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Rich Harden Rumors: Sunday

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8:26pm: Count Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune among those who believe a trade will get done by Monday's deadline:  "The guess here," Rogers writes, "is that Twins GM Bill Smith is going to wake up on Monday, consider how catchable the Detroit Tigers remain, and pay the price."  The Twinkies currently stand 65-65 — 4.5 games back of Detroit in the AL Central.

12:57pm: Joe Christensen says "doubts have emerged" about the Twins completing a trade with the Cubs for Rich Harden. Christensen quotes sources who say "the Cubs had yet to open a window for the Twins to negotiate a long-term deal with Harden." Twins officials have yet to confirm or deny that they were the team that claimed Harden.

Christensen notes the Twins would deal for Harden even without a long-term extension given Harden will be a Type A free agent.

Odds & Ends: White Sox, Twins, Mets

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Ladies and gentlemen, can I please have your attention. I've just been handed an urgent and horrifying news story. I need all of you, to stop what you're doing and listen. Odds and ends post!!!

  • Mark Gonzales of The Chicago Tribune writes that if White Sox GM Kenny Williams wants to make a move that could help his team, time is running out. Getting Jake Peavy back and healthy would be about as good of a pickup that a team could make this time of year.
  • The Star Tribune's Patrick Reusse says that Twins GM Bill Smith should have been operating like Cleveland's Mark Shapiro at this year's trade deadline, "looking to the future rather than the present."
  • Joel Sherman of The NY Post writes about the parallels between the current Mets club and the Orioles teams of the mid-to-late 90's. He also notes that the Amazin's should brace themselves for decreased ticket sales and a smaller payroll next year.
  • ESPN's Peter Gammons explains how teams took advantage of their payroll flexibility at the deadline.

Perrotto’s Latest: Twins, Damon, Franklin, Penny, Dye

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John Perrotto of Baseball Prospectus brings us his latest from around the leagues:

  • When they come off the DL, Francisco Liriano and Glen Perkins will be used in relief. So, the Twins are hoping to add a starter who can pitch in the playoffs. This means they have until tomorrow at midnight to do so.
  • The Yankees would like to re-sign Johnny Damon to a one year deal and give Austin Jackson a second year to develop at Triple-A, while pursuing Matt Holliday and Jason Bay in the offseason.
  • The Marlins and Giants are frontrunners to land Brad Penny.
  • The Cardinals expect to exercise Ryan Franklin’s $2.75MM club option and then sign an extension with their closer for 2011.
  • The Royals want to extend G.M. Dayton Moore who is signed through 2010.
  • Perrotto says the Cubs are likely to deal Milton Bradley this winter, even if it means eating a large portion of the $21MM owed to him through 2011.
  • Jermaine Dye will more than likely not see his $12MM option exercised by the White Sox after a dip in production in tandem with the salary demands of Alex Rios and Jake Peavy.
  • For the postseason, the Dodgers are seeking “a left-handed bat with power” for their bench.
  • The Nats are auditioning Livan Hernandez as a veteran innings eater for 2010.
  • The Diamondbacks may non-tender Conor Jackson.
  • Brewers manager Ken Macha said G.M. Doug Melvin “scoured the area for pitching” before the deadline but was unable to add a starter because he refused to trade Mat Gamel or Alcides Escobar.
  • After making seven trades this year, the Pirates are the youngest team in the MLB.

Rosenthal’s Full Count Video: Penny, Harden, Lidge

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Rumor machine Ken Rosenthal has a new Full Count Video up at FoxSports.com. Let's dive on in…

