By Ben Nicholson-Smith | at
ESPN.com's Jayson Stark says the Indians could deal Cliff Lee, but don't particularly want to. In other words, he's "quasi-available." We heard that the Rays and Indians discussed Lee and Stark says it's "not impossible" that the Rangers could pursue the Indians ace. Both teams would be able to trade the Indians the young, high-upside talent they seek.
By Ben Nicholson-Smith | at
Some links for the morning…
By Ben Nicholson-Smith | at
Before the Pirates dealt Adam LaRoche to Boston, a second team made them an offer, according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. An unknown club proposed a deal that would have sent a major leaguer and a borderline prospect to Pittsburgh for LaRoche. The Pirates would have had to take on the major leaguer's salary in the deal, which wasn't proposed by the Giants.
By Ben Nicholson-Smith | at
The Twins continue their search for infielders and the Tigers don't seem likely to acquire Matt Holliday. Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports has the details:
By Tim Dierkes | at
11:50am: The Denver Post reports that Chacin will join the Rockies tomorrow as a reliever. Here's Baseball America's take on the young pitcher.
THURSDAY, 11:46am: Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports that the Rockies pulled Chacin from last night's start to promote him to the majors, possibly as a reliever. The right-hander has allowed 87 hits and walked 35 in 103.1 innings at AA, striking out 86.
WEDNESDAY, 11:42pm: According to Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus, the Rockies pulled pitching prospect Jhoulys Chacin from his start tonight "as a precaution for possible, future organizational moves." Chacin tossed one inning for the Double A Tulsa Drillers, tallying just nine pitches.
Chacin, a 21 year-old righty, ranks as the Rockies' top prospect according to Baseball America. BA wrote in praise of his fastball and changeup in their latest Handbook.
Thinking about a possible Roy Halladay connection? Rockies GM Dan O'Dowd didn't seem keen on the idea, talking to MLB.com this morning. Elsewhere in the rumor mill, SI.com's Jon Heyman recently linked Colorado to a slew of relievers (including Chad Qualls and George Sherrill).
By Ben Nicholson-Smith | at
9:18pm: Baseball America's Matt Eddy has a comprehensive rundown of both prospects Pittsburgh acquired for LaRoche. Eddy likes Diaz's defense, but his bat is "a bit light for a regular role." He says Strickland's fastball gives him a chance to be a big league reliever, but he needs to refine his secondary pitches.
2:09pm: Kovacevic says the Pirates are not sending any cash to the Red Sox.
1:09pm: Danny Knobler of CBS Sports reports that the Pirates are sending cash to the Red Sox to contribute to the remainder of the $7.05MM LaRoche makes this year. They also sent cash to the Yankees in the Eric Hinske deal.
1:02pm: ESPN.com's Keith Law says Diaz's glove could make him a legitimate MLB backup in spite of his bat. Strickland is "probably a reliever at best."
12:31pm: Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus says Diaz is a very good defender who doesn't hit much. He says Strickland is a projectable righty with a fastball around 90 mph and average secondary stuff.
12:21pm: Ben Badler of Baseball America says the pair of prospects isn't much, not that the Pirates should expect more for two months of LaRoche.
12:05pm: Speier reports that the Pirates receive pitcher Hunter Strickland and shortstop Argenis Diaz.
11:49am: Alex Speier of WEEI.com reports that Manny Delcarmen will not be part of the trade.
11:45am: What you need to know about LaRoche: He's a 29-year-old first baseman hitting .247/.329/.441; he has a history of playing well in the second half; his defense is slightly below average; he makes $7.05MM this year before becoming a free agent and he's on the cusp of projecting as a Type B free agent, though he's currently below the cut.
11:15am: Kovacevic says the Pirates have traded LaRoche to the Red Sox.
11:00am: John Perrotto says LaRoche has been traded.
10:58am: Kovacevic says LaRoche is not in today's lineup.
10:56am: Ed Price of MLB FanHouse hears that LaRoche has been traded.
10:44am: Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says the Pirates clubhouse is buzzing over the possiblity that Adam LaRoche will soon be traded. However, LaRoche is taking batting practice and is expected to play today.
By Howard Megdal | at
Ken Rosenthal's latest is seemingly at odds with the report we noted earlier from Bill Chastain that the Rays will not be major players at the deadline.
