Odds & Ends: Braves, Orioles, Arroyo, Strasburg
Some links to check out on the night Derek Jeter tied Ted Williams on the career hits list with 2,654…
- MLB.com's Mark Bowman writes that if the Braves make a move before next Friday's trade deadline, "the best bet is that they'll add a reliever." He mentions Danys Baez, Takashi Saito, Ron Mahay, and John Grabow as available options.
- Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun took a look at the Orioles' main trade chips, including Baez, Aubrey Huff, George Sherrill, and Ty Wigginton.
- Bronson Arroyo is officially on the trading block, according to SI.com's Jon Heyman,
- The camp of top pick Stephen Strasburg has expressed concern over the Nationals' uncertain general manager situation, reports Chico Harlan of The Washington Post.
- Geoff Baker of The Seattle Times says that despite the Matt Holliday haul, the Mariners shouldn't expect as big of a return for Erik Bedard or Jarrod Washburn because they only project to be Type-B free agents after the season.
- Brewers owner Mark Attanasio said ""We'll be aggressive but we won't be stupid," when it comes to making trades according to Tom Haudricourt.
- Scott Lauber of The News Journal wrote about the dilemma of trading prospects.
Knobler On Holliday, Giants, Tigers
A number of baseball officials tell Danny Knobler of CBS Sports that they expect plenty of activity in the final week before next Friday's trade deadline.
- Billy Beane is apparently looking for young position players if he trades Matt Holliday.
- The Giants are "very interested" in Holliday.
- The Giants and Tigers have both checked out the Pirates and Nationals in their respective searches for bats. Adam Dunn and Nick Johnson have appeal, but the Giants would prefer a right-handed bat and the Tigers are hesitant to take on Dunn's $12MM salary for next season.
- Knobler says Tigers owner Mike Ilitch could always make a last-minute push for Holliday or Roy Halladay.
- There's no way to know how much flexibility the Rays, Rangers and Braves have until the deadline passes.
Odds & Ends: Brewers, Yankees, Braves
On this day last year, the Brewers acquired second baseman Ray Durham from the Giants for two prospects, and almost exactly a year later they landed Felipe Lopez for two more. Who will it be in 2010?
- Evan Brunell at the Hardball Times likes the Brewers' Felipe Lopez acquisition and thinks a starter could make the Brewers legit playoff contenders.
- Marc Carig at the Newark Star-Ledger reports that Hal Steinbrenner is "open to all possibilities" for the Yankees at the trade deadline.
- Peter Gammons thinks the Red Sox need to pursue a bat most of all. "The Dodgers will acquire pitching. The Giants will get a bat. Florida may get a closer. The Cubs will also do something," he believes.
- Dave Cameron at Fangraphs recaps the site's list of 2009 player trade values.
- Mark Bowman at MLB.com takes a deep look into the Braves' current position, and believes how they perform in their upcoming series will be a large indicator as to whether they buy or sell pieces before the deadline. Bowman thinks there's a chance the Braves could be done making major moves.
- Tom Krasovic posits that the Padres must stop offering no-trade clauses in their contracts, as such clauses have backfired with many players, a list potentially including Jake Peavy with his recent DL stint.
Odds & Ends: Trade Deadline, Reds, Maddux
Some more links on a busy Saturday evening…
- Yankees GM Brian Cashman believes the trade deadline is "no longer even in existence" because teams can always use waivers to swap players in August: "Guys are going to get through because people are going to be afraid to claim and get stuck with money that they can’t afford," said the GM. "And so the July 31 trade deadline is more of a fictitious one now, anyway."
- According to MLB.com's Mark Sheldon, Reds manager Dusty Baker had a meeting with his players this week to discuss the looming trade deadline. "Dusty said… that if you continue to win, they can't remove pieces," noted trade candidate Bronson Arroyo.
- As Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune points out, using Rich Harden and Jason Marquis as prime examples, midseason trades don't always look as sweet a year later.
- According to the Associated Press, via ESPN.com, the Braves are interested in adding Greg Maddux as a spring training pitching instructor. Maddux worked in a similar capacity for the Padres last spring.
- For quick updates and a bit more discussion, follow MLBTR on Twitter. Hey, and while you're at it, go ahead and add your good buddy Drew Silva. I'll try not to let you down.
Odds & Ends: Holliday, Kearns, Pirates, Padres
A few more Friday night links…
- AOL Fanhouse's Jeff Fletcher tweets that the Braves are "not involved with the A's on Matt Holliday."
- Bill Ladson of MLB.com mentions that there doesn't seem to be any takers for Austin Kearns, who has gotten just 17 plate appearances in the team's last 22 games.
- Pirates GM Neal Huntington says that the contract extension talks with Jack Wilson and Freddy Sanchez need "to be resolved quickly, one way or the other," according to Rob Biertempfel of The Pittsburgh Tibune-Review.
- Andy Marks of The Star Banner notes that the Padres aren't close to signing fourth rounder Keyvius Sampson, who was a borderline first round talent in last month's amateur draft.
