Tim Dierkes | MLB Trade Rumors

NL East Rumors: Nationals, Phillies, Lidge

By Tim Dierkes | July 29, 2013 at 11:00am CDT

"We are certainly not giving up on this season," Nationals GM Mike Rizzo told Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Having won three in a row, the Nats are seven games back in the wild card. Rizzo would like to improve his current team, but plans to avoid rentals. "I'm not concerned that we need to go out and get a starting pitcher," he added in talking to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. Rizzo also downplayed suggestions of a rift with manager Davey Johnson, after the GM's decision to fire hitting coach Rick Eckstein. More from the NL East…

The Dodgers and Phillies have not discussed a Cliff Lee trade recently, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.
Though the Phillies are discussing lefty Lee with other teams, Rosenthal sees plenty of obstacles to a trade. One is his current stiff neck; it would definitely help if he jumps in to start Tuesday evening against the Giants.
The Phillies are "marketing some players aggressively, including Michael Young," writes ESPN's Buster Olney, but not Lee or Chase Utley. Reportedly, the Phillies are currently trying to extend Utley.
Retired closer Brad Lidge will sign a one-day contract Thursday with the Phillies and retire in their uniform, tweets Bob Nightengale of USA Today.
The Nationals do not want to part with high-end young pitchers such as A.J. Cole, Robbie Ray, and Sammy Solis, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.

Padres Focused On Trading Relievers

By Tim Dierkes | July 29, 2013 at 9:49am CDT

The Padres have about a 25 percent chance of making a significant trade deadline deal, a person familiar with their talks tells ESPN's Jerry Crasnick. Crasnick says the Padres' big-picture ideas haven't materialized, so they're focused on moving bullpen pieces such as Luke Gregerson and Joe Thatcher. The Tigers are open to adding another reliever even after picking up Jose Veras this morning, tweets Danny Knobler of CBS Sports, but they felt the price for Gregerson was prohibitive.

The Padres aren't likely to move third baseman Chase Headley, left fielder Carlos Quentin, or closer Huston Street, reports MLB.com's Corey Brock. If they do make a trade, it appears the focus will be on acquiring starting pitching.

Tigers Acquire Jose Veras

By Tim Dierkes | July 29, 2013 at 9:02am CDT

The first-place Tigers augmented their bullpen, at a time the back end finally seemed to have stabilized. Detroit acquired reliever Jose Veras today from the Astros for outfield prospect Danry Vasquez and a player to be named later, which will be decided on or before September 15th.

Veras, 32, has successfully served as the Astros' closer this year after signing a one-year, $2MM free agent deal in December. In a big benefit to his trade value, Veras' contract includes a $3.25MM club option for 2014. "We are pleased to add an experienced arm to our bullpen," Tigers' president, CEO, and GM Dave Dombrowski said in a statement. "Jose can pitch in a variety of roles, provides depth in the bullpen, and complements the roles of Joaquin Benoit and Drew Smyly." Veras has a 2.93 ERA, 9.2 K/9, 2.9 BB/9, 0.84 HR/9, and 45.3% groundball rate in 43 innings this year. He's always thrown hard and racked up strikeouts, but this year he's been able to trim his walk rate significantly. In November, the Brewers outrighted Veras rather than retain his rights for 2013 through the arbitration process.

The Tigers add Veras at a time their larger bullpen concerns seemed behind them. They entered the season with uncertainty at closer, and re-signed Jose Valverde to a minor league deal in April. Valverde saved nine games for the club, but was removed from the closer role in late June and ultimately replaced by Benoit.

Vasquez "adds to an already formidable group of prospects at the A ball level," Astros GM Jeff Luhnow said in a statement. The 19-year-old left fielder was hitting .281/.333/.390 in his second stint for the Tigers' Low-A club. Prior to the season, Baseball America ranked Vasquez sixth among Tigers prospects, noting that the offensive-minded Venezuelan "projects as a solid hitter with plus power potential." Baseball America's Matt Eddy has more on Vasquez. The Veras trade is Luhnow's second this month, as he acquired Ronald Torreyes from the Cubs for international bonus pool money. "There's nothing else close at this point," McTaggart quotes Luhnow as saying this morning. Starter Bud Norris is thought to be the Astros' other major trade chip this month.

The Astros and Tigers haven't hooked up for a trade in over a decade. Back in June 2001, Tigers GM Randy Smith sent Dave Mlicki to Houston, with Astros GM Gerry Hunsicker acquiring Jose Lima.

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports and Brian McTaggart of MLB.com first broke news of the trade. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

MLBTR Reader Survey

By Tim Dierkes | July 26, 2013 at 12:05pm CDT

Please take a few minutes to fill out the brief nine-question survey below. We are collecting demographic information to aid in finding advertisers. The information will be used only in the aggregate and is not personally identifiable. We appreciate your time.

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Beat The Expert With DraftStreet

By Tim Dierkes | July 26, 2013 at 12:02am CDT

I'm putting my fantasy baseball reputation on the line. DraftStreet is offering $2000 in cash prizes for an exclusive "beat the expert" MLBTR/DraftStreet league using Friday night's MLB games. The entry fee is $11, but DraftStreet is raising the pressure on me (Tim Dierkes) by offering $5 back to anyone who beats my team, separate from the regular prize pool.

Pick one player from each of eight tiers. You'll be competing based on the stats your eight players accumulate in Friday night's games. There are only 200 slots in this league, so sign up early. I decided to avoid a prominent trade candidate in tier eight in Alex Rios, instead taking Adrian Gonzalez. And although tier two starter Corey Kluber has posted three straight strong outings, I decided to take a pass given his recent hip issue. You can see a screenshot of my team in the making below.

