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Indians Fielding Offers For Mark DeRosa

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According to SI's Jon Heyman, the Indians are now fielding offers for infielder Mark DeRosa.  DeRosa, 34, is hitting .242/.312/.412 on the season in 170 plate appearances as the Tribe's third baseman.  He has about $4.15MM left on his contract.

Heyman says the Indians "are looking mainly for pitchers who can help them now."  Heyman believes DeRosa is below Nick Johnson, Aubrey Huff, and Russell Branyan on the Mets' wish list.  What other teams would make sense – the Braves, Cubs, Brewers, or Cardinals perhaps?  You can discuss it in the comments here, and also head over to our Facebook fan page and jump into that discussion.

Over at the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Paul Hoynes says Indians GM Mark Shapiro "is talking to general managers, but it's not about subtracting players in preparation for next year."

Odds & Ends: Mets, Cubs, Astros

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Links for Monday…

Gammons On Ackley, Red Sox, Relievers

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ESPN's Peter Gammons has a new blog post up.  Let's take a look.

  • Gammons writes in praise of North Carolina's Dustin Ackley, who is likely to be chosen by the Mariners at #2 in June.  Ackley may wind up at center field or second base.
  • The Red Sox don't appear willing to trade young pitchers like Clay Buchholz, Michael Bowden, and Nick Hagadone.  The Sox have looked at bats such as Colorado's Matt Murton and Ryan Spilborghs, but for now aren't desperate enough to trade pitching.  Gammons wonders if, for the right bat, Boston would part with Manny Delcarmen.  He believes Delcarmen could close in the NL.
  • Gammons says the Mets think they could have Carlos Delgado back by August if he has hip surgery, allowing them to stay in-house for his replacements.
  • The Dodgers, Indians, Yankees, and Twins are looking for relief help.  Gammon names Jose Valverde, Huston Street, Danys Baez, Russ Springer, and John Grabow as future trade candidates.

Heyman On Lee, Martinez, Green

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A look at the latest from SI.com's Jon Heyman…

  • Heyman addresses the issue of whether the Indians will trade staff ace Cliff Lee.  GM Mark Shapiro isn't thinking about it (not under consideration, according to Ken Rosenthal), and rival execs are divided.  Heyman says neither side made a contract extension proposal during the offseason.  The Indians will have Lee through 2010 once they exercise his option.
  • The Mets mulled calling up Fernando Martinez, but they'll stick to their plan of keeping him in Triple A until at least June.
  • The Orioles are "seriously considering" drafting USC shortstop Grant Green with their #5 pick.  However, the Padres are said to be eyeing Green at #3.

Stark’s Latest: Willis, Peavy, Astros, O’s

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A summary of Jayson Stark's latest "Rumblings and Grumblings" column…

  • Why did the Tigers bother giving Dontrelle Willis another shot?  Frustration, perhaps. "It was pretty obvious, wasn't it?" said one longtime front-office man.  "They invested $29 million in the guy.  They had $22 million left… They'd already eaten Gary Sheffield's money."
  • As for a possible Jake Peavy-to-the-Cubs deal, Stark writes "The Cubs' ownership limbo now looks as if it might stretch until Christmas Eve.  So who knows whether Cubs GM Jim Hendry will even be released from captivity in time to pursue another Peavy deal come July."
  • The chances of Roy Oswalt, along with a few other of Houston's high profile stars being placed on the trade market this summer?  "Based on the history?" an executive of one club said, laughing.  "I'd say zero." 
  • The Orioles should have relievers available come July.  Scouts are drooling over Danys Baez, who seems to have regained his form this year with a 2.37 ERA and 0.84 WHIP. Closer George Sherrill could also draw plenty of interest.  

Odds & Ends: Oliver, Amaro, Scheppers

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Links for Thursday…

  • ESPN's Keith Law has the latest on the battle between Andy Oliver and the NCAA over whether players can have agents and still be eligible for the draft.
  • Yahoo's Gordon Edes writes about the ascension of Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr.  Edes notes that the Phils still do not have a full-time statistical analyst.
  • Former D'Backs pitching coach Bryan Price landed a minor league consulting gig with the Phillies, according to MLB.com's Steve Gilbert.
  • Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says it's "believed though not confirmed" that Tanner Scheppers has granted the Pirates permission to draft him again if they choose.  The Pirates did not sign him last year due to health concerns, but now he's looking like a top-ten pick.
  • A couple of powerful prospects got the call: Nolan Reimold with the Orioles and Mat Gamel with the Brewers.  For the Brewers, Brad Nelson now has to decide whether to accept a Triple A assignment.  The Orioles and Brewers are risking Super Two status with these call-ups, but only if the players are not sent back down.

Orioles Trade Candidates

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The Orioles are currently in last place, eight games out in the AL East.  The offense has been OK, the pitching lousy.  This comes as no surprise; 2009 was viewed as a rebuilding year for Baltimore heading into the season.  This is entirely speculative, but let's take a look at possible veteran trade candidates a month or two from now.

