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AL East Notes: Red Sox, Young, Rays, Middlebrooks

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While it has been said that the Orioles don't have enough financial flexibility to make a major splash before the deadline, last night's developments might indicate that they have the cash to make something happen.  Not only have they inquired on the Twins' Justin Morneau, who makes about $6MM for the rest of 2013, they're also among the teams that are in on Jake Peavy.  Here's more out of the AL East..

  • The Rangers and Orioles would provide a definitive role for Michael Young, but the Red Sox might have the best package to offer the Phillies, tweets Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe.  Boston and Baltimore may have one less suitor to compete with as T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com heard that the Rangers don't plan to deal for Young before Wednesday's deadline.
  • As one might expect, the Rays aren't planning any major moves before the deadline, writes Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times.  "We are always looking to improve, and between now and Wednesday, we're going to do everything we can to do that," executive vice president Andrew Friedman said. "But I can't overstate our confidence in the team that we have. This is a tremendous group of guys, and the worst thing we can do is to feel pressure to make a move just for its own sake."
  • Will Middlebrooks, who's spent the last month in Triple-A, wants to remain with the Red Sox, telling Tim Britton of the Providence Journal that the bright lights of Boston appeal to him. "I mean, everybody wants to play in the Bostons, the New Yorks, the Phillys – with the big-market teams, to win on that stage," Middlebrooks said. However, the attention may have been a distraction earlier in the season, the third baseman admitted. 

Aaron Steen contributed to this post.

Orioles Notes: Young, Morneau, Morse

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Earlier tonight, we learned that the Orioles could be fairly serious about making a play for Jake Peavy.  Here's more out of Baltimore..

  • Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com names the Orioles as a primary team involved in talks for the Phillies'Michael Young, along with the Rangers and Red Sox.  The versatile Young appears to make the most sense for Baltimore as a DH, Edes says. T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com reported earlier this evening that the Rangers aren't planning to reunite with Young.
  • A top Orioles scout was in Seattle this week as the Mariners took on the Twins, who have made Justin Morneau available, Dan Connolly of The Baltimore Sun reports. An industry source tells Connolly that the Orioles have asked the Twins about the former MVP, who will earn about $6MM over the rest of the season, though the talks are considered "preliminary." As Connolly notes, DH might be Baltimore's biggest hole.
  • The O's have liked Seattle's Mike Morse for years, Connolly adds. Morse, 31, is currently rehabbing a quadriceps injury in Triple-A, but has hit .251/.313/.454 in 227 plate appearances so far this year, appearing mainly in the outfield. Connolly also says the O's could add still another arm, potentially a lefty for a late-inning role, noting that the Mariners'Oliver Perez could fit that bill. However, "the sense within the organization" is that the Orioles might be done shopping, as the team is hesitant to add payroll and won't send top prospects in a deal for a rental player.

Aaron Steen contributed to this post.

Orioles In Mix for Jake Peavy

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The Orioles are involved in talks for the White Sox's Jake Peavy and other top starting pitchers and are pondering a "major move," according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. We've heard previously that the O's may not have room in the payroll for another deal, but with the club locked in a pennant race with the Red Sox and Rays, owner Peter Angelos may have given the club the greenlight to spend.

In previous trade talks, Baltimore hasn't shown a willingness to include top prospects like Kevin Gausman or Jonathan Schoop. However, sending Nick Delmonico along in the trade for reliever Francisco Rodriguez could indicate that the team is serious and willing to make moves for the short-term.

Along with Peavy, the Royals' Ervin Santana and the Astros' Bud Norris are available, Heyman notes, while the Phillies have indicated they'll consider offers for Cliff Lee.  However, it's not clear whether the Orioles would boost their payroll, already at $92MM, by another $25MM to accommodate Lee.  

NL East Notes: Utley, Lee, Peavy, Santana

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The Phillies are clearly in sell mode after dropping five of six since the All-Star break, and should now begin fielding offers for Chase Utley, Marcus Hayes of the Philadelphia Daily News says. The oft-injured Utley can no longer man second base for a full season in the National League, but would do well in a situation where he could regularly play first and DH for an American League team, while appearing at second only occasionally, Hayes opines. Shipping Utley to another club would clear a spot for prospect Freddy Galvis, who's now in Triple-A. As Hayes notes, Utley too was once a 23-year-old prospect blocked by an aging veteran at the keystone. On to tonight's NL East links:

