Pirates Had Another Offer For LaRoche
Before the Pirates dealt Adam LaRoche to Boston, a second team made them an offer, according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. An unknown club proposed a deal that would have sent a major leaguer and a borderline prospect to Pittsburgh for LaRoche. The Pirates would have had to take on the major leaguer's salary in the deal, which wasn't proposed by the Giants.
Twins Seek Infielders; No Holliday For Tigers
The Twins continue their search for infielders and the Tigers don't seem likely to acquire Matt Holliday. Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports has the details:
- The Twins, who could use infield help, have discussed an Orlando Cabrera trade with the A's.
- The Twins could also pursue Jack Wilson, Freddy Sanchez or Marco Scutaro.
- Mark Teahen could be an option, but it's unclear whether the Royals would deal within the division.
- Ken Rosenthal hears that the Giants and Tigers will not be serious players for Matt Holliday.
- The A's gave the Tigers a list of prospects to discuss for Holliday, but talks didn't develop.
- The Tigers didn't want to discuss lefty Casey Crosby.
Red Sox Acquire Adam LaRoche
9:18pm: Baseball America's Matt Eddy has a comprehensive rundown of both prospects Pittsburgh acquired for LaRoche. Eddy likes Diaz's defense, but his bat is "a bit light for a regular role." He says Strickland's fastball gives him a chance to be a big league reliever, but he needs to refine his secondary pitches.
2:09pm: Kovacevic says the Pirates are not sending any cash to the Red Sox.
1:09pm: Danny Knobler of CBS Sports reports that the Pirates are sending cash to the Red Sox to contribute to the remainder of the $7.05MM LaRoche makes this year. They also sent cash to the Yankees in the Eric Hinske deal.
1:02pm: ESPN.com's Keith Law says Diaz's glove could make him a legitimate MLB backup in spite of his bat. Strickland is "probably a reliever at best."
12:31pm: Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus says Diaz is a very good defender who doesn't hit much. He says Strickland is a projectable righty with a fastball around 90 mph and average secondary stuff.
12:21pm: Ben Badler of Baseball America says the pair of prospects isn't much, not that the Pirates should expect more for two months of LaRoche.
12:05pm: Speier reports that the Pirates receive pitcher Hunter Strickland and shortstop Argenis Diaz.
11:49am: Alex Speier of WEEI.com reports that Manny Delcarmen will not be part of the trade.
11:45am: What you need to know about LaRoche: He's a 29-year-old first baseman hitting .247/.329/.441; he has a history of playing well in the second half; his defense is slightly below average; he makes $7.05MM this year before becoming a free agent and he's on the cusp of projecting as a Type B free agent, though he's currently below the cut.
11:15am: Kovacevic says the Pirates have traded LaRoche to the Red Sox.
11:00am: John Perrotto says LaRoche has been traded.
10:58am: Kovacevic says LaRoche is not in today's lineup.
10:56am: Ed Price of MLB FanHouse hears that LaRoche has been traded.
10:44am: Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says the Pirates clubhouse is buzzing over the possiblity that Adam LaRoche will soon be traded. However, LaRoche is taking batting practice and is expected to play today.
Roy Halladay Rumors: Wednesday
6:49pm: ESPN's Peter Gammons says the Dodgers are still in the mix for Halladay. Pros for the Dodgers are a number of Single-A and Double-A prospects and the willingness to take on Halladay's contract. Cons are a lack of near-ready pitching prospects, and absence of Toronto scouts at Dodger games.
5:02pm: ESPN.com's Tim Kurkjian says he doesn't expect the Jays to deal Halladay because their asking price is "enormously high."
3:40pm: Rockies GM Dan O'Dowd told MLB.com that Halladay is not a fit for his team because the cost would be "devastating" financially and in terms of talent.
12:59pm: Wondering what kind of haul the Jays might bring in? ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick looks back at nine trades for top pitchers and shows that not all blockbusters are created equal.
11:08am: Jon Heyman of SI.com says the Brewers appear to be a threat to acquire Halladay. He's hearing Manny Parra's name and suspects Mat Gamel or Alcides Escobar would have to be involved, too.
11:06am: Ricciardi told ESPN.com's Jayson Stark that talks are expected to intensify early next week. The Blue Jays haven't exchanged names with interested teams yet, but Ricciardi expects to tell teams what he's looking for by Monday.
That wouldn't leave much time before Tuesday's self-imposed deadline, but Ricciardi said it's a soft deadline.
Ricciardi says four teams are "really, really serious" about Halladay. The Phillies are believed to be one of his top suitors and Ricciardi confirmed that the Jays will scout Kyle Drabek's upcoming start.
