MLB Trade Rumors

Through a quarter of the season, the Indians have emerged as last offseason's biggest winners, while the Blue Jays rank as the biggest losers, writes Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. Other teams (such as the Yankees, Red Sox, Braves, and Royals) received "thumbs up", but the Indians' additions of Mark Reynolds, Jason Giambi, Michael Bourn, Nick Swisher, Rich Hill,...

May 22, 2013, 10:54 pm EDT via mlbtraderumors.com

The Orioles made headlines last night by announcing the promotion of Kevin Gausman to the Majors. Gausman, the No. 4 overall pick in the 2012 draft, reached Double-A as a 22-year-old and posted a 3.11 ERA with a 49-to-5 K/BB ratio in 46 1/3 innings there. With that promotion, Gausman becomes the first member of last year's first round to...

May 22, 2013, 9:46 am EDT via mlbtraderumors.com

The Blue Jays' Triple-A affiliate announced the release of Miguel Batista, according to Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet (on Twitter). The 42-year-old right-hander had signed a minor league deal with the Blue Jays back in April. Batista struggled to establish himself in Triple-A Buffalo however, pitching to an 8.36 ERA with 5.5 K/9 and 5.1 BB/9 over 28 innings. ...

May 21, 2013, 5:10 pm EDT via mlbtraderumors.com

After the team's loss of Eric O'Flaherty to injury, the Braves appear likely to trade for a lefty reliever before the trade deadline, writes David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (via Twitter). A trade is unlikely to occur anytime soon, however, since the deadline is more than two months away. Here are more notes from the East divisions. Reid Brignac...

May 19, 2013, 9:38 pm EDT via mlbtraderumors.com

The Blue Jays have announced they have claimed right-hander Thad Weber off waivers from the Padres and assigned him to Triple-A Buffalo. To make room for Weber on the 40-man roster, the team transferred right-hander Sergio Santos to the 60-day disabled list. Weber, who was designated for assignment on Friday, made three relief appearances for the Padres allowing two runs...

May 19, 2013, 2:32 pm EDT via mlbtraderumors.com

Catching depth throughout baseball is thin. When I rolled out my Top 100 Prospects list at FanGraphs in March, I had only four catchers included in that ranking: Travis d'Arnaud of the Mets, Mike Zunino of the Mariners, Austin Hedges of the Padres, and Gary Sanchez of the Yankees. Baseball America's list featured the same four backstops. Baseball Prospectus also...

May 16, 2013, 9:12 am EDT via mlbtraderumors.com

As Curtis Granderson gets set to return to the Yankees lineup, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com writes that the club surprisingly doesn't need him. The strong play of Vernon Wells, Lyle Overbay, and Travis Hafner has given the offense a major boost in the absence of Derek Jeter, Kevin Youkilis, and others, putting them atop the division with a 24-14 record....

May 14, 2013, 3:35 pm EDT via mlbtraderumors.com

The home run by the Athletics' Adam Rosales that never was on Wednesday could become the shot heard around the world in the debate over instant replay. Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle are both advocating for a five-man umpiring crew. Haudricourt rebuts arguments that it is too expensive to add...

May 12, 2013, 8:32 pm EDT via mlbtraderumors.com

The Red Sox bullpen was dealt another blow today with the news that Joel Hanrahan will undergo flexor tendon surgery and miss the rest of the season. Most pundits were in agreement that the Phillies overpaid when they signed Jonathan Papelbon to a four-year, $50MM contract following the 2011 season, but Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe writes that the...

May 11, 2013, 6:50 pm EDT via mlbtraderumors.com

We'll keep an eye on today's minor moves right here: Astros outfielder Fernando Martinez has been outrighted to Triple-A, MLB.com's Brian McTaggart reports (Twitter link). Martinez was designated for assignment by the club earlier this week. Edgar Gonzalez has elected to become a free agent after clearing waivers, Sportsnet's Shi Davidi reports (via Twitter). Gonzalez was designated for assignment by...

May 11, 2013, 5:15 pm EDT via mlbtraderumors.com