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Odds and Ends: Manny, McDonald, Bradford, Bowden

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Collection o’ links…

Rays Acquire Chad Bradford

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According to Roch Kubatko of MASN Sports, the Rays won a waiver claim on reliever Chad Bradford.  They’ll send a player to be named later to the Orioles for him.  The Rays strengthened an already excellent bullpen.

Bradford, 34 next month, has a 2.45 ERA in 40.1 innings this year.  His strikeout rate is dangerously low, but he’s not walking anyone or allowing home runs.  He also has a very strong groundball rate.

Bradford has $1.05MM left on his contract this year plus $3.5MM in ’09.  Aside from the Angels, all the other American League teams passed on the chance to claim Bradford.

At Least 15 Teams Watched Freddy Garcia

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9:13pm: Additional teams confirmed in attendance: the Red Sox, Brewers, Cubs, Dodgers, Marlins, and White Sox.  Garcia’s agent says he’d like to sign by this weekend, and plans to sign only for ’08.  Troy Renck says the Rockies are a long shot now that they’ve added Livan Hernandez. 

WEDNESDAY, 9:28am: Surprisingly, the Phillies were in attendance at Garcia’s audition yesterday.  David Murphy finds the idea intriguing, but says the Phils don’t have major interest.  The Phillies traded Gavin Floyd to the White Sox for Garcia in December of ’06, but he only gave them 11 starts while earning $10MM.

Also confirmed at the audition: the Tigers, Yankees, Mets, Rays, Rockies, Astros, and Rangers.  MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez thinks the Rangers might be the most interested party.

TUESDAY: Today’s the big day…free agent Freddy Garcia will audition for teams in Miami.  He’s recovering from labrum surgery.

We’ve compiled reports over the past few months.  Teams interested in Garcia at one point: the Mets, Red Sox, Braves, Yankees, White Sox, Rangers, Tigers, Rays, Astros, Cubs, Cardinals, Dodgers, Twins, Indians, Mariners, and Royals. That’s 16 of 30 teams, though the non-contenders may have dropped out.

Garcia’s friend and former manager Ozzie Guillen doubted the pitcher’s ability to contribute at the big league level this year.  Garcia was upset by the comments.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Price, John Hart, Ibanez

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A look at Ken Rosenthal’s latest column…

  • Rosenthal notes that the Rays have an ace in the hole with David Price available to boost their pitching staff when they deem him ready.  I imagine the Rays won’t end up signing Freddy Garcia.  The reports on Garcia are lukewarm, by the way.
  • Teams are beginning to value free agent compensation draft picks more than ever.  As a result, we’re seeing fewer salary dump trades.  Rosenthal notes that it is possible for a team to receive a supplemental pick even without offering arbitration.  That is true, but only if the free agent signs elsewhere before December 1st.
  • John Hart might want to get back into the general managing game.
  • The Rangers discussed acquiring Raul Ibanez, it seems.

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.

Jason Bay Rumors: Thursday

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3:29pm: Bay to the Dodgers?  Jennifer Langosch says it’s possible.

3:00pm: Rosenthal has a source saying Bay to the Rays is off "unless a miracle happens."  He has Bay headed to Boston once again.

2:43pm: MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo says there is no done deal – the Rays might not make Brignac available.

2:11pm: MLB.com’s Bill Chastain with the scoop – the Rays have acquired Jason Bay for Reid Brignac and Jeff Niemann.  The Rays haven’t confirmed it yet though, and Rosenthal says the Bucs want to replace Niemann with other prospects.  I wonder if Bay would DH for the Rays.

Will we see a Jack Wilson trade next, or will that wait until the offseason?  Brignac, 22, is hitting .257/.304/.429 in 91 Triple A games.  He probably isn’t ready yet.  Baseball America still expects him to develop into a solid offensive-minded shortstop.

Niemann, 25, has a 3.53 ERA in 18 Triple A starts this year.  He’ll probably go straight into the Pirates’ rotation.  Baseball America feels he has #2 or #3 starter stuff, but his star has dimmed in recent times.

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.

D’Backs, Angels, Mets, Rays, A’s Unlikely To Make Trades

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2:05pm: Count the D’Backs out, per Buster Olney.

1:35pm: Toss the Angels into the "not making a deal today" barrel.

12:38pm: The Rays and Mets also seem quiet today.

11:00am: According to ESPN’s Buster Olney, the A’s are not likely to make a trade today.  Olney’s source puts it at 1%.  So, looks like Justin Duchscherer and Huston Street can rest easy.

Rockies Rumors: Fuentes, Redding, Fogg, Byrd

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1:38pm: Jayson Stark says Fuentes is staying put.  A little more than an hour left til the deadline.

9:33am: Mark Zuckerman of the Washington Times says the Nationals are leaning toward keeping Redding, and have even had preliminary extension talks with him.  Trades of Paul Lo Duca, Odalis Perez, and Felipe Lopez are also unlikely.

THURSDAY, 8:31am: Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post indicates the Rockies want to keep Fuentes.  He says they’re looking at starters such as Tim Redding, Josh Fogg, and Paul Byrd.  Redding’s stock dropped last night with an ugly start.

WEDNESDAY, 9:12pm: On Sunday, Rockies GM Dan O’Dowd termed a Brian Fuentes trade "highly unlikely."  However, ESPN’s Jayson Stark says the Rockies will decide late tonight whether to put Fuentes on the market.  The Mets, Phillies, and Rays are out given the high asking price.

Ken Rosenthal wrote earlier that the Rockies were "poking around" with interested parties, still asking for a young MLB starting pitcher or two good prospects.

Twins Rumors: Bonser, Beltre, Roberts, Monroe

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La Velle E. Neal III and Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune have the latest Twins buzz.

  • The Twins would like to trade Boof Bonser to make room for Francisco Liriano.  The Giants and Rangers might be interested.
  • Targets for the Twins: relief help, third base, and second base.
  • Talks for Adrian Beltre are not dead.  The Mariners are eyeing Nick Blackburn, Scott Baker, Kevin Slowey, Glen Perkins, and Denard Span.  The Twins aren’t biting.  Sounds like the Mariners want a premium arm for Beltre from the Twins or Giants, but those teams see it as more of a salary dump.
  • The Twins asked about Brian Roberts but couldn’t get anywhere.
  • The Rays might be looking at Craig Monroe as a bench option.
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