Ten And Five Rights

If a ten year veteran has played his last five seasons with his current team, he cannot be traded without permission because he has ten and five rights. Chipper Jones, for example, doesn't need a formal no-trade clause as long as he's with the Braves because his ten and five rights assure him that no deal will go through without his approval. Carlos Beltran's also a ten-year veteran, but the Mets could deal him without permission if he didn't have a no-trade clause since he won't have played five years in New York until after the 2009 season.

Rosenthal On A’s, Hart, Byrd

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports argues that now is not the time for the A's to shop their veteran hitters. Here are the details and some other rumors from his column:

  • Matt Holliday, Jason Giambi and Orlando Cabrera have low trade value because they're hitting poorly so Rosenthal says it wouldn't make sense to trade the veterans away now. Instead, the A's could hold onto Holliday and obtain compensation picks or deal him if he keeps hitting better. 
  • Orlando Hudson wanted to join the Mets this offseason, but he understands why Luis Castillo's manning second base for them.
  • Rosenthal wonders why AL teams aren't going after Jake Fox as a DH.  
  • The two clubs that called the Brewers on the weekend to see if Milwaukee really was making Corey Hart available heard that he is not on the block.  
  • Paul Byrd has yet to hear from anyone.  
  • Mark Mulder could be ready to return after the All-Star Break. 
  • Delmon Young "surfaced on the Braves' radar," but just briefly. An unnamed GM said acquiring Young would be a bad move when free agent hitters could be just as productive.  
  • The Blue Jays are more likely to pursue a left-handed slugger than a number two starter.  

Indians Not In Selling Mode

Grady Sizemore and Travis Hafner are on the disabled list and the Indians are last in the AL Central, but GM Mark Shapiro told Tom Verducci of SI.com that he isn't selling because he expects a revival from his team. As Verducci points out, only one team in the Wild Card era has made the playoffs after beginning June at least eight games under .500, the 2005 Houston Astros.

However, Shapiro said it's "too early to be preemptive" and deal players like Mark DeRosa, Carl Pavano and Jamey Carroll. He's no longer looking to add, though. "I've probably slowed the effort to try to acquire," Shapiro said. "We're probably more in the middle ground right now. People may think we're crazy, but we still like the core of our team."

Is Shapiro making the right call? Verducci thinks he should be selling and I agree. 

Brewers Release Jorge Julio

The Brewers have released pitcher Jorge Julioaccording to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. They made the move to create roster space for Mike Burns, a 30-year-old who has pitched for three major league teams. Burns was starting for Triple A Nashville and he'll provide some much-needed support for an over-used Brewers 'pen. 

Julio failed to retire any of the six hitters he faced last night. Poor outings became the norm for him this year; he's allowed nearly two baserunners per innings and has an ERA of 7.79.

Red Sox To Talk Trades, Might Deal

As Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald reports, Theo Epstein says he'll be involved in trade talks. However, there's no guarantee that he'll make a deal. Epstein predicts that the Red Sox will be "active on trade talks as far as discussions go," but cautions that he "would never want to predict" a trade.

As Epstein acknowledges, the Red Sox have areas for improvement. David Ortiz still hasn't heated up and the Red Sox aren't getting much production at shortstop as they await Jed Lowrie's return from injury. Ultimately, Epstein says the Red Sox are in a "good position" because of their excess pitching, and it's hard to disagree with him even though the Yankees are leading the AL East. 

Odds And Ends: Riske, Peavy, Penny

Links for Tuesday…

Record Bonus Unlikely For Miguel Angel Sano

Miguel Angel Sano, the 16-year-old Dominican prospect who's drawing interest from several Major League teams, isn't likely to receive a record bonus from the Pirates, according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Kovacevic sees "strong indications from the team's front office" that the Pirates won't surpass the $4.25MM bonus the A's paid Michael Ynoa last year. 

Instead, the Pirates believe that Sano's talent and the market for his services place his value closer to the $2-3MM given to elite prospects other than Inoa. The Pirates remains "intensely interested" in Sano, who can sign with whoever he chooses on July 2nd.

Glaus Doing Well; Cards Still Looking For Help

According to Matthew Leach of MLB.com Troy Glaus could start throwing and swinging soon, but with the third baseman's return still six to eight weeks away, Cardinals GM John Mozeliak says he could go outside the organization for help.

"We're going to continue to look, and probably ramp it up a little bit more in terms of intensity," Mozeliak said. "There has been more dialogue already with other clubs. There seems to be a chance that there might be some opportunities as we move forward."

The Cards are encouraged by Glaus' progress, but they're not counting on his return. They'd like to deal for a versatile player, possibly Mark DeRosa, in case Glaus comes back before the season's over and plays third base again. Not only are the Cardinals looking for help, they have permission from ownership to add some payroll.

Could Cardinals Be Interested In DeRosa?

Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com says that Cardinals GM John Mozeliak is seeking help at third base with Troy Glaus out with ligament damage. "And in describing what he's looking for to reporters earlier today, he might as well have just said, 'Mark DeRosa.'"

Castrovince continues:

"The Indians, as you know, have had DeRosa basically on the block for a couple weeks now, because his value to them isn't anywhere near what it was before Jhonny Peralta moved to third base. So this could be an interesting situation to watch in the next couple days."

The Indians want Major League-ready pitching in return for DeRosa, says Castrovince, and he lists Mitchell Boggs, P.J. Walters, and Chris Perez as potential bargaining chips for the Cards.

The Indians have increasing reason to believe that they cannot compete in the AL Central. Yesterday, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX wrote that the injury to Grady Sizemore pushes the Indians that much closer to a selloff.