Phillies co-ace Cliff Lee finally found himself in the win column on Wednesday after starting the season with 13 consecutive starts without a victory. Lee's drought was the longest by a former Cy Young winner since future Hall of Famer Greg Maddux went 14 starts without a win in 2008 with the Padres. Let's catch up on the latest news and headlines from around the league…
- Trade candidate Ryan Dempster doesn't want to wait until after the All-Star break to return to the mound and may be ready in time to make a start against the Mets on Sunday, writes Carrie Muskat of MLB.com. "I think they trust me to make the right decisions," Dempster said. "I also don't want to go out there and have a 50-pitch limit, and that doesn't do us any good." The right-hander has been on the disabled list since June 16 with a sore right lat.
- The Rangers may find themselves without any new prospects from Latin America as the team awaits a resolution from Major League Baseball regarding Dominican outfielder Jairo Beras' contract status, says Evan Grant from The Dallas Morning News. Beras' age at the time he signed with the Rangers has been called into question as Beras claims he was 17 but may have actually been 16. "We put our full budget towards Beras," Rangers general manager Jon Daniels said. "In anticipation of getting the contract approved we’ve had to effectively sit out the signing period."
- Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos spoke on SiriusXM's MLB Network Radio about his team's performance during the first half of the season and how he plans to be a buyer given Toronto's chances of securing a wild card berth (audio link). Anthopoulos expects to pursue pitching depth outside of the organization to help take pressure off an offense that has carried the team of late, thanks to Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion.
- MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith joined the Getting Blanked show on The Score to discuss the Cardinals' plans for the rest of the season given Chris Carpenter's unavailability until 2013 (video link).
That’s really not jays news. AA has been saying that for a week now. I just don’t see him trading any of his beloved prospects for a rental it’s gotta be a distressed asset or a pitcher who still has a year or two of control. but he has said they are exploring rentals and probably laughing at the asking price
Honestly if the Blue Jays can grab Gutherie for a middling prospect, then I would go for it.
Realistically, the Blue Jays ain’t going to win the division title.
Currently they sit 2.5 GB and 3GB out of the two available wild card
spots.
Guthrie was a 2.2 WAR pitcher when he was in the AL East. Over half a
season, that suggests he can boost the record by 1.1 win. Sometimes that
1 win could honestly make the difference.
Either way, Guthrie can fill the void until the starters return from the
DL. It would be better to have Villanueva in the bullpen, or if
Cecil/Laffey falters, they can be sent to the minors.
Of course, I’m working on the constraint that GM AA doesn’t want to trade away good prospects for someone like Garza.
I’d take Guthrie if it doesn’t cost much.
I also don’t hate the idea of calling up Chad Jenkins, he’s sorta, kinda, been better.
except for yesterday (6 er)
If The Jays are thinking with 1/2 of 2012 and an entire 2013 season in mind..then that’ll would open up the thinking beyond a stopgap run at a wildcard this season.
I hope the Rangers contract isn’t approved. It really wasn’t a fair bidding competition for the player for the other teams. In fairness to Texas, this should have been immediately dealt with so that they could know whether they still had a budget for players or not.
ryan dempster to the angels to help struggling santana/haren (wishful thinking)
Bourjos is a pretty big trade chip. would angels move him for a rental?
doubt it… i do believe they are willing to move him.. but they wouldnt use him as a trade chip for just a rental
On the other hand, the Angels still have a logjam in the outfield with Trout, Wells, Trumbo, Bourjos, and Hunter all deserving playing time (okay, maybe not Wells so much).
Bourjos might not be had for Dempster, but he could certainly be the centerpiece of a Garza deal. The question is where the Cubs would play him if they can’t move Soriano, DeJesus, or LaHair.