FOXSports.com's Ken Rosenthal on the trade market
Rosenthal wrote about the Rays, A's, Angels and Zack Greinke, and Blue Jays and Justin Upton.
FOXSports.com's Ken Rosenthal checks in with his latest trade rumors notes column.
- The Rays could move any of their right-handed starting pitchers, not just James Shields.
- CBSSports.com's Danny Knobler wrote about Shields and the Rays on Monday afternoon, noting that Tampa is still deciding what to do -- buy or sell, or both -- at the deadline. They're in the playoff mix, but they need an offensive boost.
- If Evan Longoria can return from his hamstring sooner rather than later, along with Matt Joyce, don't expect a "For Sale" trade deadline sign outside Tropicana Field.
- Rosenthal notes that Shields' struggles on the season -- he's 8-6 in 19 starts with a 4.44 ERA -- stem from Tampa's poor defense. He sports a .344 batting average on balls in play (BABIP), well up from his career mark of .303, and the 2012 league average of .293.
- The Rays could move any of Shields, Jeremy Hellickson, Wade Davis, Alex Cobb, and/or Chris Archer.
- Shields, 30, headlines the group, and is earning $7 million this season. He has two club options left on his deal, worth $9 million in 2013 (with a $1.5 million buyout), and $12 million in 2014 (with a $1 million buyout).
- Hellickson is under Tampa control until 2016, while Davis, Cobb and Archer can be retained through at least 2017.
- In Oakland, it's "highly unlikely" that the A's will move Bartolo Colon, according to a source, even when Brandon McCarthy, Dallas Braden and Brett Anderson return from injury.
- The A's are getting incredible value for Colon, who is only earning $2 million this season, and believe he's worth more than mid-level prospects they'd receive in any trade.
- If Colon sticks around, and potentially re-signs, it opens up the possibility of the A's trading their other starting pitchers. Remember, they lead the league in ERA.
- The Angels don't have the most highly touted farm system, but a package of Peter Bourjos and Garrett Richards could be enough to land Milwaukee's Zack Greinke.
- The Angels would rather not trade Bourjos or Richards, but if Dan Haren's health is in question, and Ervin Santana continues to struggle, things could change quickly.
- The Angels are also looking for a left-handed reliever, and, if they deal with the Brewers, could ask for Manny Parra, who has dominated left-handed batters this season.
- In the mix for Cubs right-handed pitcher Ryan Dempster are the Tigers, Dodgers, Bravesand Red Sox.
- Boston has just has much interest in Matt Garza, who has a year left on his contract.
- The Cubs will pay more of Dempster's remaining $14 million 2012 salary in any deal if they can get their hands on better prospects.
- Dempster has full no-trade protection.
- The Blue Jays are interested in Justin Upton, Rosenthal notes. He's the type of player Toronto general manager Alex Anthopoulos covets: distressed and under team control.
- The Blue Jays have the prospects to pull off such a blockbuster, but the trade market for Upton hasn't yet fully developed.
- The Pirates are another team that has shown interest in Upton, but the Diamondbacks don't see a fit.
- The Rangers want to upgrade their bench, and may deal Yorvit Torrealba for a "superior replacement."
- If the Dodgers can't land one of the big-name pitchers available, Milwaukee's Randy Wolf, whom they share a history with, could be a fallback option, even though Wolf's struggled this year, sporting a .580 ERA and .306 opponents batting average.
- The Giants continue to search for a reliever.