Dodgers Acquire Lilly, Theriot For DeWitt
1:15pm: Stark tweets that the pitching prospects going to the Cubs are Brett Wallach and Kyle Smit.
1:09pm: The Cubs will get DeWitt and two minor league pitchers for Lilly, Theriot, and $2.5MM tweets Yahoo's Tim Brown.
1:03pm: Lilly and Theriot for DeWitt is done, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post.
12:53pm: Stark tweets that the Dodgers and Cubs are on the verge of a deal that would send Lilly and Theriot to L.A. Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times agrees.
12:34pm: Blake DeWitt and at least one other player would go to the Cubs as part of a Lilly-Theriot deal if the sides can reach an agreement, tweets Rosenthal. The inclusion of Theriot will seal the deal from the Cubs' point of view, tweets Chris De Luca of the Chicago Sun-Times. Lilly doesn't appear to have many suitors aside from the Dodgers.
11:39am: The latest on Cubs southpaw Ted Lilly…
- The Cubs are likely to send Lilly and Ryan Theriot to the Dodgers, tweets ESPN's Jayson Stark.
- The Dodgers are growing more optimistic about acquiring Lilly, tweets Yahoo's Tim Brown.
- The Yankees are not pursuing Lilly, tweets ESPN's Buster Olney, unless the Cubs "put him on a platter and give him away."
- The Dodgers, Twins, Tigers, and Yankees have varying degrees of interest in Lilly, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. A deal with the Dodgers seemed fairly close last night.
Odds & Ends: Padres, Oswalt, Farnsworth, Theriot
We here at MLBTR really appreciate everyone staying up past their respective bedtimes to keep up on all of the latest rumors. Here's some news from around the web..
- The Padres prospect drawing the most interest from other clubs is Double-A starter Cory Luebke, writes Tom Krasovic of Inside The Padres.
- The Dodgers had a chance to land Roy Oswalt from the Astros, but it would have cost them Chad Billingsley, writes Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times.
- Plenty of major leaguers read MLBTR, but it doesn't sound like Kyle Farnsworth is one of them in this article by Dick Kaegel and Samuel Zuba of MLB.com.
- ESPN's Buster Olney (in these three tweets) says that the Red Sox, who have found the market for outfielders and relievers to be shallow, might make a smaller deal before the deadline or make their moves in the August waiver period.
- The Diamondbacks offered second baseman Kelly Johnson to the Cubs for Ryan Theriot and lefty James Russell in return, writes ESPNChicago.com's Bruce Levine.
- Brad Hawpe says that he isn't concerned about being involved in a deadline deal, writes MLB.com's Thomas Harding. Based on news from earlier today, it sounds like Hawpe doesn't have anything to worry about.
- Troy Renck of the Denver Post tweets that the Cubs could move Ryan Theriot to the Diamondbacks for Kelly Johnson.
- The Phillies may be done trading and are telling teams that they are out of money and prospects, tweets ESPN's Jayson Stark.
- The Tigers and Jays are talking, and John Buck may be an even better fit for Detroit than the relievers, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter).
Dodgers, Cubs Discussing Ted Lilly Deal
12:29am: The Cubs are sitting on multiple proposals for Lilly, tweets Rosenthal. The Dodgers are in the mix, but the two sides are still apart on money and players. He adds that the Dodgers find themselves in a similar position with the Pirates' Paul Maholm.
11:49pm: It's unlikely that the two sides get a deal done tonight, but talks are moving in a "positive" direction, a source tells Jayson Stark of ESPN (via Twitter).
10:53pm: The Dodgers and Cubs are closing in on a deal, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney (via Twitter).
10:37pm: The Cubs are discussing two possible scenarios with the Dodgers, according to ESPNLosAngeles.com's Tony Jackson. One would send Lilly to LA and the other would send Lilly to LA along with teammate Ryan Theriot. FOX Sports reported early this morning that the Dodgers could acquire Theriot. ESPN.com's Jayson Stark confirms that the Yankees are in on Lilly and notes that they also inquired on Theriot (Twitter link).
10:21pm: The Cubs continue discussing Lilly with the Yankees and Dodgers, according to Ed Price of AOL FanHouse (Twitter link).
