Orioles Rumors

Tigers Rumors: Starting Pitchers

By Tim Dierkes | July 28, 2011 at 12:33pm CDT

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

By Tim Dierkes | July 28, 2011 at 9:46am CDT

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

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 27, 2011 at 4:47pm CDT

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

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 25, 2011 at 10:10pm CDT

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

By Tim Dierkes | July 25, 2011 at 9:16am CDT

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

By Zachary Links | July 24, 2011 at 4:20pm CDT

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.

Pirates Looking For Relievers

By Zachary Links | July 24, 2011 at 1:08pm CDT

The Pirates are casting a wide net for relief help as the deadline approaches with names such as Jason Frasor, Octavio Dotel, and Koji Uehara on their expansive list, sources tell Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter). The club is also looking for a bat, Morosi tweets, but it doesn't sound like they're close to anything.

On Friday, ESPN.com's Buster Olney reported that the club is taking a "very, very careful" approach to the deadline and aren't planning on trading major assets this month. They also picked up reliever Jason Grilli late last week to help improve their bullpen situation.

AL East Rumors: Frasor, Red Sox, Scott, Yankees

By Mark Polishuk | July 23, 2011 at 9:38pm CDT

Here's the latest news from "The Beast"…

The Blue Jays and Diamondbacks have discussed a trade involving Jason Frasor, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com, though the D'Backs aren't close to a deal with the Jays (or any club) for now. We heard last week that the Jays and Snakes were talking and the two clubs seem like a good fit — Arizona wants veteran relievers and Toronto has Frasor and several other experienced bullpen arms. Frasor has a 3.12 ERA and a 7.8 K/9 rate this season and recently became Toronto's all-time leader in pitching appearances.
The Red Sox have no deals coming in the near future and at the moment, "nothing likely on [the] trade front," several team sources tell The Boston Herald's Mike Silverman (Twitter link).
Luke Scott will miss the rest of the season with a shoulder injury and he may have played his last game with the Orioles, notes MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli. The O's could choose to non-tender Scott, who is entering his last year of arbitration and is due a raise from his $6.4MM 2011 salary. Scott, for his part, says he wants to stay in Baltimore.
ESPN New York's Wallace Matthews thinks the Yankees should pursue another hitter before the trade deadline, rather than starting pitching.
The Rays aren't sure if they're sellers or buyers yet, which "is typical of a team with no room for budgetary error and plenty for restocking the cupboard," writes Yahoo's Jeff Passan.

Twins Interested In Koji Uehara

By Mark Polishuk | July 23, 2011 at 6:41pm CDT

Add the Twins to the list of teams interested in Orioles reliever Koji Uehara. Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun reports that both the Twins and O's have sent representatives to scout the other in the past week and Minnesota is known to be looking for bullpen depth.

As Connolly notes, the two clubs have a recent trading history — Baltimore acquired J.J. Hardy from Minnesota last winter. The two also seem like a good match since the Orioles "likely are looking for Major-League-ready starting pitching and young position players" and the Twins have several young outfielders and Kevin Slowey potentially available in a deal.

Uehara has a bit more than $1MM remaining on the one-year, $3MM contract he signed with the O's last winter and he has a $4MM option for 2012 that will vest if he reaches 55 appearances. Given that Uehara has 40 appearances already, this option is a virtual certainty to vest. The 36-year-old Osaka native is having a stellar year, posting a 1.84 ERA, a 7.25 K/BB ratio and an 11.9 K.9 rate in those 40 appearances with Baltimore.

The Reds and Pirates are two other teams rumored to be looking at Uehara.

Orioles Notes: Uehara, Guthrie, Johnson, Lee

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 22, 2011 at 9:24am CDT

Orioles president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail and owner Peter Angelos met to discuss possible deals this week, according to Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun. Zrebiec suggests the Orioles will make one or two moves in the next ten days; here are the names to watch:

There’s a lot of action on Koji Uehara now, despite some concern about the 36-year-old’s age and health. The Orioles are listening to offers and willing to move Uehara, but they want something of value in return for him. If they don’t like the offers they see, they will welcome him back next year (a $4MM option for 2012 will vest once Uehara makes 15 more appearances).
The Orioles don’t have much pitching depth, but they appear to have softened their stance on Jeremy Guthrie. Zrebiec gets the sense that “if they can get a decent return for Guthrie, they’ll send him packing.” That said, the O’s would likely look to obtain at least one MLB-ready starter in a trade for Guthrie.
The Orioles and Phillies are not in the midst of serious trade talks.
Baltimore would likely need a substantial haul to part with Jim Johnson, who could be a part of next year’s rotation.
There’s no urgency when it comes to Derrek Lee and Vladimir Guerrero, since both would likely clear waivers. That means MacPhail can afford to wait until August to consider deals.

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