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Mark Mulder Retires

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Mark Mulder has only appeared in six games since 2006, but it wasn't until yesterday that the left-hander officially announced his retirement. Mulder, 32, told Jeff Fletcher of AOL FanHouse that he has retired from baseball and is instead devoting himself to becoming a better golfer.

A few months ago, it seemed that Mulder could return to pitch this season, since he was not ready to retire. The Brewers then seemed like a possible destination, but Mulder hasn't touched a baseball since February, so his baseball career is over.

"I guess I have retired," Mulder said.

The two-time All Star was one third of Oakland's "Big Three," along with Barry Zito and Tim Hudson. Mulder retires with a 103-60 record, a 4.18 ERA in 1314 innings, 834 strikeouts and, according to Baseball-Reference, about $33MM in career earnings.

The A's got more than memories from Mulder. They obtained Dan Haren for him in 2004, and later flipped Haren for Brett Anderson and others, so there are traces of Mulder on the current A's team.

A’s Acquire Conor Jackson

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The A's acquired Conor Jackson from the D'Backs for righty Sam Demel, according to Steve Gilbert of MLB.com (Twitter link). The A's note that they are receiving cash to cover part of Jackson's $3.1MM salary (Twitter link). ESPN.com's Buster Olney hears that the D'Backs will cover about $400K of the remaining $1.85MM (Twitter link).

Jackson, 28, is hitting .238/.326/.331 in 172 plate appearances this year. He missed most of last season with Valley Fever and has had some hamstring problems in 2010. Jackson has spent most of the season in left field, though he has considerable experience as a first baseman, too. 

Despite Jackson's slow start at the plate and history as an average defender, the A's weren't the only interested team. The Rangers were also exploring a deal for Jackson, who will be a non-tender candidate after the season.

D'Backs GM Josh Byrnes says the club acquired Demel since he's "another quality arm in [the team's] attempt to improve the bullpen." The 24-year-old righty has pitched well at Triple A this year. Demel has a 1.26 ERA in 28.2 innings, with 8.8 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9. It's the best season the 2007 third rounder has had as a pro. Demel was not ranked among Oakland's top 30 prospects by Baseball America before the season, but the D'Backs (7.33 bullpen ERA) need relievers badly.

Arizona is considering major moves and one executive tells Jon Heyman of SI.com that the club is ready to "blow things up" (Twitter link).

Olney On Rangers, Mariners, DeJesus

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Rangers fans should soon know how quickly the team's sale will be completed, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney. The timeline of the sale could determine how aggressive the Rangers are at this summer's trade deadline. Here are the rest of Olney's rumors:

  • Rival executives tell Olney that they expect the Mariners to become one of the summer's most aggressive sellers. Cliff Lee would be the most appealing trade chip on the 24-40 Mariners if they decide to sell.
  • Olney hears that few teams are willing to take on money this year. Fair enough, but I'd be surprised if five or ten teams don't add payroll this summer. Teams seemed similarly hesitant to take on money this time last summer, but found ways to do it.
  • The Padres, Angels, Giants and Reds could be fits for David DeJesus in Olney's opinion.

Braves Call Up Chris Resop

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The Braves called up Chris Resop instead of exposing him to the other major league teams, according to Carroll Rogers of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Resop had a clause in his contract that would have forced the Braves to make him available to other clubs if he wasn't in the majors by today. But Resop was pitching so well that the Braves chose to promote him, likely at the expense of Craig Kimbrel or Jesse Chavez. Agent B.B. Abbott told O'Brien that it wasn't for lack of interest in Resop.

"I know they got offers,” Abbott said. “But they thought he could help the club at least initially."

Resop's Triple A numbers certainly suggest he can help a big league team. The 27-year-old right-hander has a 1.84 ERA in 73.1 innings with 9.9 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 this year. It's a complete turnaround for Resop, whose big league numbers in parts of four seasons as a reliever are not nearly as impressive. Resop, who pitched in Japan in 2009 and last appeared in the majors in 2008, is out of options, so the Braves can't send him to the minors without exposing him to other teams.

Royals Will Listen To Offers

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Royals GM Dayton Moore told Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star that the club has some "nice pieces" to market this summer. The 27-37 Royals have a number of players who might appeal to contenders and Moore is ready to listen, even though the Royals aren't actively looking to move players at this point.

"We'll evaluate what comes our way if anything does come our way," he said. 

It wouldn't be surprising to see an offer or two for David DeJesus come the Royals' way. Dutton reports that clubs are already scouting the outfielder, who is hitting .314/.392/.479. DeJesus makes an affordable $4.7MM salary this year and there's a club option for $6MM in 2011 ($500K buyout). 

If the Royals hold onto DeJesus, they could decline his option and offer him arbitration. If he turns down their offer to sign elsewhere, they would obtain at least one draft pick, possibly two. The promise of draft picks makes the Royals hesitant to deal him for a pedestrian return, but there are advantages to dealing now. DeJesus must climb into Type A territory under the Elias rankings system and decline arbitration for them to get two picks. Even if they get the picks, they would have to wait a year and pay each draftee about $1MM. 

Rival teams could also have interest in Scott Podsednik, Jose Guillen, Kyle Farnsworth, Willie Bloomquist, Brian Bannister, Kyle Davies, Alberto Callaspo and Rick Ankiel.

Padres Reluctant To Deal Pitching Depth

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The Padres are reluctant to deal from apparent pitching depth, even though it may be the easiest way to acquire the bats they clearly need. Padres GM Jed Hoyer admitted to Nick Canepa of the San Diego Union-Tribune that the club needs offense, but explained that he's uneasy trading pitchers.

