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Multiple Teams Discussing Paul Maholm

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SATURDAY, 1:44am: In a deal for Maholm, the Pirates want a starting pitcher who is ready to contribute, two high-ranking team sources told Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

FRIDAY, 8:23pm: The Dodgers and Pirates aren't necessarily close to a Maholm deal, but the sides believe there's a genuine possibility that a trade happens, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter link).

4:19pm: The Padres are not close to acquiring Maholm, according to Kovacevic (Twitter link).

3:46pm: The Dodgers and Padres are not the only clubs discussing deals with the Pirates, according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (on Twitter). The Mets appear to be involved in discussions for Maholm, according to Scott Miller of CBS Sports.

3:12pm: The two teams look close to a deal, according to Yahoo's Tim Brown (on Twitter).

3:10pm: The Padres are discussing Maholm with the Pirates, according to Scott Miller of CBS Sports (on Twitter).

2:59: The Pirates are "close" to trading Maholm, according to Jim Bowden of Sirius XM Radio (on Twitter). However, Tom Krasovic of AOL FanHouse hears that the Padres are not discussing a deal for Maholm (Twitter link). Meanwhile, ESPN.com's Buster Olney hears that the Padres are making progress on a Maholm deal (Twitter link).

2:36pm: The Padres are discussing Maholm with the Pirates, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.

1:29pm: The Pirates are willing to trade a starting pitcher for the right price, GM Neal Huntington told Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.  Huntington referred to starters close to free agency, which implies Paul Maholm or Zach Duke.

Kovacevic figures Maholm to be more popular than Duke, since the latter spent time on the DL this year with an elbow strain.  Maholm is signed reasonably through next year with a club option for 2012, making him appealing to the Dodgers.  The Mets, Cardinals, Padres, Twins, and Tigers may also be in the hunt for a starter.

Dodgers, Cubs Discussing Ted Lilly Deal

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12:29am: The Cubs are sitting on multiple proposals for Lilly, tweets Rosenthal.  The Dodgers are in the mix, but the two sides are still apart on money and players.  He adds that the Dodgers find themselves in a similar position with the Pirates' Paul Maholm.

11:49pm: It's unlikely that the two sides get a deal done tonight, but talks are moving in a "positive" direction, a source tells Jayson Stark of ESPN (via Twitter).

10:53pm: The Dodgers and Cubs are closing in on a deal, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney (via Twitter).

10:37pm: The Cubs are discussing two possible scenarios with the Dodgers, according to ESPNLosAngeles.com's Tony Jackson. One would send Lilly to LA and the other would send Lilly to LA along with teammate Ryan Theriot. FOX Sports reported early this morning that the Dodgers could acquire Theriot. ESPN.com's Jayson Stark confirms that the Yankees are in on Lilly and notes that they also inquired on Theriot (Twitter link).

10:21pm: The Cubs continue discussing Lilly with the Yankees and Dodgers, according to Ed Price of AOL FanHouse (Twitter link).

9:49pm: The only thing preventing the Cubs from sending Lilly to the Dodgers is money, according to ESPN.com's Jayson Stark (via Twitter). The clubs can't agree on how much money the Cubs would take on, but it could be enough to prevent a deal from happening.

8:59pm: The Yankees are still in on Lilly, according to Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times (Twitter link). The Padres had discussions about Lilly, but nothing is imminent, according to Dan Hayes of the North County Times (Twitter link).

8:24pm: The Dodgers remain active on Lilly and seem intent on acquiring him or Pirates lefty Paul Maholm, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter link). Click here for the latest on Maholm.

3:18pm: The Reds have a "remote" chance of obtaining Lilly, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (Twitter links). The clubs haven't spoken in recent days, but the Reds are not on Lilly's no-trade list.

2:10pm: The Tigers still aren't out on Lilly, reports ESPN's Jayson Stark.  He adds that a mystery team is in the mix.  Hard to pin down a reasonable match, with the Padres not interested.

Rosenthal tweets that the Dodgers are more inclined to get Lilly without Theriot.

2:05pm: The Dodgers are talking to the Cubs about a multiplayer deal that would include Lilly and a position player, tweets Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times.  Hernandez does not believe Theriot would be the position player.  By the way, Tom Krasovic of AOL FanHouse tweets that the Padres are not a fit for Lilly.