  • Melvin Mora, 3B - $9MM this year, $8MM club option for '10 with a $1MM buyout.  Mora, 37, caught fire in July and August of '08.  He has a no-trade clause and has dealt with a hamstring injury this year.  Could he help the Reds, if he starts hitting and shows a willingness to accept a trade?  Walt Jocketty and Andy MacPhail matched up on the Ryan Freel–Ramon Hernandez deal last winter.
  • Ty Wigginton, 3B - $2.5MM this year, $3.5MM in '10.  Wiggy has been awful at the plate so far in 106 plate appearances, rendering him immovable.
  • Adam Eaton, SP – signed through 2009, Phillies paying most of his salary.  Eaton's had one good start this year, against the White Sox.  He needs to find his way back to the NL.
  • Aubrey Huff, DH/1B – $8MM this year.  This year he's looked more like the pre-2008 Huff.  Did MacPhail miss his chance last winter to move the entire $8MM?
  • Danys Baez, RP – $5.5MM this year.  He missed all of '08, but Baez is having a nice year in his first 18 innings.  The O's have handled him carefully, as he ranks fourth in their bullpen in Leverage.  He appears to be the most likely trade candidate on the team, and the cost shouldn't be much beyond paying his salary.
  • Koji Uehara, SP – $5MM this year, $5MM in '10.  Uehara has been the team's best pitcher, combining a decent strikeout rate with a tiny walk rate.  Is this MacPhail's chance to sell high, despite the risk of making the '09 rotation even worse?  Given the hoopla about Uehara being the team's first Japanese-born player, it's unlikely he's dealt a few months into the contract.
  • Jamie Walker, RP – $4.5MM this year.  Walker's been solid overall this year, but he's surprisingly been rocked by lefties.
  • George Sherrill, RP – $2.75MM this year, under team control through 2011.  Sherrill is trying to hang on to the team's closer job.  He may be best-served back in a lefty-specialist role.  He's similar to Guthrie in that he's past 30 but under team control for a while.
  • Cesar Izturis, SS – $2.4MM this year, $2.6MM in '10.  Izturis probably isn't a trade candidate unless an adequate replacement emerges, perhaps through a separate deal.  Robert Andino hasn't gotten much of a look yet.
  • Luke Scott, OF – $2.4MM this year, under team control through 2012.  Scott's shoulder injury may knock him out for an extended period of time, keeping him off the trade market.
  • Mark Hendrickson, SP/RP – $1.5MM this year.  He at least takes the ball every fifth day, so the O's may keep him around just to eat up innings.  Maybe they'll feel the same way about Eaton. 
  • Gregg Zaun, C – $1.5MM this year, $2MM club option for '10 with a $500K buyout.  The contract could be a nice bargain if Zaun rediscovers his .340 OBP ability.  The O's probably prefer he stays on to tutor Matt Wieters when the prospect comes up this summer.
  • Jeremy Guthrie, SP – $650K this year, under team control through 2012.  The O's are not in a position to trade away pitching, but Guthrie is already 30 years old.  3.5 years of Guthrie could be appealing on the trade market.  Maybe he could be cashed in for multiple young players.

Odds And Ends: Manny, Rangers, Pie

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Links for Saturday morning…

  • On ESPN Radio, Keith Law says no team would pass on Manny Ramirez if he's available for $5MM in the near future, regardless of his suspension. He won't be available at that rate this offseason, as he has a $20MM player option for 2010.
  • Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News passes on a quote from Dodgers GM Ned Colletti: "My concern is still with the pitching."
  • Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune believes the Dodgers' pitching will carry them while Manny serves his suspension.
  • Jamey Newberg suggests on the Newberg Report  that the Braves would deal the haul they received for Mark Teixeira– Casey Kotchman and Stephen Marek– for any one of four players they gave up to get Tex- Elvis Andrus, Matt Harrison, Neftali Feliz or Jarrod Saltalamacchia.
  • The Chicago Tribune suggests the Orioles may try to sneak Felix Pie to Triple-A through waivers.

Ryan Freel Traded For Joey Gathright

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6:14pm: MASN's Roch Kubatko has more from Orioles president of basball operations Andy MacPhail.  Apparently the trade took about four days to complete.  

"We know the tool he has," MacPhail said of the newly acquired Gathright.  "He's 28 years old and he's got great speed.  A career .260 hitter without much power.  I think people have a pretty good understanding.  But he really creates more of an inventory for us at a position that is still somewhat up in the air."

4:44pm: According to Bruce Miles of the Daily Herald the Orioles will pay the difference between the two players' salaries. Basically the teams are paying the same amount as they would have had they not made the deal.

4:22pm: Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune reports that the Orioles will continue to pay part of the $3.3MM Freel will make before the end of the season.

3:38pm: The Orioles have traded Freel to the Cubs for Gathright, according to Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun. Gathright has already cleared waivers and will be assigned to Triple-A Norfolk.

12:54pm: Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports that the Cubs are talking to the Orioles about a trade for Ryan Freel. As Rosenthal points out, the Cubs have more oufield depth than expected, thanks to Micah Hoffpauir and Kosuke Fukudome. Joey Gathright, who has batted only 14 times this year, is expendable. The Orioles are talking to other clubs about Freel, who has about $3.3MM remaining on this year's contract.

Orioles Shopping Ryan Freel

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FRIDAY, 12:01pm: Roch Kubatko of MASN Sports expects that Freel will be dealt or released. Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun reports that Andy MacPhail expects "resolution in a day or two that will be to everyone's satisfaction." 

THURSDAY: According to Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun, Orioles baseball operations president Andy MacPhail has been calling around to gauge interest in utility man Ryan Freel.  Freel is done with his rehab assignment, and Schmuck says he's probably the odd man out.  One small problem: Freel is still owed $3.3MM this year.

Freel made it clear in late April that he'd weclome a trade.

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