Nationals Making Headway On Acquiring Span
10:47pm: The Nationals are more likely to go after Span than Michael Bourn or B.J. Upton at this point, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney (on Twitter). Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports hears that the sides are in a "staredown" (Twitter link). The Twins want the Nationals to include Storen in their offer.
9:22pm: The deal is "no closer than any other day," an MLB official told Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.
6:31pm: A deal featuring Span and Storen continues to look close, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter).
6:08pm: The Twins are insisting on acquiring Storen with Bernadina and minor league infielder Stephen Lombardozzi for Span, according to Jim Bowden of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
5:18pm: There are lots of mixed signals about the talks, but no deal is close, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (on Twitter).
3:28pm: The Nationals are making headway with the Twins on a deal for Span, tweets ESPN's Jayson Stark. The Twins are insisting Storen be included along with a second player.
1:50pm: The Twins want Roger Bernadina along with a reliever in any deal that sends Span to the Nationals, tweets Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post.
10:45am: The Nationals are pushing setup man Tyler Clippard on the Twins for center fielder Denard Span over closer Drew Storen, tweets Scott Miller of CBS Sports. He says the Twins won't trade Span for a setup man, however.
Aside from saves, Storen comes with one more year of team control than Clippard. Still, we're talking about 2015 and 2016, and there's no telling what can happen with relievers in the course of several years.
Little Momentum For Michael Bourn Trade
Yesterday we learned that the Giants and Braves are in on Astros center fielder Michael Bourn, and GM Ed Wade seeks Major League-ready prospects. The latest:
- There is currently little momentum for a Bourn deal, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, though he notes things can change quickly on deadline day.
Michael Bourn Rumors: Saturday
Astros GM Ed Wade is keeping an open mind on trades, so it's possible outfielder Michael Bourn and others could still go. The latest on Bourn:
- The Braves refuse to include both Randall Delgado and Arodys Vizcaino in a deal for Bourn, according to ESPN.com's Jim Bowden (on Twitter).
- The Giants do have interest in Bourn, Morosi tweets.
- The Reds aren't likely to acquire Bourn, according to Mark Sheldon of MLB.com; Houston's asking price is too high.
- The Giants may have interest in Bourn, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter).
- The Braves are getting more involved on Bourn, tweets Rosenthal. ESPN's Buster Olney hears the Braves are working hard on getting the center fielder.
- The Astros' efforts to trade Bourn are picking up steam, tweets ESPN's Jerry Crasnick, and it appears more likely he'll be dealt by tomorrow's deadline.
- The Astros want Major-League ready prospects for Bourn, tweets MLB.com's Bill Ladson. It makes sense that Wade would seek certainty here, with his Hunter Pence haul being of the high-risk, high-reward variety.
- The Indians and Reds are the main suitors for Bourn right now, tweets Stephen Goff of Examiner.com, but he'd be surprised if the center fielder is traded.
- The Braves are not one of the main teams in on Bourn yet, tweets Rosenthal.
- "The Nationals, Braves, Indians and Reds are among the clubs with varying levels of interest in Bourn," report Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. The Indians are the new suitor here.
Latest On Braves’ Outfield Targets
The Braves are expected to add an outfielder today; here's the latest…
- The Athletics' asking price for Coco Crisp was a bit much, tweets David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. We know the Braves are looking at Houston's Michael Bourn, and O'Brien says they're still in on B.J. Upton of the Rays as well.
Giants Acquire Orlando Cabrera
It appears that Orlando Cabrera is headed for October baseball yet again. The infielder, who has appeared in four consecutive postseasons for four different teams, is going to San Francisco in exchange for outfield prospect Thomas Neal, the Indians announced.
With Mark DeRosa, Freddy Sanchez and Miguel Tejada on the disabled list, the defending World Champions needed infield depth. Cabrera, who will become San Francisco's primary shortstop, began the season as the Indians' everyday second baseman and has since transitioned into more of a utility role. The 36-year-old Colombia native has a .244/.277/.321 line in 344 plate appearances at second, third and short this year.
Meanwhile, the Indians will continue rely on rookie infielders Jason Kipnis and Lonnie Chisenhall, two of the top prospects the Indians did not send to Colorado in the deal that will send Ubaldo Jimenez to Cleveland.
Neal, 23, has spent the 2011 season at Triple-A Fresno, where he has a .295/.351/.409 line. Baseball America ranked him 96th among all MLB prospects before the 2010 season and seventh among Giants prospects before the 2011 season. Neal, who played on a youth travel team with Mike Leake, Stephen Strasburg and the son of Giants manager Bruce Bochy, has an enviable combination of power and arm strength, according to Baseball America, which suggested he could become an everyday player. However, Neal has seen his power numbers decline this year (13 doubles, two homers, .409 slugging percentage).
Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com broke the news and Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle added detail.
Orioles Notes: Jones, Guthrie, Hunter
The Orioles sent Koji Uehara to Texas and are close to sending Derrek Lee to Pittsburgh. Here's the latest news out of Baltimore on the last night before this year's trade deadline…
- Orioles center fielder Adam Jones is not available, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter).
- The Orioles aren't seeing offers they like for Jeremy Guthrie and will likely hang onto him, while adding the newly-acquired Tommy Hunter to the rotation, according to MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli (on Twitter).
