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Rockies Have Had Interest In Gregg

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Though Cubs closer Kevin Gregg seems a near-lock to be traded by tomorrow afternoon's deadline, we've heard little in the way of specific teams linked to him.  However, the Rockies have had interest in Gregg, reports Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post today.

The Rockies have "been prepared to act as a buyer and seller" as they sit 6.5 games out in the NL West, according to Renck.  That explains their interest in bolstering the bullpen despite a willingness to listen on Josh Outman.  Renck adds that while the Rockies are unlikely to trade injured closer Rafael Betancourt, it hasn't been ruled out.  The 38-year-old is "slowly recovering from an appendectomy," writes Renck.

Indians, Red Sox Interested In Josh Outman

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TUESDAY: The Red Sox are also interested in Outman, reports Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post.  Outman would be an odd target for the Sox, in my opinion, given that they're flush with left-handed relievers.

MONDAY: The Indians have held serious talks with the Rockies about pitcher Josh Outman in their pursuit of a lefty reliever, writes Joel Sherman of the New York Post.

Outside of a couple of Triple-A stints, Outman has compiled a 4.50 ERA, 9.7 K/9, 3.1 BB/9, 0.47 HR/9, and 46.8% groundball rate in 38 relief innings for the Rockies.  Lefties have hit .218/.274/.303 in 84 plate appearances against the 28-year-old this year, and Outman has struck out almost 36% of them.  Drafted by the Phillies in the 10th round in '05, Outman went to Oakland in the '08 Joe Blanton deal.  The Rockies acquired Outman and Guillermo Moscoso for Seth Smith in January 2012.  The Rockies, currently six games out, would have to decide whether they could part with Outman, who is under team control through 2015.  The club also has southpaws Rex Brothers and the recently-recalled Jeff Francis in its bullpen.

Latest On Alex Rodriguez

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In regard to Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez, commissioner Bud Selig is prepared to bypass the grievance procedure in the collectively-bargained joint drug agreement, disciplining A-Rod under the "integrity of the game" clause Article XI, Section A1b, according to Teri Thompson, Bill Madden, Nathaniel Vinton, and Michael O'Keefe of the New York Daily News.  Under that scenario, only Selig himself would hear an appeal.

FanGraphs' Wendy Thurm wrote about this possibility several weeks ago, calling it Selig's "nuclear option."  Selig's decision would be final, and could not be further appealed to an arbitrator or court.

MLB will reportedly announce the Biogenesis suspensions this week.  It's also been reported that if Rodriguez, approaching his season debut after hip surgery and a quad injury, does not accept a suspension running through 2014, MLB may attempt to ban him for life.

Giants To Entertain Offers For Veterans

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10:33pm: The Tigers are among the many teams that have spoken to the Giants about Lopez, according to Danny Knobler of CBS Sports (on Twitter). Earlier tonight, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reported that the two sides have had trade discussions even after Detroit's acquisition of Jose Veras earlier today.

In a separate tweet, Knobler reports that Pence is available, though the price is very high. The Giants aren't likely to trade Lincecum, according to Knobler.

2:32pm: The Giants plan to make qualifying offers to Pence and Lincecum after the season, writes Jon Heyman of CBS Sports, leading one source to suggest their asking price is "very strong" on the pair.

1:22pm: The Giants have told other teams they'd rather re-sign Pence than trade him, according to ESPN's Jayson Stark.

10:53am: The Giants will entertain trade offers for veterans, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  He says that while the club would ideally like to keep potential free agents Tim Lincecum, Hunter Pence, and Javier Lopez, they feel they must listen to any reasonable proposal.

Lincecum, 29, has a 4.95 ERA in 313 regular season innings since dominating from 2008-11.  This year, strikeouts are up and walks down, suggesting he could be a 3.50 ERA pitcher moving forward.  With over $7MM remaining, his salary could be prohibitive for some clubs, and his ERA has bounced around in the mid to high-4.00s since May.  A qualifying offer, which could cost $14MM, is a question mark at this point for the Giants if he stays, in my opinion.

Pence, 30, is hitting .277/.320/.457 in 440 plate appearances this year.  He's hitting .259/.300/.401 since June 1st, and probably doesn't qualify as an impact bat even in a weak market.  Rosenthal suggests he would receive a qualifying offer from the Giants after the season, so they'd be looking to top the value of a supplemental draft pick.  Of course, the Giants have typically placed a lower value on such picks than most clubs.  Pence has around $4.6MM remaining on his contract.

