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Jays Acquire Jackson; Rasmus Involved?

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10:44am: Money appears to be the only holdup in a trade that would send Jackson to the Cardinals and Rasmus to the Blue Jays, tweets Rosenthal.  An exchange of more than $1MM awaits approval, and of course the Cards will get more than just Jackson for Rasmus.

Jackson and Teahen are going to Toronto, tweets MLB.com's Scott Merkin.  Heyman tweets that the two-team deal is done.

10:37am: Jackson is now being told a trade is official, tweets Bob Nightengale of USA Today.  He's shaking hands with staffers, tweets Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune from the White Sox clubhouse.

10:30am: The Cardinals continue to talk about Rasmus deals with the Blue Jays and other teams, tweets ESPN's Buster Olney, and the outfielder appears to be "very much available."

10:09am: Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets that this deal is close but not complete, because the money exchange requires approval and the Jays are trying to spin Jackson to another team.  That team may be the Cardinals, based on tweets from Joe Strauss, Jon Heyman, and Sherman.  Sherman believes the Cardinals could also get a reliever and Colby Rasmus may be involved, but nothing is official.  The Blue Jays have interest in Rasmus, tweets Morosi.

Meanwhile Alejandro De Aza is starting in center field for the White Sox this afternoon, necessitating a 25-man roster move.

9:21am: The White Sox are in serious talks for a deal that would send starter Edwin Jackson and third baseman Mark Teahen to the Blue Jays for reliever Jason Frasor and a prospect, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  Rosenthal's colleague Jon Paul Morosi says this deal is close and money could be involved.  The rumor was first reported ten hours ago on Twitter by a fellow named Doug Seyller.

The Jays' motivation for renting Jackson for two months and taking on a bad contract in Teahen is unclear.  There doesn't appear to be a draft pick angle, as both Jackson and Frasor project as Type Bs.  Perhaps Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos is considering flipping Jackson to a contender.

The White Sox were known to be seeking bullpen help, and Frasor has a club option for next year.  The Sox could also subtract a reliever, as Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports that they're talking to the Cardinals about Matt Thornton.  Maybe Kenny Williams' goal in the Jackson trade is to shed the $9.7MM left on the contracts of the two veterans, though we need to see the quality of the prospect involved.  Sox pitchers John Danks and Gavin Floyd are also on the market, according to Rosenthal.  The White Sox are currently 4.5 games out in the AL Central with another game against the Tigers tonight.

Carlos Beltran Rumors: Wednesday

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Yesterday's Carlos Beltran learnings: the Indians offered to pick up all of Beltran's contract and include a good player, but nothing was presented to the player; the Phillies won't trade Jonathan Singleton for Beltran and many other top prospects can't be had either; the Mets' asking price has come down from two weeks ago and they're talking two and three-prospect deals with suitors.  The latest:

  • Beltran is not going to the Rangers, tweets Rosenthal.  The Giants are his presumed frontrunner.  He says the Mets had asked about Giants prospects Zack Wheeler and Gary Brown.  They won't get Wheeler, but Rosenthal says "we'll see" on Brown.
  • Giants starter Jonathan Sanchez could go to the Mets as part of a Beltran trade, tweets Sherman.
  • Some executives believe Boras is trying to direct Beltran to the Giants, a team that has the money to retain him after the season, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post.  Meanwhile Ken Rosenthal tweets that the Rangers are offering the Mets a greater number of players for Beltran than the Giants, who are offering fewer players but more quality.  The Phillies are still serious, tweets Yahoo's Tim Brown.
  • The Indians walked away from the Beltran talks convinced that agent Scott Boras is controlling the process, tweets ESPN's Buster Olney.  They won't shut the door on Beltran but believe he won't change his mind, tweets Yahoo's Jeff Passan.
  • Joel Sherman of the New York Post says the Mets have "moved off A-level prospect requests" for Beltran, but Andy Martino of the New York Daily News has a high-level source who denies the Mets have lowered their asking price.
  • The Mets are making progress in negotiations with the Rangers and Giants, reports ESPN's Buster Olney.  The Braves remain involved.

Eight-Player Deal Sending Rasmus To Jays For Jackson Imminent

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12:08pm: The Cardinals will send Rasmus, Trever Miller, Brian Tallet, and P.J. Walters to the Blue Jays for Jackson, Rzepczynski, Dotel, and Corey Patterson, tweets ESPN's Buster Olney.  Olney adds that Miller is then expected to be traded to the White Sox.

12:01pm: This trade is not yet official because of the money involved, tweets Danny Knobler of CBS Sports.  He says that aspect may need to be reworked before it's approved.

11:35am: A trade of Rasmus to the Blue Jays for Jackson, Dotel, and Rzepczynski is imminent, reports Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.  He says an announcement could come early this afternoon.

