Bedard, Guthrie Have Contrasting Starts
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.
Orioles Rumors: Guthrie, Uehara
The Orioles are unmoved by the offers for righty Jeremy Guthrie, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The Tigers and Red Sox had been linked to the 32-year-old.
As for reliever Koji Uehara, Rosenthal says there's a 50-50 chance the Orioles trade the top-notch setup man. Earlier this week we summed up the Uehara market based on reports: the Rangers, Pirates, Tigers, Twins, and Reds appear to have interest.
Outrighted To Triple-A: Mark Worrell
Here's our list of recently-outrighted players…
- The Orioles outrighted right-hander Mark Worrell to Triple-A after he cleared waivers, according to MASNsports.com's Roch Kubatko (on Twitter). The 28-year-old appeared in four games for the Orioles, who signed him as a free agent in February. Worrell has a 3.65 ERA with 7.3 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9 in 37 innings at Triple-A this year.
AL East Notes: Uehara, Yankees, Lee, Guthrie
On this date last year, the Orioles traded Miguel Tejada to the Padres for Wynn Pelzer and the Blue Jays traded Brett Wallace to the Astros for Anthony Gose. Here's the latest from the AL East as we await today's first trade…
- Jon Heyman of SI.com hears that Koji Uehara is drawing "big interest" (Twitter link).
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports believes that the Yankees have to acquire a starter before the
- deadline.
- Jeremy Guthrie, Uehara and Derrek Lee are the main players the Orioles are discussing, according to Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun.
- Mark Reynolds might get an extended look at first base if the Orioles trade Lee, who could be a fit in Pittsburgh or Arizona.
- The Tigers and Indians have talked to the Orioles about Guthrie, Zrebiec confirms.
- Yankees manager Joe Girardi doesn't think the Yankees need another starting pitcher, but the Yankees have a number of options to consider, Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News explains. Ubaldo Jimenez, Wandy Rodriguez and Hiroki Kuroda are possible fits for the Yankees.
- Rob Bradford of WEEI.com explains the pros and cons of bringing Erik Bedard or Jimenez to Boston. As we’ve heard this week, the Red Sox are interested in pitching, including Bedard and Jimenez.
Tigers Rumors: Starting Pitchers
The Tigers acquired Jhonny Peralta a year ago today, but this year they're trying to hold off the Indians rather than make trades with them. Who will they add before Sunday's deadline? The latest:
- It sounds like the Tigers' three options for a starting pitcher currently are Hiroki Kuroda, Aaron Harang, and Jeremy Guthrie, tweets Danny Knobler of CBS Sports.
- The Dodgers, Mariners, Astros, and Rays had scouts assigned to watch the Tigers' Low-A team last night, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. The game was postponed due to rain, however. At any rate, Nick Castellanos and Bruce Rondon are a couple of notable prospects on that club.
Red Sox Rumors: Rasmus, Starting Pitchers
The latest on the Red Sox, who have the best record in the American League…
- The Red Sox are “still looking at all options,” including outfielders, but their focus may be shifting to pitching, according to Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald.
- Lauber hears that the Red Sox didn’t actively pursue Colby Rasmus.
- The Red Sox will consider Rich Harden, Erik Bedard, Hiroki Kuroda, Jeremy Guthrie, Aaron Harang, and Ubaldo Jimenez as they decide whether to add a starting pitcher, reports Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. ESPN's Jayson Stark names Kuroda, Bedard, Harden, and Jimenez as pitchers on their radar. He notes that the Red Sox have "stayed involved from the beginning" on Jimenez.
- The Red Sox wouldn't give up anything really good for Kuroda, opined MLB Network's Peter Gammons on WEEI's Mut & Merloni show.
- Gammons believes the Cubs' Reed Johnson is the most logical fit for an outfielder for Boston.
