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Russell Branyan

Mariners Rumors: Felix, Ackley, Branyan

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Jack Zduriencik says he hasn't started talking with Felix Hernandez about a new deal, according to Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times, who passes on comments the Mariners GM made on Q-13 FOX over the weekend. Here are the details and assorted Mariners rumors:

  • The Mariners haven't started talking with Felix Hernandez, who will hit free agency after 2011, about a new deal. Zduriencik says he appreciates Felix's talent, but cautions: "it takes two to tango."
  • The Mariners have started talking with Scott Boras about the team's first round pick, Dustin Ackley. The two sides have had a couple conversations recently and Zduriencik expects talks to intensify soon. 
  • The Mariners want to re-sign Russell Branyan after the season. Something tells me $1.4MM won't be enough this time around!

More August Trade Candidates

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Nobody's been traded so far in August, but deals are sure to go through. ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick considers some trade candidates:

  • Doug Davis and Jon Garland 
  • Heath Bell – An unlikely trade candidate, since he's sure to be claimed, but he could be dealt even if he's claimed (to the NL team with the worst record among all claiming teams).
  • Lyle Overbay – He makes $7MM next year, a deterrent for possible suitors.
  • Justin Duchscherer – Some health concerns remain, as he hasn't pitched in the majors this year.  
  • Kevin Millar, Nomar Garciaparra and Jason Giambi – Veteran bats for the playoffs.
  • Jamey Carroll – Mark Teahen's another utility type, but he's less likely to be dealt than Carroll.  
  • Carl Pavano – Just don't expect the Yankees to come calling. 
  • Arthur Rhodes and David Weathers  
  • Miguel Batista 

  Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times looks into Mariners trade candidates:

  • Russell Branyan won't clear waivers, but the Mariners could consider dealing six weeks of Branyan to the claiming team for a decent prospect.
  • Like Duchscherer, Erik Bedard has to prove he's healthy before anyone will commit to him.
  • Baker expects the Mariners to try to move Adrian Beltre. They won't want to offer him arbitration after the season and risk paying him $14MM or so next year, so now's their chance to get a return for Beltre. They would almost certainly have to pick up salary in the process.

Odds & Ends: Sano, Marlins, Beattie, Mariners, Reds

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Saturday night (link) fever…

  • Steve Melewski of MASNsports.com reports that Orioles director of international scouting John Stockstill met with representatives for Miguel Angel Sano in recent days. "We certainly expressed an interest in him becoming a Baltimore Oriole," Stockstill said.
  • After speaking with president of baseball operations Larry Beinfest, Clark Spencer of The Miami Herald says that the Marlins are definitely not sellers as the trade deadline approaches.
  • Former O's GM Jim Beattie was on 96.3 The Big Jab in Portland, ME earlier today, and told a story about a deal that would have sent A.J. Burnett and Mike Lowell to Baltimore at the 2005 trade deadline had it not been shot down by owner Peter Angelos.
  • MLBTR's own Ben Nicholson-Smith was on the same station earlier today talking trade deadline. Give it a listen.
  • Geoff Baker of The Seattle Times says that if the Mariners get a really good offer for Erik Bedard, Jarrod Washburn, or Russell Branyan, they should take it considering the team's recent swoon.
  • Tyler Hissey at Around The Majors wrote about some of the Reds' deadline options.
  • With the deadline now less than a week away, make sure you follow MLBTR on Twitter to get your updates even faster.

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.  

Trade Candidates: Corner Infielders

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We’ve heard about Garrett Atkins and Aubrey Huff all year, but plenty of other corner infielders could be trade bait, too. Here’s the list of corner infield trade candidates, ranked from highest 2009 salary to lowest:

  • Troy Glaus – The priciest trade candidate on this list has yet to play in 2009. There have been suggestions that the Cards could move Glaus if he can't play third upon his return.
  • Melvin Mora – With a $9MM salary and a no-trade clause, Mora will be tough to move. 
  • Aubrey Huff – He's not hitting as well as he did last year, but has hit well enough. He makes $8MM this year.
  • Adam Dunn – He makes the same amount as Huff, and has $12MM more coming his way in 2010. With 22 homers already, Dunn would be a nice addition a team like the Giants.
  • Adam LaRoche – He earns $7.05MM this year before becoming a free agent.  
  • Garrett Atkins – He'll earn $7.05MM as well, a sum that looks more affordable every day, since Atkins is hitting .306/.386/.468 since the beginning of June.
  • Nick Johnson – An affordable option at $5.5MM, this free agent-to-be has an injury history to go along with his .800 OPS.
  • Chad Tracy – The combination of his $4.75MM salary and .354 slugging percentage won't make him appealing to many teams, if any.
  • Jason Giambi – He earns $4MM this year and his team will have to pay him $1.25MM after the season or take on his $6.5MM salary next year. Giambi's been a disappointment at the plate.
  • Jorge Cantu – The Marlins remain just one game behind the Phillies for the division lead, but there have been hints that they would move Cantu if they fall out of it. He makes $3.5MM this year.  
  • Russell Branyan – The Mariners are just 3.5 games back of the division lead, but Branyan would be an appealing candidate if he hits the market, especially since he makes just $1.4MM this year.  
  • Kevin Kouzmanoff – He makes under $500k this year, but he's hitting poorly and you can't even blame Petco Park, as his OPS is 40 points lower on the road. The Mariners recently had interest.

