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Astros Acquire Ronald Torreyes

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The Cubs acquired two of the Astros' international bonus pool slots for minor league second baseman Ronald Torreyes, tweets Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times.  The Cubs announced they received slots 2 and 3 from the Astros, which amount to $784,700.  So far the Cubs' net pool money gain is $963,100 today, bringing their total to $5,520,300 barring more moves.  They added $388,100 from the Orioles and sent $209,700 to the Dodgers.

Torreyes, 20, came to the Cubs from the Reds in the December 2011 trade that also netted Travis Wood and Dave Sappelt, for Sean Marshall.  Sappelt, coincidentally, was recalled by the Cubs today, who placed outfielder Ryan Sweeney on the 60-day DL.  Torreyes has a .260/.337/.381 line in 264 Double-A plate appearances.  Baseball America ranked the 5'7" Torreyes 13th among Reds prospects prior to the 2012 season, explaining that he is an above-average hitter with no power.

Dodgers, Cubs Swap Guerrier, Marmol

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In a swap of relievers who had been designated for assignment, the Cubs announced they have acquired Matt Guerrier from the Dodgers for Carlos Marmol and Chicago's fourth international signing bonus slot.  That slot is worth $209,700 in pool money, announced the Dodgers, who had a pool of $2,112,900.  Marmol

Of Marmol's $9.8MM salary this year, about $4.8MM remains.  The Cubs will pay nearly $2MM of his salary, tweets Yahoo's Tim Brown, plus the aforementioned pool money.  Guerrier earns $3.75MM this year (plus a $750K installment of his signing bonus) in the final season of his three-year deal with Los Angeles. He has about $2.34MM remaining, so the Cubs will only save about $500K in the deal, as noted by Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times (on Twitter).

ESPN's Jayson Stark adds that if the Dodgers end up releasing Marmol and he signs with another team, the Cubs will need to send additional money to the Dodgers (Twitter link).

Marmol had become a symbol for the Cubs' struggles this year, with a 5.86 ERA, 6.8 BB/9, and 1.95 HR/9 in 27 2/3 innings.  He began the season as the team's closer, apparently as a way of building trade value, but lost the job after allowing five runs in his first three outings.  Marmol, a converted catcher/outfielder, joined the team's bullpen in 2007, snagged an All-Star nod in '08, and ascended to the Cubs' closing job late in 2009.  He peaked in 2010, striking out nearly 42% of batters faced while racking up 38 saves.  That season earned him a three-year, $20MM extension in February 2011.  Marmol had always had major problems with walks, and now the team has finally moved him in a bad contract swap.  During November of last year, it seemed like Marmol was headed to the Angels for Dan Haren before the Cubs pulled the plug and the Halos declined Haren's club option. 

The Dodgers will send Marmol to the minors for a few outings, notes ESPN's Keith Law.  The Dodgers are second-to-last in bullpen ERA in the NL, with a 4.39 mark.  The club is eight games out in the wild card; should they pull closer to contention perhaps they'll acquire a more stable reliever.

Guerrier, 34, posted a 4.80 ERA, 6.3 K/9, 3.6 BB/9, 0.90 HR/9, and 42.6% groundball rate in 30 innings for the Dodgers this year before being designated for assignment.  The Dodgers signed him to a three-year, $12MM deal in December 2010, with that third year serving as the kicker.  The Cubs also added Pedro Strop to their bullpen earlier today; they may yet ship closer Kevin Gregg to a contender.

Steve Adams contributed to this post.

Orioles Acquire Feldman, Clevenger For Arrieta, Strop

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The first domino of trade season has dropped, as the Orioles acquired righty Scott Feldman and catcher Steve Clevenger from the Cubs today for righty Jake Arrieta, reliever Pedro Strop, and international bonus pool money, according ESPN's Keith Law.  The Orioles sent international bonus slots 3 and 4 to the Cubs, according to the team.  That amounts to an additional $388,100 for the Cubs, who started with an international bonus pool of $4,557,200 and picked up another $784,700 from the Astros while sending $209,700 to the Dodgers.  This is the first MLB trade involving international bonus pool money.  After being involved in three international bonus pool-related trades today, the Cubs added $963,100 to their pool.

