Rosenthal says the Rays would only consider Gary Sheffield if the Tigers picked up the majority of his contract, understandably.  They’re not interested in Kenny Lofton or Jose Vidro.

• Great interview with SI.com’s Jon Heyman at The Big Lead.  He talks about scoops, Buster Olney, and his wife helping him do his job, among other things.
• Aaron Gleeman doesn’t understand why the Twins claimed Alan Embree but not Chad Bradford.
• Unsurprisingly, the Mariners weren’t able to find a trade partner for Jose Vidro.
• Richard Justice on what he’d have done as Astros GM.
• Tom Glavine’s next six weeks will determine whether he’ll pitch in ’09.
• The Padres claimed reliever Brian Falkenborg from the Dodgers.  Paul DePodesta likes his stuff.
• Danny Knobler writes about the Tigers’ numerous offseason needs.
• Tim Marchman doesn’t think the Yankees will have the money for multiple big-time free agent signings.
• The White Sox have signed seventh round OF Jordan Danks, brother of lefty pitcher John. Jordan hit .321/.444/.564 for the Texas Longhorns this year. The bonus is reportedly just north of $500K.

• D’Backs ace Dan Haren signed a very affordable extension with the team, which would keep him in Arizona through 2012 with an option for 2013. Great deal for the D’Backs and their fans.
• Brian Giles was claimed off waivers by the Red Sox, which is now believed to have been an effort to block the Rays from acquiring him. Giles blocked the trade to Boston with his no-trade clause.
• The Rockies acquired Livan Hernandez from the Twins. Minnesota won’t receive a player in return, but unloads Hernandez’s remaining $1.5MM on his contract, as well as his 5.48 ERA. Seems fine to me.
• Fifteen teams watched a throwing session from Freddy Garcia. Here are a few reactions.
• Relievers on the move: The Cubs DFA’ed Scott Eyre, and traded him to the Phillies the next day. The Rays acquired Chad Bradford from the Orioles, and DFA’ed Al Reyes in order to make room for him. In a rare inter-division trade, the Royals traded Horacio Ramirez to the White Sox. Huston Street was claimed, but is staying put.
• Position players on the move: Felipe Lopez signed with the Cardinals, the Mariners released Jose Vidro, and the Marlins signed Paul Lo Duca in addition to claiming Brad Ausmus off waivers. No word on whether or not a deal will be worked out for Ausmus yet.
• A few glimpses into 2009? Rafael Furcal hopes to re-sign with the Dodgers. Bobby Abreu hopes to be wearing Yankee pinstripes again, and the Nationals hope Willie Harris is a part of the organization again as well.
• Tim made a list of waiver trade candidates for both the American League and National League and compiled a list of players who were known to have cleared waivers in 2007. Remember, these are just players who would likely clear waivers, whether because of their talent level or contractual status. Teams often place big-name players on waivers that they have no intention of trading.

• Geoff Baker tries to determine who "won" the Jose Vidro trade.
• Ken Davidoff doesn’t expect anyone of value to clear waivers.  We didn’t have much August trade action last year either.  Some decent names were dealt in August of ’06 though – David Wells, Shawn Green, Jamie Moyer, Livan Hernandez, Ryan Franklin, Eric Hinske, and Scott Schoeweneis.
• The Mets can retain Carlos Delgado for ’09 at essentially $8MM, since there’s a hefty $4MM buyout on his $12MM option.  Back in May Delgado’s agent said it was a $16MM option.  However, MetsBlog’s Matthew Cerrone told me that is only the case with a top five MVP finish.
• Joel Sherman wonders whether Aaron Heilman will be a non-tender candidate this winter.  Seems unlikely; he won’t be that expensive.
• Mark Teixeira’s three favorite places to play are New York, Seattle, and Anaheim, for what it’s worth.
• Yahoo’s Kevin Kaduk considers "Dr. James Andrews" the worst three words in baseball.  He also lists some other three-word contenders.
• The Pirates will not "grossly exceed" the market to sign Pedro Alvarez.  They seem to be hoping Scott Boras will come down to the $4-6MM net present value range on August 15th.
• The Nationals are thinking around $2.15MM for Aaron Crow.
• RotoAuthority discusses trading injured players in fantasy leagues.

