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Quick Hits: Turner, Cubs, Jimenez

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Early Saturday morning linkage..

Aramis Ramirez Wants To Stay With Cubs

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FRIDAY, 4:14pm: Ramirez spoke to reporters today, further clarifying his comments.  He wants to remain a Cub and would only consider a deal if the team came to him.  Cubs GM Jim Hendry asked what he wanted to do, and Ramirez told him he wants to stay.  Aramis is not on the market (Twitter links from Bruce Miles and Carrie Muskat).

THURSDAY, 11:15pm: Agent Paul Kinzer tells Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports that Ramirez remains reluctant to waive his no-trade protection this month. “He doesn’t want to go anywhere,” Kinzer told Rosenthal after speaking with Ramirez. However, Ramirez may still consider trades during August.

5:01pm: Aramis Ramirez has said all summer that he won't waive his no-trade clause to accept a deal before the July 31st non-waiver deadline. But his recent comments to Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times suggest he's softening on the idea of leaving the Cubs for another club this month (Twitter link).

"I understand it's a business," he said. "If they're looking to rebuild, I can't fit in. So we'll see."

If Ramirez gets traded, his $16MM option for 2012 becomes guaranteed and he gets an assignment bonus of $1MM. He earns $14.6MM this year and currently projects as a Type B free agent. If traded, Ramirez would likely want his new club to drop the $16MM option for '12 so that he can hit the open market after this season, agent Paul Kinzer told Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.

The Angels have interest in Ramirez, the Brewers are looking for help on the left side of the infield.

NL Central Notes: Ramirez, Reds, Pirates

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We've already checked in on the NL East and the NL West. Now it's the NL Central's turn with precisely 48 hours remaining before the non-waiver trade deadline…

  • The Angels would love the chance to acquire Aramis Ramirez from the Cubs, according to Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (on Twitter). Yesterday evening, after Ramirez suggested he would consider trades, Ramirez's agent said the third baseman wants to stay put.
  • John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer says it would be pointless for the Reds to make moves strictly for this season. 
  • As Morosi writes, the 50-55 Reds may not be a pitcher away from contending. Ubaldo Jimenez could only do so much – "He’s a pitcher, not a roster mechanic."
  • The Reds want pitching in exchange for Ramon Hernandez, according to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle (on Twitter).
  • The Pirates remain active in the market for outfielders, Morosi reports (on Twitter).

Stark On Quentin, Pirates, Braves, Indians, Reds

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Another must-read column from ESPN's Jayson Stark…

  • Stark has updated his take on Carlos Quentin's availability.  He says there is "increasing evidence the White Sox are talking to several teams about Quentin, one of which is believed to be Atlanta."  An executive of a team that has talked to the Sox says that while they are not "bound and determined" to trade Quentin, they would do it.
  • The Pirates are focused on finding a professional hitter, but aren't hot on Carlos Pena or Josh Willingham.  They're eyeing the Twins' Jason Kubel, but GM Bill Smith considers his team a contender at six games out.
  • Stark hasn't heard much that suggests the Braves are still bullpen shopping.
  • The Indians are turning their attention to starting pitching, but players Drew Pomeranz, Alex White, Lonnie Chisenhall, and Jason Kipnis appear to be untouchable.
  • The Astros continue to shop Wandy Rodriguez, and Stark wonders if he'll fit for the Yankees as a salary dump type.
  • The White Sox dangled Adam Dunn.  Dunn has over $48MM remaining on the four-year, $56MM deal he signed in December.
  • The Reds have "stepped up their calls this week on controllable middle-of-the-order bats," although it's hard to name any available hitters of that nature.

Indians Acquire Kosuke Fukudome

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The Cubs' first-ever Japanese player is heading to Cleveland.  The Indians acquired right fielder Kosuke Fukudome and about $3.9MM from the Cubs today for minor leaguer outfielder Abner Abreu and reliever Carlton Smith.  With Shin-Soo Choo and Grady Sizemore on the DL, the Tribe has a clear need for outfield help, and Fukudome was willing to waive his no-trade clause to join the AL Central contender.  For the second summer in a row, Cubs GM Jim Hendry is taking on salary to ship out overpaid veterans.

Fukudome

Fukudome, 34, is hitting .273/.374/.369 in 345 plate appearances for the Cubs this year.  He leads the NL with 4.34 pitches per plate appearance.  Though his right field defense drew praise initially, Fukudome has been below-average per UZR over the last few years.  He is owed almost $4.7MM for the balance of the season, and the Cubs will pay all but $775K of that.  Fukudome signed a four-year, $48MM free agent deal with the Cubs in December of '07 after spending his career in Japan with the Chunichi Dragons.  

Fukudome cannot be offered arbitration after the season, so draft pick compensation was not a factor.

Abreu, 21, is hitting .244/.294/.429 in 367 plate appearances in his second stint at High-A. Prior to the 2010 season, Baseball America ranked him 23rd among Indians prospects, describing him as a player who has offensive tools but "remains raw at the plate."  Smith, 25, has a 4.50 ERA, 9.0 K/9, 3.9 BB/9, and 0.8 HR/9 in 46 Triple-A relief innings, his second stint at the level.

Ken Rosenthal broke the story, with Danny Knobler, Buster Olney, Jon Heyman, Paul Hoynes, and SportsTime Ohio adding details.

Photo courtesy of Icon SMI.

Indians Very Close To Acquiring Kosuke Fukudome

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11:02am: A Cubs source told ESPN's Jim Bowden the prospects are outfielder Abner Abreu and reliever Carlton Smith (Twitter link).

