AL East Notes: Rays, Bedard, Hairston, Jimenez
The deadline has passed and the Yankees are the only team in the AL East that didn't make a deal. The Rays were pretty quiet, too, but there may have been a reason for that…
- Rays executive VP of baseball operations Andrew Friedman underwent an appendectomy last night, according to Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times. However, that didn't stop Friedman from conducting business from his hospital room this afternoon.
- The Red Sox and Mariners will each cover some of the incentives on Erik Bedard's contract, GM Jack Zduriencik told Larry Stone of the Seattle Times (Twitter link).
- The Red Sox had interest in Scott Hairston, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post (on Twitter). However, the Mets weren't interested in minor salary relief or a marginal prospect.
- Boston wasn’t the only interested team, by the way. The Braves talked to the Mets about acquiring Hairston as a bench bat, according to ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick (on Twitter).
- Jack Curry of the YES Network hears that the Yankees wanted a shoulder MRI for Ubaldo Jimenez, but the Rockies declined (Twitter link).
The Latest On Wandy Rodriguez
The Astros traded two of their three starting outfielders before this afternoon's trade deadline, but they were unable to find a taker for Wandy Rodriguez. Let's round up the latest news regarding the left-hander, all courtesy of SI.com's Jon Heyman on Twitter…
- The Yankees offered to pay $21MM of the $38MM left on Wandy's contract, but that wasn't enough for the Astros.
- The Indians and Blue Jays were both interested in Rodriguez, both only in a three-team scenario that would have sent him elsewhere. Presumably, the Yankees were that third team.
- The $38MM left on Rodriguez's contract makes him a prime August waiver trade candidate, but is there a chance a team claims him? "None," said one executive Heyman.
- The Yankees are unlikely to revisit talks with Houston after Wandy clears waivers this month.
AL East Trades
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.
Heath Bell Rumors: Sunday
The latest on Padres closer Heath Bell, who is owed $2.47MM on the season and projects as a Type A free agent in either league…
- There has been some discussion between the Padres and Bell's agents within the last 24 hours, tweets MLB.com's Corey Brock. The Padres will not trade Bell unless the Yankees or Phillies offer an astronomical package, tweets Scott Miller.
- The Phillies still seem to be in on Bell, tweets Heyman. The Padres just traded setup man Mike Adams to the Rangers.
- The Angels have minimal interest in Bell, tweets Jon Paul Morosi.
- The Cardinals are sensing no traction for Bell, GM John Mozeliak tells Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Twitter link).
- The Rangers appear to be losing momentum on Bell with the Cardinals still possible, tweets Rosenthal.
- The Rangers are still in on Bell, but don't want to pay big now that they've gotten Koji Uehara, tweets Danny Knobler of CBS Sports. The Yankees are in the mix, the Cardinals are on the fringes, and the Phillies have slight interest. The Yankees are still viewed as a long shot, tweets Buster Olney. The Rangers are also still in on Oakland closer Andrew Bailey, tweets Bob Nightengale.
- The Yankees are in on Bell, tweets SI's Jon Heyman. However, Joel Sherman tweets that as of this morning the two teams are not optimistic there is a common ground for a deal. Last night, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports wrote that the Yankees were showing late interest in Bell, but the Rangers were the frontrunner and the Cardinals were still involved.
Rockies’ Talks For Ian Stewart Heating Up
1:45pm: The Yankees have called on Stewart, tweets Jayson Stark.
12:17pm: The Rockies' trade talks with another NL club for Ian Stewart are heating up, tweets Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post. The 26-year-old third baseman found himself demoted to Triple-A this year, but had previously shown good power in the bigs.
Padres Reliever Rumors: Saturday
The Padres have right-handed relievers Heath Bell, Mike Adams, and Chad Qualls on the trading block. Here are yesterday's rumors, and below is the latest.
- The Rangers continue talking to the Padres about Bell, even after acquiring Koji Uehara, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports (on Twitter).
- The Padres have always said they'd be fine with two compensatory draft picks for Bell if the trade offers aren't compelling, Yahoo's Jeff Passan reports (on Twitter).
- The Cardinals and Rangers remain the most persistent on Bell, tweets Joel Sherman, while the Yankees haven't called the Padres in days about Bell or Adams.
- The Tigers have talked to the Padres about their group of relievers, tweets Ken Rosenthal, including Qualls.
- The Rangers, Cardinals, and Blue Jays are the clear leaders for Bell, tweets ESPN's Jim Bowden, with the Angels, Yankees, and Phillies still kicking the tires. Ken Rosenthal has the Rangers as the frontrunner with the Cardinals hanging on.
- Interest in Adams continues to rise, tweets Rosenthal, but the Padres would still need to be compelled to move him. Meanwhile, trusted Yankees scout Bill Livesey is watching the Padres' relievers, tweets Joel Sherman.
- The Cardinals are still alive for Bell, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
- The Rangers "have gone deep into negotiations with the Padres about Bell, and both sides are optimistic they can strike a deal," reports Yahoo's Jeff Passan. Yesterday, word from Scott Miller of CBS Sports was that Friday's talks between the two clubs did not advance much. MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan feels that logically, the two teams should strike a deal.
Yankees Inquired On Francisco Liriano, Span
5:29pm: The Yankees inquired on Francisco Liriano only to hear that the Twins aren't trading him, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter).
2:32pm: The Yankees inquired on Twins center fielder Denard Span, tweets Yahoo's Tim Brown. Brown imagines that this inquiry could be part of something bigger, since the Yankees are currently set on outfielders. Joel Sherman speculates that if the Yankees inquired on Span perhaps it was with the idea of flipping him to the Nationals in a deal involving Tyler Clippard.
