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Phillies, Royals Discussing Melky Cabrera

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The Phillies and Royals have discussed a deal that would send Melky Cabrera to Philadelphia, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. The sides have exchanged names, but they aren't close to completing a trade. 

Morosi notes that it's unlikely that the Royals will trade both Cabrera and Jeff Francoeur, since that would create openings in next year's outfield. The Royals and Francoeur have a mutual option for 2012 and Cabrera is arbitration eligible after the season.

Phil Anastasia of the Philadelphia Inquirer reported Philadelphia's interest in Cabrera earlier this week. Some Phillies people think the Royals are asking for a "small fortune" for Cabrera, Francoeur and Joakim Soria, according to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe (on Twitter).

Cabrera earns just $1.25MM this season, so he's considerably cheaper than another one of Philadelphia's targets, Carlos Beltran. Beltran, a switch-hitter like Cabrera, earns $18.5MM this year and though the Mets appear willing to cover a substantial portion of that, they're asking for top young players in return. The Phillies appear to be one of the favorites to acquire Beltran.

AL East Notes: Shields, Johnson, Bundy, Yankees

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Jacoby Ellsbury clubbed two homers today as the Red Sox beat the Orioles 4-0. All eyes will be on Jonathan Papelbon and David Ortiz this winter, but it'll also be interesting to see what happens to Ellsbury, who's arbitration eligible for the second time after the season. He has a career-high 15 homers with 28 stolen bases and a .316/.375/.509 line so far in 2011. In other words, he's getting a big raise from his current $2.4MM salary. Here's the latest on the AL East…

  • The Rays are reluctant to tear down their roster to the point where they’re no longer competitive, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Rosenthal suggests the Rays have no compelling reason to deal James Shields now and that an offseason move is more likely. 
  • The Orioles appear to be open for business, according to Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com (on Twitter). Many teams are interested in Jim Johnson and the Tigers are among the clubs interested in Jeremy Guthrie.
  • Orioles scouting director Joe Jordan told Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun that he has had “periodic conversations” with Dylan Bundy, the high school right-hander the Orioles selected fourth overall in this year’s draft. Jordan, who has offers out to just about all Baltimore’s draftees, expects dialogue with Bundy to pick up before the August 15th deadline for teams to sign their picks.
  • Yankees GM Brian Cashman told Newsday’s Ken Davidoff that he isn’t looking for offense, but will consider anything that will make the club better.

Outrighted: Brazoban, Hottovy, Blevins

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The latest players to clear waivers and be outrighted…

  • The Diamondbacks announced that they have outrighted Yhency Brazoban to Triple-A in a press release. The 31-year-old right-hander struck out eight and walked four in six relief innings for Arizona over the last few weeks. He allowed eight hits and four runs.
  • Southpaw reliever Tommy Hottovy, designated for assignment by the Red Sox on Saturday, cleared waivers and has been outrighted to Triple-A, tweets ESPN's Gordon Edes.
  • Athletics lefty Jerry Blevins cleared waivers and is headed to Triple-A as well, tweets John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle.

Braves Have Interest In Jonny Gomes

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The Braves have interest in Jonny Gomes, report Jon Paul Morosi and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). Earlier this afternoon we heard that Atlanta may be nearing a deal for a right-handed bat, which Gomes is.

Fred Lewis has been getting more and more playing time in left field for the Reds, which is why Gomes is available. He's hitting just .213/.339/.408 this year overall, but he's crushing left-handed pitchers: .340/.446/.547 in 65 plate appearances.

Tigers Acquire Wilson Betemit

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The Tigers have acquired Wilson Betemit from the Royals for prospects Antonio Cruz and Julio Rodriguez, reports Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (Twitter links). Bob Dutton of The Kansas City Star first reported that a trade involving Betemit was imminent (on Twitter). The Royals have confirmed the move in a press release.

The 29-year old Betemit was a sought after man this summer; the Brewers, Angels, and Marlins all expressed interest in acquiring him at various times. He has hit .281/.341/.409 with three homers in 226 plate appearances this year, though he lost playing time to Mike Moustakas in recent weeks. The Tigers have been focused on pitching in recent weeks, but this move gives them an upgrade over Brandon Inge at the hot corner. Inge is hitting just .177/.242/.242 this season.

