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Dodgers Inquire On Michael Young

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From Dan Graziano of the Newark Star-Ledger:

The Dodgers continue to look everywhere for a shortstop, and tons of names have come up in connection with their search. They don’t seem likely to land the Pirates’ Jack Wilson, but they’re scouring other organizations for options, having touched base with Toronto about John McDonald, the Yankees about Alberto Gonzales, the Twins about Adam Everett and even the Rangers about Michael Young, though it’s unclear whether or why Young would be available.

Young is new to the discussion.  The 31 year-old shortstop is hitting .298/.345/.421 in 469 plate appearances this year.  He’s currently dealing with a fractured ring finger.  His five-year, $80MM extension was signed in March of ’07 but doesn’t kick in until next year.  Even if the Rangers would listen on Young, could the Dodgers take on such a contract?

Pirates Rumors: Grabow, Bay, Wilson

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Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has the latest Pirates buzz.

  • Lefty John Grabow is drawing interest from the Rays, Cardinals, Phillies, Red Sox, and Angels.  Grabow gave up a couple of homers in his last outing; he missed time earlier this month with arm fatigue.  The 29 year-old southpaw is under team control through ’09.
  • Calls are still coming in on Jason Bay and Jack Wilson, though the Rays are backing off on Bay.  Kovacevic says the Red Sox might provide competition for the Dodgers in the Wilson sweepstakes.  The Bucs interestingly called up shortstop Brian Bixler when Adam LaRoche hit the DL, but that simply may be to cover for an ailing Freddy Sanchez at second base.
  • Nothing to yesterday’s MLB.com report of Pirates’ ownership nixing a Bay-to-Atlanta deal.

Marlins Looking For Catcher, Reliever

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The NL East is a three-team race, with the Mets, Phillies, and Marlins all within a game of each other.  Who’d have thought the Marlins would be contending after trading Miguel Cabrera?

According to Mike Berardino of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, the Marlins have intensified their search for a catcher.  The targets: Bengie Molina, Ramon Hernandez, Gerald Laird, and Ryan Doumit.  Molina and Hernandez are the pricey options.  Doumit would be especially tough to pry loose; he has a .937 OPS this year as a 27 year-old.

MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro wonders if Miguel Olivo, Gregg Zaun, and Paul Lo Duca could also enter the mix.  He says it could even be a three-way possibility where the Jays acquire Olivo and move him to Florida.

The Marlins are also hunting for a lefty reliever, with Arthur Rhodes, Jack Taschner, John Grabow, Eddie Guardado, George Sherrill, Will Ohman, and Alan Embree all considered candidates.  Dejan Kovacevic rattled off five suitors for Grabow this morning, the Marlins not among them.  Also, the Marlins’ interest in Guardado is light.  The Giants and Mariners both scouted the Marlins recently, and Berardino wonders if Mike Jacobs would interest them.

Berardino says acquiring a catcher and reliever in one trade would be ideal.  The one Marlins minor leaguer considered off-limits is Sean West.

Pirates Owners Did Not Kill Bay-Braves Trade

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TUESDAY: Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette talked to sources with the Pirates and Braves, who said there is no truth to the report.  New ownership has not vetoed any trades.

MONDAY: According to Mark Bowman of MLB.com:

A proposed deal, which would have brought Jason Bay to Atlanta in exchange for four Minor Leaguers, was killed when presented to the Pirates owners for approval.

Bowman believes Pirates targets might include Brent Lillibridge, Brandon Jones, a talented A ball pitcher, and a marginal position player prospect.  He says the Braves will continue to pursue Bay.

Mets Unlikely To Acquire Outfielder

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Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes about the Mets’ unsuccessful search for a corner outfielder. 

The Mets find the prospect price too high on players such as Raul Ibanez and Jason Bay.  They don’t seem to care for Adam Dunn or Brian Giles.  They don’t like Randy Winn’s contract or lack of power.   And Manny Ramirez is unlikely for numerous reasons.

While the Mets are fans of Ibanez, they’ve made all of their interesting prospects untouchable.  The Mets may prefer to use some of those prospects in offseason deals.  For now they will stick with the red-hot Fernando Tatis and other internal options.

Week In Review: 7/20 – 7/26

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This one will be a bit lengthy, which can be expected as the deadline approaches. Here’s a review of some of the major moves and rumors of the last week:

