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Rosenthal On Victorino, Red Sox, Braves, Brewers

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Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports has a new Full Count video up, so let's round up the rumors…

  • The chances of the Phillies trading Shane Victorino may be greater than the chances of them trading Cole Hamels. The Dodgers, Reds, and possibly the Yankees could be fits for the outfielder, who originally asked Philadelphia for a five-year extension. They're unwilling to give him a contract that long.
  • The Red Sox are likely to be one of the most active teams at the trade deadline. If they keep Franklin Morales in the rotation, they're likely to seek another left-hander for the bullpen. They could also acquire a starter and shift Morales back into a relief role.
  • The Braves are not as adamant about not trading their top young pitchers as they were at this time last year mostly because there are more appealing choices on the market. They're looking for consistency and could part with one of Mike Minor, Julio Teheran, or Randall Delgado if they view someone like Matt Garza as a difference-maker.
  • The Brewers remain more likely to sell than not, but they would still like to return to contention quickly. They could ask for big league pitching instead of prospects for Zack Greinke, plus Francisco Rodriguez figures to have value on the trade market. GM Doug Melvin is getting calls about John Axford and Jose Veras, and the trio of Randy Wolf, George Kottaras, and Shaun Marcum (if healthy) remain trade bait.

Stark On Garza, Orioles, Braves, Phillies, Headley

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Arizona general manager Kevin Towers says he’s been impressed by Mike Trout and Bryce Harper from an offensive and defensive standpoint, ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark reports. "They can beat you on the basepaths. They impact the game defensively,” Towers said. “They can beat you with key hits or the long ball. They're both very special." Here are Stark’s latest rumors from around MLB…

  • One American League executive says the Cubs are basing their asking price for Matt Garza on last summer’s Ubaldo Jimenez deal. This means it’ll take two controllable, young players with upside to pry the right-hander away from Jed Hoyer and Theo Epstein.
  • Other teams say the Orioles are involved in the Garza talks. However, Manny Machado and Dylan Bundy aren’t going to be available in summer trade talks with any club.
  • The Braves are looking for "an impact starting pitcher" and they’ve scouted trade candidate Jason Vargas extensively
  • The Angels are desperate to add a really good bullpen piece and would dangle Peter Bourjos in the right deal, according to rival teams.
  • One executive doesn’t expect Luke Gregerson of the Padres to become available, though there would be heavy demand if San Diego were willing to listen.
  • Another executive suggests the Red Sox could trade Kelly Shoppach and call Ryan Lavarnway up from the minor leagues.
  • The Twins continue to tell teams they expect to hold onto Josh Willingham.
  • The Marlins are telling rival teams they haven’t discussed becoming sellers this summer. The Phillies also seem to want to add, not subtract. The Phils are considering a long list of relievers and have asked the Padres about Chase Headley.
  • The Diamondbacks have “window-shopped” for bullpen depth, Stark writes. Towers says he prefers his current team, now 38-37, to the one that won the NL West a year ago.
  • Stark also reported on the Blue Jays' approach to the trade deadline and you can read the details here.

Zack Greinke Rumors: Thursday

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Zack Greinke picked up his ninth win of the season last night, allowing two runs in six innings of work during the Brewers' 8-4 win over the Reds.  Here's the latest hot stove chatter on the Milwaukee ace…

  • "A couple of teams," including the Yankees, feel that Greinke may not be suited for pitching in a large market, reports Jon Heyman of CBS Sports.  Greinke did tell the Yankees he would pitch for them when he was in the process of being dealt from the Royals to the Brewers. 
  • At the time Greinke turned down a trade to the Nationals, as he felt the Brewers were in better position to immediately contend.  As Washington has since acquired Gio Gonzalez and Edwin Jackson, the Nats are unlikely to be looking for pitching at the trade deadline.
  • Heyman says that the Brewers were looking to offer Greinke an extension similar to Jered Weaver's deal with the Angels (five years, $85MM) but talks between Greinke and the Brewers broke off in April just after Matt Cain's five-year, $112.5MM deal contract with the Giants re-shaped the market.
  • The Braves would only be interested in trading for Greinke if they could sign him to a new long-term contract, writes MLB.com's Mark Bowman.  The Braves could, as rumored, use some of the money budgeted for their 2013 payroll to accommodate adding Greinke or another pitcher.  As Bowman points out, the Braves will have almost $36MM (Chipper Jones, Derek Lowe and Michael Bourn's contract) coming off the books this winter, though the club will need some of those funds to re-sign Bourn or spend on another outfielder.
  • Besides Greinke, Bowman lists Matt Garza, Ryan Dempster and Edinson Volquez as "potential targets" for Atlanta.
  • Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports added some more news about Greinke earlier today.

