• Rafael Furcal’s broken thumb leaves the Dodgers weakened in the middle infield, and they’re preparing to fill the void by playing Jamey Carroll at shortstop and Ivan DeJesus at second base, according to MLBTR's Tim Dierkes (Twitter link).
• Furcal is not retiring, though he's frustrated by his latest injury.
• The Dodgers expressed some interest in David Eckstein this offseason, but backed off when they heard he was asking for $2MM, according to Yahoo’s Tim Brown (on Twitter).
• Recently retired slugger Jermaine Dye tells Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times that the Dodgers showed interest in him this offseason, before they signed Marcus Thames. The Blue Jays and Brewers showed interest after the 2009 season, according to Dye.

Dye, a 17th round selection in 1993, hit 325 homers in his career with a .274/.338/.488 line. He played for the Royals, White Sox and Athletics after breaking in with the Braves as a 22-year-old in 1996. The two-time All-Star and 2006 Silver Slugger recipient was the World Series MVP in 2005 when the White Sox won the World Series.

Dye was traded twice; he went from the Braves to the Royals in 1997 and from the Royals to the A's in a three-team trade in 2001. He earned just shy of $75MM in his career, according to Baseball-Reference.

“I’m still working out. I’m still in shape. I’m still motivated,” Dye said. “If nobody wants to put me on a team, I can’t do much about that. But I’m not going to go for a minor-league contract." 

Dye told Rosenthal earlier this winter that the Phillies, Rays and Rockies had been in contact with him.  The veteran slugger also said he discussed a workout with the Dodgers in December but the club didn't call him back.  We heard the Rockies were also interested in Dye midway through last season (along with the Padres and Rangers) and Rosenthal reports Dye was offered Major League contracts by the Cubs and Brewers last winter.  The Nationals also made Dye an offer.

As Rosenthal notes, teams are hesitant to make anything more than a minor league commitment to Dye until he proves that he's still in shape and can still hit.  There were already concerns about Dye's ability to play the field last winter and a year away from the game surely has teams looking at Dye as just a DH or pinch-hitting option.  For his part, Dye isn't sure why clubs won't sign a healthy player but will give Major League deals to pitchers recovering from injuries.

“All these pitchers get hurt, miss the whole year and get major-league deals,” Dye said. “That’s what I don’t get.”

Dye posted a .250/.340/.453 line with the White Sox in 2009, and the team bought out his $12MM option in the offseason.  Dye hinted at retirement last year too, but now it may be thrust upon him unless he's willing to accept a minor league contract.

• Adrian Gonzalez's labrum cleanup surgery downgrades the chances of an offseason trade considerably.
• The Cubs "seem a lot less inclined" to trade Kosuke Fukudome and Carlos Zambrano, though some clubs believe they'd discuss the latter.  Stark says there's a vibe the Cubs will not go after Adam Dunn for their first base opening, instead looking for an above-average defender.
• One team official who kicked the tires says of the Dodgers, "They ain't trading Matt Kemp."
• The Phillies are far apart with Jayson Werth and are exploring right field replacements.  They've done extensive groundwork on Chicago's Carlos Quentin, and are considering Jeff Francoeur or Jermaine Dye for lesser roles.  The Red Sox, by the way, are not willing to spend $100MM on Werth.

• The Rockies aren’t likely to make the winning bid on Martinez, though he caught the team’s attention as a potential free agent target.
• Colorado would pursue an innings eater if Jorge de la Rosa proves too expensive to re-sign. The lefty is drawing interest from multiple teams, including the Yankees and Nationals.
• Joe Beimel could return to Colorado, but the Rockies have other left-handed relievers including Matt Reynolds and Franklin Morales, so their need for Beimel isn’t pressing.
• Adding a right-handed hitter is a priority for the Rockies. Their list of candidates includes Conor Jackson, Ty Wigginton and Jermaine Dye. Jackson is a non-tender candidate and may join Wigginton and Dye on the free agent market within a few weeks. The Rockies have already contacted Dye about a potential deal.

Dye drew interest last offseason, but told Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times that he didn't like the offers he saw. "I'm not going to a bad team, and I'm not playing for $1.5MM," Dye said in April. Later in the year, he told MLB.com's Scott Merkin that he stayed in shape and hoped to find a job in 2011.

Dye still has some power, so if he lowers his demands and teams are willing to stash him at DH or overlook his poor fielding, he could find a job this offseason. This time, Dye, who is representing himself, says money isn't important as long as he finds a major league deal. He is open to playing first or outfield and wants to sign with a contender.

