Rosenthal’s Latest: Marlins, ChiSox, Headley, Orioles
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports has a bunch of new rumors for us today in a pair of videos. Let's round 'em up…
- Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria may soon be faced with the question about selling at the deadline, something he wanted to avoid in the first year of the club's new ballpark. The best thing they could do to improve their farm system likely involves trading guys like Anibal Sanchez, Omar Infante, and the newly acquired Carlos Lee.
- White Sox GM Kenny Williams always thinks big and it would not be surprising to see him get in on pitcher such as Zack Greinke. The problem is that his farm system doesn't have much to offer and they don't want to give up pieces off the big league roster while contending.
- The best guess right now has the Padres keeping Carlos Quentin and trading Chase Headley. Rosenthal says it's simple supply-and-demand; as many as ten teams have shown interest in the third baseman Headley. The team isn't sure they can get more for Quentin in a trade than they would by letting him walk as a free agent and recouping draft picks after the season.
- The Orioles are clearly buyers. They're willing to trade any prospect not named Dylan Bundy or Manny Machado, but they probably don't have enough to get Greinke. They do have interest in lesser arms like Joe Blanton and Jason Vargas, as well as leadoff man Juan Pierre.
- The Brewers could pit the Rangers and Angels against each other in the Greinke sweepstakes. Texas is unwilling to trade Mike Olt, Jurickson Profar, or Martin Perez for a rental, which could create an opening for the Halos if they're willing to deal Major League talent.
- The Phillies do not intend to trade Cliff Lee to create payroll room for Cole Hamels. If they do keep Hamels long-term, they could have $140MM tied up in just eight players going into next season.
Minor Moves: MacDougal, Olsen
The latest minor moves from around MLB…
- The Cubs released right-hander Mike MacDougal, Matt Eddy of Baseball America tweets. The Cubs signed MacDougal to a minor league deal in May after the Dodgers released him. The 35-year-old, who signed a one-year, $1MM deal before the season, posted a 7.85 ERA with more walks than strikeouts in 19 appearances for the Cubs' top affiliate.
- The White Sox released left-hander Scott Olsen, Eddy tweets. The White Sox signed the 28-year-old to a minor league deal in January. Olsen, who has battled shoulder injuries in recent years, appeared in just three minor league games for the White Sox before being released.
Dodgers Acquire Osvaldo Martinez
The latest minor moves from around MLB…
- The Dodgers acquired minor league infielder Osvaldo Martinez from the White Sox for cash considerations, Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times tweets. Martinez, 24, had a .178/.221/.229 batting line in 230 plate appearances for Chicago's top affiliate this year. The White Sox acquired him last fall in the deal that sent manager Ozzie Guillen to Miami.
Starting Pitching Rumors: Blue Jays, White Sox
The Orioles are just one of many teams looking for starting pitching, and they reportedly have their sights set on Zack Greinke and Wandy Rodriguez. Here's the latest on some other clubs in need of rotation help…
- The Blue Jays are showing the most interest in pitchers under control beyond this season, reports Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (on Twitter). Matt Garza and Rodriguez are among those high on their list, according to sources.
- The White Sox's plans for the deadline depend heavily on John Danks and Philip Humber, tweets Morosi. If the two injured hurlers are not back soon, expect GM Kenny Williams to actively seek help for the battered rotation.
White Sox Claim Daniel Moskos
The White Sox announced that they claimed left-hander Daniel Moskos off of waivers from the Pirates and optioned him to Triple-A Charlotte. Chicago now has one open spot on its 40-man roster.
Pittsburgh selected Moskos with the fourth overall pick in the 2007 draft. He appeared in 31 games for last year's Pirates team and posted a 2.96 ERA with 4.1 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 in 24 1/3 innings as a rookie. The 26-year-old has spent this season at Triple-A, where he has a 3.86 ERA with 7.1 K/9 and 5.1 BB/9 in 14 innings. The White Sox are known to be seeking depth for their big league bullpen.
Olney On Red Sox, Mariners, Smith, Rangers
Most of the top available starting pitchers currently play in the National League, but there’s still lots of trade talk in the AL this summer. Buster Olney provides updates on the junior circuit trade market in today’s column at ESPN.com. Here are some highlights:
- The Mariners won’t trade Felix Hernandez, but Kevin Millwood, Chone Figgins, Jason Vargas and Brandon League could be dealt.
- The Red Sox have focused on adding starting pitching. Some executives believe the Rangers will make a big play for the best starting pitchers available.
- Meanwhile, the White Sox have been asking around about relievers.
- Teams have called about Seth Smith, but the Athletics will keep him. However, Kurt Suzuki could be available and the A’s will listen to offers for Brandon McCarthy, Bartolo Colon and Grant Balfour.
- The Indians figure to pursue right-handed bats and Carlos Quentin could be an option in Cleveland, Olney writes.
