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NL Notes: Trade Deadline, Cedeno, Detwiler

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This year's quiet trade deadline is indicative of a brand of baseball in which youth is prized and the strategy of absorbing salary in deadline trades isn't as viable as it once was, Derrick Goold says in an article for the St. Louis Post Dispatch. With sellers such as the White Sox asking for "top 50" or "top 15" prospects in trades for their veterans, according to Goold, NL Central contenders the Cardinals, the Reds and the Pirates opted to stick with the teams they already had in place. Moving too many prospects in a trade is "the quickest way to head in the wrong direction," Pirates GM Neal Huntington opined. On to more Saturday night NL links:

  • The Padres signed shortstop Ronny Cedeno to a minor league deal with the knowledge that starting shortstop Everth Cabrera may be suspended on Monday in connection with the Biogenesis investigation, GM Josh Byrnes told Bill Center of The San Diego Union-Tribune. “From Josh’s standpoint, we have to make sure we are covered at shortstop in case we need one,” manager Bud Black said.
  • Cubs GM Jed Hoyer expects the waiver trade period to be more active than the non-waiver one, Manny Randhawa of MLB.com reports. However, Hoyer notes that there's some luck involved in putting together a trade after July 31. "If the wrong team claims a guy and won't give up any talent, you're kind of stuck, so waiver deals can work out, but you can also get stuck and not be able to make a deal," Hoyer said.
  • Nationals starter Ross Detwiler's lingering back issues may cause him to miss the rest of the season, manager Davey Johnson indicated in an article by Amanda Comak of The Washington Times. As Adam Kilgore of The Washington Post reported in July, many rival executives expected the Nats to acquire a starter after Detwiler hit the DL early last month. However, GM Mike Rizzo's lone July deal was a trade to acquire bench bat Scott Hairston from the Cubs.

July Trade Recap: NL Central

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With three of the league's best teams at the top of its standings and two of the worst at the bottom, the National League's Central division was certainly worth keeping a close eye on. Let's see what ultimately transpired as we continue to look back at baseball's just-completed July trade season …

Brewers

Cardinals

Cubs

Pirates

  • Acquired infielder/outfielder Russ Canzler from the Orioles in exchange for right-hander Tim Alderson. 
  • Acquired infielder Robert Andino from the Mariners in exchange for a player to be named later. (This deal occurred after the expiration of the non-waiver trade period.)

Reds

Synopsis

What stands out from even a glance at the list above is, of course, the degree to which the Cubs outpaced the remainder of baseball in shedding veterans. Setting aside the unique Guerrier-Marmol swap, the Cubs put together four deals that shed salary and brought in young talent. While each deal was very different in the nature of the return, the net benefit to the organization is undeniable given its current makeup. Of course, the Cubbies failed to offload a series of other veterans that seemed primed to change hands, including outfielders David DeJesus and Nate Schierholtz (under team control next year), reliever Kevin Gregg, and catcher Dioner Navarro. Somewhat less surprisingly, Chicago decided to hold onto two younger, cost-controlled pitchers that had been mentioned in rumors in James Russell and Jeff Samardzija.

The other obvious seller of the division, the Brewers, scored last year's biggest heist by snatching shortstop Jean Segura from the Angels for a few months of Zack Greinke. This year, they managed to pull off only one deal, due in part to the fact that some potential high-salary trade chips (Yovani Gallardo, Aramis Ramirez, and Corey Hart, in particular) were not movable due to performance and/or injury issues. However, with other relievers staying put or going for a modest price, Milwaukee seems to have done well to pick up Delmonico. The youngster entered the season as the O's fourth-ranked prospect (per Baseball America) and was hitting .243/.350/.469 with thirteen home runs and five stolen bases at High-A as a 20-year-old. Rodriguez was of no use to the Brewers for the rest of this season, cost them virtually nothing to sign, and was set to become a free agent. The lesson from the Cubs and Brewers seems to be that striking early paid dividends for sellers this year.

While budget, history, and performance kept down expectations of major moves from the remainder of the division, it seems odd that the Bucs, Cards, and Redlegs all failed to make even a supplemental addition. (In the case of the Cardinals, the team actually saw a net outflow of players with big league chops.) To be sure, the prospects of St. Louis upgrading at shortstop or adding a veteran starter always seemed to be a matter of GM John Mozeliak unearthing value in a tight market. And the Reds do not have any glaring holes that lack internal answers. But for a Pirates team that possesses the best record in baseball, a highly regarded farm, and an ongoing lineup hole out in right field, the lack of any substantial acquisition is surprising. Looking at the division as a whole, an awful lot of major league talent left, and virtually none came back.