"The Rays are engaged in a whirlwind of activity, investigating [Cliff] Lee, [Roy] Halladay and numerous other options — 'major, major stuff,' according to one source," Rosenthal writes.
Other notes from Rosenthal:
By Howard Megdal | at
Usually, getting shut out five times in 13 games as the trade deadline nears while falling ten games behind the division leader is a good excuse to get a team to waive the white flag.
But the Mets are no ordinary team, with executives challenging minor leaguers to fights, having altercations with closer Francisco Rodriguez, and an injury a day– this one to Alex Cora, who has been filling in for the injured Jose Reyes.
So it should come as no surprise that Mets GM Omar Minaya says New York will be buyers, not sellers at the trade deadline, according to the tireless Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post.
"Right now we do not envision [being a seller]," Minaya said. "If we're 6 ½ [back] in the wild card with a couple of teams in front of us, we are still kind of trying to find out how we can improve this team, if we can improve it through trades."
Not clear if Minaya also believes Lloyd Christmas should be a buyer at the trade deadline because he was told he has a "one in a million chance."
By Ben Nicholson-Smith | at
6:49pm: ESPN's Peter Gammons says the Dodgers are still in the mix for Halladay. Pros for the Dodgers are a number of Single-A and Double-A prospects and the willingness to take on Halladay's contract. Cons are a lack of near-ready pitching prospects, and absence of Toronto scouts at Dodger games.
5:02pm: ESPN.com's Tim Kurkjian says he doesn't expect the Jays to deal Halladay because their asking price is "enormously high."
3:40pm: Rockies GM Dan O'Dowd told MLB.com that Halladay is not a fit for his team because the cost would be "devastating" financially and in terms of talent.
12:59pm: Wondering what kind of haul the Jays might bring in? ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick looks back at nine trades for top pitchers and shows that not all blockbusters are created equal.
11:08am: Jon Heyman of SI.com says the Brewers appear to be a threat to acquire Halladay. He's hearing Manny Parra's name and suspects Mat Gamel or Alcides Escobar would have to be involved, too.
11:06am: Ricciardi told ESPN.com's Jayson Stark that talks are expected to intensify early next week. The Blue Jays haven't exchanged names with interested teams yet, but Ricciardi expects to tell teams what he's looking for by Monday.
That wouldn't leave much time before Tuesday's self-imposed deadline, but Ricciardi said it's a soft deadline.
Ricciardi says four teams are "really, really serious" about Halladay. The Phillies are believed to be one of his top suitors and Ricciardi confirmed that the Jays will scout Kyle Drabek's upcoming start.
8:33am: Here's what we heard yesterday: the Yankees and Mets aren't major threats to acquire Roy Halladay; the Cards are still involved; the Phillies are considering other options and may have told the Jays Kyle Drabek is off-limits; the Jays have imposed a pre-deadline of July 28th on the negotiations and GM J.P. Ricciardi says a trade is becoming "unlikely."
By Howard Megdal | at
While many of baseball's contenders are set to stock up on talent, the Rays and Rangers may not be among them. Oh, they're contenders, all right. They just may not add to what they have.
In Tampa Bay's case, MLB.com's Bill Chastain points out that the Rays have already dealt Jason Hammel and Edwin Jackson within the past year, making any further pitching depletion a risky move. He adds:
"Ben Zobrist's improvement has made the right field and second base situations look better, while the double-dose of Gabes in right field — Gross and Kapler — has begun to look like what the Rays hoped it would prior to the season. Both are producing when facing either a right-hander in Gross' case or a left-hander in Kapler's. Finally, a proven closer would be nice, but, again, look at what the bullpen is doing without one and you wonder how much better could the bullpen be with such an addition. Meanwhile, J.P. Howell appears to be taking charge of the closing role."
As for the Rangers, it simply comes down to money, according to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan, though Texas would like to add starting pitching.
"The Rangers are also limited in their ability to take on significant payroll with a possible sale of the club by owner Tom Hicks still pending," Sullivan writes.
Of course, it also hurts Texas that Roy Halladay won't approve a trade to Texas, and Cleveland won't trade Cliff Lee, according to Sullivan.
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