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NL Notes: Cubs, Weiss, Rockies, Manuel

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On this date in 1961, 40-year-old Warren Spahn became the 13th pitcher in MLB history to win 300 games as he went the distance in the Milwaukee Braves' 2-1 victory over the Cubs. The complete game was the 317th for the left-hander, who also drove in Milwaukee's first run with a sacrifice fly. Spahn was enshrined into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1973 with 363 victories, the most by any left-hander and the most by any pitcher who played his entire career in the live ball era. Here's more from this era's National League: 

  • Cubs catcher Welington Castillo is having a strong season behind the plate and he's showing the club he can be a valuable piece for the future. The same can't be said for the rest of the catchers in the Chicago farm system and the position is thin enough that GM Jed Hoyer said this weekend the front office plans to make acquiring more backstops a priority this winter, writes Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times.  
  • Walt Weiss signed only a one-year contract to manage the Rockies this season, but he told the Denver Post's Patrick Saunders he wants to return in 2014. "Yes, sure. I knew it wasn't going to be all fun and games," Weiss said. "I have been through enough Major League seasons to understand that you'll get beat up. But I want to be a part of building something special here. That's what drives me."
  • The final weeks of the season provide the Rockies a platform for cold-hard analysis, opines Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post. The Rockies need more talent and Renck names Giancarlo Stanton and Nelson Cruz as aquisitions who could fill the club's void of a right-handed power bat and Jesse Crain should be a free agent priority as a much needed late-inning arm.
  • The Phillies need to provide clarity to their managerial situation, according to Bob Brookover of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Brookover writes the assumption is Charlie Manuel will step aside for Ryne Sandberg and, if that is the Phillies' desire, the announcement should be made now so Manuel can use the remainder of the season as a well-deseved bow for being the franchise's winningest manager while also giving the players, who will be around when Spring Training opens in February, an idea of what they can expect from their next manager.

Edward Creech contributed to this post.

NL West Notes: Mattingly, Cabrera, Young Jr.

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The red-hot Dodgers suffered just their third loss of the second half last night and have expanded their lead on the NL West to five games over the second-place Diamondbacks. Here's the latest out of the division…

  • It's easy to forget what a dreadful situation the Dodgers were in just two short months ago, but manager Don Mattingly offered a reminder when speaking to reporters, including Danny Knobler of CBS Sports. Mattingly said that team president Stan Kasten approached him and told him that they would have to let him go if things didn't turn around. There was plenty of speculation back in May regarding Mattingly's job security, but this is the first that either side has acknowledged how close he may have come to getting fired.
  • Suspended Padres shortstop Everth Cabrera gave an emotional, bilingual speech to his teammates, apologizing to them behind closed doors prior to Monday's game, writes MLB.com's Jamal Collier. Collier adds that Cabrera took a banned substance in the spring of 2012 to help heal a shoulder injury at the advice of former ACES employee Juan Nunez  – the same employee who was reportedly behind Melky Cabrera's web site scandal.
  • Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post writes that former Rockies outfielder Eric Young Jr. has no ill feelings towards Colorado after being traded to the Mets earlier this season. "I’m more appreciative they made the move they did, because I wouldn’t be in this situation if they didn’t," Young told reporters on Tuesday. Young has been outstanding with the Mets, hitting .270/.350/.362 with a home run (of the walk-off variety) and 15 steals in 19 attempts.

NL Notes: Wrigley, Cubs, Rockies, Nationals

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The Wrigley Field improvement project received final approval from the Chicago City Council yesterday. That does not necessarily mean, however, that all obstacles to half-billion-dollar renovation plan are out of the way. Both the Cubs and the Wrigleyville Rooftops Association are still speaking publicly about possible court battles. Cubs' executives have repeatedly cited the resolution of the Wrigley Field improvement issues as a key factor in increasing the team's payroll. Here's more from the Cubs and the rest of the National League …

  • According to team president Theo Epstein, "it's been a great month for the Cubs," reports Toni Ginnetti of the Chicago Sun-Times. While he warns that "progress won't be linear" and declined to put a timetable on the big club's return to contention, Epstein expressed excitement over the team's future.
  • With the Rockies suffering a disheartening sweep at the hands of the Braves, Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post writes that team ownership should (but won't) either sell its interest in the club or "clean house." Less dramatically, Saunders suggests some moves that the Rockies should make to continue their upward trajectory next season. Among them: extend left-handed starter Jorge De La Rosa, add at least one veteran starter, move Michael Cuddyer to first base, and pick up a power-hitting corner outfielder in free agency.
  • The Nationals' recently-promoted GM (and now President of Baseball Operations) Mike Rizzo will look to improve the club's bench over the month of August, writes MLB.com's Bill Ladson. The Nats made one of the most impactful post-deadline deals in baseball last year, adding Kurt Suzuki to bolster a thin catching corps over the stretch run. With the Nationals hanging on by a thread as a plausible postseason candidate, Rizzo is understandably uninterested in pursuing players that are pure rentals.

