Pirates Rumors

B.J. Upton Rumors: Tuesday

By Tim Dierkes | July 26, 2011 at 2:50pm CDT

The latest on Rays center fielder B.J. Upton, who owns a .229/.310/.399 line on the season:

The Rays had a scout watching the Nationals' Triple-A team yesterday, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post.
The Giants are showing strong interest, tweets SI's Jon Heyman.
The Indians, Giants, Braves, and Pirates are among the teams in on Upton, report Jon Paul Morosi and Ken Rosenthal. The Royals are not seriously pursuing Upton, while the Brewers, Rangers, and Phillies are not involved.
The Nationals have balked at trading pitchers Ross Detwiler or Brad Peacock for Upton, reports ESPN's Jayson Stark. One executive says the Giants have moved in.
Five teams are "in play" for Upton, a source tells Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (Twitter link).

My apologies for an earlier error in which I erroneously attributed Joel Sherman's "asking for a ton" quote to the Rays and B.J. Upton. The quote actually referred to the Cardinals and Colby Rasmus.

West Rumors: Angels, Iannetta, Rangers

By Tim Dierkes | July 26, 2011 at 10:28am CDT

The latest on a few AL and NL West clubs…

The Marlins "are scouting the Angels closely," reports Kevin Baxter of the L.A. Times. Baxter believes Marlins closer Leo Nunez could be a fit for L.A., but the two teams might not match up. Head over to CloserNews for Dan Mennella's look at which other closers might be on the move this month.
The Pirates have cooled on Rockies catcher Chris Iannetta, reports Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post.
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports would be shocked if the Rangers don't address their bullpen, regardless of what happens with Carlos Beltran.
Padres reliever Mike Adams was affected by recent trade rumors, he admitted to Don Norcross of the San Diego Union-Tribune.
David DeJesus' wife "goes to the trade rumor sites," the A's outfielder told John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle. DeJesus and teammate Josh Willingham leave the trade chatter to their better halves. Willingham told Susan Slusser of the Chronicle he'd be open to discussing an extension with Oakland, but Slusser's team source says they don't want to talk to potential free agents about contracts until after the season.

Carlos Beltran Rumors: Monday

By Tim Dierkes | July 25, 2011 at 9:56pm CDT

MLBTR readers would trade for B.J. Upton over Carlos Beltran, but one GM said to Yahoo's Jeff Passan, "Upton and Rasmus are better long term, but if I want to win this year, I'm getting Beltran." Yesterday we learned that Beltran has a list of seven NL teams to which he will accept a trade, though publicly he expressed a willingness to play for the Rangers and Red Sox when asked by a reporter about the five most interested clubs. The Giants, Braves, and Phillies are seen as more likely. Today's Beltran rumors, with the newest at top:

Joel Sherman of the New York Post believes the Rangers are pushing hardest for Beltran, followed by the Braves and Red Sox. The Giants and Phillies appear to be fading, Sherman writes (on Twitter).
The Rangers and Giants appear to be ahead of the Phillies and Braves in pursuit of Beltran, according to ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick (on Twitter). As Crasnick points out, everything can change quickly.
There isn't much confidence within the industry that the Mets will obtain a top prospect for Beltran, according to Newsday's Ken Davidoff.
Beltran said yesterday that he has had "zero" contact with GM Sandy Alderson regarding possible trades, according to Newsday's David Lennon (on Twitter).
The Phillies have cooled on the idea of trading for Beltran, according to ESPN.com's Jayson Stark.
Beltran told Mike Puma of the New York Post, "I have not told (the Mets) I won't play for an American League team. I don't know where that is coming from" (Twitter link). Beltran said he's fine with the American League as long as he doesn't have to DH.
There's no sign of the Mets dropping their price on Beltran, tweets ESPN's Jerry Crasnick.
The Giants and Phillies continue to be the favorites with the Braves still in the mix, tweets Yahoo's Tim Brown.
The Giants, Red Sox, and Pirates could take on the most money in a Beltran deal, opined one executive to Joel Sherman of the New York Post (Twitter link).
As with B.J. Upton, the Braves don't appear willing to give up Julio Teheran, Randall Delgado, Mike Minor, or Arodys Vizcaino for Beltran, tweets ESPN's Buster Olney.
The Mets are "expected to finish evaluation of rival farm systems in next day or two" in preparation for a Beltran trade, tweets ESPN's Buster Olney.
The Phillies are saying top pitching prospect Jarred Cosart is unavailable in a deal, especially for a rental like Beltran, reports Passan. A scout from the Phillies will be at the Mets' game tonight in Cincinnati, tweets ESPN's Adam Rubin.
The Rangers ramped up their pursuit of Beltran in the last 36 hours, says Passan.
The Giants aren't close to acquiring Beltran, GM Brian Sabean told reporters yesterday.

NL Central Rumors: Volquez, Iannetta, Bourn

By Tim Dierkes | July 25, 2011 at 2:39pm CDT

The NL Central has four buyers and two sellers. The latest:

The Reds are drawing interest from multiple teams on righty Edinson Volquez, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The 28-year-old has a 5.93 ERA on the season and spent time at Triple-A. Still, he throws hard and is under team control through 2013.
The Pirates and Rockies have yet to exchange names on Chris Iannetta, tweets Jon Paul Morosi. The Pirates added one bat today, promoting Pedro Alvarez.
Interest in Astros center fielder Michael Bourn is still not high, writes Stephen Goff of Examiner.com. He says the Braves are not a good fit and the Nationals are highly unlikely.
The Astros had scouts watching the Triple-A clubs of the Diamondbacks and Braves recently, writes Rosenthal.

