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Blue Jays, Mariners Swap Thames For Delabar

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The Mariners have acquired outfielder Eric Thames from the Blue Jays for reliever Steve Delabar, the team announced. Just yesterday we learned that Seattle was looking to acquire young, cost-controlled hitters.

Thames, 25, hit .243/.288/.365 in 160 big league plate appearances and .335/.412/.536 in 228 Triple-A plate appearances this season. The left-handed swinger has played primarily left field in the show. The 29-year-old Delabar is a hard-throwing right-handed reliever with a 3.92 ERA and 10.9 K/9 with 3.1 BB/9 in 43 2/3 career innings with Seattle. Both players are under team control through 2017.

AL West Notes: Greinke, Ryan, Rangers

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The Angels will do everything they can to sign Zack Greinke long-term, ESPN’s Tim Kurkjian reports (on Twitter). The Angels surrendered three prospects for Greinke, but the Casey Close client is just two months away from the free agent market. Greinke appears to have turned down an extension offer exceeding $100MM before the Brewers traded him to Anaheim. Here’s the latest from his new division…

  • The Yankees attempted to acquire Brendan Ryan from the Mariners, but Seattle turned them down, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports (on Twitter). Ryan is one of many infield options the Yankees have considered this month.
  • The Phillies have scouted the Rangers' farm system aggressively, Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com reports (on Twitter).
  • The Rangers discussed Josh Beckett before obtaining the rights to Yu Darvish last offseason, but aren't comfortable with the Red Sox right-hander, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports (on Twitter). The Rangers are focused on upgrading their bench and bullpen, and they could consider trades for catchers.

Latest On Brandon League

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2:02pm: The White Sox, Rangers, Giants, Dodgers, and other clubs are in on League, writes Scott Miller of CBS Sports.

11:19am: The Giants are still involved on Mariners reliever Brandon League, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports, adding along with colleague Ken Rosenthal that the Dodgers inquired.  Yesterday afternoon, Morosi tweeted that the Mariners were discussing League with multiple teams.

League, 29, has a 3.63 ERA, 5.4 K/9, 3.8 BB/9, 0.20 HR/9, and 46.9% groundball rate in 44 2/3 innings this year.  He's allowed just one home run despite the lowest groundball rate of his career.  League has $1.71MM remaining on his contract and will be eligible for free agency after the season.  His earning power was hurt a bit by the loss of the Mariners' closing job in late May.

Projected 2013 Salaries For Pence, Choo, Headley

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You may remember Matt Swartz from such MLBTR projects as the 2012 arbitration projections.  Matt's model was very accurate the first time through, and he's made it even better for the 2013 projections.  I asked Matt for a sneak peek at 2013 projected salaries for some arbitration eligible trade candidates.  He used Dan Szymborski's rest-of-season ZiPS projections to account for the remainder of the 2012 season.

Mariners Close To Trading Brandon League

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5:15pm: The Giants and Mariners have definitely discussed League, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (on Twitter). It's still not clear where League will be traded, though, according to Morosi.

4:06pm: The Mariners were discussing League with multiple teams as of this afternoon, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reports (on Twitter).

3:03pm: There's some scuttlebutt in high circles that the Giants are the team getting League, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports (on Twitter). But it's not a sure thing.

2:52pm: The Braves and Rangers aren't in the mix for League, Crasnick tweets.

2:46pm: The Angels and Mariners are in talks for League, Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com reports. The Mariners could be close to trading League to the Giants or the Angels, Gonzalez writes.

2:24pm: The White Sox have been talking to the Mariners about League and the Angels continue seeking relief help, Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com reports (Twitter links).

2:05pm: The Mariners are close to trading Brandon League to an unknown team, ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick reports (on Twitter). The Giants, Angels and Mets are known to have some interest in the right-hander.

League is earning $5MM this year and will hit free agency this offseason. The 29-year-old has a 3.05 ERA with 5.3 K/9, 3.9 BB/9 and a 46.4% ground ball rate in 42 1/3 innings for Seattle. He lost the closer's job in May, but has pitched to a 1.96 ERA with twice as many strikeouts as walks since the beginning of June. His fastball averages 95.2 mph, according to FanGraphs.

Steve Adams contributed to this post.