Quick Hits: Deadline, Traded Prospects, Buyers/Sellers

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After one of the slowest trade deadlines in recent history, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet spoke with 22 Major League executives (most of whom were GMs and assistant GMs) on whether or not they felt the deadline should be moved back. The idea behind a later trade deadline would be allowing fringe contenders a bit more time to assess their status, now that a second Wild Card has been implemented in each league. Of the 22 surveyed, 13 were in favor of moving the deadline back for various reasons. Here's more from around the league…

  • Baseball America's Jim Callis ranked the Top 10 prospects who exchanged hands at this season's deadline, and Mike Olt, who is now property of the Cubs following the Matt Garza trade, headlines the list (subscription required).
  • ESPN's Keith Law offers up his rationale for thinking that the Phillies, Brewers, Mets, Rockies and Mariners should have sold. He adds that the Royals, Pirates and Rangers should have been more aggressive buyers in the final days of this year's deadline (ESPN Insider required).
  • Bud Norris went through the strange experience of being traded from the Astros to the Orioles while the two teams were playing each other, and MLB.com's Alyson Footer looks at other examples of this rarity.

Rockies Designate Josh Sullivan For Assignment

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The Rockies have designated pitcher Josh Sullivan for assignment, Troy Renck of the Denver Post reports. The move allows the club to add their Thursday night starter, Chad Bettis, to the 40-man roster.

Sullivan, 29, hasn't appeared in an MLB game in his career. The right-hander owns a 4.33 ERA in 363 1/3 career minor league innings, but hasn't been effective in a limited taste of Triple-A this year, posting a 13.50 ERA in 3 1/3 innings pitched.

Bettis, also a righty, jumps directly from Double-A into the Rockies' major league rotation. In 63 innings for the Tulsa Drillers this year, the 24-year-old has a 3.71 ERA with 9.8 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9.

July Trade Recap: NL West

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As we continue to recap the July 2013 trade period, the focus shifts to the National League. We'll start things off with the NL West:

Diamondbacks

Dodgers

Giants

Padres

  • Acquired right-handed starter Ian Kennedy from the Diamondbacks in exchange for left-handed reliever Joe Thatcher, righty Matt Stites, and a 2014 Competitive Balance pick (Round B).

Rockies

Synopsis

With crickets chirping all around baseball, the NL West certainly played its part in keeping down the trade volume. Most of the above-listed deals involved minor leaguers.

Of course, the Diamondbacks and Padres did pull off one of this year's most interesting swaps. On its face, the Ian Kennedy trade seems backwards, with second-place Arizona sending fading San Diego an established (albeit struggling) starter to acquire a LOOGY, an underwhelming relief prospect, and a competitive balance pick. The deal starts to make more sense when you consider the D-backs' starting depth and Kennedy's underperformance and rising arbitration salary. Nevertheless, as MLBTR's Tim Dierkes explained earlier today, Kennedy is a 28-year-old, cost-controlled, former Cy Young-contending starter who still possesses substantial upside. While Thatcher promises to deliver some value out of the Arizona pen, the most fascinating aspect of this deal will be watching to see whether Kennedy makes the Diamondbacks look foolish for giving up on him over the coming seasons.

On the seller side of the ledger, the division was notable for the absence of deals. The Giants, along with the above-noted Padres, both had various pieces that seemed ticketed for more promising clubs. With the Pads opting to hold onto reliever Luke Gregerson, and the Giants failing to deal any of their potential chips (such as pending free agents Javier Lopez, Tim Lincecum, and Hunter Pence), there was no influx of young talent to the bottom of the standings. Likewise, the Rockies opted to pick up a few minor pieces earlier in the month, but refrained from any major moves in either direction. 

In large part, the inaction of these clubs makes sense. The Giants are fresh off of a World Series victory and have the pieces to put together an above-average team next year. The club apparently intends to bring back Javier Lopez and make qualifying offers to Lincecum and Pence. It is understandable that San Francisco would choose to keep a competitive roster together in the meantime while making those plans for the future. 

In a different way, the Padres and Rockies had valid reasons to stand pat. Neither is so far out of the picture that a late run is out of the question. More importantly, both clubs have their share of young, big league talent that could continue to emerge in the near future. The pieces most recently discussed as trade possibilities from these teams — players like the Padres' Gregerson and Carlos Quentin, and the Rockies' Michael Cuddyer and Josh Outman — are all valuable big leaguers that are under team control beyond this season. If these clubs hope to contend over the next two seasons, it made sense to retain these assets. Moreover, none seemed likely to bring back anything close to a sure prospect.

Wait, did we forget a team? After a seemingly endless run of major moves, even the Dodgers were relatively quiet this year. Of course, Los Angeles did manage to make the most significant addition among the division contenders when it picked up Nolasco from the Marlins earlier this month. With the addition of Nolasco and the upswing in the team's overall health and performance, there were no glaring needs to address on deadline day. As it turned out, the biggest move the Dodgers made in the final run-up to the deadline was signing former closer Brian Wilson.

