According to Paul Kenyon of The Providence Journal, the Red Sox have released outfielder Paul McAnulty. He had spent the entire season with Triple-A Pawtucket, hitting .233-.331-.402 in 378 plate appearances. McAnulty was leading the club in homeruns (11) and RBI (48) at the time of his release.
Archives for July 2009
Red Sox Looking At Shortstops
Despite welcoming Jed Lowrie back to lineup after a prolonged injury hiatus, the Red Sox are still looking for an upgrade at shortstop. SI.com's Jon Heyman reports that Boston has been checking out Jack Wilson and Orlando Cabrera, who are no strangers to this year's rumor circuit.
Earlier today we learned that the Twins were also interested in the molten hot Cabrera, who is hitting .373-.395-.530 in July.
Gammons’ Latest: Duke, Halladay, Reds, Rays
ESPN's Peter Gammons has a new blog post up, writing about how teams are reluctant to part with their top young players, even if they are overvaluing them. He also mixes in a little rumory goodness, so let's take a peek…
- The Pirates have indicated that it'll take "a gaggle of prospects" to move Zach Duke.
- When inquiring about Roy Halladay, the Yankees were told the price was Phil Hughes plus prospects Austin Jackson and Jesus Montero.
- One GM says "Cincinnati wants to move a few contracts, like either Bronson Arroyo or Aaron Harang, but we're not interested in giving players or taking on their money. Harang hasn't been the same guy since last May." Harang has a 4.99 ERA since a 63-pitch relief appearance on May 25th of last season.
- Another GM said "We've looked at Doug Davis, Jon Garland, Kevin Correia, Ian Snell and the long list of available starting pitchers and do not see anyone we would give A- or B-list prospects to get."
- Teams like the Yankees, Red Sox, Angels, and Dodgers are at an advantage because they can afford to restock their farm systems quickly by spending big in the draft or on the international market.
- The Rays are likely "to see what they can get" for Carl Crawford after the season, and will hold onto prospects they consider keepers.
Blue Jays, Reds Discussing Rolen
6:08pm: AOL FanHouse's Ed Price tweets that it's possible for the Reds to acquire Rolen, "but a lot would have to happen," according to a source.
3:59pm: According to Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com, a source has indicated that the Blue Jays and Reds are discussing a trade involving third baseman Scott Rolen. As Morosi writes,
"The sides are still trying to determine which players would head to Toronto in the deal, but the source said that third baseman Edwin Encarnacion would be included."
Rolen is enjoying a nice resurgence this season after spending the last several years battling injuries. As of Saturday afternoon, he's batting .317/.372/.469 with seven home runs and 37 RBI in 322 at-bats. He is owed $11MM next season and about $4.5MM for the rest of '09. That's a high price for Cinci, but the Reds are quickly falling out of contention, and adding Rolen's veteran presence and Gold Glove defense would help them in their chase of the NL Wild Card.
Cubs Looking For A Lefty Reliever
With starter Ted Lilly on the shelf for approximately three weeks, ESPN Chicago's Bruce Levine says Cubs GM Jim Hendry may have been pushed in the direction of adding a starter before Friday's trade deadline. The team could opt to move Sean Marshall back into the rotation, but that would leave manager Lou Piniella without a reliable lefthanded option in the pen.
The Cubbies have spoken to the Pirates about reliever John Grabow, but Levine says a move for Zach Duke or Tom Gorzelanny "may be the right avenue to follow with the loss of Lilly." He lists Carl Pavano, Jon Garland and Doug Davis as other starters available right now.
Rosenthal’s Full Count Video: Mariners, Cardinals, Indians
Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com has a new Full Count video up. Let's round up the rumors…
- With the Mariners fading out of contention, they could make lefties Erik Bedard and Jarrod Washburn available. If they do, it could cloud the market for Roy Halladay because teams will have more options.
- One GM tells Rosenthal that the Mariners are likely to play out the weekend before deciding to sell.
- The Yankees have been in touch with Seattle, and would love to see Washburn made available again after expressing interest in him in the past.
- The Brewers remain "on the periphery" of the Halladay sweepstakes, but they aren't playing well enough to justify such a major trade.
