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Latest On The Diamondbacks’ Pitching Search

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FRIDAY: Despite Towers' comments, ESPN's Buster Olney tweets that the Diamondbacks are at least discussing Jake Peavy as a possibility, noting that the White Sox have scouted Randall Delgado (Twitter link). Given the number of available relievers the White Sox have, the Diamondbacks could ask for both Peavy and a bullpen arm in a trade, though that's just speculation on my part.

THURSDAY: While many of the rumors regarding the D-Backs' search for pitching thus far have focused on starting pitchers such as Yovani Gallardo and Jeff Samardzija, GM Kevin Towers told MLB.com's Steve Gilbert that bullpen help is the team's bigger need:

"I'm not as concerned probably with our starting pitching and looking externally for starting pitching as much as trying to get a bullpen arm," D-backs general manager Kevin Towers said.

Towers feels that injured starters Trevor Cahill and Brandon McCarthy can help to upgrade the team's rotation when they return from the disabled list. Jack Magruder of FOXSportsArizona.com echoes that sentiment (Twitter link), adding that Towers will not trade top prospects Tyler Skaggs or Archie Bradley. Skaggs had been mentioned as a possible component to a Gallardo trade.

The Diamondbacks have actually received a combined 3.33 ERA from their bullpen this season, but J.J. Putz has been injured and Heath Bell has an 8.38 ERA over his past 11 appearances. They also lost one of their top relief arms when Matt Reynolds hit the disabled list in early June. So far, the Diamondbacks have been linked to the Brewers' bullpen options such as John Axford, Francisco Rodriguez and Michael Gonzalez. Other teams such as the Marlins, White Sox and Twins figure to have bullpen arms that could be moved in the coming weeks as well.

White Sox Notes: Hahn, Thornton

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With the second-worst record in the American League and plenty of useful veterans, the White Sox are a clear seller this month.  The team's prime trade chips are Alex Rios, Matt Thornton, Matt Lindstrom, and perhaps Jake Peavy and Jesse Crain when they return from the disabled list.  It's less clear whether the Sox would consider trading Alexei Ramirez, Paul Konerko, John Danks, and Alejandro De Aza.  The latest:

  • "The bulk of our struggles this year have been on the offensive side. That's something we are going to have to improve," GM Rick Hahn told reporters yesterday, including Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune.  Though Hahn wouldn't address trade rumors or the July 31st deadline, Gonzales takes this to mean Hahn will lean toward hitters in making deals this month.  Hahn has dispatched scouts to evaluate prospects from the Braves, Blue Jays, Rangers, and Red Sox, writes Gonzales.
  • The White Sox seek "high-end prospects" for Thornton, a source tells Dan Hayes of CSNChicago.com.  The 36-year-old is having his worst year in recent memory, with a 4.00 ERA, 6.7 K/9, 3.3 BB/9, 1.33 HR/9, and 44.3% groundball rate in 27 innings.  He's been better against left-handed hitters, though they've authored three of the four home runs he's surrendered.  With a $6MM club option for 2014, Thornton can be more than a rental.
  • Regarding the idea of trading ace Chris Sale, Jim Margalus of South Side Sox writes, "Hahn would pretty much have to get two stars back to justify it. Otherwise, it's getting way too cute."  Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports notes today that a large contingent of scouts are watching Sale.

Prospect Rumor Roundup: First Half Disappointments

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We're just past the halfway mark of the 2013 Major League Baseball season and well past the midway point of the Minor League Baseball season. While taking stock of the top prospects from around baseball, a number of names appear in the "disappointment column," which is not surprising given the general volatility of young players. Below, we take a look at some of the prospects having disappointing seasons, as well as some educated guesses as to what might be ailing them.

