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D’Backs Tried To Acquire Ace Pitcher
5:33pm: The Diamondbacks were indeed working to acquire Garza today, Olney reports (on Twitter).
12:58pm: Lefty Patrick Corbin has been scratched from his start for Arizona's Triple-A affiliate, tweets Chris Gabel of the Reno Gazette-Journal. Magruder has been told Corbin will not be moved, but says he guesses things could change in what Kevin Towers likes to call the "lightning round."
12:46pm: The Diamondbacks are not currently discussing a deal with the Cubs involving Upton and Garza, reports MLB.com's Steve Gilbert. It was only Olney's speculation in the first place.
12:31pm: The D'Backs are "working hard on something big," tweets ESPN's Buster Olney. Olney feels that an Upton-Matt Garza framework makes sense for the Cubs and Diamondbacks. Upton does have the Cubs on his no-trade list, notes Olney.
10:56am: Diamondbacks managing partner Ken Kendrick dismissed talk of acquiring Lee, Jack Magruder of FOXSportsArizona.com reports (Twitter links). "He is owed $100MM. If they want to keep $90MM" Kendrick said. "Really problematic to move him." Arizona would still like to acquire a starter, but Kendrick says we should not expect front page news.
8:37am: The Diamondbacks are one of the teams to which Lee can block a trade, notes Rosenthal.
8:08am: The Diamondbacks say Upton is definitely staying and there is no truth to rumors of Lee or Hernandez, tweets Bob Nightengale of USA Today. That, of course, does not make Rosenthal's report of the D'Backs seeking an ace pitcher untrue. Meanwhile, Nightengale notes that the club is likely to trade shortstop Stephen Drew today.
3:59am: The Diamondbacks are trying to swing a blockbuster for an unknown ace starting pitcher, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. One rival executive "received indications that the Phillies and Diamondbacks had discussed a deal involving Cliff Lee and Justin Upton," but that scenario is unconfirmed and it is not known whether the D'Backs are among the 21 teams to which Lee can block a trade. Plus, Kevin Towers and company would need serious assistance covering the $95.1MM guaranteed to the Phillies' lefty through 2015.
Rosenthal notes that the Mariners inquired on Upton earlier this month, but talks failed to progress. Given that club's repeated comments on and off record, we can probably forget about Felix Hernandez.
Rosenthal did not mention the Marlins' Josh Johnson, who is reportedly expected to stay put through today's deadline. It's difficult to name another ace-like starting pitcher on whom a team might listen.
Alfonso Soriano Not Getting Traded Today
5:14pm: Tigers president and GM Dave Dombrowski told reporters, including MLB.com's Jason Beck, that the Tigers didn't discuss Soriano with the Cubs (Twitter link). "Not once. … We did speak with the Cubs, but we did not speak about Soriano," Dombrowski said.
2:24pm: Soriano will stay with the Cubs at least this week, tweets Nightengale.
2:14pm: The Cubs say Soriano is likely to stay put, though an August deal is possible, tweets Bob Nightengale of USA Today.
2:04pm: The Tigers and Cubs are hard at work on Soriano, tweets David Kaplan of CSNChicago.com, but he's not sure if they can make the money work. Soriano is owed $42.3MM through 2014.
1:18pm: Manager Jim Leyland thinks the Tigers may be done on the trade front, tweets Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe.
10:57am: The Tigers have considered Alfonso Soriano, but don't think he's a great fit, Knobler reports (on Twitter). They asked about Scott Hairston, but the Mets wanted one of the Tigers' top five prospects in return.
10:24am: The Tigers are seeking a middle-of-the-order hitter in the wake of discouraging news on Victor Martinez's recovery from knee surgery, writes Danny Knobler of CBS Sports. Martinez is said to be 50-50 to return this year, so the Tigers are "looking hard" for another bat.
Marlins Tried To Unload Carlos Lee
5:05pm: Two teams told ESPN.com's Jayson Stark that the Marlins thought they had traded Lee to the Yankees today (Twitter link). However, Lee wouldn't waive his no-trade clause. The sides were never close to completing a trade, ESPN.com's Buster Olney writes (on Twitter).
10:40am: The Marlins are trying to unload first baseman Carlos Lee, tweets Danny Knobler of CBS Sports. At this stage in his career, Lee is a low-power 36-year-old with little defensive value, so teams might view him as a right-handed bench bat. The Marlins added Lee earlier this month, with the Astros paying most of his $18.5MM salary.
