Wandy Rodriguez looked sharp in his return from the disabled list tonight. The Astros left-hander allowed four walks and two hits over six shutout innings as Houston notched a 8-3 win over Atlanta. You'll be reading a lot about Rodriguez at MLBTR this summer since, with so few difference-making pitchers on the market, Rodriguez could arguably be the top arm available at the trade deadline.
Some links….
- Magglio Ordonez could be on the market very soon, writes Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. Ordonez is a defensive liability in the outfield the Tigers can't put him at DH since that could cost Victor Martinez or Alex Avila at-bats. Ordonez is still owed $5.8MM this season and he has a no-trade clause, so Morosi figures Detroit "would probably need to swap one burdensome contract for another" to move the veteran slugger. The Yankees, Mariners and Angels are listed as contenders who could use DH help.
- Wilson Betemit is drawing attention from several scouts, tweets ESPN's Buster Olney. Betemit is hitting .289/.348/.411 for the Royals this season but lost his starting third base job to Mike Moustakas. MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith profiled Betemit's trade candidacy last month and noted that at a 2011 salary of just $1MM, Betemit is bargain for any club needing third base help.
- The Royals have signed five more of their draft picks, with seventh-rounder Kellen Moen the highest pick yet to sign with the club this year.
- As if the Dodgers didn't have enough financial problems, the club owes Manny Ramirez a deferred payment of $8.33MM by June 30, reports Molly Knight of ESPN The Magazine. Ramirez is owed a total of $25MM in deferred money from the Dodgers, which will be split up into three equal payments this year, next year and in 2013.
- The Indians announced the signings of three picks from the 2011 draft. Outfielder Bryson Myles (sixth round) was the highest-picked of these signings.