Morosi On Greinke, Brewers, Kotsay

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It'll be a surprise if Zack Greinke is pitching for the Brewers after the July 31st trade deadline, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports writes. Here are some more details from Morosi, starting with the Brewers right-hander:

  • Greinke didn't offer much detail on his contract talks with the Brewers — “I don’t know anything about that. I’m not really talking about it" — but the Brewers are preparing to trade him if an extension isn't possible. 
  • Morosi is almost certain the Brewers will be sellers and notes that the Braves, Dodgers, Cardinals, Orioles, White Sox and Indians would like to upgrade their rotations. Morosi adds that the Rangers, Angels and Yankees had scouts at Greinke’s most recent start. Greinke, a free agent after the season, figures to obtain a qualifying from the Brewers this fall if he stays in Milwaukee. No other team can obtain draft pick compensation for Greinke if he leaves as a free agent this offseason.
  • Mark Kotsay will be one of the most sought-after bench bats in summer trade talks, Morosi writes (Twitter links). The Padres have outfield depth in Carlos Quentin, Chris Denorfia, Cameron Maybin, Jesus Guzman and Will Venable.

Minor Moves: LaRoche, Meloan, Williamson

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We'll keep track of today's minor moves right here…

  • The Indians announced that infielder Andy LaRoche has been released from Triple-A Columbus (via Twitter). LaRoche, 28, was once a modest prospect with the Dodgers but hasn't been able to make the most of big league playing time with Los Angeles, the Pirates and Athletics.
  • The Yankees have signed Jonathan Meloan and assigned him to Double-A, reports Mike Ashmore of The Trentonian. The 27-year-old right-hander had been pitching in an independent league and turned down offers from Mexico and Asia to sign with New York. Meloan owns a 4.58 ERA in 17 2/3 big league innings with the Dodgers, Indians, and Athletics.
  • The Braves have signed Fabian Williamson according to the MLB.com transactions page. The 23-year-old left-hander had been pitching in an independent league and has previously been involved in trades for David Aardsma and Eric Patterson. Williamson owns a 4.00 ERA in 472 minor league innings and has never appeared in the show.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Nationals, Guthrie, Angels, Porcello

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In today's column, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports argues that the biggest trade of the season has already been made. No, not Kevin Youkilis to the White Sox. He's referring to Ernesto Frieri, who's thrown 22 scoreless innings for the Angels team since being acquired from the Padres. Here are the rest of Rosenthal's rumors…

  • The Nationals have been poking around for a right-handed hitting corner infielder to replace Mark DeRosa, who is hurt and declining. John Lannan has improved his trade stock by pitching better of late in Triple-A.
  • The Rockies have cooled on the idea of trading Jeremy Guthrie for the time being because they feel he could thrive in the bullpen as part of their four-man rotation setup. The team's current stance is that they'll only deal him if a club offers real talent or salary relief.
  • The Diamondbacks backed off Youkilis because of concerns about his defense on the hard and fast infield at Chase Field. They expect Stephen Drew to return this week to bolster their infield.
  • The Angels were not in on Youkilis but remain on the lookout for bullpen help, specifically a left-on-left reliever who would be an upgrade over Hisanori Takahashi. They're also looking for Triple-A starting pitching depth.
  • Rosenthal say talk about Rick Porcello as a trade candidate makes sense given his salary ($3.1MM) and ground ball approach on a Tigers team with poor infield defense.
  • The Braves will be a team to watch before the deadline, specifically in the starting pitching market following Brandon Beachy's injury.