11:58am: The Dodgers are waiting for Lilly's cost to come down, tweets Yahoo's Tim Brown.  He notes that they're also monitoring Paul Maholm and Jason Frasor.  The Pirates are willing to move a starting pitcher for the right price, GM Neal Huntington told Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

7:10am: The Dodgers and Cubs are discussing a trade that could send Ted Lilly and Ryan Theriot to Los Angeles, report Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.  They say it's not known whether a deal is close.  The Cubs would need to kick in cash – Lilly has $4.3MM remaining and Theriot has $933K.

Theriot received a $2.6MM salary for 2010 after losing an arbitration case to the Cubs in February.  He's under team control through 2012; the FOX writers see him taking over at second base for the Dodgers.  It doesn't seem to be the strongest need for them, with Blake DeWitt currently outperforming Theriot and Jamey Carroll and Ronnie Belliard also on the roster.

There aren't a ton of great matches for Lilly at this point, as action with the Tigers, Twins, and Mets has cooled and the Phillies are out of the mix.  I wonder if we'll hear anything about the Cardinals and Padres looking at the lefty.

Pirates, D’Backs Agree On Chris Snyder Trade

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10:43am: The minor leaguer going to the Pirates will be shortstop Pedro Ciriaco, tweets Kovacevic.  Baseball America ranked Ciriaco 27th among D'Backs prospects heading into the season, praising his defense and speed.

9:55am: The Pirates will also receive a minor leaguer in the deal, reports MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch.  So it's Snyder, a minor leaguer, and cash to the Pirates for Carrasco, Church, and Crosby.  The Pirates will not flip Snyder, tweets Kovacevic.

9:42am: The D'Backs will also get reliever D.J. Carrasco, reports MLB.com's Steve Gilbert.  Carrasco has $336K plus incentives left on his contract this year, and he's under team control through 2012.  He should be a useful piece in what figures to be a revamped bullpen for Arizona next year.

9:31am: The D'Backs will receive Bobby Crosby and Ryan Church in the deal, tweets Jack Magruder of FOX Sports Arizona.  This explains the call-ups today of Argenis Diaz and Jeff Clement, to some extent.  The inclusion of Crosby and Church offsets about $883K of the $8.18MM still owed to Snyder.

8:56am: Despite an agreement in principle, the two sides are still talking about names going to Arizona, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.  Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette spoke to an uninvolved industry source who wonders if the Pirates might flip Snyder.

SATURDAY, 12:37am: The only thing standing in the way of a Snyder-to-Pittsburgh deal is the commissioner's approval for cash changing hands, reports Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic.  It is still not clear as to what Arizona will receive in return, he adds (via Twitter).

FRIDAY, 8:57pm: The Pirates have spoken to the D’Backs about a trade that would send catcher Chris Snyder to Pittsburgh, according to Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. The FOX Sports writers suggest Arizona would likely send money to Pittsburgh in any deal. Snyder has $1.7MM remaining on his contract in 2010, plus $5.75MM next year and either $6.75MM or a $750K buyout in 2012.

The Pirates currently have Jason Jaramillo and Erik Kratz on the active roster, but Ryan Doumit is on the DL with a concussion. Like Snyder, Doumit has a lot of money coming his way. He'll earn $5.1MM in 2011 and the club holds options for 2012-13.

Earlier in the week, Bill Shaikin of the LA Times reported that the D'Backs were trying to trade Snyder, but this is the first we've heard of the Pirates' interest.

Odds & Ends: Lowell, Perez, Zambrano, Ross

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Links for Friday, with less than 24 hours before the deadline…

  • The Pirates acquired minor league outfielder Mitch Jones from the Braves, according to MLB.com's transactions page. David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution says the Braves obtained cash in return (Twitter link).
  • The Rangers are the only team that has slight interest in Mike Lowell, according to Sean McAdam of CSNNE.com (via Twitter).
  • The Mets shopped Oliver Perez today, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (Twitter link).
  • The Cubs are resigned to the fact that if they want to trade Carlos Zambrano, it will have to happen in the winter, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney (on Twitter).
  • Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports will believe that Cody Ross is unavailable once the deadline passes tomorrow. Until then he's a skeptic (Twitter link).
  • Teams like Joe Beimel, but are only offering the Rockies non-prospects, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post (on Twitter). The Rockies are shopping Randy Flores.
  • GM Doug Melvin and assistant GM Gord Ash explained to MLB.com's Adam McCalvy that the Brewers look for "plus" fastball velocity, quality breaking pitches, solid arm action and delivery and height in the pitchers they pursue.
  • The Rangers are talking to rival teams to determine if there's interest in Rich Harden or Scott Feldman, according to T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com.
  • The Astros wanted Chad Billingsley in exchange for Roy Oswalt, according to Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times (Twitter link). The Dodgers countered with a four-prospect offer, but the Astros preferred the Phils' offer.
  • The Royals aren't making much progress on deals, according to ESPN.com's Jayson Stark (Twitter link).
  • I answered questions from Neil Keefe and broke down the trade deadline in detail at WFAN.com.

