Diamondbacks Rumors

Minor Moves: Tyler Kuhn, Chih-Wei Hu

By Mike Axisa | August 9, 2012 at 8:38pm CDT

Here are the day's minor moves…

The Diamondbacks acquired utility man Tyler Kuhn from the White Sox for cash, reports Dan Hayes of CSNChicago.com (Twitter links). The 25-year-old hit .273/.309/.384 in 449 plate appearances for Chicago's Triple-A affiliate this season while playing second base, third base, and left field.
The Twins have signed Taiwanese pitching prospect Chih-Wei Hu for $220K, reports MLB.com's Jesse Sanchez (on Twitter). The 18-year-old right-hander reportedly runs his fastball into the low-90s.

Quick Hits: Figgins, Upton, Chavez

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | August 7, 2012 at 4:05pm CDT

Indians starter Corey Kluber will look to shut down the Twins tonight and end Cleveland's ten-game losing streak. Kluber will face an offense that ranks 12th in MLB in runs scored (though they do much of their hitting at home, as Dave Cameron noted today). In the meantime, here are today's links…

The Mariners would have to absorb about $10MM in salary if they released Chone Figgins, but they should remove him from the roster anyway, Larry Stone of the Seattle Times writes.
Diamondbacks outfielder Justin Upton told ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick that he owes it to his teammates to focus on his game, rather than the trade chatter that often surrounds him. He might have to face another round of trade rumors this offseason, if the Diamondbacks decide they'll listen to trade offers for him again a few months from now.
The Orioles are discussing trade possibilities regarding Endy Chavez, but they think he could stay in the organization, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com reports (Twitter links). Instead of trading the recently-designated outfielder, the Orioles could demote him to Triple-A with the expectation of calling him up when rosters expand in September.

Diamondbacks Claim Wil Nieves

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | August 6, 2012 at 4:08pm CDT

4:08pm: The Diamondbacks announced that they claimed Nieves and placed Blanco on the disabled list.

1:51pm: The Diamondbacks are expected to add catcher Wil Nieves, Steve Gilbert of MLB.com reports (on Twitter). The Rockies designated Nieves for assignment last week.

Nieves appeared in 16 games for the Rockies this year, but has been sidelined since July 8th with turf toe. The 34-year-old posted a .298/.333/.404 batting line in 51 plate appearances this year. Nieves, a nine-year MLB veteran, has a career line of .226/.272/.296. Henry Blanco has been backing up Miguel Montero behind the plate for the Diamondbacks.

Diamondbacks Release Lyle Overbay

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | August 6, 2012 at 7:32am CDT

The Diamondbacks released first baseman Lyle Overbay, the team announced on its website. Arizona had designated Overbay for assignment last week, and he drew some interest from the Reds and Orioles.

Overbay, who's signed to a one-year, $1MM contract, has a .271/.354/.439 batting line in 12 MLB seasons. He can now be signed for a pro-rated portion of the MLB minimum salary.

The 35-year-old posted a .292/.367/.448 batting line in 110 plate appearances with Arizona this year. Manager Kirk Gibson made sure to limit Overbay's exposure to left-handed pitching (95 plate appearances vs. RHP, 15 plate appearances vs. LHP), using him as a part-time complement to Paul Goldschmidt.

Quick Hits: Mariners, D’Backs, Trades, 2013 Draft

By Mark Polishuk | August 3, 2012 at 10:47pm CDT

The Upton brothers made history tonight as both Justin and B.J. hit their 100th career home runs. They become the sixth pair of brothers to each hit 100 Major League homers and the first to reach the plateau on the same evening. Here are some more news items from around the majors as we head into the weekend…

Ichiro Suzuki's trade to the Yankees has spurred rumors that the Mariners' ownership group may be considering selling the team, writes CBS Sports' Scott Miller. Team CEO Howard Lincoln recently called the rumors "absolute nonsense."
The Diamondbacks' search for an ace pitcher at the trade deadline involved a serious pursuit of James Shields and "kicking the tires" on Matt Garza, reports Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. The D'Backs asked the Red Sox about starting pitching (Piecoro presumes Josh Beckett and Jon Lester) but the talks went nowhere since the Snakes weren't willing to trade their top prospects.
Garza, Shin-Soo Choo, Jason Vargas, Chase Headley and Cliff Lee are five stars who would be on different teams had five deals "that should have happened but didn't" actually taken place before the deadline, writes ESPN's Jim Bowden (ESPN Insider subscription required).
Jack Moore of Fangraphs looks at three hitters and three pitchers who could be trade targets in August.
Mark Appel holds the #1 spot on Baseball America's ranking of 2013 amateur draft prospects. In general, the draft class is not thought to be overly deep, given a "generally underwhelming collection" of hitters and a high school class projected to be weaker than last year.

Olney On Dempster, Athletics, Lee, Castro

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | August 3, 2012 at 11:23am CDT

At least one baseball person wonders if Ryan Dempster hurt his free agent stock by agreeing to join the Rangers, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney reports. The American League, referred to by one general manager as "the big boy league," features some high-powered offenses that could have impact Dempster’s numbers and diminish his leverage in offseason contract talks. Here are more notes from Olney…

The Dodgers were interested in Dempster, but they never pushed for him, Olney reports. The Dodgers didn’t want to trade from their core of good prospects and they didn’t waver when the Cubs asked about their top minor leaguers.
Olney suggests teams like the Red Sox and Orioles could have interest in Brandon McCarthy if the Athletics place him on waivers when he returns from the disabled list.
Before the trade deadline, the Phillies made it clear that they would not pick up any of Cliff Lee’s salary in a trade and would also want prospects in return for the left-hander. Olney suggests it’s highly unlikely Lee will be moved in a waiver deal this month.
Starlin Castro’s name came up in conversations between the Cubs and Diamondbacks leading up to the trade deadline, Olney writes. However, both sides moved on quickly and a deal was never close.
Olney wonders if the Nationals could pursue in Derek Lowe given their interest in adding pitching leading up to the trade deadline.

