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Zduriencik: No Pressure For Mariners

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The Mariners are six games over .500, trailing the Angels and Rangers for the AL West lead just a year after losing 101 games. GM Jack Zduriencik has to decide whether to deal now, in August, or hope his team can win as-is. Here are the details from his conversation with Larry Stone of the Seattle Times, a chat that ended when the sight of Ken Griffey Jr. tickling Ichiro distracted the GM:

  • Zduriencik doesn't feel pressure, even ten days before the trade deadline.
  • He expects some deals to go down in August. 
  • He's open to re-signing his own free agents after the season, though he has only had casual conversations on the subject so far. Adrian Beltre, Erik Bedard and Jarrod Washburn headline the Mariners' crop of free agents. 
  • The Mariners are glad to have 2008 trade candidate Washburn around this year.  

Taking Stock Of Seattle’s Trade Chips

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The Mariners are in the playoff hunt with a 46-42 record, though many expected them to be sellers this month. As Gregg Bell of the AP reports, Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu and trade candidate Jarrod Washburn say they want to keep the team together and attempt to win now.

Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times says the Mariners "seem destined to make some trades" this month and offers up some trade candidates:
  • Miguel Batista – Baker says it makes sense to move Batista, who makes $3.3MM before the end of the year. He could offset salary coming to Seattle.
  • Relievers Sean White and Mark Lowe would atract interest and the Mariners may feel they have enough depth to part with one of them, especially with prospect Phillippe Aumont on his way.
  • Unless the Mariners fall from contention, Baker suggests it makes sense to hold Erik Bedard, whose value is limited because of his time on the DL.  
  • Dealing Jarrod Washburn is a "no-brainer" if the M's fall out of it.  
  • Brandon Morrow, Wladimir Balentien and Jeff Clement could all be moved as well.

Olney On Halladay, Bay, Mulder

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Any team with serious plans to acquire Roy Halladay cannot approach the Blue Jays with a list of untouchable players, as ESPN.com's Buster Olney points out. Here are the details:

  • If the Phillies want Halladay, they'll have to be prepared to discuss players like Michael Taylor, Dominic Brown, Kyle Drabek and Jason Knapp.
  • The Nats have a powerful young catcher in SIngle A. Derek Norris has already clubbed 20 homers, one for every year he's been alive.
  • If Jason Bay signs a contract extension early, he'll determine how much Matt Holliday receives on the open market after the season. Bay's older than Holliday, but he has 12 more homers and an OPS that's 100 points better than Holliday's, so he figures to sign for more.
  • The Mariners could think about extending Jarrod Washburn, Erik Bedard and Russell Branyan after the season if they don't trade them.  
  • Mark Mulder wants to pitch in the majors soon and he expects to begin auditioning for scouts in the next week or ten days.  

Odds And Ends: Bedard, Astros, Marquis

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Links for Tuesday morning…

Odds & Ends: Boras, Nationals, Bedard, White Sox, Giants, Astros

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Some evening links for those of you who haven't checked out for the long holiday weekend yet.

  • Billy Witz of the NY Times wrote about the relationship between the Dodgers and superagent Scott Boras.
  • The Nationals have agreed to terms with five international players according to Bill Ladson. A formal announcement of the signings will come in a few days.
  • Pete McElroy of MASNsports.com notes that the Nats have signed a pair of draft picks, including fourth rounder AJ Morris.
  • Geoff Baker of The Seattle Times notes that Erik Bedard threw a 54-pitch simulated game today and will start on Tuesday. Teams will have just enough time to evaluate him before the trade deadline.
  • Will Carroll tweets that the Giants and White Sox "want to make a deal quick." He later backs off a bit and says that the two teams won't necessarily made a trade with each other, but both are looking for good deals.
  • Kiley McDaniel has a list of four international players the Astros have signed.
  • Remember, you can get all your rumors instantly via MLBTR's Twitter feed.

Stark On Royals, Phillies, Holliday

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ESPN.com's Jayson Stark asks some thoughtful baseball people why we're not greeting Manny Ramirez like the "team-wrecking, alibi-distorting, female-fertility-drug-popping scoundrel he is." And, of course, Stark has piles of rumors. Here they are:

  • The Mets were never willing to move Bobby Parnell or other top young arms for Mark DeRosa, so they weren't as close to acquiring him as the Reds and Cubs were. The Phillies, Marlins and Giants were also in the mix.
  • The Indians are more interested in dealing Rafael Bentancourt than Kerry Wood, whose contract ($15MM remaining) would be hard to move.  
  • The Royals will listen on anyone but Zack Greinke, but that doesn't mean they're looking to deal starters. They're "reluctant" to deal Brian Bannister, Kyle Davies or Gil Meche, who has a no-trade clause.
  • The Phillies were looking at Juan Cruz, who the Royals say they'd only deal for an upper-tier prospect ready to make a big-league impact.  
  • The Reds will wait it out and ramp up their pursuit of a bat if they're in the race later in the month.  
  • One executive says Pedro Martinez didn't look bad in last month's workout; Pedro's just demanding too much money. 
  • The Phillies haven't given up on pursuing Cliff Lee, Erik Bedard or Roy Oswalt.  
  • The Braves are trying to deal Jeff Francoeur everywhere, but no one's interested. One front-office guy says his team would be interested if Francoeur's non-tendered.  
  • Officials are divided on whether Yunel Escobar could be dealt, but a trade is unlikely at best.  
  • Rangers GM Jon Daniels says he is now looking to bolster his rotation.  
  • As expected, Daniels confirmed that the Rangers will have "limited" ability to take on salary at the deadline. 
  • The A's will want "two prospects with tremendous upside" for Matt Holliday if they deal him. It's unclear how much of the $6.75MM remaining on his contract the A's would pick up.
  • Could Josh Willingham be the next-best bat on the market? One exec says he might be if Russell Branyan and Miguel Tejada don't become available.  
  • Another official says Willingham's unappealing because of his back issues.  