Matt Barnes, RHP, Red Sox: Barnes' season hasn't been as bad as some of the other players on this list but it's still been a disappointing 2013 for the right-handed hurler. The former first-round pick was expected to zoom through the minor leagues and possibly even help the big league club this season, but he currently has a 5.32 ERA with 78 hits allowed in 67 2/3 innings at the Double-A level. As the Boston Globe's Julian Benbow explained, Barnes has been working on fleshing out his secondary pitches this season so he doesn't have to rely so heavily on his low-to-mid-90s fastball.

Trevor Bauer, RHP, Indians: Bauer is the perfect example of the volatility of prospects. Selected third overall in the 2011 amateur draft, the right-hander out of UCLA dominated competition during his first taste of pro ball but the wheels fell off the wagon towards the end of 2012. Bauer's issues — both on and off the field — lead to an offseason trade and continued into 2013. His results at Triple-A have been less than ideal. After his most recent disastrous big league start, the young pitcher was returned to the minors and — according to a piece by Sheldon Ocker of the Akron Beacon Journal — he may focus on pitching exclusively from the stretch as a starter.

Kaleb Cowart, 3B, Angels: Los Angeles doesn't have a very deep minor league system whatsoever so when their top prospects stumble, it hurts them more than most organizations. The young third baseman is hitting just .215/.280/.309 at Double-A this season and some adjustments he made during the springtime could be to blame for his slow start. As Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com explained, the switch-hitting Cowart quieted his stance and eliminated the leg kick from the left side of the plate. He's still hitting just .198/.261/.275 versus right-handed pitching so clearly there are more wrinkles to iron out.

David Dahl, OF, Rockies: Like Bauer, Dahl's value is down as a result of well-documented off-the-field actions and maturity concerns. But those aren't the only things that have gone wrong for the outfielder in 2013. In early May, Dahl suffered what was expected to be a pulled hamstring while running the bases. About a week later, though, the prospect revealed on Twitter that his hamstring had been torn and was much more serious than first reported. That halted his season after 10 games (He got off to a late start because of the maturity issues mentioned above) and he hasn't appeared in a game since that time. His timetable for a return to the game is still up in the air.

Billy Hamilton, OF, Reds: Hamilton, 22, hasn't had a terrible year but he has yet to build off of the momentum he created last season when he hit .323/.413/.439 in High-A ball and stole 155 bases between two minor league clubs. Promoted to Triple-A to begin 2013 after spending just 50 games at the Double-A level, the speedy Hamilton has struggled to find his footing at the plate. On the plus side, the shortstop-turned-outfielder has nabbed 50 bases in just 80 games. His stolen base total could become much higher once he improves upon his .300 on-base percentage.

Courtney Hawkins, OF, White Sox: Hawkins has experienced a lot of struggles in his first full professional season. After hitting a combined .284 between three levels during last season's debut, he's batting just .191/.273/.485 with 95 strikeouts in 55 games during 2013. Scott Merkin of MLB.com talked to Hawkins regarding the learning curve he's experienced in High-A ball and how he plans to come out ahead.

Bubba Starling, OF, Royals: Starling opened 2013 with huge expectations surrounding him, but he hit just .195/.263/.379 with a massive strikeout rate in April. As Danny Wild of MiLB.com explained, things got so bad that Starling was sent to have his eyes examined for possible LASIK surgery in May — similar to what the Rangers did with third base prospect Mike Olt. Dick Kaegel of MLB.com later updated the story to report that the outfield prospect underwent the procedure on May 16. In June, after the eye surgery, Starling improved to hit .250/.327/.369 for the month, but he continued to strike out at a similar rate. He also hit jut one home run in 24 games. Clearly, there is more work to be done.

Kyle Zimmer, RHP, Royals: During the first three months of the year, Zimmer posted an ERA of more than 5.00 despite showing the same strong repertoire that caused him to be chosen fifth overall during the 2012 amateur draft. Thankfully, the right-hander may have finally turned a corner in July. He's posted a 2.77 ERA with no walks and 20 strikeouts in 13 innings. On the season, he's now whiffed 103 batters in 84 2/3 innings of work. Jonathan Raymond of MiLB.com spoke to Zimmer, who stated that he's finally becoming comfortable with his pitching mechanics, which is in turn allowing him to provide more consistent command.

