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Cardinals Looking To Add Personality To Clubhouse

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The Cardinals' trade deadline shopping list probably includes a starting pitcher and a middle infielder, but GM John Mozeliak indicated that he would also like to add some personality to the team's clubhouse according to Joe Strauss of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

"When you think about our clubhouse personality, you think 'businesslike.' I would use the word 'professional.' I think we could use a true ice-breaker at times," said Mozeliak. "I think sometimes a level of tension develops. You play 162 games with the same group of guys from February to hopefully late October, sometimes you have to be able to take a step back."

Mozeliak made it clear that he was not talking about a team's clubhouse chemistry in a negative way, he just wants to see a more energetic vibe. He mentioned Mark DeRosa, who was limited on the field after being acquired at the trade deadline last season but remained valuable to the team through his intangibles.

Manager Tony LaRussa acknowledged the positive effect that adding some more personality could have, but he emphasized that the priority should be on-field production. He went deeper into the memory bank than Mozeliak, saying that Will Clark was the perfect kind of on the field production, off the field intangibles pick up. St Louis acquired Clark at the 2000 trade deadline. 

The Cardinals recently added some bullpen help on minor league deals in the form of Renyel Pinto and Mike MacDougal, and the team also dipped their toe into the Cliff Lee pool. They are also known to covet former Cardinal Dan Haren. It's hard enough to find someone that will be productive when his name is penciled into the lineup, let alone when he's in the clubhouse.

2011 Vestings Options Update

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The season started with nine vesting options to watch, but we're down to just five a little beyond the season's halfway point…

  • Trever Miller, Cardinals. The southpaw's $2MM option vests with 45 appearances. He's appeared in 31 of the team's 85 games, so he's on pace for 59. He should get there easily.
  • Alex Cora, Mets. Cora's $2MM option vests with 80 games (not necessarily starts), and he's already appeared in 48. He's on pace for 91 games. Luis Castillo's foot and Ruben Tejada's emergence could stand in Cora's way.
  • Darren Oliver, Rangers. His $3.25MM option will lock in with 59 appearances. He's already appeared in 37 games, so he should get there without a problem.
  • Ramon Hernandez, Reds. Hernandez must play in 120 games for his $3.25MM option to vest. He's appeared in just 57 of Cincinnati's first 86 contests, putting him on pace for 107 games. 
  • Magglio Ordonez, Tigers. Ordonez's $15MM option vests with 135 starts or 540 plate appearances. He's on pace for 141 and 615, respectively, so it'll take a lengthy stint on the disabled list to knock him off track.

The vesting options for Kerry Wood, Brian Fuentes, Billy Wagner, and Matt Cain have already been addressed.

Odds & Ends: Pirates, Cardinals, Padres, Oswalt

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Some links for Thursday, a day that has even the most intense baseball fans wondering about LeBron James' decision…

Olney On Dunn, Blue Jays, Uggla, Hart, Cardinals

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As the rumors keep swirling around Adam Dunn, ESPN.com's Buster Olney says he believes the Nationals should consider locking the slugger up if they can do so for $44-48MM. That seems like a lot, but Dunn, who hit three homers last night, is as consistent as it gets and home run hitters are harder to find these days. Here are the rest of Olney's rumors:

  • Rival teams wouldn’t be surprised to see the Blue Jays become one of the more aggressive sellers this summer. They could offer relievers, like Kevin Gregg, Jason Frasor and Scott Downs, plus All-Star catcher John Buck and MLB home run leader Jose Bautista.
  • Olney’s sources say the Marlins and Rockies would match up well for a Dan Uggla deal if the Marlins fall from contention.
  • The Brewers and Giants started talking about a Corey Hart trade last week. The Brewers will likely demand a lot for Hart, but it appears that talks have already begun. 
  • Cardinals GM John Mozeliak says the team will explore starting pitching options, but could add a bat. "I just don't know if I can do both," Mozeliak said.

Cardinals Sign Mike MacDougal

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The Cardinals, who have blown two consecutive late-inning leads, signed reliever Mike MacDougal, according to Brian Walton of FOXSportsMidwest.com. The Cardinals are MacDougal's third organization of the year. The Marlins signed him in February and released him a month later. He then signed with the Nationals and pitched in the minors before opting out of his deal last week.

In 22 minor league innings this year, the 33-year-old right-hander has allowed 26 hits and 13 walks, striking out 13 for a 5.32 ERA. MacDougal, who represented the Royals in the 2003 All-Star game, pitched for the White Sox and Nationals last year.

Odds & Ends: Millwood, Cardinals, Rangers, Pettitte

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Links for Tuesday, as the Cliff Lee rumors get a little juicier…

Cliff Lee Rumors: Monday

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Yesterday Cliff Lee had another dominant outing and the Dodgers, Yankees, Cardinals and Phillies had scouts in Detroit to watch it. We'll keep track of all the day's Cliff Lee rumors right here, so check back later in the day to see if we have moved this post back to the top of the page with updates.

