AL Central Notes: Twins, White Sox, Indians
On this date in 1909, Ty Cobb stole second, third and home in one inning as the Tigers beat the Red Sox 6-0. The Tigers will be playing the Twins tonight and the Indians will host the White Sox in the other intra-divisional contest of note. Here's the latest on the winnable AL Central…
- The Twins are six games below .500, but they consider themselves buyers, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. They’re six games out of first place and continue targeting middle relief. GM Bill Smith told Rosenthal that he wants “depth” to complement Joe Nathan, Matt Capps and Glen Perkins.
- The White Sox are being uncharacteristically quiet on the trade market, according to ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick (on Twitter). Crasnick suggests we'll have a better sense of Chicago's plans after Chicago's upcoming six games against the Indians and Tigers.
- Rival executives expect the Indians to keep their prime assets and make incremental moves this year, ESPN.com's Buster Olney reports (Twitter link).
MLB Trade Rumors Has The Trade Deadline Covered
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- If you want only the hard news, you'll like our transactions page. You can also get only the transactions via Twitter or RSS.
- Wondering who was traded last year? Look it up with our Transaction Tracker.
Orioles Notes: Uehara, Guthrie, Johnson, Lee
Orioles president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail and owner Peter Angelos met to discuss possible deals this week, according to Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun. Zrebiec suggests the Orioles will make one or two moves in the next ten days; here are the names to watch:
- There’s a lot of action on Koji Uehara now, despite some concern about the 36-year-old’s age and health. The Orioles are listening to offers and willing to move Uehara, but they want something of value in return for him. If they don’t like the offers they see, they will welcome him back next year (a $4MM option for 2012 will vest once Uehara makes 15 more appearances).
- The Orioles don’t have much pitching depth, but they appear to have softened their stance on Jeremy Guthrie. Zrebiec gets the sense that “if they can get a decent return for Guthrie, they’ll send him packing.” That said, the O’s would likely look to obtain at least one MLB-ready starter in a trade for Guthrie.
- The Orioles and Phillies are not in the midst of serious trade talks.
- Baltimore would likely need a substantial haul to part with Jim Johnson, who could be a part of next year’s rotation.
- There’s no urgency when it comes to Derrek Lee and Vladimir Guerrero, since both would likely clear waivers. That means MacPhail can afford to wait until August to consider deals.
Yankees Sign Marcus Thames
The Yankees signed Marcus Thames to a minor league deal, according to George A. King III of the New York Post. The 34-year-old, who played for the Yankees in 2002 and 2010, will report to the Yankees' minor league complex before he's assigned to Triple-A. Thames hit .288/.350/.491 in a part-time role with the Yankees last year, adding 12 home runs.
The Dodgers released Thames this week after a disappointing stint in which he hit .197/.243/.333 in 70 plate appearances. Though the Dodgers acquired the 34-year-old for his ability to hit left-handed pitching (.824 career OPS), he struggled against southpaws, posting just a .167/.231/.306 line. In ten big league seasons, he has a .246/.309/.485 line with 115 homers.
Red Sox Owner Predicts Quiet Deadline
Red Sox principal owner John Henry told Rob Bradford of WEEI.com that he doesn't expect his team to look significantly different once the trade deadline passes and the calendar flips to August.
"We like this team, so I don't anticipate many changes at all," Henry said. "I think more so than in years past. Obviously, we could use a strong right-handed bat, but this year that's a difficult commodity to get."
Opportunity will drive Boston's decisions, according to Henry. Despite suggestions that the Red Sox are up against baseball's luxury tax, the owner suggested prospects, rather than money, will be the biggest obstacle GM Theo Epstein faces when weighing potential deals.
Yesterday Epstein said the Red Sox still have prospect depth after giving up Anthony Rizzo, Casey Kelly and Reymond Fuentes last offseason. The GM suggested that Boston's most important summer reinforcements may not arrive via trades. Instead the return of injured players such as Clay Buchholz could provide the 59-37 club with a boost.
Pirates Take Careful Approach To Deadline
The Pirates are taking a "very, very careful" approach to the trade deadline, rival officials tell ESPN.com's Buster Olney (Twitter link). There are many indications that the Pirates aren't trading major assets this month.
The 51-45 Pirates are tied for first place atop the National League Central. There's minimal room for error as the Cardinals and Reds are within four games of the division leading Brewers and Pirates. Pittsburgh has checked in on outfielders, including Carlos Beltran, and relievers in anticipation of the trade deadline.
Earlier in the week, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported that some rival GMs believe Pirates GM Neal Huntington over-values his prospects. The Pirates' first move of the summer saw them sign Jason Grilli in a deal that didn't cost Pittsburgh anything but cash and a roster spot.
