Orioles Rumors

Quick Hits: Mets, Overbay, Springer, Storen, Stewart

By Tim Dierkes | August 1, 2011 at 10:24pm CDT

Thanks to our loyal readers, MLBTR generated 3.1 million pageviews over the weekend! We appreciate you making MLBTR a regular stop, and have a lot of cool things planned in the coming months. On to today's links…

Mets GM Sandy Alderson told ESPN New York's Adam Rubin that he tried to acquire a reliever before the deadline, but to no avail (Twitter link). He would not rule out a trade before August 31st.
The Red Sox will not have interest in Lyle Overbay, reports Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe (on Twitter). The Pirates designated Overbay for assignment today, and as Cafardo notes, he has great numbers in Fenway Park: .323/.395/.500 in 177 plate appearances.
Anthony DiComo of MLB.com (via Twitter) doesn't envision Jason Isringhausen re-signing with the Mets this offseason.
The Astros are very confident that they'll sign first-round pick George Springer, but it may come down to the last week, tweets MLB.com's Alyson Footer. Last week we learned that Springer's father met with the independent league Long Island Ducks.
ESPN's Jerry Crasnick names a bunch of waiver trade candidates in his latest article.
The Twins wanted closer Drew Storen and minor league second baseman Stephen Lombardozzi for center fielder Denard Span, and the Nationals declined, according to MLB.com's Bill Ladson. I think that would have been a solid deal for Washington.
The Indians announced they signed infielder Argenis Reyes to a minor league deal; he'd been playing independent ball. In slightly more important news, Ubaldo Jimenez will debut for the Tribe Friday in Texas.
The extent of Boston's interest in Ubaldo? Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald says exec Allard Baird put in a call on Thursday and the Red Sox weren't in touch after that.
Both sides have denounced the $30MM figure that was floated for Dylan Bundy, tweets MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli. Talks are expected to start this week for the Orioles' fourth overall pick. Ghiroli has more on the topic here. Bundy is advised by Jay Franklin at BBI Sports Group; the company also employs his father.
The Rockies were close to trading third baseman Ian Stewart to an undisclosed National League team yesterday, reports Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post, but the deal fell apart with a half hour to go.
The Mariners and Red Sox are sharing the costs of Erik Bedard's incentives, reports Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times.
Newly-acquired players Zack Wheeler and Jonathan Singelton head updated top ten prospects lists for the Mets and Astros, courtesy of Baseball America's Jim Callis.

AL East Trades

By Zachary Links | July 31, 2011 at 7:00pm CDT

This month's AL East trades..

Blue Jays

Acquired center fielder Colby Rasmus and pitchers Trever Miller, Brian Tallet, and P.J. Walters from the Cardinals for starter Edwin Jackson, relievers Marc Rzepczynski and Octavio Dotel, outfielder Corey Patterson, and three players to be named later or cash considerations.
Acquired starter Edwin Jackson and third baseman Mark Teahen from the White Sox for reliever Jason Frasor and starter Zach Stewart.
Will receive a player to be named later or cash considerations from the Dodgers for outfielder Juan Rivera.

Orioles

Acquired minor league first baseman Aaron Baker from the Pirates for Derrek Lee.
Acquired Chris Davis and Tommy Hunter from Texas for Koji Uehara and $2MM.
Acquired lefty reliever Zach Phillips from the Rangers for Nick Green and cash considerations.

Rays

Received cash considerations from the Brewers in exchange for Felipe Lopez.

Red Sox

Acquired starter Erik Bedard and reliever Josh Fields from Seattle in a three-way deal also involving the Dodgers. Boston sent catcher Tim Federowicz, reliever Juan Rodriguez, and starter Stephen Fife to Los Angeles and outfielder Chih-Hsien Chiang to Seattle. The M's also got outfielder Trayvon Robinson from the Dodgers.
Acquired infielder Mike Aviles from the Royals for infielder/outfielder Yamaico Navarro and reliever Kendal Volz.
Will receive a player to be named later or cash from Florida for outfielder Mike Cameron.

Yankees

The Yankees didn't make any July trades for the first year since 1999.

Tigers Interested In Joel Peralta

By Tim Dierkes | July 31, 2011 at 9:50am CDT

The Tigers are still looking for bullpen help after acquiring David Pauley, and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports tweets they're interested in Rays reliever Joel Peralta.

