Braves
In theory, by the end of this weekend -- after a week of dueling the Marlins and Phillies -- the Braves will know exactly whether they're in a race or out of one. But it seems as if the Braves have been stuck for weeks in what GM Frank Wren calls "that middle ground" between contention and oblivion.
They're 19-26 since the end of May. They haven't even won more than three in a row since Memorial Day. So they look more and more like a team that'sabout to shake up Deadline Week by dealing away the best player on the market -- Mark Teixeira.
If the Braves decide as soon as this weekend that it's sell-off time, clubs that have spoken with them got the impression they've already done enough groundwork to put together a Teixeira deal quickly. The question is: Who's buying?
Every indication is that the Braves have at least touched base with the Rays, Red Sox, Dodgers, Angels and Yankees on Teixeira. But Arizona appears to be the team to watch. The Diamondbacks quietly made a big run at Teixeira last July, and they're in just as serious need of some major thump now.
An official of one club that spoke with the Diamondbacks describes them as having "definite interest." But while the Braves would love to wrest away Conor Jackson, it's tough to imagine Arizona dealing away a player it likes that much for two months of Teixeira.
Rockies
This is a team that spends every other week playing itself into, and then out of, serious contention. But no matter which way the Rockies' roller coaster veers in the next few days, GM Dan O'Dowd says nobody should expect him to blow up his team just because it's been a disappointment.
"We won't do that," O'Dowd told Rumblings, flatly. "And it has nothing to do with the standings."
It has to do with the fact that the Rockies liked their team four months ago, like it now and have every key player except closer Brian Fuentes under control through next year. So while they'll deal Fuentes if they get the elite two-player package they're looking for, we're betting on Matt Holliday's sticking around until this winter, and maybe beyond.
Indications are that the Phillies, Rays, Marlins, Angels, Cardinals, Yankees, Dodgers and Red Sox all maintain some level of interest in Fuentes. But they've gotten down to specific name-swapping with only a couple of those teams -- believed to be the Marlins and Yankees -- and neither has made it past the shopping-list phase.
O'Dowd continues to tell other teams that if they're not willing to cough up a top-of-the-line prospect and a secondary player, he'll happily hang onto Fuentes and take his two compensation picks. And that price hasn't wavered even a smidgeon. So an official of one interested team says: "I think their plan is to take him right to the deadline and see who blinks at the end."
Those Holliday rumors notwithstanding, the only other Rockie who seems likely to call a moving van in the next week is center-field sprint champ Willy Taveras. With Todd Helton hurting, the Rockies no longer are marketing Garrett Atkins.
Rangers
Unbeknownst to most of North America, only two teams in the whole sport -- the Angels and Rays -- have a better record than the Rangers over the last three months (45-34). So GM Jon Daniels says: "I don't see us unloading the farm system to get into the rental market. I don't see us holding any sort of fire sale."
But that doesn't mean the Rangers don't have some interesting pieces on their shelves. Step right up and make an offer for Vicente Padilla, Kevin Millwood, Hank Blalock, Marlon Byrd, Frank Catalanotto or Gerald Laird. Daniels would listen to anything that "makes sense." And to make sense, any offer would have to upgrade this team's rotation, at least for the long haul.
So why are the Rangers willing to trade Padilla, their leading winner (11-5)? No, not because of dollars. And no, not because he's an astronaut, either. Because he's as talented as any pitcher on the market. So the Rangers are telling other clubs they're willing to deal him if they can get back a young starter they can plug into their rotation by next season, if not immediately.
They've had only back-burner interest so far, from a group that's believed to include the Tigers and Yankees. But in one of the least-inspiring rotation markets ever, that could easily change in the next week. Incidentally, two pitchers the Rangers don't intend to deal, despite extensive interest, are relievers Eddie Guardado and Jamey Wright.
Blue Jays
The Blue Jays aren't going to win the AL East. They know that now. They'd even need a miracle to make a run at the wild card. They know that, too. But GM J.P. Ricciardi doesn't sound like a man ready to unleash a wrecking ball on his roster, even if it doesn't include a single player with 10 home runs this season.
"We're not really sellers, because who are we going to sell?" Ricciardi says. "We like our team. We've underperformed. But we still like our team."
So the only pre-deadline intrigue involving this club is what the heck will become of A.J. Burnett. He's eminently available. The Yankees, Phillies and Cardinals have checked in on him. But unless something changes fast, "I don't see us moving him," Ricciardi says. "I don't have any talks going on with anybody to move A.J. Burnett."
The Phillies traded for Joe Blanton instead. The Yankees were told Toronto wouldn't trade Burnett within the division. And the Cardinals didn't match up on the two premium players the Jays are looking for -- and weren't that interested in the first place. So while Ricciardi is still listening, his phone isn't ringing -- not on Burnett, at least.
There's some buzzing around Matt Stairs, David Eckstein and relievers Jason Frasor and Brian Tallet. And Gregg Zaun and Rod Barajas are all yours if you want them. But at this point, Ricciardi says, "I don't see us doing anything major."