Quick Hits: Mariners, Slowey, Phillies
Here are some late night links as Thursday turns into Friday…
- Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports spoke to rival executives who believe the only three Mariners off limits in trade talks are Felix Hernandez, Michael Pineda, and Dustin Ackley. Impending free agents like Adam Kennedy, Jack Wilson, and Jamey Wright are certainly on the block, but pitchers Jason Vargas, Brandon League, and Doug Fister would be the most interesting trade candidates.
- The Blue Jays scouted Kevin Slowey's minor league rehab start on Wednesday night, tweets Morosi. They've had interest in him since Spring Training.
- MLB.com's Todd Zolecki says the Phillies are unlikely to add both a reliever and a right-handed bat before the trade deadline. Healthy returns from Brad Lidge and Jose Contreras could be all the bullpen help they need.
Draft Links: Bauer, Phillies, Carpenter, Gretzky
Not long after the trade deadline is the draft signing deadline, so let's round up the latest on that front…
- ESPN's Buster Olney reports (on Twitter) that the Diamondbacks have made progress in negotiations with first round pick Trevor Bauer. The third overall pick comes with a slot recommendation of $3MM.
- The Phillies have signed 11th round pick Tyler Greene, reports Matt Gelb of The Philadelphia Inquirer (on Twitter). Greene, a high school shortstop, received an over-slot bonus after being considered one of the top 100 players in the draft by Baseball America.
- The Rays have signed seventh rounder Ryan Carpenter for $200K, reports Jim Callis of Baseball America (on Twitter). MLB's slot recommendation is $150K, so the right-hander from Gonzaga got himself an extra $50K.
- Bob Elliott of The Toronto Sun reports that the Cubs have signed seventh round pick Trevor Gretzky to an unknown signing bonus. His father is known for another sport; Wayne is the greatest hockey player in history.
Minor Moves: Chico, Singleton, Dobies, Dodgers
Here’s where we’ll keep track of the day’s minor moves…
- Baseball America's Matt Eddy has a host of moves in this week's edition of minor league transactions, highlighted by a number of draft signings.
- The Nationals have released lefty Matt Chico according to Adam Kilgore of The Washington Post. The 28-year-old had a 5.87 ERA in 46 innings in the Nats' minor league system this year.
- Steve Singleton, who was released by the Twins this weekend, has signed with the Phillies, according to La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune (on Twitter). The 25-year-old has a .282/.329/.418 line in six seasons with Minnesota's farm teams.
- The Royals signed left-hander Andrew Dobies from the Atlantic League, according to Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star (on Twitter). The 2004 third rounder has a 4.08 ERA with 7.4 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9 in six minor league seasons.
- The Yankees released right-hander Alan Horne, according to Matt Eddy of Baseball America (on Twitter). Horne, a first rounder ten years ago, allowed 13 runs in 6 1/3 innings at Double-A Trenton this year.
- Eddy also reports that the Dodgers released left-hander Wilkin De La Rosa and right-hander Justin Orenduff. De La Rosa, 26, has a 3.24 ERA with 9.2 K/9 in 328 minor league innings as a starter and occasional reliever.
NL Central Notes: Reds, Wandy, Bourn, Gomez
The Brewers lead the NL Central by half a game, but they lost their center fielder to injury last night. Here's the latest from the division…
- "There is some urgency, but not tremendous urgency" said Reds GM Walt Jocketty to MLB.com's Mark Sheldon when asked about making a trade before the deadline. "I still have a lot of confidence that we're good enough to win, but if there is a chance to upgrade the club, we would try to pursue it."
- MLB.com's Peter Gammons spoke to three AL clubs who have "no interest" in Wandy Rodriguez of the Astros, fearing the NL-to-AL switch (Twitter links).
- Stephen Goff of the Houston Astros Examiner hears that Michael Bourn's name isn't coming up much on the trade market, though writers continue mentioning the speedy outfielder as a trade candidate (Twitter link).
- Brewers GM Doug Melvin told Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that he may look for center field help to restore outfield depth (Twitter link). Carlos Gomez fractured his left clavicle last night.
- Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times suggests Cubs GM Jim Hendry may be best-suited to lead the organization after 2011. Some baseball insiders believe former Diamondbacks GM Josh Byrnes and current Dodgers GM Ned Colletti would be near the top of the Cubs' list of possible replacements, Wittenmyer writes. Reports linking the Cubs to longtime executive Pat Gillick and White Sox assistant GM Rick Hahn have been shot down, according to the Sun-Times.
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports hears that incoming Astros owner Jim Crane hasn’t told current GM Ed Wade to keep any particular player.
- Hunter Pence is likely staying in Houston, since the Astros aren’t seeing multi-player offers they like, according to Peter Gammons of MLB Network (on Twitter). Gammons explains that the market for Wandy Rodriguez is hurt because AL teams are wary of NL pitchers.