There has been painfully little action in the trade market. There is no way that Scott Feldman and Ricky Nolasco are going to be the only two players traded this season so it has to heat up sometime soon. The Cubs have announced to the whole world that they are going to trade Garza but have still failed to actually do so. It's time to focus on some rumors that we haven't given much thought to yet.
Will the Orioles add anybody? If the season were to end today the Orioles would find themselves with the second Wild Card spot. Last year they were able to upgrade their roster for the stretch run without making a trade by calling up Manny Machado. They have already dealt for Scott Feldman but they could definitely stand to add another piece considering how difficult the A.L. East is.
According to CBS Sports' Jon Heyman Baltimore might not have enough money to do that. Someone connected to the organization has said that they are "tapped out" and unable to bring anymore salary on board. If they can't add any more salary any dreams O's fans had about acquiring an ace, by far their greatest weakness, can be squashed. When the topic of Justin Morneau, who is owed $6 million, was brought up he was "too expensive," according to CBS Sports.
Any team with hopes of picking up a Kansas City Royal at the trade deadline should probably give up those hopes now. Even if the Royals don't have a chance of making the playoffs speculation is that they will continue to hold on to the players they have, even Ervin Santana. According to Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star GM Dayton Moore would consider a winning record something to build upon so they may stand pat just to keep things in order for next season.
Who is going to take a chance on K-Rod? Rodriguez is certainly not the dominant closer that he once was but he could still definitely help team out in the bullpen. This year Rodriguez has only made 25 appearances since he didn't sign with the Brewers until three weeks into the season, but his numbers have been good. He is 10 for 10 in save opportunities and has an ERA barely over 1.00. According to CBS Sports the Dodgers, Tigers and Red Sox have shown interest in K-Rod as well as some other pieces in the Brewer bullpen.
The Pirates are really looking to take advantage of this opportunity to finish above .500 for the first time since Barry Bonds and Bobby Bonilla were in town. GM Neal Huntington told MLB.com that he feels that their farm system is strong enough they don't have to worry about trading away assets.
"We've never gone in with a premeditated view on rentals, whether we want or don't want them," Huntington said. "We've gone into the deadline to impact that year's club as best we could. No, while it does not make a ton of sense for us to give up an elite prospect for a two-month rental, you've always got to have the majority of attention on today."
If the Pirates are going to be added players don't be surprised if they make a deal with the White Sox. Jon Heyman at CBS Sports is saying that Pittsburgh are one of the teams trying to acquire Alex Rios to fill their hole at right field, a position where the Bucs have been horrific this year. If the Pirates are dealing with the White Sox they may also try to add Alexei Ramirez at shortstop. Both Rios and Ramirez have salaries higher than what the Pirates would usually take on but this year is different in Pittsburgh.
