Quick Hits: Mets, Overbay, Springer, Storen, Stewart
Thanks to our loyal readers, MLBTR generated 3.1 million pageviews over the weekend! We appreciate you making MLBTR a regular stop, and have a lot of cool things planned in the coming months. On to today's links…
- Mets GM Sandy Alderson told ESPN New York's Adam Rubin that he tried to acquire a reliever before the deadline, but to no avail (Twitter link). He would not rule out a trade before August 31st.
- The Red Sox will not have interest in Lyle Overbay, reports Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe (on Twitter). The Pirates designated Overbay for assignment today, and as Cafardo notes, he has great numbers in Fenway Park: .323/.395/.500 in 177 plate appearances.
- Anthony DiComo of MLB.com (via Twitter) doesn't envision Jason Isringhausen re-signing with the Mets this offseason.
- The Astros are very confident that they'll sign first-round pick George Springer, but it may come down to the last week, tweets MLB.com's Alyson Footer. Last week we learned that Springer's father met with the independent league Long Island Ducks.
- ESPN's Jerry Crasnick names a bunch of waiver trade candidates in his latest article.
- The Twins wanted closer Drew Storen and minor league second baseman Stephen Lombardozzi for center fielder Denard Span, and the Nationals declined, according to MLB.com's Bill Ladson. I think that would have been a solid deal for Washington.
- The Indians announced they signed infielder Argenis Reyes to a minor league deal; he'd been playing independent ball. In slightly more important news, Ubaldo Jimenez will debut for the Tribe Friday in Texas.
- The extent of Boston's interest in Ubaldo? Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald says exec Allard Baird put in a call on Thursday and the Red Sox weren't in touch after that.
- Both sides have denounced the $30MM figure that was floated for Dylan Bundy, tweets MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli. Talks are expected to start this week for the Orioles' fourth overall pick. Ghiroli has more on the topic here. Bundy is advised by Jay Franklin at BBI Sports Group; the company also employs his father.
- The Rockies were close to trading third baseman Ian Stewart to an undisclosed National League team yesterday, reports Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post, but the deal fell apart with a half hour to go.
- The Mariners and Red Sox are sharing the costs of Erik Bedard's incentives, reports Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times.
- Newly-acquired players Zack Wheeler and Jonathan Singelton head updated top ten prospects lists for the Mets and Astros, courtesy of Baseball America's Jim Callis.
AL Central Trades
Here are this month's trades in the AL Central, headlined by the deal that brought Ubaldo Jimenez to the Indians..
Indians
- Acquired outfield prospect Thomas Neal from the Indians for shortstop Orlando Cabrera.
- Acquired Ubaldo Jimenez from the Rockies for Joe Gardner, Alex White, Matt McBride and a player to be named later. The deal is expected to include left-hander Drew Pomeranz once he's eligible to be traded in mid-August.
- Acquired right fielder Kosuke Fukudome and about $3.9MM from the Cubs for minor leaguer outfielder Abner Abreu and reliever Carlton Smith.
Royals
- Acquired infielder/outfielder Yamaico Navarro and reliever Kendal Volz from the Red Sox for infielder Mike Aviles.
- Acquired prospects Antonio Cruz and Julio Rodriguez from the Tigers for Wilson Betemit.
Tigers
- Acquired starter Doug Fister and reliever David Pauley from the Mariners for third baseman Francisco Martinez, outfielder Casper Wells, southpaw Charlie Furbush, and a player to be named later. The PTBNL is reportedly one of the Tigers' top three picks from the 2010 draft, meaning that it's either Nick Castellanos, Chance Ruffin, or Drew Smyly.
- Acquired Wilson Betemit from the Royals for prospects Antonio Cruz and Julio Rodriguez.
Twins
- The Twins didn't complete any of the deals they discussed.
White Sox
- Acquired reliever Jason Frasor and starter Zach Stewart from the Blue Jays for starter Edwin Jackson and third baseman Mark Teahen.
