Trade Rumors: CarGo, Beltran, Pirates, Angels, Tigers, Athletics

The Rockies aren’t planning on moving Carlos Gonzalez or Charlie Blackmon, reports FanRag’s Jon Heyman. While CarGo is a perennial trade candidate, the Rockies’ excellent play since the All-Star break has the team back at .500 and within a stone’s throw of a Wild Card playoff berth. Whether the Rockies will actually remain in the hunt remains to be seen, especially as other clubs in the race move to fortify their rosters, but Colorado has looked impressive as of late and could always extract value in trades of Gonzalez and/or Blackmon in the offseason if the club falls shy this season and wishes to add more pitching to its minor league ranks over the winter.

Some more trade rumors from around the league with the non-waiver deadline just over 24 hours away…

• The Yankees are listening to offers on right fielder/designated hitter Carlos Beltran, tweets ESPN’s Buster Olney. However, executives from other clubs tell Olney that they consider the asking price on Beltran to be “beyond their reach.” As a free agent at season’s end, Beltran represents a logical trade candidate for the Yankees, who are walking a tightrope and trying to balance a desire to remain competitive in 2016 with a desire to build their farm system for the long haul. The Yankees have already traded both Aroldis Chapman and Andrew Miller, but they’ve also added righties Tyler Clippard and Adam Warren in an effort to keep the bullpen fairly stable. Beltran is hitting .301/.342/.538 with 21 homers on the season and is earning $15MM in the final season of a three-year, $45MM contract. He’s still owed about $5.34MM of that sum, and while his defense may cause some NL clubs to shy away, American League teams that can give him some occasional time at DH undoubtedly would be intrigued by adding the 39-year-old’s still-productive bat to their lineups.
• Pirates GM Neal Huntington said after yesterday’s trade of Mark Melancon that he’s still looking to add talent before the non-waiver deadline (Twitter link via MLB.com’s Adam Berry). Berry noted that the Bucs scouted the Rays and Yankees last night in a matchup of Drew Smyly vs. Nathan Eovaldi. Meanwhile, the Post-Gazette’s Bill Brink tweets that the Pirates asked the Braves about Julio Teheran but were told the right-hander isn’t moving.
• The Angels have received the most trade interest in right-hander Cam Bedrosian, tweets MLB Network’s Peter Gammons. However, Gammons implies that a Bedrosian trade isn’t likely, suggesting that the Halos view him as a future closer. The 24-year-old is in the midst of an incredible season, having pitched to a 0.92 ERA with a 48-to-11 K/BB ratio and a 50.5 percent ground-ball rate. He’s controllable through the 2021 season, so it’s understandable that the Angels would strongly prefer to hang onto him. Then again, elite relief arms are commanding strong results, and while Bedrosian doesn’t have the track record that Ken Giles brought into the offseason, it’s possible that the Halos could get some meaningful pitching talent to add to their system if they did market him.
• ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick tweets that the Tigers have been checking in on fourth/fifth starter types, including Jeremy Hellickson of the Phillies, Wade Miley of the Mariners, Edinson Volquez of the Royals, Hector Santiago of the Angels and Erasmo Ramirez of the Rays. Detroit is looking to bolster its rotation and doesn’t seem keen on dealing away any potential long-term options in the rotation, as Crasnick’s colleague Jayson Stark tweets that clubs who have spoken to the Tigers say they’ve repeatedly turned away offers including Daniel Norris and Matt Boyd. (Notably, Stark mentioned the refusal to include Boyd and Norris in connection to some speculation on Jonathan Lucroy, but Detroit’s reluctance to part with either left-hander is worth mentioning all the same.)
• MLB Network’s Peter Gammons reported earlier this week that the Dodgers have asked the Athletics about a package including both Rich Hill and Josh Reddick, and now Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets that the Blue Jays have done the same. Toronto did acquire Melvin Upton Jr. earlier this week, potentially lessening the need for an outfield upgrade. But, Reddick would help to balance out a very right-handed lineup, and adding Hill to the mix would give the team a top-tier arm (if he can get healthy) to replace Aaron Sanchez if he is ultimately moved to the bullpen.
• The Indians held some interest in Athletics lefty Marc Rzepczynski as of last night, per Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (on Twitter). Of course, Slusser’s report was prior to the Indians’ blockbuster acquisition of Andrew Miller, so it’s not entirely certain that they’ll be in the market for another lefty. However, they’ve regularly trotted out an entirely right-handed relief corps this season, so adding a more situational lefty like Rzepczynski to complement Miller, who dominates everyone and needn’t be limited to specialized matchups, makes some sense.