Rangers Have Asked About Bautista, Encarnacion; Deal Unlikely
As the Rangers expand their search for offense, they've called the Blue Jays about Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion, according to Danny Knobler of CBS Sports (Twitter link). The Blue Jays aren't interested in dealing either slugger, however, Knobler adds.
The Rangers are reportedly willing to listen on any of their players — even Elvis Andrus and the recently acquired Matt Garza — and they could also lose Lance Berkman for the remainder of the season due to injury. It's likely that uncertainty surrounding Nelson Cruz's status with a Biogenesis suspension looming is also motivating the Rangers' search for a bat.
Athletics Designate Adam Rosales For Assignment
The Athletics announced that they have designated infielder Adam Rosales for assignment. The move will allow the club to clear a 25-man roster spot for the newly-acquired Alberto Callaspo.
Rosales hit just .193/.268/.319 in 153 plate appearances for Oakland this season. The light-hitting 30-year-old has significant experience at second base, third base, and shortstop with some time spent at first base. This marks the second time that Rosales has been designated for assignment by the A's this month with the first one coming on July 8th.
Mike Morse Very Available
12:00pm: Aside from the Rays and Orioles, three or four other teams are interested in Morse, according to Peter Gammons on MLB Network.
6:07am: Mariners outfielder/first baseman Mike Morse is very available, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Morse, 31, recently returned from a long layoff due to a quad strain and is headed for free agency after the season.
The general vibe so far has been that the Mariners are not motivated to strip down their team, even at 8.5 games out in the wild card. Morse, acquired from the Nationals in January, has a .246/.307/.445 line in 231 plate appearances. From 2010-12, he hit .296/.345/.516 in 1,298 plate appearances for the Nats, so he has the potential to be the impact bat the trade market seems to be lacking with nine hours to go until the deadline.
Rangers Willing To Listen On Anyone
WEDNESDAY: Even the newly-acquired Matt Garza could be in play for the Rangers, tweets Rosenthal. He notes that as they aggressively seek offense, it's not unusual for the Rangers to make creative proposals.
TUESDAY: The Rangers are willing to listen on anyone, report Jon Paul Morosi and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, including shortstop Elvis Andrus. The Rangers have not have any substantive trade conversations involving Andrus, however, cautions Jim Bowden of ESPN and MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM. The team is known to be aggressively seeking a bat, especially given the possibility of Nelson Cruz being suspended. Bowden says they're focused more on outfielders than DH types.
At .250/.310/.289 in 458 plate appearances, the 24-year-old Andrus has not done much offensively this year. In theory, the Rangers could trade him and replace him with 20-year-old rookie Jurickson Profar. Andrus signed an eight-year, $120MM extension with the Rangers in April, which includes opt-out clauses after the 2018 and '19 seasons as well as a 2023 vesting option that becomes a player option upon a trade. The Cardinals would seem to be a logical fit for Andrus.
Mariners In Active Discussions About Wilhelmsen, Perez, Morse
The Mariners are in active trade discussions involving closer Tom Wilhelmsen and reliever Oliver Perez, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. The Orioles are actively pursuing Perez and Mike Morse, tweets Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun, and would like to acquire both. The Rays are interested in Morse, according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports.
Indians Working Hard To Get A Starter
The Indians are working hard to get a starter, tweets Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. They had previously shown interest in the Cubs' Matt Garza before he went to Texas.
Kelly Shoppach Opts Out
Catcher Kelly Shoppach has exercised his opt-out clause with the Nationals and is now a free agent, according to Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com (via Twitter). The LSW Baseball client signed a minor league deal with the Nats in early July.
Prior to signing with Washington, the 33-year-old hit just .196/.293/.346 in 125 plate appearances for the Mariners. In parts of nine seasons with the Indians, Rays, Red Sox, Mets and Mariners, Shoppach has a .224/.314/.413 slash line.
Mets Likely To Stand Pat
The Mets are still saying they will almost certainly remain quiet today and not make any trades, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post. The Mets have been giving off the impression that they won't make any moves for several weeks.
Meanwhile, the Mets had a few calls on Dillon Gee earlier this month, but nothing materialized, according to David Lennon of Newsday (on Twitter). Now that the Mets need to limit Matt Harvey and Zack Wheeler's innings, they'll hold off on parting with the 27-year-old.
Marlon Byrd has drawn the interest of multiple clubs, including the Orioles, but the Mets have maintained a high asking price with the intention of hanging on to the outfielder unless someone makes an offer too good to walk away from. The Mets have also received nibbles on closer Bobby Parnell, but haven't gotten anything good enough to seriously consider a deal.
Quick Hits: Lee, A’s, Rays, Yankees
In reality, the Red Sox were a "non factor" for Cliff Lee before they landed Jake Peavy, writes Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. Will he get moved today to another club? Baseball people are highly doubtful anyone would meet the supposed Phillies' asking price of three top prospects for a pitcher who has $70MM left on his deal through 2015. "I don't know of a team in baseball that would [do] that. Taking on that much money and giving up three legit prospects seems like a stretch for anyone," one exec said. Here's more from around baseball as we approach the 3pm central deadline..
- The A's are still pursuing bullpen depth, tweets Jim Bowden of MLB Network Radio and ESPN.
- Teams that have spoken with the Phillies say they're not upbeat about making any deals today, tweets ESPN.com's Jayson Stark. Michael Young is still in play, but there's no clear destination for the third baseman.
- The Cardinals are leaning towards standing pat at the deadline unless there is a last minute drastic change, according to Jim Bowden of ESPN.com (via Twitter).
- Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times writes that the Rays have been looking into at least one more potential deal, presumably to add a bat. Tampa Bay made a splash earlier this week when they landed Jesse Crain in a swap with the White Sox.
- The Yankees were mainly working on smaller acquisitions like Alberto Callaspo this week and didn't have any interest in Alex Rios once they landed Alfonso Soriano, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Callaspo wound up going from the Halos to the A's.
- The Marlins don't expect to do much today and plan to keep Chad Qualls, Justin Ruggiano, and other trade chips if they can't get good value in return, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
- Meanwhile, the Marlins are gauging interest in Juan Pierre and Placido Polanco, tweets Buster Olney of ESPN.com.
- The Royals' search for a second baseman continues, but they don't appear to be close on anything at the moment, writes Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star. “Anything’s possible,” one club official said. “We looking at a lot of things, but I doubt anything get done unless things change in the last few hours.”
- The Indians got the left-handed reliever they needed yesterday in Marc Rzepczynski and would still be open to a rotation upgrade, but they don't like the price so far, according to Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com (via Twitter). For now, the Tribe is prepared to stand pat.
- There are a lot of present and veteran Braves who think the club is making a serious mistake by allowing Brian McCann hit the open market at the end of the season, writes Peter Gammons at GammonsDaily.com. "Only the people around the team understand what he means to that pitching staff. He’s a star player in the team concept,” said David Ross of McCann, who also leads the team with a .884 OPS.
- Dan Kolko of MASNsports.com spoke with Nationals players to get their take on the trade deadline. Scott Hairston and Adam LaRoche have both been involved in multiple deadline deals.
Cliff Lee Not Getting Traded Today
Driving home the recent vibe, Jim Bowden of ESPN and MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM says Phillies lefty Cliff Lee is not getting traded today. GM Ruben Amaro Jr. said yesterday there was "very little chance" of him trading Lee. With the Red Sox having acquired Jake Peavy, there are no clear suitors anyway.