AL Central Notes: Hunter, Thornton, Rauch, Indians
The American League Central welcomed a handful of new players this week – most notably right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez. Yet many other trades didn't materialize. Here are the details on some deals that could have impacted the division…
- The Tigers tried to acquire Tommy Hunter from the Rangers before the Orioles obtained him in the Koji Uehara deal yesterday, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (on Twitter). The Tigers did acquire Doug Fister for their rotation.
- The Brewers called on every good left-handed relief option out there, including White Sox southpaw Matt Thornton, according to Adam McCalvy of MLB.com (on Twitter).
- The Twins talked to the Blue Jays about re-acquiring Jon Rauch, but talks went nowhere, according to Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.
- The Indians discussed as many as 75 players leading up to the deadline, according to MLB.com's Jordan Bastian (on Twitter).
Nationals, Twins Not Close On Span Trade
2:46pm: The teams are not close on a Span trade, tweets Jon Paul Morosi.
12:29pm: The Twins don't currently believe this deal can get done, tweets Yahoo's Tim Brown. The Nationals so far will not include Storen, tweets Scott Miller.
9:43am: ESPN's Tim Kurkjian tweets that the chances of a Storen/Span deal are less than 50/50. The Nationals are still in the mix for B.J. Upton.
7:59am: Nationals closer Drew Storen is in the Denard Span trade with the Twins, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, but the hangup is over the other players in the deal. Yesterday we heard names such as Roger Bernadina and Stephen Lombardozzi of the Nationals.
Pirates, Indians In Mix For Ryan Ludwick
The latest on Padres right fielder Ryan Ludwick, who is hitting .238/.301/.373 and has $2.2MM left on his contract…
- The Pirates are back in on Ludwick, tweets Brown. An earlier report had the Indians close but then balking at the Padres' asking price.
- The Pirates are in play for Ludwick but he's not their top target, tweets Rob Biertempfel. That might be Jason Kubel, he adds. However, Jon Paul Morosi says there are no serious talks now between the Pirates and Twins about Kubel.
- As of last night, the Pirates were still in the mix for Ludwick along with the Indians, tweets Ken Rosenthal. The Pirates are still trying for Ludwick this morning, tweets Yahoo's Tim Brown.
Quick Hits: Slowey, Royals, Lee, Reddick
For a while, it seemed as though we'd have a quiet trade deadline. So much for that – today we saw Ubaldo Jimenez, Derrek Lee, Orlando Cabrera, Rich Harden, Koji Uehara, Chris Davis, Tommy Hunter, Jason Marquis, Mike Aviles, Jerry Hairston Jr., Doug Fister and David Pauley all get traded. Let's gear up for the deadline itself with another round of links…
- The Twins would like to move Kevin Slowey and the Rockies are interested, though they don't want to pay too much for him, according to Scott Miller of CBSSports.com (on Twitter).
- Teams are still calling on Bruce Chen, Jeff Francis and Kyle Davies of the Royals, according to Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star (on Twitter). Any deal will likely come at the deadline tomorrow.
- Teams are still inquiring on Brandon League, even though top Mariners executives have said he's going nowhere, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reports (on Twitter).
- Rangers GM Jon Daniels expects a quiet day tomorrow, according to Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com (on Twitter).
- The Astros would love to convince Carlos Lee that there's no point in refusing to waive his no-trade clause, according to ESPN.com's Jayson Stark.
- The Astros wanted a package of players including Josh Reddick and Kyle Weiland from the Red Sox for Hunter Pence, according to Rob Bradford of WEEI.com.
Nationals Making Headway On Acquiring Span
10:47pm: The Nationals are more likely to go after Span than Michael Bourn or B.J. Upton at this point, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney (on Twitter). Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports hears that the sides are in a "staredown" (Twitter link). The Twins want the Nationals to include Storen in their offer.
9:22pm: The deal is "no closer than any other day," an MLB official told Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.