  • The Yankees acquired Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte from the Pirates for OF Jose Tabata, RHP Ross Ohlendorf, RHP Dan McCutchen and RHP Jeff Karstens . I agree with Tim that Ian Kennedy would’ve been a better centerpiece, but Tabata is pretty highly-touted himself. Kennedy would have made a more immediate impact, while Tabata is only 19 years old.
  • The Dodgers acquired Casey Blake for minor league RHP Jon Meloan and C Carlos Santana. The Dodgers get a nice boost to their lineup without giving up too much, although Santana’s putting together a very impressive season in Class-A ball.
  • The Nationals sent Jon Rauch to the Diamondbacks in exchange for minor league 2B Emilio Bonifacio. Rauch adds to a strong bullpen for Arizona, while Bonaficio could become a very solid leadoff hitter in the future for Washington. They may have been able to get more for Rauch, but I personally like the move, regardless.
  • The Brewers acquired Ray Durham from the Giants for minor leaguers Darren Ford and Steve Hammond. Rickie Weeks has been a disappointment to an otherwise red-hot club. Can Durham provide a bit more stability? The power’s gone, but he can still get on base.
  • The Astros acquired Randy Wolf from the Padres for minor league pitcher Chad Reineke. This one confuses me a little bit; with all due respect, did the Astros forget they were 12.5 games out? I don’t see the logic in buying on a pitcher.
  • The Cardinals traded Anthony Reyes to the Indians for minor league pitcher Luis Perdoma. I don’t get this one either. I feel like the Cardinals could have gotten more, despite Reyes’ struggles in the past. The Indians could make this one look like a steal, in my opinion.
  • The Yankees are in deep discussion with the Mariners about acquiring Jarrod Washburn. Tim cites Buster Olney and Ken Rosenthal in saying that the Mariners want a top prospect in addition to the salary dump, but the Yankees are only offering a marginal prospect. Can’t say I blame them. A top prospect for an mediocre pitchers who’s due an additional $14MM? Sounds like Seattle’s getting greedy…
  • A new, and surprising name surfaced in trade talks: Manny Ramirez. Manny has said he would waive his no-trade clause, and based on interviews, has basically said that 2008 will be his last season in Boston. I can’t see Boston trading their (arguably) best hitter in the middle of a pennant race, however. I’d bet on him finishing out the season.
  • Speaking of corner outfielders, the Mets need one, and they know it. Having missed out on Nady and Blake, they will likely zero in on Raul Ibanez. Ibanez makes great sense for them, and the Mariners would obviously like to rebuild. I expect this one to get done.
  • There was a report that Roy Halladay came out and told the Blue Jays that he is unhappy in Toronto, which has provoked the Jays to explore their potential options. Halladay’s price would have to be astronomical, I’d think. He’s signed through 2010 and pitching like it’s 2003 all over again. Personal speculation: I think Halladay to the Cardinals with a Colby Rasums centerpiece would make sense.
  • Crisitan Guzman signed a two-year, $16MM contract extension. Guzman has revived his career after surgery following an awful 2005. I like the signing for the Nats.
  • Jorge Posada could be out for the season. The Yankees are looking for catchers. In addition to the names mentioned there, they could take a shot at signing Johnny Estrada, who was DFA’ed by Washington this week. Estrada was terrible in Washington, but has put up solid offensive numbers for a catcher throughout his career.
  • Brian Fuentes, Huston Street, and George Sherrill are all still potential trade pieces. Fuentes is the most likely to go, I’d say, although the Rockies are asking for quite a bit.
  • Tim updated the left-handed reliever and left field markets.

Perrotto’s Latest: Ross, Jacobs, Kent, Burnett

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Baseball Prospectus’ John Perrotto has a new column.

  • The Mets are looking at relievers Huston Street, Brian Fuentes, Arthur Rhodes, and Eddie Guardado.  On the radar for outfielders: Jason Bay, Raul Ibanez, and Randy Winn.
  • A new suitor for Fuentes has emerged: the Diamondbacks.  Would they really make another move for a reliever?  Other known suitors were named here.
  • The Marlins would consider trading Cody Ross or Mike Jacobs for relief help.
  • New name on the Rays’ radar: Dodgers second baseman Jeff Kent.  They’re better off with Akinori Iwamura aren’t they?
  • George Sherrill suitors: Cardinals, Tigers, Dodgers, Marlins, and Phillies.
  • The Blue Jays may offer A.J. Burnett an additional $2MM per year to convince him to stay for 2009-10.
  • The Rangers are "expected to be among the top bidders" for CC Sabathia this winter.

Kovacevic’s Latest: Pirates, Bay, Grabow

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Dejan Kovacevic brings us the state of the Pirates in a nice piece in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette:

  • As we know, the Pirates don’t want to trade Jason Bay. Kovacevic writes, "’We’ll need to be blown away," one team source said, referring to Bay."  The Braves, Mets, Phillies, and A’s are the latest to inquire.
  • If the Pirates don’t make any more deals, they will of course revisit the possibility in the offseason. Still, any of Bay, Jack Wilson, or John Grabow could remain long-term if the Pirates aren’t offered enough any time between now and next season, or if the Pirates don’t appear to be "legitimately competitive" in the first half next year.
  • The Xavier Nady/Damaso Marte deal was initially reported to revolve around Phil Coke and George Kontos; however, one of those was diagnosed with a damaged labrum, seemingly Coke.
  • Ross Ohlendorf is expected to join the Bucs rotation after three or four starts in Triple-A.
  • A fun fact from Kovacevic: "If the Pirates could have traded Nady and Marte straight up for Jose Tabata last winter, Huntington said, ’We would have done it in a heartbeat.’"

Odds And Ends: Gammons, Stark, Giles, Royals

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And still more minor notes from around the MLBiverse…

First from Peter Gammons:

  • Gammons says that the Marlins will not part with Anibal Sanchez for Brian Fuentes and will instead go after Arthur Rhodes.
  • The Cardinals now appear to be the favorite for Fuentes.
  • No teams seem willing to pay the asking price for Jason Bay.
  • The Indians will pay the remainder of Casey Blake’s $2MM salary.

Next from Jayson Stark:

  • The Mets are also showing interest in Randy Winn, but one official from another club feels Winn is just a backup plan.

A couple of random notes:

  • Bud Black says Brian Giles does not want to be traded and prefers to stay with the Padres.
  • Kevin Murphy notes that the Royals haven’t fared too well in the trade market the last few years.

Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.

More From Rosenthal: Bay, A’s, Mets, Rays

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Now we have Ken Rosenthal’s regular video contribution…

  • In an interesting twist, Rosenthal says the A’s have had regular conversations with the Pirates about Jason Bay. Rosenthal notes the A’s are hoping that other teams will balk at the asking price.
  • The Mets are making it clear they will not part with any of their top three prospects Fernando Martinez, Jon Niese and Robert Parnell.
  • Now that Xavier Nady has been traded, the Rays are more interested in acquiring a relief pitcher rather than an outfielder.

Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.

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