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Earlier today, Joel Sherman of the New York Post was the first to report that Corey Black would he headed from the Yankees to the Cubs in this morning's Alfonso Soriano trade. Here's more from Sherman (all Twitter links) on a plethora of topics as the trade deadline continues to draw nearer…
Alfonso Soriano is heading back to the same team with which he began his Major League career. After stops in Texas and Washington and an extended stay in Chicago, Soriano has come full circle by officially waiving his no-trade rights to approve a trade to the Yankees. 
The Cubs will receive minor league right-hander Corey Black in the trade, which was approved by Major League Baseball this morning and later officially announced by the Yankees.
Soriano is in the seventh season of an eight-year, $136MM contract that he signed with the Cubs in November 2006. He has roughly $6.5MM remaining on this season's $18MM salary and will earn $18MM once again in 2014. The Yankees will pay just $6.8MM of the remaining money on that contract — $1.8MM in 2013 and $5MM in 2014.
Black, 21, ranked as the Yankees' No. 25 prospect prior to the season, according to Baseball America. BA wrote that Black's fastball has touched 100 mph and sits comfortably at 95 mph. His plus athleticism allows him to repeat his release point, according to BA, and he also features an average changeup and improved slider to go along with a fringe curveball. The Yankees were developing him as a starter, though Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweeted earlier today that the Cubs view Black as a power reliever in the future. In 82 2/3 innings at High-A Tampa this season, the 2012 fourth-round pick has a 4.25 ERA with 9.6 K/9 and 4.9 BB/9.
Reports that a trade was on the horizon first surfaced yesterday after Soriano was pulled from the Cubs' lineup. Manager Dale Sveum confirmed to reporters shortly after that a trade sending the longtime Cub to New York was "99 percent" complete.
The Yankees have been in the market for upgrades to their offense for quite some time, and while Soriano's OBP leaves something to be desired, he certainly still has power. Perhaps more important is the fact that he is of particular benefit against left-handed pitching. Soriano is hitting lefties at a .273/.310/.496 clip thus far in 2013, which will be a significant boost to a Yankees club that has batted just .234/.306/.338 against opposing southpaws.
The Cubs have been far and away the most active seller in baseball at this point, having traded Scott Feldman, Scott Hairston and Matt Garza prior to this deal. They're expected to continue their aggressive sale through the trade deadline next Wednesday.
Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune was the first to report (via Twitter) that Soriano had been pulled from the lineup and a trade was on the verge. USA Today's Bob Nightengale first reported that the deal was finished, pending MLB approval, and the Cubs would receive a Class-A pitcher. ESPN's Buster Olney broke the news regarding the exchange of cash (on Twitter), and Jim Bowden of ESPN and MLB Network Radio first reported that MLB had approved the deal (Twitter link). Joel Sherman of the New York Post was the first to report that Black was the prospect Chicago would receive for Soriano (via Twitter).
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Even after acquiring Matt Garza earlier this week, reports have indicated that the Rangers are looking for offensive upgrades. They've been linked to Alex Rios, Hunter Pence and Kendrys Morales already, and Jon Heyman of CBS Sports now reports that the team has had internal discussions about re-acquiring Michael Young, given the news that Lance Berkman could miss the remainder of the season or even retire.
Heyman cautions that a Young trade isn't a likely outcome, and the Rangers are still more focused on adding outfield bats as they await the fate of Biogenesis-connected outfielder Nelson Cruz. The Yankees, Red Sox and Reds are all said to be considering Young as well. Heyman reports that the Rangers have also expressed interest in Padres outfielder Chris Denorfia and Mets outfielder Marlon Byrd, though reports indicate that the Mets feel little inclination to part with Byrd.
Texas has Manny Ramirez at Triple-A Round Rock, but his bat has cooled since a hot start, and Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports reported late last night that the team was unlikely to give Ramirez a shot anytime in the near future. Passan reported that the Rangers may not recall Ramirez at all, and one scout who watched Manny told Passan:
"This isn't Manny Ramirez. This is a 41-year-old still trying to play baseball and not doing it very well."
Ramirez is hitting .250/.318/.417 with three homers in 66 plate appearances since signing with the Rangers and reporting to Triple-A. He's struck out eight times and drawn six walks, but an evaluator told Passan that his bat "looked slow."
I'm putting my fantasy baseball reputation on the line. DraftStreet is offering $2000 in cash prizes for an exclusive "beat the expert" MLBTR/DraftStreet league using Friday night's MLB games. The entry fee is $11, but DraftStreet is raising the pressure on me (Tim Dierkes) by offering $5 back to anyone who beats my team, separate from the regular prize pool.
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Be sure to sign up as soon as possible, before the 200 slots are all taken. DraftStreet has raised the stakes by challenging you to beat me; are you up to it?
This is a sponsored post from DraftStreet.
11:55pm: Soriano is taking a red-eye flight to New York, tweets Sullivan, though no deal has been announced yet.