Cardinals Made Offer To Kelly Shoppach

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5:55pm: Unable to work out a trade for a catcher, the Cardinals have made an offer to free agent Kelly Shoppach, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (on Twitter). Shoppach opted out of his minor league deal with the Nationals earlier today.

2:52pm: The two sides have been unable to agree on a price, and the Cardinals' pursuit has slowed, tweets Rosenthal.

1:59pm: The Cardinals are in discussions with the Cubs to acquire Navarro, a source tells Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter).

1:33pm: Sources say that a deal sending Dioner Navarro from the Cubs to the Cardinals is "possible" but not close, tweets Jayson Stark of ESPN.com (via Twitter).

12:08pm: The Cardinals are looking for catching with starter Yadier Molina likely to hit the DL with a knee injury, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, contrary to previous info he received.  The Cardinals are concerned that Molina could miss a significant stretch of time to heal up, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

The Cardinals are gauging their options and how they can proceed once they know how long Molina will be sidelined for, Goold writes.  The Cardinals have spent the past few weeks exploring deals for starting pitchers, relievers, and shortstops, but they have yet to explore deals for catchers.  The catching market could include the Phillies' Carlos Ruiz and the Cubs' Dioner Navarro and Goold points that Miguel Olivo is a free agent after walking away from the Marlins. 

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Quick Hits: Lee, A’s, Rays, Yankees

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In reality, the Red Sox were a "non factor" for Cliff Lee before they landed Jake Peavy, writes Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com.  Will he get moved today to another club?  Baseball people are highly doubtful anyone would meet the supposed Phillies' asking price of three top prospects for a pitcher who has $70MM left on his deal through 2015.  "I don't know of a team in baseball that would [do] that. Taking on that much money and giving up three legit prospects seems like a stretch for anyone," one exec said.  Here's more from around baseball as we approach the 3pm central deadline..

  • The A's are still pursuing bullpen depth, tweets Jim Bowden of MLB Network Radio and ESPN.
  • Teams that have spoken with the Phillies say they're not upbeat about making any deals today, tweets ESPN.com's Jayson Stark.  Michael Young is still in play, but there's no clear destination for the third baseman.
  • The Cardinals are leaning towards standing pat at the deadline unless there is a last minute drastic change, according to Jim Bowden of ESPN.com (via Twitter).
  • Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times writes that the Rays have been looking into at least one more potential deal, presumably to add a bat.  Tampa Bay made a splash earlier this week when they landed Jesse Crain in a swap with the White Sox.
  • The Yankees were mainly working on smaller acquisitions like Alberto Callaspo this week and didn't have any interest in Alex Rios once they landed Alfonso Soriano, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post.  Callaspo wound up going from the Halos to the A's.
  • The Marlins don't expect to do much today and plan to keep Chad Qualls, Justin Ruggiano, and other trade chips if they can't get good value in return, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
  • Meanwhile, the Marlins are gauging interest in Juan Pierre and Placido Polanco, tweets Buster Olney of ESPN.com. 
  • The Royals' search for a second baseman continues, but they don't appear to be close on anything at the moment, writes Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star.  “Anything’s possible,” one club official said. “We looking at a lot of things, but I doubt anything get done unless things change in the last few hours.”
  • The Indians got the left-handed reliever they needed yesterday in Marc Rzepczynski and would still be open to a rotation upgrade, but they don't like the price so far, according to Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com (via Twitter).  For now, the Tribe is prepared to stand pat.
  • There are a lot of present and veteran Braves who think the club is making a serious mistake by allowing Brian McCann hit the open market at the end of the season, writes Peter Gammons at GammonsDaily.com. "Only the people around the team understand what he means to that pitching staff. He’s a star player in the team concept,” said David Ross of McCann, who also leads the team with a .884 OPS.
  • Dan Kolko of MASNsports.com spoke with Nationals players to get their take on the trade deadline.  Scott Hairston and Adam LaRoche have both been involved in multiple deadline deals.

Red Sox Close To Acquiring Jake Peavy

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Jake Peavy was scheduled to start for the White Sox in Cleveland tonight at 6:05pm central time, but the Sox will instead make history by promoting the Majors' first Brazilian native pitcher, Andre Rienzo, according to Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune.  Meanwhile,  GM Rick Hahn will be entertaining offers for Peavy, according to Gonzales.  Gonzales notes that even if Peavy is not traded, the Sox will "get a chance to evaluate Rienzo on the major league stage."  Peavy is definitely not starting for the White Sox tonight, confirms Scott Miller of CBS Sports.  The latest:

Earlier Updates

  • The Diamondbacks don't necessarily have to unload multiple contracts to fit Peavy into the payroll, according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. However, they're still looking at moving Ian Kennedy, who could draw interest from the Angels, given the fact that Angels GM Jerry Dipoto is a former D'Backs executive.
  • Despite interest from the Red Sox, A's, D'Backs, and Cardinals, the sense is the White Sox are coming down on their asking price for Peavy, tweets Sean McAdam of CSNNE.com.
  • Arizona would be a comfortable destination for Peavy, the righty told reporters including Mark Gonzales today.
  • If the A's are to make a deal for Peavy, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle sees outfielder Michael Choice as the potential centerpiece.  Otherwise, they could add a reliever.  GM Billy Beane says this is the "lowest trade inventory I've seen in years."
  • The D'Backs have emerged as the front runner for Peavy, tweets Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com.
  • The Diamondbacks could make a deal for Peavy if they get a cash adjustment, tweets ESPN's Buster Olney, who notes the strong history with Peavy and GM Kevin Towers.
  • The D'Backs may kick the tires again on Peavy, hears Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  The White Sox are now listing Peavy for tomorrow's start against the Indians, for what it's worth.
  • The price for Peavy remains a top 50 prospect in a three or four-player package, hears Joel Sherman of the New York Post.  Sherman does believe Peavy will be traded, ranking the most likely landing spots as the Cardinals, Red Sox, and A's.
  • There are no current discussions between the Cardinals and White Sox on Peavy, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  And the D'Backs say they no longer have interest in Peavy with Brandon McCarthy and Trevor Cahill soon returning, adds Bob Nightengale of USA Today.
  • Yesterday, we heard the White Sox were trying to move Peavy prior to tonight's start.  However, the market for the righty's services became muddled as the Athletics seemingly moved on and the Sox started telling teams they plan to keep Peavy.  Their decision not to start him tonight seems to indicate otherwise.

Cardinals Interested In Erick Aybar

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7:59pm: The Angels appear to be seeking top pitching prospects in return for Aybar, but the Cardinals have no interest whatsoever in including Michael Wacha or Carlos Martinez in a possible deal, according to Jim Bowden of ESPN and MLB Network Radio (Twitter links).

6:27pm: After their interest in Alexei Ramirez and Jimmy Rollins failed to produce anything meaningful, the Cardinals have reached out to the Angels regarding Erick Aybar, according to Danny Knobler of CBS Sports.

The Cardinals have deployed Pete Kozma as their primary shortstop in 2013, and while he's provided solid defense, Kozma is batting just .241/.283/.301 through 339 plate appearances. Aybar, on the other hand, is hitting .283/.320/.410 dating back to the beginning of the 2011 season. He signed a four-year, $35MM extension prior to the 2012 season that took effect beginning this season. As such, he's under contract through 2016 at $8.5MM per season.

Knobler points out that the Cardinals are rich in pitching prospects that would be of interest to the Angels, though to this point, St. Louis GM John Mozeliak has been highly reluctant to deal from that surplus.

Indians Acquire Marc Rzepczynski

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The Indians have announced the acquisition of left-hander Marc Rzepczynski from the Cardinals in exchange for minor league infielder Juan Herrera. RzepczynskiRzepczynski will report to Cleveland tonight, and a 40-man roster move will be made to accommodate the team's new addition.

Rzepcynzski, 27, was optioned to Triple-A Memphis at the end of April after a rough start to the season. In Memphis, he posted a 3.33 ERA with 6.3 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9 in 44 innings of work — a significant improvement from the 7.84 ERA he's posted at the Major League level this season. Rzepcynski was recalled recently and has made a pair of July appearances for the Cardinals.

Rzepcynski, whose nickname is "Scrabble" (for obvious reasons), has been effective against left-handed hitters throughout his career, holding them to a .224/.298/.310 batting line over parts of five big league seasons with the Blue Jays and Cardinals. St. Louis acquired him in the 2011 Colby Rasmus trade. He is earning just $1.1MM in 2013 and can be controlled via arbitration through the 2015 season.

Cleveland GM Chris Antonetti said recently that his club has been on the lookout for bullpen arms that can retire left-handed hitters, and Rzepczynski fits that bill at a much lower cost than Javier Lopez and Josh Outman, both of whom also drew interest from Cleveland, according to ESPN's Buster Olney (Twitter link).

Herrera, 20, is batting .275/.366/.369 in 39 games for short-season Class-A Mahoning Valley. The Dominican native did not rank among Cleveland's Top 30 prospects, according to Baseball America.

Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch was the first to report the agreement (on Twitter).