The Red Sox, Mets, Giants, Reds and Mariners could all look for a boost at one of the corner infield positions.

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.  

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Peavy, Glavine, Yankees, Phillies

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On this date nine years ago, the Marlins selected Adrian Gonzalez with the first pick of the amateur draft. The 16-year-old would sign a deal later that day that included a $3MM signing bonus. Two trades later, Gonzalez leads the National League with 22 home runs. The 2009 draft is in four days, let's take a look at what is being written in the Blogosphere…

  • Goat Riders of the Apocalypse propose a three-way deal in which the Cubs would send Carlos Zambrano to the White Sox and the Padres would send Jake Peavy to the Cubs.
  • River Ave. Blues takes a look at what the Yankees may need before the trade deadline and who they may be able to deal with.
  • Phlavio's Corner has a list of 20 players that could be moved and where each might end up.
  • The Ghost of Moonlight Graham analyzes the early returns on some of the trades from this past offseason.
  • Jorge Says No! argues that the Mariners might be better off moving Russell Branyan sooner rather than later.
  • MLB Notebook comes up with a list of five clubs that could land Tom Glavine.
  • Dodgers Rumors feels that Glavine is a perfect fit for the Dodgers.
  • We Should Be GM's says the Phillies need to add a starting pitcher now and generates a list of players to target.

Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com. If you have a suggestion for this feature, Cork can be reached here, and followed on Twitter here.

Mariners Trade Talk

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Rounding up links involving possible Mariners trades…

  • Start with Jon Paul Morosi's article at FOX Sports.  Morosi talked to Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik, who is in no hurry and has not received any offers yet.  Seattle, at six games out in the AL West, is technically still focused on the pennant race.
  • SI's Jon Heyman writes about Erik Bedard, who may just be the best pitcher available this summer.  His contract's not a problem, and I should mention that unlike Jake Peavy, Bedard does not have no-trade protection.  Heyman believes that Bedard would probably require a better package than the one the White Sox were going to send to San Diego for Peavy.  He likes the Phillies, White Sox, and Brewers as possible suitors.
  • Heyman rattles off other Mariners trade candidates when the time comes:  Jarrod Washburn, Miguel Batista, Adrian Beltre, Yuniesky Betancourt, and Russell Branyan.  In his article, Morosi wondered if now is the time to sell high on reliever David Aardsma.
  • Larry LaRue of The News Tribune has the local take. 

Heyman On Mets, Trades, Billingsley

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The latest from SI's Jon Heyman…

  • Heyman wonders why the Mets aren't giving Daniel Murphy a chance as their regular first baseman.  He names trade possibilities, in order of likelihood: Nick Johnson, Aubrey Huff, Russell Branyan, Victor Martinez/Mark DeRosa, and Garrett Atkins.
  • Heyman names 22 players who might hit the trading block this summer, headed by Jake Peavy, Matt Holliday, and Erik Bedard.  The A's could potentially have a lot of veterans to spin off.
  • Heyman says "the Dodgers briefly tried to lock up Chad Billingsley this winter, and probably wish they had."  Billingsley will be eligible for arbitration for the first time after this season, so his salary figures to jump up past $4MM.

Indians Fielding Offers For Mark DeRosa

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According to SI's Jon Heyman, the Indians are now fielding offers for infielder Mark DeRosa.  DeRosa, 34, is hitting .242/.312/.412 on the season in 170 plate appearances as the Tribe's third baseman.  He has about $4.15MM left on his contract.

Heyman says the Indians "are looking mainly for pitchers who can help them now."  Heyman believes DeRosa is below Nick Johnson, Aubrey Huff, and Russell Branyan on the Mets' wish list.  What other teams would make sense – the Braves, Cubs, Brewers, or Cardinals perhaps?  You can discuss it in the comments here, and also head over to our Facebook fan page and jump into that discussion.

Over at the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Paul Hoynes says Indians GM Mark Shapiro "is talking to general managers, but it's not about subtracting players in preparation for next year."

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