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Pirates Acquire Derrek Lee

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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.

DLee

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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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…

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