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Multiple Teams Calling On Kevin Gregg, James Russell

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9:12pm: The Cubs have also received calls on James Russell, but they're not inclined to trade him, according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports (on Twitter).

6:26pm: The Cubs are "getting multiple hits" on closer Kevin Gregg, according to ESPN's Buster Olney (on Twitter).

Gregg served as the Cubs' closer in 2009 before signing with the Blue Jays in 2010 and inking a two-year deal with the Orioles that covered the 2011-12 seasons. He returned to the Cubs on a minor league deal this April and now finds himself in the midst of an unlikely career year at age 35.

Gregg has pitched to an immaculate 1.11 ERA with 9.6 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9 with 11 saves in 24 1/3 innings since returning to the Cubs. That ERA is likely unsustainable, but even advanced metrics like FIP (2.31), xFIP (3.05) and SIERA (2.79) feel that Gregg's work this year has truly been in the upper echelon of Major League relievers.

Gregg could serve as a bargain bullpen upgrade for teams that don't wish to meet the steep asking price on players like Jesse Crain and Jonathan Papelbon (if he does indeed become available). Gregg ranks fourth in FIP, xFIP and WAR among relief trade candidates according to the custom Fangraphs leaderboard compiled yesterday by MLBTR's Tim Dierkes.

Stark On Astros, Ethier, Brewers, Papelbon, Stanton

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The latest column from ESPN's Jayson Stark is jam-packed with trade-related information.  Highlights:

  • One National League executive predicted that the Cubs' Matt Garza will be the first pitcher traded; he's thought to be eminently available, as the Cubs are not comfortable with his asking price on a potential new contract.  The Padres and Dodgers are among the teams pursuing Garza, reported Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports earlier today.
  • The Astros are looking for volume in any deal they make, one NL exec told Stark.  Bud Norris is an obvious trade chip for Jeff Luhnow and company, while I imagine Carlos Pena, Jose Veras, Erik Bedard, Lucas Harrell, Wesley Wright, Ronny Cedeno, and others can be had as well.
  • The Dodgers are not actively dangling right fielder Andre Ethier.  What's more, the team still views itself as a buyer despite being eight games out.  They may be interested in adding a third baseman they can control for multiple years, implies Stark.
  • Nationals first baseman Adam LaRoche could be dealt, hears Stark, in a scenario where Ryan Zimmerman moves to first base, Anthony Rendon moves back to third base, and Danny Espinosa gets healthy.  LaRoche's name is not out there at present, however.
  • The Brewers will "gladly listen" on third baseman Aramis Ramirez, as well as any position player other than Jean Segura, Carlos Gomez, and Ryan Braun.  I wonder if that means names such as Jonathan Lucroy and Norichika Aoki will be in play next month.
  • Execs who spoke to Stark seem divided on whether the Brewers want to trade Yovani Gallardo, with one saying, "To be honest, I think they would love to move him."  Click here for thoughts from Brewers GM Doug Melvin on the situation.
  • The Phillies are talking to the Red Sox and Tigers about closer Jonathan Papelbon right now, one exec tells Stark, even if they say otherwise.
  • Officials of three teams that have talked to the Marlins about slugger Giancarlo Stanton are convinced owner Jeffrey Loria won't trade him this summer.  In an April poll of over 13,000 MLBTR readers, over 40% thought Stanton would be dealt this summer.
  • Other teams say the Tigers are willing to surrender top prospects Nick Castellanos or Avisail Garcia if necessary.  The team is focused on finding a closer.
  • The Braves are "all over the bullpen market," which jives with a couple of other reports today.
  • The Giants "have taken on a whole new fervor in the last week in their hunt for another starter."  They've been connected often to Nolasco, but there are around 20 viable candidates out there of varying quality.  The Orioles could make a move before the All-Star break, hears Stark, and they seem to be prioritizing starters over relievers.

