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Roy Oswalt

Odds & Ends: Bumgarner, Tracy, Oswalt, Atkins

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Links for Friday night, as Edwin Jackson tosses a 149-pitch no-hitter against his former team….

Rangers Have Room For Rental Player

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According to GM Jon Daniels, the Rangers have room in their budget to trade for a player whose contract expires at season's end, tweets Jim Bowden of Sirius XM Radio. However, in a second tweet, Bowden notes that the club would require the court's permission to acquire a player whose contract runs past 2010.

The news is a mixed bag for Rangers fans who are curious to know how the team's sale and a recent judge's ruling will affect the club's ability to make trades. On one hand, Daniels makes it clear that acquiring an impact pitcher like Cliff Lee is still a possibility. Conversely, trading for a player with a multi-year contract like Roy Oswalt's would be more difficult to pull off. On top of that, if the Rangers were to trade for Lee or another player whose contract expires this year, they'd essentially be renters, as signing anyone to an extension seems unlikely at the moment.

Ted Lilly, Kevin Millwood, Ben Sheets, and Jake Westbrook are a few other potentially available arms who aren't under contract past this season.

Olney On Rangers, Sheets, Gonzalez, Orioles

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Lawyers in the game say the Rangers don’t have a good chance of completing their ownership transfer by the July 31st trade deadline, according to ESPN.com’s Buster Olney. That means Roy Oswalt won’t likely play for the Rangers this year. But GM Jon Daniels, who would like to add a veteran starter, could acquire Cliff Lee if he gets creative. Taking on salary would be a challenge, since the Rangers have borrowed $20MM or more from MLB to operate. Here are the rest of Olney’s rumors:

  • The A’s can afford to cover some of the $5.5MM remaining on Ben Sheets’ contract in a trade if it means they acquire better prospects. Since few teams want to take on payroll, the A’s, who paid part of Matt Holliday’s salary after trading him to the Cardinals last year, could improve the return they get for Sheets by absorbing money again.
  • Olney says recently-fired manager Fredi Gonzalez has been “a dead man walking” since the end of the 2009 season.
  • The Orioles aren’t in a rush to trade their veterans, partly because the team is struggling so much.

Judge’s Ruling Could Limit Rangers’ Summer Moves

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5:25pm: Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com tweets that the Rangers are "not totally discouraged by [the] judge's ruling."  In that tweet and a follow-up, Rosenthal said the judge noted the importance of the trade deadline and doesn't want the situation "to drag past [July 31]."  The ruling was intended to get both sides back into negotiations and a "mediator-type could be appointed." 

2:51pm: A federal judge ruled that Tom Hicks can't sell the Rangers without satisfying his creditors, according to Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. That could slow down the team's sale and prevent the Rangers from adding significant salary this summer. The Rangers should be able to add some payroll even if the judge's ruling slows down the ownership transfer, but the club may be unable to add expensive players.

Baseball executives believe the judge's decision will limit the Rangers' trade options this summer, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney (all Twitter links). One executive told Olney that "the Rangers can forget about Roy Oswalt, and maybe just about any other major player." Jon Heyman of SI.com agrees, saying (via Twitter) that Oswalt is not going to Texas. Rival teams bristle at the idea of the Rangers spending big while under MLB support.

Odds & Ends: D’Backs, Manny, Mets, Silva, Rangers

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Links for Tuesday before the Angels and Dodgers face off in Anaheim…

Rangers Can Add Some Salary Regardless Of Sale

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Rangers GM Jon Daniels told Ed Price of AOL FanHouse that his team could add a small amount of payroll even if its sale isn’t complete by the July 31st trade deadline. If new ownership takes over soon, Daniels says the Rangers will “try to add to the club,” but they will have room to add a limited amount of payroll regardless.

A scout who recently watched the Rangers’ Triple A affiliate told Price that the Rangers have some “big arms” and “OK” position players that could become trade bait. Daniels says he’d rather keep his prospects than trade them, but realistically, the Rangers will have to give something up.

The Astros are open to absorbing salary in trades, so Roy Oswalt is almost certainly on the Rangers’ radar. Daniels said earlier in the week that he is open to trading within the division, which means Cliff Lee could be an option for the Rangers if the Mariners make him available.

For now, Colby Lewis, C.J. Wilson, Scott Feldman, Tommy Hunter and Dustin Nippert are starting while Rich Harden and Derek Holland recover from injuries.

Astros Willing To Absorb Salary In Trades

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Astros owner Drayton McLane says his team would consider absorbing part of a contract in a trade if it meant getting better prospects, writes Zachary Levine of the Houston Chronicle. McLane admitted that the team will be "willing to look at anything" as the trade deadline approaches, but said that "nothing is imminent right now."

"It's totally and completely dependent on the offers you're getting in return," McLane said of the salary issue. "We'd have to evaluate that at the time."

