Arizona Reliever Rumors: Ziegler, Balfour
The Diamondbacks are likely to come away with a reliever today; here's the latest…
- Arizona is closing in on acquiring a reliever, tweets MLB.com's Steve Gilbert.
- The D'Backs are talking to the A's about reliever Brad Ziegler, tweets Olney. The 31-year-old sidearmer is under team control through 2014.
- The D'Backs have taken a very close look at Oakland's Grant Balfour, tweets ESPN's Buster Olney. The 33-year-old Australian has about $5.6MM left on his contract through next year if his club option for '13 is declined.
Cardinals Acquire Rafael Furcal
10:31am: The deal is now complete, tweets ESPN's Jayson Stark. The Cardinals will pay $1.4MM of Furcal's $3.96MM remaining salary, tweets SI's Jon Heyman, implying the Dodgers are sending $2.56MM.
SUNDAY, 10:06am: The Dodgers will receive Double-A outfielder Alex Castellanos from the Cardinals, reports Goold. The 24-year-old is hitting .319/.379/.562 this year.
SATURDAY, 9:48pm: The Cardinals are likely to receive cash in the deal and they'll send a minor league outfielder to the Dodgers, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The outfielder is not currently on St. Louis' 40-man roster, Goold reports.
8:40pm: Furcal will approve the trade, Jon Heyman of SI.com tweets.
1:40pm: The teams are a step away from completing the deal, hears Goold.
SATURDAY, 12:00pm: Though Furcal has no-trade protection, he's open to a deal to the Cardinals, tweets Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The two teams continue to talk.
FRIDAY, 8:35pm: The Cardinals have had conversations with the Dodgers regarding Rafael Furcal, reports MLB.com's Matthew Leach.
6:34pm: The Cardinals are prioritizing a trade for a shortstop, tweets Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Strauss hears it's more likely than not that GM John Mozeliak pulls off a deal before Sunday's deadline, and feels that the rumored move is a difference-maker.
Difference-making shortstops are hard to come by in this trade market, unless the Marlins decide to listen on Hanley Ramirez or the Mets on Jose Reyes. The names I'd expect to be available are not nearly as exciting: Jamey Carroll and Rafael Furcal. The Astros are telling some teams Clint Barmes is not available, tweets MLB.com's Brian McTaggart.
Nationals Making Headway On Acquiring Span
10:47pm: The Nationals are more likely to go after Span than Michael Bourn or B.J. Upton at this point, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney (on Twitter). Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports hears that the sides are in a "staredown" (Twitter link). The Twins want the Nationals to include Storen in their offer.
9:22pm: The deal is "no closer than any other day," an MLB official told Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.
6:31pm: A deal featuring Span and Storen continues to look close, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter).
6:08pm: The Twins are insisting on acquiring Storen with Bernadina and minor league infielder Stephen Lombardozzi for Span, according to Jim Bowden of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
5:18pm: There are lots of mixed signals about the talks, but no deal is close, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (on Twitter).
3:28pm: The Nationals are making headway with the Twins on a deal for Span, tweets ESPN's Jayson Stark. The Twins are insisting Storen be included along with a second player.
1:50pm: The Twins want Roger Bernadina along with a reliever in any deal that sends Span to the Nationals, tweets Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post.
10:45am: The Nationals are pushing setup man Tyler Clippard on the Twins for center fielder Denard Span over closer Drew Storen, tweets Scott Miller of CBS Sports. He says the Twins won't trade Span for a setup man, however.
Aside from saves, Storen comes with one more year of team control than Clippard. Still, we're talking about 2015 and 2016, and there's no telling what can happen with relievers in the course of several years.
Little Momentum For Michael Bourn Trade
Yesterday we learned that the Giants and Braves are in on Astros center fielder Michael Bourn, and GM Ed Wade seeks Major League-ready prospects. The latest:
- There is currently little momentum for a Bourn deal, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, though he notes things can change quickly on deadline day.
Michael Bourn Rumors: Saturday
Astros GM Ed Wade is keeping an open mind on trades, so it's possible outfielder Michael Bourn and others could still go. The latest on Bourn:
- The Braves refuse to include both Randall Delgado and Arodys Vizcaino in a deal for Bourn, according to ESPN.com's Jim Bowden (on Twitter).
- The Giants do have interest in Bourn, Morosi tweets.
- The Reds aren't likely to acquire Bourn, according to Mark Sheldon of MLB.com; Houston's asking price is too high.
- The Giants may have interest in Bourn, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter).
- The Braves are getting more involved on Bourn, tweets Rosenthal. ESPN's Buster Olney hears the Braves are working hard on getting the center fielder.
- The Astros' efforts to trade Bourn are picking up steam, tweets ESPN's Jerry Crasnick, and it appears more likely he'll be dealt by tomorrow's deadline.