  • Cliff Lee's best asset is his durability, as he's "never hurt" and "always goes out there," an executive tells Jayson Stark of ESPN (Twitter link). Lee, of course, offers other virtues, including a 3.05 ERA in 144 2/3 innings this year. We heard this week that the Phillies will listen to offers for their ace.
  • The Braves continue to assess the cost of starting pitchers such as the White Sox's Jake Peavy and the Royals' Ervin Santana, whom they consider to be "legit upgrades," Mark Bowman of MLB.com tweets. However, their focus is on landing a reliever. In a second tweet, Bowman says Atlanta's deep rotation and the high price tag on starting pitching this year make it more likely that the club will acquire bullpen help and/or a backup infielder.
  • Discussing potential trades, Braves GM Frank Wren says payroll isn't an issue for his club, David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal Constitution tweets. "It’s going to be the talent we have to give up," Wren said.

Phillies, Rangers Have Discussed Michael Young

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7:17pm: The Rangers have no plans to bring back Young, major league sources tell T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com. A trade for the infielder "is not going to happen."

12:56pm: The Phillies and Rangers have had discussions about a trade shipping infielder Michael Young back to Texas, reports ESPN's Jayson Stark. We learned yesterday from CBSSports.com's Jon Heyman that the Rangers were considering Young internally. Talks have been "exploratory" in nature, says Stark, and the clubs are not close to an agreement.

For the Rangers, Stark echoes recent reports that the team is focused on acquiring a right-handed bat. With Texas focused primarily on nabbing a player who can man the outfield, he says that Young is more of a back-up option. In addition to other players previously linked to the Rangers — such as Alex Rios of the White Sox, Hunter Pence of the Giants, Justin Ruggiano of the Marlins, and Kendrys Morales of the Mariners – Stark notes that Seattle's Michael Morse is on Texas's radar.

On the Philadelphia side of the ledger, sources tell Stark that the Phils have indicated an increasing willingness to listen on veterans after the team's recent slide. The names that could generate attention include — unsurprisingly — Young, catcher Carlos Ruiz, closer Jonathan Papelbon, and ace Cliff Lee. (We learned about Lee's potential availability yesterday.) As has long been been the case, Young is believed to be the most likely among those players to swap teams before the deadline. Other potential suitors for Young include the Yankees, Red Sox, and Reds.

AL Central Notes: Lindstrom, Hochevar, Santana

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Tonight's AL Central Links..

  • The White Sox are shopping right-handed reliever Matt Lindstrom along with Alex Rios, Jake Peavy, and Alexei Ramirez, Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com tweets. However, it's unclear how much interest other teams have, Knobler adds. Lindstrom, 33, has a 3.35 ERA in 40 1/3 innings pitched and has yet to allow a home run this year. However, his 6.2 K/9 and 4.5 BB/9 could give some teams some pause.
  • We've heard the Royals have set a high price for Ervin Santana, and now Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports that rival executives believe Luke Hochevar may be more likely to be traded. One executive described the 29-year-old Hochevar as "a hot item," as he's blossomed in the bullpen this season, posting a 1.89 ERA in 38 innings after struggling in the Royals' rotation for years. Some clubs may believe he could return to a starting role, potentially increasing his value. He's expected to draw interest from the Braves and Dodgers, among other teams. 
  • Meanwhile, Santana may also be a fit in Atlanta, Heyman says. That matches with what we've heard, though the Royals are indicating they'd need to be "overwhelmed" to trade him. Kansas City is targeting right field and second base help, Heyman adds.
  • An official familiar with the situation tells Knobler that a trade sending Ramirez from the White Sox to the Cardinals is "not likely," though as Knobler notes, such a deal appears to make sense on paper. Shortstop is the one position in a stacked St. Louis lineup that could use an upgrade, while the Sox are open for business and had a top scout in St. Louis this week. The two teams have discussed Ramirez along with Peavy, according to Knobler, who also reports that the Rangers maintain their interest in Rios. The Pirates may also be involved in Rios talks. Peavy, meanwhile, appears to be drawing the most attention from the Red Sox, but the A's and Braves have also expressed interest in the right-hander.
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NL West Notes: Ramirez, Pence, Giants, Padres

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Just over a year ago, the Dodgers announced their presence as big-money acquirers by trading for infielder Hanley Ramirez.  While Ramirez has battled injury at times, he has certainly re-established himself as a top-line big leaguer with a .315/.367/.544 line to go with 21 home runs and 14 stolen bases in the last year.  As ESPN's Mark Saxon explains, Ramirez has seemed energized since donning Dodger blue and has been on fire since returning from a DL stint in early June. He remains under team control for 2014 at a cost of $16MM.  On the other hand, the primary piece that Los Angeles shipped out to acquire Ramirez – pitcher Nathan Eovaldi — has been solid so far in Miami. The 23-year-old currently owns a 3.54 ERA in 40 2/3 MLB innings.  Here's more out of the NL West..