Rumbling through the deadline jungle
• The Buccos stop here: The Pirates are this year's winners of the Team Most Grumbled About Before the Deadline award. You name a contender. They've all made a run at somebody in the Pirates' display case (Jason Bay, Xavier Nady, Damaso Marte, John Grabow, Jack Wilson). And all those clubs have come away complaining that the price tags are way out of line. For instance:
Bay: The Pirates are asking for four players back -- two sure-thing young players, one good prospect and a fourth prospect with upside.
Nady: A similar package, except they want three players instead of four -- one sure thing, one good prospect and a third, more iffy, prospect.
Marte: The Pirates seem confident he'll be a Type A free agent, so they're telling teams they need to do better than the first-round pick and sandwich pick they'd get if he walks.
Grabow: Because Grabow can't be a free agent until after next season, the Pirates are looking for a similar package on him as they're asking on Marte.
Wilson: One rumor -- heavily denied -- is that they asked the Dodgers for Matt Kemp and/or Chad Billingsley for Wilson. But everyone agrees they want two or three players, depending on who they are, all of whom have to be big-league ready.
• Phil 'er up: With that Joe Blanton deal out of the way, the Phillies are all over the left-handed-reliever market. They're in on most of the usual suspects (Fuentes, Marte, George Sherrill, Jack Taschner). But we're hearing they could have expanded the Blanton trade to include Alan Embree if they'd have been willing to throw in Olympic-team shortstop Jason Donald, and turned that one down. Another option they've mulled is recalling J.A. Happ as a situational left-hander. Left-handed hitters went 1 for 12 off Happ in his two starts earlier this month.
• Bronx bummer: Jorge Posada's shoulder issues are fouling up the Yankees' master plans in more ways than one. Beyond their effect on this season, it's no longer safe for the Yankees to assume Posada can catch regularly for the last three years of his contract. And if he's going to have to be a first baseman/DH, you can scratch Mark Teixeira (among others) off their offseason shopping list.
• Bay watch: You'll be hearing lots of relief pitchers (primarily Fuentes and Marte) and right-handed bats (primarily Nady and Blake) connected to Tampa Bay in the next week. But they've been telling teams they're not trading their top tier of prospects (Wade Davis, David Price, Jeremy Hellickson) for a rent-a-player -- and they'd rather turn to Price and Rocco Baldelli than deal for a rental in the first place. So they're planning to take a hard look at Price and Baldelli in the next few days before plowing forward.
It's easy to see why the Rays would want to give those guys the first shot to help. But the question other teams keep posing is: If you're trying to win, should you really be relying on two players like that?
"Everybody loves David Price," says one NL executive. "But you're talking about another inexperienced guy on a team with too little [big-game] experience to begin with. What they need out there is a veteran arm who can bolster those guys who have been getting it done all year. And we all root for Rocco Baldelli. But can you depend on that guy, after all the injuries? I don't see how."
• Seattle's slew: It could be an action-packed week in Seattle. When we surveyed teams this week on players they expect to see moved, Jarrod Washburn was voted most likely starter to get traded and Arthur Rhodes was voted most likely left-handed set-up man to relocate. The Mariners are driving a slightly harder bargain on Raul Ibanez, but if they don't move him, too, it won't be for lack of interest.
• Yo Adrian: Despite reports that the Twins have given up on their attempts to pry Adrian Beltre away from Seattle, we're hearing those discussions are far from dead. The Twins' No. 1 trading priority is to upgrade at third base. One team that reportedly has packed it in on Beltre is the Dodgers, after they learned that Beltre's no-trade list specifically blocks his return to Chavez Ravine.
• Hammering Hank: Elsewhere on the third-base market, it looks as if activity is finally picking up on Texas' Hank Blalock, now that he's actually played five games in a row. The Twins, Giants and Dodgers are all believed to have some level of interest. And Blalock doesn't have to be a rent-a-player. There's a $6.2-million club option on him for next year.
• Follow the money: Jarrod Washburn, Bronson Arroyo and Vicente Padilla might not quite be CC Sabathia, Rich Harden and Joe Blanton. But there's a reason you're hearing all of their names attached to the Yankees: Money. The Yankees are the one team out there with no reservation about taking on Washburn's remaining $14 million, Arroyo's $24 million or Padilla's $18 million. When you slurp up all those dollars, the price tends to go down. And that's always the Yankees' M.O. this time of year.
• Home for the Hollidays: Not only do very few people in baseball expect Matt Holliday to get traded this week. You'd be amazed by how many expect the Rockies to hang onto him and try to win with him next year, too.
"Here's my prediction," says an official of one contending club. "He'll get dangled all winter. They'll take him to the winter meetings, and you'll hear all kinds of wild rumors. But they'll decide they're good enough to take him into next season and hold onto him right up to the deadline. Maybe they trade him then, but I think it's 50-50 that they never trade this guy. They love Matt Holliday. He embodies everything they believe in. So when it comes time to deal him, I don't think they can."
Buy or Sell: Trade Deadline Thread
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Originally Posted by Dream
). I really think it boils down to how badly Seattle wants to move Washburn's contract. It doesn't make sense for Seattle to pay him $14 mil. for the rest of this season and next.... and I think Cashman will hold firm: the Yankees are willing to absorb his entire contract, but not if it costs more than a mid level prospect or 2. If Seattle decided to pay part of his salary or accept Kei Igawa as part of the trade (I wouldn't do the latter under any circumstance), the Yankees would offer more in terms of prospects. 