Rosenthal On Holliday, Lee, Jays

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On the MLB Network, Ken Rosenthal says he wouldn't be surprised to see the Indians deal Cliff Lee. Here are the details and the rest of his rumors:

  • There's a good chance Matt Holliday will be dealt, though the A's aren't shopping him now. They say they'd have to be impressed to deal him, but Rosenthal suggests this is just a more subtle way of asking for offers.
  • Several GMs believe Billy Beane will trade Holliday this month. 
  • Rosenthal isn't sure Cliff Lee will be in Cleveland for the rest of the year. He says the Indians aren't going to sign him when he becomes a free agent after 2010, so if someone offers the young top-of-the-rotation starter the Indians are looking for, they could deal their ace.
  • Victor Martinez is less likely to be dealt, as the Indians would consider keeping him after 2010, when they're expected to pick up his option.  
  • There's no chance Vernon Wells gets traded.  
  • Alex Rios, however, could appeal to some teams as a center fielder, so there's a chance he's moved. 

Knobler On Cardinals, Phillies, Giants

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Danny Knobler of CBS Sports identifies the five neediest teams in baseball. No team will be able to acquire big names easily, however, as officials around the league agree that impact arms and bats aren't available with so many teams in the race. Here's a closer look at Knobler's rumors:

  • The Cardinals have had less production out of the cleanup spot than just about any NL team and GM John Mozeliak says he's "not ignoring" the issue.
  • As one official points out, "thirty teams in baseball could use Mark DeRosa" and the Cardinals could use him most of all.
  • Knobler expects the Phillies to continue looking for a starting pitcher. He doesn't rule out Erik Bedard and says the Phils have considered Zach Duke and Paul Maholm.  
  • The Giants could use a hitter and Knobler hears that Brian Sabean's facing pressure from his superiors to make a move.
  • The Brewers could use an arm, as we know. 
  • Omar Minaya seems more intense than usual, but the many injuries to his players could make it harder for him to justify making one big move. As one Mets official said, the team is in a "bad position."

Gammons’ Latest: Red Sox, Washburn, DeRosa

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In his latest blog post at ESPN.com, Peter Gammons writes that "unless someone comes up with a Justin Smoak, Matt LaPorta or Brett Wallace," the Red Sox will hold on to Brad Penny and enjoy the depth. He says no one will offer up a prospect like that for a few months of Penny.

Here's the rest of Gammons' rumors:

  • Takashi Saito is the pitcher on Boston's staff most likely to be traded.
  • Jake Peavy and Erik Bedard "probably won't be tradeable before Aug. 1" because of their injuries.
  • Jarrod Washburn could be had.
  • The Red Sox have talked to the Angels about infielder Maicer Izturis, but the talks haven't gone anywhere
  • Mark Mulder "made considerable progress refinding his delivery after one session with pitching coach Rick Peterson."
  • The Mets are looking for an outfield bat. They made a run at Mark DeRosa, but wouldn't discuss Bobby Parnell.
  • The Cardinals wouldn't discuss Jason Motte or Chris Perez in exchange for DeRosa.
  • The uncertain situation surrounding the Cubs' ownership will likely prohibit any major additions.

Rosenthal On Buyers And Sellers

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Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports predicts whether six of the teams on the fringes of the playoff race will become buyers or sellers between now and July 31st, providing some rumors along the way:

  • The Cardinals, who are not interested in Miguel Tejada, are tracking Mark DeRosa.
  • Carl Pavano, Jamey Carroll and Rafael Betancourt could all become trade candidates.
  • The Indians will only move Victor Martinez or Cliff Lee if they're overwhelmed.
  • Rosenthal predicts the White Sox will be buyers. After all, their offense has lots of room for improvement and they're just 3.0 games behind Detroit.
  • If the Rockies sell, they could have two impressive trade chips in Jason Marquis and Huston Street.
  • One GM predicts that demand for Street will be so intense that he'll command more in return than Matt Holliday will for the A's.
  • The Yankees, Rangers and Dodgers could have interest if Street hits the market.
  • The Astros won't likely add payroll, but Rosenthal doesn't expect them to sell.
  • Along with Erik Bedard and Jarrod Washburn, the Mariners have Adrian Beltre. We don't know if any of them will hit the market, but Beltre's been hitting better for the last six weeks.
  • The Marlins are looking for a reliever who can set up for Matt Lindstrom.
  • Rosenthal predicts the Marlins will try to compete for as long as possible before considering deals for Jorge Cantu, Dan Uggla and Jeremy Hermida. 
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