Central Notes: Slowey, Cardinals, Paulino, Brewers
Let's check in with the latest from the middle of the MLB map….
- The Pirates are not interested in Twins right-hander Kevin Slowey, reports Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. (Twitter link) We heard last week that the Bucs were looking at Slowey, who went to high school in Pennsylvania.
- Cardinals GM John Mozeliak is hoping to improve his team without moving a player from the Major League roster, but Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch hears that "to accomplish [their] trade goal," the Cards will have to deal at least one Major Leaguer.
- With the Cardinals aggressively pursuing starting pitching, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch roundtable discusses which pitchers would be available at the lowest cost to the Cards. I like the idea of St. Louis getting a second-tier arm like Chris Capuano, since the Cardinals' search for bullpen help means they won't be able to meet the asking price for both a top starter and a top reliever such as Heath Bell.
- Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star details the Royals' scouting and pursuit of Felipe Paulino, who has pitched well since being acquired from the Rockies in May.
- The Brewers are continuing negotiations with first-round draft picks Taylor Jungmann and Jed Bradley, reports MLB.com's Adam McCalvy. Brewers amateur scouting director Bruce Seid described the talks as "a work in progress," while GM Doug Melvin felt the draft picks' respective agents weren't approaching the talks with much urgency leading up to the August 15 deadline.
Quick Hits: Red Sox, White Sox, Giants, Rasmus
Saturday afternoon linkage..
- Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe tweets that the Red Sox and White Sox have been scouting each other a lot in the past week, and it's not just for the upcoming series between the two. Speculation here (from Steve Adams), but both Edwin Jackson and Carlos Quentin were rumored to be potential White Sox trade chips earlier today, and both could help in Boston.
- Phillies prospect Brody Colvin left last night's start because of a groin injury, not because of anything trade-related, tweets FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal.
- Giants GM Brian Sabean says that his list of untouchables list is different than public perception, tweets Hank Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle. Schulman wonders aloud if this means that Zack Wheeler might not be an untouchable.
- Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos has been making more calls than any other GM, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.
- The Cardinals aren't looking to move Colby Rasmus but they're exploring every possible way to improve, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
Steve Adams also contributed to this post.
Stark On Shields, Melky, Soria, Marlins
Astros GM Ed Wade has been determining the market for his players, including Hunter Pence, ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark reports. Incoming owner Jim Crane urged Wade to do so in case appealing offers emerge. Here are the rest of Stark’s rumors:
- Given Wade’s uncertain future in Houston, at least one executive suggests the GM needs to make a "job-saving deal" if he trades Pence.
- The Rays are more likely to trade B.J. Upton than James Shields, though they realize Shields’ value has never been higher (the right-hander won't be going to the Bronx).
- The Phillies remain in contact with the Royals about Melky Cabrera, but the Royals have told teams they’re more likely to deal Jeff Francoeur. Kansas City is asking for a number three starter who’s nearly Major League ready in return for Cabrera.
- Clubs that have inquired on Vance Worley have heard that he’s off of the market.
- The Braves have shown some interest in Heath Bell, whose most aggressive suitors have been the Rangers, Cardinals, Phillies and Angels. The Padres are telling teams that they’ll need to “clearly surpass” the value of two compensatory draft picks in any deal for Bell, though they’re flexible in terms of the type of player they’d accept in return.
- The Padres continue to field calls on Mike Adams, who will be tougher to obtain than Bell.
- The Yankees, Phillies and Diamondbacks appear to have checked in on Joakim Soria.
- The Red Sox are looking at everything, but aren’t approaching the deadline with much urgency, one AL executive told Stark.
- Rival teams expect that the Dodgers will trade Jamey Carroll and there are indications that Rafael Furcal is drawing interest as well.
- The Marlins, who hope to build momentum before opening their new stadium in 2012, are in a “holding pattern,” Stark reports. They’ve shown interest in third basemen.
- Rival teams report that the Phillies say they won’t move Domonic Brown or top pitching prospect Jarred Cosart. Jonathan Singleton is available in the right deal, but the Phillies don’t expect to trade him for a rental player.
