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Latest On Braves’ Outfield Targets

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The Braves offered a four-player package to the Astros for Hunter Pence, tweets ESPN's Jerry Crasnick.  However, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says the Astros sought two of the Braves' top four pitching prospects and another good young pitcher, so a deal was not reached.  With Pence and Carlos Beltran off the board, here's the latest on the Braves' hunt for a hitter…

  • Byrd is not going to be traded, writes ESPN's Jayson Stark, though the Braves took a run at him.  Stark says the Twins are set on receiving big league-ready players for Denard Span.  Bourn, Upton, Crisp, and Quentin are on the radar, while there are no signs the Braves have pursued Ludwick or Willingham of late.
  • The Braves are strongly in on Quentin, tweets Bob Nightengale, but the White Sox are still unlikely to move him.  Chicago's asking price is very high, tweets Jon Paul Morosi, and the Braves are interested but not optimistic.
  • Cubs center fielder Marlon Byrd appears to be among the names on Atlanta's radar, reports David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
  • The Braves' talks for Oakland center fielder Coco Crisp slowed Friday, tweets ESPN's Buster Olney, but he wonders if they'll be rekindled now that the Phillies got Pence.
  • The Braves are almost certain to land an outfielder before the deadline, reports Rosenthal.  He cites the names you have been hearing for a while: B.J. Upton, Michael Bourn, Ryan Ludwick, Carlos Quentin, and Josh Willingham.
  • Bourn is on the Braves' radar, tweets Crasnick.  Padres right fielder Ludwick is "more down the list of options."  Would Astros GM Ed Wade deal another outfielder?  He told reporters earlier tonight, "We’re going to be open-minded on all fronts. We’re going to be good listeners."
  • The Braves are targeting a center fielder, tweets Yahoo's Jeff Passan, though it doesn't rule them out on corner guys.

Nationals Hearing From Multiple Teams On Marquis

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The Nationals are still hearing from multiple teams on righty Jason Marquis, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.  Marquis, 32, has a 3.95 ERA, 5.3 K/9, 2.9 BB/9, 0.6 HR/9, and 54.0% groundball rate in 120 2/3 innings this year.  Our projected Elias rankings have him well short of Type B status, and he's owed $2.5MM on the season.  The latest:

Brewers Acquire Jerry Hairston Jr.

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The Brewers acquired infielder/outfielder Jerry Hairston Jr. from the Nationals for Double-A outfielder Erik Komatsu today, the teams announced.

Hairston, 35, gives the Brewers additional depth at second base in the wake of Rickie Weeks' injury, as well as an occasional option for third base and shortstop.  He's hitting .268/.342/.385 in 238 plate appearances on the season and has $670K remaining on his contract, plus performance bonuses.

GMs Mike Rizzo and Doug Melvin matched up on a trade back in March, when the Brewers acquired Nyjer Morgan, according to our Transaction Tracker.

ESPN's Chris Singleton and CBS Sports' Scott Miller broke the story.

Red Sox Pushing Hard For Quentin, Thornton

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The Red Sox are pushing hard for White Sox right fielder Carlos Quentin and reliever Matt Thornton, tweets USA Today's Bob Nightengale, but Chicago would have to be overwhelmed with prospects.

Joel Sherman of the New York Post senses that the White Sox "have really fallen out love with Thornton, and would love move the $13MM he is owed for 2012-13."  He says the Yankees have been watching the lefty.

Phillies Asked Twins About Jim Thome

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The Phillies' next move might be for a home run threat off the bench, tweets ESPN's Jayson Stark.  He says the Phillies even asked the Twins about Jim Thome, and cited Jason Giambi as another example.

Thome, 40, signed a six-year, $85MM deal with the Phillies prior to the 2003 season but was traded to the White Sox three years later.  He's four home runs shy of 600, but the Twins haven't shown any inclination to trade veterans.

As for Giambi, ESPN's Buster Olney hears from an executive who feels he would not make it through waivers to them in August.  Giambi "appeared almost certain to go to Philly" before he hurt his quad, tweets Troy Renck.

Quick Hits: Turner, Cubs, Jimenez

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Early Saturday morning linkage..

Twins Unlikely To Trade Kubel, Cuddyer

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The Twins are getting hits on Jason Kubel and Michael Cuddyer but are unlikely to trade either of them, tweets Scott Miller of CBSSports.com.