Diamondbacks Release Scott Podsednik

By Mike Axisa | August 2, 2012 at 4:41pm CDT

The Diamondbacks have granted Scott Podsednik his release after he declined an assignment to Triple-A, reports Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic (on Twitter). Arizona acquired him as part of the Matt Albers–Craig Breslow trade earlier this week.

Podsednik, 36, hit .387/.409/.484 with six steals in 70 plate appearances with the Red Sox this year and .242/.308/.291 in Triple-A. The speedy outfielder also missed a little more than two weeks with a groin strain earlier this season.

NL Central Notes: Drew, Marte, Cardinals

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | August 2, 2012 at 2:39pm CDT

The Reds have been nearly unbeatable since losing their top player to injury and now have the best record in baseball at 64-41. Here are today's NL Central links after another Reds win…

The Pirates considered and rejected a trade that would have sent two minor leaguers to Arizona for Diamondbacks shortstop Stephen Drew, Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports (on Twitter). The prospects — not Jameson Taillon or Luis Heredia — are at the mid-to-low levels of Pittsburgh's farm system.
The Phillies asked the Pirates for Starling Marte, Brad Lincoln and more in possible trades for Hunter Pence, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney reports (on Twitter). The Phillies ultimately obtained Nate Schierholtz, minor league reliever Seth Rosin and minor league catcher/first baseman Tommy Joseph from the Giants for Pence.
MLB terminated the contract between the Cardinals and right-handed pitching prospect Andres Serrano, Ben Badler of Baseball America reports. The Cardinals had signed the Dominican for $750K, but he failed the age and identity sections of his investigation, according to Badler. Brian Walton of TheCardinalNation.com had the story last month.

D’Backs Tried To Acquire Ace Pitcher

By Tim Dierkes | July 31, 2012 at 5:33pm CDT

5:33pm: The Diamondbacks were indeed working to acquire Garza today, Olney reports (on Twitter).

12:58pm: Lefty Patrick Corbin has been scratched from his start for Arizona's Triple-A affiliate, tweets Chris Gabel of the Reno Gazette-Journal. Magruder has been told Corbin will not be moved, but says he guesses things could change in what Kevin Towers likes to call the "lightning round."

12:46pm: The Diamondbacks are not currently discussing a deal with the Cubs involving Upton and Garza, reports MLB.com's Steve Gilbert. It was only Olney's speculation in the first place.

12:31pm: The D'Backs are "working hard on something big," tweets ESPN's Buster Olney. Olney feels that an Upton-Matt Garza framework makes sense for the Cubs and Diamondbacks. Upton does have the Cubs on his no-trade list, notes Olney.

10:56am: Diamondbacks managing partner Ken Kendrick dismissed talk of acquiring Lee, Jack Magruder of FOXSportsArizona.com reports (Twitter links). "He is owed $100MM. If they want to keep $90MM" Kendrick said. "Really problematic to move him." Arizona would still like to acquire a starter, but Kendrick says we should not expect front page news.

8:37am: The Diamondbacks are one of the teams to which Lee can block a trade, notes Rosenthal.

8:08am: The Diamondbacks say Upton is definitely staying and there is no truth to rumors of Lee or Hernandez, tweets Bob Nightengale of USA Today. That, of course, does not make Rosenthal's report of the D'Backs seeking an ace pitcher untrue. Meanwhile, Nightengale notes that the club is likely to trade shortstop Stephen Drew today.

3:59am: The Diamondbacks are trying to swing a blockbuster for an unknown ace starting pitcher, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. One rival executive "received indications that the Phillies and Diamondbacks had discussed a deal involving Cliff Lee and Justin Upton," but that scenario is unconfirmed and it is not known whether the D'Backs are among the 21 teams to which Lee can block a trade. Plus, Kevin Towers and company would need serious assistance covering the $95.1MM guaranteed to the Phillies' lefty through 2015.

Rosenthal notes that the Mariners inquired on Upton earlier this month, but talks failed to progress. Given that club's repeated comments on and off record, we can probably forget about Felix Hernandez.

Rosenthal did not mention the Marlins' Josh Johnson, who is reportedly expected to stay put through today's deadline. It's difficult to name another ace-like starting pitcher on whom a team might listen.

Red Sox To Acquire Craig Breslow

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 31, 2012 at 2:00pm CDT

The Red Sox will acquire left-handed reliever Craig Breslow from the Diamondbacks, Jack Magruder of FOXSportsArizona.com reports (Twitter links). The Red Sox will send Matt Albers and Scott Podsednik to Arizona to complete the trade.

Boston had been seeking left-handed relief. The Angels were also looking at Breslow, according to Magruder. Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe first reported that the Red Sox might acquire Breslow.

Breslow has a 2.70 ERA with 8.7 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 in 43 1/3 innings this year. The 31-year-old earns $1.8MM and will go to arbitration again this coming offseason. He's on track to reach free agency following the 2013 season.

Podsednik, 36, posted a .387/.409/.484 batting line in 70 plate appearances this year, but missed substantial time with a groin injury. He earns $750K at the MLB level and will become a free agent after the season.

Albers has a 2.29 ERA with 5.7 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 in 39 1/3 innings so far in 2012. He is earning $1.08MM this year and will remain under team control as an arbitration eligible player through 2013.

Photo courtesy of US Presswire.

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