Jose Bautista Looks Back At Past Trades
This time last year, the Major League home run leader appeared to be on the trade block and teams were asking about his availability daily. The Giants, Phillies, White Sox and Tigers all inquired on Jose Bautista, and while the talk intrigued front offices and fans alike, it didn’t faze Bautista.
"That wasn’t something that bothered me too much,” he told MLBTR. “By now, I don’t think any trade rumors bother me. It’s always somewhat intriguing to know that you’re involved in talks.”
Twelve months later, the MLB home run leaderboard looks similar – Bautista tops it with 31 home runs – but the right fielder turned third baseman no longer hears himself mentioned as a trade candidate. Bautista, who has switched organizations six times in his career, obtained some stability over the winter, signing a five-year, $64MM extension with the Blue Jays.
On this date seven years ago, long before the multiyear contracts and home run titles, the trade talk turned to reality for Bautista, who was traded twice on July 30th, 2004. The Royals sent him to the Mets, who flipped him to the Pirates, the organization that drafted and developed him. Bautista was on the field for batting practice when he was told to go inside.
“I just thought it was a routine call into the office to talk about something else,” he recalled. “They told me straight up ‘all right, we’ve got some good news and bad news, which one do you want first?’ I was like ‘give me the bad news first and then give me the good news.’ They said ‘well the bad news is we just lost you, we just traded you away. The good news is you’re going to your original team and you’re going to have a lot of opportunities.”
Then a rookie Rule 5 pick who had already suited up for the Orioles, Rays and Royals in the first three months of the 2004 season, Bautista says getting traded so often early on in his career was disorienting at times.
“There’s always a little bit of ‘what the hell am I doing wrong that people don’t want me,'" he said. "At the same time, you’re going somewhere where people do want you. Mixed bag of feelings, but ultimately it was the best thing that happened to me at that point in my career.”
Seven years later, Bautista doesn't have to pack his bags or hear his name in trade rumors. It’s now time for him to experience this summer’s trade deadline in another way – as an observer.
Photo courtesy Icon SMI.
Braves Acquire Michael Bourn
8:59am: The Astros will receive center fielder Jordan Schafer, southpaw Double-A starter Brett Oberholtzer, righty Double-A starter Paul Clemens, and righty Triple-A reliever Juan Abreu, tweets ESPN's Jayson Stark. None of the three pitchers are top 50 prospects, but they did rank ninth, 26th, and 27th respectively for the Braves on Baseball America's preseason rankings.
8:46am: The Braves acquired center fielder Michael Bourn from the Astros for four minor leaguers, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. He says the deal is done and will be announced shortly. Ken Davidoff of Newsday tweets that the Braves will receive money in the deal as well.
Bourn, 28, is hitting .303/.363/.403 in 473 plate appearances, and he leads MLB with 39 steals. The Scott Boras client has $1.45MM remaining on his contract this year and is arbitration eligible for 2012 before hitting free agency. The Astros' outfield purge continues, as they sent Hunter Pence to the Phillies on Friday.
Good Chance Of Ludwick To Indians
8:42pm: The Padres aren't close to completing a deal that would send Ludwick to Cleveland, according to Dan Hayes of the North County Times (on Twitter).
7:16pm: The Indians are in position to acquire Ludwick either later tonight or early tomorrow morning, reports Scott Miller of CSBSports.com (on Twitter).
3:00pm: Yahoo's Tim Brown sees the Ludwick field as the Indians and Pirates, with the Indians more likely.
1:58pm: Talks between the Padres and Indians have some traction, tweets ESPN's Buster Olney, and there appears to be a good chance the two teams will work out a deal for Ludwick.
1:05pm: The price to acquire Padres right fielder Ryan Ludwick won't be too high, tweets Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. He says the Indians are still interested. SI's Jon Heyman considers the Tribe the favorite, as it seems like the Braves and Reds are concentrating on others.
Given Ludwick's .238/.301/.372 line in 416 plate appearances, unloading most of his remaining $2.27MM should be GM Jed Hoyer's primary goal.
Rangers Acquire Koji Uehara For Davis, Hunter
After weeks of searching, GM Jon Daniels has acquired some help for his bullpen. The Rangers acquired Koji Uehara and $2MM from the Orioles for Chris Davis and Tommy Hunter in a move the Orioles confirmed this evening.
Uehara, 36, has a 1.72 ERA with 11.9 K/9 and 1.5 BB/9 in 47 innings this year. He earns $3MM and has a $4MM option for '12 that vests with another 12 appearances. He'll be a welcome addition to the back of manager Ron Washington's bullpen. Dan Mennella has all the fantasy angles covered at CloserNews.
Davis, 25, has a .250/.299/.403 line in 77 Major League plate appearances this year. He has destroyed Triple-A pitching this year, hitting 24 homers and posting a .368/.405/.824 line in 210 plate appearances. Davis, who struggles to hit lefties, has a .248/.300/.454 career line in parts of four seasons.
Hunter has appeared in eight games this year and has a 2.93 ERA with 5.9 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 so far (he was on the disabled list from late March to the beginning of July). The 25-year-old former first rounder has also logged 30 2/3 minor league innings this season and he has a 4.99 ERA with 6.2 K/9 and 1.2 BB/9 for the Rangers' top two affiliates. Hunter was a member of the Rangers' rotation last year, when he started 22 regular season games and three in the playoffs.
Dan Connolly and Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun first reported the move. Jon Heyman of SI.com and Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News added detail.