Cubs Designate Carlos Marmol; Release Ian Stewart

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The Cubs finally pulled the plug on longtime reliever Carlos Marmol today, announcing they've designated him for assigment.  The team also announced the suspension of third baseman Ian Stewart was settled and upheld, and he was granted his unconditional release.  The team selected the contract of outfielder Brian Bogusevic to replace Marmol.

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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 will eat the remaining $5MM+ on that ill-advised contract.  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.

Stewart's departure was inevitable after a June 11th Twitter rant criticizing the team for letting him "rot" in Triple-A, where he's authored a .168/.286/.372 line since returning from a quad injury.  The Cubs handed him a ten-game suspension without pay for the comments for violating the loyalty clause in his contract.  The Cubs had non-tendered Stewart in December and re-signed him for $2MM later that month.  Given that he cleared outright waivers in May, teams were not anxious to take on his salary, nor was Stewart willing to abandon the money and elect free agency at that time.  The Cubs ultimately recoup about $110K of Stewart's salary, writes Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times.

Bogusevic, 29, was born in Oak Lawn, Illinois, as was this post's author.  The Cubs signed him to a minor league deal in November, and the former first-round pick posted a .319/.418/.512 line with 10 home runs in 304 Triple-A plate appearances this year.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

NL Central Notes: Stewart, Cole, Soler

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The five NL Central clubs' possible trade deadline moves are highlighted by Grantland's Jonah Keri in his weekly MLB power rankings.  The Cubs have several trade chips to sell while the Brewers may move some relievers at the deadline but wait until the offseason to decide if they're going to truly rebuild, Keri writes.  The Pirates have made deadline additions in each of the past two seasons and have a few clear needs now, though Keri says the current team is good enough to get just a minor upgrade or maybe even stand pat.  The Reds and Cardinals both need bullpen help, with Keri noting that the Cards are deep enough that they can get by with Pete Kozma at shortstop.

Here's the latest from around the division…

  • The Cubs are close to parting ways with Ian Stewart, sources tell CBS Sports' Jon Heyman, with "the resolution allowing him to move to another organization is expected to come within a couple of days."  The move seemed inevitable after Stewart was suspended by the team after he criticized the Cubs organization in a Twitter rant.  Heyman wasn't sure if any financial concessions are involved in the move though since Stewart's deal is guaranteed, he isn't obligated to give back any of the approximately $1MM remaining on his 2013 contract.
  • Gerrit Cole may get sent down to Triple-A once A.J. Burnett and Wandy Rodriguez return to the Pirates rotation, GM Neal Huntington hinted during his Sunday radio program (passed on by Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review).  Since Cole and Jeff Locke are the only Bucs starters with minor league options remaining, Huntington said “there's a business component to it, as far as keeping our depth….if we need another starter (due to injury) later, it may make sense to send Gerrit back so we have a sixth quality starter.”  While Huntington said that Cole's possible Super Two status won't be a factor in the team's decision, a demotion would guarantee that Cole doesn't receive another year of arbitration eligibility.
  • Yasiel Puig's instant stardom has raised expectations for the Cubs' own Cuban prospect Jorge Soler, though CSN Chicago's Patrick Mooney outlines how the Cubs are taking a more measured approached to Soler's development.
  • MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch also expects the Cardinals to get some bullpen help before the trade deadline, though it's likely to be a smaller-name reliever than Jonathan Papelbon, who isn't a fit in St. Louis for several reasons.  Langosch also covers a few other Cards topics as part of this reader mailbag piece.

NL West Notes: Garza, Nolasco, Padres, Giants, Rox

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It was on this day in 1955 that the legendary Sandy Koufax made his Major League debut, throwing two scoreless relief innings (one walk, one hit, two strikeouts) for the Dodgers in an 8-2 loss to the Braves.  Here are some notes and items from around the NL West…