Peralta, 35, has a 3.75 ERA, 7.7 K/9, 2.6 BB/9, 1.1 HR/9, and 26.7% groundball rate in 48 innings this year. He leads the American League with 52 appearances. Peralta will be under team control for 2012 as an arbitration eligible player.

Morosi says the Tigers also have Baltimore's Jim Johnson on the radar, but a deal is unlikely.

Pirates Acquire Derrek Lee

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 30, 2011 at 11:30pm CDT

There's no question about it at this point – the Pirates are buyers. The Pirates and Orioles announced tonight that the Pirates acquired Derrek Lee from Baltimore for minor league first baseman Aaron Baker.

The 35-year-old Lee (pictured) has a .248/.306/.409 line in 360 plate appearances this year and earns $7.25MM. His play has improved in July, however; he has a .261/.306/.533 line with six homers this month. Pirates first basemen (led by Lyle Overbay) have hit .228/.303/.343 with just eight homers this year, so their interest in Lee's power potential is understandable. The Pirates will pay Lee's remaining $2.3MM, with the Orioles covering bonus clauses.

“He is an experienced, productive right-handed hitter and solid defender who should add to our team on thefield and in the clubhouse,” Pirates GM Neal Huntington said in a statement.

Though his contract expires after the season, Lee doesn't project as a ranked free agent, so he probably won't be tied to draft pick compensation.

Baker, 23, has a .285/.353/.474 line with 15 homers in Class A Bradenton this year. The 2009 draft pick did not crack Baseball America's preseason list of the Pirates' top 30 prospects.

Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun broke the news and MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch, Rob Biertempfel and Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review also contributed to the story. Photo courtesy of Icon SMI.

Orioles Notes: Jones, Guthrie, Hunter

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 30, 2011 at 9:39pm CDT

The Orioles sent Koji Uehara to Texas and are close to sending Derrek Lee to Pittsburgh. Here's the latest news out of Baltimore on the last night before this year's trade deadline…

Orioles center fielder Adam Jones is not available, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter).
The Orioles aren't seeing offers they like for Jeremy Guthrie and will likely hang onto him, while adding the newly-acquired Tommy Hunter to the rotation, according to MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli (on Twitter).

Rangers Acquire Koji Uehara For Davis, Hunter

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 30, 2011 at 8:17pm CDT

After weeks of searching, GM Jon Daniels has acquired some help for his bullpen. The Rangers acquired Koji Uehara and $2MM from the Orioles for Chris Davis and Tommy Hunter in a move the Orioles confirmed this evening.

Uehara, 36, has a 1.72 ERA with 11.9 K/9 and 1.5 BB/9 in 47 innings this year. He earns $3MM and has a $4MM option for '12 that vests with another 12 appearances. He'll be a welcome addition to the back of manager Ron Washington's bullpen. Dan Mennella has all the fantasy angles covered at CloserNews.

Davis, 25, has a .250/.299/.403 line in 77 Major League plate appearances this year. He has destroyed Triple-A pitching this year, hitting 24 homers and posting a .368/.405/.824 line in 210 plate appearances. Davis, who struggles to hit lefties, has a .248/.300/.454 career line in parts of four seasons.

Hunter has appeared in eight games this year and has a 2.93 ERA with 5.9 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 so far (he was on the disabled list from late March to the beginning of July). The 25-year-old former first rounder has also logged 30 2/3 minor league innings this season and he has a 4.99 ERA with 6.2 K/9 and 1.2 BB/9 for the Rangers' top two affiliates. Hunter was a member of the Rangers' rotation last year, when he started 22 regular season games and three in the playoffs.

Dan Connolly and Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun first reported the move. Jon Heyman of SI.com and Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News added detail.

Pirates Acquire Derrek Lee

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 30, 2011 at 6:00pm CDT

10:51pm: The Orioles announced the deal.

10:10pm: The Orioles will get minor league first baseman Aaron Baker from the Pirates in the deal, according to Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun (on Twitter).

Baker, 23, has a .285/.353/.474 line with 15 homers in Class A Bradenton this year. The 2009 draft pick did not crack Baseball America's preseason list of the Pirates' top 30 prospects.

