MLB trade deadline buzz....Only a Couple of days Away

MLB trade deadline buzz: Wednesday's edition

<!-- // Writer Attribution// -->by Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi, FOXSports.com


Mariners pull Clement from minor-league game — Updated 10:51 a.m.


The Mariners removed former first-round pick Jeff Clement from a Class AAA Tacoma game on Tuesday and later informed him that he is about to be traded, one major-league source told FOXSports.com.

Officials from the Indians and Rays, among the most active teams this week, said they're not involved in the Clement talks. The Red Sox and Pirates have also scouted Tacoma recently, the source said, but it's not clear if they are involved in the imminent trade.
Clement was the Mariners' first-round pick in 2005 but has never had sustained success in the big leagues. He's a career .237 hitter in 75 major-league games as a catcher and designated hitter.


More interest in Diamondbacks pitchers — Updated 10:13 a.m.


While one rival general manager said early Wednesday that the Diamondbacks were not trading left-hander Doug Davis or right-hander Jon Garland, the D-Backs' position actually remains unchanged.
They will move one or both veterans only for what they deem fair value. The trade interest in Davis and Garland, minimal thus far, has grown "slightly," according to major-league source.

Indians GM says payroll won't force him to deal — Updated 10:06 a.m.


Indians general manager Mark Shapiro stated firmly on Wednesday that he does not need to trade left-hander Cliff Lee and catcher Victor Martinez for financial reasons.
"We have zero imperative from ownership to move money," Shapiro said. "That's not a component in our decision-making at all."
The Indians' declining revenues, however, are forcing Shapiro to proceed with the understanding that he cannot supplement his major-league roster this off-season.
So, in trade discussions for Lee and Martinez, he is weighing the impact of the possible returns on next season's club vs. the impact of keeping either or both players. The Indians hold a $9 million option on Lee for 2010 and a $7 million option on Martinez.

Slumping Brewers not pursuing Washburn — Updated 9:53 a.m.

The Brewers, thought to be one of the favorites for Jarrod Washburn, are not seriously engaged in discussions for the Mariners' veteran left-hander.


The reasons: The Brewers do not want to give up good prospects for two months of Washburn at a time when they have lost 16 of their last 23 games.
Washburn, a likely Type B free agent, would bring only one draft pick in return if the Brewers (or any other club he was with) failed to re-sign him.
The Mariners, according to one general manager who has spoken with them, are seeking to make a bigger deal with Washburn. That might be the reason they pulled catcher/designated hitter Jeff Clement from his Class AAA game and informed him that he was about to be traded.

Lookinh more real is the Cliff Lee to the Phils since Halladay price was too high.

2PLAYSMAX said:

Lookinh more real is the Cliff Lee to the Phils since Halladay price was too high.

Click to expand...

This morning I heard that the Indians would still want Kyle Drabek in a deal for Cliff Lee. Why would the Phillies give up Drabek for Lee and not Halladay?

Pirates send Wilson, Snell to M's — 12:43 p.m.


The Pirates just announced that they have acquired first baseman Jeff Clement, shortstop Ronny Cedeno and right-handed pitchers Aaron Pribanic, Brett Lorin and Nathan Adcock from the Mariners for shortstop Jack Wilson and right-handed pitcher Ian Snell.
Lee deal could force Ricciardi's hand — 12:41 p.m.


The Phillies are in talks with the Indians to obtain left-hander Cliff Lee and possibly another player, according to FOXSports.com senior baseball writer Ken Rosenthal.
That begs a very important question, two days before baseball's non-waiver trade deadline.
What does this mean for the Blue Jays and their still-available ace, Roy Halladay?
If Lee is traded to Philadelphia, Toronto general manager J.P. Ricciardi will lose a substantial amount of leverage. It would become possible that the rival Boston Red Sox — a team Ricciardi would prefer not to deal with on a player of this magnitude — will submit the most appealing offer, centered on standout pitching prospect Clay Buchholz.
At that point, Ricciardi will be faced with a difficult decision: accept Boston's offer and submit to facing Halladay multiple times each year for as long as the ace remains with the Red Sox; or turn it down and take what could be an inferior offer elsewhere.
Could another team make an offer that is competitive, relative to Boston's? Absolutely. Major-league sources have told FOXSports.com in the last 24 hours that multiple teams are involved in addition to the Phillies and Red Sox.
The list includes the Yankees and Rangers, with the Dodgers on the periphery.
By 4:40 p.m. Eastern, we should know if the Blue Jays are close on a deal involving Halladay. That's when the series finale between the Mariners and Jays is set to begin in Seattle — with Halladay on the mound.
If a deal is imminent, expect Toronto to scratch Halladay. One way or the other, the next 12 hours should be very telling.

Phils, Indians in discussions for Lee — Updated 11:58 a.m.