  • Peter Gammons hears two "rumors du jour" from the league's general managers (Twitter link).  One involves the Cubs sending Matt Garza to the Padres in exchange for outfield prospect Reymond Fuentes and two other minor leaguers that were originally drafted by Cubs GM Jed Hoyer and senior VP Jason McLeod when they worked for San Diego.  It would be somewhat of a surprise to see Garza end up with the Friars given that he's set to be a free agent this winter and the Padres would prefer to add a starter who is under contract beyond this season.
  • The other Gammons rumor involves the Marlins sending Ricky Nolasco to the Giants.  We heard about the Giants' interest in Nolasco earlier this month, though they are hardly the only potential suitors — the Orioles, Yankees, Diamondbacks and Padres have all been linked to the Miami right-hander.
  • The Rockies have also called the Marlins about Nolasco, though Troy Renck of the Denver Post reports that Colorado was just "laying groundwork" and the two sides aren't close to a deal.  The Rockies will gives their current rotation and Drew Pomeranz a chance to perform before looking for external help.
  • The Dodgers are looking to trade for another starting pitcher, rival executives tell FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal.  From the same piece, Rosenthal gives the Dodgers the second-best chance (less than the Nationals but better than the Royals or Angels) of turning their season around with a long winning streak, a la the Blue Jays.
  • In division news from earlier today, the Padres are expected to look for starting pitching and the Rockies outrighted right-handers Chris Volstad and Logan Kensing to Triple-A.

Central Notes: Tigers, Brewers, Arroyo, Freese, Cubs

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The Indians had a visit today from Crash Davis. Kevin Costner, star of the movie Bull Durham and in Cleveland for the filming of his new movie Draft Day where he plays the GM of the Cleveland Browns, played catch in the outfield, gloved some ground ball at third base, and took batting practice. "I was actually glad I made contact," Costner said with a smile to reporters including MLB.com's Jordan Bastian. "I hadn't swung in a couple years. I thought my chances of swinging through the ball were just as good as fouling it off." With filming in Cleveland, Costner said he has seen several Indians games at Progressive Field and likes what he has seen, "I really think this team can win the division. I've watched a lot of baseball and they have a couple good pieces of DNA. One of them is they come from behind. Not all teams can do that. They've got the right amount of athletic arrogance to do that. I think they can run Detroit down." I wonder if Billy Chapel would agree. Speaking of the Tigers and the rest of baseball's Central Division teams:  

  • The Tigers had a scout at the Marlins-Giants series this weekend, reports Jason Beck of MLB.com. The Tigers are said to have interest in Miami relievers Steve Cishek and Ryan Webb.
  • Injuries and back-loaded contracts with deferred money have diminished the value of the Brewers' trade chips, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Tom Haudricourt. The Brewers do have some productive players on team-friendly contracts such as Yovani Gallardo, Norichika Aoki, and Jonathan Lucroy; but, Haudricourt questions what the return would be for them or for relievers Francisco Rodriguez and John Axford.
  • Bronson Arroyo is well aware financial constraints could force the Reds not to re-sign him, reports John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer.  "I talked about it very briefly in the offseason," Arroyo said. "The feeling I got was: ‘Hey, we’d love to have you, Bronson.’ I think everybody around would love to keep me here the rest of my career. But monetarily there’s question marks there."
  • The Cubs could designate Henry Rodriguez for assignment to make room for another position player, tweets Bruce Miles of the Daily Herald.
  • Like Arroyo, Cardinals third baseman David Freese told Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch he is aware he could become a payroll casualty because of the young and inexpensive infield talent the club has.  Freese is arbitration eligible once again this winter and isn't eligible for free agency until after the 2015 season.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Rockies Acquire Hisanori Takahashi

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The Rockies have acquired left-hander Hisanori Takahashi from the Cubs in exchange for a player to be named later, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post (via Twitter).  The veteran will report to the Rockies' Triple-A affiliate.

Takahashi made just three relief appearances for the Cubs this season and spent most of the year with Triple-A Iowa.  In the minors, the 38-year-old posted an impressive 1.99 ERA with 8.2 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9.