- After moving five players and adding $6MM in salary to acquire Matt Holliday and Mark DeRosa, Albert Pujols shouldn't have any questions about ownership's commitment to winning. However with Holliday likely to leave as a free agent after the season, the team will be in the same situation again, looking for a bat to protect Pujols.
- Indians ownership would need to sign off on a deal involving catcher Victor Martinez or lefty Cliff Lee, neither of which is imminent. The team knows the Red Sox will not trade them Clay Buchholz in a package for Martinez, and moving Lee would be an even bigger blow given how thin their pitching staff is right now.
In a separate video, Rosenthal says that the Phillies and Blue Jays are still haggling over which players would be included in a potential deal for Halladay. The Angels have made a strong offer for Doc, and the Jays expect other teams to get involved this week. Meanwhile, Lee's agent Darek Braunecker says Lee has told his team that he will test the free agent waters at the end of next season after being told "no" when asking about a contract extension last spring. If traded, Lee prefers it to happen sooner rather than later.
Guillen: “Everything Quiet With The White Sox”
According to MLB.com's Scott Merkin, the White Sox aren't likely to add "a major piece to their playoff puzzle" before the trade deadline.
As usual, manager Ozzie Guillen did the talking: "To be honest with you, we haven't even talked about that. What we have is pretty good. We got six, seven starters right now."
"Obviously, people have talked about (Roy) Halladay, but we've got something going good right now, and for the future very good," added the manager. "To break that up now, that's a chance you would have to take if you break that up. Right now, everything is quiet with the White Sox. Unless something crazy happens in the next couple hours, we're going to go with what we have."
The White Sox stand 50-47, two games behind the Tigers in the American League Central.
Odds & Ends: Trade Deadline, Brewers, Cardinals
Some more links on a busy Saturday afternoon…
- Jayson Stark of ESPN.com presents his "Five Biggest Myths About The Trading Deadline." It's an excellent read as we cruise closer and closer toward July 31.
- According to Lindsey Young of the Chattanooga Times Free Press, the Brewers have agreed to terms with pitcher Kyle Heckathorn, the 47th overall pick in this summer's First-Year Player Draft.
- As Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch notes, "The Cardinals may not be done trading, but it will only be fine-tuning or shredding." They're currently trying to deal third baseman-turned-designated hitter Troy Glaus.
- Twitter is going to play a major role in this year's trade deadline. Join us on there for even more updates and discussion.
Trade On The Way In Tampa?
3:11pm: Baseball America's Ben Badler reports Brignac will play in the second game of Durham's Saturday doubleheader. His "right leg was bothering him" this afternoon.
1:54pm: Marc Lancaster of the Tampa Tribune tweets, "Word from Durham is Reid Brignac was pulled from the game for not hustling to first base." Well, that's that.
1:51pm: As a handful of readers have noted, 23-year-old shortstop Reid Brignac was pulled from Triple-A Durham's lineup in the third inning Saturday for a non-injury reason. He's definitely a potential trade chip, so we'll keep an ear to the grindstone.
Tigers Interested In Milton Bradley?
3:01pm: Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune reports "there has been no conversation with any team about Bradley." We can probably now put these rumors to rest.
2:47pm: MLB.com's Jason Beck tweets, "Milton Bradley to Tigers? Not happening. According to one source, his name hasn't come up in Tigers discussions all year."
2:44pm: For what it's worth, the Chicago Sun-Times is also now reporting the rumor, but basically echoes the information below. We've yet to recieve word from a major media outlet on possible negotiations.
1:41pm: ChicagoNow.com's David Kaplan has heard from "two very solid baseball sources" that the rumor is true.
As Kaplan writes, "the Tigers have scouted Bradley and are interested depending on how much of his contract the Cubs are willing to eat." A change of scenery would probably do the 31-year-old outfielder some good. He's currently batting .242/.375/.368 with six home runs and 22 RBI in 231 at-bats.
1:32pm: According to Steve Stone of WSCR Chicago, the Tigers have shown some level of interest in Cubs outfielder Milton Bradley. The rumor isn't being reported by any other source, and with Carlos Guillen back in the fold in Detroit, it doesn't make a ton of sense. Perhaps Bradley could serve as the Tigers' DH. We'll keep you updated if the rumor grows any more legs.
