Odds & Ends: Pirates, Diamondbacks, Buchholz
Just a few more links before the end of the night…
- Dejan Kovacevic of The Pittsburgh Post Gazette says the Pirates have "put on hold any attempt to sign shortstop Jack Wilson and second baseman Freddy Sanchez to contract extensions and, instead, are entertaining trade offers for those players." He mentions that the club's efforts to trade their double play tandem could extended beyond Friday's trade deadline.
- Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic says the Diamondbacks aren't anticipating any deals right now because there aren't many teams clamoring for pitchers Jon Garland and Doug Davis, plus the D-Backs aren't particularly motivated to move closer Chad Qualls.
- Red Sox pitcher Clay Buchholz says "I think I'll be here" after the trade deadline according to Amalie Benjamin of The Boston Globe. Here, of course, meant Boston.
Odds & Ends: Holliday, Red Sox, Pirates, Kazmir
Things are picking up, so we've got a fresh batch of links for you…
- The recently acquired Matt Holliday was non-committal when talking about his impending free agency, according to R.B. Fallstrom of the AP. "I'm going to enjoy myself and try to help this team get to the playoffs and to the World Series and work every day I can to be the best player I can be," Holliday said. "And leave it there. I think there's a time and a place for all those other things and when that time comes is when I'll do my evaluating."
- Ed Price of AOL Fanhouse tweets that the Red Sox have told people "they are trying to pull off something huge." Earlier today we learned that the Sox were talking about Cliff Lee and Victor Martinez with the Indians.
- Rob Biertempfel of The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review asked Pirates team president Frank Coonelly about the possibility of re-opening extension talks with Freddy Sanchez and Jack Wilson should they remain with the team past Friday's trade deadline, to which Coonelly responded "At this juncture, I wouldn't say anything is definitely closed. We'd have to see where we are. But, developments in the organization could create a situation that could make it less likely, or more likely, we'd want to extend Jack or Freddy."
- Scott Kazmir's agent, Brian Peters, reached out to Rays executive vice president Andrew Friedman about recent trade rumors involving his client. Friedman indicated the rumors were "merely speculative," according to MLB.com's Zach Schonbrun.
- Geoff Baker of The Seattle Times writes that Jarrod Washburn has "let it be known he is open to a contract extension to stay in Seattle," but indicated that there has not been much discussion.
- Bruce Miles of The Daily Herald said he expects the Cubs to look for bullpen help before anything else. He names Joe Beimel and George Sherrill as players of interest.
- The Cubs have signed third round pick Austin Kirk according to MLB.com's Carrie Muskat, while Bill Ladson reports that the Nats have signed seventh rounder Andrew Weaver.
FOX Sports On Red Sox, D’Backs, Bell
12:59pm: FOX Sports reports that Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski is aggressively looking for a hitter.
The Brewers are reluctant to trade Alcides Escobar and would probably hesitate to move him for Brandon Morrow and two months of Jarrod Washburn.
12:14pm: The Red Sox are "in" on Roy Halladay, but finding offense is the team's top priority, according to Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. Here are a few more rumors:
- There hasn't been much interest in Doug Davis or Jon Garland so far, but D'Backs officials are optimistic that interest will pick up later in the week.
- Minnesota has more interest in Freddy Sanchez than any of his other suitors do.
- The Padres will listen on Heath Bell and Adrian Gonzalez, but aren't likely to deal either player. The Tigers had interest in Bell earlier in the month.
Pirates Rumors: Grabow, Capps, Sanchez
The Pirates have many attractive trade chips remaining, even after two months of aggressive trading. Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has the latest on all the team's trade candidates:
- The Pirates are discussing Matt Capps and John Grabow with other clubs.
- Grabow, who's more likely to be moved, has drawn steady interest from other teams.
- The Pirates are in regular contact with the Cubs.
- Freddy Sanchez and Jack Wilson are available and the Pirates are listening to offers. The Twins and Red Sox scouted the Pirates-D'Backs contest yesterday.
- The Tigers are interested in Triple A catcher Robinzon Diaz.
- Triple A starters Ian Snell and Tom Gorzelanny are drawing interest. The Yankees have scouted Snell's last two starts.
Odds And Ends: Pena, Snell, Richard
Some links to read on the day Alex Rodriguez turns 34…
- Angels manager Mike Scioscia told Ben Bolch of the LA Times that teams in the market for pitching will have to overpay for it.
- Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski told Drew Sharp of the Detroit Free Press that it's a seller's market because many teams remain within range of a playoff spot.
- The Royals are converting shortstop Tony Pena Jr. into a pitcher according to Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star.
- As Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review shows, Ian Snell has dominated Triple A hitters. Snell has said he doesn't want to return to the Pirates, so he has attracted interest as a trade chip, specifically from the Yankees.
- Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times wonders if Clayton Richard's future is in the rotation, the 'pen, or on a team other than the White Sox.
- Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker passes along a quote from Bobby Valentine, who says it's time for him to leave the Chiba Lotte Marines after the season.
Odds & Ends: Dmitri, Marlins, Pirates
Come on, commenters. It's trade deadline week. There's no time for sleep. Some more links for your Sunday night enjoyment…
- Mark Zuckerman of The Washington Times reports Dmitri Young may soon call it quits. He tore his left quad during a rehab game with Double-A Harrisburg last week and recently sent this text message to the Times: "I'm upset because I was feeling great, and then pop. Wasn't the way I wanted to go out."