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The Cubs signed Feldman, 30, to a one-year, $6MM deal in November.  He was a prime candidate to be flipped by the 35-45 Cubs, since a qualifying offer in the $14MM range would likely have been too steep after the season.  He's now ineligible for such an offer.  Feldman owns a 3.46 ERA, 6.6 K/9, 2.5 BB/9, 0.99 HR/9, and 50.7% groundball rate in 91 innings this year.  "Feldman is a proven starter with postseason experience who should help stabilize our rotation for the second half," Orioles executive vice president of baseball operations Dan Duquette said in a statement.  Those nine postseason relief appearances came in 2011 with the Rangers, Feldman's organization since being drafted in '03 prior to signing with the Cubs.  He joins an Orioles rotation that ranks 13th in the American League with a 4.79 ERA and currently features Jason Hammel, Miguel Gonzalez, Chris Tillman, and, when healthy, Wei-Yin Chen.  Duquette told reporters including MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli that he doesn't see any more outside moves.

Arrieta, 27, was due for a change of scenery.  The Orioles drafted him out of Texas Christian University in the fifth round in 2007, and he never realized the promise that had him ranked as the 67th best prospect in baseball by Baseball America prior to the '09 season.  In 358 innings in his Orioles career spanning 2010-13, Arrieta posted a 5.46 ERA, 7.0 K/9, 4.0 BB/9, and 1.21 HR/9.  A strong Spring Training this year netted him the Orioles' fourth starter job, but he was demoted to Triple-A by late April.  After shaking off shoulder tenderness, he has bounced up and down since.  Arrieta's last two Triple-A outings, presumably scouted by the Cubs, have gone well.  He works around 95 miles per hour and BA once said he had the potential for three plus pitches, so the Cubs have an interesting arm with which to work.  He'll head to Triple-A Iowa for the Cubs.  Arrieta currently has two years and 99 days of Major League service time, so he needs 53 days to be eligible for Super Two status after the season and 73 to be eligible for free agency after 2016 rather than '17.

Strop, 28, will join the Cubs' big league bullpen.  His poor control caught up to him this year, as he has a 7.25 ERA, 9.7 K/9, 6.0 BB/9, 1.61 HR/9, and 48.4% groundball rate in 22 1/3 innings.  He hit the DL in late May with a lower back strain, returning June 8th.  Strop was signed out of the Dominican Republic by the Rockies in '02, and signed with the Rangers after being released in '08.  He made his big league debut with Texas, later joining the Orioles in 2011 to complete the Mike Gonzalez deal.  Strop works around 96 miles per hour, so the Cubs received a pair of power arm projects in this trade.

Clevenger, 27, was born and raised in Baltimore, and his agent told Jon Heyman of CBS Sports the trade is "almost a dream come true."  He'll head to Triple-A Norfolk for now.  He hit .327/.426/.596 in his short time with the Cubs' Triple-A team this year, spending time on the 60-day DL with an oblique strain.  He made the Cubs' Opening Day roster but suffered the injury in mid-April.  Chris Cotillo of MLB Daily Dish first reported that Clevenger appeared to be on the move. 

Tim Dierkes contributed to this post.  Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Heyman On Nolasco, Dodgers, Utley, Young

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Here's a look at the latest from Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com..