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Jake Peavy Rumors: Monday

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White Sox righty Jake Peavy might be the best starting pitcher traded between now and this Wednesday's deadline.  He's been well-informed of trade talks by GM Rick Hahn and indicated yesterday he expects a deal, packing his belongings from the clubhouse.  With Peavy under contract for 2014, the White Sox are asking more for him than the Cubs did for Matt Garza, according to Yahoo's Jeff Passan.  The latest:

  • An executive from a team interested in Peavy tells Joel Sherman of the New York Post that Peavy wants to be traded. While Peavy enjoys the White Sox, he knows they're rebuilding and wants to play for a contender (Twitter link).
  • The Athletics have moved on from Peavy and will focus on other upgrades such as their bullpen and middle infield, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter link). The A's will dangle some of the players they would have offered for Peavy as they pursue other upgrades. Rosenthal adds that Chicago's desire to receive quality prospects and shed the remaining $20MM or so on Peavy's contract "remains a significant obstacle."
  • The White Sox are telling interested parties that they're planning to keep Peavy and build around him, according to ESPN's Buster Olney. As Olney goes on to note, this could just be a ploy by the White Sox to increase their leverage in Peavy trade talks (Twitter links).
  • Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports tweets that the White Sox debated packaging Peavy and Jesse Crain together before ultimately electing to trade Crain to the Rays in a separate package.

Earlier Updates

  • "They're definitely trying to move him before he makes that [Tuesday] start," an executive of a team monitoring the Peavy talks tells ESPN's Jayson Stark.  Stark says the Red Sox are willing to take on Peavy's contract or give up prospects, but not both.  Stark sees the A's as the favorite, with the money a stumbling block for the Braves, the Cardinals unlikely, and the Orioles lurking.
  • The Red Sox are "very much in" the Peavy sweepstakes, tweets Passan.  With their motivation and available prospects, they're in a strong position to acquire him.  Passan says Hahn is asking for every interested organization's top prospect, including "complete non-starters" such as Xander Bogaerts of the Red Sox and Addison Russell of the A's.  Executives believe the asking price will drop in advance of the Wednesday deadline.
  • In speaking with executives yesterday, Joel Sherman of the New York Post got the impression the Athletics are pushing hard for Peavy after finishing second for Garza.  Oakland "seems the most motivated," writes ESPN's Buster Olney.

Stark On Phillies, Kemp, Rzepczynski

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The latest from ESPN's Jayson Stark…

  • Phillies third baseman Michael Young is open to a deal to just about any contender.  Stark sees the Yankees as the best fit, with the Orioles still interested.  Talking to MLB.com's Todd Zolecki about waiving his no-trade clause, Young said, "I don't know. The first thing I want to do is talk to the Phillies about that."
  • The Phillies have shown very little inclination to move catcher Carlos Ruiz, surprisingly.  And while they'd like to trade closer Jonathan Papelbon, their unwillingness to assume some of his contract is likely to prevent a deal.  Papelbon is owed at least $30MM through 2015.
  • The Phils have quietly been asking potentially interested teams about shortstop Jimmy Rollins, which would be a long shot even if Rollins wasn't likely to block a deal.
  • It's just speculation, but Stark says some people have wondered if the Dodgers should be open to trading center fielder Matt Kemp.
  • Cardinals lefty reliever Marc Rzepczynski is a candidate to be traded.
  • Stark suggests the Indians' Carlos Carrasco could be a name to file away for the Rockies, with the Tribe interested in Colorado reliever Josh Outman.

Central Notes: Royals, Cubs, Cardinals

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What's motivating the Royals' decision not to be sellers at the trade deadline? Danny Knobler of CBS Sports suggests that, for the Royals, it's not so much about making the playoffs. Despite a six-game winning streak, that remains unlikely, as Kansas City is still just .500 and seven games behind the Tigers in the AL Central. Instead, Knobler reports that the Royals are motivated merely by a desire to finish the season on a good note. The Royals' winning season in 2003 was their only one since 1994, and it appears they may simply be hunting for another a decade later. That's not to say they're pure buyers, though — Knobler notes that the Royals would like to acquire more talent at the deadline, but they're looking for players they can control in 2014.

  • Starting pitcher Travis Wood says the Cubs' recent series of trades has helped them bond, Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune reports. "I always feel trades make teams closer, because you see guys moving. Especially trading away a leader like (Alfonso Soriano). It kind of pulls us together. We have to lead this thing and do everything we can to win ballgames," Wood says. The Cubs recently completed a sweep of the Giants.
  • Building a roster with the postseason in mind isn't all it's cracked up to be, argues Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Since postseason series are short, anything is possible. Miklasz points to unlikely heroes from past Cardinals postseason runs (So Taguchi, Anthony Reyes and Jeff Weaver in 2006, Pete Kozma in 2012) to show that the postseason is too unpredictable for the ideal playoff roster to be worth worrying about.
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