6:31pm: A deal featuring Span and Storen continues to look close, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter).
6:08pm: The Twins are insisting on acquiring Storen with Bernadina and minor league infielder Stephen Lombardozzi for Span, according to Jim Bowden of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
5:18pm: There are lots of mixed signals about the talks, but no deal is close, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (on Twitter).
3:28pm: The Nationals are making headway with the Twins on a deal for Span, tweets ESPN's Jayson Stark. The Twins are insisting Storen be included along with a second player.
1:50pm: The Twins want Roger Bernadina along with a reliever in any deal that sends Span to the Nationals, tweets Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post.
10:45am: The Nationals are pushing setup man Tyler Clippard on the Twins for center fielder Denard Span over closer Drew Storen, tweets Scott Miller of CBS Sports. He says the Twins won't trade Span for a setup man, however.
Aside from saves, Storen comes with one more year of team control than Clippard. Still, we're talking about 2015 and 2016, and there's no telling what can happen with relievers in the course of several years.
Yankees Inquired On Francisco Liriano, Span
5:29pm: The Yankees inquired on Francisco Liriano only to hear that the Twins aren't trading him, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter).
2:32pm: The Yankees inquired on Twins center fielder Denard Span, tweets Yahoo's Tim Brown. Brown imagines that this inquiry could be part of something bigger, since the Yankees are currently set on outfielders. Joel Sherman speculates that if the Yankees inquired on Span perhaps it was with the idea of flipping him to the Nationals in a deal involving Tyler Clippard.
Latest On Braves’ Outfield Targets
The Braves offered a four-player package to the Astros for Hunter Pence, tweets ESPN's Jerry Crasnick. However, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says the Astros sought two of the Braves' top four pitching prospects and another good young pitcher, so a deal was not reached. With Pence and Carlos Beltran off the board, here's the latest on the Braves' hunt for a hitter…
- Byrd is not going to be traded, writes ESPN's Jayson Stark, though the Braves took a run at him. Stark says the Twins are set on receiving big league-ready players for Denard Span. Bourn, Upton, Crisp, and Quentin are on the radar, while there are no signs the Braves have pursued Ludwick or Willingham of late.
- The Braves are strongly in on Quentin, tweets Bob Nightengale, but the White Sox are still unlikely to move him. Chicago's asking price is very high, tweets Jon Paul Morosi, and the Braves are interested but not optimistic.
- Cubs center fielder Marlon Byrd appears to be among the names on Atlanta's radar, reports David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
- The Braves' talks for Oakland center fielder Coco Crisp slowed Friday, tweets ESPN's Buster Olney, but he wonders if they'll be rekindled now that the Phillies got Pence.
- The Braves are almost certain to land an outfielder before the deadline, reports Rosenthal. He cites the names you have been hearing for a while: B.J. Upton, Michael Bourn, Ryan Ludwick, Carlos Quentin, and Josh Willingham.
- Bourn is on the Braves' radar, tweets Crasnick. Padres right fielder Ludwick is "more down the list of options." Would Astros GM Ed Wade deal another outfielder? He told reporters earlier tonight, "We’re going to be open-minded on all fronts. We’re going to be good listeners."
- The Braves are targeting a center fielder, tweets Yahoo's Jeff Passan, though it doesn't rule them out on corner guys.
Phillies Asked Twins About Jim Thome
The Phillies' next move might be for a home run threat off the bench, tweets ESPN's Jayson Stark. He says the Phillies even asked the Twins about Jim Thome, and cited Jason Giambi as another example.
Thome, 40, signed a six-year, $85MM deal with the Phillies prior to the 2003 season but was traded to the White Sox three years later. He's four home runs shy of 600, but the Twins haven't shown any inclination to trade veterans.
As for Giambi, ESPN's Buster Olney hears from an executive who feels he would not make it through waivers to them in August. Giambi "appeared almost certain to go to Philly" before he hurt his quad, tweets Troy Renck.