NL Central Notes: Correia, Greinke, Hart, Ramirez
Here’s the latest out of the NL Central as we keep a close eye on the latest Zack Greinke rumors..
- The Pirates have moved Kevin Correia to the bullpen to make room for Wandy Rodriguez in the rotation and Correia isn't thrilled about it, tweets Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. The Angels could be interested in acquiring the California native, who says that he hopes to get back to being a starter.
- As it stands now, Greinke is scheduled to pitch against the Nationals on Sunday, but Nats skipper Davey Johnson doesn't expect to see the right-hander on the hill, writes Amanda Comak of the Washington Times. "I'd be real surprised," Johnson said. "I know in the past if a ballclub's intent on making a move, you're not going to pitch him two days before the deadline."
- Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com handicaps the most likely destinations for Greinke and the Rangers top the list with 9-5 odds. The Red Sox are categorized as a longshot with 100-1 odds.
- Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com (via Twitter) believes that someone will bite on the Pirates' Kevin Correia as he is owed just $1MM for the rest of the year. The Bucs are reportedly sending signals that they could part with Correia after acquiring Wandy Rodriguez.
- Teams have expressed interest in Corey Hart and Aramis Ramirez, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports. However, the Brewers would be have to be overwhelmed to trade either player.
- Brewers relievers Francisco Rodriguez, Jose Veras, Manny Parra and Kameron Loe had been drawing interest, but their value “tanked” following a poor showing in Philadelphia this week, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports (on Twitter).
- Astros GM Jeff Luhnow suggested to Rosenthal that absorbing salary can help Houston obtain better prospects in trades. “In this environment, you’re limited in how much money you can spend on the draft, how much you can spend internationally,” Luhnow said, referring to the rules regulating amateur spending in baseball’s new collective bargaining agreement.
- Pitching prospect Shelby Miller is available in trade talks, yet the Cardinals don't appear anxious to make an impact deal, Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports (on Twitter).
Zach Links contributed to this post.
Brewers Looking To Sell
Prior to the Brewers' road trip last week, General Manager Doug Melvin told his staff, "If we lose five out of six, we're selling." Milwaukee has now dropped six-of-six after being swept by the Reds and Phillies, and sources have told Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com that they could start moving pieces as soon as today.
The Brewers are known to be talking to teams about Zack Greinke, but the first trade or trades will likely be less significant. Others who could draw interest include Aramis Ramirez, Corey Hart, and George Kottaras.
Melvin would also love to trade starter Randy Wolf and reliever Francisco Rodriguez, but neither has much value. The Giants had interest in K-Rod at one point but are no longer going to pursue him after two poor outings against the Phillies, sources told Knobler.
Quick Hits: Giants, Dodgers, Mets, Red Sox
The latest trade rumors from around MLB…
- The Giants are still looking for bullpen help, Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com reports (on Twitter), They had some interest in Francisco Rodriguez until they saw him pitch recently and they don't view Jonathan Broxton as the solution, Knobler reports.
- GM Ned Colletti says the Dodgers are far from done, and will continue to look for a starter and a position player, Bob Nightengale of USA Today tweets.
- The Mets would listen to offers for Scott Hairston and Tim Byrdak, but only for pieces who could help them next year, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports (on Twitter).
- The Red Sox would like to obtain a right-handed bat, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe tweets. We covered more Red Sox rumors in a pair of AL East posts today.
Knobler On Rodriguez, Sanchez, Infante
The latest notes and rumors from Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com…
- The Brewers hoped to market Francisco Rodriguez to teams seeking bullpen help, but that may be difficult given the right-hander’s recent struggles and $8MM salary. "Good luck to them," one scout told Knobler.
- The Tigers view Anibal Sanchez as a true rental player, Knobler writes (all Twitter links). They see the right-hander as a middle-of-the-rotation starter, but felt they didn’t have a strong chance of acquiring a true top-of-the-rotation starter this summer. The Tigers proposed the trade for Sanchez and Omar Infante last week.
- It now appears likely that trade candidate Edinson Volquez will stay in San Diego, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports. The Padres intend to keep Volquez, who drew trade interest this summer, according to Heyman.
Mets Notes: Francisco Rodriguez, Brett Myers
The Mets are interested in right-handed relievers Jonathan Broxton and Grant Balfour, but they aren't close on any deals, according to reports yesterday. Here are the latest Mets-related rumors, as GM Sandy Alderson considers ways of adding to his bullpen:
- Andy Martino of the New York Daily News hears that Brewers president of baseball operations Doug Melvin told Alderson that Milwaukee isn’t selling yet (Twitter link). Martino suggests Francisco Rodriguez — the former Mets closer who continues to intrigue the team — would already be on the Mets if the Brewers had a worse record.
- The Mets haven’t been very aggressive in pursuing Brett Myers, Andy McCullough of the Star-Ledger reports (on Twitter). The trade candidate has 19 saves and a 3.52 ERA with 5.9 K/9 and 1.8 BB/9 in 30 2/3 innings with the Astros this year.
- Assistant GM John Ricco told Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com that the team won't overpay for help.
NL East Notes: Nationals, Mets, Rodriguez
Nationals GM Mike Rizzo told Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports that he's always looking to upgrade, but don't expect Washington to trade long-term assets for a short-term piece. “We’re never going to do a knee-jerk reaction to win now," Rizzo said. The GM added that he's comfortable with his team's bullpen and lineup. Here are the latest NL East notes…
- One prominent Mets player told Andy Martino of the New York Daily News that the team could use a right-handed bat. “We can’t hit lefties,” the player said. The NL East features some elite left-handed pitchers so a hitter like Carlos Quentin might appeal to Mets GM Sandy Alderson.
