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Rosenthal On Manny, Cardinals, Braves, Inge

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We already took a look at Ken Rosenthal's updates on Joe Torre and Dusty Baker, but those weren't the only items of interest in his latest Full Count video at FOX Sports. Here are the others:

  • Manny Ramirez should be on his way back to full health in the coming weeks, but if the Dodgers want to move him before August 31st, his no-trade clause may make things difficult. Rosenthal indicates that the Dodgers might be careful about when they place Ramirez on waivers, perhaps doing so if and when the White Sox are behind the Red Sox in the standings. As Rosenthal notes, Boston winning a waiver claim on Manny would make a trade highly unlikely, whereas the White Sox and Dodgers could have a better chance of working something out.
  • The Cardinals and Braves are both searching for third base help. The Cardinals plan to give Allen Craig some time there and the Braves have been content with in-house options so far, but Rosenthal suggests Brandon Inge is a player who could be a fit for both teams. If Inge is placed on waivers, another contender may put in a claim to block the Braves and Cards from having a shot at him.

Manager Rumors: Baker, Torre, La Russa

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Looking ahead to the offseason, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports opines that as many as ten teams could be searching for new managers. Let's check out the latest updates on a few of the National League's current skippers….

  • In his newest Full Count video, Rosenthal suggests that Dusty Baker will likely have a handful of suitors if the Reds decide they can't afford to give him a raise next year.
  • Adding that Jerry Manuel is looking more and more like a "goner," Rosenthal says the Mets may be the only team Joe Torre would consider managing if the Dodgers' skipper doesn't return to Los Angeles.
  • For his part, Torre tells MLB.com's Ken Gurnick that he won't announce his plans for next year while the Dodgers are still in contention for the playoffs. Having dropped their last three games, the team now sits 6.5 games back in the wild card hunt.
  • Tony La Russa also won't discuss his plans for next season yet, but admits to Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Twitter link) that he's been weighing his options.

Odds & Ends: Reds, Giants, Harper, Dodgers, Prior

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Links for Saturday, as J.P. Arencibia homers on the first pitch he sees in the majors….

  • John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer tweets that he has not seen a year in which the Reds have faced so many difficult roster decisions in the last decade.
  • Jim Callis of Baseball America (via Twitter) expects the Giants to eventually sign their first-round pick, center fielder Gary Brown.
  • Barry Shlachter of the Dallas Morning News examines whether the group headed by Chuck Greenberg and Nolan Ryan overpaid for the Rangers.
  • Jim Callis of Baseball America passes on news of a pair of draft picks signing for over-slot deals: The Blue Jays signed their second-round pick, while the Pirates locked up their fourth-rounder.
  • Tigers owner Mike Ilitch acknowledged to Bob Wojnowski of the Detroit News that he'd signed off on some bad contracts in the past, but said that won't stop him from spending money in the future.
  • MLB.com's Bill Ladson hears that negotiations between the Nationals and Bryce Harper could "heat up" by Tuesday. The first overall pick in this year's draft enrolled for classes at the College of Southern Nevada, but that doesn't mean he won't end up signing with the Nats.
  • The Dodgers still seem to be buyers, leading Steve Dilbeck of the Los Angeles Times to wonder if they put a waiver claim on Adam Dunn.
  • Although he's pitching for the Orange County Flyers now, Mark Prior hopes to make his way back to the bigs, according to MLB.com's Rhett Bollinger.

Mets Release Alex Cora

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The Mets have released Alex Cora and demoted Jesus Feliciano to the minors, tweets Adam Rubin of ESPN New York. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports first reported (via Twitter) that the team would be "bumping" Cora from the major league roster in order to make room for Ruben Tejada. Feliciano's demotion clears a spot on the roster for Fernando Martinez.

As David Lennon of Newsday points out (via Twitter), by releasing Cora, the Mets avoid seeing the 34-year-old's 2011 option vest. Cora needed to play in just 18 more games to trigger the $2MM option.

Red Sox Agree To Deal With Carlos Delgado

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The Red Sox and Carlos Delgado have reached an agreement on a minor league contract, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter). If Delgado is not on the big league roster by September 1st, he can opt out of the deal and become a free agent.

Rosenthal adds that the contract will pay Delgado $20K per month in Triple-A and a pro-rated portion of $3MM, if and when he reaches the majors. The Red Sox also included playoff performance incentives in the contract, and agreed not to offer arbitration to the 38-year-old after the season.

