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Odds & Ends: Betancourt, Francoeur, Halladay, Angels

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We managed to find some rumors in between all of the Jonathan Sanchez no-hitter coverage this morning. Congrats to Jonathan, hopefully Juan Uribe will be buying him a very big and expensive steak dinner. Or ten. On to the links…

  • ESPN's Keith Law doesn't like the Yuniesky Betancourt trade for the Royals, saying he might be the worst everyday player in the big leagues.
  • David Lennon of Newsday says that Mets GM Omar Minaya wanted to send a message by acquiring Jeff Francoeur, but it's "more like a gentle poke than a full-blown shake-up."
  • SI's Jon Heyman tweets that he'd include the struggling Joba Chamberlain in a package for Roy Halladay "no problem."
  • ESPN's Jorge Arangure writes that the Angels efforts on the international market stalled this year after the firing of international scouting supervisor Clay Daniels, who is under investigation by Major League Baseball for his part in the bonus-skimming scandal. Arangure also has notes on several other big name international signees, including Cuban shortstop Jose Iglesias, who received $8.2MM from the Red Sox.
  • MLBTR's own Ben Nicholson-Smith will be on 940 ESPN Radio at 10am CST this morning talking rumors. Click the link to give a listen.

Odds And Ends: Chapman, Betancourt, Masset

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Some links in anticipation of the weekend…
  • According to Baseball America, there's no evidence to suggest that Aroldis Chapman is 26 years old and allegations that he's any older than 21 don't pass the logic test.
  • ESPN.com's Jayson Stark has the oddest anecdotes and funniest quotes from the first half of the season. 
  • The AP (via ESPN) reports that this year's All Stars will receive a combined $2.3MM in bonuses for making the team, led by Roy Halladay's $125k. I wonder who pays if Halladay's dealt before Tuesday…
  • As Bradford Doolittle of the Kansas City Star shows, Yuniesky Betancourt does not have much of a glove or bat, so it's puzzling that the Royals wanted him.
  • MLB.com's Mark Sheldon reports that the Reds aren't trading Nick Masset away, especially when his $418k salary makes him so affordable.

Royals Acquire Yuniesky Betancourt

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The Royals acquired Yuniesky Betancourt and cash from the Mariners for a pair of minor league pitchers, according to Joe Hamrahi of Baseball Daily Digest. Betancourt makes at least $10MM before his current deal expires, so it'll be interesting to see how much the Mariners are contributing. 

Here's some info on the pitchers, from Ryan Divish of the Tacoma News Tribune. Danny Cortes, 22, will report to AA. He's 6-2 with a 3.12 ERA in his last eleven games after a rough start to the year in the Royals organization. He was the Royals' minor league pitcher of the year last year and Baseball America labelled him the best minor league pitcher in the organization entering this year.

Derrick Saito, 21, has struck out more than a batter per inning in A ball. The 21-year-old lefty will begin his Mariners career in A ball.

Meche Wants To Stay With Royals

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Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star has some quotes from Gil Meche about the possibility of him waiving his no-trade clause.

“When that time comes,” [Meche] said, “then I’ll answer that question. But I’m not going to address speculation. Do I want to go somewhere? No. That’s about all I can say…I don’t want to go anywhere…I know this is the last year of the no-trade (clause) in my contract, but I would like to be here to win. That’s why I signed to come here in the first place.”

Meche is in the third year of a 5-year/$55MM deal which will pay him $12MM in each of the next two seasons. The '09 season is the final year with a no-trade clause. Meche is 4-8 with a 4.14 ERA this season.

Odds And Ends: Atkins, Ryan, Halladay

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More links for the afternoon…

Rosenthal On Vazquez, Hairston, Teahen

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Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says Javier Vazquez has more value than any available hitter. Here are the details and the rest of Rosenthal's rumors:

  • Not even Matt Holliday or Corey Hart would be fair value for Vazquez, so Rosenthal asks why the Braves would want to trade him at all.
  • The Mets inquired on Scott Hairston, who could have been an affordable stopgap, but balked when the Padres asked for Bobby Parnell.
  • The Marlins offered Gaby Sanchez for Manny Delcarmen, but the Red Sox weren't interested.  
  • The Mariners, Tigers and Rays weren't far from agreeing to a deal that would have sent Edwin Jackson to Seattle and J.J. Putz to Detroit last offseason.  
  • Kevin Towers compares Rule 5 pick Everth Cabrera to Rafael Furcal. 
  • The Royals "do not seem terribly inclined" to deal Mark Teahen.  
  • The Pirates covet Eric Young Jr. of the Rockies.  
  • Some predict that the distribution of amateur talent- through the draft and international signings- will be the biggest issue in the next Collective Bargaining Agreement.

Royals DFA Luis Hernandez

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Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star reports that the Royals designated Luis Hernandez for assignment to make room for the newly-acquired Ryan Freel. Hernandez, a 25-year-old utilityman, hit .204/.235/.204 in 53 plate appearances for the Royals this year. He spent parts of two years with the Orioles before signing a minor league deal with Kansas City before the season.

Odds & Ends: Cubs, Kouzmanoff, Marlins

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A tasty handful of Monday evening links…

  • Chris DeLuca of the Chicago Sun-Times gathered a quote from Cubs GM Jim Hendry on the possibility of his club making a move: "We have a pretty good team,and if our guys all play like their capable … you don’t have to do a whole lot."
  • MLB.com's Corey Brock reports the Padres aren't "getting many hits" from other teams on Kevin Kouzmanoff, but believes that might change soon.
  • According to MLB.com's Mark Sheldon, the Reds have signed four Venezuelan amateurs.
  • Baseball America's Matt Eddy has a rundown of team-by-team minor league transactions from late June.  It's interesting reading for prospect buffs.
  • Will the Marlins be leaving their payroll issues behind when they move into their spanking new facility in 2012?  Carl Hiaasen of the Miami Herald doesn't seem to think so.  He questions whether the club will be able to fill their $634MM, 37,000-seat stadium once the luster wears off.
  • Tommy Rancel of DRaysBay.com has more on Venezuelan third baseman Cesar Perez, who was signed this afternoon by Tampa Bay for $1MM.
  • Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star reviews the Ryan Freel trade, noting that the Royals must be labeled as "buyers" as of July 6.  Of course, that could change by the time the July 31 trade deadline rolls around.
  • Remember to tune in for the weekly MLBTR live chat tomorrow at 2pm CST.

Heyman On Street, Indians, Pedro, Davis

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Jon Heyman of SI.com lists his mid-season award winners, led by Albert Pujols and Joe Mauer. Here are Heyman's latest rumors:

  • Huston Street alone is worth more on the trade market than Matt Holliday. Dan O'Dowd must be happy with his return, which also included Carlos Gonzalez.
  • Jhonny Peralta, Kerry Wood and Carl Pavano are all available.  
  • Indians GM Mark Shapiro believes he can still get a fair return for Cliff Lee if he deals him a year from now, a few months before the lefty is scheduled to become free agent.
  • One executive says the Royals are "pushing" Brian Bannister as a trade candidate. However, they're reluctant to deal Gil Meche and Joakim Soria.  
  • Pedro Martinez intends to sign soon. We know the Phillies are scouting him. Could there be a match in Philly?  The Rays are "thought to be in the mix," while the Yankees are not, even with Chien-Ming Wang's injury.
  • There's apparently been "little progress" between the Brewers and D'Backs regarding Doug Davis. 
  • Nolan Ryan is part of one group trying to buy the Rangers.  
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