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Blue Jays Haven’t Approached Overbay About Deals

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The Blue Jays are considering many deals, but as of 10am CST, they have not approached Lyle Overbay about any trades. The first baseman points out that the Brett Wallace trade changed the landscape for the Jays, but realizes he’s not the hottest commodity at this year’s deadline.

“The market for a first baseman hitting .250 is not out there,” Overbay told MLBTR. “It just seems like the teams that need them haven’t really done anything or they’ve gone a different way."

The 34-year-old is hitting .251/.326/.421 with 12 homers this season and has a no-trade clause, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. It seemed likely that Wallace would play first for Toronto in 2011. With the prospect now in the Astros organization, Overbay won’t rule out a return to the Blue Jays.

“That’s something I’m open to,” Overbay said. “I’m open to anything. Being a free agent is for me and my family so I can make the decision according to that.”

But that decision is months away. For now, Overbay is looking ahead to game time.

“After the game starts you don’t really think about [trades] unless you get a guy coming in for you for pinch running like Austin Kearns,” he said.

Cody Ross Unlikely To Be Traded

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SATURDAY, 9:21am: The Marlins are unlikely to trade Ross, reports Rosenthal, as they can't find the right deal.

FRIDAY, 5:05pm: Executives of one team heard that they could acquire Ross for the right offer, according to Jayson Stark of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The Braves and Red Sox have interest in Ross and could acquire the outfielder for the right price, according to MLB.com's Joe Frisaro.

3:39pm: Cody Ross is "off the table," according to Frankie Piliere of AOL FanHouse (on Twitter). The Braves and other clubs are now looking in different directions. It appears that Chris Coghlan's injury made the Marlins more inclined to keep Ross, though MLB.com's Joe Frisaro says Ross was off the table before Coghlan's ill-fated celebration (Twitter link).

Earlier today, it appeared that the Braves were one of three teams “coming hard” after Ross, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. ESPN.com’s Buster Olney and Juan C. Rodriguez of the South Florida Sun Sentinel reported that a number of teams were pursuing Ross (Twitter links only).

Dodgers Acquire Lilly, Theriot For DeWitt

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1:15pm: Stark tweets that the pitching prospects going to the Cubs are Brett Wallach and Kyle Smit.

1:09pm: The Cubs will get DeWitt and two minor league pitchers for Lilly, Theriot, and $2.5MM tweets Yahoo's Tim Brown.

1:03pm: Lilly and Theriot for DeWitt is done, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post.

12:53pm: Stark tweets that the Dodgers and Cubs are on the verge of a deal that would send Lilly and Theriot to L.A.  Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times agrees.

12:34pm: Blake DeWitt and at least one other player would go to the Cubs as part of a Lilly-Theriot deal if the sides can reach an agreement, tweets Rosenthal.  The inclusion of Theriot will seal the deal from the Cubs' point of view, tweets Chris De Luca of the Chicago Sun-Times.  Lilly doesn't appear to have many suitors aside from the Dodgers.

11:39am: The latest on Cubs southpaw Ted Lilly…

Zambrano Would Accept A Trade

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SATURDAY, 8:40am: The Cubs rejected an offer of Oliver Perez and Luis Castillo for Zambrano, tweets SI's Jon Heyman.  Zambrano has $17.83MM more remaining on his contract than they do, so I'm assuming the Mets wanted cash in the deal.  Heyman says the Cubs did not want to take Castillo.

FRIDAY, 5:39pm: Carlos Zambrano told Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times that he would accept a trade if the Cubs approach him with one (Twitter link). Despite Zambrano's willingness to waive his no-trade clause, there's no reason to expect a deal. Zambrano says he wants to stay in Chicago and the Cubs don't believe they will be able to trade him this season, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney (Twitter link).

Big Z earns $6.4MM between now and the end of the season, plus $17.9MM next year, $18MM in 2012 and possibly $19.25MM in 2013. That's a lot of money for a pitcher who just came off the restricted list and has a 5.66 ERA. The 29-year-old is walking (4.0 BB/9) and striking out (8.6 K/9) lots of batters, as usual.

Rays Acquire Chad Qualls

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The unloading of veteran Diamondbacks continues, as they've shipped reliever Chad Qualls to the Rays for a player to be named later.  The Rays will pay the entire $1.48MM remaining on Qualls' contract, keeping interim GM Jerry Dipoto's streak alive of not sending cash in his transactions.

Qualls, 31, began the season as Arizona's closer but lost the gig by mid-June.  He has an 8.29 ERA, 8.1 K/9, and 3.6 BB/9 in 38 innings on the season with five home runs allowed.  Silver lining: he tossed a scoreless inning last night and there's almost no way his batting average on balls in play remains at .434.  The Rays' pen is in good shape, especially from the right side, so Qualls is something of a luxury for the wild card leaders. 

FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal first reported the Rays' serious interest in Qualls, with MLB.com's Steve Gilbert reporting the agreement.

Odds & Ends: Padres, Oswalt, Farnsworth, Theriot

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We here at MLBTR really appreciate everyone staying up past their respective bedtimes to keep up on all of the latest rumors.  Here's some news from around the web..

White Sox, Twins Exploring Deal For Brett Myers

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SATURDAY, 2:53am: The Twins are in the mix to land Myers, writes Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.  He says the Astros became more open to trading Myers in recent hours.

FRIDAY, 1:37pm: The White Sox are including Jackson in their offer for Adam Dunn, tweets Nightengale.  If they pull that off, they'll try for Myers.