On Friday morning it was reported that Kubel and Cuddyer were drawing strong interest from clubs with Kubel more likely to be dealt.  The Pirates are one of the teams with interest in Kubel while the Angels are said to have their eye on Cuddyer.

Hunter Pence Trade Reactions And Fallout

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The Phillies love to make a big splash at the trade deadline and they continued the trend this year by acquiring Hunter Pence from the Astros for Jarred Cosart, Jonathan Singleton, Josh Zeid, and a player to be named later.  Let's take a look at some reactions to the deal from around the baseball world:

  • Up until late yesterday, the Astros were looking to get even more out of the Phillies, tweets Jayson Stark of ESPN.com.  Houston insisted that the Phillies had to include two more of their top ten prospects, including 2010 first-round pick Jesse Biddle.
  • Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. will continue to listen to other teams up until the trade deadline on Sunday, but he's likely done trading after landing Pence, writes Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
  • Astros GM Ed Wade was still talking to other teams until ten minutes before he made the deal with the Phillies, tweets Bob Brookover of Philadelphia Inquirer.
  • Keith Law of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required) believes that the Astros took a considerable risk in dealing Pence.  While they received a ton of potential long-term value, the major prospects coming over in the trade are high-risk, high-reward prospects.
  • Wade's decision to trade Pence certainly isn't a popular one but it is the right move for the organization, writes Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com.
  • Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle writes that it could take two years or longer to fairly judge the return that the Astros got for Pence.
  • Phillies officials have questioned Cosart's maturity in the past, according to John Manuel and Matt Eddy of Baseball America.  Furthermore, the right-hander's command issues led others in the organization to believe he was destined wind up in the bullpen.  However, Cosart had the best pure arm in the Phillies' system.

Tigers Acquire Doug Fister, David Pauley

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10:40am: Larry Stone of the Seattle Times tweets that the Mariners will also get a player to be named later, and it could be a "pretty significant name."  The Tigers may make one more trade before tomorrow, tweets Jon Paul Morosi.

10:29am: The Mariners well also receive third base prospect Francisco Martinez in the trade, tweets Knobler.

10:09am: The Tigers will receive Fister and Pauley for Furbush, outfielder Casper Wells, and more, tweets Knobler.

10:03am: The Tigers acquired Fister, tweets SI's Jon Heyman.

9:30am: The Tigers are "closing in on a deal" for Fister, reports Knobler.  In another tweet, he indicates that Mariners reliever David Pauley may be involved.

9:05am: Lefty Charlie Furbush is among the players expected to go to Seattle in a Fister trade, tweets Danny Knobler of CBS Sports.  The Tigers are trying to get a reliever other than Brandon League as well.

8:48am: The Tigers are making progress on a deal for Mariners righty Doug Fister, tweets ESPN's Jerry Crasnick, with hopes of getting something done today.

Fister, 27, has a 3.33 ERA, 5.5 K/9, 2.0 BB/9, 0.43 HR/9, and 46.4% groundball rate in 146 innings this year.  His walk rate ranks seventh in the AL, his innings total tenth.  His 6.95 innings per start average is a welcome contrast from the Tigers' non-Verlander starters, who all average around six.  Drafted in the seventh round in 2006, Fister never cracked a Baseball America top 30 Mariners prospect list, but he's become a solid mid-rotation innings eater.  He's under team control through 2015 and won't be arbitration eligible until after next season.

GMs Dave Dombrowski and Jack Zduriencik hooked up on a trade almost exactly two years ago, when the Tigers acquired Jarrod Washburn, according to our Transaction Tracker.

Pirates Have Strong Interest In Jason Kubel

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The Pirates have strong interest in Twins outfielder/designated hitter Jason Kubel, reports MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch.  ESPN's Jayson Stark reported earlier that the Pirates have their eye on Kubel.

Langosch reports that the Pirates would likely not have to part with top prospects to obtain Kubel.  However, the big question is whether the Twins, at 6.5 games out, would move him.  So far, indications are that the Twins still consider themselves contenders, or at least aren't interested in selling off pieces.  The Reds and Mets are 6.5 games out as well.

Kubel, 29, is hitting .308/.359/.463 in 248 plate appearances this year.  He missed all of June and three weeks of July with a sprained foot.  He's got $1.76MM remaining on his contract this year and projects as a Type B free agent currently, at least in the American League.

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