Rockies Have Had Interest In Gregg

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Though Cubs closer Kevin Gregg seems a near-lock to be traded by tomorrow afternoon's deadline, we've heard little in the way of specific teams linked to him.  However, the Rockies have had interest in Gregg, reports Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post today.

The Rockies have "been prepared to act as a buyer and seller" as they sit 6.5 games out in the NL West, according to Renck.  That explains their interest in bolstering the bullpen despite a willingness to listen on Josh Outman.  Renck adds that while the Rockies are unlikely to trade injured closer Rafael Betancourt, it hasn't been ruled out.  The 38-year-old is "slowly recovering from an appendectomy," writes Renck.

Indians, Red Sox Interested In Josh Outman

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TUESDAY: The Red Sox are also interested in Outman, reports Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post.  Outman would be an odd target for the Sox, in my opinion, given that they're flush with left-handed relievers.

MONDAY: The Indians have held serious talks with the Rockies about pitcher Josh Outman in their pursuit of a lefty reliever, writes Joel Sherman of the New York Post.

Outside of a couple of Triple-A stints, Outman has compiled a 4.50 ERA, 9.7 K/9, 3.1 BB/9, 0.47 HR/9, and 46.8% groundball rate in 38 relief innings for the Rockies.  Lefties have hit .218/.274/.303 in 84 plate appearances against the 28-year-old this year, and Outman has struck out almost 36% of them.  Drafted by the Phillies in the 10th round in '05, Outman went to Oakland in the '08 Joe Blanton deal.  The Rockies acquired Outman and Guillermo Moscoso for Seth Smith in January 2012.  The Rockies, currently six games out, would have to decide whether they could part with Outman, who is under team control through 2015.  The club also has southpaws Rex Brothers and the recently-recalled Jeff Francis in its bullpen.

AL West Notes: Athletics, Rangers, Astros

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After a look at the AL East earlier this morning, let's turn our attention out west …

  • While the Athletics are looking to buttress their 4-game division lead by buying at the deadline, John Hickey of the Bay Area News Group reports that the club is finding supply to be limited. "Right now there are more buyers than there are sellers, more buyers than last year," says GM Billy Beane. Second base and starting pitching are the needs atop Oakland's wish list, team sources tell Hickey. In spite of the rotation's solid performance to date, Hickey says a trade could allow the team to utilize Brett Anderson in a bullpen role when he returns from injury. Citing Beane's apparent willingness to take on some relatively significant salary obligations, Hickey lists Jake Peavy (White Sox), Edinson Volquez (Padres), Bud Norris (Astros), and Kyle Lohse (Brewers) as potential targets.
  • After adding starter Matt Garza, the Rangers are looking at dealing for an outfielder, writes CBSSports.com's Jon Heyman. Currently, says Heyman, Alex Rios of the White Sox is the most likely candidate for Texas. Heyman further notes, however, that the club could look to wait out the market in the hopes that players like Giancarlo Stanton of the Marlins, Michael Cuddyer of the Rockies, Jose Bautista of the Blue Jays, or the Giants' Hunter Pence become available, with Pence being the most likely among those to change hands. Texas has also considered Chris Denorfia of the Padres, Marlon Byrd of the Mets, and Justin Ruggiano of the Marlins, though Heyman notes that those options would rank below Rios in terms of impact. 
  • The Astros' Mark Appel is the highest-rated player from the recent amateur draft on MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo's updated Top 100 prospects list. As Mayo explains in his overview of the changes to the list, the top overall choice leads a group of eight recently-drafted players to crack the top 100. Houston is tied with the Red Sox with the most total players to make Mayo's list, with eight apiece. In terms of a simple weighting metric that Mayo calls "Prospect Points," the 'Stros have the most overall prospect value in baseball in high-end prospects, followed closely by the Twins. Though the Astros passed on top overall prospect Byron Buxton in last year's draft, its strategy enabled it to land the players currently checking in at number nine (Carlos Correa) and number sixty-five (Lance McCullers) instead.

Multiple Teams Present For Brian Wilson’s Audition

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Brian Wilson auditioned for teams earlier today, and nearly a dozen clubs sent scouts to watch the former Giants closer, according to Danny Knobler of CBS Sports (Twitter link). Knobler writes that a scout in attendance said Wilson looked good and was "not far away" from being able to return to the Major Leagues. His fastball reportedly reached 93 mph on Thursday.

According to Knobler, the Pirates, Diamondbacks, Athletics, Giants, Phillies, Rangers, Rockies and Cardinals all attended Wilson's workout. Most of those teams have reportedly been on the lookout for bullpen help, and the Pirates are a logical new addition to that mix given the recent injury to Jason Grilli. The Giants held a private throwing session for Wilson "as a personal courtesy" earlier this week.

Wilson underwent his second Tommy John surgery after just two appearances in 2012 and hasn't pitched for a team since. He was scouted by the Mets in January, but the team was unimpressed. Wilson decided then to wait until he was back to 100 percent before auditioning for teams a second time. From 2007-12 with the Giants, Wilson racked up 170 saves and posted a 2.98 ERA with 9.8 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9 in 290 innings of relief.

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