10:56am: We know the White Sox are seeking a mid-rotation starter and might pull off a deal for Edwin Jackson.  But GM Kenny Williams is also quietly exploring acquiring Brett Myers from the Astros, tweets USA Today's Bob Nightengale.  Myers is thought to be mostly unavailable, as the Astros hope to re-sign him and perhaps would prefer not to decimate their rotation for the rest of this year.  The Chicago Sun-Times' Joe Cowley cautions not to get too excited about the White Sox-Myers talk (Twitter link).

Williams might be burning up the phone lines with Ed Wade for multiple players, as AOL FanHouse's Ed Price tweets that there's buzz about the Sox going after Lance Berkman.  It certainly seems that the White Sox will make some noise in the 28 hours leading up to the trade deadline.

Adam Dunn Rumors: Friday

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The latest on Nationals slugger Adam Dunn…

  • The Giants are involved a number of pursuits, but do not seem serious about Dunn, writes Rosenthal. 
  • The White Sox are once again saying that they're out of the Dunn sweepstakes, according to Rosenthal (Twitter links). Barring a mystery team, Rosenthal finds it hard to envision a Dunn trade.
  • The Nationals told teams that Edwin Jackson was key to obtaining Adam Dunn from them, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney. Many teams tried to obtain Jackson, the White Sox got him and now the Nationals say they aren't so sure they want the righty. Obviously, teams are frustrated with the Nationals (all Twitter links).
  • The Nats are becoming frustrated as they try to obtain equal value for Dunn, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney (Twitter links). Rival teams say that Washington's asking price is enormous.
  • Nats GM Mike Rizzo told MASNSports.com's Ben Goessling that he won't lower his asking price for Dunn (Twitter link).
  • Dunn says he'd be comfortable DHing for the rest of the year, according to multiple reporters, including Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post (Twitter link). That is music to the ears of White Sox, Rays and Yankees fans.
  • The Rays are convinced that the Yankees will acquire Dunn, Peter Gammons told WEEI.com. Gammons suspects that if the Nationals trade Dunn, the Yankees will acquire him. The Rays haven't given up hope, since they have had a special assignment scout watching Dunn all week, according to Ed Price of AOL FanHouse (Twitter link). 
  • The White Sox remain in talks with the Nationals for Dunn even after the Edwin Jackson trade, write Rosenthal and Morosi.  Yahoo's Tim Brown tweets that the Nationals want Jackson in a Dunn trade, but the White Sox hope to keep him out of the deal. 
  • The White Sox are focused only on Dunn and not Prince Fielder or Lance Berkman, tweets Bob Nightengale of USA Today.
  • Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports has heard varying opinions about whether the Yankees are truly out on Dunn.
  • Yesterday's Dunn rumors are tough to sort out, rife with conflicting reports.  The White Sox, Yankees, Rays, Giants, and Tigers were linked, though the Tigers might be out.

Cardinals Close To Jake Westbrook Trade

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11:13am: Westbrook has agreed to lower the $2MM trade bonus, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post.  It's currently unclear whether the Padres are involved in this as part of a three-team deal, though Sherman thinks they may have dropped out.

10:53am: A third team might be involved in the deal, reports MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince.

10:19am: The Cardinals are close to acquiring starter Jake Westbrook from the Indians, tweets Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer.  Westbrook is scheduled to start against the Blue Jays a few hours from now.

Westbrook is pricey – he has $3.89MM remaining in base salary this year, and a $2MM bonus and $353K salary bump for being traded.  That's a total of $6.24MM remaining.  Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets that the deal is at the union level as the teams try to sort through the financials.

Westbrook, 32, will solidify the back end of the Cardinals' rotation given the injuries to Kyle Lohse and Brad Penny.  Westbrook has a 4.65 ERA, 5.1 K/9, 3.1 BB/9, and 53.3% groundball rate this season.  He had Tommy John surgery in June of '08, and wasn't healthy until this year.

Padres, Cardinals, Indians Agree To Deal Involving Ludwick, Westbrook

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11:44am: The Padres are sending pitching prospect Corey Kluber to the Indians in the deal, tweets Nightengale.  Krasovic adds that the Padres will send pitching prospect Nicholas Greenwood to the Cardinals.

11:38am: The union has approved the trade, tweets Krasovic.  The Padres get Ludwick, the Cardinals get Westbrook, and the Padres give up two prospects.  Bob Nightengale of USA Today says the deal is official.

11:36am: Westbrook to the Cardinals is agreed to, tweets Heyman.  He adds that the Padres still appear likely to get Ludwick.

11:28am: Ludwick to the Padres has a 90% chance of going down, tweets Dan Hayes of the North County Times.  The Padres would send money and a prospect to the Indians in the potential three-team deal, tweets Olney.  Westbrook has officially been scratched, tweets Castrovince.

11:16am: ESPN's Buster Olney tweets/counters that this thing still has life as of two minutes ago.  Sherman is backing off his earlier tweet and now thinks the Padres are still in it too.

11:08am: Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets that he thinks the Padres have fallen out of this deal and it's just going to be the Cardinals and Indians in a Westbrook trade.

10:58am: Krasovic tweets that a three-team deal is pending the union's OK: the Padres get Ludwick, the Cardinals get Jake Westbrook and a Padres prospect, and the Indians get prospects. 

10:39am: The Padres are deep in talks with the Cardinals for outfielder Ryan Ludwick, tweets Tom Krasovic of AOL FanHouse.  The Cardinals were not known to be willing to discuss Ludwick, but perhaps the strong play of Jon Jay swayed them.

Ludwick, 32, has settled at a level between his stellar '08 and disappointing '09 seasons.  He's under team control for next year, and we know the Padres prefer to get more than a rental.

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