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Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Berkman, Dunn, Dodgers

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On this date two years ago, Ichiro Suzuki picked up his 3,000th career hit with a first inning single against the Rangers. The hit was his 1,722nd in the big leagues, which came after he racked up 1,278 hits with the Orix Blue Wave in Japan's Pacific League. Including the postseason, the 36-year-old Ichiro has 3,456 career base hits to his credit, a staggering number no matter how you look at it.

Here is the latest from around the baseball blogosphere, a day before the non-waiver trade deadline…

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Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Dodgers, Giants, Fielder, Lee

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On this date in 2001, Fred McGriff invoked his no-trade clause to block a deal that would have sent him from the last place Devil Rays to the first place Cubs. The Crime Dog was born and raised in Tampa, but he relented and agreed to the deal 11 days later. Tampa Bay received Manny Aybar and Jason Smith in return for McGriff, who was unquestionably the greatest player in franchise history at the time.

Hear are some links with the deadline rapidly approaching…

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Odds & Ends: Dunn, Beltre, Lee, Sabathia

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Links for Tuesday, as we wait for David Price to throw the first pitch of the All-Star Game to Hanley Ramirez…

Blue Jays Rumors: Trades, Lee, Bautista

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Alex Anthopoulos told Prime Time Sports that he has been on the phone with rival teams regularly as the Blue Jays continue exploring deals. The Blue Jays GM said on the FAN 590 that the team is willing to get creative between now and July 31st. Here are the details:

  • Trade talks are picking up and the Jays "have been pretty active with respect to phone calls." Rival clubs are "starting to get the itch and starting to gather information."
  • The Blue Jays are open to discussing any deal, though some players will naturally be harder to obtain than others. We heard earlier today that the Blue Jays are open to dealing Scott Downs, Jason Frasor and Kevin Gregg, but it sounds like other players could also be obtained for the right return.
  • Anthopoulos says he likes to get "as creative as [he] can," and is open to three or four-team deals.
  • Anthopoulos was in touch with Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik, since the Blue Jays were open to getting involved in possible Cliff Lee trades as a third or fourth team.
  • The Blue Jays like Jose Bautista for his power, strong throwing arm and clubhouse presence, but Anthopoulos chose not to comment on whether the team would consider locking the AL home run leader up.
  • Anthopoulos also noted that players are not immune to rumors. "They all look at MLBTradeRumors.com," he said.

Padres Prefer To Avoid Rental Players

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Padres GM Jed Hoyer would much prefer to acquire players under control beyond 2010, reports Tim Sullivan of the San Diego Union Tribune.  It's a preference Hoyer shares with Giants GM Brian Sabean, who came right out and said "we are not interested in free agents" on June 30th.

The Padres share another desire with their division-rival Giants: both clubs are looking for a bat.  Padres director of minor league operations Mike Wickham explained to Sullivan, "We have to do something to give us a chance to score more runs, knowing our pitching is (probably) going to regress a little bit. And we don't have to give away the farm to do it."

This is my speculation, but it seems likely that Hoyer and Sabean are inquiring on many of the same players.  David DeJesus, Jose Bautista, Corey Hart, and Josh Willingham could be matches for either club.

So far free agent Jermaine Dye has been linked to the Padres but not the Giants.  Dye may not be controllable beyond this year, but he'd only cost money.  Another player recently on the Padres' radar: Cliff Lee.  Hoyer apparently inquired, but Sullivan says the Padres' GM was "dismissed with some variation of, 'Go away, kid, you bother me.'" 

What The Mariners Wanted For Cliff Lee

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Annoyed your favorite team didn't strike a deal with the Mariners for Cliff Lee?  At least consider the details of Jack Zduriencik's high asking price, as reported by Joel Sherman of the New York Post.

According to Sherman, the Mariners general manager set out to acquire "an interested organization's best position prospect with less than one year of service."  He was offered none better than the Rangers' Justin Smoak.  The Yankees' Jesus Montero was apparently the next-best position prospect offered.  Zduriencik also targeted players such as Ike Davis of the Mets, Desmond Jennings of the Rays, Domonic Brown of the Phillies, Gordon Beckham of the White Sox, and Brett Lawrie (who would've had to have come from the Brewers in a three-way deal).  Sherman notes that the Mets never offered a player better than Fernando Martinez; Jenrry Mejia and Wilmer Flores "were never part of discussions."

Sherman also gets into the failed Yankees-Lee deal like only he can.  He gathered that the Yankees and Mariners had a deal in principle, at which point teams expect you to stop talking to other clubs.  Sherman expects the bad blood to linger, making the Yanks unwilling to deal with the Mariners in the future.  The Yankees were also apparently "rankled" by Seattle's confusingly high asking price for Jarrod Washburn last summer.  Another thought: an executive recently wondered aloud to me how Kevin Towers was involved in the Lee trade talks.  Towers has a close relationship with both Brian Cashman and Zduriencik.