- The Blue Jays plan to assess their chances at the All-Star break, and some rival officials expect Toronto to sell.
- The Orioles need pitching, but Olney doesn’t expect the team to make a major addition. Similarly, the Twins figure to seek pitching in any midseason trades they consider.
- Here’s MLBTR’s recap of Olney’s look at the NL trade market.
Morosi On Nationals, Angels, Pirates, White Sox
The Nationals will win the NL East this year, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports writes. Bryce Harper appears to have solved the team's center field dilemma in the short term and the team's run prevention has been tremendous. General manager Mike Rizzo says his team's first half success isn't a fluke. “I’m very pleased with it — don’t get me wrong — but I’m not shocked by it," he told Morosi. Here are more of Morosi’s notes from around MLB:
- Peter Bourjos would likely intrigue the Phillies if the Angels ask about Cole Hamels, Morosi tweets. The Angels could explore the market for starting pitching depth given Ervin Santana’s first half struggles.
- There was once talk of the Pirates listening to offers on Kevin Correia, but it’s hard to see that happening now that Pittsburgh leads the NL Central, Morosi tweets.
- The Cubs will listen on Bryan LaHair, but their asking price remains high at the moment, Morosi tweets. Here’s more detail on LaHair and other potentially available first basemen.
- A rival executive expects the White Sox to look hard at possible relief help, Morosi tweets. Deunte Heath, Brian Omogrosso, Leyson Septimo, Hector Santiago, Nate Jones and Addison Reed join Matt Thornton in Chicago’s relatively inexperienced ‘pen.
International Notes: White Sox, Blue Jays
Teams have been working aggressively to lock up the best available international prospects since this year’s July 2 signing period opened earlier this week. We’ll track all the noteworthy deals at MLBTR as the action continues today. The latest updates are up top:
- The White Sox agreed to sign Dominican shortstop Johan Cruz, Ben Badler of Baseball America reports. The 6'1" right-handed hitter has good hands, footwork and arm strength, Badler writes.
- Keith Law of ESPN.com introduces readers to the international prospects who have agreed to reported bonuses of $1MM-plus.
- There's no deal between the Blue Jays and Venezuelan left-hander Jose Castillo, Enrique Rojas of ESPNDeportesLosAngeles.com reports (Twitter links). Rojas reported earlier that Toronto signed the prospect for $800K. Ben Badler of Baseball America placed Castillo sixth on this year's list of top international prospects.
- The Astros, Blue Jays, Pirates, Twins and Indians were among the teams to complete deals yesterday.
White Sox Release Will Ohman
The White Sox released Will Ohman, according to the transactions page at CBSSports.com. They had designated the left-hander for assignment late last month.
Ohman, 34, posted a 6.41 ERA with 4.4 K/9 and 1.7 BB/9 in 26 2/3 innings out of Chicago's bullpen this year. The Beverly Hills Sports Council client now earns $2.5MM in the second year of the two-year, $4MM contract he obtained before the 2011 season. He can now sign with any team for a pro-rated portion of the MLB minimum salary.
Quick Hits: Jon Daniels, Cole Hamels, Matt Kemp
Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo has delivered three game-winning RBIs in his five games since being called up from Triple-A last week. Here's the latest news and headlines from around the big leagues…
- The Rangers will take a business-as-usual approach to the upcoming trade deadline meaning Jon Daniels and his associates plan to consider the best players available, writes Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News. Daniels hopes his team will benefit from getting four pitchers back from the disabled list before the end of the month. "… I’m hoping we’re not big players at the deadline. Hopefully, we get our guys back, get healthy and stay healthy. That’s the biggest thing."
- The Phillies will make at least one more attempt to sign Cole Hamels to a long-term contract before the team fully commits to dealing the left-hander, reports Buster Olney of ESPN.com (via Twitter). As mentioned earlier today, opposing clubs believe Philadelphia has an asking price of four to five prospects for Hamels, which makes a deal unlikely at this point. The 28-year-old was selected for his third All-Star team on Sunday after posting a 3.08 ERA with 9.0 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 through 16 starts this season.
- Dodgers star Matt Kemp remains confident in his team's ability to be successful on the field after Los Angeles' deal with the Astros for Carlos Lee fell through on Sunday, says Alex Angert of MLB.com. "It's always good to get people to make your team better," Kemp said. "I don't know exactly what people think we need. We did a great job with what we have here. If we get somebody, that's good. But if we don't, it keeps going on and we have to keep playing the way we have in the first half."
- The Rays, depleted by a series of injuries, will determine how they approach the trade deadline based upon the health of Evan Longoria and Matt Joyce, writes Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. If Longoria and Joyce return from the disabled list shortly after the All-Star break, it would free up the Rays to bolster their weak spots at catcher and shortstop. More likely, Tampa Bay will pursue an offensive weapon that adds power to the lineup, such as Cubs outfielder Alfonso Soriano, who has 15 home runs since May 15.