10:07pm: The Pirates are "very likely" to acquire Lee tonight, according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (on Twitter).

9:40pm: It doesn't appear that the Pirates will have to take on much salary, according to Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (on Twitter).

9:07pm: The Orioles will obtain a Class A hitter, Connolly reports (on Twitter).

8:57pm: The Pirates are "getting very close" to acquiring Lee, according to Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun (Twitter links). A deal is "very likely," Connolly reports. The Orioles are likely to send cash to Pittsburgh and obtain a Class A player.

4:54pm: The Orioles are looking to move Derrek Lee as soon as they can, mostly for salary relief, according to MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch (on Twitter). The first baseman left in the eighth inning of this afternoon's game and is not in the lineup for the second half of today's double-header, Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun reports (on Twitter).

The 35-year-old has a .248/.306/.409 line in 360 plate appearances this year and earns $7.25MM. His play has improved in July, however; he has a .261/.306/.533 line with six homers this month. Lee, who was dealt to the Braves last August, would be an August trade candidate if the Orioles don't move him this weekend, as there's a good chance his salary would clear waivers.

Though his contract expires after the season, Lee doesn't project as a ranked free agent, so he probably won't be tied to draft pick compensation. The Pirates inquired on Lee and the D'Backs could also be a fit.

Pirates Rumors: Willingham, Pena, Lee

By Tim Dierkes | July 30, 2011 at 5:20pm CDT

It's been awfully quiet on the Pirates rumor front lately, but maybe that's just because the team's front office is keeping a lid on it. The latest:

Talks between the Pirates and A's about Josh Willingham are finished, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney (on Twitter). The talks never intensified.
The Pirates and A's are talking, tweets Jon Paul Morosi, as Oakland can fill the Pirates' need for a bat and a reliever.
The Pirates inquired on Carlos Pena but sensed the Cubs weren't motivated to trade him, tweets SI's Jon Heyman. The Bucs are not sure that Pena's predecessor, Derrek Lee of the Orioles, is an upgrade for them. I think he would be.
The Pirates had interest in lefty Charlie Furbush before the Tigers sent him to Seattle today, tweets Troy Renck of the Denver Post.

Angels Seeking Sixth/Seventh-Inning Type Reliever

By Tim Dierkes | July 30, 2011 at 4:10pm CDT

4:10pm: Manager Mike Scioscia said he and GM Tony Reagins haven't discussed Betancourt as a possible solution, according to Kevin Baxter of the LA Times. Scioscia said Reagins always runs players past him before acquiring them.

1:34pm: The Angels seek a right-handed sixth-or-seventh-inning kind of arm in the Chad Qualls mold, reports ESPN's Jayson Stark. Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times has similar feelings, tweeting that their best chance is to get a non-closer along the lines of Qualls, Rafael Betancourt, or Koji Uehara. Earlier, ESPN's Jim Bowden tweeted that the Angels are "working hard on Uehara trade talks" with the Orioles. Of course, Uehara has better numbers than just about any available reliever.

Bedard, Guthrie Have Contrasting Starts

By Tim Dierkes | July 29, 2011 at 10:42pm CDT

10:42pm: The Mariners appeared to be waiting until after this start to advance Bedard talks, a source tells WEEI's Alex Speier. The start won't necessarily cause suitors to drop out.

10:04pm: Mariners lefty Erik Bedard missed a month between starts due to a knee strain, and the rust showed tonight against the Rays. He threw 57 pitches, about half of them strikes, allowing four walks, three hits, and five earned runs in 1 1/3 innings (Aaron Laffey allowed a couple of inherited runners to score). The game was reportedly scouted by at least the Red Sox, Yankees, and Tigers. Bedard's character also took a couple of hits tonight courtesy of former Orioles executive Jim Duquette, though Bruce Chen had his back.

Orioles righty Jeremy Guthrie, on the other hand, fired seven innings of one-run ball against the Yankees to lower his ERA to 4.18. The contest was scouted by the Cardinals, Tigers, Brewers, and Rangers at the least, tweets Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun. The Red Sox have also been linked to Guthrie, though Ken Rosenthal tweeted earlier today that the Orioles have been unmoved by the offers for their ace.

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