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Stark’s Latest: Lester, Miller, Byrd, Kemp, Danks, Rios

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With roughly three days until the non-waiver trade deadline, here are some highlights from the latest Rumblings & Grumblings column by ESPN’s Jayson Stark…

  • The Red Sox have contacted every contending team in each league and told them that Jon Lester is available for a two- to three-prospect package fronted by at least one upper-echelon prospect. One executive, however, tells Stark that the Sox simply can’t get as much as the Rays would get if they moved David Price, which isn’t surprising, given Lester’s impending free agency and the remaining year of control that Price has.
  • Lester isn’t the only player being shopped — Boston has firmly planted a “for sale” sign in the ground, and they’re willing to move any impending free agents with the exception of Koji Uehara, whom they hope to re-sign. They’re peddling Andrew Miller, Burke Badenhop, Stephen Drew, Jonny Gomes and Craig Breslow. The price for Miller is also exorbitant at this time, however, as officials from two interested clubs tell Stark that Boston has asked for one of the top prospects plus a lesser prospect.
  • The Giants have asked the Phillies about Marlon Byrd, but their main priority is second base. The Reds are reassessing their stance after losing eight of nine games, and the Royals have backed off of Byrd. The Mariners appears to be the most logical option, but Byrd still wants his $8MM 2016 vesting option guaranteed to approve a trade there.
  • Byrd tells Stark that he’d have to think long and hard if GM Ruben Amaro Jr. came to him and asked him to approve a trade to a team on his no-trade clause. While his hope was to retire a Phillie, he  appreciates how aggressive Amaro was in signing him. “[Ruben] made it easy for me this offseason,” he said. Still, given the odds that he’d want some form of perk to approve a trade, it’s no longer certain that he gets dealt.
  • While the Red Sox and Mariners have been connected to Matt Kemp, officials from other clubs tell Stark they feel an offseason trade is much more likely than an in-season deal.
  • The White Sox have had scouts watching the Yankees’ surplus of minor league catchers in recent weeks, fueling speculation that the Yanks would like to acquire John Danks.
  • Some officials believe the Yankees would like to find a right-handed hitting platoon partner to pair with Ichiro in Suzuki in right field. New York wants an option that doesn’t have commitments beyond 2014, making names like Justin Ruggiano of the Cubs and Chris Denorfia of the Padres as possible targets. Earlier today it was reported that Denorfia could be moved soon.
  • The Royals have decided that Alex Rios isn’t a good fit for their right field need. Because the team is unable to take on much additional salary (if any), they could wait until August to add a bat.
  • While Troy Tulowitzki’s name has had a lot of buzz around it, club officials from interested teams tell Stark there’s no indication he is available. Rather, the Rockies are open to moving bullpen arms Adam Ottavino, Rex Brothers, LaTroy Hawkins and Matt Belisle. However, the team would only move Hawkins if they’re overwhelmed. That seems a bit odd, given his age, but Hawkins does have a cheap club option and has drawn praise in Denver for his mentoring of younger talent.
  • The D’Backs are telling clubs that they’d move Addison Reed, but they don’t want to move Brad Ziegler. Arizona is also willing to move Aaron Hill and Oliver Perez. They’ll listen on Martin Prado and Josh Collmenter, although they’re more hesitant to deal them.
  • The chances of Cliff Lee being traded before August are almost nonexistent. Scouts who have seen him don’t think he looks close to healthy, and the money he’s owed is of course problematic.

Passan’s Latest: Crawford, Syndergaard, Tulo

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The Dodgers have been floating Carl Crawford’s name in trade talks, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports tweets.  It isn’t known how much the Dodgers are willing to eat of the roughly $69.25MM owed to Crawford through 2017, yet needless to say, it “will need to be a lot.”  L.A. was reportedly open to hearing offers for Crawford last winter, though there unsurprisingly wasn’t much interest given Crawford’s large salary, injury problems and declining performance over the last four seasons.