8:58pm: Major League Baseball still needs to process the paperwork and the exchange of cash in the deal, tweets Carrie Muskat of MLB.com. Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reports that the deal isn't likely to happen tonight, as it's still pending Bud Selig's approval. The Cubs, according to Heyman, will pay more than half of the remaining money on Soriano's contract (Twitter links).
8:05pm: USA Today's Bob Nightengale tweets that the two sides have agreed on which pitching prospect will be going to the Cubs, and a deal has nearly been finalized.
6:56pm: ESPN's Buster Olney reports that the Cubs are likely to receive a lower-tier pitching prospect for Soriano and that they will eat the majority of the money remaining on Soriano's contract. The two sides are waiting for the formal waiving of Soriano's no-trade clause (Twitter links).
6:33pm: Alfonso Soriano has been scratched from the Cubs' lineup tonight because he is close to being traded to the Yankees, Cubs manager Dale Sveum confirmed to Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune (Twitter link). Sullivan adds that Sveum referred to the trade as "99 percent done."
Reports of a Soriano deal between the Yankees and Cubs first surfaced earlier this week, but general manager Jed Hoyer shot them down, calling them "premature." This time, however, Cubs president Theo Epstein has told Sveum that a deal is nearly complete, as noted by MLB.com's Carrie Muskat (on Twitter). Soriano, who can refuse any trade due to a full no-trade clause (he's also a 10-and-5 player at this point), confirmed yesterday that he would be open to joining the Yankees.
Soriano, 37, would be joining the team with which he broke into the Major Leagues back in 1999. The Dominican native played with the Bombers from 1999-2003 before being traded to the Rangers along with Joaquin Arias for Alex Rodriguez. In 383 plate appearances for the Cubs this season, Soriano is batting .254/.287/.467 with 17 home runs.
Earlier today, the Phillies placed Domonic Brown on the seven-day disabled list with concussion-like symptoms. The move was retroactive to July 24, meaning he'd be eligible to return next Wednesday. As general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. noted to Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com, the speed with which Brown can return will have an impact on the team's decision to buy or sell heading into the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline. Here's more on the Phillies and the rest of th NL East…
The Royals announced via press release that George Brett has resigned as the club's interim hitting coach and will return to his position as vice president of baseball operations. “My lifelong passion after playing was not to be a hitting coach, but Dayton [Moore, the Royals' GM] asked me if I would consider it, and I did, but only on the promise that it would be on an interim basis,” Brett said in the release.
A first-ballot Hall-of-Famer, Brett logged more than 20 years in the big leagues and retired after the 1993 season with a career .305/.369/.487 line. Pedro Grifol will assume the role of hitting coach in Kansas City. A couple more Royals links:
9:12pm: Ben Badler of Baseball America reports that the Mets have received the Angels' No. 2 international bonus slot, which is valued at $360,500. The acquisition boosts the Mets' overall bonus pool to $3.0251MM and drops the Angels to $1.6332MM. Badler calls both Concepcion and Perez "more organizational players rather than true prospects."
6:10pm: The Angels have acquired minor leaguers Julio Concepcion and Andres Perez from the Mets in exchange for an international bonus slot, according to Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times (on Twitter).
Concepcion, a 23-year-old outfielder, is a .277./.337/.390 hitter over parts of seven minor league seasons, but has not progressed past Class A to this point. He's played six games so far in 2013 in the short-season New York-Pennsylvania League after playing 17 games there in 2012, though he has just a combined .218/.256/.295 batting line at that level in those 23 games.
The 22-year-old Perez is a right-hander that is currently pitching in the Rookie Level Appalachian League. He's pitched to a 5.52 ERA with 6.8 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 in 14 2/3 innings this season and has a career ERA of 3.68. Neither prospect was among the Top 30 Mets prospects prior to the season, according to Baseball America. It's unclear at this time how much the slot the Mets received is worth.
Brian Wilson auditioned for teams earlier today, and nearly a dozen clubs sent scouts to watch the former Giants closer, according to Danny Knobler of CBS Sports (Twitter link). Knobler writes that a scout in attendance said Wilson looked good and was "not far away" from being able to return to the Major Leagues. His fastball reportedly reached 93 mph on Thursday.
According to Knobler, the Pirates, Diamondbacks, Athletics, Giants, Phillies, Rangers, Rockies and Cardinals all attended Wilson's workout. Most of those teams have reportedly been on the lookout for bullpen help, and the Pirates are a logical new addition to that mix given the recent injury to Jason Grilli. The Giants held a private throwing session for Wilson "as a personal courtesy" earlier this week.
Wilson underwent his second Tommy John surgery after just two appearances in 2012 and hasn't pitched for a team since. He was scouted by the Mets in January, but the team was unimpressed. Wilson decided then to wait until he was back to 100 percent before auditioning for teams a second time. From 2007-12 with the Giants, Wilson racked up 170 saves and posted a 2.98 ERA with 9.8 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9 in 290 innings of relief.
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