- Stark reminds us that commissioner Bud Selig ruled out contraction at the All-Star Game.
Olney On Braves, Blue Jays, Rasmus
ESPN.com's Buster Olney believes that the Braves are the frontrunners for Carlos Beltran right now thanks to their assortment of pitching prospects, such as left-hander Mike Minor (Twitter link). Click here for more details on Beltran and keep reading for more of Olney's rumors:
- General managers tell Olney that it's hard to obtain value for right-handed relievers now, since the market is flooded (Twitter link).
- Some teams are convinced that the Blue Jays’ interest in Heath Bell revolves around the reliever's Type A status, according to Olney (on Twitter). Bell projects as one of the top rated free agent relievers under the Elias free agent rankings.
- Olney reports that some rival executives believe the Cardinals would trade Colby Rasmus despite the fact that GM John Mozeliak says his center fielder is staying put (Twitter link).
Heyman On Astros, Adams, Matsui, Yankees
Incoming Astros owner Jim Crane has ordered a decrease in payroll from $76MM to $60MM, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com. Here’s the latest on Houston’s deadline plans and other notes from around MLB:
- The Astros are looking for at least three pieces for Hunter Pence. They’d probably demand young, MLB-ready talent, so a deal appears unlikely.
- Houston is shopping Wandy Rodriguez and Brett Myers harder than Pence
- Padres GM Jed Hoyer told Heyman that he’d have to be “blown away” to trade Mike Adams and that he’d prefer to keep the setup man.
- The Rangers are in talks with the Padres about Heath Bell, who is also drawing interest from the Cardinals, Angels and Reds.
- No one has called the A’s about Hideki Matsui and Oakland isn’t looking to trade Grant Balfour.
- The A’s are taking calls on Michael Wuertz, Brian Fuentes and Craig Breslow.
- The Yankees’ wish list includes a right-handed bat along with a lefty reliever and a starter. Perhaps the newly-signed Marcus Thames will help the Yankees at some point in 2011.
New York Notes: Dickey, Isringhausen, Garcia
The Mets lost to Albert Pujols and the Cardinals today and the Yankees will take on the Rays later tonight. Here's the latest news regarding MLB's two New York teams…
- The Yankees have some interest in Jeremy Guthrie according to SI.com's Jon Heyman (on Twitter), but they know Orioles' owner Peter Angelos will not trade with them.
- The Mets may have decided to keep him, but Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports hears that the Reds and Diamondbacks still have interest in Isringhausen (Twitter link).
- An American League contender called the Mets about R.A. Dickey and heard that the knuckleballer isn't going anywhere, according to Peter Gammons of MLB Network (on Twitter).
- The Mets have apparently decided to keep Jason Isringhausen, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter).
- Even though Isringhausen would prefer not to be traded, he told Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that he has "unfinished business" in St. Louis. Cardinals sources tell Goold that they wouldn't rule out a reunion with Isringhausen at some point. The 38-year-old spent seven years with the Cardinals, saving 217 games.
- Freddy Garcia told Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News that he hopes to continue pitching for the Yankees, though he understands he may get bumped from the rotation if New York makes a trade.
- Newsday's Ken Davidoff dares to wonder if Garcia and Bartolo Colon can keep pitching this well into October.
Olney On Wandy, Phillies, DeJesus, Cardinals, Mets
In addition to all the talk about a potential Hunter Pence trade, ESPN's Buster Olney notes the Astros are "making it clear" that they're willing to trade Wandy Rodriguez in today's Insider-only blog post. The left-hander has caught the eye of the Reds, but Houston will reportedly want as much for Rodriguez as the Rockies would want for Ubaldo Jimenez.
Here are the rest of Buster's rumors…
- Olney hears that the Phillies would prefer to frame any offers for Pence around right-hander Vance Worley (Twitter link). Worley owns a 2.02 ERA in ten starts and two relief appearances for Philadelphia this season.
- The Pirates have talked internally about pursuing David DeJesus, but it's unclear how aggressive they plan to get in trade talks (Twitter link).