Here’s some more from Passan’s latest “Ten Degrees” column…

  • The Cardinals and Mets are staying in touch with the Rockies about Troy Tulowitzki’s availability, and the Mets are willing to include top pitching prospect Noah Syndergaard as part of a trade package.  Colorado isn’t budging, however, unless Tulowitzki actually demands a trade, which could be part of the “let him be the bad guy” strategy that Passan considers “a ludicrous way to run a franchise.”
  • The Phillies are still looking for “a return of any kind” in exchange for Cliff Lee, according to two executives on teams interested in the veteran southpaw.  This implies that the Phils want more than just salary relief, which could be difficult given the size of Lee’s contract.
  • The four-year, $70MM extension offer the Red Sox made to Jon Lester last offseason may have made sense on paper for a team that is loath to spend big on a pitcher into his 30’s, yet Passan feels this offer was such a lowball that it has turned the Lester extension talks “into a season-long story” and cost Boston its hometown advantage in re-signing the ace.  One Red Sox insider tells Passan that “the likelihood of Boston re-signing Lester lessens by the day” and trading Lester might now be the best way for the Sox to get some value for the left-hander.
  • The Red Sox and Rangers had serious trade talks about Lester in the 2012-13 offseason, even to the point of exchanging some player names.  This obviously doesn’t mean Texas would get in on the bidding on a Lester trade now, given that they’re far out of contention and Lester is only signed through the end of the season.

Sherman On Papelbon, Duda, Mariners

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Here’s the latest hot stove news from four pieces by Joel Sherman of the New York Post…

  • Jonathan Papelbon has told the Phillies that he won’t waive his no-trade clause to go to a team that will use him as anything less than a full-time closer.  Between the lack of teams looking for closing help and Papelbon’s large remaining salary, this is yet another obstacle that would hamper the Phils’ ability to trade their stopper, though they’re reportedly willing to eat at least some of Papelbon’s salary in a trade.
  • The Rays were one of several teams who tried to obtain Lucas Duda from the Mets over the years, yet the Mets held onto the young slugger and are reaping the benefits of Duda’s breakout season.  Playing largely against right-handed pitching, Duda has 18 homers and a .259/.356/.500 slash line over 365 PA.
  • The Mets and Yankees both sorely need to add some power, Sherman opines.
  • The Rays had talent evaluators specifically watching Mariners right-hander Taijuan Walker’s start against the Mets last week.
  • The Mariners have been linked to David Price, though one scout doesn’t know why Seattle is looking to add pitching and not hitting.  “Their rotation can do damage in the playoffs, but I don’t know if that offense can get to the playoffs,” the scout told Sherman.  “If you are going to trade a prospect as good as Walker, don’t you have to get the bat you so desperately need?”  Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik, however, says it’s all about the caliber of talent available to be added to a team.  “If you consider David Price a [grade] A and the only thing available to you as a hitter is a C-plus hitter, you are better off with the A pitcher.  It really all depends what opportunity presents itself. What are you giving up to what are you getting back?“, Zduriencik says.
  • Speaking of Price, the Rays’ recent hot streak has convinced one rival executive that the club will hold onto its star left-hander though the deadline.  Tampa can always re-open trade talks about Price in the offseason and in the meantime keep their ace and keep gunning for the top of the weakened AL East, the executive tells Sherman.

Phillies Release Tony Gwynn Jr.

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The Phillies have released outfielder Tony Gwynn Jr., the club announced.  Gwynn had been designated for assignment last week.

The 31-year-old outfielder hit .163/.281/.204 in 119 PA this season and saw time at all three outfield spots.  Gwynn signed a minor league deal with the Phillies this past offseason after spending the previous three seasons in the Dodgers’ organization.  Gwynn’s father and namesake, Hall-of-Famer Tony Sr., passed away in June.

Eight players remain in ’DFA limbo’ according to MLBTR’s DFA Tracker: Darwin Barney (Cubs), Matt Guerrier (Twins), Jim Johnson (A’s), George Kottaras (Cardinals), Juan Carlos Oviedo (Rays), Esmil Rogers (Blue Jays), Jose De Paula and Nick Noonan (both Giants).