  • The outcome of this weekend's games could determine which team the recently released Brad Penny signs with. The Giants and Marlins are the two teams pursuing him the most, but the Giants are in a better position in the NL Wildcard standings.
  • The Yankees, Twins, and A's are also expressing interest in the righthander, but "what pitcher in his right mind would want to stay in the American League?"
  • The A's and Padres have even "floated the idea" of signing Penny beyond the rest of this season, but Penny's best bet might be to go to a team like the Giants and reestablish himself in a pennant race, then go back into the free agent pool this winter on a high note.
  • The Cubs are more open to dealing Rich Harden to the Twins than you might think. The Cubs could receive two high draft picks if they offer Harden arbitration after the season and he signs elsewhere, but that's a risky strategy. Given his injury history, the club might not want to take a $10MM or so hit if he accepts, even for only one year.
  • The bigger question with Harden may be how aggressive the Twins will be in trying to deal for him. Remember that stars Justin Morneau and Joe Nathan have said the team needs more to contend, with Morneau mentioning that the team needs to impress Joe Mauer since he's due to become a free agent after next season.
  • Yes, the Yankees were messing with the Red Sox when they claimed Chris Carter off waivers, but Boston's 40-man roster only has 38 players on it at the moment. Daisuke Matsuzaka will assume one of those spots when he comes off the 60-day DL, and the other is reserved for Paul Byrd.
  • People might need to relax when it comes to Brad Lidge's struggles. His recent blown save against the Pirates might be the result of overuse, as Lidge was pitching for the fourth straight day. He had done it twice before this season, but he entered game three of that stretch with a four-run lead. Manager Charlie Manuel may need to be more careful with how he uses his closer down the stretch.

Cubs Rumors: Harden, Heilman, Bradley

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SATURDAY, 4:02pm: Ken Rosenthal said during a segment on FOX Saturday Baseball that a deal between the Twins and Cubs for right-hander Rich Harden could indeed happen.

Rosenthal made a couple of valid points: First, Harden is an impending free agent and the Cubs could always re-sign him in the winter. Second, Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau have been pining for help and would be more inclined to sign long-term deals if Minnesota management shows a desire to win this season.

FRIDAY, 4:12pm: ESPNChicago.com's Bruce Levine reports that the Twins were in fact awarded the claim on Harden, and that the Giants were awarded the claim on Heilman.

9:03am: Rich Harden and Aaron Heilman were claimed on waivers yesterday, but that doesn't mean the Cubs are about to trade either pitcher away. Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times hears that the Cubs hadn't even been contacted by the claiming teams as of late last night. Even if those teams do contact the Cubs, there's no guarantee that GM Jim Hendry would decide to deal either player.

The Cubs might be more open to moving Milton Bradley, but who would have interest? Wittenmyer considers the possibilities and concludes that the Blue Jays and Royals may be fits if the Cubs are willing to take on some of the $21MM remaining on Bradley's deal. It's been a disappointing season for Bradley, but he has still managed a .387 OBP.

Joe Crede Considering Retirement?

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According to Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune, Twins third baseman Joe Crede might opt to retire after this season.

Crede has dealt with back issues for years and was placed on the disabled list Friday night after an epidural failed to relieve his ongoing lower back discomfort.  At the young age of 31, it'd be a tragedy to see him go, but he's a free agent in the fall and obviously has the right to end his career on his own terms.  Crede is a .254/.304/.444 career hitter.  He won a Silver Slugger award in 2006 and was named an All-Star for the first time in 2008.

Twins Designate R.A. Dickey For Assignment

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According LaVelle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, the Twins have designated right-hander R.A. Dickey for assignment in order to clear roster space for newly acquired reliever Ron Mahay.

Dickey, a knuckleballer who turns 35 in October, had a 4.62 ERA, 1.62 WHIP and 42/30 K/BB ratio in 64 1/3 innings with the Twins this season.  He has a 5.43 earned-run average in 442 2/3 career innings.  With those numbers, there's a good chance he'll land back at the club's Triple-A Affiliate in Rochester, New York.

Odds & Ends: Twins, Astros, Magglio

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Some links for the morning:

Indians Acquire Yohan Pino To Complete Pavano Trade

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The Indians have announced that they have acquired righthander Yohan Pino from the Twins as the player to be named later in this month's Carl Pavano trade. Pino was not on Minnesota's 40-man roster, so he did not need to pass through waivers to be included in the deal.

The 25-yr old has a 3.03 ERA and an impressive 4.00 K/BB ratio in 113 innings split between the Double- and Triple-A levels this year.

Twins Acquire Ron Mahay

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1:32pm: The Twins acquired Mahay from the Royals, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney. The Royals will cover most of his salary, and the Twins will pay the pro-rated MLB minimum, which should amount to less than $100k.

1:14pm: The Twins are "on the verge" of acquiring reliever Ron Mahay from the Royals, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The Royals designated the lefty for assignment last week. He allowed 55 hits and 19 walks in 41.1 innings, striking out 34. We first heard of the Twins' interest in the 13-year veteran yesterday.

Mahay makes $4MM this year, so there's about $740k remaining on his contract.

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