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Astros Willing To Absorb Salary In Trades

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Astros owner Drayton McLane says his team would consider absorbing part of a contract in a trade if it meant getting better prospects, writes Zachary Levine of the Houston Chronicle. McLane admitted that the team will be "willing to look at anything" as the trade deadline approaches, but said that "nothing is imminent right now."

"It's totally and completely dependent on the offers you're getting in return," McLane said of the salary issue. "We'd have to evaluate that at the time."

McLane's willingness to absorb salary could be crucial to the Astros' chances of moving Roy Oswalt or Lance Berkman. A report earlier this month suggested the Astros were attempting to convince potential Oswalt suitors to assume the pitcher's entire remaining salary, which no club seemed eager to do. If the Astros were to pay a portion of the money owed to Oswalt, a trade would seem much more likely.

Oswalt is guaranteed $15MM in 2010 and $16MM in 2011, along with a $2MM buyout for his $16MM 2012 club option. Berkman, meanwhile, will earn $14.5MM this season and has a $15MM club option ($2MM buyout) for next year.

Rockies Notes: Uggla, Wigginton, Iannetta

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Following Troy Tulowitzki's wrist injury, the Rockies are considering their next move, hoping to stay in contention in a competitive NL West. Troy Renck of the Denver Post has a few tidbits on their potential plans, in a series of tweets:

Odds & Ends: Mejia, O’s, McGuire, Rangers, Valverde

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Links for Sunday….

Cafardo’s Latest: Oswalt, DeJesus, Aardsma, LaRoche

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There are a handful of big names that could be moved before this July's trading deadline, and Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe opens his latest column by taking a look at some of the possibilities. Let's check out the highlights from Cafardo's piece….

  • There's skepticism within the Astros' organization that owner Drayton McLane would want to trade Roy Oswalt to the Rangers, baseball's other Texas team.
  • The return the Royals are requesting in exchange for David DeJesus is higher than any team is willing to pay for now.
  • Mariners closer David Aardsma is "already drawing a lot of interest."
  • Pedro Feliz, Willie Bloomquist, and Jay Payton could be small-scale trade bait.
  • Adam LaRoche on his brief time as a Red Sox: "The ballpark was perfectly suited for the way I swing, and it would have been nice to have stayed there and see what would have happened over a full year."

Olney On Lee, Carmona, Rockies, Torre

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In his newest blog post at ESPN.com (Insider-only link), Buster Olney tells the story of a phone call Michael Young made to Rangers GM Jon Daniels last summer. Just before the trade deadline, Young dialed up Daniels to tell him the players were happy with the young talent on the roster, suggesting that giving up the farm for someone like Roy Halladay wasn't necessary.

"Do what you have to do," Young told Daniels. "But don't do something just to appease us down here."

Here are Olney's other hot stove notes:

  • The Mariners have yet to shop Cliff Lee, but will soon make a decision about his availability (Twitter link).
  • The Mets are interested in Fausto Carmona, who is under contract beyond this year, unlike many of the oft-mentioned pitchers on the trade market. Olney warns that the "Oliver Perez factor" is in play, meaning that if the Mets acquired Carmona, it's unclear how he'd adjust to pitching in baseball's biggest market.
  • A hitter like Aaron Hill or Dan Uggla would fit very nicely in Colorado right now, though neither the Blue Jays or Marlins have indicated yet that they're willing to sell. Olney figures that the Rockies will try to avoid making a trade, moving forward with their current roster until Troy Tulowitzki returns.
  • As we heard earlier in the week from SI.com's Jon Heyman, Joe Torre appears unlikely to manage the Dodgers next season. "There are a couple of folks in power who are ready to turn the managerial page," according to Olney.

No Fire Sale Coming For D’Backs

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Even with his club 15 games below .500, Diamondbacks GM Josh Byrnes doesn't expect to hold a fire sale in the coming weeks, according to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. Although recent reports have indicated that the D'Backs will continue trading, and are considering major moves, Byrnes tells Piecoro that he isn't predicting any "monster" deals.

"We'll explore a lot of possibilities and see where we end up," said Byrnes. "I do think a lot of our players are guys we value and want to keep and I think if we're going to make trades, we'll have to get the type of things – particularly young pitching depth – that would make sense to us."

