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Yovani Gallardo’s No-Trade List

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When Yovani Gallardo signed his five-year, $30.1MM extension early in the 2010 season, details surrounding his no-trade clause were a bit vague. It was known that he received full no-trade protection through the 2012 season, but after that he would be able to list just 10 teams to which he could block trades.

Chris Cotillo of MLBDailyDish.com has learned the 10 teams on the list, and those teams have been confirmed by MLBTR's Tim Dierkes. Gallardo can block trades to the Orioles, Red Sox, Indians, Tigers, Astros, Angels, Yankees, Phillies, Pirates and Blue Jays.

Last night, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported that the Diamondbacks, who don't appear on that list, are interested in Gallardo. Gallardo could, of course, waive his no-trade clause and approve a deal to one of the aforementioned teams (the Orioles, for example, are rumored to be seeking rotation upgrades), but doing so creates another hurdle in the already complicated process of hammering out a deadline deal.

Gallardo, 27, is owed $11.25MM in 2014 and has a $13MM club option for the 2015 season on his contract. He's in the midst of a down season, having pitched to a 4.20 ERA with 7.9 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9. While his strikeouts and velocity are down (he's averaging 90.6 mph on his heater), that walk rate is the second best of his career, and his 48.7 percent ground-ball rate is a career best.

Yankees, Ian Stewart Discussing Minor League Deal

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10:50pm: Stewart has received interest from other teams and is weighing his options, tweets Jon Heyman of CBS Sports.

10:41pm: The Yankees and Ian Stewart are discussing a minor league deal, according to Buster Olney of ESPN (Twitter link). The Cubs released Stewart earlier this week after a controversial outburst from the former first-round pick on Twitter.

Stewart hit just .168/.286/.372 in 133 plate appearances for Triple-A Iowa this season. He's struggled tremendously since a solid 2010 season with the Rockies as a result of a wrist injury that he tried to play through. Stewart ultimately wound up undergoing surgery to correct the issue. From 2008-10, he hit .246/.334/.454 with 53 homers in 349 games for the Rockies.

It's unclear which other teams have talked with Stewart at this time, though Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN reported yesterday that the Twins aren't interested.

Cuban Prospect Dariel Alvarez Eligible To Sign

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It's been months since we've heard significant news on Cuban defectors Dariel Alvarez and Aledmys Diaz, but MLB.com's Jesse Sanchez writes that Alvarez has been cleared by the Commissioner's Office to sign with a Major League team. He has actually been cleared to sign for several months, but the process has been slowed by a change in agents. Diaz, according to a separate tweet from Sanchez, will not be eligible for free agency until next February.

The Dodgers, Rangers, Red Sox, Royals, Mariners, Diamondbacks, Padres and Yankees were among the teams in attendance for an Alvarez showcase in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. yesterday, according to Sanchez. The Marlins did not attend his workout despite its proximity to Miami, which gels with reports from the offseason that the Marlins weren't interested.

Alvarez, 24, is capable of playing all three outfield positions and has drawn praise for a strong throwing arm. The new collective bargaining agreement states that players who are at least 23 years of age and have a minimum of three years of professional experience are not subject to the international signing limitations. In other words, teams will be able to spend as freely as they wish to acquire Alvarez's services. In addition to the previously mentioned teams, the Twins and Cardinals were both connected to Alvarez this past winter as well.

Quick Hits: A-Rod, Phillies, Rangers, Angels

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Alex Rodriguez believes the Yankees do not want him to return this season, and perhaps ever again, a source told Wallace Matthews of ESPNNewYork.com. The source says that A-Rod thinks the Yankees are deliberately slowing his return to their active roster in the hope they can have him declared medically unfit to play this season, enabling them to recoup the bulk of his $28MM salary through insurance.  "Alex thinks there's something really off about this situation," the source said. "Here we have a doctor declaring him fit to play. You think they would be happy about that."  Recently, Rodriguez tweeted that he was excited to have the green light from his doctor to play games again and Cashman responded to Matthews' colleague Andrew Marchand by saying, in slightly sharper language, that Rodriguez should keep that sort of thing under his hat.  Here's more from around baseball..