Twitter Rumors: Lowell, Ross, Dotel, Heilman

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A home for today's random Twitter rumors…

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Berkman, Dunn, Dodgers

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On this date two years ago, Ichiro Suzuki picked up his 3,000th career hit with a first inning single against the Rangers. The hit was his 1,722nd in the big leagues, which came after he racked up 1,278 hits with the Orix Blue Wave in Japan's Pacific League. Including the postseason, the 36-year-old Ichiro has 3,456 career base hits to his credit, a staggering number no matter how you look at it.

Here is the latest from around the baseball blogosphere, a day before the non-waiver trade deadline…

If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here.

Pirates Release Brendan Donnelly

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THURSDAY: The Pirates have released Donnelly, tweets MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch.  Perhaps he'll finish strong with a new club, as he did last year.

SUNDAY: The Pirates have designated veteran reliever Brendan Donnelly for assignment, according to the team's official Twitter feed.

Donnelly, 38, signed a one-year deal worth $1.35MM back in January following a strong 2009 with the Marlins. The right-hander struggled tremendously in Pittsburgh, with a 5.58 ERA and nearly as many walks (25) as strikeouts (26) through 30.2 innings of work.

Opponents did hit just .234 against him, but the walks, in combination with allowing six home runs, were what did him in.

Odds & Ends: Joba, Orioles, White Sox, Mets

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Big names have traditionally been traded on July 29th, including Cliff Lee and Mark Teixeira in recent years.  Perhaps today we'll add Roy Oswalt to the list.  Links for Thursday with about 51 hours until the deadline…

Stark On Phillies, Indians, Ross, Athletics

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Today's rumblings from ESPN's Jayson Stark…

  • Shane Victorino's oblique injury yesterday appears to close the door on a Jayson Werth trade.  MLB.com's Todd Zolecki seems to agree, but unlike Stark he feels that the Phils "remain a top contender" for Roy Oswalt.  More on Oswalt here.
  • Stark writes of indications the Phillies have turned to starters such as Jake Westbrook and Fausto Carmona and relief options like Octavio Dotel. Jon Heyman of SI.com notes that the Indians are talking trades with the Phils (Twitter link).
  • Speaking of the Indians, Stark senses they do want to move money off the books.
  • The Marlins have told teams they could deal Cody Ross in August if they fall out of contention, but they'd have to match up only with the team that wins the claim.
  • The Braves maintain strong interest in Josh Willingham, though there's a good chance they stand pat.  Willingham is just one of many Nationals veterans generating interest, GM Mike Rizzo told ESPN 980.
  • Athletics assistant GM David Forst told Stark "it would have to be an over-the-top deal for us to even consider it" in regard to trading relievers such as Michael Wuertz, Craig Breslow, and Brad Ziegler.

Lefty Reliever Rumors

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Scott Downs, Will Ohman, Javier Lopez, Craig Breslow, George Sherrill, Doug Slaten, Brian Tallet, Mark Hendrickson, and Bruce Chen make up most of the trade market for left-handed relievers.  Today's rumors…

  • Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports tweets that he feels the Giants, Phillies, Red Sox, Twins, and Rays could use a left-handed reliever.
  • Morosi tweets that the Pirates are getting calls on Lopez, who is affordable now and under team control for 2011.  Lopez has surrendered too many walks to both lefties and righties, but his groundball rate is 59.6% and he's whiffed southpaws at a strong rate.
  • The Indians are getting hits on Rafael Perez, tweets Morosi's colleague Ken Rosenthal, but they aren't motivated to trade him.  Perez is technically under team control through 2013.  With a 5.6 K/9 and 4.0 BB/9, Perez's best asset is his 57.4% groundball rate – much like Lopez.
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