Quick Hits: Span, White Sox, Soriano

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The Phillies acquired Hunter Pence from the Astros for prospects Jarred Cosart, Jonathan Singleton and Josh Zeid and a player to be named later on this date last year. Here are the latest links as we look forward to yet another busy trade deadline…

Mariners Seek Controllable Hitters

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2:35pm: The Mariners are trying hard to obtain Brandon Belt, Dave Cameron of FanGraphs reports (on Twitter).

1:32pm: Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik is looking to acquire hitters who could contribute for the next two or three seasons, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reports. The Mariners aim to improve an offense that currently ranks last in the American League with just 3.9 runs per game. 

The Mariners are more focused on players such as Josh Willingham and Allen Craig than players like Shin-Soo Choo and Hunter Pence. Choo and Pence are eligible for free agency after the 2013 season, while Willingham is under contract through 2014 and Craig won't even be arbitration eligible before the 2013-14 offseason.

Red Sox Have “Mild Interest” In Jason Vargas

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The Red Sox have mild interest in left-hander Jason Vargas, reports Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe (on Twitter). The results of their weekend games will determine what Boston does at the trade deadline.

Vargas, 29, has pitched to a 3.76 ERA with 5.9 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 in 22 starts this season, though he does lead the league with 25 homers allowed. The Red Sox are said to be seeking a rotation upgrade, but coming into today they were in last place in the AL East and 5.5 games back of a Wild Card spot.

New York Notes: Headley, Mets, League, Yankees

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A look at the latest out of Queens and the Bronx..

  • A source tells Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter) that Padres third baseman Chase Headley is not out of question for the Yankees.  Headley could play at third until Alex Rodriguez and could replace Nick Swisher if he leaves via free agency next year, Rosenthal tweets. 
  • The Yankees and Padres haven't exchanged names in Headley talks, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post.
  • Although Mets GM Sandy Alderson is fielding calls for Tim Byrdak and Scott Hairston, he is more likely to retain the pair, a person familiar with the club's thinking told Andy Martino of the New York Daily News. 
  • Martino adds that the Mets have inquired on Mariners righthander Brandon League, according to a baseball source, but their interest in him and other high-profile relievers has fizzled.  That source expects a quiet few days from the Mets as the deadline approaches.
  • Before the Mariners traded Ichiro to the Yankees, they were deep in talks with the Giants and White Sox, according to Buster Olney of ESPN.com (via Twitter).
  • The outfielder liked the idea of playing for the Giants, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle adds (via Twitter).

Pitching Rumors: Shields, Orioles, Felix, Angels

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Though the Giants did pick up some infield help in Marco Scutaro earlier tonight, the Giants are focusing on relief pitching given the high cost of a big hitter, reports Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle.  He cites Matt Belisle, Rafael Betancourt, Brandon League, Chris Perez and Francisco Rodriguez as a few of the names linked to San Francisco and "if there’s a guy who has experience pitching in the later innings and he’s now on a second-division team, you can bet the Giants are looking into him," Schulman writes.

The Giants aren't the only team who are looking into the arms race as we head towards the trade deadline.  Here are some more pitching-related rumors…

  • James Shields' recent struggles haven't been due to trade speculation, the right-hander told media (including Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times).  Rays manager Joe Maddon feels that Shields will still be with the team after the deadline.
  • Maddon and executive VP Andrew Friedman shared a "guffaw" over a rumor that the Rays would send Shields to the Angels in exchange for Garrett Richards and Howie Kendrick, according to MLB.com's Bill Chastain.  Friedman said he's still not sure how the Rays' deadline strategy will evolve.
  • The Orioles are looking to add a starter moreso than a position player, executive VP Dan Duquette tells reporters (including MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli).  Duquette said other teams have shown interest in Baltimore's own pitching depth in the majors and minors, and Ghiroli speculates that the O's wouldn't deal a young arm without getting a Major League-ready starter in return.
  • In response to the latest Felix Hernandez rumors, a Mariners source tells ESPN's Buster Olney (Twitter link) that "Felix will be a Mariner."  The M's have been adamant that they have no intention of trading their ace despite looking at a long-term rebuilding plan.
  • Through Angels GM Jerry Dipoto said his team was probably done trading after acquiring Zack Greinke earlier today, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter) reports the Halos are looking for a reliever to share late-inning duties with Ernesto Frieri and Scott Downs.
  • Tom Verducci of Sports Illustrated looks at the three tiers of starting pitchers available at the deadline.
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