Blue Jays Notes: Prospects, Asdrubal, Headley

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After going into the All-Star break on a 2-8 slide, the Blue Jays have righted the ship by winning seven of 10 games since the Midsummer Classic.  This hot streak has gotten the Jays back into the postseason picture, as they currently hold a one-game lead over the Yankees for the second AL wild card slot.  Here’s the latest hot stove buzz out of Toronto…

  • The Phillies specifically scouted a recent rehab start by Jays southpaw prospect Sean Nolin, Rogers Sportnet’s Shi Davidi reports.  Nolin was rated as the 97th-best prospect in the sport by Baseball America prior to the 2013 season, and he owns a 3.12 ERA, 7.5 K/9 and 1.62 K/BB rate over 13 Triple-A starts.
  • Also from Davidi’s piece, the Rangers are one of a few clubs who have been sending more scouts to watch the Jays’ short-season Class A team in Vancouver.  Righty Miguel Castro, left-hander Jairo Labourt and shortstop Franklin Barreto appear to be drawing the bulk of the scouts’ interest.
  • Indians shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera is “an option” for the Jays, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal reports (Twitter link).  Cabrera would presumably be a candidate at second base for Toronto since Jose Reyes is locked into the shortstop job; Cabrera saw lots of action at the keystone over the first three years of his career but hasn’t seen any action at 2B since 2009.  He is a free agent this winter and is thought to be an expendable piece for the Tribe since top prospect Francisco Lindor is on the way.
  • The Padres were willing to pay all of the $4MM that was owed to Chase Headley for the rest of the 2014 season as part of a proposed deal that would’ve sent the third baseman to Toronto, Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun reports.  An executive familiar with the negotiations between the Padres and Jays tells Elliott that San Diego was asking for Juan Francisco and two “not big-time prospects” in return.  Francisco (.242/.313/.529 with 16 homers in 249 PA) is having a much better season than Headley (.238/.300/.371 with eight homers in 330 PA) and comes with three years of control while Headley is a free agent after this season, though Headley has obviously been the more high-profile player in recent years.  San Diego ended up dealing Headley to the Yankees for Yangervis Solarte, Rafael De Paula and all but $1MM of Headley’s remaining salary.
  • The Blue Jays were one of 28 teams at the Rusney Castillo showcase on Saturday, Shi Davidi tweets, with the Jays sending “multiple people” to check out the Cuban outfielder.

Cafardo On Phillies, Iglesias, Prado, Red Sox

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The Phillies have a number of major trade chips on their roster, but the perception around baseball is that they’re asking for too much in return, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe writes in his weekly notes column.  Cafardo recently wrote that Philadelphia wanted three prospects in exchange for Cole Hamels, only to be told by a Phillies official that three was “too conservative” a number.  The Phillies, for their part, say they’re simply looking for “a fair deal” for any of their veteran stars.  Here’s some more from Cafardo’s latest piece…

  • The Tigers are so impressed with Eugenio Suarez’s play that they could look to trade Jose Iglesias, according to some scouts.  It would definitely be a sell-low move on Iglesias, who seemed to be Detroit’s shortstop of the future before stress fractures in his shins cost him the entire 2014 season.
  • The Red Sox were one of a few teams considering a move for Martin Prado, whose positional versatility and good clubhouse reputation would make a strong trade candidate, though the Diamondbacks have little desire to move him.  The Blue Jays were another team known to be scouting Prado.
  • The Red Sox are facing a 40-man roster crunch with several notable prospects in the offseason, and Cafardo wonders if the club could package some of these youngsters in a trade rather than risk losing them in the Rule 5 draft.
  • One AL scout disagrees with the general belief that the Yankees lack the minor league depth to move any prospects at the deadline.  “They have more in their farm system than people think. They have some arms, they have the Aaron Judge kid, [Luis] Severino, [Gary] Sanchez, [Peter] O’Brien, [Eric] Jagielo. If they wanted to make a deal, they have enough to give up,” the scout said.