East Links: Braves, Rays, Marlins

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Eight of the 18 big league teams with a .500 or better record reside in the two East divisions. Here's the latest from the AL and NL East…

  • The Braves have discussed using money budgeted for 2013 to make a trade this year according to MLB.com's Mark Bowman (on Twitter). Atlanta could be on the hunt for pitching with Brandon Beachy injured and Mike Minor/Randall Delgado experiencing growing pains.
  • "It's not by design that we have somebody different lead us in saves each year," said Rays GM Andrew Friedman to ESPN's Jerry Crasnick. "It's dictated by resources. We have 'X' amount to allocate to field the most competitive roster we can. We can't afford to pay a guy $10 million or $12 million a year to throw 70 innings, so our approach is to have as many good, high-upside arms as we can and figure that one will fall out."
  • “I know who these guys are … I’m not a person who panics. I know what we did to put together this team," said Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports about his 34-38 club. Loria also rejected the idea that members of the coaching staff could be in danger of losing their jobs.

Kevin Youkilis Rumors: Sunday

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The trade chatter surrounding Kevin Youkilis picked up a ton of steam yesterday as the White Sox, Pirates, Indians, and Dodgers all seem to have interest in the third baseman.  As of late last night, it appeared that the White Sox were the frontrunner for the veteran with Pittsburgh in second.  Here's the latest on Youkilis with the most recent news up top..

  • Rob Bradford of WEEI.com tweets that a clubhouse source says Youkilis has been traded to the White Sox and his nameplate has been removed from his locker.
  • Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com tweets the White Sox appear to be the most likely destination for Youkilis and, as of yesterday, the two teams were haggling over money. Knobler adds in a separate tweet that Youkilis is not headed to the Dodgers.
  • A deal for Youkilis is in the works, according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. Heyman adds late talks involved the White Sox, but new team is not yet confirmed. In a separate tweet, Heyman says the Indians are out of the running.
  • Sean McAdam of CSNNE.com tweets a source has confirmed that a deal for Youkilis is in the works, but "not complete." Youkilis was removed, to a standing ovation, in the 7th inning as a precaution.
  • Diamondbacks GM Kevin Towers confirmed that he is not in on Youkilis, tweets Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe.
  • McAdam hears from a major league source that the Dodgers, White Sox, Indians, Braves, and a fifth team are in on Youkilis.  A second source says that the Pirates and Diamondbacks are no longer involved.  A source with knowledge of the talks indicated that Boston is focused on getting the best return available, whether its in the form of prospects or current major leaguers.
  • Youkilis is in today's lineup and a team source tells Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe (via Twitter) that it's not indicative of one thing or another and a trade remains still in play.
  • The White Sox, Dodgers, and Indians are likely going to be amongst the final five teams for Youkilis, tweets Heyman.
  • The White Sox’s pursuit of Youkilis is more advanced than any other club’s and could be approaching the final stages, a major league source tells Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.  Sources say Boston is willing to include about $5MM of the nearly $8MM remaining on Youkilis’ contract in the trade.  As of late last night, the Indians appeared to be a “longshot,” the Dodgers’ talks were minimal, and the Pirates pulled out of the discussions, according to sources.

Quick Hits: Braves, Pirates, Rockies, Nationals

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The Marlins ended their franchise record offensive draught of scoring five runs or less for 25 consecutive games in their 9-0 win over the Blue Jays. And, for good measure, the nine runs were a season-high for the Marlins, who ended their six-game losing streak. Here's the latest news from around baseball.

  • The Braves could make starting pitching a priority at the trade deadline because of the growing pains of Mike Minor and Randall Delgado and the uncertainty surrounding Jair Jurrjens, tweets Mark Bowman of MLB.com.
  • The Pirates need to create an opening in their starting rotation when Jeff Karstens returns from the disabled list this week and Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review thinks a trade could create that opening (via Sulia). Biertempfel reported yesterday the Pirates are shopping Kevin Correia.
  • With the Pirates looking for offensive help, the Denver Post's Troy Renck notes the Rockies have players available, including Marco Scutaro. In the same piece, Renck offers his suggestions on who the Rockies should play the rest of the way in 2012, so as to best prepare for 2013.
  • The Nationals are not willing to pay a fine in order to exceed their draft bonus pool, writes Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post. This is a corection to a story Kilgore wrote yesterday. Kilgore writes this stance will lower the amount the Nationals will be able to offer their first round draft pick Lucas Giolito.
  • Condolences to the friends of family of Padres' bullpen coach Darrel Akerfelds, who lost his battle with pancreatic cancer today.  He was 50.
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