Passan On Upton, Nationals, Melky, Francoeur
The latest on the trade market from Yahoo’s Jeff Passan…
- A number of MLB officials tell Passan that they consider the Nationals the favorites for B.J. Upton. However, a Rays official says there’s no favorite at this point (click here for the latest on Upton).
- Nationals GM Mike Rizzo has told teams that pitching prospect Brad Peacock is not available.
- Nationals executives and scouts have told others that Ian Desmond is available (despite reports that that Washington will hold onto its shortstop).
- The Royals are leaning toward keeping Melky Cabrera in 2012, according to Passan. Cabrera, who is having an excellent season and remains under team control next year, might not fetch enough in a trade for GM Dayton Moore to pull the trigger.
- The Royals are hoping to work out some kind of contract for next year with Jeff Francoeur. The sides have a 2012 mutual option for $4MM, but the Royals would likely have to offer more to lock Francoeur up for next season. They get the impression that the 27-year-old is interested in staying in Kansas City.
B.J. Upton Rumors: Tuesday
The latest on Rays center fielder B.J. Upton, who owns a .229/.310/.399 line on the season:
- The Rays had a scout watching the Nationals' Triple-A team yesterday, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post.
- The Giants are showing strong interest, tweets SI's Jon Heyman.
- The Indians, Giants, Braves, and Pirates are among the teams in on Upton, report Jon Paul Morosi and Ken Rosenthal. The Royals are not seriously pursuing Upton, while the Brewers, Rangers, and Phillies are not involved.
- The Nationals have balked at trading pitchers Ross Detwiler or Brad Peacock for Upton, reports ESPN's Jayson Stark. One executive says the Giants have moved in.
- Five teams are "in play" for Upton, a source tells Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (Twitter link).
My apologies for an earlier error in which I erroneously attributed Joel Sherman's "asking for a ton" quote to the Rays and B.J. Upton. The quote actually referred to the Cardinals and Colby Rasmus.
Passan On Upton, Nationals, Melky, Francoeur
The latest on the trade market from Yahoo’s Jeff Passan…
- A number of MLB officials tell Passan that they consider the Nationals the favorites for B.J. Upton. However, a Rays official says there’s no favorite at this point (click here for the latest on Upton).
- Nationals GM Mike Rizzo has told teams that pitching prospect Brad Peacock is not available.
- Nationals executives and scouts have told others that Ian Desmond is available (despite reports that that Washington will hold onto its shortstop).
- The Royals are leaning toward keeping Melky Cabrera in 2012, according to Passan. Cabrera, who is having an excellent season and remains under team control next year, might not fetch enough in a trade for GM Dayton Moore to pull the trigger.
- The Royals are hoping to work out some kind of contract for next year with Jeff Francoeur. The sides have a 2012 mutual option for $4MM, but the Royals would likely have to offer more to lock Francoeur up for next season. They get the impression that the 27-year-old is interested in staying in Kansas City.
Red Sox Notes: Drew, Reddick, Francoeur
The Red Sox, who are already 25 games above .500, open a series against the Royals tonight. Here's the latest from Boston as Theo Epstein & Co. consider possible moves…
- The Red Sox have tons of feelers out and scouts are watching their Double-A Portland club intently, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter).
- J.D. Drew hit the disabled list with a left shoulder impingement today, but Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald hears that the injury won't make Red Sox more aggressive in talks for outfield help. Josh Reddick's emergence means the Red Sox have an in-house alternative to Drew.
- Jeff Francoeur told Rob Bradford of WEEI.com that it would be "neat" to be traded to Boston, though he's happy in Kansas City. "My dad took a train with my grandpa for tons of games to Fenway," Francoeur said. "I was in high school and had a Boston Red Sox credit card."
B.J. Upton Rumors: Monday
Rays center fielder B.J. Upton may not crack the top 20 on our list of available bats ranked by wOBA, but his defense and potential are enough to make him a hot name on the 2011 trade market. The latest:
- The Phillies have some interest in Upton, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post, but most calls to the Rays are coming from the Nationals, Braves, Pirates, Reds, and Cardinals. The Cardinals would have interest if they trade Colby Rasmus for pitching. Sherman adds that the Royals have interest in Upton with an eye on contending next year.