  • A person familiar with the Ricky Nolasco talks says the Dodgers, Orioles, Giants, Rangers, and Rockies are among the teams in the mix, Heyman writes.  The Dodgers have been considered a favorite since they might be willing to absorb the $5.75MM remaining on Nolasco's $11.5-million 2013 salary, but the source suggested late Monday afternoon that there's isn't a deal out there yet that is good enough to jump on.  Colorado is said to have offered two decent prospects for the hurler but they are skittish about paying the salary.  While some have suggested that the Marlins are anxious to trade Nolasco before his scheduled start on Wednesday, they are still holding out for a quality offer.
  • Heyman hears that the word around baseball is that the Dodgers could have interest in Chase Utley. It isn't known if the Dodgers have gone so far as to contact Phillies GM Ruben Amaro, but he doesn't seem anxious to trade the second baseman despite the fact he is headed towards free agency.  If the Phillies do decide to sell, they are said to be more willing to part with Michael Young, who's interested the Dodgers before. 
  • With the deadline just weeks away, Heyman laid out the market as it stands today.  The piece starts by highlighting the six biggest sellers in the Cubs, White Sox, Brewers, Twins, Marlins, and Astros.

Dodgers, Cubs Closing In On Marmol Trade

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6:54pm: If the Dodgers get Marmol, the Cubs would pay most, if not all, of the $5MM owed to him tweets Ken Gurnick of MLB.com.  The Cubs might also get a player recently removed from the Dodgers' roster.  Gurnick doesn't specify, but the recently DFA'd Matt Guerrier would fit the bill.

4:27pm: The Dodgers are closing in on a trade to acquire Carlos Marmol from the Cubs, according to Bruce Levine of ESPN Chicago. Marmol was designated for assignment by the Cubs last week.

There are some hurdles left, as the Dodgers are on Marmol's limited no-trade list, and he's owed about $5MM for the rest of the season. The Dodgers are expected to absorb some of the salary and it's unclear which player or players might be heading to Chicago, according to Levine.

Marmol has a 3.50 ERA with a healthy 11.7 K/9 in 542 1/3 career innings, but he's also averaged 6.1 walks per nine innings pitched. Those command problems have worsened over the past two seasons, and his strikeout rate has dropped in 2013. He is in the final season of a three-year, $21MM extension he signed in early 2011.

Rosenthal’s Latest: M’s, Yanks, Roenicke, Rays, Cubs

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Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports has a lengthy new article discussing All-Stars, some of the game's top young hitters and a plethora of hot stove info. Here are some highlights…

  • Rival executives around the league are critical of the Mariners for rushing their top prospects, but Rosenthal notes that Nick Franklin has been more than up to the challenge, and Brad Miller earned his promotion with his minor league performance. Regarding the struggling Mike Zunino, GM Jack Zduriencik told Rosenthal: "We planned all along to get Mike to Seattle at some point in July … He wasn't expected to be a big contributor offensively if it was now, July, September … but he has held his own, and what he is receiving now will set him up for 2014 and beyond."
  • Multiple scouts have questioned the work ethic of the Brewers' players, with one telling Rosenthal "there's a lot of quit on that team." Rosenthal writes that it isn't manager Ron Roenicke's fault that Ryan Braun, Corey Hart and Aramis Ramirez have been injured, but the negative reports could be an "ominous sign" for Roenicke. Rosenthal tweets a correction, noting that Roenicke is signed through 2014, not through 2013 as he initially reported.
  • The Yankees aren't planning a fire sale, but if they did, they'd have some of the most attractive trade chips in the game. The Yankees could part with Joba Chamberlain and Phil Hughes, however, and Rosenthal adds Curtis Granderson's name to the mix, assuming the injured outfielder gets healthy in time.
  • The Rays aren't looking to add a starting pitcher with both David Price and Alex Cobb likely to return in the near future. If the Rays make any moves at all, they'll be for impact players regardless of position.
  • The Cubs are "all but certain" to trade pending free agents Matt Garza, Kevin Gregg and Scott Feldman, but they're not in a rush to deal Nate Schierholtz and David DeJesus, both of whom are controlled beyond 2013. 

