Recent Rumors & Reactions

July is the best month of the year for MLB trade rumors, and thus mlbtraderumors.com.

To keep up with the pace, we will try to pull the highlights from recent posts...

Miguel Tejada to the Phillies
I actually like this move, a lot, for Miggy. In fantasy circles, many don't like the fact that he'll be a part-time player after Utley and Polanco return. So what? The way he's going for Baltimore, he's a NO-time fantasy player. In Philly, he would have a better chance of increasing his counting stats, including Homeruns, while the starters are on the DL. Plus, who's to say he can't steal time away from Polanco down the stretch?

Cliff Lee to Anyone
Any team would like him, and the most rumored of them are the Phillies, Twins, Mets, Reds, Cardinals, Dodgers, and Yankees.

I keep changing my thoughts by the moment, but I'm beginning to feel that the Phillies will most likely not trade for him.

The only way I see the Phillies landing Cliff Lee is to sign Jayson Werth to an extension and trade Dominic Brown. Brown has been the contingency for Jayson Werth's impending free agency for so long, and his success in Triple-A so tantalizing, that I don't think Ruben Amaro, Jr can stomach the alternative. It's an interesting dilemma for many reasons. Everyone in the organization, and the fans, would love to welcome Lee into the rotation with Halladay and Hamels. I just get the feeling that Amaro is one of those old school, disciplined GM's. He'll reinvest Werth's future earnings into other parts of the organization because Brown should be able to fill Werth's shoes admirably. The last factor that could see stopping Amaro is that he may have to trade more than they got for him this past offseason.

Let's see. When trading Lee to Seattle, they received J.C. Rameriz, Phillippe Aumont, and Tyson Gillies. While each of those guys is certainly young enough to blossom into very good players, none of them have looked any good this season.

Tigers Interested in Stephen Drew
It seems like we've been waiting forever for Stephen Drew to become a reliable offensive threat at the premium shortstop position. I still think he's an exciting player, so a change of scenery would surely be intriguing. Something tells me, however, that switching to the American League would take an adjustment period that a contender wouldn't be able to live with.

Prince Fielder to the White Sox

This is just the kind of deal that I think Kenny Williams would be more than capable of. He is not afraid of throwing a handful of prized prospects for a player he thinks can help right now and in the future. Prince Fielder is under team control through the 2011 season, and the White Sox would probably try to get an extension done anyway.

As Tom Haudricourt gossips in this piece, "Williams has some intriguing options that might tempt the Brewers, such as right-hander Gavin Floyd, reliever Sergio Santos, pitching prospect Daniel Hudson and young third baseman Dayan Viciedo." If the Brewers got all of those guys for Prince, they should be dancing in the streets of Mequon.

Marlins Open to Making Changes

When bubble teams, like the Marlins become sellers, the supply in the trade market shifts so dramatically that it's almost impossible to accurately speculate potential reactions. Jorge Cantu, Dan Uggla, Cody Ross, and Ricky Nolasco are capable of greatly helping a contender.

Carlos Zambrano for Aaron Rowand

Henry Schulman, of the San Francisco Chronicle, admits that he's "just a baseball writer talking here". It's purely "crazy" speculation on his part, but he tries to conclude his argument with:

"Rowand, in turn, might thrive more in a better hitters' park in a city where he won a World Series ring with the White Sox in 2005.

The Cubs would relieve themselves of a big headache. The Giants would add another good arm to their rotation, putting them in a better position to trade a starter for a bat."

As a Cub fan, I especially think that's a lousy rumor. The Cubs don't need another overpaid fourth outfielder, and they're not about to give away Zambrano for just someone else's bad contract. They can still extract value from a 29-year old pitcher who can win 12-15 games for the next 4 or 5 years, at least.