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Felipe Lopez Signs With Cardinals

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The Cardinals announced yesterday evening that they have signed infielder Felipe Lopez for the remainder of the season.  The Nationals released him on Thursday.  The Cardinals will use Lopez as a utility infielder and occasional outfielder.

Lopez, 28, hit .234/.305/.314 this year in 363 plate appearances.  He had a similar season in ’07.  He banged out 23 home runs in ’05, which apparently was his career year.  The Scott Boras client is earning $4.9MM this year, most of which the Nationals will cover.

Odds and Ends: Bay, Clement, Fuentes, Cabrera

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We’ve got plenty of links today.

  • There is speculation that Andruw Jones could be sent back to the minors.
  • Joel Sherman wonders if MLB should’ve gotten involved when Manny Ramirez decided to orchestrate his own exit.  Kind of reminds me of Gary Sheffield intentionally botching plays to force a trade out of Milwaukee in ’92.
  • Gordon Edes stands by his report that Manny pledged to give full effort if the Red Sox dropped his options.  That phone call between Scott Boras and Theo Epstein occurred within an hour of his trade to the Dodgers.
  • Jon Heyman takes us inside the Manny trade.  He says Ramirez signed an agreement in advance that he’d accept a trade to any team if his options were dropped.  Heyman believes Omar Minaya fibbed in saying he had failed trade discussions with Boston.
  • The Red Sox are still waiting to hear whether Joe Borowski will accept their offer of a minor league deal.
  • Dejan Kovacevic gives as inside look at the Jason Bay trade talks here and here.  Did the Rays offer Reid Brignac and Jeff Niemann?  Reports are conflicting.
  • The Cardinals released Matt Clement on Saturday.  Let this serve as another reminder of how hard it is to come back from shoulder surgery.
  • The Cardinals weren’t willing to trade catching prospect Bryan Anderson plus a pitching prospect for Brian Fuentes.  Also, GM John Mozeliak confirmed failed talks for Bay.
  • RotoAuthority takes a look at young pitchers who may face innings caps this year.
  • Another failed deal: Orlando Cabrera to the Orioles in a Brian Roberts deal.
  • Geoff Baker believes that when inside information related to the Blue Jays leaks out, GM J.P. Ricciardi is likely responsible.
  • Please continue to email me if you see a pop-up or full-page ad on MLB Trade Rumors.

Lefty Relievers: Ohman, Grabow, Eyre, Mahay

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2:50pm: Stark says Ohman’s probably staying put despite interest from ten teams.

2:39pm: Buster Olney says the Phillies will probably come up empty on a lefty reliever.

2:02pm: Rob Bradford of the Boston Herald says the Braves asked for a pitching prospect for Ohman, and the Red Sox passed.  Mahay remains a possibility.

1:07pm: MLB.com’s Mark Bowman says the Braves could keep Ohman.  So far they’re not finding offers superior to the supplemental draft pick they could get after the season.

THURSDAY, 12:24pm: Jayson Stark has the Yanks and Red Sox battling for Eyre.

WEDNESDAY, 11:50pm: Let’s talk lefty relievers.

  • David O’Brien names the Red Sox, Cardinals, Rays, Tigers, and White Sox parties interested in Will Ohman.  But the Sox might end up with John Grabow, and the Tigers may be content with Kyle Farnsworth as their relief addition.  Grabow may also be on the Rays’ radar.
  • MLB.com’s Mark Bowman has the Rays, Yankees, and Red Sox after Ohman, with the Cardinals out of the bidding.
  • Sean McAdam sees Boston’s interest in Ohman as minimal.  Instead, they’re eyeing Scott Eyre and Ron Mahay.  They’ve even offered Brandon Moss for Mahay, which seems solid.  Nick Cafardo believes righties Huston Street and J.J. Putz are still in the mix.
  • 15 scouts watched Arthur Rhodes struggle tonight.

Jason Bay Rumors: Wednesday

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8:37pm: Bay doesn’t seem to be on the Cardinals’ radar.  However, talks continue with Tampa Bay according to John Perrotto.  Bay could also end up in Boston in a three-team deal.

5:59pm: Jayson Stark reports that the Rays and Pirates haven’t had much dialogue today, and that talks have slowed.  The Pirates have backed off just a bit, but may want to see what happens with Manny Ramirez in case they can get the Red Sox interested.

3:16pm: Kovacevic has more.  Brignac and Jeff Niemann’s names are coming up in the Tampa Bay talks.  ESPN’s Jayson Stark heard the same, and adds that Hellickson, David Price, and Wade Davis are off-limits.

The Cardinals are in on Bay but not John Grabow.  Kovacevic says Colby Rasmus is untouchable, making the Pirates lean toward the Rays.  He adds that the Mets seem out of the running.

1:23pm: The Pirates and Rays are still talking, with the Cardinals lingering.  Dejan Kovacevic says Reid Brignac and Jeremy Hellickson are on the Bucs’ radar.

12:30pm: Heyman talked to one NL source who puts the chances of a Bay trade at 50-50.  The Pirates are looking around to see if they can beat the Rays’ offer.