11:22am: Edwin Jackson is definitely going to be traded by the Blue Jays, tweets SI's Jon Heyman.  Heyman heard it's going to be for Cardinals outfielder Colby Rasmus.  Rasmus being under team control through 2014 and still highly-regarded, the Cards will require more than just two months of Jackson.  The two teams have talked about Marc Rzepczynski and Octavio Dotel, notes Olney, and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports tweets that the Cards asked about outfielder Eric Thames.

Rasmus is a popular trade target.  ESPN's Buster Olney tweets that the Rays offered one of Jeff Niemann, Wade Davis, and Alex Cobb, and the young center fielder is very much available.  The Indians have interest as well.

Blue Jays Pursuing Wandy Rodriguez

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Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos, one of the GMs who inquires on virtually every available player, is pursuing left-hander Wandy Rodriguez, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Heath Bell and Ubaldo Jimenez are among the other high-profile targets for Toronto, Rosenthal confirms.

The 32-year-old has a 3.60 ERA with 7.8 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 in 115 innings this year. Last offseason, Rodriguez signed an extension that guarantees him $10MM next year and $13MM in 2013. The Astros' $13MM option for 2014 becomes guaranteed if Rodriguez gets traded. Earlier in the week, Tim Dierkes suggested that the Astros can't expect anything too impressive for Rodriguez unless they include salary relief. 

Miller On Upton, Angels, Slowey

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Scott Miller of CBSSports.com has updates on the trade market. Here they are… 

  • Miller’s sources expect the Rays to trade B.J. Upton by Sunday (click here for the latest on Upton).
  • Angels owner Arte Moreno has approved a payroll increase, according to Miller. The Angels are looking for a third baseman, but they would send Erick Aybar to the Mets for Jose Reyes straight up, according to Miller. The Mets, however, aren’t interested; they’ll keep Reyes instead.
  • Minnesota is expected to trade Kevin Slowey, who continues to draw interest, according to Miller. Earlier tonight, we heard that the Rockies are interested in Slowey.

Passan On Upton, Nationals, Melky, Francoeur

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The latest on the trade market from Yahoo’s Jeff Passan…

  • A number of MLB officials tell Passan that they consider the Nationals the favorites for B.J. Upton. However, a Rays official says there’s no favorite at this point (click here for the latest on Upton).
  • Nationals GM Mike Rizzo has told teams that pitching prospect Brad Peacock is not available.
  • Nationals executives and scouts have told others that Ian Desmond is available (despite reports that that Washington will hold onto its shortstop).
  • The Royals are leaning toward keeping Melky Cabrera in 2012, according to Passan. Cabrera, who is having an excellent season and remains under team control next year, might not fetch enough in a trade for GM Dayton Moore to pull the trigger.
  • The Royals are hoping to work out some kind of contract for next year with Jeff Francoeur. The sides have a 2012 mutual option for $4MM, but the Royals would likely have to offer more to lock Francoeur up for next season. They get the impression that the 27-year-old is interested in staying in Kansas City.

Quick Hits: Rangers, Quentin, Gomes, Bauer

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The Red Sox and Rangers rank first and second in the majors, respectively, in runs scored. Yet one night after Michael Cuddyer prevented the Rangers from scoring, another position player, Mitch Maier, shut down the Red Sox. Here's the latest from around MLB…

  • The Rangers agreed to sign 11th round pick Connor Sadzeck for an over-slot bonus of $350K, according to Jim Callis of Baseball America (on Twitter). The right-hander tops out at 95 mph and projects as a reliever.
  • The Phillies are among the teams scouting Carlos Quentin in case the White Sox decide to move him, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today (on Twitter).
  • The Nationals like the fact that they could obtain a draft pick for newly-acquired outfielder Jonny Gomes after the season, Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post reports (on Twitter).
  • Arizona GM Kevin Towers told Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic that Trevor Bauer, who signed yesterday, "possibly could" help the bullpen in September (Twitter links). The D'Backs "fully envision" Bauer competing for a rotation spot next spring.
  • The D'Backs continue looking for pitching, according to Scott Miller of CBSSports.com (Twitter link).

AL Central Notes: Lindor, Tigers, Slowey

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Historically speaking, July 26th has been a busy day for the Indians. The Indians and Cardinals swapped Mark DeRosa and Chris Perez on this date in 2009; the Tribe acquired Carlos Santana for Casey Blake on this date in 2008; the Indians acquired Shin-Soo Choo for Ben Broussard on this date in 2006; they sent Russell Branyan to Milwaukee on this date in 2004 and they signed Marco Scutaro as an amateur free agent in 1994. This year, they're buyers. Here's the latest on the Indians and their division rivals…

  • Indians GM Chris Antonetti says the Tribe has had continued dialogue with the agent for first round pick Francisco Lindor, though there’s no real update on the talks (Twitter link).
  • Tigers owner Mike Ilitch told Bob Wojnowski of the Detroit News that he'd be "extremely disappointed" if the Tigers don't make the playoffs this season. GM Dave Dombrowski and manager Jim Leyland are in the final years of their respective contracts.
  • The Rockies and others continue to pursue Kevin Slowey, according to Yahoo's Tim Brown (on Twitter). Earlier in the month, it became clear that the Pirates and Rockies were among the clubs with interest in the Twins right-hander.