1:27pm: Peter Abraham says the Yankees are trying a new way to get Washburn.  Neither Abraham nor Geoff Baker believes Washburn’s no-trade clause will be an issue or something the Yankees would compensate for.

9:59am: SI.com’s Jon Heyman says Seattle’s request of Cabrera and Gardner for Washburn is "a non-starter for the Yankees."

FRIDAY, 9:21am: Joel Sherman says Igawa is not part of the Washburn discussions.

THURSDAY, 5:36pm: According to Ed Price of the Newark Star-Ledger, talks have progressed on a possible Washburn-Yankees trade.  Price says the Ms aren’t sold on Kei Igawa, but the Yankees are willing to discuss Melky Cabrera and Brett Gardner.

4:56pm: This is a bit out of order, since Abraham’s info below actually came out after this Seattle PI column from John Hickey.

Hickey says the Yankees, Cardinals, White Sox, and possibly Brewers have talked to the Mariners about Washburn.  The pitcher’s no-trade clause allows him to block a deal to the Yankees but not the Cards or Sox.  He seems willing to waive the clause, anyway.

11:12am: According to Peter Abraham:

One trade the Yankees could make now if they wanted would be Kei Igawa and a B-level prospect to Seattle for LHP Jarrod Washburn and DH/1B Jose Vidro. The Yankees would take on $16 million (plus a $500,000 buyout for Vidro) while shedding the $9.4 million owed to Igawa. 

So for roughly $7.1 million, you get Washburn for this year and next and Vidro for this season. Washburn would likely want something to waive his no-trade clause, which includes the Yankees.

I agree with Abraham – that seems pretty reasonable.  As he says, you can just DFA Vidro.  Washburn alone is worth it, as long as the prospect isn’t anyone special and he doesn’t demand a ton for the no-trade compensation.

It would probably be easier for the Yankees to eat all of Washburn’s contract while just sending the Mariners a marginal prospect.

9:34pm: Dan Graziano of the Newark Star-Ledger reports that the Mariners are scouting the Yankees’ Double A club.  The Ms aren’t big on Melky Cabrera, but may be willing to take minor leaguers if New York takes on all of Washburn’s contract.

1:36pm: According to ESPN’s Buster Olney, the Yankees are "taking a serious look at Seattle lefty Jarrod Washburn."

Washburn, 34 in August, has a 4.75 ERA in 110 innings this year.  For what it’s worth, he has a 3.03 ERA in 62.3 innings since May 25th. That’s cherry-picking, though – 4.50-4.75 is Washburn’s level.  He can chew up 190 innings at the back end of a rotation.

Washburn is owed $10.35MM in ’09, and has limited no-trade protection.  Olney believes it would mainly be a salary dump, and the Mariners might consider something like Kei Igawa and a secondary prospect. Yankees GM Brian Cashman hasn’t struck a deal with the Ms since ’03, when he worked with Pat Gillick on an Armando Benitez for Jeff Nelson swap.

• Geoff Baker on "The Ichiro Conundrum."
• Peter Schmuck assesses the Orioles’ trade candidates, noting that several clubs are interested in Brian Roberts.
• Paul DePodesta on the Tony Clark trade.
• Mariners beat writers are stunned that Jose Vidro is still on the roster.
• Manny Ramirez drew a six-figure fine for his altercation with the team’s traveling secretary.  It’s suggested that Ramirez showed his displeasure by laying down for an at-bat against Mariano Rivera. UPDATE: Gordon Edes looked into this and found the fine to be much smaller and the at-bat to be of no concern to the Sox.
• Bradford Doolittle of the KC Star looks at the Royals’ trade candidates.
• RotoAuthority names 8 ways to avoid teams quitting on your fantasy league midseason.