NL Notes: Utley, Pagan, Garza, Schierholtz

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Let's have a look at a few notes on National League players who seem likely to figure in how the trade deadline market plays out:

  • With his return to big league action, Phillies' second baseman Chase Utley quickly drew a flock of top scouts, reports Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com. Salisbury noted the attendance at last night's game of scouts from the Yankees and Giants.
  • Giants center fielder Angel Pagan could be headed for surgery on his injured left hamstring, report MLB.com's Chris Haft and Andrew Owens. According to manager Bruce Bochy, there is "no question [surgery] is an option." Today, we learned that an operation to repair the tear in his hammy would likely keep Pagan out for six weeks or so. (Courtesy of the San Francisco Chronicle's Henry Schulman, on Twitter.) As ESPN.com's Jim Bowden explained recently (on Insider), Pagan's injury could force San Francisco onto the market for an outfielder.
  • The Cubs' Matt Garza continues to build his value on the trade and free agent markets after going eight strong innings last night against the Astros. As ESPNChicago.com's Doug Padilla noted last night, the length and quality of Garza's recent outings promise to enhance his candidacy as one of the best available arms.
  • Meanwhile, with reports that the Cubs are prepared to sell players, Fangraphs' Dave Cameron took a look at the value of Chicago outfielder Nate Schierholtz. Noting that Schierholtz comes with an additional year of control and has undervalued but nevertheless highly useful skills, Cameron says that he could appeal to a wide variety of teams.

Yankees Acquire Brent Lillibridge

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The Cubs announced that they have traded Brent Lillibridge to the Yankees for a player to be named later or cash considerations.  The light-hitting infielder/outfielder has spent the bulk of the year with Chicago's Triple-A affiliate. 

The 29-year-old saw just nine games of action on the Cubs' varsity squad this season versus 48 games in Triple-A Iowa where he hit .281/.331/.425 with five homers.  Across six big league seasons, Lillibridge owns a .207/.271/.339 slash line with five different clubs.

Cubs Ready To Sell

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We're just under six weeks away from the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline. At this point, many teams are still attempting to determine whether or not they're buyers or sellers, and the addition of a second Wild Card in each league has made that a longer process than it was in the past. However, ESPN's Buster Olney has spoken to rival evaluators who have said that the Cubs are "open for business" and ready to sell (ESPN Insider required and recommended).

The Cubs are 13 games below .500 and 17 games out of first place in the National League Central as of this morning, so their stance is a clear one. Nate Schierholtz, Kevin Gregg, Scott Feldman, David DeJesus (when healthy), Alfonso Soriano, James Russell and Matt Garza are the names that figure to be on the trading block as the Cubs field calls, writes Olney. His piece also includes much more info on potential matches for the Cubs and which divisions may be the first to become active on the trade front.

My take on the Cubs' situation: Being the first team to sell pieces has its advantages and disadvantages. Obviously, the Cubs will have more teams to work with at this juncture. Early in the trading season, with so few teams ready to declare themselves sellers, buyers will have few other places to turn. Trading for a player like Garza or Feldman right now would give the acquiring team an extra few starts from the pitcher they're trading precious prospects for. Acquiring a position player in late June as opposed to late July could mean an extra 20 to 30 games out of that player.

On the flipside of the coin, teams may not be as desperate right now as they would be in the final hours leading up to the deadline. Oftentimes, big deals go down with just hours or minutes to go before the trade deadline, as teams have decided that one final push is worth the risk. Recent examples of July 31 blockbusters include both Hunter Pence trades, the Ubaldo Jimenez trade and the White Sox's acquisition of Jake Peavy. Each of these deals included high-profile prospects being exchanged for star-caliber players, though obviously not all of them worked out.

Injuries can also occur in the next month that would make buyers out of teams who are currently not looking. Conversely, one of the Cubs' trade chips could incur an injury, which would leave president Theo Epstein and GM Jed Hoyer one less piece to work with.

Selling pieces early takes away some of the "desperation" leverage from the Cubs, but it also will likely increase their number of suitors, creating more competition for their players. Epstein and Hoyer will have to determine how to walk that line over the next several weeks as they look to build toward the future.

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