Mike Axisa | MLB Trade Rumors

The Latest On Kevin Youkilis

By Mike Axisa | June 22, 2012 at 9:48pm CDT

Yesterday we learned that the Red Sox have "stepped up their efforts" to trade Kevin Youkilis, who is losing playing time to Will Middlebrooks. After the rookie went 3-for-4 with a homer in last night's game, manager Bobby Valentine told Youkilis that he'll be sitting for a while according to Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe (on Twitter). Here's the latest on the Greek God of Walks…

A handful of teams are involved in the bidding according to Olney (Twitter link), but one official believes the White Sox are best positioned to swing a deal. It appears as though the Pirates have little interest in Youkilis according to ESPN Boston.
ESPN's Buster Olney hears that teams believe Youkilis could be traded at any time, but the feeling is that Boston is just working to get the best offer (Twitter link).
The Braves scouted Kevin Youkilis last week, Cafardo tweets. In fact, the Braves scouted him multiple times this past week, according to David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (on Twitter).

Ben Nicholson-Smith contributed to this post.

Blue Jays Notes: Rentals, Payroll, Stroman, DeJong

By Mike Axisa | June 22, 2012 at 8:59pm CDT

Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos spoke to reporters about several topics this afternoon, and Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca has a recap…

Toronto will consider rentals players as they look to add pitching. "In a perfect world, I would always prefer to take on a player with more control," said the GM. "It just fits more with what we’re doing. But we aren’t ruling out short-term players as well."
Anthopoulos also acknowledged that they could take on payroll in the right situation. "If it’s a big trade and a big transaction for an impact player, especially someone that we control beyond this year, I don’t see there being any problems at all from that standpoint," he said.
"He’s probably the one guy I don’t know at this time the way that one’s going to go," said Anthopoulos about first rounder Marcus Stroman (Twitter link). Slot money for the 22nd overall pick is $1.8MM.
As for second rounder Chase DeJong, Anthopoulos said: "It's moving in the right direction, so I would expect that one to get done." Slot money for the 81st overall pick is $620K (Twitter link).

Twins Sign Luke Bard

By Mike Axisa | June 22, 2012 at 5:13pm CDT

The Twins have signed supplemental first round pick Luke Bard for $1.227MM, reports Jim Callis of Baseball America. He signed for the full slot value and is the younger brother of Red Sox right-hander Daniel Bard.

Bard, a right-hander out of Georgia Tech, was the 42nd overall pick earlier this month. He was selected with the compensation pick Minnesota received when Jason Kubel signed with the Diamondbacks. Callis says Bard can run his fastball up to 93-95 mph with a hard breaking ball.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Soler, Dodgers, Dickey, Cubs

By Mike Axisa | June 22, 2012 at 11:50am CDT

On this date in 2007, Orioles shortstop Miguel Tejada sat out a game against the Diamondbacks. It ended his consecutive games played streak at 1,152, the fifth longest streak in baseball history. Tejeda has suffered an injury on a hit-by-pitch two games earlier but tried to play through it. Here's the latest from around the blogosphere…

Seedlings to Stars wrote about the Cubs and their gamble on Jorge Soler.
MLB Prospect Watch says the Phillies have limited trade options with Cole Hamels.
Through the Fence Baseball doesn't see Hamels as a fit for the Dodgers.
Cole on L.A. believes the Dodgers should target Chase Headley in a trade.
Dodgers Nation listed the pro and cons of the Dodgers trading for Kevin Youkilis.
Sports of Boston wrote about the Youkilis-Will Middlebrooks dilemma.
Rising Apple wonders what the Mets could get for R.A. Dickey right now.
FanSpeak thinks the Orioles could turn to Erik Bedard for pitching help.
Burning Down the Yard looked at the Cubs as a potential trade partner for the O's.
Tomahawk Take lists some starting pitcher trade targets for the Braves.
I-70 Baseball put together a list of pitching trade targets if the Royals decide to buy.
Twins Fan From Afar explains why the Twins should not trade Josh Willingham.
Yanks Go Yard isn't sure that Wandy Rodriguez is a fit for the Yankees.
Yankees Fans Unite tries to figure out what would help the Yankees at the deadline.
MLB Reports wrote about Adeiny Hechavarria's future with the Blue Jays.
The Futurists broke down first overall pick Carlos Correa.
85% Sports analyzed the risk and reward of the amateur draft (part one, part two).

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

Quick Hits: Drew, Bundy, Machado, Blue Jays

By Mike Axisa | June 20, 2012 at 10:47pm CDT

Here are some links from around the league as Wednesday turns into Thursday…

Scott Boras told reporters (including WEEI.com's Rob Bradford) that a "couple of teams" have inquired about J.D. Drew during the season. "I've got no indication from him a desire to return," said Boras of the outfielder, who has been at home. "But then again I haven't addressed the issue with him, if he's done anything formally."
Steve Melewski of MASNSports.com reports (on Twitter) that clubs keep asking the Orioles for top prospects Dylan Bundy and Manny Machado in trade talks. Needless to say, those two are as close to untouchable as it gets.
The Blue Jays promoted Andrew Tinnish to assistant GM, reports Bob Elliott of The Toronto Sun (on Twitter). Tinnish had been the team's amateur scouting director.

Draft Signings: Diaz, Blach, Cubs, Red Sox

By Mike Axisa | June 20, 2012 at 9:26pm CDT

Here are the latest mid-to-late round draft signings…

The Mariners have signed third rounder Edwin Diaz for $300K reports ESPN's Kiley McDaniel (via Keith Law on Twitter). The right-hander was slotted for a $186K bonus.
The Giants have signed fifth rounder Ty Blach for a straight slot $225K, reports Jim Callis of Baseball America (on Twitter).
MLB.com's Carrie Muskat reports that the Cubs have signed fifth rounder Anthony Prieto ($200K), 10th rounder Chad Martin ($10K), 13th rounder Bijan Rademacher, 16th rounder Michael Hamann ($100K), and 22nd rounder Eduardo Orozco ($1K). Chicago has signed 21 picks so far.
The Red Sox have signed sixth rounder Justin Haley and 19th rounder Iseha Conklin according to WEEI.com's Alex Speier (on Twitter). Haley's slot number was approximately $164K.