Rockies Rumors: Jimenez, Wigginton

By Tim Dierkes | July 25, 2011 at 12:18pm CDT

The Rockies are 11 games back in the NL West, so it's time to consider selling various pieces. The latest:

The Red Sox, Rangers, Tigers, Blue Jays, Yankees, and Reds scouted Ubaldo Jimenez's start yesterday in Arizona, tweets SI's Jon Heyman. Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post tweets that nothing has changed since his column yesterday – the Reds and Yankees make the most sense, with the Rangers, Red Sox, and Tigers lurking. At that point, Renck wrote that the price is huge – at least three players – but the Rockies "haven't pulled Jimenez off the showroom floor."
The Pirates have interest in Ty Wigginton, tweets Renck. Wigginton, who played for the Bucs from 2004-05, is a good source of righthanded pop at the corners.
Right-handed relievers Rafael Betancourt and Matt Lindstrom are also trade candidates, tweets Renck.

B.J. Upton Rumors: Monday

By Tim Dierkes | July 25, 2011 at 12:07pm CDT

Rays center fielder B.J. Upton may not crack the top 20 on our list of available bats ranked by wOBA, but his defense and potential are enough to make him a hot name on the 2011 trade market. The latest:

The Phillies have some interest in Upton, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post, but most calls to the Rays are coming from the Nationals, Braves, Pirates, Reds, and Cardinals. The Cardinals would have interest if they trade Colby Rasmus for pitching. Sherman adds that the Royals have interest in Upton with an eye on contending next year.
The Rays would want Julio Teheran, Randall Delgado, Mike Minor, or Arodys Vizcaino from the Braves for Upton, tweets ESPN's Jerry Crasnick. Crasnick does not find the Braves likely to make such a move.

Pirates Rumors: Pena, Beltran, Pence

By Tim Dierkes | July 25, 2011 at 9:39am CDT

The NL Central race remains tight, but the Pirates are technically above the Cardinals and Brewers at the moment. The latest on these surprise contenders…

We haven't read much beyond speculation linking the Pirates to Cubs first baseman Carlos Pena, but Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review lists Pena, Carlos Beltran, and Hunter Pence as three bats on which GM Neal Huntington has been "stymied" so far. Huntington explained the roadblocks he's encountered so far, including no-trade clauses and finding a match in value with the other team. The GM explained that he intends to "stay disciplined and stay with teams" in hopes of the asking prices going down.
ESPN's Buster Olney guesses the Pirates will end up acquiring a second-tier reliever and bat, he explained to Joe Giardina of Pittsburgh Sports Report. Olney has doubts that Beltran would accept a trade to Pittsburgh, and would be shocked if the Bucs meet Houston's asking price for Pence.
In a tweet, Olney speculates that Colorado's Jason Giambi "would be perfect as a bench addition" for the Pirates.
Alex Presley's thumb injury increases the Pirates' need for an outfielder, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.

At Least Four Teams Interested In Uehara

By Tim Dierkes | July 25, 2011 at 9:16am CDT

The Rangers, Pirates, Tigers, and Twins are among the teams that have expressed interest in Orioles reliever Koji Uehara, reports Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun. Interest from the Pirates and Twins was previously reported, and the Reds are known to have discussed Uehara at least internally.

Uehara, 36, is among the best relievers available this summer. He sports a 1.80 ERA, 11.8 K/9, 1.6 BB/9, 1.2 HR/9, and 31.3% groundball rate in 45 innings this year, and a reasonable $4MM option for next year vests with 14 more appearances. Uehara told Zrebiec he loves Baltimore and the Orioles, "but it's not going to be any fun if we don't win. That's the dilemma."

In theory, Uehara shouldn't be much easier to acquire than San Diego's Mike Adams, the biggest difference being the former's flyball leanings. Aside from the Uehara suitors mentioned above, the Red Sox, Yankees, Angels, Phillies, Braves, Cardinals, and Diamondbacks are seeking relief help.

Quick Hits: Trade Market, Giambi, Pirates

By Dan Mennella | July 24, 2011 at 10:45pm CDT

Some late-night linkage as the Reds walk off on the Braves on a Drew Stubbs blast …

The trade market is slow taking shape this year, and one GM tells Scott Miller of CBSSports.com that too many teams are intent on making the perfect trade or scared of making a bad one. Miller also suggests that trade talks were slow this weekend because many top executives were in Cooperstown, N.Y., for induction ceremonies at the Baseball Hall of Fame.
The Rockies may trade first baseman Jason Giambi before the deadline, though Troy Renck of the Denver Post wouldn't be surprised if Colorado were to re-sign the slugger in the offseason (via Twitter).
Pirates GM Neal Huntington says asking prices are high for a bat, and he thinks potential trade partners are using the Bucs' first successful season in nearly two decades as leverage, according to Laura Myers of MLB.com.

Pirates Looking For Relievers

By Zachary Links | July 24, 2011 at 1:08pm CDT

The Pirates are casting a wide net for relief help as the deadline approaches with names such as Jason Frasor, Octavio Dotel, and Koji Uehara on their expansive list, sources tell Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter). The club is also looking for a bat, Morosi tweets, but it doesn't sound like they're close to anything.

On Friday, ESPN.com's Buster Olney reported that the club is taking a "very, very careful" approach to the deadline and aren't planning on trading major assets this month. They also picked up reliever Jason Grilli late last week to help improve their bullpen situation.

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