AL East Notes: Lee, Rays, Yankees, Jackson
The American League East welcomed a new center fielder to the division today, but it may not be long before another one gets traded. Here’s the latest from a division that currently has four former first rounders patrolling center field: B.J. Upton, Jacoby Ellsbury, Adam Jones and, now, Colby Rasmus:
- Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun suggests that the Pirates or Diamondbacks might want to take a look at Derrek Lee, who can provide defense, leadership and some power down the stretch. The Orioles might be able to obtain some salary relief and a low level prospect or two for the first baseman, who would likely clear waivers in August.
- The Rays signed third round pick Johnny Eierman for $550K, according to Jim Callis of Baseball America (on Twitter). Eierman is unusually athletic and will probably become an outfielder, Callis writes.
- The Yankees signed 14th rounder Rookie Davis to a deal worth $550K, according to Callis (on Twitter). The right-hander/first baseman obtained the biggest bonus so far for any player selected after the third round.
- Edwin Jackson, now a member of the Cardinals, was never on Boston's radar, according to Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald (on Twitter).
AL East Notes: Niemann, Davis, Orioles
We’ve already checked in on the AL East and taken detailed looks at its two biggest spenders, the Yankees and Red Sox. Here are some new notes from around the division, with an emphasis on teams that could be sellers:
- Though the Rays have told teams they won't trade James Shields, they're willing to discuss Jeff Niemann and Wade Davis, according to Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com.
- Rays manager Joe Maddon tells Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times that he has discussed dozens of trade scenarios with executive VP of baseball operations Andrew Friedman (Twitter link). None of the scenarios have involved Shields, who appears to be off of the market.
- Koji Uehara and Jeremy Guthrie are the names bouncing around MLBTR, but Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun reminds us that teams have also called about other Orioles, including Adam Jones, Jim Johnson and Alfredo Simon.
At Least Four Teams Interested In Uehara
The Rangers, Pirates, Tigers, and Twins are among the teams that have expressed interest in Orioles reliever Koji Uehara, reports Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun. Interest from the Pirates and Twins was previously reported, and the Reds are known to have discussed Uehara at least internally.
Uehara, 36, is among the best relievers available this summer. He sports a 1.80 ERA, 11.8 K/9, 1.6 BB/9, 1.2 HR/9, and 31.3% groundball rate in 45 innings this year, and a reasonable $4MM option for next year vests with 14 more appearances. Uehara told Zrebiec he loves Baltimore and the Orioles, "but it's not going to be any fun if we don't win. That's the dilemma."
In theory, Uehara shouldn't be much easier to acquire than San Diego's Mike Adams, the biggest difference being the former's flyball leanings. Aside from the Uehara suitors mentioned above, the Red Sox, Yankees, Angels, Phillies, Braves, Cardinals, and Diamondbacks are seeking relief help.
Quick Hits: Rangers, Mets, Astros, Guthrie, Phillies
Sunday afternoon linkage..
- Rangers GM Jon Daniels says that heading into the deadline his top priority remains bullpen help, writes MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan.
- We here at MLBTR love the build-up to the trade deadline, but Mets skipper Terry Collins can't wait for it to come and go, writes Christina De Nicola of MLB.com.
- Astros GM Ed Wade says that his front office will be "good listeners" as the deadline approaches, writes MLB.com's Brian McTaggart.
- The Cardinals have now joined the Tigers in pursuit of the Baltimore's Jeremy Guthrie, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. The extent of conversations between the Cards and the Orioles is unknown, but it seems that the club is at least open to the idea of moving Guthrie for the right return.
- The Rays told the Yankees that James Shields isn't available, but other clubs are still hopeful, according to Jon Heyman of SI (via Twitter). Detroit, for example, recently sent two scouts to watch him pitch.
- A very weak left-handed relief market could inspire the Rangers to deal Arthur Rhodes, tweets Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated. The Rangers could use him to land a righty out of the bullpen.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post checks out the track record of teams dealing at the deadline in recent years. His gives the Phillies top honors for their deals in July from 2008-2010.