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With Corey Hart's recent injury, the odds of his getting traded were incredibly low. And though teams have been talking about Prince Fielder, his cost was always higher than most any team would be willing to pay. So, already, it didn't look like Fielder or Hart were going to get moved before the trade deadline. And via Keith Law, we get additional confirmation, albeit for a different reason than expected:
After all the talk about possibly moving Prince Fielder or Corey Hart, or even a couple of relievers or starting pitcher Dave Bush, the Milwaukee Brewers are closed for business, reports ESPN Insider's Keith Law.
"They have decided they're close enough to contention that they're not selling, so Hart and Fielder are off the market," Law said, citing an executive from a rival club that was interested in a Brewers player.
The Brewers, right now, are nine back in the division and ten back in the Wild Card, so they're not going to be going to the playoffs. That said, both Hart and Fielder remain under team control next season, so it's possible the Brewers think they can gear up to make a real run in 2011.
Whatever the case, it doesn't look like Fielder or Hart are going to get dealt, the former of whom will increase Washington's leverage with Adam Dunn.
For those teams looking for a starter or a catcher, the Diamondbacks are here to help:
The Arizona Diamondbacks are trying hard to deal pitcher Edwin Jackson and catcher Chris Snyder by Saturday's trade deadline. Jackson is scheduled to make $8.35 million next year and Snyder is set to make $5.75 million.
Jackson has posted a 5.16 ERA and decent strikeout rate through 21 starts, while Snyder has recently been supplanted by the younger, cheaper Miguel Montero.
It's known that the Nationals really like Edwin Jackson, so they could be a good fit for the starter. Less clear is who would take Snyder, at least right now - he would likely be a lot easier to move come the offseason. Still, if one or both of these players remain in Arizona after Saturday, it won't be for lack of trying on Jerry Dipoto's part.
The Twins have been active in the trade market for weeks, now, placing a lot of calls and for a while looking like favorites to land Cliff Lee. They've been looking for arms to both start and relieve, and Thursday brought some new developments. For one:
#Twins unlikely to get Ted Lilly from #Cubs, sources say. #Chicago
Twins and Nats in discussions over RHP Matt Capps.
Minnesota has looked at a number of relievers, including Scott Downs, David Aardsma, and Capps, and it is with the latter that they appear farther along. Capps has a low financial price tag in 2010, is arbitration-eligible in 2011, and has managed 37 strikeouts and six unintentional walks in 45 innings as Washington's closer.
The Nationals being led by Mike Rizzo, of course, means that Capps won't come cheap, but if the Twins are intent on making an improvement, they'll have to pay something.
The Adam Dunn trade rumor wheel continues to turn, and Jon Heyman chimes in with his version of the latest:
#chisox among teams trying for adam dunn. 3-way scenarios with edwin jackson going to #nats are in play.
...
i get the feeling no one loves anyone more than #nats love edwin jackson.
The Nationals have been rumored to be in pursuit of Edwin Jackson for a while, and the same goes for the White Sox and Adam Dunn, so it makes sense that the two would get together. The question then becomes of what else would be moving around, especially to Arizona. Do the White Sox have enough to satisfy the Diamondbacks' demands?
Jackson, who is under contract for $8.35m next season, has drawn interest on the trade market from a number of teams, but the Nationals certainly seem to be the most driven.
That's the suspicion of the Baltimore Sun's Dan Connolly:
#Orioles Miguel Tejada has been scratched; believed he has been dealt to the San Diego Padres pending league approval. Still working on this
...
#Orioles Money must be exchanging hands for league approval. Josh Bell has been removed from AAA lineup and is heading to KC for Os game
The Padres have been searching for infield help and have been linked to Tejada recently, so this trade would make a lot of sense. Tejada has hit just .269/.308/.362 on the season, but he's an experienced veteran who can handle the left side of the diamond, so he could be of some use to a Padres team that's presently without David Eckstein.
Roy Oswalt may have been Houston's biggest piece to deal, but he wasn't the only one, and Ken Rosenthal reports on another:
Source: Berkman "in play," discussions taking place. Deal far from guaranteed. Berkman, like Oswalt, has full no-trade.