A number of prospects have also suffered significant loss in value due to serious injuries. The list of walking wounded include: Dylan Bundy, RHP, Orioles; Travis d'Arnaud, C, Mets; Danny Hultzen, LHP, Mariners; Casey Kelly, RHP, Padres; Hak-Ju Lee, SS, Rays; and Arodys Vizcaino, RHP, Cubs.

White Sox Notes: Sale, Reed, Thornton, Lindstrom

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If Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports were in charge of the White Sox, he would make Chris Sale available via trade.  With an incredibly thin starting pitching market, some smart team is going to capitalize and put a top-of-the-rotation hurler in play and the White Sox should be that team.  Some in baseball believe Sale can be had but one GM on the lookout for a starter says that he has had numerous conversations with Rick Hahn, and Hahn never once has mentioned Sale.  Sale is only 24 and is in the first year of a club-friendly, five-year, $32.5MM contract that includes club options of $12.5MM for 2018 and and $13.5MM for ’19.  Here's more on the White Sox..

  • The Red Sox are looking everywhere for relief help and are interested in White Sox relievers Addison Reed, Matt Thornton, and Matt Lindstrom, tweets Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe.
  • The White Sox have been asking for major-league ready or near-ready prospects in their trade talks, according to Buster Olney of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
  • Jim Bowden of ESPN.com (Insider sub. req'd) suggets five blockbuster trades for teams, including a swap between the White Sox and Pirates.  Bowden's hypothetical has Alex Rios and Alexei Ramirez heading to Pittsburgh for outfielder Gregory Polanco, pitcher Nick Kingham, and shortstop Jordy Mercer.  Bowden reasons that the deal will give the White Sox an excellent prospect in Polanco while allowing them to get younger and free up dollars.

Quick Hits: Diaz, Peavy, Colon, Francoeur

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Major League Baseball has ruled that Cuban shortstop Aledmys Diaz is ineligible to sign until February 2014, Ben Badler of Baseball America reports. Diaz had claimed to be born in January 1990, which would make him 23 and would mean MLB teams wouldn't be restricted by their international bonus pools in their attempts to sign him. Earlier media reports indicate that he is actually 22. A 22-year-old Cuban player would still have to sign under the bonus pool system. Ten teams were reported to have interest in Diaz. Here are more notes from around the Majors.

  • The White Sox's Jake Peavy says he wanted to ask the team if he could pitch for the big league club on Sunday, though he would have been denied, Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune reports via Twitter. Peavy, who's been sidelined with a rib injury, will join the Sox's Double-A club on Wednesday if he's still feeling good at that time, Gonzales says. If he's healthy, Peavy could be a trade chip at the July 31 deadline.
  • Bartolo Colon is defying the odds yet again this season with the Athletics, Tyler Kepner of the New York Times writes. Colon currently has a 2.69 ERA with 4.9 K/9 and 1.1 BB/9 in 120 1/3 innings despite his age (40) and the fact that he was suspended last season for testing positive for testosterone. Common sense suggested that, without the use of PEDs, Colon couldn't keep pitching well, but the A's took a chance on Colon, signing him for $3MM plus bonuses. "Our organization thought he would be very similar based on what they saw in winter ball," says A's manager Bob Melvin. "He was throwing with the same velocity he does right now, the same movement. It was an easy sign for us and we did it very quickly, based on what everybody thought he would be like, and certainly he’s been that and more."
  • The Giants' signing of Jeff Francoeur is a "lightning-in-a-bottle play," Andrew Baggarly of CSNBayArea.com writes. Baggarly compares the acquisition to the Giants' May 2010 signing of Pat Burrell, who had been cast off by the Rays. Baggarly also notes that Francoeur and Kensuke Tanaka, who is making his big-league debut while starting in left field Tuesday night, will mean less playing time for Andres Torres.

Aaron Steen contributed to this post.