Rangers Acquire Ryan Dempster
The Rangers acquired Ryan Dempster from the Cubs for minor league third baseman Christian Villanueva and minor league right-hander Kyle Hendricks. The Braves and Dodgers were favored at various points for Dempster, but the Rangers jumped in and made the move and the 35-year-old approved the deal.
Dempster was drafted by the Rangers in the third round way back in 1995 and was traded to the Marlins the following year. In recent years, he's been a reliable starter for the Cubs, acquiring 10-and-5 rights. The Rangers' need for starting pitching was heightened when Colby Lewis went down this month.
Dempster posted a 2.25 ERA with 7.2 K/9, 2.3 BB/9 and a 42.1% ground ball rate in 104 innings with the Cubs this year. He's earning $14MM — nearly $5MM between now and the end of the season — and will hit free agency this fall.
The Rangers won't be eligible to obtain draft pick compensation for Dempster, since they're acquiring him midway through the last year of his contract. If the Cubs had kept Dempster, they could have made him a one-year qualifying offer following the season and been eligible for a compensatory pick in 2013.
Villanueva, 21, has a .285/.356/.421 batting line in 425 plate appearances with Class A Myrtle Beach this year. The third baseman entered the 2012 season as the 100th-best prospect in MLB, according to Baseball America. He has a .286/.350/.438 batting line in four minor league seasons.
Hendricks, 22, has a 2.82 ERA with 7.7 K/9 and 1.0 BB/9 in 130 2/3 innings over the course of 20 starts at Myrtle Beach. The 6'2" right-hander has 150 strikeouts and just 21 walks in 166 1/3 innings since being selected in the eighth round of the 2011 draft.
The Braves nearly acquired Dempster for Randall Delgado, but the trade didn't go through. Instead, Atlanta obtained Paul Maholm and Reed Johnson from the Cubs in a trade that was announced last night.
ESPN's Buster Olney first reported the trade and Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reported which prospects were involved. MLB.com's Ken Gurnick and Scott Miller of CBS Sports had early word of the deal, which made it in just under the trade deadline buzzer. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports first reported that the Cubs would obtain two Class A prospects. Photo courtesy of US Presswire.
Indians Acquire Lars Anderson
The Indians acquired first baseman/left fielder Lars Anderson from the Red Sox for Double-A starter Steven Wright, the teams announced. WEEI's Alex Speier first reported the trade (on Twitter).
The Red Sox have promoted Anderson in each of the last three seasons, but he has never played more than 18 games or collected more than 43 plate appearances in any one season with Boston. He has spent most of this year at Triple-A, where he has a .259/.359/.415 and nine home runs in 401 plate appearances. The 24-year-old bats left-handed and was considered one of the top prospects in baseball as recently as 2009.
Wright, a 27-year-old knuckleballer, posted a 2.49 ERA with 7.9 K/9 and 4.8 BB/9 in 115 2/3 innings at Double-A this year. He started 20 games this year and has started for most of his six-year minor league career.
Pirates, Yankees Swap McGehee, Qualls
The Yankees acquired corner infielder Casey McGehee and $250K from the Pirates for reliever Chad Qualls, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post.
For all the talk of the Yankees seeking a defense-first third baseman to fill in for Alex Rodriguez, they went with right-handed power in McGehee. Perhaps the Yanks liked McGehee's versatility, with Mark Teixeira ailing as well. McGehee, 29, is hitting .230/.297/.377 in 293 plate appearances for the Pirates. They acquired him from the Brewers for Jose Veras in December; McGehee has about $890K remaining on his contract. He's arbitration eligible for 2013, but may be non-tendered. He was made more expendable by the Pirates' acquisition of first baseman Gaby Sanchez from the Marlins earlier today.
Qualls, 33, has a 4.89 ERA, 4.9 K/9, 2.8 BB/9, 1.63 HR/9, and 54% groundball rate for the Phillies and Yankees this year. The Yankees acquired Qualls from the Phils on July 1st after he'd been designated for assignment, and Qualls was a likely roster casualty had he remained with the Yanks.
Dodgers Out On Dempster
Cubs righty Ryan Dempster is scheduled to start tonight at Wrigley Field opposite A.J. Burnett, but a little thing called the trade deadline looms four hours prior to that contest. As a 10-and-5 player, however, Dempster must approve any trade. The latest:
- The Dodgers are out on Dempster, tweets Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times.
- Straight from the horse's mouth: Dempster told Bruce Levine of ESPNChicago.com he has expanded his list to include the Yankees and Rangers, in addition to the Dodgers.
- The Dodgers are pursuing starting pitching on multiple fronts, notes Goldstein.