McLane's willingness to absorb salary could be crucial to the Astros' chances of moving Roy Oswalt or Lance Berkman. A report earlier this month suggested the Astros were attempting to convince potential Oswalt suitors to assume the pitcher's entire remaining salary, which no club seemed eager to do. If the Astros were to pay a portion of the money owed to Oswalt, a trade would seem much more likely.

Oswalt is guaranteed $15MM in 2010 and $16MM in 2011, along with a $2MM buyout for his $16MM 2012 club option. Berkman, meanwhile, will earn $14.5MM this season and has a $15MM club option ($2MM buyout) for next year.

Rosenthal On Yankees, Oswalt, White Sox, Beltre

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The Yankees are not actively looking for a utility infielder, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Rosenthal names Willie Bloomquist, John McDonald and Jayson Nix as options the Yanks could consider should they decide that they want more experience than Kevin Russo and Ramiro Pena can offer. Here are the rest of Rosenthal's rumors:

  • Adrian Beltre will almost certainly reject his player option after the season and re-enter free agency. He has been one of the game's best players this year, rating characteristically well on defense (according to UZR) and hitting .336/.371/.528.
  • The Mariners won't necessarily get a first round pick in next year's draft if they hold onto Cliff Lee. First of all, a losing team could sign Lee (the first 15 picks are protected). Secondly, a team could sign Lee and a free agent who ranks higher under the Elias system. That would mean the Mariners get a supplementary rounder and a second rounder.
  • If the Rangers are sold before the winter, they could be a potential landing spot for Carl Crawford, one executive suggested.
  • Rosenthal hears that Astros owner Drayton McLane is not against the idea of trading Roy Oswalt to Texas, though the Rangers' ability to take on payroll and the pitcher's no-trade clause could prevent a deal from going through.
  • The Marlins inquired on Matt Thornton back when the White Sox were sellers. Now, the White Sox would not consider dealing the left-hander.
  • If White Sox GM Kenny Williams becomes a buyer, he may pursue a left-handed bat.
  • The Mariners want major league or major league-ready hitters for Cliff Lee, but the Dodgers' best prospects are a few years away from the majors.
  • The Rockies are interested in Ty Wigginton, according to Rosenthal's colleague, Tracy Ringolsby.
  • The Rays will look for impact players at the trade deadline.

Cafardo’s Latest: Oswalt, DeJesus, Aardsma, LaRoche

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There are a handful of big names that could be moved before this July's trading deadline, and Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe opens his latest column by taking a look at some of the possibilities. Let's check out the highlights from Cafardo's piece….

  • There's skepticism within the Astros' organization that owner Drayton McLane would want to trade Roy Oswalt to the Rangers, baseball's other Texas team.
  • The return the Royals are requesting in exchange for David DeJesus is higher than any team is willing to pay for now.
  • Mariners closer David Aardsma is "already drawing a lot of interest."
  • Pedro Feliz, Willie Bloomquist, and Jay Payton could be small-scale trade bait.
  • Adam LaRoche on his brief time as a Red Sox: "The ballpark was perfectly suited for the way I swing, and it would have been nice to have stayed there and see what would have happened over a full year."

Odds & Ends: White Sox, Lewis, Oswalt, Mets, Lee

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Links for Saturday..

  • White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf told Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times (via Twitter) that the team has the financial freedom to add pieces, though he added the team  "might be good enough the way it is".  Meanwhile, Reinsdorf said that GM Kenny Williams has the power to fire the manager, though that isn't in his plans, tweets Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune.
  • Fred Lewis told Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle that his improved performance in Toronto isn't a result of a change of scenery.  Lewis is OPSing .799 for the Blue Jays, a marked improvement over his OPS of .738 for the Giants in 2009.
  • ESPN's Jerry Crasnick (via Twitter) wonders aloud if Nolan Ryan's recent comments regarding Roy Oswalt could be considered tampering.
  • Ken Davidoff of Newsday tweets that a Mets scout was on hand to watch Lee last night, though it was said to be part of "normal coverage".
  • Joel Sherman of The New York Post says that despite all the talk about Cliff Lee, the Yankees might need to fixate on adding a bat between now and the trade deadline.
  • Speaking of Lee, Ryan Divish of The News Tribune mentions that the lefty shrugs off all the trade talk. “It’s out of my control,” said Lee. “That’s a better question for Jack [Zduriencik]. He’s the one who makes those decisions, but I don’t.”
  • The Astros are pleased with how negotiations with top draft pick Delino DeShields Jr. are going, reports Bernardo Fallas of The Houston Chronicle. Houston selected DeShields with the eighth overall pick last week.
  • Daric Barton told Derrick Goold of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch that he's grateful for being included in the Mark Mulder trade because it created an opportunity for him. "For me, it was probably the best move that could have happened to me," said Barton. "I was catching then and (Yadier Molina) was back there then, and some guy by the name of (Albert) Pujols was at first. Obviously, I could never fill his shoes."
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