NL East Notes: Howard, Colon, Mets

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Ryne Sandberg’s handling of Ryan Howard is becoming a key to the early portion of Sandberg’s tenure with the Phillies, Matt Gelb of the Inquirer writes. “I do think it’s important to have players who fit my type of players,” Sandberg said last week. “That’s important going forward. I think getting younger will be a step going forward.” It’s becoming clear that Howard, who Sandberg has repeatedly (and arguably with ample justification) benched, is not Sandberg’s type of player. Gelb notes that Sandberg’s years managing in the minor leagues impacted him, meaning that he would rather play a youngster than an unproductive veteran. GM Ruben Amaro, meanwhile, recently said that he was planning on Howard playing first base for the Phillies next year. A report last week indicated that the Phillies were considering releasing Howard, although Amaro has denied that’s the case. Here are more notes on the NL East.

  • Two NL East starters who could be traded, A.J. Burnett and Bartolo Colon, will face off Monday, Tim Healey of MLB.com writes. Colon says that he’s ignoring the possibility that the Mets might deal him. “I don’t know anything about that,” he says through an interpreter. “Those are decisions for the upper management, and you can’t control that stuff.”
  • The Mets are not likely to be buyers or sellers in the traditional sense, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com writes. That doesn’t mean they won’t be on the market, however — they will likely approach it with the goal of improving in 2015. GM Sandy Alderson says he isn’t likely to deal prospects for rentals. At the same time, they do not seem to be chomping at the bit to trade Daniel Murphy, although trading Colon could be a possibility.

Minor Moves: Chris Leroux, Zach Jackson

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Here are Sunday’s minor moves from around MLB:

Charlie Wilmoth contributed to this post.

Red Sox Considering Lester For Kemp Trade

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6:51pm: A source from the Dodgers indicates there are no significant discussions between the Dodgers and Red Sox involving Kemp or Lester, the Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo tweets.

4:00pm: The Red Sox are considering a trade with the Dodgers involving Matt Kemp and Jon Lester as the principals, a club source tells Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com. The Dodgers’ interest in Lester was reported yesterday by Edes.

Kemp’s name is being floated since the Dodgers are unwilling to part with top outfield prospect Joc Pederson, according to Edes. Centering a deal around Kemp, however, is problematic from the Red Sox’s perspective because of the $107MM remaining on his contract. For the deal to make any sense for Boston, Edes reports the Dodgers would have to be willing to eat a considerable amount of money, but they might be willing to do so for a pitcher of Lester’s caliber despite him being no more than a two-month rental. The Red Sox preference, however, is a package centered around Pederson.

Earlier today, it was reported Kemp is a backup plan for the Mariners while the Yankees are not currently in on the Dodgers outfielder. Kemp has been linked to the Indians and Rangers, as well.

Edes also notes Phillies left-hander Cole Hamels is not available and the Red Sox have not inquired about Cliff Lee. For more on the 2014 trade market, check out MLBTR’s position-by-position breakdown.

Latest On Yankees’ Pursuit Of Starting Pitching

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Here’s the latest on the Yankees’ search for starting pitchers, via CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman. Heyman covers a long list of potential options, so be sure to click over to his article.

  • John Danks of the White Sox appears to be among the Yankees’ top possibilities, Heyman writes. Heyman reported last week that the Yankees and White Sox were discussing a possible Danks deal. Danks, 29, has a 4.40 ERA with 6.3 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9 in 131 innings for Chicago this season. His contract, which will pay him $14.25MM in both 2015 and 2016, shouldn’t be a huge obstacle, although Heyman notes that Danks’ declining velocity (with a drop in his average fastball from 91.6 MPH in 2011 to 88.2 MPH this season) might be a concern.
  • The Yankees do not seem to be discussing an Ian Kennedy deal with the Padres.
  • New York isn’t currently thinking hard about acquiring Cliff Lee from the Phillies, since he’s currently working his way back from injury and should be able to clear waivers in August. The Yankees may not have the prospects necessary to acquire Cole Hamels, and he’s “barely available” anyway. The Yankees are not believed to want A.J. Burnett to return.
  • The Yankees are more likely to consider signing Jon Lester in the offseason than to trade for him.
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