The Phillies are in discussions with the Indians to obtain left-hander Cliff Lee and possibly another player for Class A right-hander Jason Knapp, Class AAA right-hander Carlos Carrasco, shortstop Jason Donald and catcher Lou Marson, according to a major-league source.
Carrasco was scratched from his start for the Class AAA Lehigh IronPigs on Wednesday, and Donald and Marson were not in the lineup. It was not known whether Donald and Marson had scheduled off-days for an 11 a.m. start after a night game. Talks remain fluid — the Phillies also are talking to the Mariners about left-hander Jarrod Washburn, and the Dodgers planned to make a "hard push" for Lee on Wednesday, according to a source. Full story...

Phillies are in a win win either way IMO.

If they get Lee... They are giving up Carraso, Donald, Marson, and Knapp... Knapp is the only real prospect here and he is only 18. Anything can happen with a pitcher that young. Plus they get Lee who is a top 15 MLB pitcher and only have to pay him 9 million next year

If they get Halladay... They are giving up Drabek who is a future ace in the majors, possibly happ who is 7-1 this year, and one of the outfield prospects. I believe Halladay is set to make 17 million next year so they would have less money to work with in the off season. But in return they would be getting the best pitcher in baseball and an innings eater that the Phillies need due to bullpen injuries.

Either one of these pitchers help the Phillies obvious Halladay more then Lee but both would make a huge difference. If they got Halladay and didn't win the World Series this year or next year it would be a huge blow to the front office. I think Lee gives them a chance to get back to the World Series and possibly repeat this year depending on who represents the AL.

Giants still scouting Nationals — 1:13 p.m.

While the Giants have acquired Ryan Garko and are engaged in talks with the Pirates about Freddy Sanchez, they haven't entirely closed off other options. One major-league source said the Giants have a scout in Milwaukee this week to watch the Brewers and Nationals.


The Giants have had interest in the Nationals' available bats for some time; corner outfielder Josh Willingham would probably be a better fit than Nick Johnson now, following the acquisition of Garko. San Francisco has had well-below-average offensive production from left field, where Fred Lewis has made the majority of starts.

Phils, Indians in discussions for Lee — Updated 1:28 p.m.



The Phillies are deep in discussions with the Indians to obtain left-hander Cliff Lee and another player for Class A right-hander Jason Knapp, Class AAA right-hander Carlos Carrasco, shortstop Jason Donald and catcher Lou Marson, according to major-league sources.
Carrasco was scratched from his start for the Class AAA Lehigh IronPigs on Wednesday, and Donald and Marson were not in the lineup. It was not known whether Donald and Marson had scheduled off-days for an 11 a.m. start after a night game. Talks remain fluid — the Phillies also are talking to the Mariners about left-hander Jarrod Washburn, and the Dodgers planned to make a "hard push" for Lee on Wednesday, according to a source

Humble opinion that the Rays are making firm move on Vic Martinez from Indians.

But they're not going to culminate it until after tonight's closing game of the NYY series, so as to avoid the day or so of roster shakeup while playing their biggest division rival

$9M vs $17M; i'll take lee vs holliday everytime. i'll take my chances. and they are taking a chance w/cliff lee, no doubt, as you do with any starting pitcher. lee can pitch well vs the yankees too. love this trade shit.

the twins still haven't made a trade. jack wilson is gone, o cabrera still in oak, if i were their gm, i would've brought back christian guzman a long time ago. anyone else love that, chritian guzman back to the twins for the pennant push? dumbass twins might even trade one of their regulars, ala, luis castillo. got to strike while the iron is hot, cause remember the twins traded garza and bartlett for delmon young.

The buzz on Halladay is pretty high around here right now. Sox are denying EVERYTHING.

But the last rumor was : "the Sox have offered starting pitcher Clay Buchholz, a choice of first baseman Lars Anderson, pitcher Justin Masterson, or pitcher Michael Bowden, and other lesser prospects, for Toronto's workhorse righthander."

http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/extras/thebuzz/

Pirates send Wilson, Snell to Mariners for five players

<TABLE class=storyHeader border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR><TD class=storyInfo vAlign=top>July 29, 2009
CBSSports.com wire reports </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>


SEATTLE -- The Seattle Mariners acquired shortstop Jack Wilson and pitcher Ian Snell from the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday for shortstop Ronny Cedeno, Triple-A catcher Jeff Clement and three minor league pitchers.

The 31-year-old Wilson, an All-Star in 2004, becomes Seattle's third everyday shortstop this season.
"This was an opportunity for us to acquire a veteran shortstop, a former All-Star player, with leadership qualities and above-average defensive skills," Mariners general manager Jack Zdurienick said. "As we move forward over the next few years it is nice to know that we have solidified the shortstop position."