- The Cardinals have cast a wide net in their search for bullpen help, and other clubs expect St. Louis to land a right-handed reliever before the deadline (Twitter link).
- There is growing confidence in the Mets' organization that the Bernie Madoff case "is veering in favor of the Wilpons," which could allow them to re-establish full control of the team. There is also some unhappiness with how David Einhorn has taken the spotlight without having a deal to become minority owner finalized.
Bullpen Notes: Royals, Angels, Braves, Cardinals
Virtually every contender could use relief help, as Tim Dierkes explained yesterday. Here's the latest on the bullpen market…
- Kansas City GM Dayton Moore told Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star that we shouldn’t read too much into rumors about the Royals’ closer, Joakim Soria. “We certainly understand and appreciate why there would be strong interest in him,” Moore said. “He’s a premium closer. But he fits for us, and our view of Joakim Soria hasn’t changed as it pertains to his importance to our team.”
- Mike DiGiovanna of the LA Times notes that the Angels are targeting relief help.
- There is "growing reason" to expect the Braves to explore deals for relief help, according to Mark Bowman of MLB.com.
- The Cardinals are among the teams looking for a starters, according to Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com. The St. Louis front office would likely shift Kyle McClellan back to the bullpen if they acquire a starter.
West Notes: Pentland, Bell, Breslow, Bedard
The latest on a few AL and NL West clubs…
- The Dodgers fired hitting coach Jeff Pentland and named Dave Hansen interim coach through season's end, the team announced on Twitter. Not that it's entirely Pentland's fault, but the Dodgers are 15th in the NL with 3.63 runs scored per game.
- Padres closer Heath Bell appeared on ESPN's Doug Gottlieb show yesterday. He thinks his top three suitors are the Rangers, Phillies, and Cardinals, and believes he'd probably close only for the Cards. SI's Jon Heyman says the Padres have considered taking draft picks for Bell after the season or re-signing him if they don't get what they want this month. Heyman lists the Phillies, Reds, Rangers, Cardinals, Pirates, Angels, (and the White Sox and Yankees to a lesser degree) as suitors. By the way, check out our Bell archive over at CloserNews for fantasy advice.
- Athletics lefty Craig Breslow interests the Brewers, writes Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. Morosi expects many A's to be dealt this month, and notes that the Rangers, Orioles, Giants, Pirates, Blue Jays, Brewers and Reds scouted Tuesday's game in Detroit.
- Trade candidate Erik Bedard will likely have his return delayed until after the Mariners' series with Boston at Fenway this weekend, reports Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times. He might have one start to display his health prior to the July deadline.
- Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik told SI's Jon Heyman he hasn't heard nor has he asked about his situation. Zduriencik's contract is up after this season.
- Dodgers GM Ned Colletti explained to Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times that "it's not that cut and dry" to label his club buyers or sellers. Though the team has no chance in 2011, Colletti may be willing to acquire players who are controlled beyond this year.
Quick Hits: Goldschmidt, Johnson, Rockies
Ubaldo Jimenez struck out nine Braves in 6 2/3 innings tonight, allowing seven hits, two walks and two earned runs. The asking price on Jimenez was already sky-high and there's no reason to think it's going anywhere but up after tonight's performance. Here are the latest links from around MLB…
- Paul Goldschmidt of the Diamondbacks and Brad Boxberger of the Reds are two of the minor leaguers who could make an impact in the Major Leagues down the stretch, as Keith Law writes at ESPN.com.
- Matt Eddy of Baseball America breaks down 12 pro scouting success stories in baseball this year, from Reed Johnson's solid play for the Cubs, to Jason Giambi's power displays in Denver.
- Carlos Gonzalez told Troy Renck of the Denver Post that he hopes the Rockies can regain the confidence of their front office by playing better baseball for the remainder of the season.
- Third round pick C.J. McElroy signed with the Cardinals for $510K, according to Jim Callis of Baseball America. That's the highest bonus any third rounder has obtained so far, $226K over slot.