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Red Sox Acquire Beato To Complete Shoppach Deal

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The Red Sox have acquired right-hander Pedro Beato from the Mets as the player to be named later in the Kelly Shoppach trade, reports ESPN's Keith Law (on Twitter). New York acquired Shoppach earlier this week.

Beato, 25, has pitched to a 4.67 ERA with 5.6 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9 in 71 1/3 relief innings with the Mets over the last two seasons. They originally acquired him as a Rule 5 Draft pick from the Orioles prior to last season, then retained his rights by keeping him on the roster all summer. Beato has pitched to a 4.14 ERA in 37 Triple-A innings this season while also missing time with a shoulder problem.

Giants Seeking Outfield Help

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The Giants are seeking outfield help following Melky Cabrera's 50-game suspension, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). For now the team plans to promote Justin Christian from Triple-A and stick with Gregor Blanco, Angel Pagan, and Hunter Pence as the regulars.

Rosenthal reports that Scott Hairston and Juan Pierre have yet to be placed on trade waivers, though the Diamondbacks would likely block both players from getting to San Francisco. Arizona has a higher waiver priority and both Hairston (approximately $300K) and Pierre ($200K) are reasonably priced for the remainder of the season. Alfonso Soriano remains unlikely to approve a trade to the 2010 World Champs.

Kevin Millwood and Josh Beckett still have yet to be placed on waivers according to Rosenthal. The Red Sox have put a handful of players through waivers but otherwise have remained quiet this month.

Phillies Acquire O’Sullivan To Complete Blanton Trade

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The Phillies have acquired right-hander Ryan O'Sullivan from the Dodgers to complete the Joe Blanton trade, the team announced (on Twitter). Los Angeles acquired Blanton for a player to be named later earlier this month.

O'Sullivan, 21, was a fourth round pick in the 2011 draft. He's pitched to a 3.05 ERA with 5.6 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 in 88 1/3 innings at the Single-A level this season. Baseball America ranked O'Sullivan has 23rd best prospect in the Dodgers' system before the season in their Prospect Handbook.

Astros Acquire Comer To Complete Ten-Player Deal

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The Blue Jays have sent right-handed pitching prospect Kevin Comer to the Astros to the complete last month's ten player trade, the team announced. The original deal included Francisco Cordero, Ben Francisco, Brandon Lyon, and J.A. Happ, among others.

Comer, 20, was the 57th overall pick in the 2011 draft. He's pitched to a 3.95 ERA with 6.0 K/9 and 1.9 BB/9 in 43 1/3 innings in the low levels of Toronto's farm system this year. ESPN's Keith Law says (on Twitter) that Comer's fastball velocity has been down into the upper-80s this season. Baseball America ranked him as the 17th best prospect in the Blue Jays' system in their Prospect Handbook before the season.

East Links: Blanton, Valentine, Swisher, Mets

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Three of the four best records in baseball belong to teams in the East divisions, as the Reds join the Nationals, Yankees, and Braves as the only clubs to win at least 68 games so far this season. Here is the latest from the NL East and the AL East…

  • The player to be named later in the Joe Blanton trade will be named today, reports ESPN's Jayson Stark (on Twitter). It's expected to be a pitching prospect. The Phillies traded Blanton to the Dodgers earlier this month.
  • In an appearance on The Dennis & Callahan Show Thursday morning, Red Sox president and CEO Larry Lucchino responded with an unequivocal "yes" when asked if Bobby Valentine will manage the team for the rest of the season according to WEEI.com's DJ Bean.
  • Joel Sherman of The New York Post says that Melky Cabrera's suspension will impact other impending free agent outfielders, including Nick Swisher. Sherman also speculates that Melky could be a fit for the Mets at the right price, since they know he'll have no trouble adjusting to New York.

Minor Moves: Daniel Cabrera, Dallas McPherson

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Let's keep track of the day's minor moves right here…

  • The Diamondbacks have acquired Daniel Cabrera from the Pirates according to the MLB.com transactions page. Cabrera, 31, has pitched to a 4.58 ERA in 108 innings for Pittsburgh's Triple-A affiliate after not playing at all in 2011 due to Tommy John surgery. The 6-foot-7 right-hander owns a 5.10 ERA in 892 1/3 big league innings with the Orioles, Nationals, and D'Backs.
  • The Pirates have signed Dallas McPherson, also according to MLB.com. The 32-year-old infielder hit .253/.335/.463 with 12 homers in 264 plate appearances in the White Sox's farm system earlier this year. McPherson is a .241/.292/.446 career hitter with 18 homers in the show. He's suited up for the Angels, Marlins, and ChiSox.

