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Nationals Interested In Shoppach

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11:20am: The Brewers aren't in on Shoppach, Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald reports (on Twitter).

8:21am: The Nationals and Brewers have interest in Red Sox catcher Kelly Shoppach, tweets Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe.  The 32-year-old backstop has performed well as Jarrod Saltalamacchia's backup, hitting .261/.343/.513 in 136 plate appearances.  Shoppach has about $470K remaining on his contract this year.

Latest On Ryan Dempster

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8:26pm: The Cubs and Dodgers are still discussing scenarios involving Dempster and Soriano, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reports (on Twitter).  The Dodgers repeated today that they won't trade Webster for Dempster, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports (on Twitter).

4:57pm: There hasn't been any recent dialogue between the Dodgers and Cubs, ESPN.com's Buster Olney reports (on Twitter).

2:41pm: Dodgers pitching prospects Zach Lee, Allen Webster, and Chris Reed are all off the table in Dempster talks, tweets Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus.

1:41pm: Talks between the Dodgers and Cubs for Dempster are gaining momentum, reports Scott Miller of CBS Sports.  The Cubs are trying to bend over backwards to get Dempster to the Dodgers, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.

1:09pm: The Nationals have positioned themselves as the perfect fallback option for the Cubs on Dempster, reports ESPN's Jayson Stark.  It's unknown whether Dempster would approve a trade to the Nats.

12:08pm: The Cubs and Dodgers are still discussing righty Ryan Dempster, tweets Yahoo's Tim Brown.  Left fielder Alfonso Soriano remains part of these trade talks, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  The Dodgers are said to be Dempster's first choice, and he controls the process with 10-and-5 rights.  Yesterday, Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times wrote that the Cubs' failed attempt to obtain pitching prospect Allen Webster from the Dodgers for Dempster left those talks stalemated.  The Dodgers have had an offer on the table for Dempster since July 19th, writes Doug Padilla of ESPNChicago.com.

Last week, the Braves seemed close to acquiring Dempster for Randall Delgado, and Wittenmyer has a few details on that still-vague failed deal.  Dempster said Sunday, "Who’s to say I was going to say no or yes to whatever team.  All I said was that I just, at that time, needed to think about everything."  From the Braves' end, there's no guarantee Delgado would still be available, writes MLB.com's Mark Bowman.

NL East Notes: Bonifacio, Nationals, Braves, Phillies

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No team in baseball has a better ERA than the Nationals (3.25), who are seeking infield depth and monitoring the market for arms as the trade deadline approaches. Here are the latest links from the NL East, starting with the 61-40 Nationals…

  • Though the Nationals liked Emilio Bonifacio, the Marlins said a trade "ain't happening," Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports (on Twitter).
  • The Nationals are looking for a utility player and are focusing on players who can back up at shortstop, Yahoo's Jeff Passan reports (on Twitter). The team has discussed 15-20 players in the Marco Scutaro, Jamey Carroll, Nick Punto mold, Adam Kilgore reported last week. With Ian Desmond on the disabled list, Washington needs middle infield depth. 
  • The Braves have checked in on relievers and Wade Davis' name has come up in discussions, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports. However, the Rays seem reluctant to trade the right-hander.
  • The Phillies are more likely to trade Hunter Pence than Cliff Lee, but it's possible both will be moved, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reports (on Twitter).

Nationals Sign Mike MacDougal

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The Nationals signed Mike MacDougal to a minor league contract, according to the transactions page at CBSSports.com. The right-hander will provide the Nationals with bullpen depth, presumably at the minor league level.

The Dodgers signed MacDougal to a one-year, $1MM deal before the season, but released him in May. The 35-year-old then signed a minor league deal with the Cubs, posted a 7.85 ERA with more walks than strikeouts at Triple-A, and got released again. The Hendricks Sports client has been a free agent since July 11th.

Nationals Release Xavier Nady

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The Nationals announced that they have unconditionally released Xavier Nady. Washington had designated the outfielder/first baseman for assignment eight days ago.

