The International signing period has started. Most teams will start filling out minor league rosters with Central American players. Most signings will go unnoticed, but a few will be pretty good.
Scores
NYM 7 STL 8
SD 1 COL 8
LAD 4 HOU 1
CHC 6 SF 5
WAS 2 FLA 4
PHI 7 ATL 3
PIT 9 CIN 5
MIL 4 ARI 3
TOR 2 SEA 4
CLE 5 CHW 6
BOS 6 TB 7
TEX 7 NYY 18
KC 2 BAL 5
DET 0 MIN 7
OAK 4 LAA 7
Transactions
Arizona Diamondbacks
Robby Hammock Called Up from Minors; Connor Robertson Purchased From Minors; Chris Snyder Placed on 15-Day DL, (Left testicular fracture); Eric Byrnes Placed on 15-Day DL, (Strained left hamstring).
Atlanta Braves
Mark Kotsay Removed From 15-Day DL, (Lower back soreness); Brandon Jones Sent to Minors.
Baltimore Orioles
Alex Cintron Placed on 15-Day DL, (Strained left hamstring); Danys Baez Transferred to 60-Day DL, (Right elbow surgery – out for season); Freddie Bynum Purchased From Minors.
Colorado Rockies
Cedrick Bowers Purchased From Minors; Ryan Speier Sent to Minors; Mark Redman Called Up from Minors; Jeff Francis Placed on 15-Day DL, (Left shoulder inflammation).
Detroit Tigers
Zach Miner Sent to Minors; Aquilino Lopez Called Up from Minors.
Florida Marlins
Eulogio De La Cruz Sent to Minors.
Houston Astros
Oscar Villarreal Designated for Assignment; Dave Borkowski Purchased From Minors; Humberto Quintero Placed on 15-Day DL, (Concussion); J.R. Towles Called Up from Minors.
Los Angeles Dodgers
Clayton Kershaw Sent to Minors; Hiroki Kuroda Removed From 15-Day DL, (Right shoulder tendinitis).
New York Mets
Claudio Vargas Outrighted to Minors; Moises Alou Sent to Minors For Rehabilitation; Tony Armas Purchased From Minors.
New York Yankees
Chris Britton Sent to Minors For Rehabilitation; Chris Stewart Cleared Waivers and Became a Free Agent; Stewart Signed to a Minor League Contract.
Oakland Athletics
Wes Bankston Purchased From Minors; Eric Chavez Placed on 15-Day DL, (Right shoulder inflammation).
Philadelphia Phillies
Brett Myers Sent to Minors; Francisco Rosario Sent to Minors For Rehabilitation.
Pittsburgh Pirates
Steve Pearce Called Up from Minors; Matt Capps Placed on 15-Day DL, (Bursitis, right shoulder – out 6-8 weeks).
San Diego Padres
Clay Hensley Called Up from Minors; Craig Stansberry Sent to Minors.
San Francisco Giants
Eliezer Alfonzo Called Up from Minors; Steve Holm Sent to Minors; Billy Sadler Sent to Minors.
Seattle Mariners
Cesar Jimenez Called Up from Minors.
Tampa Bay Rays
Troy Percival Placed on 15-Day DL, (Left hamstring strain); Akinori Iwamura Reinstated From League Suspension.
Texas Rangers
Chris Shelton Outrighted to Minors.
Washington Nationals
Pete Orr Sent to Minors; Collin Balester Purchased From Minors.
Daily Rumors from MLB Trade Rumors
– The Cardinals, Rays, Angels, Dodgers, and Royals are all interested in Matt Holliday; the A’s may be interested to, but would rather acquire Willy Taveras.
– Yorvit Torrealba wants out of Colorado.
– The Yankees, Mets, Red Sox, Phillies, A’s Rays, Cubs and Cardinals are interested in Brian Fuentes.
– Florida is looking for a reliever and a catcher; Paul LoDuca’s name has been linked to them, along with Paul Bako, Torrealba, and Michael Barrett.
– Freddy Garcia will have a public audition later this month; the Mets, Red Sox, Braves, Yankees, White Sox, Rangers, Indians, Mariners, Tigers, Rays, Astros, and Cubs have shown interest.
– The Brewers are the leading team for CC Sabathia; after them, the Rays, Red Sox, Dodgers, Cubs, and Yankees are interested.
– While they don’t have enough to get CC Sabathia, the A’s may focus on Rich Harden, Randy Wolf, AJ Burnett, Aaron Cook, Bronson Arroyo, and Kevin Millwood; they’ve also said they don’t want to give up Sean Gallagher.
– They are running a nice GM History for the MLB GMs; Brian Cashman was one of the recent ones.
– The White Sox aren’t expected to be active before the deadline.
– Matt Murton and Xavier Nady are on the Ray’s radar.
– Juan Uribe is on the block for the White Sox.
– Mark Grudzielanek wants to play for 3 more years.
– Ron Mahay may be the best reliever on the market not named Brian Fuentes; the Royals are listening to offers.
– The A’s will only move Harden if they receive an unbelievable offer.
– Matt Stairs has been linked to the Dodgers.
– The Mets, Yankees, and Brewers have inquired about Vicente Padilla.
– Ken Griffey Jr was offered to the Mariners recently and they declined; looks like the new regime isn’t interested.
– Scouts have been watching David Weathers.
– The Cardinals have signed first rounder Brett Wallace and the Phillies signed first rounder Anthony Hewitt.
– Shawn Chacon cleared waivers; the players association plans on filing a grievance since he’s not getting paid.
– Brett Myers accepted a minor league assignment to get straightend out.
– Phillies GM Pat Gillick could go back to Seattle after the season; he’s expected to be the head of baseball operations.
– When Kenji Johjima received his extension in the spring, it was against the wishes of then GM Bill Bavasi; the out going owners wanted to “take care of him” before they left.
– The Padres signed 5 international prospects; one would be considered a first 10 pick if drafted.
Around the Web
Injury Report
Top Prospect Alert’s Top MiLB Performances.
BA Prospect Blog
All Star Voting
Today’s Matchups
LAD at HOU, 2:05
Billingsley (7-7) vs Backe (5-8)
MIL at ARI, 3:40
Parra (8-2) vs Webb (12-4)
CHC at SF, 7:05
Gallagher (3-3) vs Lincecum (9-1)
KC at BAL, 7:05
Davies (3-1) vs Olson (6-3)
BOS at NYY, 7:05
Lester (6-3) vs Pettitte (9-5)
PHI at ATL, 7:10
Hamels (8-5) vs Jurrjens (8-3)
WAS at CIN, 7:10
Lannan (4-9) vs Cueto (6-8)
FLA at COL, 8:05
Miller (5-7) vs Redman (2-3)
OAK at CHW, 8:11
Duchscherer (8-5) vs Vazquez (7-6)
NYM at STL, 8:15
Pelfrey (5-6) vs Boggs (3-0)
DET at SEA, 10:10
Verlander (4-9) vs Silva (4-9)
Happy 4th of July – I’ll be back on Monday.