  • The Yankees could be a trade partner for the Phillies, opines Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com.  Chase Utley, Carlos Ruiz, and Michael Young could be of serious interest to the Yankees, who are in the market for catching and corner-infield help.  A baseball exec tells Salisbury that the Yanks have already kicked around Ruiz’s name as a possible upgrade behind the plate.
  • The Rangers are in the market for a starting pitcher if there is a significant upgrade available, writes T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com.  Daniels likes his  young starters and wants to see what happens with Alexi Ogando and Colby Lewis, but he did acknowledge he will consider trading for starting pitching.  He added that he expects ownership to support any major moves the Rangers attempt, if there is extra finances involved.
  • Angels GM Jerry Dipoto asserts that he is neither a buyer or a seller as the deadline approaches, writes MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez.  “I don’t see drastic paths. We have a roster of veteran players, most of whom are under club control, a very talented offensive club, pitching staff is evolving, some pending free agents, many others under club control. We’ll assess as we go," said the GM.

Teixeira To Undergo Season-Ending Surgery

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4:13pm Jon Heyman of CBS Sports tweets that the Yankees have insurance on Teixeira's contract which, when coupled with the initial WBC salary relief, should cover about 80 percent of Teixeira's $22.5MM salary.

3:06pm: At a press conference, Teixeira confirmed to reporters, including Andy McCullough of the Star Ledger, that he's done for the season (Twitter link). Bryan Hoch of MLB.com tweets that the surgery will require 4-5 months of rest and rehab. Teixeira is hoping to be 100 percent in six months.

2:54pm: The Yankees announced today that doctors have recommended surgery for the torn sheath tendon in Mark Teixeira's right wrist. Such a procedure would almost certainly mean that his season is over.

Teixeira, 33, initially injured his wrist while preparing for the World Baseball Classic and missed nearly two months before being activated from the DL on May 31. He received just 66 plate appearances this season and hit .151/.270/.340 with three homers.

Joel Sherman of the New York Post recently pointed out that the Yankees' decision to activate Teixeira could cost the team more than $15MM, as the WBC would've been on the hook for the injury. The Yankees are sorely lacking right-handed pop, and Teixeira's injury should impact the team's strategy as the trade deadline draws near.

Lyle Overbay, signed by the Yankees at the end of Spring Training, has filled in admirably at first base. However, he's hitting just .197/.229/.333 against left-handed pitching.

AL East Notes: Yankees, Reyes, Cano

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The AL East features one of baseball's tightest races, with just 6.5 games separating first place from fifth place. Here's the latest from the division that's currently fronted by the Red Sox…

  • The Yankees have an alarming lack of right-handed power, writes Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Prior to tonight's home run by Jayson Nix, the Yankees hadn't received a right-handed homer since Mark Teixeira's blast on June 4. That weakness is compounded by the fact that Teixeira's injured wrist hasn't responded well to a cortisone shot. Still, GM Brian Cashman told Sherman that he's not aggressively pursuing right-handed bats at this time.
  • MLB.com's Greg Johns tweets that after many days of speculation, the Blue Jays will option Munenori Kawasaki to Triple-A Buffalo and transfer Ramon Ortiz to the 60-day disabled list to clear roster space for the returning Jose Reyes.
  • Robinson Cano isn't thinking about his next contract, though the Yankees' superstar did make the mistake of stating that he will "be a free agent either way" when asked about his stalled contract negotiations on Monday, writes Chris Dell of the New York Daily News.
  • Within that same piece, Cano also added that the Yankees desperately need Alex Rodriguez back, lauding not only his talent on the field but also his underrated leadership behind closed doors.

Reid Brignac Elects Free Agency

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TUESDAY: Brignac has elected free agency, tweets MLB.com's Bryan Hoch.

MONDAY: Brignac has cleared waivers and may elect to become a free agent, tweets Heyman.

FRIDAY: The Yankees have designated infielder Reid Brignac for assignment, according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports (on Twitter).

Brignac, 27, hit .114/.133/.136 in 45 plate appearances for the Yankees after being acquired from the Rockies in exchange for cash. Brignac was a long-time top prospect with the Rays and four times ranked among Baseball America's Top 100 prospects, but has just a .221/.262/.311 batting line in 814 career plate appearances.

AL East Links: Sternberg, Hughes, Teixeira, Orioles

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The Blue Jays' 11-game win streak was snapped tonight at Tropicana Field in a 4-1 loss to the Rays.  Jeremy Hellickson delivered seven shutout innings of one-hit ball while James Loney, Wil Myers (in his home debut) and Sam Fuld connected on three straight solo homers in the second inning.  One more victory would've given Toronto a new franchise record for consecutive wins.

