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Olney’s Latest: Cashman, K-Rod, Rays, Managers

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In today's Insider-only blog post, ESPN's Buster Olney spoke to executives that believe this will be Brian Cashman's last season as Yankees GM. His contract expires after the season, and it could just be a simple case of burnout. "I think maybe he's finally had it," said one GM. "That's a job that will take a lot out of you." Olney cites Cashman's recent stretch of brutal and uncharacteristic honestly as evidence, but also notes that there have been three other instances in which he's looked ready to leave, only to end up staying on three-year deals.

Here are the rest of Buster's rumors…

  • A rival team official believes the Mets need to trade Francisco Rodriguez soon to keep his vesting option from becoming a problem. He's at 28 games finished now (needs 55 to vest a $17.5MM salary for next year), and the longer they keep him the less flexibility a team will have after acquiring him.
  • The Rays have "sent signals that they're open for business" and are prepared to take offers according to rival executives. Olney notes that their tradeable pieces include Kyle Farnsworth and B.J. Upton.
  • One GM told Olney that one position within the game without many young up-and-coming prospects is manager (Twitter link). That's why 80-year-old Jack McKeon and 68-year-old Davey Johnson landed jobs in the last week.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Kemp, Hanley, Francis, Soto

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Eighteen years ago today, the Padres traded Gary Sheffield to the Marlins along with Rich Rodriguez for a package of three young players. The key to the trade for San Diego was right-hander Jose Martinez, who had been ranked as the 68th best prospect in the game by Baseball America before the season. They also received another righty by the name of Andres Berumen, but the real prize ended up being an unheralded reliever named Trevor Hoffman. Rodriguez and Berumen combined for a 5.88 ERA in 59 2/3 big league innings (all with the Padres), but Hoffman went on to be a Hall of Fame closer who saved more games than anyone else in history. Two of his 601 career saves came with the Marlins.

It wasn't a bad trade for Florida, either. Rodriguez posted a 4.11 ERA in 36 relief appearances after the deal before being released after the season. Sheffield hit in the middle of their order for parts of six seasons (.288/.426/.543) and helped them to the 1997 World Series title. Hopefully these links work out as well for everyone as that trade worked out for Florida and San Diego…

If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here. Only one email per week, please.

Braves Claim Dustin Richardson

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The Braves have claimed Dustin Richardson off waivers from the Marlins, reports MLB.com's Christina De Nicola (on Twitter). The lefty reliever had been designated for assignment last week, and he will report to Triple-A. Atlanta had an open 40-man roster spot before making the claim.

Richardson, 27, posted a 3.66 ERA with 9.8 K/9 but 5.6 BB/9 in 32 innings for Florida's Triple-A affiliate this year. Left-handed batters hit .341 with ten walks and ten strikeouts off him in 10 2/3 innings. Florida originally acquired him from the Red Sox for Andrew Miller during the offseason.

Minor Deals: Lamb, Tiffee, Periard

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A few minor moves…

  • The Yankees have signed Mike Lamb and Terry Tiffee to minor league deals, reports Donnie Collins of The Scranton Times-Tribune. Both infielders were playing in the independent Atlantic League, Lamb with the Camden River Sharks and Tiffee with the Lancaster Barnstormers. They will head to Triple-A.
  • The Mariners have signed Alex Periard to a minor league pact according to Baseball America's Matt Eddy (on Twitter). Eddy notes that Periard was originally drafted by Seattle GM Jack Zduriencik back when he was the Brewers' scouting director in 2004. The right-hander had a 4.71 ERA in 11 starts last season before Milwaukee released him.

Quick Hits: Braves, Mariners, Balfour, Posting System

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Today the Diamondbacks purchased the contract of Wily Mo Pena with the aim of employing him in the middle of their order as a designated hitter during the AL leg of their interleague schedule.  The D'Backs had open spots on the 40-man roster for Pena, who hasn't played in the bigs since '08 but has a .363/.439/.726 line with 21 home runs in 271 Triple-A plate appearances.  Today's links…

  • Braves GM Frank Wren spoke to Dave O'Brien of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution about the state of the trade market, saying teams are "starting to reach out and talk to each other." He added that they "talked to a number of clubs about where they think they’re going to be going at the trade deadline, but that’s even somewhat nebulous on a lot of clubs."
  • Geoff Baker of The Seattle Times explored the idea of the Mariners trading either Jason Vargas or Doug Fister for offensive help and tried to figure out what a realistic return would be.
  • In today's Insider-only blog post, ESPN's Buster Olney mentions that Grant Balfour of the Athletics is among the relievers expected to be available this summer. He speculates that the Rangers could be a fit.
  • Brian MacPherson of The Providence Journal looked at how the Red Sox were about to snag Anthony Rizzo in the sixth round three years before he was a key piece in the Adrian Gonzalez trade.
  • NPB has decided against pursuing changes to the posting system according to a Japanese report passed along by Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker. Reasons include the difficulty of changing things on MLB's side, as well as the potential for large posting fees offered by the current system.
  • In the wake of Andrew Miller's return to the big leagues, WEEI.com's Alex Speier listed the seven pitchers in the last 15 years that reached the Majors the year they were drafted. It's not a pretty list.