  • The Twins aren't close to a deal for Lee, a team source tells LaVelle E. Neal III of the Star Tribune (via Twitter).
  • The Twins have offered outfielder Aaron Hicks and catcher Wilson Ramos for Lee, a major league source told Jeff Fletcher of AOL Fanhouse (via Twitter).
  • There are "interesting discussions" and "possibilities" for a Lee-to-Minnesota deal, tweets Jon Heyman of SI.
  • The Reds have talked to the Mariners about Lee, according to John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer.  While tampering rules prevent GM Walt Jocketty from commenting on Lee in particular, Fay believes that his words infer that the 2008 AL Cy Young winner would be a player of interest.

    “I will say this: We’re looking at any way we can to improve the club,” said the GM. “To improve the club, it would have to be a pretty significant player to do that. We have a lot of good things going. We don’t want to disrupt that.”

    Fay writes that it will take more than Yonder Alonso, a trade candidate mentioned by ESPN's Buster Olney over the weekend, to land Lee.  Edinson Volquez's performance upon his return will also have an impact on the Reds' interest in making a deal.

  • The Rangers, Twins, Yankees and Mets are among the teams having the most active conversations with the Mariners about Lee, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. The Dodgers have also discussed the left-hander with the Mariners.
  • The Tigers, Phillies and Cardinals have been scouting Lee, but those teams are not pursuing him as aggressively.
  • Some of Morosi's sources believe the Mariners would rather obtain hitters than pitchers, while others don't believe position matters to GM Jack Zduriencik. There is consensus that the Mariners prefer prospects who are close to contributing in the major leagues.

Cliff Lee Rumors: Sunday

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9:17pm: The Cardinals had a scout at today's Tigers-Mariners game as well, tweets Morosi.

2:45pm: Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports says that both the Dodgers and Yankees had scouts in attendance for Lee's brilliant start against the Tigers today (8 IP, 9 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 11 K). For the Yankees, this is the second consecutive start of Lee's which they've scouted.

According to Morosi, some clubs feel the Yankees are scouting Lee for a potential acquisition prior to the July 31 deadline, while others feel they're scouting with an eye toward this year's free agent market.

2:39pm: Jamey Newberg takes a lengthy, but interesting look at some reports guessing what it might take for the Rangers to acquire Lee from Seattle. Ultimately, due to the elite prospects required and the difficulty of working out the payroll (Newberg suggests adding Rich Harden and including an extra prospect to offset the salary), he feels he'd say no to Zduriencik were he in Ranger GM Jon Daniels' shoes.

Newberg also makes the point that while Lee projects as a Type A free agent, it shouldn't be assumed that he'll net his new team two first-round draft picks. Jayson Werth and Carl Crawford both project as fellow Type A free agents. With all three on the Yankees' radar, it's possible that Werth and/or Crawford end up outranking Lee, though Lee currently leads the three. If that happens, and the Yankees sign Lee and one of the two outfielders, Lee's new team would receive a supplemental round pick and a second-round pick instead of a first.

12:28pm: Citing rival executives, ESPN.com's Buster Olney (Insider link) says that Seattle GM Jack Zduriencik is searching for a "difference-making hitter" in any Cliff Lee negotiations. Expanding upon a tweet he made yesterday, Olney takes a look at the type of young hitter the Mariners may ask for in return for Cliff Lee.

One scenario that Olney suggests involves bringing the Brewers into a potential three-way trade. During Zduriencik's time in Milwaukee, he drafted Brett Lawrie, who Baseball America ranked as the 59th-best prospect in baseball coming into this season. The 20-year-old has only improved his stock this year, hitting .297/.362/.476 with 22 steals for Milwaukee's Double-A affiliate. While trading for Lee makes little sense for the Brewers, they could hypothetically add talent and depth to their farm system by sending Lawrie to Seattle and receiving prospects from the team acquiring Lee. This is speculation on Olney's part, but it's something Zduriencik could very well consider in the coming weeks.

Meanwhile, Frank Fitzpatrick of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports that Cliff Lee checks in on his former teammates in Philadelphia every now and then. Within the piece, Lee says he'd be happy to stay in Seattle for the rest of the year, and touches on how the season may have played out if he'd remained a Phillie.

Odds & Ends: Lee, Miller, Branyan, Phillies

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There may be a lot of NBA and NHL rumors and signings floating around today, but the MLB hot stove will only get hotter as we approach the trade deadline.  Here are some items from around the majors…

Cardinals Covet Dan Haren

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The Cardinals traded Dan Haren away in 2004, but they like the idea of bringing him back. Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the Cardinals are one of the teams that covet the D’Backs righty and it doesn’t sound like Haren would mind returning to St. Louis.

“I’ve always said I’d like to play here again,” Haren said, clarifying that he is not asking for a trade.

Haren has limited say in his future, since he doesn’t have a no trade clause. He does have $33.3MM remaining on his contract, and that figure will likely mean some would-be suitors shy away. He makes $750K less than Cliff Lee this year, but has nearly $30MM remaining on his contract after 2010, unlike Lee. That kind of commitment may mean the Cardinals pursue other pitchers.

The Cardinals don’t have Albert Pujols under control after 2011, and have made major commitments to Matt Holliday and Kyle Lohse. Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright are getting paid handsomely, so the Cards may not have the money to add Haren and pay Pujols market value. Other teams, including the Yankees, Twins, Nationals and Tigers, scouted Haren last week according to Nick Cafardo, but the D’Backs aren’t necessarily going to deal him, even if they are open to making deals.

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