Berkman is in the final year of a six-year contract, with a $2m 2011 buyout. His numbers this season are well below his usual standard, an .808 OPS being 151 points below his career average and 99 points below where he was last year, but he still draws a ton of walks and gets on base, and he's slugged .521 in the month of July. He isn't the sort to come at a monumental cost, which could make him appealing as a riskier but cheaper option than an Adam Dunn, Prince Fielder, or Josh Willingham to a team like the White Sox or Rays who are looking for a bat-first player.
On Thursday afternoon, two days before the trade deadline, contradictory reports are flying regarding the eventual destination of Nationals slugger Adam Dunn. Firstly, the New York Post reports that the Yankees and Rays are out of the mix:
The Yankees consider the current asking price steep and would only deliver that kind of package for a game-changing necessity, such as Cliff Lee, not for someone they consider a luxury, such as Dunn. [...] Dunn has spent his entire career in the NL, so he has never DH'ed regularly and has said repeatedly he does not want to be exclusively a DH.
Similar worries also – coincidentally – moved the Yankees’ nearest AL East pursuer, the Rays, away from Dunn, as well.
Buster Olney, however, tweets that while discussions between the Nationals and Yankees/Rays aren't active for the time being, the A.L. East rivals are still in it.
The Nationals say they're not engaged with the NYY at the moment, but the NYY seem to be hovering --as are the Rays
Olney also passes along word that the White Sox are counting themselves out:
Heard this: The White Sox are saying internally that they are currently out of the mix on Dunn.
So! To recap: the Yankees and Rays are possibly still in pursuit of Dunn, even though he's only a good fit with either team as a designated hitter, and Dunn does not want to be a designated hitter. Of course, Dunn doesn't have a say in whether he's traded, so he may end up being somewhere he doesn't want to be.
And nobody's saying he won't finish the season in Washington, either.
For more on these teams, check out our blogs Pinstripe Alley, DRaysBay, South Side Sox, and Federal Baseball.
The Rangers have seemed like the hottest suitors for Jorge Cantu for a while, now, and Clark Spencer reports that they're getting ever so close to reaching an agreement with the Marlins:
#Marlins getting closer on deal with #Rangers for Cantu
If and when he ends up in Texas, the right-handed Cantu will platoon with lefty Chris Davis at the very least, and could even supplant him altogether as the everyday first baseman.
With only two days left before the MLB trade deadline, the New York Yankees' concern over the health of their catcher, Jorge Posada, may compel them to shop for some help behind the plate. From the New York Post:
A cyst behind Jorge Posada's left knee forced him to miss Tuesday night's game against the Indians and relegated him to DH duty last night.
After a solid start, [backup catcher] Francisco Cervelli has come back to earth, both with his hitting and his fielding. Chad Moeller is Triple-A insurance.
The Yankees have reportedly expressed interest in Adam Dunn, but Posada's issues may throw a wrench into that plan -- Dunn would only make sense as a designated hitter, and they'd have to pull Posada and his .834 OPS to make room for him.
If the Yankees decide to shop for a catcher, the market is a little thin this year, but there are some possibilities. The Blue Jays, whose odds of reaching the playoffs grow slimmer by the day may be willing to deal John Buck, whose contract expires at the end of the season. Buck is hitting .279 with 14 home runs.
For more on the Yanks, check out our Yankees blog, Pinstripe Alley.
MLB Trade Rumors: White Sox Making Push For Edwin Jackson
The Nationals may be the team most in love with Edwin Jackson, but according to Ken Rosenthal, it might be the White Sox who land the Arizona righty:
Previously, there were rumors of a three-way trade involving the White Sox, Nationals, and Diamondbacks exchanging Edwin Jackson and Adam Dunn. The Nationals really like Jackson, and the White Sox really like Dunn. The White Sox also have a hole in their rotation, though, and according to this rumor would go straight to Arizona for help.
One does have to wonder about the price. Both Jackson and Hudson have quality repertoires, and given the success the 23 year old Hudson has had in the minors, he may arguably be as good or better than Jackson right now, which says nothing about any additional prospect getting moved. If the Diamondbacks are able to exchange Jackson for Hudson and another youngster, they will have done themselves good.
Jul 30 2:26a by Jeff Sullivan - 0 comments