Pirates Acquire Josh Rodriguez

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The Pirates have acquired Josh Rodriguez from the Indians for cash, reports MLB.com's Jordan Bastian (on Twitter). The infielder had been returned to Cleveland from Pittsburgh as a Rule 5 Draft pick back in April.

Baseball America ranked Rodriguez 24th among Pirates prospects before the season and suggested that he could become a big league utility player. In 364 plate appearances at Triple-A last year, he hit .293/.372/.486 and played shortstop. In 14 plate appearances for the Pirates this year, Rodriguez collected a single and a walk while playing second and short. His brief return to the Tribe resulted in a .193/.270/.316 batting line in 65 Triple-A plate appearances.

White Sox Rumors: Ozzie, Trade Deadline

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Ten years ago today, the White Sox purchased Jose Canseco's contract from the Newark Bears of the independent Atlantic League. Canseco went on to hit .258/.366/.477 with 16 homers in 306 plate appearances the rest of the season, his last in the majors. Let's round up the latest news from Chicago's south side…

  • Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times reports that Ozzie Guillen approached White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf about his long-term status with the club and didn't like what he was told. "I'm maybe going to ask about my situation [after the season], but I'm not going to ask for money or tell them I need a contract, anything like that," said Guillen, whose name has again popped up with regards to the Marlins' long-term managerial position.
  • The White Sox increased payroll by $20MM this year, so it's possible that the team's only big additions this summer will be improved play from Adam Dunn and Alexis Rios according to Mark Gonzales of The Chicago Tribune. "You're certainly not going to go out at the deadline and get somebody that could do the things that some of these guys can do when they're on their game," said GM Kenny Williams.

Reaction To MLB Rejecting McCourt’s Fox Deal

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Earlier today we learned that MLB rejected a proposed 17-year television rights contract between the Dodgers and Fox, meaming it's unlikely that Frank McCourt will make payroll later this month. The decision also means that the McCourts' divorce settlement is off. Both sides issued statements regarding the decision, so let's recap…

  • The Los Angeles Times posted Selig's statement, and within it he explains that "the [proposed] transaction is structured to facilitate the further diversion of Dodgers assets for the personal needs of Mr. McCourt. Given the magnitude of the transaction, such a diversion of assets would have the effect of mortgaging the future of the franchise to the long-term detriment of the club and its fans."
  • Attorney Steve Susman issued a statement on behalf of McCourt and the Dodgers, saying that they're "extremely disappointed" that the commissioner has rejected the proposed deal. Selig's rejection is "potentially destructive" to the Dodgers and MLB, according to Susman who promises to "explore vigorously [the Dodgers'] options and remedies."

Reyes Says There’s “No Chance” He Switches Agents

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2:57pm: Brian Costa of the Wall Street Journal quotes Reyes (via Twitter) as saying that he spoke to Boras twice on the phone, but there's "no chance" he switches agents.

SATURDAY, 2:33pm: ESPN's Adam Rubin hears from a source that Reyes is expected to address the situation today prior to the Mets game at Citi Field tonight, and announce that he is staying with Greenberg. According to Rubin, Reyes may express displeasure that contact with Scott Boras was disclosed, and that it  was not initiated by Reyes. Rubin also points out that Chris Leible, one of Reyes' agents, is the godfather of two of Reyes' children.

Andy McCullough of the Star-Ledger tweets that he would be shocked if Reyes left his current representation. Newsday's David Lennon echoes that sentiment with a tweet of his own.

FRIDAY: Scott Boras already represents many of the game's biggest stars, but Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports that he's looking to add Jose Reyes to his client list as well. Boras is speaking to Reyes about becoming his representative according to Rosenthal's sources, and a move would almost guarantee he'll test the free agent waters after the season.

Reyes is currently represented by Peter Greenberg. Agents are free to speak to players they do not represent, however they must disclose all contact with 40-man roster players to the union. Rosenthal says that other agents have tried to lure Reyes away from Greenberg in the past, and he apparently considered a change while meeting agents over the winter. Boras almost always takes his big clients out onto the open market, and Reyes will be one of the best available players this coming offseason.

Check out our Agency Database to see a list of known Boras clients and Greenberg clients.

MLBTR's Steve Adams also contributed to this post.

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