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Rangers Rumors: Laird, Greinke, Bonser, Masset

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Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram has Rangers rumors for us today.

  • Wilson sums up the suitors for catcher Gerald Laird: Yankees, Reds, Marlins, and Brewers.  The Giants could also jump in if they trade Bengie Molina. Wilson heard that the Rangers are not shopping Laird, though.
  • The Rangers inquired on three pitchers recently: Zack Greinke of the Royals, Boof Bonser of the Twins, and Nick Masset of the White Sox.  Greinke would be near-impossible to pry loose, though Chris Davis would be an interesting offer.

Odds and Ends: Roberts, Ohman, Kotsay, Eyre

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Rumor roundup…

  • ESPN’s Buster Olney implies that another website backdates timestamps in an attempt to fake scoops.  I was following the Mark Teixeira rumors like a hawk; I gave the scoop to ESPN’s Jayson Stark with an assist to MLB.com’s Lyle Spencer.
  • Joe Christensen says Orioles second baseman Brian Roberts is not available.
  • MLB.com’s Mark Bowman guesses Will Ohman will land with the Cardinals.  He also puts the odds of a Mark Kotsay deal at 50%.
  • With Mark Teixeira out of the picture, Diamondbacks GM Josh Byrnes doesn’t expect to make any more trades.
  • Will Carroll says the Dodgers had a "passing discussion" with the Cubs about Scott Eyre and Ronny Cedeno.
  • Nothing cooking with the Royals.
  • Talked to Eddie Bajek, who is working on reverse-engineering the Elias formula.  He has A.J. Burnett on the Type A/Type B borderline.  Ivan Rodriguez and Edgar Renteria should both be Type As.

Jose Guillen Denies Report

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WEDNESDAY: Joe Posnanski writes that while the ESPN report wasn’t exactly true, it "did not completely miss the target, either."  GM Dayton Moore admitted that "Jose Guillen likes attention."  But, Moore knew what he was getting into.

TUESDAY, 6:13pm: Guillen denied the report entirely.

2:50pm: According to ESPN’s Enrique Rojas, Royals outfielder Jose Guillen is unhappy in Kansas City and wants out.  He is reportedly not on speaking terms with manager Trey Hillman.  He also doesn’t think the Royals are doing enough for build a contender for 2009-10.

Guillen would even defer some of the $24MM owed to him for 2009-10, if it would increase the chances of a trade.  He is hitting .260/.287/.446 in 408 plate appearances, which is actually pretty bad.  29 left fielders have been more productive this year, including Willie Harris.

ESPN’s Jayson Stark wrote on Thursday that the Braves asked about Guillen but the Royals wanted a cornerstone-type player like Gorkys Hernandez in return.

Phillies Interested In Mahay

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2:40pm: Todd Zolecki spoke to a source who says there’s no proposal on the table from the Phillies for Mahay.

12:56pm: Stark is now saying the Phillies are not close on Mahay. 

12:47pm: Ken Rosenthal says the Phils are not the frontrunner for Mahay.  Other teams may be willing to give up more.  The Red Sox are known to have Mahay in their sights.

12:01pm: According to ESPN’s Jayson Stark, the Phillies have been having extensive conversations with the Royals about lefty Ron Mahay.  The Royals would receive 23 year-old Double A shortstop prospect Jason Donald in return.

Mahay has been quite popular on the trade market.  The Phillies are able to fill a need for the Royals with Donald.

Red Sox Eyeing Relief Options

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12:51pm: MLB.com’s Jim Molony says Brocail, Geary, and Jose Valverde aren’t going anywhere since the Astros are actually looking to add to their ’pen.

11:21am: ESPN’s Peter Gammons says the Red Sox have been discussing Doug Brocail with the Astros.

9:57am: Boston’s top priority at the trade deadline seems to be relief help, if anything.  They were linked to several relievers this morning.

Sean McAdam of the Providence Journal says the Sox "are interested again and expect expect to get back to the Royals on Ron Mahay."  Mahay is generally believed to be unavailable.

Rob Bradford of the Boston Herald has the Red Sox eyeing Geoff Geary, Brian Fuentes, George Sherrill, and Will Ohman.  Ohman seems the likeliest candidate, though they may have competition for him in the division-rival Rays.

Marlins Looking For Catcher, Reliever

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The NL East is a three-team race, with the Mets, Phillies, and Marlins all within a game of each other.  Who’d have thought the Marlins would be contending after trading Miguel Cabrera?

According to Mike Berardino of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, the Marlins have intensified their search for a catcher.  The targets: Bengie Molina, Ramon Hernandez, Gerald Laird, and Ryan Doumit.  Molina and Hernandez are the pricey options.  Doumit would be especially tough to pry loose; he has a .937 OPS this year as a 27 year-old.

MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro wonders if Miguel Olivo, Gregg Zaun, and Paul Lo Duca could also enter the mix.  He says it could even be a three-way possibility where the Jays acquire Olivo and move him to Florida.