Here's the latest from around the AL East…

  • "If it’s up to me, it’s very unrealistic," that the Rays would leave the Tampa area, Rays owner Stuart Sternberg tells FOX Sports' Jon Morosi, though Sternberg warns that "the decision can be taken out of my hands at some point" by Major League Baseball if the Rays' stadium situation isn't resolved.  Sternberg discusses several topics in this wide-ranging chat, from his team's future in Tampa Bay to David Price and Evan Longoria's contracts to even the prospect of MLB returning to Montreal.
  • An AL executive sums up the Yankees' decision about trading Phil Hughes as "If he’s good, why trade him? If he’s struggling, what will you get?", according to Andy McCullough of the Star-Ledger (Twitter link).  Hughes hasn't pitched well this year (a 5.09 ERA in 14 starts) and will be a free agent this winter, though it has been speculated that the homer-prone Hughes could still be targeted by teams who play in pitcher-friendly stadiums.
  • Mark Teixeira received a cortisone shot over a week ago but is "still experiencing soreness" in his right wrist, Yankees GM Brian Cashman told reporters (including Andy McCullough) in a conference call today.  Teixeira's lack of progress renews speculation that he may have to undergo season-ending surgery, though Cashman didn't want to comment on the possibility or possible future moves at first base until more was known about the injury.
  • The Orioles are known to be looking for pitching help but since they aren't willing to move any top prospects or core players, Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun thinks the O's will have to wait until close to the trade deadline "to see if they can get a bargain" since they currently wouldn't be able to find a true upgrade at their price.
  • Orioles manager Buck Showalter told reporters (including MASNsports.com's Roch Kubatko) that "we would have liked, in a perfect world, to have [Mark Reynolds] back" this season.  "I know our guys liked Mark. He's a good teammate, a good guy, an easy guy to manage. We'd like to have had him, but it just didn't work out," Showalter said.  Reynolds signed with the Indians last winter and took a .741 OPS and 14 homers into tonight's action, so while the O's could've used Reynolds at DH, they're very set at the corner infield spots thanks to Manny Machado and Chris Davis.

Martino’s Latest: Hughes, Joba, Nats, O’s, Nolasco

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Andy Martino of the New York Daily News has a new column up that is loaded with trade deadline info after speaking to several Major League executives over the past few days. Here are some highlights from his excellent article…

  • One National League executive told Martino that the Yankees won't be able to get a useful bat or prospect back for either one of Phil Hughes or Joba Chamberlain.
  • The Nationals are the most aggressive buyer on the market at this point, and their primary focus is on starting pitching. "They're calling everybody, said Martino's source. The Nationals recently placed the struggling Dan Haren on the disabled list, and Chris Young has been worse at Triple-A with a 7.88 ERA.
  • The Orioles are also making calls as part of a search for starting pitching, which lines up with reports from last week.
  • Martino spoke with another NL official who told him that the Marlins are "aggressively" shopping their pitchers. Ricky Nolasco is known to be available, and they're said to be open to dealing Ryan Webb as well. I'd imagine that the team will be willing to listen to offers on Kevin Slowey and Chad Qualls also. It would make sense to listen on Mike Dunn and Steve Cishek, though previous reports state that the Fish would like to hold onto both relievers.
  • Nolasco's name came up in February trade talks with the Mets, and one NL executive says that the Marlins are still "desperate" to move him. The Mets aren't a fit for Nolasco at this point, but Martino reiterates that the team could act as buyers this July, despite their losing record, as they look to add outfielders with multiple years of team control.

AL East Notes: Ramirez, Gonzalez, Yankees, Papelbon

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Manny Ramirez wants to return to the Majors, but Andrew Marchand of ESPNNewYork.com spoke with an official who doesn't think he'd be a fit with the Yankees, despite the Yanks' recent offensive woes: "Can't see him in the Bronx given all the baggage he brings," said Marchand's source. Marchand also polled readers, who are split about 50-50 on whether or not they would approve of a Ramirez acquisition at this point. Here's more on the AL East…

  • Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington was the only Major League GM present to watch Cuban right-hander Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez's recent showcase in Tijuana, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Numerous other teams were there to see him, though they were represented by scouting directors and assistant GMs. One executive told Rosenthal: “The world was there to see him. A million teams were in there."
  • Joel Sherman of the New York Post wonders if the Yankees should consider selling low on Joba Chamberlain and Phil Hughes in order to supplement their roster with some right-handed bats that can help alleviate the team's woes against left-handed pitching. Both are free agents at season's end, and neither is a key component to their success at this point, opines Sherman.
  • In light of the Red Sox's recent closer shuffle, Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal asks if the best solution is for the Sox to re-acquire Jonathan Papelbon. As MacPherson points out, the Sox have tasked four relievers with replacing Papelbon — Andrew Bailey (twice), Mark Melancon, Alfredo Aceves and Joel Hanrahan — and none have been able to get the job done to this point. 
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