Lopez, 36, would be the easiest of the three to move.  About 64% of the batters he's faced have been left-handed hitters, and he's dominated against them.  The Braves and Indians seek left-handed relief.  The Diamondbacks are in the market as well, though the division rivals haven't matched up on a trade since '05.  The Giants would consider re-signing Lopez in the offseason, according to Jack Magruder of FOX Sports Arizona, but "indications are that Lopez would like to play closer to his Virginia home."

Steve Adams contributed to this post.

Cliff Lee Rumors: Monday

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The Phillies are discussing southpaw ace Cliff Lee with other teams, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, though there are many obstacles to a deal.  The latest:

  • An NL executive that has recently spoken with Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. told Andy Martino of the New York Daily News that he thinks Lee will be dealt (Twitter link). That executive chose Boston as the likely destination. Martino is careful to note that it's "informed speculation" on the executive's behalf, as opposed to something that Amaro came out and said directly.

Earlier Updates

  • The Red Sox and Phillies have engaged in talks for Lee and Michael Young, tweets Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe, but the Sox won't deal their top prospects.
  • The price for Lee is extremely high, hears Jon Heyman of CBS Sports.  "He's telling people it'll take you three or four best prospects, plus you'd have to take all the money," one executive said of Amaro.  Another quipped, "You'd have to give up your first born, second and third born, too."
  • ESPN's Jayson Stark agrees that the Phillies aren't eating any of the $70MM+ remaining on Lee's contract.  Stark also hears the Phillies would need to be overwhelmed.
  • The Dodgers, who claimed Lee in August last year, have not discussed a trade about him with the Phillies recently, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.

Zach Links and Steve Adams contributed to this post.

Rangers Not Planning More Significant Moves

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Four straight losses have dropped the Rangers to 1.5 games out in the wild card.  Here's the latest:

  • The Rangers aren't planning on making any major moves prior to the deadline, writes Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. General manager Jon Daniels doesn't think his team will acquire a significant right-handed bat, nor does he plan on trading Joe Nathan. Daniels told Wilson that the idea of trading Nathan never gained much traction: "We'll talk about anything," Daniels said. "That's our jobs, but talking about something and having it happen are very different things." Wilson adds that the Rangers haven't had any serious talks about Alex Rios, Hunter Pence or Kendrys Morales recently, and they were never that big on the idea of re-acquiring Michael Young or Marlon Byrd.

Earlier Updates

  • The Rangers are strongly considering standing pat, writes Yahoo's Jeff Passan.
  • Manny Ramirez doesn't have an opt-out in his minor league deal with the Rangers, writes Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, but the team "never intended to keep him dangling."  They haven't yet decided whether they'll keep Manny in the organization, though they aren't expected to promote him.  The 41-year-old is hitting .269/.347/.418 in 75 Triple-A plate appearances.
  • "I've never had to worry about this stuff before and I'm not going to start now," closer Joe Nathan told Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News regarding his rumored availability.  It's hard to picture which contender could offer a quality bat for a closer, anyway.  

Jake Peavy Rumors: Monday

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White Sox righty Jake Peavy might be the best starting pitcher traded between now and this Wednesday's deadline.  He's been well-informed of trade talks by GM Rick Hahn and indicated yesterday he expects a deal, packing his belongings from the clubhouse.  With Peavy under contract for 2014, the White Sox are asking more for him than the Cubs did for Matt Garza, according to Yahoo's Jeff Passan.  The latest:

  • An executive from a team interested in Peavy tells Joel Sherman of the New York Post that Peavy wants to be traded. While Peavy enjoys the White Sox, he knows they're rebuilding and wants to play for a contender (Twitter link).
  • The Athletics have moved on from Peavy and will focus on other upgrades such as their bullpen and middle infield, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter link). The A's will dangle some of the players they would have offered for Peavy as they pursue other upgrades. Rosenthal adds that Chicago's desire to receive quality prospects and shed the remaining $20MM or so on Peavy's contract "remains a significant obstacle."
  • The White Sox are telling interested parties that they're planning to keep Peavy and build around him, according to ESPN's Buster Olney. As Olney goes on to note, this could just be a ploy by the White Sox to increase their leverage in Peavy trade talks (Twitter links).
  • Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports tweets that the White Sox debated packaging Peavy and Jesse Crain together before ultimately electing to trade Crain to the Rays in a separate package.

