On this day last year, the White Sox acquired Horacio Ramirez from the Royals for minor-leaguer Paul Orlando. Today, they got Alex Rios for nothing.
- Matt Eddy at Baseball America has a useful guide to the past week's minor-league transactions.
- Tough break for the Nationals: According to Chico Harlan at the Washington Post, prized young arm Jordan Zimmermann has a torn ligament that will likely require up to 18 months to repair. Speculation, but perhaps this could further press the Nationals in the Stephen Strasburg negotiations?
- Ken Davidoff at Newsday likes the Alex Rios move for both teams.
- Game of Inches analyzes some metrics and sees the Rios move as a big win for J.P. Ricciardi.
- Reds GM Walt Jocketty tells MLB.com's Mark Sheldon that talks have fallen off between the team and first-round selection Mike Leake. Last week's above-slot signing of Mike Minor by the Braves didn't help matters.