  • The Giants will listen to offers on Hunter Pence, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  At this stage of the season, the club believes that they have to be open to everything.  San Francisco certainly likes Pence and wants to keep him long term, but with a lack of offense out there, they could get a very strong return for him.  It was recently reported that the Rangers have interest in acquiring Pence.
  • Padres stars Chase Headley, Carlos Quentin, and Huston Street are likely to stay in San Diego but it appears that Luke Gregerson will be changing uniforms, writes Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com.
  • After Gregerson and Chris Denorfia, the Padres getting the most interest are Street, left-handed reliever Joe Thatcher, and outfielder/first baseman Jesus Guzman, writes Bill Center of U-T San Diego.
  • The Giants are searching for their identity as the deadline approaches, writes MLB.com's Andrew Owens.  Manager Bruce Bochy has instructed his players to tune out the trade rumors between now and July 31st.

Jeff Todd contributed to this post.

Rosenthal On Young, Rangers, Rios, A’s

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Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports posted his latest edition of Full Count.  Let's take a look at the highlights..

  • The Phillies' direction remains unclear and its possible that they might not even deal Michael Young.  His .344 OBP is the highest of any team regular and the return that they would get on him is unknown.  Young also has a full no-trade clause, so he can effectively control the process.  If he's zeroed in on returning to the Rangers, he can conceivably block deals to other clubs until that gets done.  Both sides are interested in a reunion.
  • It will be interesting to see if the White Sox actually trade Alex Rios in the days ahead.  The Rangers' interest is overstated, Rosenthal hears, and the Pirates wouldn't necessarily want to take on the balance of the outfielder's contract.  Things can change, but White Sox might have to wait until the winter to find a palatable deal for Rios.
  • The A's remain interested in Jake Peavy, figuring that if they can't fix their offensive issues, they might as well add to their pitching strength.  They're not going to part with Sonny Gray or Addison Russell, but if they do acquire Peavy, they could promote Gray to their bullpen and send Tommy Milone down, keeping him in reserve as their No. 6 starter.
  • The Blue Jays appear unlikely to make a big move and they're not going to trade Jose Bautista or Edwin Encarnacion unless they can improve their big league club and it's hard to see how trading either would accomplish that.  Toronto is far more open to moving Emilio Bonifacio and they're also drawing interest on their relievers.  They're also in something of a bind with something on Josh Johnson: they could either take what they can get right now, which isn't much, or risk giving him a qualifying offer this winter and having him accept.

Cubs Listening On Jeff Samardzija

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The Cubs are listening on offers for Jeff Samardzija, but the asking price is "high as expected", a source tells Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter).  The forward-thinking Cubs aren't likely to part with the promising young hurler, but they're at least open to the idea of getting blown away by an offer.

Samardzija, 28, is controlled through the 2015 season and has two remaining years of arbitration eligibility.  The right-hander and the Cubs have explored an extension in the past, but he recently said that he hasn't given a new contract much thought.

The Notre Dame product is enjoying another strong campaign for the Cubs, posting a 3.94 ERA with 9.1 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 through 21 starts.  The Diamondbacks were said to have a great deal of interest in Samardzija as well as Yovani Gallardo in late June.

MLBTR Regular Features

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If you're a regular MLBTR reader, you'll be familiar with our chats, Week In Review posts and Baseball Blogs Weigh In feature. Here's some more detail on when you'll see our weekly features and exactly what to expect from them:

  • MLBTR Chats - Join Tim Dierkes every Tuesday at 2pm CDT to chat about the latest trades, signings and rumblings around the Major Leagues.
  • Baseball Blogs Weigh In - Every Friday, I feature some of the best writing from baseball blogs around the web. Whether it's opinion, stats or something else entirely, you can connect to the best of the blogosphere once a week on MLBTR. If you want to submit a post of yours, you can reach me at zachbbwi@gmail.com.
  • Week In Review - It's remarkable how much happens in seven days. Every Sunday night, MLBTR summarizes the week's biggest stories in our Week In Review posts.
  • MLBTR Originals - Edward Creech gathers all our original analysis and reporting in one place every Sunday night.

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