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Nationals Shopping Ian Desmond?

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The Nationals are "actively shopping" shortstop Ian Desmond, with the Giants and Red Sox among the suitors, according to Yahoo's Jeff Passan (Twitter link). However, Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post tweets that he's hearing the exact opposite about Desmond's availability. Kilgore wrote yesterday that the Nats have received several calls about Desmond, but the team views him as a core player and is reclutant to move him.

Whether or not the Nationals are actively looking to trade the 25-year-old, it seems unlikely he'll be dealt in the next week, writes MLB.com's Bill Ladson. Ladson's source says GM Mike Rizzo is a fan of Desmond and that if he "puts it all together in one season for another team, [the Nats] would look foolish."

In a second tweet, Passan says the minor league performance of Stephen Lombardozzi, who Rizzo loves, is one reason Desmond could be available. The 22-year-old has hit .322/.372/.461 in 437 plate appearances this year in Double-A and Triple-A. Desmond, meanwhile, has played well defensively for the Nats, but has seen his OPS slip to .589, down over 100 points from 2010.

New York Notes: Trade Talk, Byrdak, Santana

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The Yankees and Mets will send Bartolo Colon and Dillon Gee, respectively, to the hill today as they look to take the rubber matches of their weekend series. Before they get underway, let's run down this morning's New York links….

Rosenthal’s Latest: Braves, Upton, Keppinger, Bell

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FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal, whose bow tie took some playful mocking from Brandon Phillips yesterday, is back with another handful of hot stove notes….

  • While the Braves still figure to acquire a right-handed hitter, Rosenthal points out that Dan Uggla and Jason Heyward have recently shown signs of heating up. Increased production from that pair could be the equivalent of adding an impact bat.
  • The Braves view their starting rotation depth as one of their greatest strengths, and aren't inclined to compromise it by dealing Derek Lowe.
  • Rosenthal backed off his Saturday guarantee that B.J. Upton will be traded before the deadline, cautioning that he doesn't know the Rays' exact intentions.
  • Before the Giants acquired Jeff Keppinger from the Astros, the Yankees inquired on the infielder.
  • The Cardinals are "hotter" on Heath Bell than Mike Adams, especially considering the Padres continue to "need to be overwhelmed" to move Adams.
  • One executive offered this metaphor on Pirates GM Neal Huntington using his farm system to facilitate potential acquisitions: "He’s been planting a garden for four years, and now he’s going to be picking flowers out of it."

Red Sox Sign Charlie Haeger

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The Red Sox have signed knuckleballer Charlie Haeger, reports Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus.  (Twitter link)  Haeger was released by the Mariners last week after posting a 7.74 ERA in nine starts with Triple-A Tacoma.  Haeger has also pitched for the White Sox, Padres and Dodgers, amassing a career 6.40 ERA in 83 Major League innings spread over five seasons.

Quick Hits: Hanley, Phillies, Zduriencik, Darvish

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The Mariners' losing streak extended to 14 games after dropping a 3-1 result to Boston today.  Seattle's 14-game skid ties a franchise record for consecutive losses.

Some news from around the majors….

  • In a radio appearance with Dan LeBatard (partially transcribed by Matt Forman of the Miami Herald), Jeff Conine said that if it was up to him, the Marlins would trade Hanley Ramirez.  Conine might have just been using the interview to vent, but given Conine's status as a special assistant to Marlins president David Samson, it's worth wondering if others in the Florida front office feel the same way about the club's star shortstop.
  • Also from Forman's post, Marlins manager Jack McKeon doesn't think his team will do much, if anything at the trade deadline.
  • Ruben Amaro's reputation for major trade deadline deals has raised expectations that the Phillies GM will make another big move this summer, writes Phil Sheridan of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
  • The Mariners' losing streak has erased the fact that the club was in the AL West hunt just two weeks ago.  GM Jack Zduriencik tells Larry Stone of the Seattle Times that he tried to find help for the Mariners' terrible offense but to no avail.  "That big bat doesn't seem to be out there at a reasonable cost. It's not as easy as saying, 'We need a bat. Let's go get a bat.' Great. Who's giving one up? Lots of clubs who are doing well are looking for a bat," Zduriencik said.
  • The Nationals still have an interest in Japanese right-hander Yu Darvish, reports MLB.com's Bill Ladson.
  • It's been almost 20 years since the Dodgers were last sellers at the trade deadline, writes Steve Dilbeck of the Los Angeles Times.
  • The Angels aren't expected to make any huge deals at the deadline, though Kevin Baxter of the L.A. Times notes the Halos have been "eagerly courting" the Padres with the hopes of adding Heath Bell or Mike Adams.
  • Dennis Manoloff of the Cleveland Plain Dealer looks back at the Indians' history at the trade deadline since 1994.

