Cafardo On Hart, Farnsworth, Dunn, Guillen

The Red Sox' ability to plug holes in their roster following a slew of injuries can be attributed in large part to Allard Baird, according to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. After discussing Baird's importance to the Sox and listing his All-Star picks, Cafardo shares a few hot stove items….

• The Giants are "very interested" in Corey Hart, but with Milwaukee not entirely out of the NL Central race, the Brewers haven't yet elected to become sellers.
• Although it's unclear whether or not Boston would have any interest in Kyle Farnsworth, Cafardo thinks he could be an option for the Sox. Farnsworth's strikeout rate is down to 6.8 K/9 this season, but a National League scout opines that the right-hander's stuff is as strong as ever.
• Cafardo speculates that the White Sox would part with a promising prospect or two in exchange for Adam Dunn, and suggests that the Braves, Giants, and Rays could be fits for Jose Guillen.
• After being told by a couple potential suitors that they needed to see him play, Wily Mo Pena is attempting to earn another shot at the bigs by playing in the Atlantic League.
• A friend of D'Backs interim general manager Jerry DiPoto tells Cafardo that he thinks DiPoto may not have total freedom to make moves this month: "I get the feeling the major shots will be called above Jerry. If Jerry gets a chance, he’ll do some interesting things, but we’ll see whether he’ll have some reins on him."