Matt Thornton Rumors: Saturday
Left-handed reliever Matt Thornton has a 3.28 ERA, 8.8 K/9, 3.4 BB/9, 0.50 HR/9, and 47.3% groundball rate in 35 2/3 innings this season for the White Sox, which is only a down year by his lofty standards. Thornton signed a three-year extension in March. He has $1MM remaining this year, $5.5MM in 2012, $5.5MM in '13, and a $6MM club option or $1MM buyout for '14. That's a total of $13MM guaranteed through 2013 for the hard-throwing 34-year-old. The latest rumors:
- White Sox GM Kenny Williams told Bob Nightengale of USA Today that another deal is highly unlikely (Twitter link).
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post senses that the White Sox have really fallen out of love with Thornton and would love to move his contract (Twitter link). He says the Yankees are watching Thornton.
- The Diamondbacks would love to acquire Thornton but it can't happen given Chicago's demand of top prospects, tweets Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic.
- The Red Sox are pushing hard for Thornton and right fielder Carlos Quentin, tweets USA Today's Bob Nightengale.
- Ken Rosenthal tweets that the Rangers are pursuing Thornton, but would only be open to Chicago's request of Derek Holland if the Sox include a starter such as John Danks.
Ubaldo Jimenez Rumors: Saturday
Yesterday we learned that the Tigers have strong interest in Rockies' ace Ubaldo Jimenez, showing a willingness to include top prospect Jacob Turner, who is being called up to start today but not as a showcase. However, Detroit may be out for now and the chances of any Jimenez deal may have slipped below 50%. The latest:
- Pomeranz and White will be in the deal if it happens, Renck tweets.
- Jimenez was scratched from his start tonight, Heyman tweets.
- The Yankees infuriated the Rockies by taking their top prospects off of the table and offering Phil Hughes and others instead, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post (on Twitter).
- The Rockies are moving toward a deal with Cleveland, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports (on Twitter).
- White has been scratched from his one-inning rehab outing, MLB.com's Jordan Bastian reports (on Twitter).
- There are indications that Pomeranz and White could be available in a possible deal, according to Jon Paul Morosi and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter link).
- The Rockies asked for Pomeranz, Kipnis and Lonnie Chisenhall, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter).
- The Rockies and Indians are in serious talks, Renck reports (on Twitter). He hears that a deal would center around Pomeranz, Alex White and Jason Kipnis.
- Renck gets the "strong sense" that Cleveland hasn't given up (Twitter link) and Morosi says Indians prospect Drew Pomeranz was scratched from his Double-A start today (Twitter link).
- The Red Sox, Reds and Indians are in on Jimenez, according to Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. The Yankees aren't talking actively with Colorado and won't include Nova, Betances, Banuelos or Montero in a deal for Jimenez (Twitter links).
- The Rockies haven't dropped their demands and are still asking for three players, according to Jack Curry of the YES Network (on Twitter). The Yankees still won't part with Montero, Betances and Nova for Jimenez.
- Two teams have enhanced their offers, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter).
- Rival teams believe the Rockies match up best with the Indians, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney (on Twitter).
- The Rockies will have a scout watching Nova tonight at Yankee Stadium, tweets Sherman.
- The price on Jimenez has come down a tad, tweets Jon Heyman. He says the Rockies are no longer asking for Banuelos from the Yankees; Betances, Nova, and Montero would work. That's similar to what Joel Sherman wrote earlier today. The two teams have not talked today, tweets Troy Renck. Renck believes the Yankees currently will not put both Montero and Betances in the deal – just one.
- One executive who has been speaking with the Rockies and Reds believes the teams "have discussed an expanded version that could include someone like Seth Smith, because the Reds also have been targeting controllable bats," reports ESPN's Jayson Stark.
- The Red Sox haven't been in contact with the Rockies about Jimenez since Thursday, tweets Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald. And the Reds aren't currently discussing Jimenez with the Rockies, tweets Jon Paul Morosi.
- The Yankees are all over Jimenez, a source tells ESPN's Tim Kurkjian.
- The Yankees are hearing that the Rockies may lower the price on Jimenez today, tweets Ken Rosenthal, but still not to a point that they consider realistic. Renck tweets that the Rockies' price hasn't changed during the process.
- The Indians, Red Sox, Blue Jays, and Reds are still in on Jimenez, tweets SI's Jon Heyman, and he's not counting out the Yankees.
- In addition to Turner and maybe Rick Porcello or Max Scherzer, the Rockies asked the Tigers for outfielder Brennan Boesch, tweets Danny Knobler of CBS Sports. Knobler notes that Turner is starting for the Tigers today.
- The Indians were willing to discuss southpaw pitching prospect Drew Pomeranz, reports Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post. Pomeranz is ranked anywhere from #14 to #35 among all teams by prospect experts. Red Sox third base prospect Will Middlebrooks and righty Anthony Ranaudo are of interest to Colorado, adds Renck.
- The Rockies want Ivan Nova and two of Manny Banuelos, Dellin Betances, and Jesus Montero from the Yankees, reports Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Sherman writes, "to say the Yankees and Rockies are not finding common ground on Jimenez’s value is an understatement." The Red Sox, Tigers, and Indians remain involved, while the Reds are "less heated to make a deal."
- "Rival executives believe that if the Rockies lower their asking price at all today, it will signal clear intent to move the pitcher," tweets ESPN's Buster Olney.
Red Sox Pushing Hard For Quentin, Thornton
The Red Sox are pushing hard for White Sox right fielder Carlos Quentin and reliever Matt Thornton, tweets USA Today's Bob Nightengale, but Chicago would have to be overwhelmed with prospects.
Joel Sherman of the New York Post senses that the White Sox "have really fallen out love with Thornton, and would love move the $13MM he is owed for 2012-13." He says the Yankees have been watching the lefty.