Piecoro notes that the Diamondbacks will still probably field offers on "just about anybody," but the players most likely to be dealt are Adam LaRoche, Aaron Heilman, and Chris Snyder. If the team does decide to move players like Kelly Johnson and Stephen Drew, they'll likely demand a top pitching prospect in return. Presumably, the D'Backs would have to be blown away by a package of multiple young arms to consider trading Dan Haren.

Brewers Outright Chris Smith

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The Brewers have sent Chris Smith outright to Triple-A Nashville, according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The move clears a spot on the roster for Todd Coffey, who is returning from a stint on the disabled list.

After Smith recorded an impressive 1.71 ERA and 12.4 K/9 in 23 appearances as Nashville's closer, he was called up when the Brewers parted ways with Jeff Suppan. The 29-year-old appeared in just three games for Milwaukee, allowing a pair of runs in 3.1 IP.

Ryan Franklin Plans To Retire After 2011

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Ryan Franklin's $6.5MM contract keeps him under St. Louis's control through 2011, and when it expires, the right-hander isn't sure he'll sign another one, according to Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Strauss writes that, for now, the Cardinals closer is planning to retire after the 2011 season.

"I think I owe it to my family," Franklin said. "I've missed a lot of things that have been going on. I don't want to miss a lot more…. I'm financially sound. I don't see having to keep playing for that reason."

The 37-year-old currently sports a 2.40 ERA, along with 13 saves and a career-best 1.2 BB/9. He's enjoyed his best years in St. Louis, posting a 2.85 ERA and 69 saves in 232 appearances with the team since 2007. If he does indeed retire following the 2011 campaign, he'll have earned approximately $20MM in his major league career, according to Baseball-Reference.

Amateur Draft Signings: Friday

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Here are the updates on which picks have signed with the clubs that selected them in last week's draft. Keep tabs on which first rounders and sandwich picks have signed by checking out our detailed breakdown.

  • Top selections that were locked up today: Cito Culver signed with the Yankees, Taijuan Walker agreed to terms with the Mariners, and the Rangers signed Mike Olt.
  • In addition to reaching an agreement with Walker, the Mariners signed ninth-rounder Luke Taylor and nine other players. The M's have now locked up 28 of their 50 selections, per a team release.
  • The Diamondbacks signed two of their top three picks, according to Steve Gilbert of MLB.com (via Twitter). Right-handed pitchers James Bradley (56th overall) and Robert Rowland (88th) signed with the D'Backs. Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic tweets the financial details.
  • MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch reports that the Pirates also agreed to terms with a pair of right-handed arms, fifth-round pick Tyler Waldron and 12th-rounder Vincent Payne.
  • The Orioles agreed to terms with their fourth-round pick, writes Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun.
  • The Giants signed eight draft picks, according to the team's official transactions page.

Odds & Ends: Oswalt, Reds, Lowell, Lopez

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Links for Friday night, as Barack Obama takes in a Nationals/White Sox game….

  • Nolan Ryan confirms rumblings we've been hearing for a few weeks now, telling Brian McTaggart of MLB.com that the Rangers are interested in Roy Oswalt.
  • Reds GM Walt Jocketty tells MLB.com's Mark Sheldon that his club is considering available pitching options, but that he doesn't know "how many bullets we're going to have, so we'll have to be careful how we use them."
  • Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports clarifies (via Twitter) that the Red Sox are willing to pay all of Mike Lowell's salary in a potential trade, but would like a better prospect in return in that case. The Twins and Rangers aren't budging so far.
  • FOX Sports' Jon Paul Morosi tweets that, unsurprisingly, there isn't much trade interest in Jose Lopez.
  • Jamie Moyer's son Dillon Moyer doesn't know whether or not he'll sign with Minnesota after the Twins drafted him in the 22nd round last week, according to Zach Schonbrun of MLB.com.
  • ESPN.com's Rob Neyer thinks that whatever offense the Angels gain by playing Mike Napoli at first base is negated by playing Jeff Mathis behind the plate every day. The Angels are playing Napoli at first for now, rather than acquiring another impact bat.

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