9:49pm: The only thing preventing the Cubs from sending Lilly to the Dodgers is money, according to ESPN.com's Jayson Stark (via Twitter). The clubs can't agree on how much money the Cubs would take on, but it could be enough to prevent a deal from happening.
8:59pm: The Yankees are still in on Lilly, according to Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times (Twitter link). The Padres had discussions about Lilly, but nothing is imminent, according to Dan Hayes of the North County Times (Twitter link).
8:24pm: The Dodgers remain active on Lilly and seem intent on acquiring him or Pirates lefty Paul Maholm, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter link). Click here for the latest on Maholm.
3:18pm: The Reds have a "remote" chance of obtaining Lilly, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (Twitter links). The clubs haven't spoken in recent days, but the Reds are not on Lilly's no-trade list.
2:10pm: The Tigers still aren't out on Lilly, reports ESPN's Jayson Stark. He adds that a mystery team is in the mix. Hard to pin down a reasonable match, with the Padres not interested.
Rosenthal tweets that the Dodgers are more inclined to get Lilly without Theriot.
2:05pm: The Dodgers are talking to the Cubs about a multiplayer deal that would include Lilly and a position player, tweets Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times. Hernandez does not believe Theriot would be the position player. By the way, Tom Krasovic of AOL FanHouse tweets that the Padres are not a fit for Lilly.
11:58am: The Dodgers are waiting for Lilly's cost to come down, tweets Yahoo's Tim Brown. He notes that they're also monitoring Paul Maholm and Jason Frasor. The Pirates are willing to move a starting pitcher for the right price, GM Neal Huntington told Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
7:10am: The Dodgers and Cubs are discussing a trade that could send Ted Lilly and Ryan Theriot to Los Angeles, report Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. They say it's not known whether a deal is close. The Cubs would need to kick in cash – Lilly has $4.3MM remaining and Theriot has $933K.
Theriot received a $2.6MM salary for 2010 after losing an arbitration case to the Cubs in February. He's under team control through 2012; the FOX writers see him taking over at second base for the Dodgers. It doesn't seem to be the strongest need for them, with Blake DeWitt currently outperforming Theriot and Jamey Carroll and Ronnie Belliard also on the roster.
There aren't a ton of great matches for Lilly at this point, as action with the Tigers, Twins, and Mets has cooled and the Phillies are out of the mix. I wonder if we'll hear anything about the Cardinals and Padres looking at the lefty.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Berkman, Dunn, Dodgers
On this date two years ago, Ichiro Suzuki picked up his 3,000th career hit with a first inning single against the Rangers. The hit was his 1,722nd in the big leagues, which came after he racked up 1,278 hits with the Orix Blue Wave in Japan's Pacific League. Including the postseason, the 36-year-old Ichiro has 3,456 career base hits to his credit, a staggering number no matter how you look at it.
Here is the latest from around the baseball blogosphere, a day before the non-waiver trade deadline…
- Phoul Ballz spoke to Lakewood Blue Claws manager Mark Parent about Jonathan Villar's inclusion in the Roy Oswalt deal. Parent managed Villar this season.
- Pale Hose Pariah looks at the trade value of Lance Berkman and Brad Hawpe.
- River Ave. Blues wants to see the Yankees swing a trade for Berkman to be the team's designated hitter.
- 1 Blue Jays Way breaks down to the Anthony Gose–Brett Wallace swap.
- The Process Report tackles the Adam Dunn to the Rays rumor.
- Meanwhile, SD Sports Net wants to see the Padres trade for Dunn.
- Mike Scioscia's Tragic Illness explains why the Dodgers shouldn't add a starter before the deadline.
- Pittsburgh Lumber Co. calculates Paul Maholm's trade value.
- Scouting The Sally compares the trade value of top prospects Jesus Montero and Wilmer Flores.
- Blogging From The Bleachers breaks down the various Cliff Lee hauls.
- Bleacher GM steps into Dave Dombrowski's shoes for a little while.
- More Hardball looks back at some terrible trades from the 1990's.
If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here.
Morosi On Giants, Downs, Myers, Tigers
Let's check out the latest updates from Jon Paul Morosi at FOX Sports….
- The Giants continue to search for a left-handed reliever, with Jeremy Affeldt and Dan Runzler injured. While we've heard the club had been eyeing lefties such as Will Ohman and Scott Downs, Morosi indicates that, like every other team that has inquired on Downs, the Giants weren't enthused by Toronto's asking price. CSNBayArea.com's Mychael Urban (via Twitter) reports that the Giants are "working hard" to complete a trade tonight, though there's no indication of whether it would be for bullpen help or another piece.