NL West Links: Puig, Feldman, Rockies, Francoeur

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The legend of Yasiel Puig added another chapter today as the Cuban phenom went 4-for-5, stole two bases and finished a homer shy of a cycle for the Dodgers in their 6-1 win over the Phillies.  Puig collected 44 hits in June, the second-highest hit total in a calendar month for any rookie in MLB history — the only rookie with more hits in a calendar month was a player you might've heard of by the name of Joe DiMaggio.  Though the Dodgers are still just 38-43 on the season and in last place in the NL West, they're only four games behind the first place Diamondbacks.  Here's the latest from this tightly-packed division…

  • The Rockies have already been connected to a few notable pitchers in trade rumors and now Cubs right-hander Scott Feldman can be added to the list, Troy Renck of the Denver Post reports.  That said, the Rockies don't want to give up prospects for "a rental starter who is not going to re-sign" and Feldman is a free agent this winter.  MLBTR's Steve Adams noted that Feldman's solid ground-ball rate (50.7%) would make him a good fit at Coors Field as part of a Trade Candidate piece earlier this month. 
  • The difficulties of pitching at Coors Field make the Rockies "hypersensitive" about trading for pitching, Renck writes.
  • If Drew Pomeranz and Roy Oswalt pitch well as starters, Renck reports that the Rockies will cool their search for starters and instead focus on the bullpen.  The team is prepared to add payroll but it could resemble their 2009 trades for Rafael Betancourt and Joe Beimel that helped Colorado win the NL Wild Card.
  • The mention of Jeff Francoeur's name to Giants executives has drawn "a lot of scrunched faces and worries about his outfield play", Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets.  Francoeur was designated for assignment by the Royals on Saturday and could fit the Giants' rumored desire for a right-handed outfield bat.
  • In NL West news from earlier today, the Giants and Diamondbacks are two of the teams scouting White Sox right fielder Alex Rios, the Dodgers designated Matt Guerrier for assignment, the Rockies signed Xavier Nady and Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune shared a collection of Padres notes.

Padres Notes: Arrieta, Garza, Peavy, Bullpen

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Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune discusses (or shoots down) some Padres trade possibilities in his weekly online chat with fans…

  • The Padres "are enamored" with Orioles right-hander Jake Arrieta.  Center reported last week that the Padres have been linked to Arrieta, and Center spoke to a pair of scouts this week who "really love Arrieta's stuff" and believe he could be a second or third starter "in the right situation."
  • Center hears that Arrieta and Matt Garza are the pitchers most associated with a potential Padres trade.  Several teams are interested in Garza, though I'd argue the Padres could have a possible edge due to Cubs GM Jed Hoyer's familiarity with the San Diego organization and farm system.
  • Andrew Cashner, Jedd Gyorko and Everth Cabrera are three players that Center considers "untouchable" for the Padres.  Cabrera could be an exception if San Diego received a Major League shortstop in return.
  • Center hasn't heard of any Padres interest in Yovani Gallardo or Phil Hughes.
  • It's a "long shot" that the Padres would re-acquire White Sox right-hander Jake Peavy.  The veteran hurler will be out until after the All-Star break with a rib injury and you would think the Padres would want a safer option if they were going to acquire a starter.
  • The San Diego bullpen has been shakier than usual, and Center believes the team may have to make a move to address the problem unless the club can get longer outings from its starting pitchers.  Entering Sunday, Padres relievers had thrown 278 innings this season, tied for the third-highest total in the Major Leagues.
  • There is a greater possibility that Luke Gregerson is dealt rather than Huston Street because Gregerson would draw more interest on the trade market.  Gregerson has been shaky of late (one of the victims of the overworked San Diego bullpen) but still has a 2.67 ERA, 7.5 K/9 and 3.5 K/BB ratio in 33 2/3 innings this season.  Gregerson is also much cheaper than Street, who is owed $10.5MM through the end of the 2014 season.