- ESPN's Keith Law wrote about some players we'll see on Thursday's Cape Cod League All Star Game. The Cape is the nation's premier amateur summer league, and features some of the very best players available in next year's draft.
Odds And Ends: Holliday, Lugo, DeRosa
Some links for the afternoon…
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says the A's want two highly regarded prospects in any deal for Matt Holliday.
- Rosenthal believes the Braves have too much pitching not to make a serious run at the playoffs.
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports hears that Mark DeRosa will test his wrist to see how much pain it gives him before deciding if he needs surgery. The Cards hope to activate him within a few days.
- Multiple teams have inquired about Julio Lugo, according to Amalie Benjamin of the Boston Globe. The Red Sox designated him for assignment earlier today.
- DRaysBay hosts a roundtable discussion with bloggers for each AL East team.
- I'll be talking trades on 107.5 The Game in about ten minutes. Click here to listen in.
Odds & Ends: Escobar, Peavy, Mets, Cardinals
A gaggle of links for your Thursday evening reading pleasure…
- In response to someone mentioning the Yunel Escobar–Matt Holliday rumors, MLB.com's Mark Bowman says "There is zero truth to those Escobar rumors. The Braves have NO and I repeat no intention to move him. Believe me, if they move him, it will simply be a deal that they simply can't refuse and that wouldn't include anything involving Holliday."
- Tom Krasovic notes that Jake Peavy is out of his walking boot, and is ready to begin "ramping it up."
- David Lennon of Newsday says that earlier today Mets GM Omar Minaya twice mentioned "that he talked with five or six teams today."
- Joe Strauss of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch says that the Cardinals may search for starting pitching if Todd Wellemeyer doesn't show more consistency over his next 2-3 starts.
- Scott Lauber of The News Journal notes that the Phillies promoted one of their best prospects, outfielder Michael Taylor, to Triple-A. He speculates that Taylor may best serve the club as trade bait, considering all three of their regular outfielders were All Stars.
- When asked who the best prospect was if matched up head to head, Baseball America's Jim Callis said he'd go with Bryce Harper over Justin Upton, citing Harper's advantage in power.
- MLB.com's Mark Sheldon reports that the Reds gave Venezuelan shortstop Humberto Valor a $690k bonus. Valor signed with Cincinnati earlier this month.
- David Villavicencio of MLB.com mentions that the Marlins have signed eight of their first ten draft picks. First rounder Chad James remains unsigned, however.
Heyman On GMs, Mulder, Bay, Reds
SI.com's Jon Heyman identifies the GMs facing the most pressure heading into the second half of the season and passes along some rumors, too:
- Despite "occasional rumblings" about Omar Minaya's job security, injuries are to blame for the Mets' disappointing start, so Minaya's bosses aren't about to blame him for the season.
- The Nats plan on hiring a permanent GM soon and acting GM Mike Rizzo is in the running for the position.
- Giants GM Brian Sabean saved one of his best showings for his walk year. He's put together a playoff contender and a talented crop of minor leaguers just as his deal's about to expire.
- Royals GM Dayton Moore and Braves GM Frank Wren are expected to have some time to work with.
- It doesn't look like Indians GM Mark Shapiro will ascend to club president this year.
- Heyman likes the Phillies' acquisition of Pedro Martinez.
- Mark Mulder could be the next pitcher to sign, as he's 95% ready, according to his agent.
- Heyman thinks the Red Sox will be able to lock Jason Bay up once they start talking extension.
- Look for the Reds to continue their hunt for outfielders.
Braves Rumors: Escobar, Soriano, Payroll
David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution has the latest on the Braves. Here are the details:
- They're taking calls from teams interested in Yunel Escobar.
- There's nothing to the suggestion that the Braves could send Escobar and prospects to Oakland for Matt Holliday and Orlando Cabrera, especially since Escobar's much cheaper than Holliday and hitting about as well.
- The Cardinals are interested in Escobar, but they wouldn't trade Ryan Ludwick.
- O'Brien hears that the Braves offered Rafael Soriano to the Cards for Joe Mather last winter but the Cards wouldn't make the move.
- Braves GM Frank Wren repeated that he doesn't want to move prospects and can't afford to add much payroll.
Odds And Ends: Holliday, Yabu, Bay, Latos
Some links to look through on the morning of the Midsummer Classic…
- This week's chat will take place today at 2pm CST.
- MLB.com's Mychael Urban keeps hearing about a possible deal that would send Matt Holliday, Orlando Cabrera and salary relief to the Braves for Yunel Escobar and prospects.
- The Giants released Keiichi Yabu yesterday, according to the Kyodo News. He had been pitching in Triple A.
- Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post says Albert Pujols belongs with the elite players in baseball history.
- John Tomase of the Boston Herald says the Red Sox still aren't talking with Jason Bay about an extension, but there are indications they may revisit his contract before the end of the season.
- It looks like the Padres will promote their top pitching prospect, Mat Latos, according to MLB.com's Corey Brock.
- In the second part of my Q&A with NESN.com, I discuss Pedro Martinez, Clay Buchholz and the Mets.