“Pitching depth can evaporate faster than anyone can imagine," Hoyer said. "I’m not ruling anything out, but you have to be careful when you start trading your quote-unquote ‘pitching depth.’"

When Hoyer was in the Boston front office last year, the Red Sox appeared to have more arms than they needed. But Brad Penny and John Smoltz disappointed and the club's depth disappeared. Sometimes a team truly has enough pitching to trade from depth (the 2010 Braves come to mind) but most clubs don't find themselves in that position.

“Everybody wants pitching depth," Hoyer said. "I’d rather have pitching depth than bring in one more bat that may not help us in the long run. I’m not saying I won’t do it, but it’s risky."

No winning team has scored fewer runs than the Padres this year, but they have the best run prevention in all of baseball. The team's starters have a 3.26 ERA, and the bullpen (2.66 ERA) may be more impressive. Mike Adams, Heath Bell, Luke Gregerson, Edward Mujica, Joe Thatcher and Ryan Webb have been a dominant group. Relievers like that could help Hoyer find a bat if the Padres decide they can sacrifice some pitching depth.

Poll: The Angels And Kendry Morales

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Angels manager Mike Scioscia recently told Mike DiGiovanna of the LA Times that the Angels are prepared to keep replacing Kendry Morales from within, even though the club is open to making a deal. The Angels have choices: they can keep relying on the players in their system, or they can trade for a corner infielder. It's time to hear your predictions.

How are the Angels going to replace Kendry Morales? 

Click here to vote and here to view the results.

Indians Notes: Draft, Carmona, Westbrook, Choo

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Here's some news out of Cleveland that has nothing to do with Tom Izzo…

  • Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that the Tribe has signed draft picks Jordan Cooper (9th round) and Diego Seastruck (14th). 
  • Fangraphs' Matt Klaassen looks at the Indians as a whole and examines their trade options.  He notes that the reasonable contracts of Fausto Carmona and Jhonny Peralta make both men attractive to other teams, with Carmona being Cleveland's top piece of trade bait.  Kerry Wood and Jake Westbrook's ages and injury histories keep them, in Klaassen's view, from having "much value on the trade market."
  • In regards to Westbrook, Anthony Castrovince writes in a mailbag for MLB.com that the Indians love the experience that he brings to their rotation.  If Westbrook is dealt at the deadline, Castovince thinks the team might try to re-sign him in the winter.  The veteran right-hander is in the last year of a contract that pays him $11MM for 2010.
  • Castrovince also notes that Shin-Soo Choo and his agent Scott Boras may be looking for an extension over Choo's three arbitration years, but not a deal that would cover any of his free agent years.  Choo isn't eligible for free agency until after the 2013 season.

The Trade Market For Kosuke Fukudome And Ryan Theriot

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10:28pm: Morosi and Ken Rosenthal provided a Fukudome update on the FOX Sports MLB Buzz page.  They note that the Nationals are on Fukudome's no-trade list, but the Yankees and Red Sox aren't.  New York and Boston aren't known to have interest in Fukudome, though both teams have some need for an outfielder.  

Morosi and Rosenthal report that the Padres were interested in Fukudome when he originally came to the majors from Japan, though that was when Kevin Towers was the team's general manager.  The Padres could use outfield help but couldn't pick up Fukudome unless the Cubs paid most of his salary.

6:09pm: Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com looked at the fortunes of the Windy City's two clubs following their weekend interleague series, and headlined his piece by stating that the Cubs should be looking to deal rightfielder Kosuke Fukudome and infielder Ryan Theriot.

There's little question the Cubs would love to get Fukudome's hefty contract ($13.5MM for 2011 and a little under $8MM remaining for this season) off the books, especially given the club's desire to give more playing time to youngster Tyler Colvin.  Both Colvin and Fukudome are left-handed hitters so they can't really be effectively platooned, and obviously Alfonso Soriano and Marlon Byrd are in no danger of losing their starting jobs.

Fukudome's slash line for the season is .276/.370/.453, generated in large part by a 1.084 OPS in April.  Since Fukudome's pattern over his first two major league seasons has been to start strong and then tail off into the summer, it seems as if the same is happening in 2010.

Given Fukudome's salary and no-trade clause that reportedly covers 15 teams, Morosi suggests that Chicago's best option is to deal Fukudome for another player with a bad contract of a similar length (here's the list of potential free agents after the 2011 season).  Of course, if the Cubs are willing to pay a large portion of Fukudome's salary, then that widens the trade market considerably.  Washington apparently showed some interest in Fukudome back in April and he could provide some stability for the Nats' outfield.  Their current RF platoon of Roger Bernadina and Mike Morse seems to be working well at the moment and obviously comes at a much lower price tag than Fukudome, even if the Cubs were to foot most of the bill.

As for Theriot, Morosi hasn't heard any shortstop-needy teams sniffing around, though he cites Detroit, Minnesota, Oakland and San Diego as contenders who could use some help at the position.  According to Fangraphs, Theriot provides better defensive help at second base (a 15.5 UZR/150) than he does at short (1.4 UZR/150) based on his career numbers.  Given the Mets' problems at second with the currently-injured Luis Castillo, Theriot could be a nice pickup for them.  He is controllable through 2012 and is making a reasonable $2.6MM salary this season.

Odds & Ends: Angels, Brewers, Gordon, Romero

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Some links to check out while we wait to see if Jon Garland can help the Padres extend their lead in the NL West…

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