Mariners Seek Controllable Hitters
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.
NL Central Links: Dempster, Garza, Cardinals, Parra
Perhaps no division will be more active at the trade deadline this summer than the NL Central, which houses three sellers (Cubs, Brewers, Astros) and three buyers (Reds, Pirates, Cardinals). Here's the latest from baseball's only six-team division…
- The Cubs are at an impasse with the Dodgers over Ryan Dempster while the Braves continue to monitor the situation according to Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com. People in the game think Atlanta could get involved with Dempster again even though their first deal fell through.
- If the Cubs don't trade Matt Garza this summer, he seems likely to be dealt in the winter, writes Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. A trade seems likely as the two sides haven't discussed a contract extension since talks broke off this spring.
- Scott Miller of CBSSports.com reports that the Cardinals have discussed Francisco Liriano with the Twins as they look to bolster their pitching staff before the deadline.
- The Brewers have had some inquiries about Manny Parra, but they may keep him and try him as a starter again, Knobler tweets.
- The Pirates have acquired outfielder/first baseman Christian Marrero from the Braves for infielder Brian Friday, reports Dan Simpson of Talking Chop (on Twitter). Both players will head to Triple-A, adds Michael Sanserino of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (on Twitter).
Zach Links contributed to this post.
James Shields Rumors: Saturday
With Zack Greinke and Cole Hamels off the market, clubs could turn to Rays right-hander James Shields for pitching help at the trade deadline. The 30-year-old owns a 4.52 ERA this year but finished third in the Cy Young Award voting just last season. There are club options for 2013 ($9MM) and 2014 ($12MM) in his contract, so Shields offers a ton of flexibility. Here are today's rumors on Tampa's Opening Day starter, with the latest up top…
- The Cardinals also have interest in Shields according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. He says the Rays seek a package "north of Greinke" in return.
- Rival executives believe more and more that the Rays will trade Shields prior to the deadline according to ESPN's Buster Olney (on Twitter).
- The Braves, Dodgers, Indians, and Rangers are among the clubs with the most interest in Shields, according to Marc Topkin of The Tampa Bay Times. The Angels had interest but are presumably out of the running after acquiring Greinke.
Central Notes: Cardinals, Reds, Willingham, Ryan
Three of baseball's hottest teams reside in the NL Central, where the Reds (15 wins in their last 17 games) hold a two-game lead over the Pirates (15-6 in their last 21 games) and a 5.5 game lead over the Cardinals (seven wins in their last eight games). Let's check out the latest from both leagues' Central divisions…
- The improved performance of the Cardinals' rotation "takes a little pressure off in terms of feeling like we have to do something," GM John Mozeliak tells MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch. "If you were to go after a starter, who are you really bouncing out? And how are you improving? That's why I don't think the urgency is quite there for rotational help as maybe it was, say, three or four weeks ago." It seems as if St. Louis will trade for a reliever if they do make a deadline move for pitching, Langosch notes, though the bullpen has also recently been better.
- The Reds are looking to start their trade deadline shopping, with a leadoff man atop their wishlist, writes MLB.com's Mark Sheldon.
- The Indians were only willing to offer two guaranteed years to Josh Willingham last winter given the slugger's injury woes, reports MLB.com's Jordan Bastian. Willingham ended up signing a three-year contract with the Twins and is enjoying a superb season, while the Tribe is still looking for a big right-handed bat for their lineup.
- Twins interim GM Terry Ryan told Phil Mackey of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities that he hasn't spoken to team owner Carl Pohlad about taking over the position on a permanent basis. "We haven't talked about it at all and I don't anticipate talking about it until we get to the latter part of this year," Ryan said. "We have not had a good year. We've got a lot of work to do here. I'm not in any position to say that interim is going to be off me."
- "It's business as usual" for the Royals heading into the deadline, GM Dayton Moore tells MLB.com's Dick Kaegel. Moore wouldn't comment on rumors about Jonathan Broxton, Yuniesky Betancourt, Jeff Francoeur or Jose Mijares.
Astros Claim Chuckie Fick
The Astros claimed right-hander Chuckie Fick off of waivers from the Cardinals, Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com reports (on Twitter). The Cardinals had designated Fick for assignment two days ago. Houston confirmed the move, noting that their 40-man roster is now full.
Fick, 26, appeared in two games for the Cardinals before they removed him from their roster. He spent most of the season at Triple-A, where he posted a 4.68 ERA with 4.3 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 in 42 1/3 innings. Astros GM Jeff Luhnow selected Fick in the 15th round of the amateur draft back in 2007, when he was the Cardinals' VP of scouting and player development.
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.