Minor Moves: Garcia, Carrasco, Gimenez

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A huge trade went down three years ago today, as the Rangers acquired Cliff Lee, Mark Lowe, and cash from the Mariners for Justin Smoak, Josh Lueke, and Blake Beavan.  Lueke eventually led to Mike Morse (a free agent after the season) via John Jaso.  Beavan is working in long relief for the Mariners.  Smoak may finally be reaching his potential in Seattle; he's hitting .308/.411/.533 in 141 plate appearances since April 29th.  Smoak's OBP in that period ranks 10th in the Majors among those with at least 100 plate appearances, right behind…John Jaso.  On to today's minor moves…

  • The Phillies announced they've selected the contract of righty Luis Garcia, clearing a spot on the 40-man roster by moving Mike Adams to the 60-day DL. Phillippe Aumont was optioned to Triple-A.  Garcia will be making his MLB debut.
  • Indians righty Carlos Carrasco has officially been optioned to Triple-A, tweets MLB.com's Jordan Bastian.  Carrasco being designated for assignment on Sunday was a paperwork move to secure optional waivers, he explains.
  • The White Sox outrighted catcher Hector Gimenez yesterday, according to the International League transactions page.  Gimenez was designated for assignment on Thursday to open a spot for fellow catcher Josh Phegley, who has two home runs in his first three games.  Gimenez, 30, is on his fifth organization.  At Triple-A last year he hit .259/.324/.440 in 418 plate appearances.
  • Three players currently reside in DFA limbo: Jeremy Bonderman of the Mariners, Adam Rosales of the Athletics, and Brandon Lyon of the Mets.

AL Notes: White Sox, Rangers, Angels

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White Sox manager Robin Ventura thinks Alex Rios' anxiety about a possible trade may be a cause of his recent slump, Dan Hayes of CSNChicago.com reports. "He’s not squaring it up as much. He’s staying in the middle of the field," says Ventura. "Probably a little of all the rumors going around. That does affect people in certain ways. I don’t know if that’s him, but it’s probably leading to it." Rios, however, denies that trade rumors have an effect. "At this point, we shouldn’t be worried about what’s going to happen because you just can’t control it," he says. In mid-May, MLBTR's Jeff Todd profiled Rios' trade value, although Rios' poor hitting since then (he had a .643 OPS in June and a .579 OPS so far in July) may affect his trade outlook. Here are more notes from around the American League.

  • The White Sox hope their upcoming game against the Cubs on Monday (which will feature the Cubs' Matt Garza, himself a trade candidate) will provide a good opportunity to showcase their players, Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune reports. He notes that the Rangers, in particular, have been watching the Sox recently.
  • The Rangers' placement of Nick Tepesch and Lance Berkman on the disabled list on Sunday shows their need to acquire a starting pitcher and a hitter at the trade deadline, Jon Morosi of FOX Sports tweets.
  • Angels GM Jerry DiPoto does not sound like he plans to make big moves at this month's trade deadline, Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times reports. "You’re always looking for ways to get better, to maybe find some smaller pieces to contribute, but the high-profile moves? I wouldn’t suspect that we’re looking for those," says DiPoto. DiGiovanna points out that the Angels could benefit from the returns of Jason Vargas, Tommy Hanson and Sean Burnett from the disabled list.

Central Notes: Garza, Soriano, Peavy, Carpenter

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Five years ago today, the Brewers acquired CC Sabathia from the Indians for Matt LaPorta, Rob Bryson, Zach Jackson, and a player to be named later. The PTBNL turned out to be Michael Brantley who hit a pair of homers, including the game-winner, and drove in a career-high five runs in the Indians' 9-6 win over the Tigers this afternoon. Brantley, who has matched his career-best with seven home runs on the season, has become the headliner in the deal for the Indians as LaPorta has been a disappointment and is no longer on their 40-man roster, Bryson is struggling with an ERA over 11 at Double-A Akron, and Jackson is now in the Royals organization. Sabathia, meanwhile, was so dominant during his short tenure as a Brewer he led the NL in complete games (seven) and shutouts (three) while posting a 1.65 ERA during 17 regular-season starts. Sabathia used that platform to sign a record seven-year, $161MM contract with the Yankees. Will there be a similar blockbuster deal between MLB Central Division teams in 2013? Here's the latest:

  • With Ricky Nolasco becoming a Dodger, the trade rumor spotlight will now shine brightly upon the Cubs' Matt Garza. The Nationals have kicked the tires on the right-hander, but talks have not progressed to the point of a formal proposal being exchanged, a person familiar with the situation told Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post. The Nationals, who already have scouted Garza this year, have long had an interest in acquiring Garza engaging in a "not insignificant" pursuit of him in 2011 before the Rays shipped him to the Cubs. 
  • Alfonso Soriano has increased his trade value thanks to five home runs and 13 RBIs in his last eight games, writes ESPNChicago.com's Bruce Levine. 
  • Jake Peavy will continue his rehab from a fractured rib with a simulated game Tuesday after reporting normal soreness from a 53-pitch bullpen session Friday, reports Scott Merkin of MLB.com. If healthy, Peavy could be dealt before the Trade Deadline. "We'll see how it plays out," Peavy told Merkin. "I'm open to anything and I'll do everything I'm asked to do. If that's staying here, I'll be happy to do that. If that means to move, then that's something we'll address and be OK with when that time comes." 
  • The Cardinals are conducting a low-key search for a starting pitcher and, if healthy, Chris Carpenter could be that starter bringing the club confidence, energy, and swagger during the dog days of the schedule, writes Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "They’re going to evaluate me," Carpenter said. "Is my stuff good enough? Am I good enough to fit in and move one of these guys? If not, be honest, tell me and move on." 
  • Scouts from the Tigers, Cardinals, and Orioles were on hand for the Brewers–Mets game today, tweets MLB.com's Adam McCalvy.   
  • Last night, MLBTR's Jeff Todd highlighted the Trade Deadline options for the Indians. 

AL East Notes: Red Sox, Johnson, Yankees, Ishikawa

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Let's take a look at the latest news and notes involving the American League East:

Rosenthal On Garza, Rangers, Phillies, Brewers

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Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports has lots of great stuff in his latest edition of Full Count.  Here's a look at the highlights..

  • The Rangers' interest in Matt Garza is nothing new and two sources told Rosenthal that they nearly acquired Garza at last year's trade deadline with one source saying it was within minutes of happening and the other saying it was really close.  The problem was that Garza was dealing with a triceps issue and it turned out that he didn't pitch after July 21st.  The two sides were working on various contingencies right up until the last day but they eventually decided to just deal for Ryan Dempster instead.
  • Phillies GM Ruben Amaro is reluctant to trade players who could be part of the team's future, specifically Jonathan Papelbon, Chase Utley, Cliff Lee, and Cole Hamels.  When asked specifically about the idea of creating another closer if they part with Papelbon, Amaro noted that the only time they have done that was with Ryan Madson and it took four years for him to develop into a closer.  Amaro explained that he doesn't have that kind of time and none of their young pitchers are even remotely ready to close.
  • The Brewers' Yovani Gallardo and Kyle Lohse wouldn't figure to be in high demand, but their respective contracts make them attractive to contending clubs.  The upcoming free agent market will be thin in starters and guys like Garza, Josh Johnson, and Ricky Nolasco will want at least three or four years.  Gallardo and Lohse are under club control for two more years at below market salary – Lohse makes $11MM in 2014 and 2015 while Gallardo makes $11.25MM with a $13MM club option for 2015.  
  • The White Sox are a virtual lock to make deals before the deadline, but even then, their work might not be done.  Even if Paul Konerko and Jake Peavy do not show that they are fully healthy by July 31st, they could get moved during the August waiver period.  Both would figure to clear waivers and if Konerko wants to join a contender, he would waive his 10-and-5 rights and the White Sox would almost certainly try to accommodate him.
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