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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.

Cafardo On Garza, Lowrie, Greinke, Red Sox, Liriano

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The rest of the baseball world is waiting for the Yankees to get old, but so far that hasn't happened, writes Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe.  "They’ve been saying that ever since I’ve been around," said Yankees GM Brian Cashman. "They said it after 2001. They said it after we were reshuffling in 2003, and in 2004, my therapist said I wasn’t supposed to talk about it. After 2009, we can’t be winning with older guys…So I’ve always heard it. As long as we’re winning, people can keep saying it."  Here's more from today's column..

  • About six teams have been in contact with the Cubs consistently regarding Matt Garza: the Braves, Tigers, Cardinals, Red Sox, Jays, and Royals.  Epstein is looking for a great package to part with Garza as he is the club's biggest chip.  However, teams have some concern over whether the pitcher can control his emotions.
  • The Tigers could be heavily in the mix for Astros shortstop Jed Lowrie and Detroit would likely move him to second to fill a need.  Cafardo wouldn't be shocked if he is on the Phillies’ radar as well. Houston has a few other chips in Brett Myers, Brandon Lyon, and Wandy Rodriguez that could help contenders.
  • When teams ask about Zack Greinke's availability, they are getting "not yet" from the Brewers.  However, Cafardo writes that he'll be available as soon as they get the right offer because there doesn’t seem to be any chance of Milwaukee signing him long-term. 
  • There has been a lot of talk about Scott Podsednik being used as a trade chip but Cody Ross and Daniel Nava could also be made available by the Red Sox.
  • Francisco Liriano's recent pitching has made him a viable trade chip for the Twins.  It would still be hard for a contender to trust him, but that doesn’t mean he won’t be moved.
  • A National League talent evaluator thinks the Mets should give some thought to trading R.A. Dickey while his value is skyhigh.  The Mets don't have the money to make the deadline upgrades that they need, so they could instead continue with their three- or four-year plan by making the right-hander available.

2013 Vesting Options Update

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Let's check in on the players who have vesting options for the 2013 season…

  • Jason Bartlett, Padres – $5.5MM option vests with 432 plate appearances. Bartlett came to the plate just 98 times before being placed on the disabled list with a knee injury. There is no firm timetable for his return and it seems unlikely that the option will vest at this point.
  • Kevin Gregg, Orioles – $6MM option vests with 50 games finished. Gregg has finished just six of the team's 70 games and it seems likely that Baltimore will keep the option from vesting.
  • Brett Myers, Astros – $10MM option vests with 45 games finished or based on a points system. Myers has finished 23 of the club's 70 games and is a trade candidate. If he continues to close, the option seems likely to vest.

Chipper Jones has an option worth $9MM+ that will vest with 123 games played, but he's already rendered the option moot by announcing his plans to retire after the season. Chipper has played in 38 of the Braves' first 70 games.

Alex Gonzalez has an option worth $4MM that will vest with 525 plate appearances, but he is expected to miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL. Gonzalez came to the plate just 89 times before the injury, so the Brewers do not have to worry about this one kicking in.

The Latest On Kevin Youkilis

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Yesterday we learned that the Red Sox have "stepped up their efforts" to trade Kevin Youkilis, who is losing playing time to Will Middlebrooks. After the rookie went 3-for-4 with a homer in last night's game, manager Bobby Valentine told Youkilis that he'll be sitting for a while according to Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe (on Twitter). Here's the latest on the Greek God of Walks…

  • A handful of teams are involved in the bidding according to Olney (Twitter link), but one official believes the White Sox are best positioned to swing a deal. It appears as though the Pirates have little interest in Youkilis according to ESPN Boston.
  • ESPN's Buster Olney hears that teams believe Youkilis could be traded at any time, but the feeling is that Boston is just working to get the best offer (Twitter link).
  • The Braves scouted Kevin Youkilis last week, Cafardo tweets. In fact, the Braves scouted him multiple times this past week, according to David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (on Twitter).

Ben Nicholson-Smith contributed to this post.

Minor Moves: Mills, Carrasco, Ambriz

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The latest minor moves..

  • The Indians traded first baseman Beau Mills to the Reds for cash considerations, tweets Paul Hoynes of The Plain Dealer.  The former first-round pick has been assigned to Double-A Pensacola.
  • The Braves signed reliever D.J. Carrasco to a minor league deal. The Mets, who are responsible for the majority of Carrasco's $1.2MM salary, released the 35-year-old in late May after he allowed six hits, including two home runs, in 3 2/3 innings, according to the CBSSports.com transactions page.
  • The Astros signed right-hander Hector Ambriz to a minor league deal. The Indians released Ambriz this past Sunday after he posted a 3.55 ERA with 6.8 K/9 and 4.6 BB/9 in 33 Triple-A innings, according to CBSSports.com.
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