Mariners Have Talked With Cubs About Ruggiano

TODAY, 10:34am: The Mariners have discussed Justin Ruggiano with the Cubs, Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports reports on Twitter. The right-handed-hitting 32-year-old had a nice season last year in Chicago, though he would not represent the kind of impact bat that Seattle has been said to be after.

8:06am: If a deal is close, Crasnick says (links to Twitter), it is not for Marlon Byrd of the Phillies, who has not been approached about waiving his no-trade protection against Seattle. Likewise, while the Red Sox have discussed Allen Craig with plenty of other teams, there is “nothing brewing” on him at the moment (and no particular link to the M’s).

YESTERDAY, 10:38pm: A deal involving Desmond is still a possibility, Chris Cotillo of SB Nation tweets.

It remains the case, however, that no reports have directly linked the Mariners to any particular player in this round of rumors.

7:29pm: Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times tweets that he thinks the Mariners will announce a trade within the next two to three days. Crasnick tweets that his sense is that it’s a right-handed hitter who hasn’t been mentioned in much previous speculation, which would rule out Upton.

4:44pm: The Mariners are closing in on a deal to acquire another bat, reports ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick (on Twitter). It’s unclear at this time what hitter they’re targeting in this deal, but the Mariners have been linked to several names.

Justin Upton of the Braves has been said to be a possibility in their search for a right field bat, with the club apparently still looking for a right fielder even after signing Nelson Cruz. Seattle has also been linked to Dayan Viciedo of the White Sox and Ian Desmond of the Nationals in recent weeks. I’d imagine that Marlon Byrd could make sense for Seattle as well, and he’s certainly known to be available in trade talks with the Phillies.