Central Notes: Slowey, Cardinals, Paulino, Brewers

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Let's check in with the latest from the middle of the MLB map….

Carlos Beltran Rumors: Saturday

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Carlos Beltran went 1-for-4 with a walk and a strikeout in the Mets' win over the Marlins last night, and every game he plays could be his last with the team these days. Yesterday we learned that because of his no-trade clause, Beltran can not approve a trade until 24 hours after the deal. That means the deadline to move him is July 30th, not the 31st. The Mets have interest in top prospects, but Mike Minor (Braves), Domonic Brown (Phillies), Gary Brown, Zach Wheeler, and Brandon Belt (all Giants) appear to be long shots.

Let's keep track of all the day's Beltran rumors right here, with the latest up top…

  • There is "increasing chatter around [the] Mets" suggesting that Beltran will be dealt to the Giants, tweets Newsday's David Lennon.
  • Beltran's no-trade clause is considered to be a "ring choice," according to Peter Gammons, as in Beltran will only agree to go to a team that has a legitimate chance at the World Series.  Given Beltran's rumored preference to remain in the NL, Gammons feels this narrows the field down to the Phillies, Giants and Braves, with the Major League-leading Phillies perhaps Beltran's "preference."
  • Beltran is likely going to be the only Mets player moved before the deadline, tweets Andy Martino of the New York Daily News.  That said, Martino hears that at least one team has contacted the Mets about Angel Pagan.
  • Richard Durrett of ESPN Dallas looks at how Beltran would fit into the Rangers' lineup.
  • SI.com's Jon Heyman tweets that the Mets are still shooting for a home run with Beltran, targeting Domonic Brown, Wheeler, and Minor. He notes, however, that with an expiring contract and no possibility for the acquiring team to collect draft picks, the Mets may ultimately have to drop the price tag.
  • Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports said in today's pre-game show that the Braves won't part with a number of their top pitching prospects to acquire a rental like Beltran, especially since he can't be offered arbitration following the season.
  • Jon Heyman of SI tweets that all of the Mets' trade talk currently revolves around Beltran.  If they move anyone else, it'll be a late trade.
  • ESPN New York's Adam Rubin reports that the Rangers remain in play for Beltran. The Mets have increased their scouting of Texas' farm system, redirecting scouts as needed.
  • Rival executives tell ESPN's Buster Olney that Mets GM Sandy Alderson is not necessarily conceding eating most of Beltran's salary (Twitter links). It's all part of negotiations and there is some belief within the organization that they'll get some financial relief in a trade.
  • Andy Martino of The New York Daily News says the Mets hope to complete a Beltran trade before next weekend (Twitter links). They don't want there to be a frenzy right at the deadline.
  • The Reds "have nibbled" on Beltran according to ESPN's Jerry Crasnick (on Twitter), but they are hesitant to give up good prospects or take on so much money for a rental.

MLBTR's Mark Polishuk also contributed to this post

Indians Notes: Carroll, Prospects, Ludwick, Harang

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Neither Roberto Alomar nor Bert Blyleven will be wearing a Cleveland cap into the Hall Of Fame tomorrow, but both men spent significant parts of their careers with the Tribe.  Blyleven won 48 games and posted a 3.23 ERA with the Indians between 1981-85, twice finishing third in AL Cy Young voting in that span.  Alomar played in Cleveland from 1999 through 2001, earning Gold Gloves and All-Star appearances in each year and hit .323/.405/.515 as an Indian.

