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Bedard, Guthrie Have Contrasting Starts

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10:42pm: The Mariners appeared to be waiting until after this start to advance Bedard talks, a source tells WEEI's Alex Speier.  The start won't necessarily cause suitors to drop out.

10:04pm: Mariners lefty Erik Bedard missed a month between starts due to a knee strain, and the rust showed tonight against the Rays.  He threw 57 pitches, about half of them strikes, allowing four walks, three hits, and five earned runs in 1 1/3 innings (Aaron Laffey allowed a couple of inherited runners to score).  The game was reportedly scouted by at least the Red Sox, Yankees, and Tigers.  Bedard's character also took a couple of hits tonight courtesy of former Orioles executive Jim Duquette, though Bruce Chen had his back.

Orioles righty Jeremy Guthrie, on the other hand, fired seven innings of one-run ball against the Yankees to lower his ERA to 4.18.  The contest was scouted by the Cardinals, Tigers, Brewers, and Rangers at the least, tweets Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun.  The Red Sox have also been linked to Guthrie, though Ken Rosenthal tweeted earlier today that the Orioles have been unmoved by the offers for their ace. 

Padres Reliever Rumors: Friday

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Heath Bell said yesterday that he expects to be traded and you can't blame him given the recent rumors. The Rangers, Angels, Phillies and Cardinals appear to have some interest in Bell and some of those clubs are interested in setup man Mike Adams, as well. Here's the latest on the San Diego relievers…

  • I've heard the Padres asked for Wieland and Erlin from the Rangers for Adams and were turned down, and were seeking just Wieland for Bell.
  • The Cardinals are still in on Bell, tweets Heyman.
  • The Rangers and Padres continue to discuss Bell, reports Scott Miller of CBS Sports, though they've made little progress.  The Cardinals are on the fringe, and the Angels are not involved.  The Padres are asking for three players for Bell, and have interest in Rangers prospect Robbie Erlin.  Dan Hayes of the North County Times tweets that the Padres are rumored to have interest in Rangers Double-A righty Joe Wieland, who tossed a no-hitter against the San Antonio Missions tonight.
  • MLB.com's Corey Brock questions the upper-level prospects the Cardinals would move in a deal with the Padres, but says Double-A righty Joe Kelly is a name to watch (Twitter link).
  • The Rangers remain the favorite for Bell, tweets Yahoo's Jeff Passan, but they're at a standstill with the Padres in terms of which prospects would be involved.  He says the Padres understand they're not getting Jurickson Profar, Martin Perez, or Leonys Martin.
  • The Phillies remain active in talks for Padres relievers, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.  He says they prefer Adams to Bell because of the extra year of control.
  • The Rangers are the frontrunners for Bell and the Cardinals' interest in the closer is growing, according to Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune. It's possible that no team will meet the Padres' asking price for Adams, Center writes.
  • Rival teams still expect the Rangers to acquire Bell, according to ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark. One official even says it’s “a lock.” However, the Rangers continue to shy away from the Padres’ asking price – up to three of their top prospects.
  • The Angels are looking for setup types, according to Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (on Twitter).

NL West Rumors: Carroll, Diamondbacks, Harang

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The Giants and Diamondbacks are buyers; the Rockies, Dodgers, and Padres are sellers.  The latest:

Phillies Acquire Hunter Pence

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Last year it was Roy Oswalt, the year before Cliff Lee.  This year, Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. continued his July 29th big-game hunting by landing All-Star right fielder Hunter Pence and $2MM from the Astros for prospects Jarred Cosart, Jonathan Singleton, and Josh Zeid, as well as a player to be named later.  The Phillies confirmed the deal through a press release.

Pence

Pence, 28, was hitting .309/.356/.472 in 430 plate appearances entering tonight's game at Milwaukee.  He plays an average right field, based on UZR data since 2010.  Perhaps the face of the Astros franchise, Pence was not initially thought to be available this summer with the Astros in the middle of an ownership transfer.  He's much more than a rental, with $2.3MM remaining on his contract this year and team control through 2013.  Pence's agents at Beverly Hills Sports Council had a big arbitration win in January, bringing his 2011 salary to $6.9MM and raising the bar for '12 and '13.  The right-handed hitting Pence (pictured) fits perfectly into right field for the Phillies, who rank 14th in the NL with a .665 OPS against lefties after losing Jayson Werth during the offseason. The Braves, Indians, Reds, Red Sox, and Pirates were also in on Pence this month.

Cosart, 21, ranks as high as 17th by ESPN's Keith Law and as low as 43rd by Baseball America among the game's prospects.  He dealt with an elbow injury last year, but has the electric fastball and plus curveball of a future front-rotation starter.  Added bonus: he grew up just south of Houston, in League City, Texas.

Cosart's High-A teammate Jonathan Singleton, 19, was ranked #24 by Law and #41 by BA.  Law says Singleton has "one of the best swings in the minors."  Zeid, a 24-year-old Double-A righty, was ranked 23rd among Phillies prospects by BA prior to the season and has been exceptional out of the bullpen this year.  The player to be named later won't be a top prospect, tweets ESPN's Jayson Stark, and will come from a list of players currently in Low-A ball.  

In acquiring Cosart and Singleton, Astros GM Ed Wade added a couple of excellent prospects to a farm system generally regarded as one of the five worst in baseball prior to the season.  Whether or not the move is popular with fans, it's the right direction for the Astros.

Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi broke the story, with Jayson Stark, Jim Salisbury, and Jon Heyman adding detail.  Photo courtesy of Icon SMI.