10:30am: Hoynes tweets that the Indians are paying $775K of Fukudome's remaining salary, which would leave about $3.9MM for the Cubs.

9:35am: The prospects the Indians are sending are "one upper level, one lower level," tweets Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer.  He says one is a pitcher and the other is a position player.

9:13am: The Cubs will receive two prospects for Fukudome, tweets ESPN's Buster Olney, and a deal is likely to be done by today's game at 1:10pm central time.  Olney adds that the Cubs are picking up more than half of the $4.7MM owed to Fukudome, while SI's Jon Heyman tweets that they'll pay the "vast majority."  Jayson Stark tweets that the only hangup is determining minor perks for Fukudome in exchange for waiving his no-trade clause, and Jon Paul Morosi notes that the Indians are indeed on the outfielder's 15-team no-trade list.

The Indians are still working on other things, tweets Olney.  Bastian expects a push for another outfielder.

8:57am: The Indians are in serious talks for Cubs right fielder Kosuke Fukudome, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  The deal is "very close to happening," tweets Danny Knobler of CBS Sports.  With Shin-Soo Choo and Grady Sizemore on the DL, the Tribe has a clear need for outfield help.

Fukudome, 34, is hitting .273/.374/.369 in 345 plate appearances for the Cubs this year.  Throughout his Cubs career, Fukudome has been able to draw walks but has shown limited power.  Though his right field defense drew praise initially, he's been below-average per UZR over the last few years.  Since Fukudome is owed almost $4.7MM for the balance of the season, the Cubs will likely have to kick in money to make a deal happen.  He cannot be offered arbitration after the season, so draft pick compensation is not a factor.  Fukudome has a limited no-trade clause, which MLB.com's Jordan Bastian thinks he may have waived to come to the Indians (Twitter link).

Quick Hits: Blue Jays, Beltran, Astros, Zambrano

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Congratulations to Ervin Santana, who threw the third no-hitter of the season this afternoon. Santana joins Francisco Liriano and Justin Verlander on this year’s list of pitchers to author a no-no. Here are the latest links from around MLB… 

  • Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos says he's likely done making trades, according to Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star (on Twitter). The GM will continue monitoring the trade market in case something comes up, but his work might be done. 
  • The Rangers offered a group of "OK" prospects for Carlos Beltran and Philadelphia's offer was even weaker, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter). San Francisco eventually acquired Beltran.
  • The Astros are stepping up their efforts to trade Wandy Rodriguez, Brett Myers and Michael Bourn, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter).
  • Carlos Zambrano told reporters, including Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune, that he wants to stay in Chicago as long as there is "change" (Twitter link). The right-hander, who is available in trades, did not specify what kind of change he's looking for.
  • Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch hears that the Reds have serious misgivings about making an all-in move to save their season (Twitter link). After tonight's loss, Cincinnati is 50-54.

Cubs Trying To Unload Zambrano

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2:14pm: The Cubs called the Yankees about Zambrano, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, but the Yankees have no interest.

1:52pm: The Cubs are "trying to nudge the Yankees into taking Carlos Zambrano, offering up money to offset his salary," tweets ESPN's Buster Olney.  The Cubs are offering to pay big bucks on Zambrano or Alfonso Soriano in general, tweeted SI's Jon Heyman earlier.  

In June, Zambrano told Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports he'd waive his no-trade clause if the Cubs asked.  After the deadline he'll be owed $23.8MM through 2012, and that's the bigger issue given hs middling performance.  In my opinion, the Cubs would have to send about $14MM to make Zambrano's contract palatable, as that'd make him the equivalent of a $5MM a year pitcher.

 

Angels Still Prioritizing Offense

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The Angels priority this week is to add a bat, writes CBS Sports' Scott Miller, preferably a third baseman.  Internally, they've discussed Aramis Ramirez of the Cubs and Michael Cuddyer of the Twins.

Miller says the Halos have considered making a run at Cuddyer and using him at third base.  However, the Twins "remain in go-for-it mode" and actually might add a reliever.  Plus, Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune wrote earlier this month that a Twins official said the team would keep Cuddyer and attempt to re-sign him even if they fall out of contention.  So, the Angels, Giants, and other suitors are probably out of luck.  

As for Aramis, the Angels' best bet will be to hope he'll waive his no-trade rights after his kids return to school in August.  Also on the Angels front, Kevin Baxter of the L.A. Times reported today that the Marlins are scouting them closely.

Stark On Shields, Pena, Fukudome, Rangers

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The latest from ESPN's Jayson Stark…

  • The Rays listened on James Shields last week, but now they've taken him off the market for July and apparently the upcoming offseason.
  • An executive who spoke with the Cubs says the level of interest in first baseman Carlos Pena has been exaggerated.  That's pretty damning, since publicly the level of interest has always appeared tepid.  Also, Stark says the Cubs believe Pena could get through waivers in August.  I disagree with the notion that there will be a lot less money left on Pena's contract at that point, since half of the $10MM is to be paid in January.
  • Kosuke Fukudome might be the one Cub dealt at the July deadline.  We still haven't heard which teams are on his partial no-trade list, however.
  • The Rangers are balking at including lefty Martin Perez in a deal.  Perez is a consensus top-13 prospect in all of MLB.  However, the Rangers will discuss their next tier of prospects - Tanner Scheppers, Robbie Erlin, Roman Mendez and Barret Loux, in Stark's mind.
  • A longtime friend of Drayton McLane believes McLane's last act as Astros owner will be to convince GM Ed Wade to retain favorite Hunter Pence.
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