Onto some news about the modern-day Clevelanders, courtesy of Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer….

  • Lonnie Chisenhall, Jason Kipnis, Drew Pomeranz and Alex White are "all but untouchable" in trade talks.  Without these top prospects on the table, however, it makes it unlikely that the Indians will be able to acquire top-tier trade candidates like Carlos Beltran or Hunter Pence.  Hoynes notes that the Tribe's dealings are tempered by the fact that while they have a chance to win the AL Central, they probably don't have a realistic shot at the World Series so the team doesn't want to mortgage the future for just a token playoff berth.
  • The Indians have talked to the Dodgers about utilityman Jamey Carroll.  Cleveland's interest may have cooled, though, now that Kipnis has been called up.  The Rockies and Brewers have shown interest in Carroll.  MLBTR's Tim Dierkes explored Carroll's trade candidacy and also had a Q&A with the veteran last month.
  • The Indians "aren't close" to working out a deal with the Padres for Ryan Ludwick or Aaron Harang, reports Hoynes (Twitter link).  We recently heard that Harang (along with Hiroki Kuroda) were Cleveland's top two targets on the trade market.

AL East Rumors: Frasor, Red Sox, Scott, Yankees

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Here's the latest news from "The Beast"…

  • The Blue Jays and Diamondbacks have discussed a trade involving Jason Frasor, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com, though the D'Backs aren't close to a deal with the Jays (or any club) for now.  We heard last week that the Jays and Snakes were talking and the two clubs seem like a good fit — Arizona wants veteran relievers and Toronto has Frasor and several other experienced bullpen arms.  Frasor has a 3.12 ERA and a 7.8 K/9 rate this season and recently became Toronto's all-time leader in pitching appearances.
  • The Red Sox have no deals coming in the near future and at the moment, "nothing likely on [the] trade front," several team sources tell The Boston Herald's Mike Silverman (Twitter link).
  • Luke Scott will miss the rest of the season with a shoulder injury and he may have played his last game with the Orioles, notes MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli.  The O's could choose to non-tender Scott, who is entering his last year of arbitration and is due a raise from his $6.4MM 2011 salary.  Scott, for his part, says he wants to stay in Baltimore.
  • ESPN New York's Wallace Matthews thinks the Yankees should pursue another hitter before the trade deadline, rather than starting pitching.
  • The Rays aren't sure if they're sellers or buyers yet, which "is typical of a team with no room for budgetary error and plenty for restocking the cupboard," writes Yahoo's Jeff Passan.

Nationals Notes: Morse, Desmond, Livan, Marquis

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Michael Morse could be "the biggest bargain in baseball," writes Thomas Boswell of the Washington Post.  Morse, earning just $1.05MM this season, is hitting .311/.360/.552 for the Nats and is under team control through 2013.  Boswell warns that it could be too early for Washington to explore a multiyear deal with Morse, however, given that Jayson Werth "could be the next overvalued Vernon Wells" in terms of an albatross contract and Morse is still somewhat unproven.

Some more Nats notes, courtesy of another Washington Post writer, Adam Kilgore…

  • Ian Desmond has drawn interest from several teams but the shortstop is considered one of the Nats' core players and GM Mike Rizzo has stated the club isn't moving any of those pieces.
  • Jason Marquis and Livan Hernandez are getting the most trade interest of any of Washington's starters, though the club isn't "actively shopping" either hurler.  Kilgore hears from one Major League executive that the Nats' "perception of [Marquis'] value exceeded that of the league’s" and thus Marquis wouldn't be dealt.
  • Ryan Zimmerman, who has known B.J. Upton since childhood, endorsed the idea of Upton coming to Washington.  "I mean, I like the team we have here,” Zimmerman said. “Anytime you had talented players to your team, it gives you a better chance to win. That’s the ultimate goal. If he’s going to help us win, I’d love to have him on our team.”  The Nationals have been interested in Upton for a while, but Kilgore notes that the team is looking for a long-term answer in center field and Upton is only under contract through 2012.

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