Be sure to sign up as soon as possible, before the 200 slots are all taken. DraftStreet has raised the stakes by challenging you to beat me; are you up to it?

This is a sponsored post from DraftStreet.

Advertise With MLB Trade Rumors

By Tim Dierkes | July 25, 2013 at 7:50pm CDT

Are you looking to advertise to 18 to 34-year-old males? MLB Trade Rumors reaches tons of them this time of year (no disrespect to our many readers falling outside that demographic). Last year, MLBTR had 5,956,590 pageviews and 895,264 unique visitors over the final two days of July, and should be in the same range in 2013.

Our advertising packages include banner ads, sponsored Tweets, and sponsored posts, and begin at $250. Email Tim Dierkes at mlbtradvertising@gmail.com if you're interested in learning more!

Minor Moves: Catricala, Taveras, Valaika, Heston

By Tim Dierkes | July 25, 2013 at 7:33pm CDT

Today's minor moves…

The Athletics announced (via Twitter) that Vinnie Catricala has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Double-A Midland. The 24-year-old third baseman was designated for assignment yesterday morning after hitting .219/.292/.297 in 33 games at Midland following a trade from the Mariners.
The Royals released Willy Taveras, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets. Taveras, 31, hit .239/.308/.340 for Kansas City's Triple-A club in 279 plate appearances this year. The speedster last appeared in the majors in 2010 with the Nationals.
Marlins infielder Chris Valaika cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A New Orleans, announced the team. Valaika, who has missed most of the season due to wrist surgery, was designated for assignment Tuesday. The 27-year-old was drafted by the Reds in the third round in '06, one pick before the Orioles took Zach Britton and 20 before the Yankees grabbed Zach McAllister.
The Giants re-signed starter Chris Heston, tweets Chris Cotillo of MLB Daily Dish. They had designated Heston for assignment on July 13th, and later released him. The 25-year-old has a 5.80 ERA in 108 2/3 Triple-A innings.
Righty David Pauley signed with the Sugarland Skeeters of the Atlantic League, tweets Cotillo. Pauley, who spent time with the Diamondbacks' Triple-A club this year, has pitched for the Red Sox, Mariners, Tigers, Angels, and Blue Jays.
Eight players currently reside in DFA limbo: Ted Lilly of the Dodgers, Billy Buckner of the Angels, Humberto Quintero of the Phillies, Hunter Strickland of the Giants, Brandon Inge of the Pirates, Carlos Pena and Ronny Cedeno of the Astros, and Chris Dickerson of the Orioles.

Steve Adams and Aaron Steen contributed to this post.

Red Sox Rumors: Norris, Gallardo, Volquez, Peavy

By Tim Dierkes | July 25, 2013 at 1:04pm CDT

The Red Sox are searching for pitching in advance of Wednesday's trade deadline. The latest:

The Sox have scouts most everywhere, tweets Peter Gammons of MLB Network. They have a scout watching the Astros' Bud Norris last night, and will have scouts in attendance for starts by Yovani Gallardo of the Brewers, Edinson Volquez of the Padres, and Jake Peavy of the White Sox today.
Earlier today, we learned that the Red Sox may stand pat with their bullpen, and are in "pretty hard" on free agent Cuban righty Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez.

Jake Peavy Rumors: Thursday

By Tim Dierkes | July 25, 2013 at 12:36pm CDT

Jake Peavy could make his last start as a member of the White Sox this afternoon, as he takes on Justin Verlander and the Tigers at U.S. Cellular Field. The Sox aren't sure what they want to do with Peavy yet, writes ESPN's Buster Olney, but their asking price is "really high." The latest:

The Red Sox, Cardinals, Dodgers, Braves, Orioles, and Reds each have a scout in attendance, tweets ESPN's Jayson Stark, while the Rangers have two. Athletics director of player personnel Billy Owens is also there, tweets Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. Keep in mind that their presence does not necessarily imply trade interest in Peavy.

Earlier Updates

GM Rick Hahn keeps Peavy "abreast of what's going on," the righty told reporters including Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune. Peavy says he doesn't want to be traded, but he's prepared for the possibility. The Red Sox and Diamondbacks are expected to have two scouts apiece at today's start, notes Gonzales.
The Cardinals and White Sox "continue to scout each other's personnel," writes Gonzales. Shortstop Alexei Ramirez could also be a fit for the Cardinals, but not at the cost of their top arms.
"ERA-based reputation still holds a lot of sway," writes Dave Cameron of FanGraphs in trying to understand the perception that Matt Garza had more trade value than Peavy. That might make Peavy a relative bargain, he suggests. I tried to make the case for Peavy in our Monday poll, but about 65% of over 26,000 MLBTR readers polled felt Garza had more trade value.

Crain Will Not Be Activated Prior To Trade Deadline

By Tim Dierkes | July 25, 2013 at 11:49am CDT

White Sox reliever Jesse Crain could have been a hot commodity on the trade market, but he will not be activated prior to the trade deadline after experiencing what pitching coach Don Cooper called a "slight setback" today. Today's bullpen session was cancelled, reported Doug Padilla of ESPNChicago and others.

Crain, a free agent after the season, hit the DL on July 3rd with a shoulder strain. He made the All-Star team with a 0.74 first-half ERA, but was unable to participate. If Crain recovers, an August trade could be possible, though the White Sox would have to deal only with the team that wins a claim on him.

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