- Joe Frisaro of MLB.com writes that the Marlins are cautiously watching the trade market. "We've been looking; Larry Beinfest has been looking at moves for a month," Marlins president David Samson said. "It's a difficult scenario because we're not willing to trade our future, because we have such good position players coming up.
- According to the Wall Street Journal, a group of college professors have made a fascinating discovery: "Whether a player is elected to the Hall of Fame by veteran baseball writers is an entirely predictable outcome based on a few statistics." That quote sells the article short; it's an excellent read for baseball buffs.
- According to Baseball America's Ben Badler, the Mets have officially signed Venezuelan left-hander Juan Urbina.
- MLB.com's Jen Langosch reports the Tigers are scouting the Pirates, and vice versa. Detroit is looking for a middle infield bat and/or a starter. Pittsburgh just so happens to have a few perfect fits in Freddy Sanchez and Zach Duke.
- If you haven't already, join MLBTR on Twitter for even more updates and discussion.
No Progress In Talks With Wilson, Sanchez
According to Rob Biertempfel with the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, "There has been no movement by either side in the stalled contract talks between the Pirates and infielders Freddy Sanchez and Jack Wilson."
The Pirates put forth contract extension offers to both players last week, presumably to feel-out their desire to remain in Pittsburgh with the trade deadline looming. Wilson and Sanchez quickly rejected the proposals, and now other teams have begun expressing interest in the infielders (including the Twins, Tigers and Red Sox).
Both players have options for 2010, so the Bucs could wait until next season before moving either of them. But if a decent offer pops up before Friday, you can bet GM Neal Huntington will consider pulling the trigger.
Odds & Ends: Pirates, Acta, Pedro, Zumaya
A fresh batch of links on a busy Sunday evening…
- MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch answered various fan-submitted questions about the Pirates. A couple of minor hot stove items were touched on.
- According to Bill Ladson of MLB.com, former manager Manny Acta stopped by Nationals Park early Sunday afternoon. It's not clear why, and Acta said via e-mail that he will not make a comment on the matter.
- Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette notes the Twins had scouts in Arizona Sunday afternoon to watch the Pirates. It's not clear who they were scouting, but Jack Wilson and Freddy Sanchez are known to be on the trading block and the Twins are looking for infield help.
- Fred Goodall of the Associated Press reports that the Single-A Clearwater Threshers had to cut Pedro Martinez's first rehab start short because of rain.
- According to the Larry Lage of the AP, via the Detroit Free Press, Joel Zumaya is "hoping" to pitch again this year. Could the uncertainty surrounding the right-hander's balky shoulder prompt the Tigers to make a deal for another bullpen arm?
Yankees Scouting Ian Snell
According to Jenifer Langosch at MLB.com, the Yankees have scouts in attendance to watch Ian Snell throw today at Triple-A Indianapolis.
The Yankees are known to be looking for a replacement for Chien-Ming Wang, and Snell has absolutely dominated since asking to be demoted to Indianapolis to straighten himself out. Snell has allowed just two earned runs through 32.1 innings, while striking out 43 and walking just 12.
Despite Snell's big league struggles and $4.25MM guaranteed salary next season, general manager Neal Huntington says he won't sell low on the right-hander:
"Teams are still hoping to bottom fish and we're still not ready to just give the guy away," Huntington said. "At this point, his four or five strong outings haven't increased his value [externally]. We're not talented enough and deep enough as an organization to just give away a player that has Major League ability, as challenging as it can be sometimes."
Odds & Ends: Sheffield, Washburn, Pirates, Irabu
Some links to start your Sunday morning off right…
- MLB.com's Anthony DiComo says not to assume Gary Sheffield will be traded. Sheff is currently on the disabled list, but may have been attractive to contenders in need of a bat because he can still produce (.286-.388-.481 in 245 PA) and the Tigers are paying pretty much his entire salary.
- Bob Klapisch of The Bergen Record mentions in this piece that the Mariners reportedly asked the Yankees for outfielders Melky Cabrera and Brett Gardner in exchange for Jarrod Washburn.
- Pirates owner Bob Nutting says that finances are not dictating moves, according to Dejan Kovacevic of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "There is no pressure on Neal to shed any payroll dollars, from me or anyone else. Every decision made will be a baseball decision, not a financial one. Any money saved will remain committed to the baseball operations budget to be used as they see fit."
- Meanwhile, Chuck Finder of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that the Bucs are continuing to negotiate with some of their higher profile unsigned draft picks.
- Patrick at NPB Tracker passes along a report that Hideki Irabu is looking to continue his comeback in Japan. Irabu signed with the Long Beach Armada of the independent Golden League back in April, and has a respectable 3.87 ERA in eight starts.
- David Mayo of Mlive.com says that standing pat might be the Tigers best option at the upcoming trade deadline.
- Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald writes about the Marlins' cache of impressive young position players in their farm sytem.
- With teams unlikely to risk taking on salaries in a bad economy, we may see more waiver trades in August than usual, writes Pat Mitsch of The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.