Mets, Braves Swap Church For Francoeur
6:07pm: Hubbuch clears up some confusion: the Braves are sending the Mets cash in the deal. That makes more sense given the difference in salaries.
5:48pm: Adam Rubin of The NY Daily News reports that Braves also received cash in the deal. Church is making $2.8MM this year, his second arbitration eligible season. Francoeur is making $3.375MM in his first arbitration eligible year.
5:04pm: Hubbuch says the deal was straight up, one for one.
5:01pm: David Lennon tweets that Church was traded to Atlanta for Jeff Francoeur. Francoeur has put up a .250-.282-.352 batting line in 324 plate appearances in 2009.
5:00pm: Bart Hubbuch of The NY Post tweets that the Ryan Church has "apparently been traded." Church is hitting .280-.332-.375 in 255 plate appearances this season, and has been playing centerfield recently while Carlos Beltran is the DL.
Pirates Release Chris Snelling
John Perrotto tweets that the Pirates have released outfielder Chris Snelling to make room on the Triple-A Indianapolis roster for the recently acquired Lastings Milledge. Snelling owns a career .302-.392-.456 batting line in the minors, but has struggled to stay healthy and managed just a .244-.360-.400 line in close to 300 big league plate appearances.
Pedro Martinez Rumors: Friday
4:54pm: The Phillies GM tells Stark that ESPN.com's report that he was in the Dominican is false, as he's in Philly, ready to watch his team play.
4:17pm: Stark says Pedro struck out three and allowed three hits over the course of three shutout innings in a simulated game.
3:55pm: Here's the full ESPN.com story. Amaro Jr. watched Pedro throw after a brief rain delay.
3:44pm: ESPN.com's Jayson Stark hears from his colleague Enrique Rojas that Ruben Amaro Jr. flew to the Dominican Republic today to watch Pedro throw.
10:43am: The Phillies are in serious talks with Pedro Martinez. They liked what they saw and they'll take another look at him today. In the meantime, here are the latest Pedro rumors.
- Ray Parrillo and Jim Salisbury of the Philadelphia Inquirer report that Pedro's agent says there's strong interest from both sides.
- ESPN.com reports that a deal with Pedro won't prevent the Phillies from pursuing Roy Halladay.
- Bob Ford of the Philadelphia Inquirer says the Phillies can win without Pedro.
Odds And Ends: Chapman, Betancourt, Masset
- According to Baseball America, there's no evidence to suggest that Aroldis Chapman is 26 years old and allegations that he's any older than 21 don't pass the logic test.
- ESPN.com's Jayson Stark has the oddest anecdotes and funniest quotes from the first half of the season.
- The AP (via ESPN) reports that this year's All Stars will receive a combined $2.3MM in bonuses for making the team, led by Roy Halladay's $125k. I wonder who pays if Halladay's dealt before Tuesday…
- As Bradford Doolittle of the Kansas City Star shows, Yuniesky Betancourt does not have much of a glove or bat, so it's puzzling that the Royals wanted him.
- MLB.com's Mark Sheldon reports that the Reds aren't trading Nick Masset away, especially when his $418k salary makes him so affordable.
Astros Claim Chris Coste
The Astros claimed catcher Chris Coste off waivers after the Phillies released him, according to Scott Lauber of the Wilmington News Journal. Coste, 36, was hitting .245/.342/.382 in 45 games for the Phillies, with a pair of homers. The Phillies let the fan favorite go to make room for Raul Ibanez.
Royals Acquire Yuniesky Betancourt
The Royals acquired Yuniesky Betancourt and cash from the Mariners for a pair of minor league pitchers, according to Joe Hamrahi of Baseball Daily Digest. Betancourt makes at least $10MM before his current deal expires, so it'll be interesting to see how much the Mariners are contributing.
Here's some info on the pitchers, from Ryan Divish of the Tacoma News Tribune. Danny Cortes, 22, will report to AA. He's 6-2 with a 3.12 ERA in his last eleven games after a rough start to the year in the Royals organization. He was the Royals' minor league pitcher of the year last year and Baseball America labelled him the best minor league pitcher in the organization entering this year.
