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Today is an exciting day for me, as MLB Trade Rumors is featured in an article by Chris De Luca in the Chicago Sun-Times.  Check it out!

This morning, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney weighs in with some possible destinations for two likely available closers, Oakland’s Huston Street and Baltimore’s George Sherrill.

• Olney speculates the Orioles would seem to have a great potential fit with the Dodgers, who need a closer.
• He says the Angels will need a closer next season if Francisco Rodriguez leaves and could use a lefty now.
• The Red Sox, Olney says, would probably love to land Sherrill and have prospects to offer, but isn’t sure the O’s would trade with a division rival.
• He says Brewers could be a match for either Street or Sherrill. Yesterday, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reported that the Brewers might be scouting Street.
  

Coley Ward writes for Umpbump.com and can be reached here.

Late Sunday evening, we rolled out the new design for MLB Trade Rumors.  I like the way it turned out.  We’ve added a new logo and a navigation bar and accentuated the RSS feed and site search box.

The big change, of course, is the move from gray text on a black background to the standard black text on a white background.  I’ll always miss it, in a nostalgic way.  But there’s no doubt it turned some people away.  And there’s no question the site is easier on the eyes now. 

The main benefit of the redesign should be a better first impression for new readers.  The current readers come here for the content, not the site design.  That said, the current readers are incredibly important.  I’d love to hear your feedback in the comments, positive or negative (please keep it constructive!)

A little Odds and Ends for lunch can’t hurt.

• A Rangers insider tells Jeff Wilson of the Star-Telegram that the team should sign Josh Hamilton, Milton Bradley and David Murphy long term.GM Jon Daniels tells Wilson he’s been "thinking about that since spring training."
• JC of the Sabernomics blog gives fans a few tips of what not to say come trade-deadline time.
  

  —Trading bad players. The most popular fan solution to poor performance is to ship the guy out in a trade, especially if the player was once much better. If he’s not good, then you can’t get much for him unless other teams are dumber than the fans suggesting the trade

• Shelly Duncan was DFAd by the Yankees. His second assignment this year.
• Newly-signed draft pick Reese Havens, a short stop, will shift to second base as he’s blocked by a fellow named Jose Reyes in the Mets infield.

By Alejandro A. Leal

 

A couple of more interesting links recapping the Rule 4 draft…

• Jim Callis of Baseball America conducted his draft day chat.

[On picking Tim Beckham over Buster Posey] . . . That pick just came down to the Rays’ personal preference. The easier choice would have been Posey, because he’ll be ready quicker and fill a more obvious need, but Tampa Bay thought Beckham had more upside.

• Kevin Czerwinski has a cool list of over 30 players that were drafted, all of whom have a more famous relative, including Jeremy Beckham, a second baseman from Georgia Southern and older brother of top pick Tim Beckham, who was also selected by the Rays in the 17th round.

Cork Gaines writes for Rays Index and can be reached here.

Since I started this website in November of 2005, I’ve pretty much just covered the topics I wanted to.  Here’s where we stand currently.

Topics MLBTR Covers

• Trade rumors and completed deals
• Free agent rumors and signings
• GM hirings/firings
• Amateur draft (trying this out for the first time, and liking it)

Topics MLBTR Does Not Cover

• Manager hirings/firings (just never interested me)
• Callups and demotions, unless they have direct hot stove implications
• Injuries, unless they have direct hot stove implications
• Steroids
• Miscellaneous baseball news (for example stadiums, uniforms, no-hitters, milestones, off the field incidents)

I wouldn’t say I’ve never dabbled in these topics, but for the most part I avoid them.  My take is that people want MLBTR to aggregate articles in a specific niche, and stick to what we do best.  I made the exception for the June draft because it does interest me and readers wanted it.

What do you think, should we change any aspect of our coverage?

Jayson Stark has a new column up today with several interesting notes.

• Rafael Furcal may be willing to begin talks about an extension with the Dodgers and forgo testing the free agency waters at the end of this season. Furcal is making $13MM this season and is still owed an additional $4MM after the season. This would be a good time for Furcal to engage in negotiations considering he has an OPS of 1.045.
• Stark notes that the Brewers made a very serious push for Julian Tavarez this past week, but may be willing to settle for Jeff Weaver, who is in AAA.
• The Sox apparently also made Javier Lopez and David Aardsma available last week and several teams expressed interest. Starks states that the Sox would have been willing to move Tavarez or Aardsma, but not both. The asking price of a prospect or a left-handed reliever was apparently too high.
• Stark says to look for Julio Lugo to be dealt in the off-season, not before.
• One anonymous executive says that the Padres are a good candidate to start selling off pieces, sooner rather than later.
• Stark is hearing rumors that the D-Backs will try to trade Chad Tracy once he is healthy.
• One scouting director thinks the bidding for 16-year old pitcher, Michel Inoa, from the Dominican Republic, could reach $6MM, with the Yankees and the Mariners most willing to open the wallets.

Cork Gaines writes for Rays Index and can be reached here.

A few minor notes and transactions…

• Glendon Rusch, who was designated for assignment by the Padres, has declined his assignment to AAA and is now a free agent. Rusch had a 6.41 ERA in 12 appearances for the Pads, with 12 strikeouts and 11 walks in 19.2 innings.
• Scott Dohmann was designated for assignment by the Rays to make room for Al Reyes who was coming off the DL. Dohmann, a right-handed relief pitcher, had a 6.14 ERA in 12 appearances for the Rays.
• The Pirates and Rays finalized a "trade" to keep Evan Meek in the Pirates organization. Meek, a rule 5 draftee this past off-season, was recently removed from the Pirates active roster. The Buccos gave the Rays an undisclosed amount of cash to avoid having to send Meek back to the Rays’ organization.

Cork Gaines writes for Rays Index and canbe reached here.

MLB Trade Rumors is looking for another weekend contributor (it is a paid position).  Here’s what I’m looking for: 

• It’s a regular shift: Sundays from 1-5pm Central Standard Time.  So you have to have that chunk of your weekend free every week.
• Blogging experience is a plus, especially if about baseball.  If you have a baseball blog, you’ll be able to link to it in your signature.
• Strong spelling and grammar skills – looking for a casual style 100% free of typos and awkward sentences.  You have to be able to write a post quickly but without errors and with your own insight.
• Ability to write intelligently about all 30 teams without bias.  The goal is for each post to add some value beyond just the facts found in the newspaper article you’re linking to.
• I will give pointers on gathering rumors, but proficiency with RSS feeds is preferred.  You’ll have to monitor your email for the entire shift, also.
• Email me at mlbtrweekend@gmail.com explaining your credentials.  Unfortunately I won’t be able to reply to all.  Thanks.

I talked with Chris Sedenka of WJAB radio this morning.  We discussed all the pertinent topics of the day – Coco Crisp, the Cubs, the Yankees’ rotation, the Brewers’ bullpen, and the June draft. Click here for the mp3 (7.6 mb file).