Carlos Beltran Rumors: Tuesday

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Yesterday right fielder Carlos Beltran shot down the notion that he's told the Mets he won't accept a trade to an American League team.  Writers agree that the Rangers are making a big push and that the Phillies have cooled, but the standing of the Braves, Red Sox, and Giants is unclear.  The latest up top:

  • Beltran says he never blocked a deal to the Indians, according to Mike Puma of the New York Post (on Twitter). He says the Mets haven't come to him with possible deals.
  • The Indians offered to pick up all of Beltran's remaining contract and give the Mets a good player in return according to MLB.com's Peter Gammons, but Cleveland was not a fit for the Scott Boras client. Heyman reports (on Twitter) that the deal was never presented to Beltran, so the Mets must know which teams he'll accept a trade to.
  • The Phillies won't give up Jonathan Singleton for Beltran, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com, who confirms that Cosart and Brown aren't available either (Twitter link). More Phillies prospects will soon be off the table as well, according to Heyman.
  • Brewers GM Doug Melvin declined to speak about Beltran in particular, but he told Adam McCalvy of MLB.com that he's always open to making the right deal, generally speaking.
  • Agent Scott Boras told ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick that Beltran's decision to accept or block a trade will revolve around his chances of winning a title. Crasnick's take on the leading suitors for Beltran confirms what we've read for the past 24 hours or so: the Rangers have ramped up their pursuit of Beltran and the Braves and Giants remain interested, while the Red Sox and Phillies appear to have slipped to the back of the pack.
  • There's a strong belief the best offer may come from the Rangers, tweets SI's Jon Heyman.
  • The Mets' asking price has come down a bit from two weeks ago, an interested executive told Joel Sherman of the New York Post (Twitter links).  Sherman says the Mets are talking two and three-prospect deals with the Rangers, Red Sox, Giants, Braves, Phillies, and Brewers.
  • The Mets have been turned down on requests for Mike Minor, Julio Teheran, or Arodys Vizcaino of the Braves, Zack Wheeler or Gary Brown of the Giants, and Domonic Brown or Jarred Cosart of the Phillies, reports ESPN's Jayson Stark.  Stark says the Mets are telling teams the Beltran deal isn't about money, and the team that offers the best players will get him.
  • A high-ranking source tells ESPN's Buster Olney there is no clear frontrunner for Beltran as of right now (Twitter link).  Meanwhile, a source close to the talks tells Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports he expects things to intensify within the next 48 hours (Twitter link).
  • The Giants "look like a possible favorite" for Beltran at the moment, reports SI's Jon Heyman.  The Braves are very interested as well, while the Phillies "don't seem all that involved."
  • The Reds are not currently involved in trade talks for Beltran, tweets ESPN's Buster Olney.
  • An executive from a team that has expressed interest in Beltran told Joel Sherman of the New York Post, "They are not getting a top-40-ranked prospect for Beltran even if they eat all the money [left on his contract]."  Sherman's article goes on to explain why the Mets will probably have to settle for less-than-elite prospects.  He reiterates that the Rangers are aggressively pursuing Beltran and the Braves and Red Sox are the other two most interested clubs.      

NL Central Rumors: Brewers, Hernandez, Cardinals

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The latest buzz from the NL Central…

  • The Brewers have discussed Clint Barmes, Coco Crisp and Jerry Hairston Jr., according to Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com.
  • Ramon Hernandez of the Reds is "not on the block," according to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle (on Twitter).
  • "We're still exploring both [starters and relievers]," said Cardinals GM John Mozeliak to MLB.com's Matthew Leach. "But when it comes down to it, I think the reliever market’s got more opportunities." Mozeliak also indicated that the team could conceivably add payroll both this year and next in a trade.
  • An AL executive told Joel Sherman of the New York Post that while the Astros asked for a big return for lefty Wandy Rodriguez a few weeks back, they now "will take little at deadline to get rid of most of his contract" (Twitter link).  Rodriguez has about $38MM left on his contract if he exercises his 2014 player option.  He's a bit overpaid, but presents a nice opportunity for a team to add a solid starter without giving up top prospects.
  • The Reds are not close on any deals, GM Walt Jocketty told John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer (Twitter link).  While Jocketty would not reveal his list of untouchable prospects, he laughed when Fay mentioned catcher Devin Mesoraco.  Earlier today we learned that the Rockies asked for Mesoraco and Aroldis Chapman in an Ubaldo Jimenez trade.  Jocketty seems disinclined to trade prospects for rentals.
  • Brewers GM Doug Melvin seeks a left-handed reliever, but told Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel that the market "isn't very strong."  It's a similar story with the Brewers' other main needs, shortstop and third base.

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