Top News:
Tim Dierkes / MLB Rumors:
Tigers Acquire Jose Veras — The first-place Tigers augmented their bullpen, at a time the back end finally seemed to have stabilized. Detroit acquired reliever Jose Veras today from the Astros for outfield prospect Danry Vasquez and a player to be named later, which will be decided on or before September 15th.
Discussion:
Bless You Boys, baseballmusings.com, Tag's Lines, The Crawfish Boxes and SI Wire
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Tim Dierkes / MLB Rumors:
Braves Acquire Scott Downs — The Braves found their left-handed reliever, acquiring veteran Scott Downs from the Angels for righty reliever Cory Rasmus, according to Halos communications director Eric Kay. — Downs, 37, has a 1.84 ERA, 6.8 K/9, 3.4 BB/9, 0.31 HR/9, and 63.1% groundball rate in 29 1/3 innings this year.
Discussion:
Halos Heaven, The Crawfish Boxes, Bleed Cubbie Blue and Talking Chop
Jon Paul Morosi / Fox Sports:
MLB trade deadline blog — Source: Dodgers, Phillies quiet on a Lee deal — The Dodgers and Phillies have not discussed a trade involving pitcher Cliff Lee recently, according to a source. — The Braves have acquired left-handed pitcher Scott Downs from the Angels in exchange for right-handed pitcher Cory Rasmus.
Discussion:
MLB Rumors and HardballTalk
Jayson Stark / ESPN:
Jake Peavy trade clock keeps ticking — As the deadline approaches, the White Sox appear closer to dealing him — Last week, it was the Cubs who were racing feverishly to trade Matt Garza before he headed for the mound to make his next start. This week, it's the White Sox and Jake Peavy's turn to re-enact that drama.
Discussion:
Metsblog, whygavs.com, MLB Rumors, HardballTalk, ESPN and South Side Sox
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Fox Sports:
Giant change of fortune for champs — They played 15 postseason games in 2010 and 16 in 2012. They sent nine players to the World Baseball Classic last spring, and six of them later suffered injuries. No one should be surprised that for the San Francisco Giants, the bill finally is coming due.
Discussion:
CBSSports.com, MLB Rumors, Red Sox Monster, Camden Chat, Purple Row, McCovey Chronicles and MLB Daily Dish
Fox Sports:
Will Phillies be able to trade Lee? — If it's July, Cliff Lee must be on the trade market. — Actually, Lee hasn't been traded during the season since 2010. Chances are, he will not be traded before the non-waiver deadline at 4 p.m. ET Wednesday. But the Phillies are discussing …
Discussion:
Phillies Nation
Bruce Levine / ESPN:
Source: Jesse Crain trade close — The Chicago White Sox are close to trading All-Star reliever Jesse Crain in a “complicated” deal involving two teams, including the Tampa Bay Rays, according to a source with knowledge of the situation. — The complicated part could center on the fact …
Discussion:
MLB, MLB Rumors, South Side Sox and DRaysBay
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MLB.com:
Fans eat free for all August games at Miller Park — Fans should plan to bring their appetite for baseball, food and drinks to upcoming games at Miller Park because for the month of August, the Brewers are treating. — Milwaukee Brewers Chairman and Principal Owner Mark Attanasio today announced …
Discussion:
Al's Ramblings
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KVIA-TV:
Family confirms former MLB pitcher, El Paso native Frank Castillo drowned in Ariz. lake — Frank Castillo on his Upper Deck baseball card. — Frank Castillo, a former standout pitcher for Eastwood High School who played in the major leagues for 13 years, has died. — He was 44.
Discussion:
baseballmusings.com, Bluebird Banter, HardballTalk and Bleed Cubbie Blue
ddtonline.com:
Current print subscribers — Already a Print or E-Edition Subscriber? — No additional cost. — Print Subscribers will need to register for free access to the Online Edition. You will need your subscription account number and the name in which the account was established (Case sensitive …
Discussion:
baseballmusings.com, Boston Globe, HardballTalk, CBSSports.com, Full Count and Brew Crew Ball
Fox Sports:
Has baseball set bad precedent? — Whatever happens with Alex Rodriguez, no matter how many players baseball suspends, the debate over the sport's investigation of Biogenesis does not figure to end anytime soon. — To some, Ryan Braun's acceptance of a 65-game suspension indicated that for baseball, the end justified the means.
Discussion:
The LoHud Yankees Blog
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Jon Heyman / CBSSports.com:
Cliff Lee is on the market, but price is said to be enormous — Cliff Lee's name is definitely out there in trade talks, and the free-falling Phillies appear to at least be considering trading one of their aces. — However, the price tag on the veteran left-hander is exteremely high …
Discussion:
Baseball Nation and Over the Monster
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Todd Zolecki / MLB.com:
Papelbon: Phillies need changes from top, down
Papelbon: Phillies need changes from top, down
Discussion:
HardballTalk, Over the Monster, The Good Phight, CBSSports.com, Bless You Boys, SI Wire, MLB Rumors and Phillies Nation
Joel Sherman / New York Post:
Waiting for a surge, underachieving Nats not in selling mode — “We are certainly not giving up on this season,” Rizzo said. — The Nats were widely viewed not only as the NL East favorite, but the NL favorites and — because of young talents such as Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper …
Discussion:
MLB Daily Dish and MLB Rumors
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Associated Press:
M's recall OF Morse, designate veteran Bay — SEATTLE — Outfielder Michael Morse has been recalled from his rehabilitation assignment by the Seattle Mariners and veteran outfielder Jason Bay has been designated for assignment. — The Mariners made the moves on Monday before opening a six-game road trip at Boston and Baltimore.
Discussion:
Lookout Landing
USA Today:
Nightengale: Baseball braces itself for punishment — BIOGENESIS' IMPACT ON MLB — As many as 20 Major League players have been linked to MLB's investigation into performance-enhancing drugs and the Biogenesis clinic in Miami. Here's a look at some of the high-profile players that are linked …
Discussion:
HardballTalk
Jim Callis / Baseball America:
Ask BA: 2013 Draftees & Midseason Top 50 — If you have a question, send it to askba@baseballamerica.com. Please include your full name and hometown if you'd like your letter to be considered for use in an upcoming column. Also, please understand that we can't respond to every question.
Discussion:
Lone Star Ball
Corey Brock / MLB.com:
Padres looking to parlay chips into arms at Deadline — GM Byrnes wants to make improvements to club's starting rotation — SAN DIEGO — The Padres' freefall in July saw them drop to last place in the National League West. But it didn't end their pursuit of roster upgrades.
Discussion:
MLB Rumors