Neither Cruz or Rodriguez ranked among Detroit's top 30 prospects in Baseball America's 2011 Prospect Handbook. Cruz, a 19-year-old left-handed pitcher, has a 3.11 ERA in 75 1/3 innings with the Tigers' Low Class-A affiliate this season. He's struck out 58 and walked 28 in ten starts and a dozen relief appearances. Rodriguez, a 20-year-old catcher, has hit .283/.325/.354 with one homer in 246 plate appearances for Detroit's High Class-A affiliate this season.

Braves May Be Nearing Deal For Bat

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The Braves may be nearing a deal for a right-handed hitter, according to David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (on Twitter). Though it's not clear which hitter may be headed to Atlanta, Josh Willingham, Ryan Ludwick, Hunter Pence, Jeff Francoeur, Reed Johnson, Jeff Baker, Ryan Spilborghs and Michael Cuddyer are among the potentially available players who hit from the right side.

The Braves could use an offensive boost in right field or center field. With Chipper Jones currently on the disabled list, Martin Prado is back at third base, so Atlanta could also acquire a left fielder and shift Eric Hinske back into a reserve role.

Team Facebook/Twitter/RSS

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If you prefer your MLBTR fix limited to only your favorite team, we've got you covered.  Below are links to our team Facebook, Twitter, and RSS pages and feeds.

AL East

AL Central

AL West

NL East

NL Central

NL West

Transactions only: Twitter / RSS

Brewers Expressed Interest In Jamey Carroll

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2:42pm: Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel hears that there's "nothing hot" between the Dodgers and Brewers regarding Carroll.

1:54pm: The Brewers reached out to the Dodgers about infielder Jamey Carroll, tweets ESPN's Buster Olney.  For quite a while now, Carroll has been regarded as a natural fit for the Brewers on the left side of their infield.

Carroll, 37, is hitting .290/.360/.360 this year in 321 plate appearances for the Dodgers.  He's capable of playing all around the infield and handling the outfield corners as well.  With under $600K owed to Carroll after the trade deadline, he's affordable too.

I spoke to Carroll last month; check that out here.

Pirates Mulling Breslow, Willingham

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2:29pm: The Pirates and A's aren't discussing a package deal involving Willingham at this point, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney (on Twitter). The two clubs have discussed relief pitching.

12:18pm: The Pirates are mulling a possible trade with the Athletics for lefty Craig Breslow and outfielder Josh Willingham, tweets Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.  Biertempfel believes Garrett Jones would probably be part of the package going to Oakland in such a deal.

The Pirates have a need for left-handed relief, while Willingham would serve as a useful right-handed bat in right field.  The 32-year-old is hitting .244/.321/.434 on the season, but must prove he's past an Achilles injury.

The Pirates are enjoying increased financial flexiblity due to improved attendance, president Frank Coonelly told ESPN's Buster Olney.  Coonelly also mentioned that he envisions GM Neal Huntington remaining at the helm "for a long time."

Ubaldo Jimenez Rumors: Wednesday

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Yesterday the Red Sox joined the list of teams that have reportedly checked in on Rockies' ace Ubaldo Jimenez, while the Reds' interest was said to be strong.  The latest:

  • One MLB official says the Rockies never seriously intended to deal Jimenez, according to Jayson Stark of ESPN.com (on Twitter). It still sounds like he's staying put.
  • The return in a Jimenez trade "would have to blow everybody away," GM Dan O'Dowd told Woody Paige of the Denver Post.
  • The Rockies have yet to receive a single official offer for Jimenez, report Yahoo's Tim Brown and Jeff Passan.  The Tigers, Reds, and Yankees are said to be the "most smitten" clubs.  The writers add that a Tigers package would have to include pitching prospect Jacob Turner, the Reds would have to part with catcher Devin Mesoraco, and the Rockies inquired on Jesus Montero and Manny Banuelos of the Yankees.

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