Chicago Notes: Epstein, Soriano, Hahn, Konerko

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The Chicago Blackhawks recently bought the Stanley Cup back to the Windy City, but it seems awfully unlikely that either of Chicago's baseball teams will catch fire and add a World Series title to the city's list of sports championships.  Both the Cubs and White Sox are seemingly looking ahead to 2014, as you'll see in this collection of Chicago baseball news…

  • Cubs president Theo Epstein tells reporters (including Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune) that there is an even-money chance the Cubs will make a deal before the All-Star break.  “Judging by the amount of calls that are going on, and the number of pieces we intend to have available and the number of opportunities that might present themselves for us to get better, yeah, I’d say 50-50,” Epstein said.
  • Also from Sullivan's item, the Red Sox have sent top scout Gary Hughes to follow the Cubs while the team is on the west coast.  Sullivan considers it likely that the Cubs will ask for two or three of Boston's top prospects in any significant deal given Epstein's familiarity with the Red Sox farm system.
  • Alfonso Soriano recently received consecutive days off and said he's open to ceding playing time to some of the Cubs' younger players down the stretch, Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.  That said, Soriano didn't dismiss the idea that getting less playing time would induce him to waive his no-trade clause and go elsewhere before the deadline.  “I don’t think about it. Let’s wait and see if that happens, and I’ll think about it,” Soriano said.  “I don’t want to put my mind on something that hasn’t happened yet. The front office has their job, and I have my job.”  Soriano had posted a .704 OPS heading into today's play and the 37-year-old is owed approximately $27MM between now and the end of the 2014 season.
  • If the White Sox do intend to become trade deadline sellers, general manager Rick Hahn told reporters (including MLB.com's Scott Merkin) that he doesn't intend to make his club's intentions public.  Hahn hopes the Sox can get back into the pennant race but "we aren't going to delude ourselves, and we're not going to wishcast our performance this year. We're going to respond to our performance to date and make adjustments when the time calls for it."
  • Hahn said that the White Sox would be looking for "high-impact, premium talent" at middle infield positions, center field and the starting rotation if they did dip into the trade market.  While Hahn is willing to listen to offers on any player, "that doesn't mean that some players [aren't] extraordinarily difficult to acquire."  It was reported earlier this week that the Sox were open to dealing anyone besides Chris Sale and Paul Konerko.
  • Speaking of Konerko, the veteran slugger said yesterday that he was just focused on recovering from a back injury rather than being traded.  Today, Konerko told Merkin that he would judge potential deals on a case-by-case basis.  "I've been here 15 years, and if that's the way it's going to go with this team, it's pretty lucky to really have one time out of 15 years where [getting traded has] been an issue," Konerko said.
  • From earlier today on MLBTR, ESPN Chicago's Bruce Levine reported that the Giants, Diamondbacks and Rangers were a few of the teams scouting White Sox outfielder Alex Rios.  FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal also opined that Rios would be a perfect fit in right field for the Pirates.

Rosenthal On Rios, Pirates, Lucroy, Reds

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Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports posted a brand new edition of Full Count.  Here's a look at the highlights..

  • The Pirates should be in the market for a reliever, but their biggest need might be in right field where they rank last in the National League in OPS.  The White Sox's Alex Rios would be perfect and he would form an extremely athletic outfield with Andrew McCutchen and Starling Marte.  However, Rios makes $12.5MM in each of the next two years and two other possibilities, Michael Morse and David DeJesus, are on the DL.  The Bucs are in a tricky spot because they want to improve but they don't want to disrupt their chemistry or budding farm system.
  • The Brewers will move just about anybody, but not catcher Jonathan Lucroy because they consider him too valuable to their future.  They kept suitors away last winter and this season he has full no-trade protection.
  • The Reds will stay open minded about acquiring a pitcher because of the uncertainty surrounding Johnny Cueto.  They've got Tony Cingrani to turn to, but they'll need to monitor his innings.  
  • A scout told Rosenthal that the Rays had a ton of eyes on the Rangers' farm system, fueling speculation that a David Price deal might be brewing, but that's not the case.  Price is about to return from a triceps injury and Tampa Bay is trying to win.  Barring an outright collapse, they are not even going to entertain the thought of moving the hurler until the offseason.  With that said, Texas has long had interest in Price and if/when he becomes available, they'll be at the front of the line.
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