- The Rays would want Julio Teheran, Randall Delgado, Mike Minor, or Arodys Vizcaino from the Braves for Upton, tweets ESPN's Jerry Crasnick. Crasnick does not find the Braves likely to make such a move.
Central Notes: Slowey, Cardinals, Paulino, Brewers
Let's check in with the latest from the middle of the MLB map….
- The Pirates are not interested in Twins right-hander Kevin Slowey, reports Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. (Twitter link) We heard last week that the Bucs were looking at Slowey, who went to high school in Pennsylvania.
- Cardinals GM John Mozeliak is hoping to improve his team without moving a player from the Major League roster, but Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch hears that "to accomplish [their] trade goal," the Cards will have to deal at least one Major Leaguer.
- With the Cardinals aggressively pursuing starting pitching, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch roundtable discusses which pitchers would be available at the lowest cost to the Cards. I like the idea of St. Louis getting a second-tier arm like Chris Capuano, since the Cardinals' search for bullpen help means they won't be able to meet the asking price for both a top starter and a top reliever such as Heath Bell.
- Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star details the Royals' scouting and pursuit of Felipe Paulino, who has pitched well since being acquired from the Rockies in May.
- The Brewers are continuing negotiations with first-round draft picks Taylor Jungmann and Jed Bradley, reports MLB.com's Adam McCalvy. Brewers amateur scouting director Bruce Seid described the talks as "a work in progress," while GM Doug Melvin felt the draft picks' respective agents weren't approaching the talks with much urgency leading up to the August 15 deadline.
Quick Hits: Nationals, Upton, Webb, Inge, Mariners
With nine days remaining before the trade deadline, the biggest trade chips in baseball are arguably Carlos Beltran (latest rumors) and Hunter Pence (latest rumors). Here are some other relevant links from around MLB…
- The Nationals are in greater need of outfield depth than infield help or a catcher, a baseball source tells Bill Ladson of MLB.com.
- The Rays pulled B.J. Upton and prospect Desmond Jennings from their respective games, tweets Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post (via Twitter). However, Upton says that he has not been traded, tweets Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times.
- Rangers pitcher Brandon Webb will undergo surgery on his right shoulder with the intent to pitch again in 2012, according to his agent Jonathan Maurer. This will not be a full surgery of the rotator cuff but it will prevent him from throwing for four months.
- The Tigers would need to eat some salary to move Brandon Inge but teams still believe that the veteran has value, tweets Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com (via Twitter).
- The Reds scouted Jason Vargas and Doug Fister when the Mariners visited Toronto this week, a source told Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter).
- Indians team president Mark Shapiro said that he expects the club will make a move in the next ten days, tweets Nick Camino of WTAM 1100.
- Reds GM Walt Jocketty told Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports that he’s looking for a bat to insert at the top of the order or in the middle of the lineup. However, the Reds are also open to acquiring pitching, either for the rotation or the bullpen. The Reds have lots of depth, but Jocketty says he “hates” trading prospects.
- Bruce Levine of ESPNChicago hears that Hall of Fame executive Pat Gillick is open to a role with the Cubs. Gillick said last week that he's open to taking on a full-time role as a team president at some point in the future.
- MLB talent evaluators tell Alex Speier of WEEI.com that the Red Sox have a number of players whose prospect status is starting to rise and who could become elite prospects within a year. Though the Adrian Gonzalez deal made a major dent in Boston’s farm system, Speier’s sources say the Red Sox still have secondary prospects who could be valuable trade bait this summer. Third baseman Will Middlebrooks and right-hander Anthony Ranaudo are among the organization’s top prospects.
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports confirms that the Red Sox have had exploratory conversations with the Royals about Jeff Francoeur.