Alfonso Soriano, Carlos Marmol Clear Waivers

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Alfonso Soriano and Carlos Marmol have cleared trade waivers, reports Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. Soriano is now eligible to be traded anywhere, pending his approval due to his ten-and-five rights.

Soriano, 36, is hitting .264/.319/.490 with 21 homers on the season, and he's still owed approximately $45MM through the end of the 2014 season. Heyman hears that Chicago was willing to pay all but $3MM annually of his contract. He told the Cubs he would not accept a trade to the Giants before the deadline, though Heyman speculates they could get involved again following the news of Melky Cabrera's 50-game suspension.

Earlier this month, nearly 9,000 MLBTR readers said they believe the Cubs will be able to trade Soriano this month. The 29-year-old Marmol has pitched to a 4.46 ERA in 36 1/3 innings this season. He is owed approximately $12MM through the end of the next season.

Front Office Notes: Cubs, Red Sox

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Here's the latest on two big market front offices…

  • The Cubs announced that they have dismissed vice president of player personnel Oneri Fleita in a press release. Fleita had been with the club since 1995 and oversaw their minor league player development program.
  • The Cubs also dismissed baseball information manager Chuck Wasserstrom according to Paul Sullivan of The Chicago Tribune (on Twitter).
  • Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein told Sullivan that he plans to make more front office changes, ultimately leading to growth of the department (Twitter links). Assistant GM Randy Bush is in "good standing" with the team.
  • In today's Insider-only blog post, ESPN's Buster Olney argues that Red Sox owner John Henry should give full control of the team's baseball operations to GM Ben Cherington in the wake of the latest Bobby Valentine revolt rumors.
  • "There is a disconnect in communication between the players and upper management," said Mets catcher Kelly Shoppach to Andy Martino of The New York Daily News about his former team, the Red Sox (Twitter link).

Melky Cabrera Suspended For Positive PED Test

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Giants outfielder Melky Cabrera has been suspended 50 games after testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug, reports ESPN's Jorge Arangure (on Twitter). MLB has confirmed both the suspension and that substance was testosterone. The suspension takes effect immediately and will cost him the rest of the season.

"My positive test was the result of my use of a substance I should not have used," said Cabrera through a statement, courtesy of Hank Schulman of The San Francisco Chronicle (on Sulia). "I accept my suspension under the Joint Drug Program and will try to move on with my life. I am deeply sorry for my mistake and I apologize to my teammates, to the San Francisco Giants organization and to the fans for letting them down." 

Cabrera, 28, was in the middle of a breakout season and is scheduled to hit free agency this coming winter. Both Melky and the team recently agreed to put contract extension talks on hold. Cabrera hit .346/.390/.516 with 11 homers in 501 plate appearances during his first season in San Francisco, earning him his first All-Star Game nomination.

Ryan Braun was suspended for a failed PED test this past offseason but successfully appealed and did not miss any games. Cabrera will not do the same based on his statement. He was set to hit the open market as one of the most coveted free agents available due to his age and production, but the suspension will surely impact his next contract, perhaps in a real big way.

Andrew Baggarly of CSNBayArea.com confirmed that Cabrera will be eligible to play in the postseason once his suspension is over (Twitter link). He would have to miss his team's first four games, however. The Giants are currently tied atop the NL West with the Dodgers at 64-53.

New York Notes: Shoppach, Payroll, Burnett, Lowe

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The Yankees (69-47) own the best record in the AL, but the Mets (55-61) grabbed some headlines yesterday by acquiring Kelly Shoppach from the Red Sox for a player to be named later. Here's the latest out of the Big Apple…

  • Ken Davidoff of The New York Post says that the Shoppach acquisition is an encouraging pickup because it shows the Mets are willing to take on money at midseason, something they haven't done in recent years.
  • Mets GM Sandy Alderson isn't sure how much money he'll have to spend on his roster this offseason, reports Brian Costa of The Wall Street Journal. He said he also has yet to think about extending manager Terry Collins, who is under contract through next season.
  • Davidoff reports that the Yankees preferred Derek Lowe to A.J. Burnett during the 2008-2009 offseason, but they had concerns about the sinkerballer's ground ball tendencies and their infield defense. New York signed Burnett back then, but traded him to the Pirates this offseason while adding Lowe this week.

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