11:13am: SI.com’s Jon Heyman checks in on Bay.  He says the Rays are flirting, while the Mets, D’Backs, and Cardinals are also in the mix.  ESPN’s Buster Olney says the Rays and Pirates are "talking constructively to bridge the gap."  Rays manager Joe Maddon admits some "very interesting stuff" is on the table.

8:43am: According to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Pirates are deep into talks with the Rays and other teams about left fielder Jason Bay.  However, no "truly elite prospect" has been offered yet, and the chances are better than 50-50 that Bay stays.  And who would move to right field for the Rays – Bay or Carl Crawford?  The Braves are considered out of the mix.

Shortstop Jack Wilson seems likely to stay, while reliever John Grabow will probably be dealt.

Stark’s Latest: Ibanez, Washburn, Redding, Rhodes

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Some additional notes from ESPN’s Jayson Stark:

  • The Mariners still want Jon Niese and another prospect for Raul Ibanez; the Mets are not biting.  Similar situation with the Ms asking the Cubs for Felix Pie and another player.
  • The Mets aren’t in on Jarrod Washburn or Tim Redding.
  • The Marlins are making it clear that there is no done deal for Arthur Rhodes.  Clark Spencer had written the Fish "could be closer" to a deal for Rhodes than a catcher.  Stark says the Mariners are driving a hard bargain for Rhodes, with the Red Sox, Marlins, Phillies, Brewers, Tigers, Mets, Cardinals, and Rays checking in.

Odds and Ends: Roberts, Ohman, Kotsay, Eyre

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Rumor roundup…

  • ESPN’s Buster Olney implies that another website backdates timestamps in an attempt to fake scoops.  I was following the Mark Teixeira rumors like a hawk; I gave the scoop to ESPN’s Jayson Stark with an assist to MLB.com’s Lyle Spencer.
  • Joe Christensen says Orioles second baseman Brian Roberts is not available.
  • MLB.com’s Mark Bowman guesses Will Ohman will land with the Cardinals.  He also puts the odds of a Mark Kotsay deal at 50%.
  • With Mark Teixeira out of the picture, Diamondbacks GM Josh Byrnes doesn’t expect to make any more trades.
  • Will Carroll says the Dodgers had a "passing discussion" with the Cubs about Scott Eyre and Ronny Cedeno.
  • Nothing cooking with the Royals.
  • Talked to Eddie Bajek, who is working on reverse-engineering the Elias formula.  He has A.J. Burnett on the Type A/Type B borderline.  Ivan Rodriguez and Edgar Renteria should both be Type As.

Graziano’s Latest: Dunn, Putz, Laird

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Time to check in with Dan Graziano of the Newark Star-Ledger.

  • Graziano calls Adam Dunn "the man without a rumor."  Even with his flaws this one is hard to figure out.  [UPDATE: SI.com’s Jon Heyman is finally hearing a couple of teams are in on Dunn.]
  • John Maine’s rotator cuff strain has the Mets looking at pitching.  Graziano suggests names like Livan Hernandez, Paul Byrd, and Jarrod Washburn.
  • The Mets have talked to the Tigers about Scott Schoeneweis.  They’d have to replace him, maybe with Arthur Rhodes or Eddie Guardado.
  • The Mariners will listen on J.J. Putz, but he won’t come cheap.  The Cardinals and Red Sox have interest.  Putz is signed through ’09 with an option for ’10.
  • The Yankees and Marlins have asked about catcher Gerald Laird, while many teams like Jarrod Saltalamacchia.
  • The Braves are willing to trade Will Ohman and Mark Kotsay.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Ibanez, Ohman, Fuentes

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The latest from rumor guru Ken Rosenthal:

  • The Mariners are not having much luck stirring interest in Jarrod Washburn and Raul Ibanez.  Only the Mets are seriously looking at Ibanez, and they don’t like the price.  The D’Backs aren’t interested.  Exacerbating the situation is that interim GM Lee Pelekoudas may feel compelled to make a good impression on the higher-ups.
  • The Braves chose Casey Kotchman and Stephen Marek over an offer of Chad Tracy and Micah Owings from the D’Backs.  I’m surprised the Diamondbacks didn’t go a little further.  The Braves tried to expand the deal and send Will Ohman to the Angels, but a match could not be found.  Ohman remains likely to go, with the Rays, Cardinals, and Red Sox named as suitors.
  • Rosenthal notes that the Angels have a ton of offseason decisions to make, with club options and free agents all over the place.
  • The Rockies might be slightly more willing to trade Brian Fuentes following recent losses.  However, they still want a young starting pitcher for him.

Molony’s Latest: Ohman, Fuentes, Sherrill, Tejada

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Here’s a new column from MLB.com’s Jim Molony.

  • Will Ohman suitors: the Marlins, Red Sox, Rays, Tigers and White Sox.  Molony says the Braves aren’t highly motivated to trade Ohman, as they might want to re-sign him for ’09.  Odd.
  • The Rockies would need to be bowled over, but the Cardinals, Mets, Phillies, Rays, Red Sox, White Sox and Yankees still like Brian Fuentes.
  • George Sherrill suitors: Cardinals, Dodgers, Marlins, Phillies, Red Sox and Tigers.  He’s another reliever unlikely to be dealt.
  • Molony disagrees with other reports on the Red Sox and Miguel Tejada; he says they did inquire but were rebuffed.
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