- Starters like Ted Lilly and Brett Myers appear unlikely to be traded to Minnesota. The Twins would need to overpay to pry Myers away from the Astros.
- The Tigers aren't looking to make a blockbuster deal, but could still make minor moves to upgrade their roster. The club doesn't want to "overexpose" their young players, which played a part in their acquisition of Jhonny Peralta. A bullpen addition is still a possibility for the Tigers, who were scouting the Blue Jays on Wednesday night.
Adam Dunn Rumors: Thursday
The latest on Adam Dunn, with more updates to come throughout the day…
- The Nats are believed to have requested either Gordon Beckham or both Daniel Hudson and Dayan Viciedo in exchange for Dunn, tweets Heyman. That price was too high for the Sox, who told Beckham he wouldn't be on the move this week.
- The price for Dunn is high, but not ridiculous, according to Heyman (via Twitter). The White Sox and Rays are still involved.
- The Giants have minimal interest in Dunn at his current price, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (Twitter link). Morosi notes that the Tigers are not pursuing Dunn.
- The White Sox and Tigers have plenty of interest in Dunn, according to Heyman (on Twitter).
- Three-way scenarios involving the Nationals, White Sox, Diamondbacks and Edwin Jackson are in play, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (via Twitter). Rosenthal reported that such talks were underway earlier in the week.
- The Rays are the favorites to acquire Dunn, according to one executive who spoke to Joel Sherman of the New York Post. The Giants are the only other team Sherman hears in connection to Dunn (Twitter links).
- The Tigers are not pursuing Dunn, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (Twitter link).
- The White Sox are saying internally that they're out of the Dunn sweepstakes, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney (on Twitter).
- Earlier today, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported that the Yankees are now out on Dunn. Joel Sherman of the New York Post explains that the Yankees would give up top prospects for a piece they need, but not for a luxury like Dunn. The Yanks lead the majors in scoring, so Dunn's bat is not an absolute necessity for the Bronx Bombers.
Ted Lilly Rumors: Thursday
The latest on Cubs lefty Ted Lilly…
- The Tigers are not pursuing Lilly, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.
- The Twins, who are on Lilly's no-trade list, are unlikely to acquire him, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (on Twitter).
- The Mets are still engaging the Cubs about Lilly, according to Newsday's Ken Davidoff, who suggests a deal is unlikely (Twitter link). The Mets don't want to trade Josh Thole for Lilly, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (Twitter link).
- A Mets official told Joel Sherman of the New York Post it's "very doubtful" they acquire Lilly. The Mets do not want to take on most to all of the $4.37MM left on Lilly's contract and give up prospects too. As for Brett Myers, the Astros are "almost completely unwilling to engage in serious discussions." Sherman says the Mets might wait until August to acquire a pitcher.
- Yesterday we learned that the Dodgers and Twins are still in on Lilly.
Odds & Ends: Joba, Orioles, White Sox, Mets
Big names have traditionally been traded on July 29th, including Cliff Lee and Mark Teixeira in recent years. Perhaps today we'll add Roy Oswalt to the list. Links for Thursday with about 51 hours until the deadline…
- The Tigers have designated Jeff Larish for assignment, according to the team.
- I discussed the Mets and Yankees with SNY's Ted Berg earlier today.
- The Yankees were open to building a Dan Haren deal around Joba Chamberlain, Ivan Nova, and two prospects, reports Tom Krasovic of AOL FanHouse.
- The Orioles may be concerned about making their team even worse by trading veterans, reports ESPN's Buster Olney.
- Shi Davidi of the Canadian Press analyzes Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos based on his major trades so far.
- The White Sox and Mets were on hand to watch the Blue Jays beat the Orioles last night, tweets Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun. Trade bait on the field for Toronto: Jose Bautista, Lyle Overbay, John Buck, Edwin Encarnacion, Jason Frasor, and Kevin Gregg.
- The Mets think they can trade Jeff Francoeur in August after he clears waivers, tweets ESPN's Jerry Crasnick. The problem with that, in my opinion: he doesn't offer much for a contender, and other teams may not care to acquire a guy who's certain to hit the free agent market as a non-tender.
