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Blue Jays Could Trade Bonifacio, Melky

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Utility man Emilio Bonifacio is the most likely player to be traded by the Blue Jays, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  The Jays are also shopping outfielder Melky Cabrera, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today.

Bonifacio, 28, came over from the Marlins in the November blockbuster.  He's limped to a .214/.254/.314 line on the season.  Cabrera, 28, inked a two-year, $16MM deal that was seen as a potential bargain after he served a PED suspension.  He could face another suspension by way of the forthcoming Biogenesis announcement, but the general feeling is that he already served his time.  His lack of offensive production may be the bigger concern in moving him.

Dodgers Sign Brian Wilson

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The Dodgers signed free agent reliever Brian Wilson,tweets Yahoo's Tim Brown.  It's a guaranteed big league deal, tweets ESPN's Jerry Crasnick, and Jim Bowden of ESPN and MLB Network Radio says it's worth $1MM plus performance bonuses.  The Beard had a long road to recovery from April 2012 Tommy John surgery.  He spent his entire career in the Giants organization, racking up 171 saves in the process.  The Giants non-tendered him after last season, and the fully-recovered Wilson auditioned for many teams Thursday.  Wilson had three offers, notes Brown.  The 31-year-old reliever is represented by MVP Sports Group.

USATSI_6175388

The Dodgers' bullpen struggled at the outset of the season, partially due to the decision to anoint Brandon League the closer.  Kenley Jansen officially usurped that role in mid-June.  The Dodgers have also gotten good work from lefties J.P. Howell and Paco Rodriguez.

The tentative plan for Wilson is to begin at the Dodgers' complex in Arizona, then go to Rancho Cucamonga as part of a rehab assignment, and then report to the Dodgers in two weeks, tweets Brown.  In theory, the move could take the Dodgers out of the running for other, similar relievers available for trade.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Phillies To Designate Steve Susdorf For Assignment

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The Phillies are designating outfielder Steve Susdorf to create a roster spot for third baseman Cody Asche, MLBTR has learned.  We learned earlier today that Asche is getting the call, presumably pushing out Michael Young.

Susdorf, 27, appeared in only three games for the Phillies.  He was hitting .335/.419/.428 in 229 Triple-A plate appearances upon getting the call when Domonic Brown hit the seven-day DL for concussion symptoms.

Stark On Howie Kendrick, Cubs, D’Backs

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ESPN's Jayson Stark begins his latest column with a look at the Biogenesis situation.  As Joel Sherman of the New York Post first reported, suspension announcements are not expected today.  Sherman expects the announcements to come Thursday or Friday.  In Stark's opinion, the Rangers are acting like a team that knows what Nelson Cruz will do if suspended, in that their aggressive search for a bat suggests he might serve a suspension now to preserve his free agent value.  Meanwhile, the Tigers' lack of pursuit of a backup plan to shortstop Jhonny Peralta suggests he'll appeal.  Elsewhere in Stark's column:

  • The Dodgers and Angels, who haven't made a trade in 20 years, had a "mostly casual conversation" regarding Halos second baseman Howie Kendrick.  There are no indications a deal is in the works.
  • The Angels are at least listening on infielders Kendrick, Erick Aybar, and Alberto Callaspo, and seeking high quality big league ready pitching in return.
  • The Cubs could move Kevin Gregg and Nate Schierholtz, but are extremely unlikely to trade lefty reliever James Russell and there's just about zero chance of a Jeff Samardzija trade.
  • Pitchers Ian Kennedy and J.J. Putz of the Diamondbacks and Kyle Farnsworth of the Rays "have suddenly been made available."  Trading Kennedy would allow Arizona to clear around $1.4MM toward another move.  Are they that hard up for cash?

Yankees, Reds Inquired On Hunter Pence

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TUESDAY, 10:26am: The Yankees also checked in on Pence, writes Jon Heyman of CBS Sports, but as with the Reds, there doesn't appear to be a match.  Heyman says the Pirates and Rangers are also among the interested teams.

MONDAY, 3:32pm: The Reds inquired on Giants right fielder Hunter Pence, tweets Jon Heyman of CBS Sports, but it doesn't look like a match so far.  It seems an odd fit for the Reds, who have Jay Bruce and Shin-Soo Choo entrenched in their outfield and Ryan Ludwick on a rehab assignment following April shoulder surgery.

Pence, 30, is hitting .277/.320/.457 in 440 plate appearances this year and is hitting .259/.300/.401 since June 1st.  He has around $4.6MM remaining on his contract.  The Giants reportedly plan to make a qualifying offer after the season, setting the bar for a potential trade this month.

Dodgers In Lead For Brian Wilson

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TUESDAY, 10:17am: The Dodgers are now the front runner to sign Wilson, tweets Nightengale.

MONDAY, 9:24pm: ESPN's Jim Bowden lists the Giants, Pirates and Dodgers as front-runners for Wilson (on Twitter).

