• The Padres acquired lefty Tyler Lumsden from the Astros for future considerations.  The former first-round pick has already tossed over ten innings for the Double A San Antonio Missions.  Lumsden was well-regarded a few years ago, ranking fifth among Royals' prospects in BA's '07 Handbook.
• The Red Sox released pitchers Randor Bierd and Kason Gabbard.  Bierd came to the Sox in the January '09 David Pauley trade, while Gabbard was sent to Texas in July of '07 in the Eric Gagne deal and later reacquired.
• The Diamondbacks released reliever Saul Rivera.  He'd been designated for assignment on June 8th.

• River Ave. Blues debates Ben Sheets versus A.J. Burnett and wonders if Sheets will be the better bargain in the end.
• Detroit Tiger Thoughts shows that Jason Varitek is not a good fit with the Tigers, even in a platoon situation.
• Fire Brand of the American League lays down several reasons why the Red Sox should avoid signing Teixeira.
• Where have you gone, Andy Van Slyke? sees no downside to the Pirates’ signing of Indian imports Dinesh Patel and Rinku Singh.
• The ’Burgh Blues feels Eric Hinske is an economical fit for the Bucs.
• Amazin’ Avenue does not see Raul Ibanez as an upgrade for the Mets, suggesting he may not be any better than Fernando Tatis.
• The Baseball Opinion breaks down what the acquisition of Tyler Lumsden means for the Royals and Astros.
• Batter’s Box takes a look a recent J.P. Ricciardi quote and the current state of the economy and wonders if the Jays are going to reduce their payroll.
• Royals Review lists the ten best free agent signings in Royals history, topped by David Cone. Amazingly, four of the signings occurred in the last five seasons.

Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com. If you have a suggestion for this feature, Cork can be reached here.

The result would be a Murderer’s Row with five players currently slugging .539 or better: Thome (.632), Dye (.620), Soriano (.594), Konerko (.555), and Crede (.539).  The Sox already lead baseball in home runs with 146.

What’s more, ESPN also reports that Kenny Williams is looking to strengthen his bullpen by sending 23 year-old southpaw Double A starter Tyler Lumsden to the Royals for Mike MacDougal.  Lumsden isn’t striking anyone out, but still has a 2.69 ERA for Birmingham.  He had elbow surgery in January of last year.

MacDougal has thrown four scoreless innings for the Royals since returning from a shoulder strain.  He was able to cut his walks to a reasonable level last year and had his best season.

UPDATE: MacDougal is a done deal.  Another pitcher was added to complete the trade.