Mike Axisa | MLB Trade Rumors

Rangers Scouting Both Zack Greinke & Cole Hamels

By Mike Axisa | June 30, 2012 at 6:56pm CDT

With four starting pitchers on the disabled list, the Rangers are scouting both Zack Greinke and Cole Hamels prior to the trade deadline according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. In a video, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says he's heard that Rangers GM Jon Daniels "is not messing around."

Texas reportedly had a scout at Greinke's most recent start in Cincinnati. The Brewers are said to be prepared to move their ace right-hander if the two sides are unable to agree to a contract extension in the weeks leading up to the deadline. A Rangers official told MLB.com's Peter Gammons that they will not be in on Greinke, however (Twitter link).

The Phillies have yet to make Hamels available, though GM Ruben Amaro Jr. has indicated a willingness to sell if his team does not improve its performance. Morosi speculates that Rangers' prospect Mike Olt could be a fit for Philadelphia, who is looking for a long-term solution at third base.

The Rangers are currently without Derek Holland (shoulder), Colby Lewis (forearm), Alexi Ogando (groin), and Neftali Feliz (elbow). They signed Roy Oswalt as a free agent last month and he's since made two starts for Texas.

Orioles Designate Zach Phillips For Assignment

By Mike Axisa | June 30, 2012 at 5:47pm CDT

The Orioles have designated Zach Phillips for assignment, the team announced. The move creates room on the 40-man roster for the recently acquired Jim Thome.

Phillips, 25, owns a 3.12 ERA with 8.3 K/9 and 4.2 BB/9 in 11 career big league appearances, all with Baltimore. The left-hander has pitched to a 3.56 ERA with 8.0 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9 in 30 1/3 innings down in Triple-A this season.

Orioles Acquire Jim Thome

By Mike Axisa | June 30, 2012 at 5:45pm CDT

The Orioles have acquired veteran slugger Jim Thome from the Phillies for Single-A prospects Kyle Simon and Gabriel Lino, both teams have announced. O's GM Dan Duquette told reporters (including Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com) that the two sides had been talking for about a week before finalizing the trade on Saturday (Twitter link).

Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. recently disclosed that he was open to moving Thome if there was a deal that made sense for both the slugger and the team. After his recent strong showing at designated hitter during interleague play, Thome was on board with joining an American League club in need of a bat. Philadelphia had been reportedly shopping him to teams in need of a DH and the O's fit the bill.

Thome, 41, is hitting .242/.338/.516 with five homers in 71 plate appearances this season. Most of that damage has come as the DH during interleague play, including a 6-for-13 showing during a three-game series in Camden Yards earlier this month. Thome missed more than a month with a back strain earlier this season.

Baltimore's designated hitters have hit a solid .258/.349/.439 this season, though they've rotated between Nick Johnson, Mark Reynolds, Chris Davis, and others. Johnson was recently placed on the DL with a wrist problem, so Thome gives them a replacement left-handed bat, one that should provide more power. The Orioles designated left-hander Zach Phillips for assignment in a corresponding move to free up a 40-man roster spot.

Simon, 21, was Baltimore's fourth round pick in last year's draft. The right-hander has pitched to a 3.96 ERA with 6.1 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9 in 14 starts and 72 2/3 innings down in A-ball this year. Baseball America ranked him as the Orioles' 18th best prospect before the season in their Prospect Handbook, saying Simon "should be an innings-eating starter." He was originally drafted by Joe Jordan, the Phillies farm director who was previously with the Orioles.

Lino, a 19-year-old backstop, is hitting .218/.282/.340 in 227 plate appearances down in Low Class-A this year. Baseball America ranked him as Baltimore's 21st best prospect before the season in their Prospect Handbook, noting that he offers power potential but is raw behind the plate.

Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com first reported that the two sides were in talks while Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported the trade agreement (on Twitter). Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com and Rosenthal later added details (Twitter links). Photo courtesy of US Presswire.

Red Sox Links: Injuries, Ross, Bard, Hernandez

By Mike Axisa | June 30, 2012 at 12:30pm CDT

The Red Sox signed Rich Hill to a minor league contract on this date in 2010. The 32-year-old southpaw reinvented himself as a reliever with low arm slot and has held left-handed hitters to a .140/.260/.209 batting line with Boston while batting numerous elbow injuries (including Tommy John surgery). Here are some links from Beantown…

The Red Sox will have some roster decisions to make once they start getting players back from injury, writes Peter Abraham of The Boston Globe. Boston could have as many as seven healthy starting pitchers and nine healthy outfielders shortly after the All-Star break.
Trading Marco Scutaro to free up cash to sign Cody Ross has worked out wonderfully for the Sox, writes WEEI.com's Alex Speier. Ross is hitting .277/.345/.578 with 12 homers after signing a one-year, $3MM contract this offseason.
Daniel Bard has struggled as a reliever in Triple-A and both CBSSports.com's Danny Knobler and Kirk Minihane of WEEI.com wonders if the failed starting pitching experiment could have long-term ramifications. Boston has not yet missed Bard in its bullpen this season, however.
Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe muses about Felix Hernandez being a fit for the Red Sox, suggesting that Northwest natives Jon Lester and Jacoby Ellsbury would make sense for the Mariners. Just to be clear, this isn't an actual trade or rumor being discussed, just Cafardo thinking out loud.

Dodgers To Sign Corey Seager

By Mike Axisa | June 30, 2012 at 8:02am CDT

The Dodgers have reached an agreement with first round pick Corey Seager on a $2.35MM bonus, reports Dylan Hernandez of The Los Angeles Times. Slot money for the 18th overall pick was $1.95MM.