8:33am: Here's what we heard yesterday: the Yankees and Mets aren't major threats to acquire Roy Halladay; the Cards are still involved; the Phillies are considering other options and may have told the Jays Kyle Drabek is off-limits; the Jays have imposed a pre-deadline of July 28th on the negotiations and GM J.P. Ricciardi says a trade is becoming "unlikely."
- Yahoo's Gordon Edes says the Phillies want Halladay more than Cliff Lee, but bellieve the Jays are asking for too much.
- Sportsnet.ca has a clip of Ricciardi saying a deal is unlikely.
- The Phillies won't publicly admit they're pursuing Doc, but Ray Parrillo of the Philadelphia Inquirer hears they're still interested.
- Tracy Ringolsby of FOXSports suggests the Blue Jays have to consider trading Halladay because Ricciardi hasn't committed money to the right players.
Red Sox & Cards Swap Lugo & Duncan
5:30pm: The haul for Lugo is bigger than originally thought. The Sox receive a player to be named later or cash along with Duncan, according to the team's press release.
3:32pm: Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post Dispatch reports that the Cardinals will trade Chris Duncan to the Red Sox for Julio Lugo. Via Twitter Miklasz says the Red Sox will still pay Lugo's salary and Sean McAdam of the Boston Herald agrees.
Duncan has a career .851 OPS against right-handers and is under team control through 2012. Reid Laymance of the Post-Dispatch says the Red Sox are expected to assign Duncan to Triple A Pawtucket.
More Moves Could Come For Red Sox
Boston's big acquisition could be a prelude to more moves for the AL Wild Card leaders. GM Theo Epstein said this afternoon that his team will continue to be "very active" in discussions around the league, though he addressed the team's main need by adding Adam LaRoche. The 29-year-old first baseman provides the Red Sox with a solid bat against righties and insurance in case Mike Lowell needs time off.
The team added LaRoche to win this year. Epstein said possible compensation picks after the season weren't a key component to the deal because it's "far from a certainty" that LaRoche will rank as a Type A or B free agent after the season. He's not currently ranked as a Type B free agent, but he's on the cusp of becoming one.
Historically, LaRoche's OPS has been 128 points higher after the All-Star break, but the Red Sox aren't expecting monster numbers from their new first baseman. Epstein said the team's defensive metrics rank him as a sound fielder.
LaRoche will join the team in Boston for the weekend series against the Orioles.
Holliday Drawing Interest
A variety of scouts are watching the A's even though GM Billy Beane told Joe Stiglich of the San Jose Mercury News that the leadup to the deadline has been unusually quiet this year. The Giants and Tigers have "at least a degree of interest" in Matt Holliday and the Yankees have been scouting the A's, according to Stiglich.
Giants Still Eyeing Bats
Jeff Fletcher of AOL FanHouse says the Giants musn't have wanted Adam LaRoche much, if they didn't beat Boston's offer for the recently-traded first baseman. Fletcher says the Giants "must be holding out for a premium player." Could Matt Holliday be their man? Fletcher says he's one of many players on the Giants' list, but warns that rumors of "increased" interest in Holliday are false.
Odds And Ends: Timlin, Rays, Reds
Some more links as the trading heats up…
- Buster Posey and Clay Buchholz are two of the better-known players on the list of untouchable players compiled by John Manuel of Baseball America.
- Mike Timlin worked out at Coors Field and the relief-starved Rockies may offer him a minor league contract, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post.
- Dave Cameron of FanGraphs implores Andrew Friedman and the Rays to go all out and trade for Cliff Lee.
- John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer adds Jerry Hairston Jr. to the list of Reds trade candidates and says he'd be "stunned" if they deal Brandon Phillips.
- Check out this NBC Sports clip for my take on Roy Halladay, Matt Holliday and others.
- I'll be talking trades on The Big 1070 at 4:15 CST and here's a clip from an appearance earlier in the week on the Sports Show Live.
Odds And Ends: Gonzalez, Giambi, Mets
Some links for the morning…
- MLB.com's Corey Brock reassures Padres fans, telling them that Adrian Gonzalez and Heath Bell are staying put for now.
- But Gonzalez told Chris Jenkins of the San Diego Union-Tribune that he understands his team's predicament: "To a certain extent, I don't disagree with the people who say the best thing for the Padres is to go out and get a bunch of people for me."
- Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker passes along a report saying the Seibu Lions are trying to acquire Triple A pitcher Jonah Bayliss from the Blue Jays.
- Rich Hoffman of the Philadelphia Daily News says the Phillies depend on their scouts and believe only what they see for themselves.
- MLB.com's Mychael Urban wonders if Jason Giambi might shut it down for the season.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post wonders if Nick Evans and Daniel Murphy are even major league bench players.
- The Brewers were among the teams scouting Cliff Lee last night, according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.