The Mariners also think Snell can restart his stalled career. Snell, 27, had a 0.96 ERA in six starts with Triple-A Indianapolis, after starting the season 2-8 with a 5.36 ERA in 15 starts for Pittsburgh.
Zdurienick called Snell "a talented pitcher with major league experience who now has an opportunity restart his career after a very successful reassignment in Indianapolis."
Seattle had acquired Cedeno in the offseason from the Chicago Cubs. He struggled after the Mariners gave him their shortstop job this month by trading Yuniesky Betancourt to Kansas City. Cedeno is hitless in his last 26 at bats and is batting .167 in 59 games. The 26-year-old's contract ends after this season.
In Clement, the Pirates are getting the third overall draft pick in 2005 who has shown impressive power but has been unable to catch consistently. He has played first base while being primary a DH at Triple-A Tacoma. Clement, who turns 26 next month, batted .237 with seven home runs in 75 games for Seattle in 2007 and '08. He was batting .288 with 14 home runs and 68 RBI in 92 games for Tacoma this season.
The Pirates also get minor league right-handed pitchers Nathan Adcock, Brett Lorin and Aaron Pribanic.

Twins acquire Orlando Cabrera

The Minnesota Twins have acquired shortstop Orlando Cabrera from Oakland in exchange for minor-league shortstop Tyler Ladendorf, CBSSports.com has learned.
Cabrera, 34, has come on strong lately at the plate after a very slow start. He was hitting .280 with a .318 on-base percentage in 101 games for the Athletics, and he arrives in Minnesota with an 11-game hitting streak intact. He's hitting .375 (18 for 48) over that stretch.
The acquisition for the Twins comes less than an hour after AL Central-leading Detroit acquired left-handed pitcher Jarrod Washburn from Seattle. The Twins, weak in the middle infield with Brendan Harris (.264) at shortstop, Alexi Casilla (.171) at second base and Nick Punto (.208) spelling them, also were talking with Toronto about Marco Scutaro.
In acquiring Cabrera, the Twins gave up their second-round pick from last summer's draft, Ladendorf. Initially, the Athletics were focused on outfielder Aaron Hicks, rated the Twins' top prospect in 2009 by Baseball America, and third baseman Danny Valencia, whom the Twins think is their third baseman of the future.
Cabrera is due roughly $1.25 million in salary this season, plus a $250,000 bonus for being traded.
The Twins remain in the market for a relief pitcher.

2 Hours & 15 mins Left until the Deadline......@)

Come on Theo pull the trigger on something!

Can't have this much gossip with nothing doing

ESPN Reports : Red Sox working on three-way deal...

The Boston Red Sox and the Cleveland Indians were discussing a three-way trade Thursday night that would send Victor Martinez to Boston, Clay Buchholz to Cleveland and prospects flying in all directions, according to clubs that spoke to both teams.
The Red Sox also would attempt to move recently acquired first baseman Adam LaRoche, either to a third team or in a companion deal, to make room for catcher/first baseman Martinez in their lineup, one source said.

The Red Sox have spent several days working on parallel deals with Toronto for Roy Halladay, San Diego for first baseman Adrian Gonzalez and Cleveland for Martinez, but there were indications late Thursday and early Friday that they were making little or no headway with Toronto and San Diego, and that they were having trouble making the pieces fit with Cleveland.
A source suggested Boston would need the third team only to acquire Gonzalez because that would make LaRoche a nearly irrelevant part of their club. An official of yet another club said Friday that Boston would have to move LaRoche whether it acquired Gonzalez or Martinez.
"Either way," the official said, "they'd just need to dump LaRoche. Where would he play?"

Outside of the need to find a new home for LaRoche, it wasn't immediately clear why Boston and Cleveland needed a third trade partner to make the deal work. But adding that third club would also create a wider prospect pool for the Indians and Padres to choose from. And with Boston still wavering on whether it would include Buchholz, either deal would require all the prospects these teams can muster.

In fact, according to one source familiar with the thinking of the Boston brass, its attention Thursday was concentrated almost exclusively on deals other than the Martinez trade. Yet the price tags on Halladay and Gonzalez were still so steep, even on Friday morning, that other clubs were predicting the Red Sox will find a way to trade for Martinez by the 4 p.m. ET deadline because he's the only realistically obtainable difference-maker that fits.
In the meantime, the Red Sox aren't the only team talking to the Indians about Martinez. Cleveland is also still in conversations with Tampa Bay about the 30-year-old catcher. The Indians were heavily scouting the Rays' system Thursday, and had multiple scouts watching the Rays' Triple-A Durham team.

Although it would be difficult for the financially challenged Rays to absorb the approximately $2 million left on Martinez's contract this year, sources say Tampa Bay has concluded it can do that without subtracting a higher-priced player such as left-hander Scott Kazmir at the same time -- at least until the offseason. Still, one source who has spoken with Tampa's front office continued to characterize a Martinez deal as a long shot.

1 Hour, 45 Mins to Deadline.....@)

the twins make a move. i still say christian guzman was a better fit.

Not a big baseball fan, so I'll ask this question about the Sox: if they trade away buckholtz, won't they be really lacking in the starting pitching department? I mean, Smoltz isn't reliable, Dice-K is going to have a tough time coming back (physically and moreso cause everyone's pissed at him), Penny is lukewarm, and Wakefield may be banged up for awhile even if he comes back... Anyone have insight?