- Martino hears the Mets won’t trade their best prospects for a bat or a reliever.
- One veteran player suggested to Martino that the Mets should stay away from Francisco Rodriguez because the reliever has “too much baggage.” The Mets traded Rodriguez to the Brewers last year and appear to have some interest in bringing him back to Queens.
Mets Interested In Francisco Rodriguez
One year after trading Francisco Rodriguez to Milwaukee, the Mets have some interest in re-acquiring the right-hander, Ken Davidoff of the New York Post reports. Rodriguez is on the list of trade targets the Mets will consider as they look to improve their bullpen.
Milwaukee owner Mark Attanasio recently met with the team’s front office executives to determine how to approach the upcoming trade deadline. The Brewers won’t act until after the All-Star break and Attanasio will make the final decision, Davidoff writes.
Rodriguez, who was arrested at Citi Field in 2010, could appeal to the Mets because of his experience pitching in New York. The 30-year-old is in the midst of a solid season — a 4.00 ERA with 8.0 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9 in 36 innings — but the Brewers couldn't demand top prospects in return given his $8MM salary. The Mets might be able to acquire Rodriguez by adding payroll and surrendering lower-level prospects, Davidoff notes.
Rosenthal On Victorino, Red Sox, Braves, Brewers
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports has a new Full Count video up, so let's round up the rumors…
- The chances of the Phillies trading Shane Victorino may be greater than the chances of them trading Cole Hamels. The Dodgers, Reds, and possibly the Yankees could be fits for the outfielder, who originally asked Philadelphia for a five-year extension. They're unwilling to give him a contract that long.
- The Red Sox are likely to be one of the most active teams at the trade deadline. If they keep Franklin Morales in the rotation, they're likely to seek another left-hander for the bullpen. They could also acquire a starter and shift Morales back into a relief role.
- The Braves are not as adamant about not trading their top young pitchers as they were at this time last year mostly because there are more appealing choices on the market. They're looking for consistency and could part with one of Mike Minor, Julio Teheran, or Randall Delgado if they view someone like Matt Garza as a difference-maker.
- The Brewers remain more likely to sell than not, but they would still like to return to contention quickly. They could ask for big league pitching instead of prospects for Zack Greinke, plus Francisco Rodriguez figures to have value on the trade market. GM Doug Melvin is getting calls about John Axford and Jose Veras, and the trio of Randy Wolf, George Kottaras, and Shaun Marcum (if healthy) remain trade bait.
Quick Hits: Dodgers, LaHair, Wedge, K-Rod
Here's the latest news and headlines from around the league on the day Chase Utley told the world he was back with a home run in his first at-bat since the end of the 2011 season…
- There are very few viable options for the Dodgers as they look to add a middle-of-the-order bat, tweets Buster Olney of ESPN.com. Many of the players currently available are either fringe types or vastly overpaid for their services (like this one).
- Olney tweets that Cubs first baseman/outfielder Bryan LaHair has been scouted by the Dodgers, among other teams, but Los Angeles has reservations about his defense. Nonetheless, the Dodgers' need for a quality bat could lead to them overlooking LaHair's shortcomings and acquiring the power hitter before the trade deadline.
- Mariners manager Eric Wedge doesn't like the progress his young team has made this season, but he's not ready to start sending players to Triple-A, writes Geoff Baker of The Seattle Times. "It's frustrating because I know these guys are a much better offensive club than what we're seeing them do here at home,'' Wedge said. "I don't want to hear anything about the fences, or this, that and the other. It's about what they're doing at home plate and putting up good at-bats and hitting the ball hard."
- The Angels have a special assignment scout watching the Reds–Brewers series to check up on a few players including Francisco Rodriguez, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com. The Angels entered Wednesday night's action four and a half games behind the Rangers for first place in the American League West.
NL Central Links: Hanrahan, Soler, Pierzynski, K-Rod
Someone finally got to Aroldis Chapman and, of all teams, it was the light-hitting Pirates. Chapman allowed back-to-back doubles to lead off the 10th inning, allowing his first earned run of the 2012 season and first since September 10, 2011 — a stretch of 35 straight scoreless innings. Pittsburgh won the game by a 5-4 score.
Here's the latest from the NL Central…
- Joel Hanrahan doesn't think the Pirates will trade him this summer, the closer tells Ron Cook of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Cook opines that Pirates ownership's commitment to re-signing top players will be questioned if Hanrahan doesn't receive a long-term extension. Hanrahan told Cook he didn't think much about trade rumors, though we know he at least reads them on this very website.
- Astros GM Jeff Luhnow confirmed that his team still has an interest in Cuban outfielder Jorge Soler, reports MLB.com's Brian McTaggart. Luhnow wouldn't say if the Astros had submitted a contract offer by today, the reported deadline set by Soler's agents.
- A.J. Pierzynski tells CSN Chicago's Chuck Garfien about how he was almost dealt to the Cubs in 2003, as the Cubs offered the Twins a package of Juan Cruz and Todd Wellemeyer for the catcher. Pierzynski said that he'd like to remain with the White Sox when he hits free agency this winter but if the Southsiders' local rivals from Wrigleyville were to contact him, “if they were the only team that came after me and I wanted to continue to play, how could I say no?"
- Francisco Rodriguez wants to remain with the Brewers through the rest of this season, reports MLB.com's Adam McCalvy, though the reliever said he'd like to close again, in all likelihood for a new team since John Axford is ensconced as Milwaukee's stopper.