• Rosenthal leads with some Mark Teixeira-Angels speculation, but admits the Braves aren’t considering trading him and the Angels are content with their team.  The Halos’ .706 team OPS ranks 12th in the AL; something should be done.
• All kinds of Mariners turmoil.  They could look to acquire a center fielder given the move back to right for Ichiro.  Releases of Richie Sexson and Jose Vidro could be on the agenda.  And chemistry problems abound, with Ichiro and Kenji Johjima at the center.
• The Ms might consider Chris Antonetti and David Forst for the GM job, but both could choose to wait for the position to open up on their current teams.  Antonetti seems likely to stay put, based on his comments and actions.
• Adam Dunn likes the Reds’ future and wants to stay.
• If the Twins keep Francisco Liriano in the minors a bit longer, he will lose his shot at becoming a Super Two player.
• Past reports have named the Mets, Red Sox, Braves, Yankees, White Sox, Rangers, Indians, Mariners, and Tigers as clubs interested in Freddy Garcia.  Rosenthal adds the Rays to the mix.
• On Sunday, Peter Gammons said the Red Sox "might look at a count worker like the Marlins’ Josh Willingham" if David Ortiz needs surgery.  Rosenthal agrees that the Sox "indeed might be interested" but believes the Marlins want to hang on to him (even though he reaches arbitration after this season).
• The Cardinals "made a quick inquiry" on Michael Barrett but backed off when Yadier Molina’s injury turned out to be day-to-day.

Johjima, Ibanez, and Sexson are all set to reach free agency after the ’08 season.  Johjima seems the most likely to stay, though prospect Jeff Clement may be close to big league ready.  Sexson is as good as gone, while the decision on Ibanez will likely hinge on ’08.  I’m not sure how Jose Vidro’s vesting option for ’09 works; Ibanez may be best served filling his DH spot.

Hickey expects to see Felix locked up before the season begins.  A deal would buy out his three arbitration years (2009-11), at least.  The Ms could also incorporate the ’08 season into the contract.  The Angels bought out John Lackey’s three arb years for $17MM, but that was two years ago.  Chris Young’s deal covered his final four years of team control for $14.5MM; that was signed a year ago.  Matt Cain’s contract may also be a comparable.

Hickey does see Bedard getting an extension; he can become a free agent after the ’09 season.  Bedard recently signed at $7MM for ’08.  His deal could be massive, in the $18-19MM per year range.

There is just no way to rationalize that trade.  None.  I’m guessing that it was like one of those Emperor’s New Clothes things in the Mariners’ front office when this thing came to fruition.  No one would admit to Bavasi that his trade was downright awful.  I tried to defend the Horacio Ramirez acquisition a little bit, but the Vidro trade just can’t be rationalized.

Who would’ve thought the Ms would swap Fruto, Snelling, and Soriano for Ramirez and Vidro?  Ramirez may have been nontendered and Bowden would’ve gladly sent Vidro away for much, much less.  I actually thought it was the Nats paying 75% of Vidro’s contract to in effect purchase the two prospects.  That it’s the other way around and a vesting option was added is laughable.

Vidro, 32, hopefully will not supplant young Jose Lopez as the starting second baseman.  In getting into 126 games last year, Vidro had his healthiest season in a while.  However, his power seems to have evaporated and he’s not exactly nimble in the field.  Sure, he’s cheap, but he’s not particularly good.  He’s little help at 2B or DH.

Snelling is another oft-injured player, though he is only 25.  Many of his injuries have been the result of bad fortune, but he’s been through a lot.  He’s still a good gamble for a team like the Nats.

Fruto is just 22 and is a high-upside arm with three plus pitches, according to Baseball America.  He hasn’t started since ’03 but maybe the Nats will want to reinvent him.

Vidro’s stock is as high as it’s been in years.  He seems healthy and is hitting .357 with 3 HR and 10 RBIs in 42 ABs.  And the club has a left fielder who’s desperate to move back to second base.

Vidro has a no-trade clause for 6-8 teams…anyone know which?  Of course, players can be convinced to waive such things.  He makes $7MM this year, $7.5MM in ’07, and $8.5MM in ’08.  2008 will be his age 33 season, and the contract will be a massive burden at that point.  If Jim Bowden can get out from under any portion of Vidro’s terrible deal he should. 

I think any deal with Vidro would be a salary for a salary, similar to the Finley for Alfonzo trade.  I suppose a swap to the Mets for Kaz Matsui could work.  The Cards have a need at second base, but I don’t see a good fit there.  And that’s about it for Bowden’s options.  After looking at just how bad Vidro’s contract is and how few teams need a second baseman, I’m starting to waver on my inital feeling that he will be dealt by summertime.  And that was just a few paragraphs ago. 

No truth to the Kerry Wood for Vidro rumor that surfaced in late December.