As Merkin writes, however, just because Dye didn't play in 2010 doesn't mean that the former White Sox has retired. Dye has stayed in playing shape and will likely try to catch on somewhere this winter.

Dye's inability to secure a contract this season was somewhat surprising. Although UZR rated his 2009 defense as the league's worst among qualified outfielders, the veteran still belted 27 homers and slugged .453 for the Sox. That offensive production could have helped a few clubs this year, but none were willing to meet Dye's reported asking price, either prior to or during the season.

The Tigers aren’t interested in Gary Matthews Jr., according to MLB.com’s Jason Beck. The team recently lost Carlos Guillen, Brandon Inge and Magglio Ordonez to the disabled list, but GM Dave Dombrowski won't pursue Matthews, who opted out of his deal with the Reds after hitting .313/.359/.490 at Triple A Louisville. 

Free agents like Jermaine Dye are available, in theory, but Dombrowski told reporters that he doesn’t have interest in waiting for an idle hitter to prepare to face MLB pitching. Dombrowksi could attempt to acquire a player via trade, but ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick hears that the team will not trade for an impact bat, since the lineup has so many holes (Twitter link).

The Tigers are just three games out of the AL Central lead, but their lineup is unquestionably thin. Will Rhymes, Don Kelly and Danny Worth all started last night, but that trio and the rest of the Tigers went hitless against Matt Garza.

“This has been a season where everything has changed so dramatically from one day to another — what we need now may not be the same thing we need two weeks from now," he said.

The Rockies are monitoring Jermaine Dye and Ty Wigginton, but they aren’t the only clubs doing so. The Padres and Rangers have interest in Dye and the Phillies and Yankees are among the teams interested in Wigginton.

By the end of the month, the Rockies, now 44-38, will have a better sense of what to expect from Jorge de la Rosa and Troy Tulowitzki. De la Rosa is close to returning to the majors and Tulowitzki won't likely return before the beginning of August. 

We know the Padres are looking to add offense and the Rangers have been searching for a righty bat after Ryan Garko didn't work out, but the Rockies has been linked to infielders more than anything in the wake of Troy Tulowitzki's injury. If signed, Dye would require some time to get into game shape, but could be contributing as an outfielder, first baseman, and/or DH in the second half. He'd also have a few months to prove himself before heading back out on the free agent market.

The 36-year-old Dye hit .250/.340/.453 with 27 homers for the White Sox last year, but his outfield defense was among the worst in the game and he hit just .176/.287/.278 in his final 237 plate appearances.  

2:16pm: ESPN's Mark Saxon tweets that the Angels are saying Morales' injury is not season ending, though he doesn't provide a timetable for the slugger's return. As Saxon points out in another tweet, Mike Napoli will start at first base today for the first time since his minor league days.

10:57am: Following one of the more unusual injuries in recent years, the Angels now face the problem of how to replace their most productive hitter. Kendry Morales, who was hitting .290/.346/.487 with 11 homers, fractured his leg while celebrating a walk-off grand slam last night, and could miss the rest of the season.

Robb Quinlan and Mark Trumbo are in-house candidates to step in for Morales, but the defending AL West champs will likely consider acquiring an impact player to boost an offense that, even with Morales, has hit just .248. After all, despite playing sub-.500 ball so far, they're very much in contention, sitting only 3.5 games out of first place.

Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times writes that the Angels have plenty of options when it comes to finding a new first baseman. He suggests that Paul Konerko and Lance Berkman are the two most attractive and realistic trade targets for the Angels, though he acknowledges that the club won't have much leverage, given their desperate need for a middle-of-the-order bat. The Chicago Tribune's Mark Gonzales agrees that Konerko could be a fit for the Angels, noting that the White Sox first baseman has a relationship with Mike Scioscia that dates back to their days with the Dodgers.

DiGiovanna names a handful of other possible targets for the Angels, including Adam Dunn, Adam LaRoche, Russell Branyan, and Prince Fielder. Obviously, some of those sluggers are less available than others. Jermaine Dye, Ryan Garko, and Carlos Delgado (when he's healthy) are a few more available, low-cost options the team could look at, according to DiGiovanna.

Even if the Angels decide to make a move, it may not happen for a month or two, coming closer to the trade deadline. However, in the wake of Morales' injury, it's safe to put them near the top of the list of teams who will be shopping for a power hitter this summer.

5:22pm: Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports that Burrell's preference is to return to the National League.  Rosenthal also notes that Jermaine Dye's chances of finding a deal close to his asking price will be greatly diminished given that Burrell is now on the market and available at the minimum salary. 

Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe pretty much eliminates the Red Sox from the Burrell sweepstakes, adding that the club "wouldn't have a space for another one-dimensional player" at DH what with Mike Lowell and David Ortiz currently filling the position.

3:48pm: The Padres and Giants are interested in Pat Burrell, according to the chatter that Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News hears (Twitter link). Burrell, who will cost a pro-rated portion of the major league minimum now that he's a free agent, may be considering offers.

The Giants (14th in the NL in runs) and the Padres (13th in the NL in runs) could both use offense. Andres Torres, Nate Schierholtz and Aubrey Huff are hitting well enough for the Giants in the corner outfield spots and at first. Kyle Blanks has not produced so far for the Padres, but it's hard to imagine the Padres letting Burrell loose in the outfield, since he has played just nine innings there since 2009. 

Burrell, who hit .202/.292/.303 for the Rays this year, is not necessarily a candidate for an everyday job on either team. They may be eyeing him as a potential source of bench power. The Padres could look to replace one former Phillie with another if they don't expect Matt Stairs to emerge from his early-season slump.

Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. said yesterday that the Phillies are not interested in bringing Burrell back to Philadelphia.

• R.J. Anderson of FanGraphs examines Austin Kearns' resurgent season and says it's possible that the outfielder appears in trade rumors this summer. It certainly wouldn't be a surprise to see the Indians shop Kearns.
• FOX Sports Arizona profiled agent Jonathan Maurer, who represents Brandon Webb, among others. 
• Dave Sheinin of the Washington Post has a profile of top amateur Bryce Harper that's well worth reading. Baseball America's Nathan Rode chatted with Harper and found that the prospect loves to catch and play the outfield.
• Mike Lowell doesn't see a role for himself on the Red Sox and wonders if the team would be better off without him, according to Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald (via Twitter). Lowell explained his frustration to Rob Bradford of WEEI earlier today.
• I joined Jeff & Jeff on KFNS St. Louis earlier today; click here to listen.
• Jeff Fletcher of AOL FanHouse (Twitter link) talked to Eric Chavez, who said Jermaine Dye is "at peace being at home" and is not working out.  This counters a quote from Dye's agent Bob Bry from May 11th, when Bry said Dye "continues to work out every morning and hits most days and is still waiting for an opportunity with a team that has a chance to advance to the playoffs." 
• Mark Zuckerman of Nats Insider wonders if Stephen Strasburg will make his big league debut June 4th against the Reds at Nationals Park.  SI's Tom Verducci contrasts the Nats' careful handling of Strasburg to the Reds' approach with Mike Leake.
• Jim Margalus of Sox Machine presents his guide to a White Sox fire sale.
• AOL FanHouse's Steve Phillips explains the many responsibilities of a general manager.
• David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News notes that "the possibility of Cliff Lee falling into the hands of a rival faction [of the Phillies] is something that, at the very least, is worth pondering."
• Free agent lefty Brian Shouse hopes to continue his Major League career, writes Stan Morris of The Journal Star.

• Although Carl Crawford likely won't be a Ray past this season, the club has a chance to retain Carlos Pena. With Adam Dunn, Derrek Lee, and Paul Konerko eligible for free agency after this year, and Albert Pujols, Adrian Gonzalez, and Prince Fielder potentially hitting the open market in 2011, there are a slew of alternatives to Pena. A power-starved club like the Mariners and Orioles could make a run at Pena, but it's still possible he ends up back in Tampa Bay, assuming there's mutual interest.
• If the White Sox decide to blow up their roster, it may happen sooner rather than later, given the ten and five rights that will kick in for A.J. Pierzynski and Mark Buehrle this summer. Pierzynski, Konerko, J.J. Putz, and Andruw Jones would be the most likely trade candidates.
• Although the Padres spoke to Jermaine Dye in the offseason, they'd prefer to stick to their current, younger players. If they decide to add a bat, it's more likely to be an active outfielder than the inactive Dye.

"San Diego was one of the places Jermaine was excited about playing," Bry said.

Sullivan reports that the Padres "had dialogue" with Dye and his representatives last offseason, but chose to rely on youth instead. So far, the Padres' offense ranks 13th out of the 16 National League teams with 143 runs scored. Corner outfielders Kyle Blanks and Will Venable have started slowly.

It's not clear that the Padres are interested in Dye or that he could help them win. After hitting 20 homers in the first half last year, Dye slowed down and hit seven in the second half with a .179/.293/.297 line. The advanced fielding metric UZR suggests Dye's outfield defense was considerably worse than average last year. Still, Dye is the most readily-available hitter for teams seeking  25-homer power.