Following the season-ending thumb injury sustained by Kevin Youkilis, the Red Sox had been eyeing a few first base options,. Boston was among a handful of clubs interested in Delgado, who last appeared in the majors for the Mets in May 2009.

No Trade Imminent For Mets

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The Mets scratched Fernando Martinez and Ruben Tejada from their Triple-A lineup last night, leading to speculation that a trade could be in the works. Adam Rubin of ESPN New York reported that the team was "in dialogue" with the Mariners, but for now, no trade is imminent.

As FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal tweets, Martinez or Tejada have not been placed on waivers, so neither player could be traded at this point. Rubin indicated that Martinez may have been one player on the move in a hypothetical deal with Seattle, but Rosenthal suggests that the late scratches just involve "internal stuff." Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes confirms (via Twitter) that both players will join the big league club in Philadelphia.

Baseball America ranked Martinez and Tejada third and ninth respectively among Mets' prospects heading into this season. The 20-year-old Tejada earned some time in the majors earlier in the year, hitting .212/.297/.250 in 122 plate appearances, while Martinez has spent the season in high-A and triple-A, posting an overall slash line of .256/.321/.458.

Odds & Ends: Ankiel, Ohman, Tigers, Mets, Rangers

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Links for Sunday, as a handful of players suit up for new teams….

Trade Deadline Reactions

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While we wait for August's rumor mill to pick up, the focus remains on the trades made over the last few days. Let's take a look at how a few writers are evaluating those deals….

  • USA Today's Bob Nightengale and the New York Post's Joel Sherman list their winners and losers, agreeing that the Rangers and Padres did very well, while the Mets and Red Sox needed to do more.
  • In Jeff Passan's assessment of July's deals for Yahoo! Sports, the Mets get a surprising thumbs-up.
  • Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports examines how the trades affect the playoff races. The Phillies and Cardinals are among his predicted division winners, after their respective deals for Roy Oswalt and Jake Westbrook.
  • The Cardinals paid too high a price for Westbrook, according to Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
  • Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times says that although the Dodgers' and Angels' moves were nice, they won't be enough to propel either team into the playoffs.
  • A pair of New York Daily News writers disagree about the merit of the Yankees' weekend acquisitions. According to Mike Lupica, all the additions make the Yanks seem slightly desperate, but John Harper sees nothing wrong with making baseball's best team better. I have to side with Harper here – Brian Cashman's goal is to field a championship team, not to worry about whether a division rival's inactivity makes his club look insecure.
  • The Houston Chronicle's Richard Justice and Jerome Solomon have conflicting views on the post-deadline Astros. Solomon can't think of much to be happy about, while Justice writes that a younger, more energetic roster should be fun.

Cafardo On Lee, Edmonds, Dunn, Kelly

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In this week's installment of his Baseball Notes column, the Boston Globe's Nick Cafardo breaks down the winners and losers of the trade deadline. His assessment includes a few surprises, such as praising the inactive Blue Jays for "not settling for pennies on the dollar." Here are the rest of the highlights from Cafardo's piece:

  • This year's deadline could make teams even less willing to include no-trade clauses in future contracts. Players like Derrek Lee and Roy Oswalt took advantage of their clauses, making it difficult, or in Lee's case impossible, for their respective clubs to move them.
  • Having said that, Cliff Lee "has made it clear" he wants a no-trade clause in his next deal, having played for four different clubs in the past two seasons. As the best pitcher available this winter, he should be in a position to make that demand.
  • The Brewers would like to keep Jim Edmonds around past this season if he's healthy and willing to return. It appears, however, that he's leaning toward retirement.
  • Had David Ortiz not turned his season around earlier this year, the Red Sox would have been one of the teams in on Adam Dunn before the deadline.
  • With the Red Sox' starting rotation currently full, a few teams thought Boston may part with Casey Kelly. According to Cafardo, the Sox may try to move Daisuke Matsuzaka when they feel Kelly is major league ready.

Poll: Trade Deadline’s Biggest Winner

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With the July 31st trade deadline behind us, it's time to take a look back at which clubs made the best moves this weekend. Was it a team like the Yankees or the Padres, who added multiple major league players to contribute to a postseason run? Or maybe it was a seller like the Astros or Diamondbacks, who moved big contracts and added promising young talent for the future.

Click here to vote for the deadline's biggest winner, and here to view the results.

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