- The Astros want Major-League ready prospects for Bourn, tweets MLB.com's Bill Ladson. It makes sense that Wade would seek certainty here, with his Hunter Pence haul being of the high-risk, high-reward variety.
- The Indians and Reds are the main suitors for Bourn right now, tweets Stephen Goff of Examiner.com, but he'd be surprised if the center fielder is traded.
- The Braves are not one of the main teams in on Bourn yet, tweets Rosenthal.
- "The Nationals, Braves, Indians and Reds are among the clubs with varying levels of interest in Bourn," report Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. The Indians are the new suitor here.
Latest On Braves’ Outfield Targets
The Braves are expected to add an outfielder today; here's the latest…
- The Athletics' asking price for Coco Crisp was a bit much, tweets David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. We know the Braves are looking at Houston's Michael Bourn, and O'Brien says they're still in on B.J. Upton of the Rays as well.
Braves Acquire Michael Bourn
8:59am: The Astros will receive center fielder Jordan Schafer, southpaw Double-A starter Brett Oberholtzer, righty Double-A starter Paul Clemens, and righty Triple-A reliever Juan Abreu, tweets ESPN's Jayson Stark. None of the three pitchers are top 50 prospects, but they did rank ninth, 26th, and 27th respectively for the Braves on Baseball America's preseason rankings.
8:46am: The Braves acquired center fielder Michael Bourn from the Astros for four minor leaguers, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. He says the deal is done and will be announced shortly. Ken Davidoff of Newsday tweets that the Braves will receive money in the deal as well.
Bourn, 28, is hitting .303/.363/.403 in 473 plate appearances, and he leads MLB with 39 steals. The Scott Boras client has $1.45MM remaining on his contract this year and is arbitration eligible for 2012 before hitting free agency. The Astros' outfield purge continues, as they sent Hunter Pence to the Phillies on Friday.
Good Chance Of Ludwick To Indians
8:42pm: The Padres aren't close to completing a deal that would send Ludwick to Cleveland, according to Dan Hayes of the North County Times (on Twitter).
7:16pm: The Indians are in position to acquire Ludwick either later tonight or early tomorrow morning, reports Scott Miller of CSBSports.com (on Twitter).
3:00pm: Yahoo's Tim Brown sees the Ludwick field as the Indians and Pirates, with the Indians more likely.
1:58pm: Talks between the Padres and Indians have some traction, tweets ESPN's Buster Olney, and there appears to be a good chance the two teams will work out a deal for Ludwick.
1:05pm: The price to acquire Padres right fielder Ryan Ludwick won't be too high, tweets Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. He says the Indians are still interested. SI's Jon Heyman considers the Tribe the favorite, as it seems like the Braves and Reds are concentrating on others.
Given Ludwick's .238/.301/.372 line in 416 plate appearances, unloading most of his remaining $2.27MM should be GM Jed Hoyer's primary goal.
Red Sox Talked To A’s About Harden, Willingham, Crisp
8:15pm: The Red Sox are out on Willingham and still trying on Harden, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (on Twitter).
3:18pm: The Red Sox checked in with the A's on old friend Coco Crisp, tweets ESPN's Gordon Edes. He says the price is high for a player who may not bring draft pick compensation. Crisp does have a shot at Type B status though.
11:11am: The Red Sox talked to the Athletics about a possible trade for starter Rich Harden and outfielder Josh Willingham, tweets ESPN's Buster Olney, but it's unclear whether the deal currently has a pulse. The rumor mill has been quiet on Harden and Willingham, though they'd both be solid pickups for a contender.
Diamondbacks Acquire Jason Marquis
The Diamondbacks added an innings eater for the stretch drive today, acquiring righty Jason Marquis from the Nationals for shortstop prospect Zach Walters, the teams announced. Marquis returns to the NL West, where he won 15 games in '09 for the Rockies.
Marquis, 32, has a 3.95 ERA, 5.3 K/9, 2.9 BB/9, 0.6 HR/9, and 54.0% groundball rate in 120 2/3 innings this year. Our projected Elias rankings have him well short of Type B status. Aside from last year, the veteran righty is known for taking the ball every fifth day, and he'll slot in nicely at the back end of Arizona's rotation. The D'Backs take on all of the $2.47MM remaining on Marquis' contract.
The Diamondbacks selected Walters in the ninth round of last year's draft. The 21-year-old has a .302/.377/.485 line with 42 extra base hits in 412 plate appearances at Class A South Bend this season. He has mostly played short, but has also appeared in ten-plus games at second and third.
Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi broke the story and Jim Bowden added detail. Ben Nicholson-Smith contributed to this post. Photo courtesy of Icon SMI.