A wrist issue had sidelined Nady since late-June. The 33-year-old posted a  .157/.211/.275 batting line with three homers in 109 plate appearances for Washington this season. The Nationals signed him to a minor league contract during Spring Training.

Details On The Pursuit Of Zack Greinke

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The Angels won the Zack Greinke sweepstakes last night, acquiring the former Cy Young Award winner in exchange for prospects Jean Segura, John Hellweg, and Ariel Pena. We've already seen some reactions to the trade as well as a breakdown of its impact on the Rangers, but here are some more details on the pursuit of the right-hander…

  • Righties Justin Grimm and Cody Buckel were the top pieces in the Rangers offer, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). The Brewers valued a young shortstop and wanted Martin Perez to compensate.
  • Rosenthal also hears that the Angels' late inclusion of Pena in their offer swung things in their favor (Twitter link).
  • White Sox GM Kenny Williams "worked his tail off" to land Greinke according to Rosenthal (on Twitter), even trying to include a third team before failing to find a match.
  • MLB.com's Jesse Sanchez reports (on Twitter) that the Nationals expressed interest in Greinke, perhaps in preparation for Stephen Strasburg's eventual shutdown. The Braves were also in the mix.

Nationals Release Rick Ankiel

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The Nationals have released outfielder Rick Ankiel, the team announced. Washington designated the outfielder for assignment last week.

Ankiel, 33, signed a one-year, $1.25MM contract with Washington this past offseason. He appeared in 68 games as the Nationals' center fielder and posted a .228/.282/.411 batting line with five home runs in 171 plate appearances. The Yankees had some interest in Ankiel before acquiring Ichiro Suzuki.

Rockies Notes: Scutaro, Betancourt, Reynolds

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The Rockies have been scouting the Giants’ minor league teams, so a deal could be developing, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle writes (Twitter links). The Giants asked about acquiring Marco Scutaro for bench help a couple of weeks ago and relievers Rafael Betancourt and Matt Belisle could also interest San Francisco, Schulman writes. Here are more notes on the 37-60 Rockies…

  • The Rockies don’t want to move Michael Cuddyer and are determined to keep Belisle, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com writes.
  • Scutaro, Jason Giambi, Betancourt, Matt Reynolds and Jonathan Herrera are the most likely Rockies to be traded in that order, Heyman writes.
  • The Rays, Nationals, Rangers and A’s appear to have interest in Scutaro, along with the Giants. Heyman reports that the Rockies could either seek a highly-regarded prospect for Scutaro or accept salary relief and a fringy prospect.
  • Several teams have called about Reynolds, Heyman reports.

NL East Notes: Mets, Nationals, Marlins, Ramirez

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The latest out of the National League East..

  • Mets assistant GM John Ricco says the club is still in the market for a reliever and backup catcher, and projects the Mets making a "small" move before the trade deadline, tweets Mike Puma of the New York Post.
  • Several Nationals officials have made the trip with the club to Milwaukee as the deadline nears, writes Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post.  While it would seem that the Nats are in need of an infielder, Washington manager Davey Johnson believes that the club can fill the gap internally.
  • New Dodgers reliever Randy Choate says that it's unfair of Marlins players to blame Hanley Ramirez for the team's struggles thus far, writes Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post.  The left-hander was sent to Los Angeles along with Ramirez this week.

Quick Hits: Indians, Scutaro, Twins, Polanco

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The Indians are focused on trade candidates who are under team control beyond 2012, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney reports (on Twitter). This means players such as Shane Victorino aren’t ideal targets for Cleveland. Here are more links from around MLB for Thursday afternoon…

  • Marco Scutaro is the most likely Rockies player to be dealt this month, Troy Renck of the Denver Post writes. The Nationals and Rays are among the teams watching Scutaro, Renck notes.
  • The Twins are hoping Carl Pavano and Matt Capps get healthy and pitch well in August so they can pass the pitchers through waivers and consider trading them, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports (on Twitter).
  • The Orioles, who continue looking for a third baseman, would have "tried hard" to acquire Placido Polanco if the Phillies hadn't placed him on the disabled list, Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com reports (on Twitter).
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