- The Rays' two biggest trade targets were Jayson Werth and David DeJesus, who are now off the board. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports explains that Adam Dunn and Prince Fielder don't hold the same appeal to Andrew Friedman and company.
- Pirates reliever D.J. Carrasco would welcome a trade to a contender, based on comments made to MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch. Carrasco's cheap and under team control through 2012, though keep in mind the White Sox non-tendered him in December coming off a similarly decent year.
- The Braves acquired second baseman Michael Noboa from the Diamondbacks for a player to be named later or cash, MLBTR has learned.
Odds & Ends: Lowell, Barmes, Red Sox, Hanson
Links for Wednesday, as the Tigers get some infield depth from a division rival…
- The Rangers haven't ruled out acquiring Mike Lowell, according to Rob Bradford of WEEI.com.
- Agent Bean Stringfellow told Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports that the Blue Jays are not currently discussing an extension with Jose Bautista. It’s not at all surprising given how much else the Blue Jays have to sort out this week. Bautista said on the FAN 590 today that he would listen if the Blue Jays approached him with a multi-year deal after the season.
- The Cardinals are not interested in Clint Barmes, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post (via Twitter).
- Red Sox CEO Larry Lucchino told WEEI.com’s Alex Speier that the Red Sox will “look aggressively” for ways to improve at the trade deadline.
- Tommy Hanson explained to Carroll Rogers of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he chose the Boras Corp. because of the support the agency offers.
- Brett Myers is untouchable, a source tells Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). With respect to Justice and his source, it seems unfathomable that a 41-59 team wouldn't listen to offers on a player who can walk at the end of the season.
- Casey Fien cleared waivers and the Tigers outrighted him to Triple A, according to the team (via Twitter). Detroit designated Fien for assignment last weekend.
- Like Fien, Scott Moore cleared waivers and headed to Triple A, according to Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun. The O's designated Moore for assignment last week.
- And another recent DFA, Justin Miller, was outrighted to Triple A Albuquerque, according to Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times (via Twitter).
- The Blue Jays have considered Kelly Johnson, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter). Aaron Hill recently told the Globe and Mail's Jeff Blair that he would play third if the Jays asked him to, so Johnson could theoretically play second in Toronto. Seems like a longshot to me.
- Kyle Farnsworth is available to manager Ned Yost (and GMs around the league) after leaving yesterday's game with a hamstring cramp, according to Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star (via Twitter).
- Trevor Hoffman can veto deals to 25 MLB teams, according to MLB.com's Adam McCalvy. The all-time saves leader and his $7.5MM salary would likely clear waivers, so interested teams will probably be able to pursue him in August.
- One player told Morosi that he'd be "shocked" if the Brewers trade Prince Fielder this week.
- Mike Axisa counts down the Yankees' top five trade chips at River Ave. Blues.
- The Dodgers won't discuss prospect Dee Gordon with other teams, according to Jayson Stark of ESPN.com (via Twitter).
Tigers Acquire Jhonny Peralta
The Tigers acquired Jhonny Peralta and cash from the Indians for minor league pitcher Giovanni Soto, according to the team. MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince reports on Twitter that the Tigers are getting cash to cover all but the pro-rated portion of the major league minimum salary. To make room on their 40-man roster, the Tigers designated Wilkin Ramirez for assignment (Twitter link).
Brandon Inge and Carlos Guillen are on the disabled list, so Peralta gives the Tigers infield depth as they chase the Twins and White Sox. The infielder switched to third base last season after years at short. Peralta hasn't hit much this year, as his .246/.308/.389 line shows. The 28-year-old makes $4.6MM this season (about $1.7MM remains) and the Tigers have a $7.25MM option for 2011 with a $250K buyout.
In Soto, the Indians acquire a promising left-hander who still appears to be years away from the majors. The 2009 draft pick (21st round) has a 2.61 ERA with 8.3 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 as a starting pitcher in A ball this year.
This deal should set the market for Miguel Tejada, another former shortstop who is having a similar season to Peralta at the plate. The Cardinals are interested in the former AL MVP.
Earlier today, Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com reported on Twitter that Mike Lowell wasn't drawing much interest, even though he hit three homers last night. The Tigers had some interest in Lowell, but today's trade likely means the Red Sox will have to find another trade partner.