- Money would have to be involved for Dempster to land with the Yankees, and with 90 minutes until the deadline there's been no talk of financials yet, tweets Sherman. The Cubs are said to like Yankees second base prospect Angelo Gumbs and third base prospect Dante Bichette Jr., but Sherman is not sure the Yankees would do that just to upgrade on Freddy Garcia. Reports are unclear on whether Dempster would approve a trade to the Yankees.
- Echoing Kaplan, Nightengale tweets that the Cubs are engaged in heavy discussions with the Yankees on Dempster and are still talking to the Dodgers and Rangers. No one is copping to it on the Yankees' side, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post. The Yankees have indeed contacted the Cubs about Dempster, tweet Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports, but the teams are not talking seriously yet.
- The Dodgers are not the only team discussing Dempster with the Cubs, tweets Bob Nightengale of USA Today.
- The deal is not done yet, tweets Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus, as the Cubs really want prospect Allen Webster and are trying to add to Dempster to get him. Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports concurs: there is no agreement yet.
- The Cubs and Dodgers are "finally closing in on the Dempster deal," a source close to the negotations tells Jim Bowden of ESPN and MLB Network Radio.
- The Dodgers remain focused on Dempster and want him even if they add another pitcher, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. They're also looking at hitters, and money does not seem to be a concern. Rosenthal notes that the Dodgers have worked on two massive deals over the last several days, both of which are now less likely.
- There's no evidence of Dempster talk with the Yankees, tweets Jon Heyman of CBS Sports.
- The Dodgers, Rangers, and Yankees are in play for Dempster, reports David Kaplan of CSNChicago.com. The Rangers and Yankees stepped up their pursuit over the last 48 hours. Furthermore, Kaplan says Dempster is willing to approve a trade to any of the three teams.
- Nothing was close late Monday between the Dodgers and Cubs, according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports.
- Dempster "remains adamant that he will only approve a trade to the Dodgers," reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Rosenthal says the Cubs and Dodgers are discussing Dempster and left fielder Alfonso Soriano. However, if the Dodgers acquire another target in outfielder Shane Victorino, they'd have little use for Soriano. With only one suitor, the Cubs' only leverage is weak: their alternative is to keep Dempster and make him a qualifying offer in the $12.5MM range after the season, with an eye on scoring one compensatory draft pick if he declines.
- The Cubs and Braves' previous dialogue about Dempster made yesterday's Paul Maholm trade a little easier, Cubs GM Jed Hoyer told reporters including MLB.com's Carrie Muskat. As the centerpiece of that deal, the Cubs snagged Tommy John-rehabbing pitching prospect Arodys Vizcaino.
Reds Acquire Jonathan Broxton
The Reds added a late-inning reliever to the NL's best bullpen today, acquiring Jonathan Broxton from the Royals, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter link). The Reds sent Triple-A lefty Donnie Joseph and Double-A righty J.C. Sulbaran to the Royals in return, tweets Rosenthal's colleague Jon Paul Morosi.
Broxton, 28, has bounced back this year to post a 2.27 ERA in 35 2/3 innings, although his peripheral stats aren't great with a 6.3 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9. He has posted a career-best 56.6% groundball rate, a large part in why he's allowed just one home run. Broxton is throwing 95 miles per hour again and has racked up 23 saves, though I'm guessing he'll join Sean Marshall in setting up Aroldis Chapman. Broxton is on a one-year deal and has $1.4MM remaining in base salary.
Joseph, 24, has a 1.72 ERA, 11.7 K/9, 2.9 BB/9, and one home run allowed in 52 1/3 relief innings across Double and Triple-A this year. Baseball America ranked him 27th among Reds prospects prior to the season, suggesting at the time he could become a power reliever in the bigs if able to improve his mechanics.
Sulbaran, 22, has a 4.04 ERA, 9.5 K/9, 4.6 BB/9, and 1.46 HR/9 in 104 2/3 innings as a starter at Double-A this year. Baseball America ranked him 12th among Reds prospects prior to the season, praising his stuff but expressing concern with his maturity and secondarypitches. They saw his future as a potential No. 3 starter at that time.
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Photo courtesy of US Presswire.
Reds, Twins Discussing Denard Span
2:19pm: Span to the Reds isn't happening, tweets Jon Heyman of CBS Sports.
1:29pm: A Reds source downplayed the Span talk, tweets John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer.
12:52pm: The Reds and Twins are discussing center fielder Denard Span, writes Scott Miller of CBS Sports. One Miller source sees a 50-50 chance of a deal. Span, 28, is hitting .290/.356/.396 in 420 plate appearances for the Twins. He's guaranteed just $12.8MM through 2014, unless his '15 option is picked up.