Derrick Saito, 21, has struck out more than a batter per inning in A ball. The 21-year-old lefty will begin his Mariners career in A ball.
Olney On Nats, Rockies, Halladay
ESPN.com's Buster Olney likes the looks of the Mariners, especially with a top three of Felix Hernandez, Erik Bedard and Jarrod Washburn. Here are Olney's latest rumors:
- Nats GM Mike Rizzo says he doesn't have to dump payroll, which gives the team flexibility when considering deals for Nick Johnson, Austin Kearns and others. If they find a worthwhile deal, the Nationals could likely contribute money to make it work.
- As much as the Rockies would like to add a reliever, there are few desirable options out there now, so they may have to wait until closer to the deadline.
- No team has come forth with an aggressive offer for Roy Halladay so far.
- Olney hears that the Phillies would like to add two starters. Halladay and Pedro Martinez are the names they've been connected to recently.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Halladay
On this date one year ago, Richie Sexson was released by the Seattle Mariners with almost $8MM remaining on his contract. Sexson would later sign with the Yankees and appear in 22 games and hit one home run. With the trade deadline fast approaching, let's take a look at what is being written in the Blogosphere…
- MLB Notebook breaks down the contenders for Roy Halladay.
- Over the Monster says the Red Sox won't trade for Roy Halladay and they don't need him.
- The Yankee Universe takes a look at what trading for Roy Halladay would mean for the Yankees' payroll.
- Sports Jabber says the Phillies "must" acquire Roy Halladay as long as they don't have to give up anybody that would potentially help the team this year or next.
- Simon on Sports weighs the pros and cons of trading Roy Halladay.
- Fire Brand of the American League sees the Red Sox as the best fit for Roy Halladay as long as the Jays are willing to deal within the division.
- The Phrontiersman makes a case that the Phillies farm system is deep enough to surrender their top prospects for Roy Halladay.
- Sox and Pinstripes argues that neither the Yankees nor the Red Sox will land Roy Halladay.
- Sports of Boston looks at who the Red Sox should keep and who they should move in the next few weeks, in light of the Roy Halladay rumors.
- The Blue Jay Hunter offers the viewpoint of a Jays fan on the Roy Halladay rumors.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com. If you have a suggestion for this feature, Cork can be reached here, and followed on Twitter here.
Halladay And The AL East
The Red Sox phoned the Blue Jays about Roy Halladay, according to Joe McDonald of the Providence Journal. Jon Heyman hears that the Jays are reluctant to deal within the AL East, but they'll have the option to. McDonald reports that the Red Sox and Yankees are on a list of teams Halladay has told the Jays he would accept trades to. The Blue Jays are scouting "all minor league levels" of the Yankees and Red Sox, according to McDonald.
Heyman On Halladay, Pedro, Ackley, Andruw
SI.com's Jon Heyman hears that the Blue Jays could keep Roy Halladay, especially since Toronto fans would not be receptive to a deal that sends their ace elsewhere. If the Jays do deal Halladay, they say they're looking for two premium prospects who will be ready for the majors next year and two other prospects who are further away from making big league contributions. Here are the details and the rest of Heyman's rumors:
- One executive says the Phillies, Giants and Angels have the best shots at acquiring Halladay.
- The Yankees and Mets have both spoken with the Blue Jays.
- It seems odd for teams to set some prospects off limits when the Jays are making Halladay available, but teams like the Rangers and Giants could conceivably deal for Doc and hold onto one or two of their top prospects.
- Executives haven't heard that the Blue Jays are trying to unload Vernon Wells' salary in a combined deal with Halladay.
- No executives believe teams would take Wells under any circumstances. They have "no shot" at moving him, according to one executive.
- Heyman credits Pedro Martinez's agent, Fern Cuza, for some impressive deals but doubts the report that suggested the Phillies will pay Pedro $4MM, unless it's prorated.
- Scott Boras met Mariners people to discuss second-overall pick Dustin Ackley, but the two sides made little progress.
- Heyman praises Andruw Jones for turning down offers from the Braves and Yankees to sign in Texas with coach Rudy Jaramillo.