Stark On Shields, Melky, Soria, Marlins
Astros GM Ed Wade has been determining the market for his players, including Hunter Pence, ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark reports. Incoming owner Jim Crane urged Wade to do so in case appealing offers emerge. Here are the rest of Stark’s rumors:
- Given Wade’s uncertain future in Houston, at least one executive suggests the GM needs to make a "job-saving deal" if he trades Pence.
- The Rays are more likely to trade B.J. Upton than James Shields, though they realize Shields’ value has never been higher (the right-hander won't be going to the Bronx).
- The Phillies remain in contact with the Royals about Melky Cabrera, but the Royals have told teams they’re more likely to deal Jeff Francoeur. Kansas City is asking for a number three starter who’s nearly Major League ready in return for Cabrera.
- Clubs that have inquired on Vance Worley have heard that he’s off of the market.
- The Braves have shown some interest in Heath Bell, whose most aggressive suitors have been the Rangers, Cardinals, Phillies and Angels. The Padres are telling teams that they’ll need to “clearly surpass” the value of two compensatory draft picks in any deal for Bell, though they’re flexible in terms of the type of player they’d accept in return.
- The Padres continue to field calls on Mike Adams, who will be tougher to obtain than Bell.
- The Yankees, Phillies and Diamondbacks appear to have checked in on Joakim Soria.
- The Red Sox are looking at everything, but aren’t approaching the deadline with much urgency, one AL executive told Stark.
- Rival teams expect that the Dodgers will trade Jamey Carroll and there are indications that Rafael Furcal is drawing interest as well.
- The Marlins, who hope to build momentum before opening their new stadium in 2012, are in a “holding pattern,” Stark reports. They’ve shown interest in third basemen.
- Rival teams report that the Phillies say they won’t move Domonic Brown or top pitching prospect Jarred Cosart. Jonathan Singleton is available in the right deal, but the Phillies don’t expect to trade him for a rental player.
- Stark reminds us that commissioner Bud Selig ruled out contraction at the All-Star Game.
Minor Moves: Chico, Singleton, Dobies, Dodgers
Here’s where we’ll keep track of the day’s minor moves…
- Baseball America's Matt Eddy has a host of moves in this week's edition of minor league transactions, highlighted by a number of draft signings.
- The Nationals have released lefty Matt Chico according to Adam Kilgore of The Washington Post. The 28-year-old had a 5.87 ERA in 46 innings in the Nats' minor league system this year.
- Steve Singleton, who was released by the Twins this weekend, has signed with the Phillies, according to La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune (on Twitter). The 25-year-old has a .282/.329/.418 line in six seasons with Minnesota's farm teams.
- The Royals signed left-hander Andrew Dobies from the Atlantic League, according to Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star (on Twitter). The 2004 third rounder has a 4.08 ERA with 7.4 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9 in six minor league seasons.
- The Yankees released right-hander Alan Horne, according to Matt Eddy of Baseball America (on Twitter). Horne, a first rounder ten years ago, allowed 13 runs in 6 1/3 innings at Double-A Trenton this year.
- Eddy also reports that the Dodgers released left-hander Wilkin De La Rosa and right-hander Justin Orenduff. De La Rosa, 26, has a 3.24 ERA with 9.2 K/9 in 328 minor league innings as a starter and occasional reliever.
Bullpen Notes: Royals, Angels, Braves, Cardinals
Virtually every contender could use relief help, as Tim Dierkes explained yesterday. Here's the latest on the bullpen market…
- Kansas City GM Dayton Moore told Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star that we shouldn’t read too much into rumors about the Royals’ closer, Joakim Soria. “We certainly understand and appreciate why there would be strong interest in him,” Moore said. “He’s a premium closer. But he fits for us, and our view of Joakim Soria hasn’t changed as it pertains to his importance to our team.”
- Mike DiGiovanna of the LA Times notes that the Angels are targeting relief help.
- There is "growing reason" to expect the Braves to explore deals for relief help, according to Mark Bowman of MLB.com.
- The Cardinals are among the teams looking for a starters, according to Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com. The St. Louis front office would likely shift Kyle McClellan back to the bullpen if they acquire a starter.