8:58pm: Wilson has narrowed his decision to three or four teams and is in the "offer/counter-offer" stage at this point, Miller tweets.

7:10pm: The Pirates and Giants are both "serious suitors" for Wilson, who appears close to signing soon, according to Scott Miller of CBS Sports. Miller adds that the Diamondbacks and Dodgers have some level of interest as well, and he notes that Wilson "has an affinity for Los Angeles." The Phillies were also thought to have interest prior to the six-game skid that has pushed them firmly into their stance as sellers.

3:52pm: The D'Backs are not in on Wilson, tweets John Gambadoro of Sports 620 KTAR.

2:52pm: The Pirates and Diamondbacks are the strong front runners for free agent reliever Brian Wilson, tweets Bob Nightengale of USA Today, who notes that Wilson has offers from four NL teams and one AL club.  Yesterday, Yahoo's Tim Brown noted interest from the same mix of five teams.

Wilson, 31, auditioned for teams Thursday with the Pirates, Diamondbacks, Athletics, Giants, Phillies, Rangers, Rockies and Cardinals in attendance.  The former Giants closer had Tommy John surgery in April 2012.

Steve Adams contributed to this post.

Giants Rumors: Javier Lopez, Pence, Lincecum

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The Giants will definitely move lefty reliever Javier Lopez, reports Joel Sherman of the New York Post.  As for fellow impending free agents Hunter Pence and Tim Lincecum, as reported yesterday, the Giants intend to make a qualifying offer to both after the season, but are willing to listen to trade offers now.  The latest:

Earlier Updates

  • The Giants' interest in retaining Pence and Lincecum will clearly affect whether they're traded this summer.  Assistant GM Bobby Evans noted to Sherman, "You have to be realistic that if you trade a guy, you are not going to be able to re-sign him. That is what history shows."  In a general sense, Evans also said, "We will listen.  And things change as the deadline gets closer. But I don’t see anyone overwhelming us to make deals happen."

AL East Links: Stanton, Crain, Josh Johnson

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The latest out of the AL East…

  • The Red Sox "may be willing to part with whatever it takes" in hopes of acquiring the Marlins' Giancarlo Stanton, a league source tells MLB.com's Joe Frisaro.  Still, the Marlins have pretty much closed the door on trading Stanton for now.
  • The Red Sox should trade top prospect Xander Bogaerts and more to get Phillies lefty Cliff Lee, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, while Dave Cameron of FanGraphs gives his take on that idea.
  • "The deals we’ve seen so far, teams have gotten a pretty good return," Red Sox Ben Cherington said of this year's trades, according to Tim Britton of the Providence Journal.
  • The Rays acquired reliever Jesse Crain from the White Sox yesterday, with the return to be determined after the season.  Crain has been out since late June with a shoulder strain, and the White Sox seemingly tried to rush him back into action.  "Hopefully this time we'll take our time and be ready for the rest of the year," Crain said, according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times.
  • Josh Johnson accepting a qualifying offer might be an unacceptable risk for the Blue Jays given their limited financial flexibility next year, writes Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca.  Speaking to Jeff Blair on the Fan 590 on Friday, Johnson's agent Matt Sosnick said he expects the Jays to make a qualifying offer and "hang compensation on" his client, affecting the pitcher's value in the free agent market.  Sosnick didn't say it explicitly, but he seemed to imply they would accept a qualifying offer.  Sosnick believes we're headed toward "the worst free agent pitching market in the last 10 to 15 years," but Johnson isn't likely to be a part of it.
  • The Yankees are in danger of being "a club that isn’t good enough to legitimately contend and not bad enough to completely tear down," writes Mike Axisa of River Ave. Blues.  Axisa feels the Yankees will have to scrap their plan to keep the payroll under $189MM next year, if they re-sign Robinson Cano.  Otherwise, they'll have to rebuild.

Orioles Trade Targets: Byrd, Oliver Perez

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The Orioles currently stand to take the second wild card spot in the American League, and they've already bolstered their pitching staff with the additions of Scott Feldman and Francisco Rodriguez.  Here's the latest on their trade targets, courtesy of Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun:

  • Connolly feels the Phillies' Michael Young is the best fit for the Orioles at DH, but the team hasn't made an aggressive push for him at this point.  Connolly expects Young to go elsewhere if traded.
  • The Orioles are interested in the Mets' Marlon Byrd.  However, Andy Martino of the New York Daily News writes today that Byrd is "highly unlikely" to be traded.  Connolly also believes Mariners lefty reliever Oliver Perez is the most likely player to be acquired by the Orioles.
  • Connolly says to forget about Cliff Lee and Jake Peavy.  Instead, the O's have coveted the Astros' Bud Norris and Chris Sale of the White Sox.
  • Connolly expects the Orioles to pass on the Twins' Justin Morneau.
  • Orioles minor leaguers Mike Wright, Tim Berry, and Christian Walker have piqued teams' interests.
  • Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette feels he has the money and prospects to make a deal, if the right one comes along.

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