Seager, a high schooler infielder from North Carolina, is the younger brother of Mariners' third baseman Kyle Seager. Baseball America says he offers left-handed power and "it [is] easy to see his upside," though it's unclear if he will remain at shortstop long-term.

Nine first round picks and one supplemental first round pick remain unsigned. The deadline to sign this year's picks is July 13th.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Youk, Greinke, CarGo, Puig

By Mike Axisa | June 29, 2012 at 12:24pm CDT

On this date in 2005, Byung-Hyun Kim hit Craig Biggio with a pitch to give the Astros' second baseman the modern all-time hit-by-pitch record. It was the 268th plunking of Biggio's career, and he went on to retire with 285. Jason Kendall has not played since 2010 but also has yet to officially retire, and he currently sits third on the all-time list with 254 hit-by-pitches. Here's the best the baseball corner of the internet had to offer this week…

Over The Monster thinks trading Kevin Youkilis may not have been a good idea for the Red Sox.
Sports of Boston analyzed the Youkilis trade from all angles.
Talkin' Sox with Dan has some thoughts on Youkilis following the trade.
Red Sox Beacon believes the Red Sox did right by Youkilis with the trade.
South Side Sox looks at the what the White Sox have left after acquiring Youkilis.
BoSox Injection mused about a long-term deal for David Ortiz.
MLB Prospect Watch says the Red Sox have enough to acquire Cole Hamels.
Brotherly Glove wonders if the Phillies should trade Shane Victorino.
Disciples of Uecker wrote about the Zack Greinke trade rumors.
Tomahawk Take believes Greinke is a good fit for the Braves.
85% Sports thinks the Rockies should explore a Carlos Gonzalez trade.
Mike Scioscia's Tragic Illness is happy to see the Dodgers spend big on Yasel Puig.
Call to the Pen explored a potential Starlin Castro extension.
Prospect Insider wrote about the idea of the Mariners trading Felix Hernandez.
U.S.S. Mariner says the Mariners should look for an upgrade over Justin Smoak.
Cole on L.A. explains why third base is the Dodgers' greatest need.
Feeling Dodger Blue lists some potential moves for the Dodgers.
Wahoo's on First looked at players the Indians should try to trade before the deadline.
Burning Down The Yard lists some free agent outfield options for the Orioles.
Rays Colored Glasses wrote about the Rays and the recently released Brad Lidge.
Pumped Up Jays wonders if Stephen Drew is a potential target for the Blue Jays.
Marlin Maniac thinks it's time for the Marlins to let Hanley Ramirez be himself.
Seedlings to Stars isn't sure what to make of Franklin Morales.
Through the Fence Baseball wrote about Mike Trout, the Rookie of the Year Award, and the MVP.

If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here. Only one email per week, please.

Athletics Looking To Move Brian Fuentes

By Mike Axisa | June 28, 2012 at 3:26pm CDT

The Athletics are looking to move left-handed reliever Brian Fuentes, reports Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. Oakland may have a larger sale in the coming weeks, but right now they're hanging in the race at 37-39.

Fuentes, 36, has pitched to a 6.85 ERA with 6.5 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 in 23 2/3 innings. Left-handed batters have been tagging him for a .265/.333/.471 batting line and he lost the team's closer role in short order. Fuentes is owed $5MM this season with a $500K buyout of next year's $6.5MM club option for next season.

Cubs Willing To Pay Part Of Dempster’s Salary In Deal

By Mike Axisa | June 28, 2012 at 2:21pm CDT

The Cubs have baseball's worst record (26-49) and are willing to listen to trade offers for almost any player on their roster other than Starlin Castro. Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports that Chicago is willing to pay part of Ryan Dempster's $14MM salary in a deal in order to receive better quality prospects in return. Their plan is to accumulate talent, not save money.

Dempster, 35, is currently on the DL with a lat strain but is expected back around the All-Star break. Ben Nicholson-Smith looked at the veteran right-hander as a trade candidate earlier this month, noting that Dempster could be the most desirable starter on the market in terms of production and cost. The Dodgers, Yankees, and other teams are said to have some level of interest. Dempster has pitched to a 2.11 ERA in a dozen starts this season.

Minor Moves: LaRoche, Meloan, Williamson

By Mike Axisa | June 26, 2012 at 5:25pm CDT

We'll keep track of today's minor moves right here…

The Indians announced that infielder Andy LaRoche has been released from Triple-A Columbus (via Twitter). LaRoche, 28, was once a modest prospect with the Dodgers but hasn't been able to make the most of big league playing time with Los Angeles, the Pirates and Athletics.
The Yankees have signed Jonathan Meloan and assigned him to Double-A, reports Mike Ashmore of The Trentonian. The 27-year-old right-hander had been pitching in an independent league and turned down offers from Mexico and Asia to sign with New York. Meloan owns a 4.58 ERA in 17 2/3 big league innings with the Dodgers, Indians, and Athletics.
The Braves have signed Fabian Williamson according to the MLB.com transactions page. The 23-year-old left-hander had been pitching in an independent league and has previously been involved in trades for David Aardsma and Eric Patterson. Williamson owns a 4.00 ERA in 472 minor league innings and has never appeared in the show.

Pirates Designate Daniel Moskos For Assignment

By Mike Axisa | June 26, 2012 at 4:59pm CDT

The Pirates have designated Daniel Moskos for assignment, the team announced. The move clears a roster spot for Eric Fryer.

Moskos, 26, was the fourth overall pick of the 2007 draft. He pitched to a 2.96 ERA with nearly as many walks (nine) as strikeouts (11) in 24 1/3 innings for Pittsburgh last season. Moskos had pitched to a 3.86 ERA in 14 Triple-A innings this season while battling elbow problems.

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