer Press, the Twins, and especially manager Ron Gardenhire, are interested in A's shortstop Orlando Cabrera. 

"I like Cabrera, yes," Gardenhire said Saturday.  "I'm not allowed to talk about players, but yes I like Cabrera.  It's a direct question.  I can answer a direct question.  I think he's a great player."


The Twins have been searching for a reliable shortstop since the offseason. Cabrera is piecing together an excellent July at the plate, and is now batting .274/.312/.362 overall with four home runs, 39 RBI and nine stolen bases.  He has about $1.5MM remaining on his contract and is a free agent after this season.
 
Tim Dierkes also contributed to this post.

Odds & Ends: Dmitri, Marlins, Pirates

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Come on, commenters. It's trade deadline week. There's no time for sleep. Some more links for your Sunday night enjoyment…

  • Mark Zuckerman of The Washington Times reports Dmitri Young may soon call it quits.  He tore his left quad during a rehab game with Double-A Harrisburg last week and recently sent this text message to the Times:  "I'm upset because I was feeling great, and then pop.  Wasn't the way I wanted to go out."
  • Joe Frisaro of MLB.com writes that the Marlins are cautiously watching the trade market.  "We've been looking; Larry Beinfest has been looking at moves for a month," Marlins president David Samson said. "It's a difficult scenario because we're not willing to trade our future, because we have such good position players coming up.
  • According to the Wall Street Journal, a group of college professors have made a fascinating discovery:  "Whether a player is elected to the Hall of Fame by veteran baseball writers is an entirely predictable outcome based on a few statistics."  That quote sells the article short; it's an excellent read for baseball buffs.
  • According to Baseball America's Ben Badler, the Mets have officially signed Venezuelan left-hander Juan Urbina.
  • MLB.com's Jen Langosch reports the Tigers are scouting the Pirates, and vice versa.  Detroit is looking for a middle infield bat and/or a starter.  Pittsburgh just so happens to have a few perfect fits in Freddy Sanchez and Zach Duke.
  • If you haven't already, join MLBTR on Twitter for even more updates and discussion.

Brewers, Mariners Talking Washburn?

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9:15pm: Things just got really interesting; this rumor may be growing legs.  From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Tom Haudricourt: 

"I know for a fact that the Brewers have been discussing Washburn, even though he is a free agent after the season. Because Washburn is a Wisconsin native, maybe the Brewers think they could convince him to stay with another contract after this year."

Haudricourt notes the M's would probably ask for a shortstop in return, naming J.J. Hardy and Alcides Escobar as possible trade chips.  Of course, that's a pretty steep price to pay.  "The Brewers probably would want more than Washburn in return for either shortstop," Haudricourt adds, "considering his pending free agent status." And his 4.03 career ERA.

9:06pm: Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times suggests the Brewers might have serious interest in the Mariners' Jarrod Washburn. 

"I'm starting to doubt he'll take the mound on Tuesday night in a Seattle uniform," Baker writes. "A big reason why is that things are happening in Milwaukee and some decisions will have to be made in short order."

"Brewers pitcher Seth McClung went on the 15-day DL on Saturday and today, the Brewers called up Tim Dillard from Class AAA Nashville. But here's the catch: the Brewers are refusing to name Dillard as their Tuesday starter."  Might it be Washburn?

3:08pm: Jeff Fletcher tweets that the Brewers will have a scout in attendance at Justin Duchscherer's rehab start tonight. Duchscherer could be ready to pitch in the Majors in two weeks.

2:15pm: MLB.com's Adam McCalvy writes that Brewers manager Ken Macha may have hinted at an upcoming acquisition of a starter before the deadline for the Brewers. He quotes Macha:

"The trading deadline is coming and Doug [Melvin, Milwaukee's general manager] is trying to help the club," Macha said. "I don't want to try to create expectations, but he's trying to make the club better and I'm sure if he finds a starting pitcher who can help out, it's something he would do."

Macha cautioned that the Brewers want to field a competitive team every year, so they'd have a hard time gutting the farm system. When asked if he would be surprised if Melvin doesn't make an acquisition, Macha replied:

"I just know how much effort has been put into trying to look at our needs as a whole and fill those needs."

McCalvy names Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Doug Davis, Jon Garland, Erik Bedard, Jarrod Washburn, and Brian Bannister as pitchers of interest, although it's safe to cross Bedard off that list now that he's on the 15-day disabled list.

No Progress In Talks With Wilson, Sanchez

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According to Rob Biertempfel with the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, "There has been no movement by either side in the stalled contract talks between the Pirates and infielders Freddy Sanchez and Jack Wilson."

The Pirates put forth contract extension offers to both players last week, presumably to feel-out their desire to remain in Pittsburgh with the trade deadline looming.  Wilson and Sanchez quickly rejected the proposals, and now other teams have begun expressing interest in the infielders (including the Twins, Tigers and Red Sox).

Both players have options for 2010, so the Bucs could wait until next season before moving either of them.  But if a decent offer pops up before Friday, you can bet GM Neal Huntington will consider pulling the trigger.

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