The Marlins are also hunting for a lefty reliever, with Arthur Rhodes, Jack Taschner, John Grabow, Eddie Guardado, George Sherrill, Will Ohman, and Alan Embree all considered candidates.  Dejan Kovacevic rattled off five suitors for Grabow this morning, the Marlins not among them.  Also, the Marlins’ interest in Guardado is light.  The Giants and Mariners both scouted the Marlins recently, and Berardino wonders if Mike Jacobs would interest them.

Berardino says acquiring a catcher and reliever in one trade would be ideal.  The one Marlins minor leaguer considered off-limits is Sean West.

Yankees Eyeing Bannister?

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Should the Jarrod Washburn deal fall apart, the Yankees are exploring an alternative in Brian Bannister for Melky Cabrera.  Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star writes,

"Nothing appears imminent, but the framework for a deal seems to exist because New York has already shown a willingness to part with [Melky] Cabrera. Add this: The Royals nearly obtained Cabrera in a trade-deadline swap two years ago for veteran outfielder Reggie Sanders before Sanders suffered an injury."

In this scenario, David Dejesus moves to left to make room for Cabrera in center.  And Mark Teahen would get back to his natural position at first base.  Cabrera is making $461,200, only $40,200 more than Bannister, and both are set to reach arbitration after this season.

The Yanks prefer Washburn but are in negotiations after the Mariners rejected an offer of Cabrera and Kei Igawa for the lefty veteran.  Seattle might want Brett Gardner as well as for the Yankees to take on all of Washburn’s $14MM contract through next year.

Odds And Ends: Gammons, Stark, Giles, Royals

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And still more minor notes from around the MLBiverse…

First from Peter Gammons:

  • Gammons says that the Marlins will not part with Anibal Sanchez for Brian Fuentes and will instead go after Arthur Rhodes.
  • The Cardinals now appear to be the favorite for Fuentes.
  • No teams seem willing to pay the asking price for Jason Bay.
  • The Indians will pay the remainder of Casey Blake’s $2MM salary.

Next from Jayson Stark:

  • The Mets are also showing interest in Randy Winn, but one official from another club feels Winn is just a backup plan.

A couple of random notes:

  • Bud Black says Brian Giles does not want to be traded and prefers to stay with the Padres.
  • Kevin Murphy notes that the Royals haven’t fared too well in the trade market the last few years.

Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.

Stark’s Latest: Teixeira, Padilla, Sheffield, Beltre

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ESPN’s Jayson Stark has a new Rumblings and Grumblings up.  You may want to grab a glass of water or something, because this is a beast of a column.

  • If the Braves have a bad weekend and decide to trade Mark Teixeira, a deal could come together quickly.  Stark says the Braves have already touched base with the Rays, Red Sox, Dodgers, Angels and Yankees.  Where Tex fits on the Rays, I’m not sure.  Additionally, interest in Will Ohman is said to be "massive."
  • A Jorge Posada move to first base could affect the Yankees’ interest in Teixeira this winter.
  • Though Brian Fuentes has many suitors, the Rockies have actually exchanged names with only the Marlins and Yankees.  GM Dan O’Dowd has not dropped his price.  By the way, Todd Helton’s injury takes Garrett Atkins off the market.  As for Matt Holliday, many execs believe the Rockies will never trade him.
  • The Phillies are focused on a left-handed reliever, with Fuentes, Damaso Marte, George Sherrill, and Jack Taschner in the mix.
  • The Phillies were scared off by the asking prices on Holliday and Xavier Nady, and never even made an offer.  They still could acquire a lesser hitter.
  • The Pirates are inspiring much grumbling with high asking prices for Jason Bay, Nady, Marte, John Grabow, and Jack Wilson.
  • The Rangers are looking for young, controllable starting pitching.  Vicente Padilla is available, with the Tigers and Yankees showing mild interest.  Eddie Guardado and Jamey Wright are not available.
  • In pursuing Jarrod Washburn, Bronson Arroyo, and Padilla, the Yankees are demonstrating their plan to reduce the prospect price for pitching by taking on a decent-sized contract.
  • While A.J. Burnett is "eminently available," no trade talks are cooking.  The Jays apparently won’t deal him within the division.  Other Jays veterans might be available, though Roy Halladay isn’t among them.
  • The Tigers are looking for pitching and a long-term shortstop.  They’d be willing to move Gary Sheffield, though they’d have to eat salary.
  • Top Rays prospects such as Wade Davis, David Price, and Jeremy Hellickson are off-limits. Rays Index recently ran through the more likely trade candidates.
  • The Braves asked the Royals about Jose Guillen, but Dayton Moore is asking for a ton.
  • Stark says the Twins’ talks for Adrian Beltre are "far from dead."  The Twins are zeroed in on a third base upgrade.  Beltre, by the way, has the Dodgers on his no-trade list.  Joe Christensen says the Twins have found the asking price prohibitive for various third basemen.
  • The Rangers are looking for a young pitcher for Hank Blalock, who is drawing interest from the Twins, Giants, and Dodgers.  The Dodgers also like Casey Blake, who is likely to be traded somewhere.

Odds and Ends: Alvarez, Kotsay, Street

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Time to round up today’s links.

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