From the Rangers' point of view, GM Jon Daniels indicated today to The Ticket's Norm Hitzges that he continually had an open dialogue with the Mariners.  Daniels felt that the Rangers were in second place Friday morning, until he adjusted his offer.

White Sox Want Pitching; Unlikely To Deal Beckham

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Things were finally looking up for the White Sox after a terrible start to 2010. Since June 9, the club is an astonishing 24-5, and their ace, Jake Peavy, seemed to have rebounded to his usual Cy Young caliber form. He'd allowed just seven runs over his last 36 innings of work (1.75 ERA) while striking out 29 prior to a start last week that ended his season with a detached latissimus dorsi muscle.

According to this tweet from SI.com's Jon Heyman, the White Sox made a big play to replace their injured ace last week, when Sox GM Kenny Williams tried to swing a deal for Cliff Lee before his trade to Texas. The White Sox, however, were unwilling to part with Gordon Beckham, in spite of his terrible sophomore slump (.564 OPS). Now, Heyman says, the White Sox continue to look around.

Williams is typically one of the more active, aggressive general managers in baseball, so it's unlikely that missing out on Lee will spell the end of his trade thoughts. It's been known for months that Roy Oswalt will accept a trade, though there have been reports that the Houston ace would veto a deal sending him to Chicago. Keep in mind that these things can change, though. Peavy himself vetoed a deal to the White Sox last year before eventually accepting a trade in July. We've heard about Dan Haren's availability as well, though Arizona would need to be "blown away" to trade him.

There's plenty of other non-ace starters who could also be moved. Bronson Arroyo has pitched well lately and the Reds have a great deal of pitching depth, while names like Jeremy Guthrie and Ben Sheets figure to be available as well.

The White Sox do have some help available in Daniel Hudson, who was recently recalled from the minors and is starting today. Hudson was ranked by Baseball America as the game's 66th best prospect, and third-best in the White Sox system. The 2008 fifth-rounder appeared in six games for the Sox last year, totaling 18.2 innings and a 3.38 ERA, though he struggled with his control at the big league level. In 2010, Hudson owns a 3.47 ERA through 17 minor league starts, with a strong 10.4 K/9 to just 3.0 BB/9.

It's a known fact that the White Sox are very interested in Adam Dunn's big bat as well, so Williams may focus his energy on that department. One thing remains certain — with the White Sox surging to just a half-game out of first in the AL Central, Williams will be on the phone and inquiring on just about everyone under the sun as the deadline nears. 

Odds & Ends: Dunn, Dodgers, Lee, Tigers

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Links for Saturday night, after Roy Halladay and Travis Wood traded zeros for nine innings….

Rosenthal’s Full Count Video: Dunn, Oswalt, Haren

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In his latest Full Count video at FOX Sports, Ken Rosenthal looks at possible next moves for the Angels, Yankees, Mets, and White Sox. Let's check out the highlights….

  • The Angels are expected to respond in some form to the Rangers' acquisition of Cliff Lee, with a corner infield bat still their top priority. While Rosenthal agrees that the Halos would like a third baseman who's under team control past this season, he thinks they could look at a rental for first base, since Kendry Morales will be back next spring.
  • Besides Adam Dunn, Rosenthal names Jose Bautista, Adam LaRoche, Ty Wigginton, and Jorge Cantu as potential fits for the Angels, suggesting Bautista makes the most sense. Rosenthal also speculates that, if their respective teams made them available, Mark Reynolds and Casey McGehee would intrigue the defending AL West champs.
  • Lee was the only starting pitcher the Yankees really coveted, so don't expect them to pursue players like Roy Oswalt or Dan Haren now that they missed out on the left-hander.
  • Rosenthal expresses skepticism that Oswalt or Haren will get dealt at all. Houston doesn't appear willing to take on enough of their ace's contract, while the D'Backs would need to be "blown away" to trade Haren.
  • The Mets' search for pitching has them looking at Jake Westbrook and a handful of other arms. Rosenthal notes that the team has had interest in Octavio Dotel as a free agent in the past, and that some members of the Mets' organization are "wary" of Ted Lilly.
  • The White Sox made a run at Cliff Lee, but never got close to landing him. Although a left-handed bat remains their biggest need, there aren't many on the market who appeal to them besides Dunn, whose price tag is "exorbitant." They might settle for acquiring a right-handed hitter, and could also pursue another starter if Daniel Hudson struggles.

Odds & Ends: Jays, Haren, Nolasco, Lee, Hunter

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Some links before Cliff Lee makes his Rangers' debut this evening…

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