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Rosenthal’s Latest: Saunders, Quentin, Cards, Pirates

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Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports has a new Full Count video up. Let's recap…

  • Teams looking for rotation help should call the Diamondbacks about Joe Saunders. Arizona wants to get top prospect Trevor Bauer into their rotation, but right now there's just no room.
  • The identity of the Padres' new owner will not be known before August, leaving the front office to make its own call on Carlos Quentin prior to the trade deadline. They could keep him and make him a qualifying offer after the season (entitling them to draft pick compensation), though they'd be gambling on future payroll before knowing the new owner's plans. The safest move could be trading the outfielder.
  • The Cardinals will wait to hear more about Chris Carpenter's status before making a move for a veteran starting pitcher in the wake of Jaime Garcia's shoulder injury. St. Louis wanted Jeff Francis badly, but the timing wasn't right; Garcia appeared to be healthy when Francis hit the market.
  • The Pirates have inquired about a number of corner infield bats, including Kevin Youkilis, Chase Headley, and Bryan LaHair. Some of those targets are more realistic than others, plus the trade market has yet to really materialize. There are far more buyers than sellers, though Pittsburgh has the pitching depth to swing a deal.

NL Central Notes: Appel, Perez, Soriano

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Cardinals left-hander Jaime Garcia has tearing in his labrum and rotator cuff, reports Joe Strauss of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch.  Surgery is not recommended at this time but he will be shut down for a minimum of four weeks. Garcia signed a four-year, $27MM extension last July.

Here's the latest from the NL Central, which just lost one of its best young pitchers…

  • ESPN's Jayson Stark hears that the Pirates are expected to offer eighth overall pick and Stanford right-hander Mark Appel a slot $2.9MM signing bonus and hold the line until the July 13th deadline as they sign their other picks. "I don't see how," said one executive when asked if a deal will get done between the team and the Scott Boras client.
  • Indians closer Chris Perez told Andrew Wagaman of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch that he was excited when the Cardinals traded him "because I could go do my thing." Cleveland acquired Perez from the Cards for Mark DeRosa in June 2009.
  • We know the Cubs are willing to absorb most of the $54MM left on Alfonso Soriano's contract to trade him, and ESPN's Buster Olney wonders (on Twitter) if the outfielder's recent power surge will create some interest. Soriano hit two homers last night and has 11 in his last 23 games.

Rockies Designate Esmil Rogers For Assignment

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The Rockies have designated Esmil Rogers for assignment, the club announced (on Twitter). The move clears a roster spot for Jeff Francis, who officially re-joined the team that originally drafted him. He'll start today.

Rogers, 26, pitched to an 8.06 ERA with 10.2 K/9 and 6.3 BB/9 in 25 2/3 relief innings for Colorado this season. He is out of options and could not be sent to the minors without first clearing waivers. Rogers is still young and cheap, plus PitchFX has his fastball regularly in the mid-90s this season, so the Rockies should be able to find a trade partner within the next ten days.

Alderson & Cashman Talk Trade Deadline

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The Yankees beat Johan Santana and the Mets in the 2012 Subway Series opener last night, but before the game each club's GM answered questions about the upcoming trade deadline. Let's round up their quotes…

  • "If we're in the race, as I expect we will be, I don't believe that money is going to be an issue for us," said Mets GM Sandy Alderson when asked about making additions during a chat with fans at MLB.com. "We'll be looking for ways to help the ballclub. It's very possible we'll still need help in the bullpen at that time, but there may be some other areas of need that will emerge and we'll have to address."
  • In a MLB.com chat with fans, Yankees GM Brian Cashman said his "preference would be not to do anything" at the trade deadline. "You'd like to have everything here in front of you, but that's never the case," he added. "So right now it's way too early to tell you what's lacking … It's too early for me to say what we're looking for (at the deadline) just yet, if anything."

Quick Hits: Buxton, Blue Jays, Quentin, Collins

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Stephen Strasburg struck out 13 Red Sox tonight, becoming the first visiting pitcher to strike out that many batters in Fenway Park since Mike Mussina flirted with a perfect game in September 2001. Here's some news from around the league…

  • Representatives for second overall pick Byron Buxton will be in Minnesota to negotiate with the Twins early next week, reports Phil Mackey of 1500 ESPN (on Twitter). There's optimism a deal could be reached as soon as next Wednesday.
  • Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com says the Blue Jays are expected to have interest in Carlos Quentin should the Padres make the slugger available. Ben-Nicholson Smith looked at Quentin as a trade candidate last week.
  • Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports wrote about Mets manager Terry Collins, who says he's made a conscious effort to change his style after high-strung stints with the Astros and Angels in the 1990s.

Cardinals Release Scott Linebrink

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The Cardinals have released Scott Linebrink, reports MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch (on Twitter). The move frees up a 40-man roster spot for Joe Kelly. 

Linebrink, 35, made the team out of Spring Training after signing a minor league contract this offseason, but he has not pitched at all due to shoulder inflammation and biceps tendinitis. Linebrink pitched to a 3.64 ERA in 54 1/3 innings for the Braves last season.

Red Sox To Designate Marlon Byrd For Assignment

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The Red Sox will designate Marlon Byrd for assignment tomorrow, reports MLB.com's Ian Browne (on Twitter). The move will clear a roster spot for Daisuke Matsuzaka, who will be coming off the disabled list to start on Saturday.

Byrd, 34, was acquired from the Cubs for Michael Bowden and Hunter Cervenka following Jacoby Ellsbury's shoulder injury back in April. He hit just .273/.288/.333 in 105 plate appearances for Boston. Chicago is paying all but $400K of Byrd's $6.5MM this season, so the move doesn't hurt the Red Sox's bottom line. Bowden was designated for assignment by the Cubs about a week ago.

Phillies Looking For Outside Help

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Mired in last place in the NL East with a 28-31 record, Phillies manager Charlie Manuel indicated to reporters (including Matt Gelb of The Philadelphia Inquirer) that the club is looking for help outside the organization. Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com says the skipper hinted that bullpen help is the primary target (Twitter links).

"You never stop exploring things," said assistant GM Scott Proefrock to Gelb (via Sulia). "Our objective is to get better. That's what we're charged with. That's what we're trying to do. That's what we talk to our scouts about constantly. When things are going good, we're doing the same thing. There isn't more pressure."

The Phillies own the fourth worst bullpen ERA (4.33) in baseball despite stellar early returns from their investment in Jonathan Papelbon (2.31 ERA in 24 games). Jose Contreras (5.27 ERA) was ineffective before suffering a season-ending injury and Chad Qualls continues to struggle (5.32 ERA). David Herndon's 4.70 ERA is the club's best by a non-Papelbon right-handed reliever.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Appel, Morneau, LaHair

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Two years ago today, both Stephen Strasburg and Giancarlo Stanton made their Major League debuts. Strasburg famously struck out 14 Pirates in his first career start and has pitched to a 2.46 ERA with 11.2 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9 in 157 innings and 28 starts since. Stanton went 3-for-5 against the Phillies in his debut and has hit .267/.349/.535 with 70 homers in the show. Here's the latest from the baseball corner of the blogosphere…

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