A few more links, on the night of Johnny Damon's 2,500th career hit….
- Shaun Marcum would like to remain a Blue Jay, but says if he gets traded, "hopefully it's [to] someone that's obviously going to be in the playoffs." MLB.com's James Hall has the full story.
- With Edinson Volquez set to rejoin Cincinnati soon, Brandon Phillips tells CBS Sports' Danny Knobler that he doesn't think the Reds need to trade for a pitcher.
- Marlins' players are battling to stay in the playoff hunt, in hopes of convincing the front office not to break up the team, writes the Palm Beach Post's Joe Capozzi. Florida's brass should decide soon whether or not they'll become sellers.
- The Indians signed a pitcher whose pre-draft arm surgery dropped him from a potential top-50 pick to the seventh round, according to Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
- The Padres released former third overall pick Eric Munson, tweets MLB.com's Corey Brock.
- Frank Wren is biding his time when it comes to making trades, writes Carroll Rogers of the Atlanta Journal Constitution. Wren reiterated what we heard a couple weeks ago: the Braves likely won't need to acquire any pitching.
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (Twitter link) hears that the White Sox aren't currently "heavily involved" in trade talk, but concedes that with Chicago, that could change at any moment.
- The Orioles are scouting the Phillies tonight, according to Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer (via Twitter). Gelb notes that Ty Wigginton, Miguel Tejada, and Jeremy Guthrie could all be potential targets for the Phils.
- AOL FanHouse's Frankie Piliere lists ten baseball people that ought to be considered for future general manager openings.
I do like the Braves pitching right where they are. Just keep everyone healthy and hit a little bit better w/ risp. Starting pitching is amazing now that JJ is back.
I guess Wren wants to see how the Braves do when Heyward returns. He wont be 100% ’til the end of the year, but it’ll still be better than how he was playing. I think the team needs a big right-handed bat to really put them over the edge. Mets are nipping and the Phils do great in the 2nd half.
Man i am a huge marlins fan, but im also a realist. the team hasnt gone on a win streak since the 03 team to catapult in to the playoffs. this team should sell, we wont have uggla or ross next year for sure…and with Sean West not in the bigs for some reason get rid of robertson (or keep him and demote volstad). They should try to load up on some decent talent, and by next year put Morrison on the field and other players will be closer to ready. but to keep these guys together is kind of ridiculous right now. how many games are left? 90 maybe (too lazy to check now) which means they need to win 65 of them realistically to make the playoffs. i dont see it….
Nice Eric Munson update. Wonder what Todd Van Poppel is up to?
Matt Gelb’s tweet says that O’s were scouting Philly (reverse of your update), but does mention Tejada, Wiggington, and Guthrie as targets. Not sure why the O’s would be in Philly and not Lehigh or Reading, et al…
JAYS ARE NOT TRADING MARCUM! They have no reason to trade Marcum. He is young, under control and is a great leader and ace to the Jays young pitching staff.
The Marlins players are fighting for a playoff run to keep the team from being broken up. Because obviously, the Marlins have never sold off key players after a successful season…
If they were in contention they wouldnt be traded during the season, which the players dont want….it has nothing to do with after the season. but since they are terrible this season it doesnt matter. bad old joke there…
Hey, the Marlins may be a bad joke, but they’re not old.
The Cubs would like Shaun Marcum! We have Ted Lilly, money, and pocket lint.
Cubs would like Marcum? Start with Josh Vitters and we’ll listen.
I wouldn’t be opposed to that.
Then you’re nuts. And I’m not even a huge Vitters fan.
The kid can’t field and can’t take a walk. He would have to hit .330 to have a respectable OBP at his current pace.
His walk rates haven’t been that bad this year. They haven’t been great, but if his BA is where it should be, his walk rates will keep his OBP just fine. And he’s been playing against much older competition. I don’t love him for the same reason you don’t like him, but walks aren’t everything, especially when you have some of the best plate coverage in baseball.
Beyond that, he’s still esteemed enough that if you’re going to trade him, it shouldn’t be for a guy with a severe injury history who’s about to get expensive.
His walk rates haven’t been that bad this year. They haven’t been great, but if his BA is where it should be, his walk rates will keep his OBP just fine. And he’s been playing against much older competition. I don’t love him for the same reason you don’t like him, but walks aren’t everything, especially when you have some of the best plate coverage in baseball.
Beyond that, he’s still esteemed enough that if you’re going to trade him, it shouldn’t be for a guy with a severe injury history who’s about to get expensive.
lol, the cubs are selling.
lol, the cubs are selling.
I’d hate to see Marcum go.
And I certainly believe he was doing more than just issuing a standard response. The guy flat-out said that he doesn’t want to leave, and that he’ll stay loyal if it is reciprocated.
To have a pitcher who is still reasonably young, performing extremely well, under team control, a leader to a core group of youngsters, and dedicated to the cause…well, I’d rather just play Bautista at 3B, or see if a free agent can be picked up, and tie Marcum down for the long-term.
I think everything has validity except for the ‘future #4’ part. Look at Tampa– they don’t really have an ace on their staff, but they have 4 really solid #2-type guys in their rotation, and it’s worked out to having the best rotation in baseball numbers-wise. They’re on to something perhaps? Just because Marcum doesn’t project as the ace of the staff two years from now doesn’t increase/decrease his value.
HaHA, braves could get Andruw Jones back, lol. It would definately be interesting, a step up from mclouth on offense, and a huge upgrade on defense. Plus it will save me 200 dollars from not having to sell my AJ jersey from 7 years ago. š
Trade Mclouth and diaz for him, and you have a deal.