Stark On Greinke, Headley, Indians, Wells
The market for Zack Greinke appears to consist of the Rangers, Angels, White Sox and Braves, ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark reports. Rival teams say the Red Sox, Blue Jays and Dodgers aren’t involved on Greinke, and the Indians and Orioles have limited interest in pitchers headed for free agency, Stark writes. Here are more notes from Stark:
- The Yankees are exploring their third base options with Alex Rodriguez out, Stark reports. Marco Scutaro could be an option for New York.
- There’s an expectation that Chase Headley will be traded, but the Padres continue saying they’re happy to keep him, Stark writes. One team says the Padres are looking for a Mat Latos-like return if they trade the third baseman.
- The Phillies are looking for a proven, young setup reliever and a young outfielder or third baseman for Victorino, Stark reports. They’ve asked about relievers Brad Lincoln, Wade Davis and Logan Ondrusek in trade talks.
- It’s already been a busy month for the Astros, but they’re still willing to consider trades for anyone but Jose Altuve.
- The Indians and Cardinals have talked to the Rays about James Shields, Stark reports.
- The Angels are telling teams they’d rather trade Vernon Wells than keep him when he returns from the disabled list. They’re looking for a trade partner and saying they don’t want to eat all of his salary, Stark reports. It’ll be challenging to find a taker for Wells’ salary; he earns $21MM per season through 2014.
- The Indians aren’t likely to deal Chris Perez or Shin-Soo Choo, but they’ll listen on either player.
Cardinals Designate Chuckie Fick For Assignment
The Cardinals have designated Chuckie Fick for assignment, the team announced (on Twitter). The move creates room on the 40-man roster for Brian Fuentes, who was added to the big league roster. Victor Marte was optioned to Triple-A in a corresponding move.
Fick, 26, made his Major League debut with St. Louis earlier this season, allowing one run in 1 2/3 innings across two appearances. The right-hander pitched to a 4.68 ERA with 4.3 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 in 42 1/3 relief innings for the team's Triple-A affiliate this season.
Rosenthal & Morosi On White Sox, Tigers, Angels
White Sox GM Kenny Williams has already traded for Kevin Youkilis and Brett Myers, but he may not be done dealing yet, Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports write. The White Sox want to add a starting pitcher and Zack Greinke is high on their list of potentially available arms, Rosenthal and Morosi report. Here are the rest of the notes and rumors from the FOX reporters…
- The White Sox are eager to move Gavin Floyd, Rosenthal and Morosi report.
- Though the White Sox don’t have a deep farm system, they could flip Floyd for prospects and use those prospects to acquire Greinke from Milwaukee, Rosenthal and Morosi suggest.
- A National League executive suggested to Morosi that Anibal Sanchez will be the third-best free agent starter this offseason behind Greinke and Cole Hamels (Twitter link).
- Morosi expects the Tigers to extend catcher Alex Avila at some point (Twitter link). Avila, the son of Tigers assistant GM Al Avila, has a .237/.339/.381 batting line this year. He has battled hamstring issues in 2012, his final year as a pre-arbitration eligible catcher.
- The Blue Jays remain in buy mode, Morosi notes. Toronto executives believe a second-place finish in the AL East is possible (Twitter link).
- The Blue Jays, Yankees, Giants, Indians, Diamondbacks and Cardinals all had scouts at last night’s Marlins game, according to Morosi (Twitter link).
- Josh Willingham is available, but prohibitively expensive, one GM told Rosenthal (Twitter link).
- Josh Johnson, James Shields and Greinke are among the starting pitching options the Angels could consider, Rosenthal writes.
Angels Interested In Mijares, Rzepczynski
The Angels have expressed interest in Jose Mijares of the Royals and Marc Rzepczynski of the Cardinals in their search for a left-handed reliever, Mike DiGiovanna of the LA Times reports (Twitter links). The Angels could also have some interest in Joe Thatcher of the Padres, DiGiovanna suggests.
Mijares, 27, has a 1.72 ERA with 8.6 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 in 36 2/3 innings with the Royals so far in 2012. The midseason trade candidate earns $925K this year and will be arbitration eligible following the season.
Rzepczynski was traded to the Cardinals last summer in the deal that sent Edwin Jackson to St. Louis. The 26-year-old has a 5.06 ERA with 6.2 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 in 32 innings this year. He'll be arbitration eligible for the first time following the 2012 season.
The Angels, who currently have left-handers Scott Downs and Hisanori Takahashi pitching out of the bullpen, are willing to offer Peter Bourjos in a trade for the right reliever. Here's MLBTR's preview of the trade market for left-handed relief.