Blue Jays Remain In “Buy” Mode

By Mike Axisa | June 20, 2012 at 8:13pm CDT

Despite sitting in last place in the AL East and losing three starting pitchers to injury within the last week, the Blue Jays remain in "buy" mode according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (on Twitter). Toronto is scouting the Major Leagues heavily and are in obvious need of pitching.

Kyle Drabek (Tommy John surgery), Brandon Morrow (oblique), and Drew Hutchison (elbow) all hit the disabled list recently, forcing the Jays to turn to Jesse Chavez and Joel Carreno for spot starts. They've recently spoken to the Rockies about Jeremy Guthrie and reportedly had someone on hand to watch Wandy Rodriguez's start last night.

No Extension Talks For Jacoby Ellsbury

By Mike Axisa | June 20, 2012 at 5:45pm CDT

The Red Sox have been without reigning AL MVP runner-up Jacoby Ellsbury for most of the year due to a shoulder injury, part of the reason why they've had to use a dozen different outfielders. Today, agent Scott Boras told reporters (including WEEI.com's Rob Bradford) that there have been no discussions with the team about a long-term extension.

"We've only had the traditional discussions of one-year contracts," said Boras. "(GM Ben Cherington) and I will certainly begin contract discussions at year's end because we have to. We have at minimum a one-year contract to discuss. We're going to play through the season. Ben's operating his team and I'm signing draft picks, operating my team."

Boras went on to explain that Matt Kemp's eight-year, $160MM contract extension with the Dodgers isn't a fair reference point for a potential Ellsbury deal.

"The Matt Kemp contract is not a free agent contract," said Boras. "It's not a barometer that has a great deal of relevance other than it's what players get who are not free agents and are really talented. So when you look at the free agent markets and you look at those types of contracts you can understand there is always a big disparity between a free agent contract and a contract that is signed before the player is a free agent."

Ellsbury will earn $8.05MM this season and remains under team control as an arbitration-eligible player next year. He can become a free agent after 2013. During the offseason, Ellsbury indicated a willingness to sign a long-term deal with the Red Sox but said he will leave negotiations up to Boras. MLBTR's Mark Polishuk suggested that a seven-year deal worth roughly $130MM could work for both sides, though that was predicated on another MVP-caliber season. The shoulder injury throws a wrench into that.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Ethier, Hamilton, Quentin

By Mike Axisa | June 15, 2012 at 8:15am CDT

On this date in 2003, Reed Johnson became the fourth player in history to hit a lead-off homer and a walk-off homer in the same game. The then-26-year-old rookie opened the bottom of the first with a solo homer off Shawn Estes and ended the game by opening the bottom of the tenth with a solo homer off Mark Guthrie. Here's the latest from around the web…

Redbird Rants interviewed Cardinals top prospect Shelby Miller.
Seedlings to Stars interviewed Patrick Wisdom, the 52nd overall pick in the draft.
Infield Shift interviewed Braves prospect J.R. Graham.
SF Giants Rumors spoke to Baseball America's Jim Callis about the Giants' draft class.
Baseball Time in Arlington wrote about Andre Ethier's extension and Josh Hamilton.
River Ave. Blues wrote about Ethier's deal and its impact on the Yankees.
Prospect Insider mused about a potential Jason Vargas extension.
AL Eastbound & Down wrote about a potential Edwin Encarnacion trade.
BoSox Injection says it's time for the Red Sox to trade Kevin Youkilis.
MLB Prospect Watch wrote about the Tigers and Carlos Quentin.
Meanwhile, MLB Reports thinks the Padres should trade Quentin.
Dr. Strangeglove likes the idea of the Pirates pursuing Chase Headley.
Obstructed View broke down Alfonso Soriano's trade value.
Nolan Writin' says the Rangers don't need to add a starting pitcher.
Lasorda's Lair thinks the Dodgers need a bat more than Ryan Dempster.
Feeling Dodger Blue lists some potential trade targets for the Dodgers.
Warehouse Worthy wonders if the Orioles should be buyers at the deadline.
Crashburn Alley explains why the Phillies need to sell now.
Kings of Kauffman wrote about Wil Myers, Jake Odorizzi, and Super Two status.
Talkin' Sox with Dan thinks the Red Sox need Ryan Kalish.
Cleveland Indians Perspective analyzed the Indians' draft haul.
South Side Showdown looked at White Sox GM Kenny Williams' draft history.

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

White Sox Release Terry Doyle

By Mike Axisa | June 13, 2012 at 3:13pm CDT

3:13pm: Doyle will sign with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, Dan Kurtz of MyKBO.net reported last week (on Twitter).

2:49pm: The White Sox have released Terry Doyle so he could pursue opportunities in Japan, reports Mark Gonzales of The Chicago Tribune (on Twitter). The right-hander was a Rule 5 Draft selection by the Twins this past offseason, though they returned him to the ChiSox during Spring Training.

Doyle, 26, pitched to a 2.83 ERA with 8.4 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9 in 76 1/3 innings spread across 11 starts and one relief appearance for Chicago's Triple-A affiliate this year. Baseball America ranked him as the 30th best prospect in Minnesota's farm system in their Prospect Handbook before the season, saying Doyle has "a chance to stick as a long reliever or fifth starter."

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