Ubaldo Jimenez Rumors: Friday

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The Tigers contacted the Rockies about Ubaldo Jimenez yesterday and they're far from the only team in the mix. The Yankees, Red Sox, Reds and Indians are still involved and the Rockies are eyeing each team's top prospects in possible deals. Colorado's asking price hasn't dropped, so it will still take multiple top young players to pry the right-hander away. Here are the latest rumors, with the most recent updates up top:

  • Danny Knobler tweets that the Tigers are out on Jimenez for now, and while the Indians have tried it looks like the Yankees or Red Sox if there's a trade at all.  He says the door is slightly open for the Tigers to have another go at it, but that's not expected to happen.
  • A Rockies source pegs the chances of a Pence deal at less than 50%, with the Yankees and Red Sox most likely, tweets Yahoo's Jeff Passan.
  • The Tigers have strong interest and are willing to include top prospect Jacob Turner in a Jimenez deal, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  Turner is ranked anywhere from #11 to #26 among all prospects by the gurus.
  • The Yankees have made no calls to the Rockies thus far today, tweets Ken Rosenthal.
  • Others believe the Indians are a big threat to acquire Jimenez, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter).
  • The Yankees’ interest in Jimenez appears to be waning, according to ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark. However, the Indians are sending signals that their “untouchables” might be available in a deal for Jimenez, according to Stark.
  • Joel Sherman of the New York Post says the Rockies are "mad" at Jimenez for for the way he has acted this year (Twitter link). However, Troy Renck of the Denver Post weighs in on Ubaldo the person: "There are no questions about his character," Renck tweets. "Zero."
  • The Red Sox are aggressively pursuing Jimenez while the Indians, Reds, and Blue Jays are also interested, tweets Jon Heyman of SI.  Meanwhile, Heyman says that the Yankees are "lurking".
  • Joel Sherman of the New York Post says that the Yankees would only package Jesus Montero and Dellin Betances in the same deal in exchange for a sure thing, and they don't view Jimenez as a sure thing.
  • Joel Sherman of the New York Post hears that talks between the Yankees and Rockies have not gone well (Twitter link).
  • Any Jimenez deal with the Tigers would "almost certainly" include Jacob Turner and/or Rick Porcello, according to Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com (on Twitter).
  • Rival teams expect to know the Rockies’ true intentions regarding Jimenez tomorrow, according to ESPN.com’s Buster Olney. If the sky-high asking price drops in the next day and a half, other teams will see the price reduction as a signal that Colorado intends to move Jimenez.

Marlins Likely To Keep Nunez Into Next Season

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We've heard that the Marlins are likely to keep closer Leo Nunez this summer.  Today, Juan C. Rodriguez of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel adds that he's heard the Fish plan to keep the righty into next season.  There had been a question of whether the Marlins would be willing to pay a reliever $6.5MM, the range of Nunez's expected 2012 salary.

Talking to MLB.com's Joe Frisaro, Brewers GM Doug Melvin cited the Marlins as an example of a non-contender that is holding on to its players this summer.  Said Melvin: "They're not anticipating moving anybody."

Reds In On Michael Bourn

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7:26pm: The Reds are focused on Bourn, tweets ESPN's Buster Olney.  However, SI's Jon Heyman tweets that the Astros' asking price for the Reds is wildly high.

9:52am: The Reds aren’t letting a losing record stop them from pursuing some of the top available players. They're in on Michael Bourn and Hunter Pence of the Astros, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). The Astros recently stepped up their efforts to trade Bourn, who has also drawn interest from the Nationals.

Bourn, 28, has a .306/.367/.409 line in 465 plate appearances. The Houston native leads the National League in stolen bases (39) for the third consecutive season and UZR/150 suggests he's an above-average defensive center fielder. The Scott Boras client earns $4.4MM this year and is eligible for free agency after 2012.

Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports suggested this morning that Bourn might be a good fit for the Reds, who could put the speedster at the top of their order.

D’Backs Sell Brazoban To Fukuoka Softbank Hawks

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FRIDAY: The Diamondbacks announced that they have sold Brazoban to the Hawks.

WEDNESDAY: Reliever Yhency Brazoban is on the verge of leaving the Diamondbacks for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of the Nippon Professional Baseball League, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.  The 31-year-old former Dodger had his contract purchased by Arizona in late June, but was outrighted back to Triple-A a week ago.

Brazoban has a 3.22 ERA, 10.4 K/9, 3.5 BB/9, and 1.5 HR/9 in 36 1/3 Triple-A innings for the Diamondbacks and Rangers this year.

Meanwhile, SI's Jon Heyman tweets that the Diamondbacks are talking to the Blue Jays about reliever Jason Frasor, despite rumors Frasor is headed to the White Sox.

Mets Rumors: Available Players

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The Mets are currently 6.5 games out of the wild card, with Dillon Gee opposing Chien-Ming Wang tonight in Washington, D.C.  The latest:

Mariners Designate Jack Cust For Assignment

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The Mariners designated Jack Cust for assignment to open a spot on the active roster for Erik Bedard, announced the team.  The move drops the team's 40-man roster count to 39.

Cust, 32, hit .213/.344/.329 in 270 plate appearances for the Mariners, all as a designated hitter.  His slugging percentage had been slipping in recent years, but this year it fell off a cliff as he provided only 19 extra-base hits.  Cust, a left-handed hitter, signed a $2.5MM deal with Seattle in December after being non-tendered by Oakland.

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