There is only one week left until the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline and there are plenty of teams still looking to add some pieces; the question is, are there enough impact players on the market?
Jake Peavy is still the most sought after starter on the market with at least the Red Sox and Cardinals showing interest in the former Cy Young Award winner. The White Sox asking price may be getting a bit higher for Peavy as well now that it looks like the Braves might be in the market to add starting pitching after the horrific injury to Tim Hudson Wednesday night.
Jon Heyman of CBS Sports is reporting that the Oakland A's might have interest in Peavy as well. Thanks to "Moneyball" Billy Beane's philosophy about coveting on base percentage and other undervalued statistics in hitters is well known but one reason the A's have contended when they have is solid starting pitching. Whether it was in the heyday of the big 3 (Mulder, Hudson, Zito) or this year the A's Billy Beane's teams have always had a solid rotation. Heyman has reported that people close to Beane say that even though this A's team already has a solid pitching staff Beane would much rather acquire a very good pitcher than a mediocre bat.
Speaking of bats, the Rangers are desperate to find an outfielder. The Rangers would like to add some pop to their lineup, preferably in the form of a right-handed right fielder, according to CBS Sports. Rios is the cream of the crop in a very weak market.
Further complicating things for the Rangers most of the teams that have what they want aren't putting those pieces on the market. The team has interest in Hunter Pence, Michael Cuddyer, and any of the Mariners trio of Raul Ibanez, Kendrys Morales and Michael Morse but none of those players look like they are going to be changing uniforms, according to CBS Sports.
Adam Rubin of ESPN reports that the Mets' Marlon Byrd might be on the market. An executive close to the situation told Rubin: "Lots of teams are watching Marlon Byrd whether they admit it or not." Byrd's contract is up at the end of the year so he might be able to be had at the right price. So far this season Byrd is playing well despite his age hitting .280 with 17 homers and 57 RBIs.
CBS Sports reports that the Marlins are continuing to frustrate the rest of baseball by appearing uninterested in selling any of their team off other than Nolasco, who has already been traded. Offers for Steve Cishek and Mike Dunn have been turned away, according to Danny Knobler.
Peter Gammons of the MLB Network tweeted that the Red Sox are looking everywhere for pitching help. Bud Norris, Yovani Gallardo and Edison Volquez were all observed by scouts from Beantown in recent days. It is unclear when Buchholz will return to the rotation and the team must clearly be concerned about how Lester has been pitching as of late.
Red Sox have scouts most everywhere:Norris last night, Gallardo, Volquez, Peavy and ? Today
— Peter Gammons (@pgammo) July 25, 2013
If teams can't make a trade for the pitching help they need the Phillies cut ties with Carlos Zambrano on Thursday. Zambrano has pitched well for Triple-A Lehigh Valley: 2.04 ERA and 7.6 K/9 innings.