Earlier Updates

  • "They're definitely trying to move him before he makes that [Tuesday] start," an executive of a team monitoring the Peavy talks tells ESPN's Jayson Stark.  Stark says the Red Sox are willing to take on Peavy's contract or give up prospects, but not both.  Stark sees the A's as the favorite, with the money a stumbling block for the Braves, the Cardinals unlikely, and the Orioles lurking.
  • The Red Sox are "very much in" the Peavy sweepstakes, tweets Passan.  With their motivation and available prospects, they're in a strong position to acquire him.  Passan says Hahn is asking for every interested organization's top prospect, including "complete non-starters" such as Xander Bogaerts of the Red Sox and Addison Russell of the A's.  Executives believe the asking price will drop in advance of the Wednesday deadline.
  • In speaking with executives yesterday, Joel Sherman of the New York Post got the impression the Athletics are pushing hard for Peavy after finishing second for Garza.  Oakland "seems the most motivated," writes ESPN's Buster Olney.

Latest On Jesse Crain

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3:56pm: The ball is in Chicago's court on a Crain trade, hears Joel Sherman of the New York Post.  The Rays are hoping to finalize a deal for the reliever today.

3:24pm: Crain spoke about the White Sox in the past tense and sounds as if he knows he's gone, tweets Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune, but declined to identify his potential new team.  Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says the Rays remain hopeful of landing Crain, and the teams continue to talk.  The Rays would not be giving up a player from their big league roster, notes Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times.

12:58pm: Crain could be traded today to one of two teams, with the Rays as the leading club, tweets Levine.  He notes it's a complicated deal because the compensation could depend on his performance.

11:39am: The deal is not close to done, tweets Yahoo's Jeff Passan.  He adds that the White Sox are exploring multiple avenues for Crain.

10:58am: The White Sox are close to trading reliever Jesse Crain in a complicated deal involving the Rays and a third team, reports Bruce Levine of ESPNChicago.  Crain is currently on the disabled list with a sore shoulder, and has not pitched since June 29th.  A bullpen session on Thursday was cancelled due to a slight setback.

Crain, 32, snagged his first All-Star nod this season with a stellar first half: a 0.74 ERA, 11.3 K/9, 2.7 BB/9, no home runs allowed, and a 34.8% groundball rate in 36 2/3 innings.  He'll be a free agent after the season.

Orioles Willing To Move Dylan Bundy

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3:36pm: Regarding the Bundy rumor, Orioles executive vice president of baseball operations Dan Duquette said, "That probably came from someone who wants to trade for the player," according to Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com.

2:27pm: The Orioles have always been willing to consider trading Bundy and other top prospects, writes Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun.  During the offseason, they kicked around a Bundy-Wil Myers swap, he adds.  However, the Orioles would have to be overwhelmed to deal their top prospects, and the available veterans on the trade market wouldn't come close.

8:39am: The aggressive Orioles are "even willing to move" top prospect Dylan Bundy "for the right return," sources tell Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  Perhaps any player can be moved for the right return, but Rosenthal's report implies the Orioles are more willing to listen on Bundy than teams usually are on top prospects.

Bundy, 20, was generally regarded as one of the three best prospects in baseball prior to the season.  He was drafted fourth overall in 2011 out of high school and rocketed through the minors last year despite delicate handling by the Orioles.  However, the righty underwent Tommy John surgery last month, dropping him to 11th on Keith Law's midseason list for ESPN and 17th on Baseball America's list.

The Orioles are targeting Jake Peavy, Justin Morneau, and Michael Young, writes Rosenthal, confirming previous reports.  I think it's clear Bundy would not be involved in discussions for those players, even Peavy.  I imagine a Bundy trade is unlikely, but if he is dealt, it would involve a big name not currently in the rumor mill much.  As Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports noted, Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos has the ability to be a game-changer, on the remote chance he gets an offer enticing enough to move Jose Bautista or Edwin Encarnacion.

Latest On Alex Rios

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White Sox right fielder Alex Rios is hitting .272/.325/.427 in 426 plate appearances this year, ranking him about 13th in baseball in offensive production at the position.  The 32-year-old is guaranteed just under $18MM through 2014, and he's limped to a .266/.311/.354 line since June.  The latest trade rumors:

Earlier Updates

  • Rios' agent Paul Kinzer told Fred Mitchell of the Chicago Tribune nothing appears imminent with his client unless other teams are willing to improve their offers.
  • The White Sox have asked for two top prospects plus a lesser player for Rios without much luck, hears ESPN's Jayson Stark.  Stark feels it's possible the Sox could pull Rios back and market him in the offseason.

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