I really hope Mark Prior's attempted comeback works. There's a really good article up on ESPN about him. So far, Prior has been stellar as a reliever for Triple-A Pawtucket, striking out 27 in 13 1/3 innings with a 4.05 ERA. But there's a six-year gap that remains relatively unanswered for. Since Aug. 10, 2006, which is the last time …
Josh Vitters awaits call up
I'm going to have more on Josh Vitters in the near future, but for now you can read an article on milb.com. At a quick glance, Vitters' numbers — .302, 14 home runs, 56 RBIs through Saturday — would seem to suggest a callup is overdue. That seems especially true with Chicago third baseman Ian Stewart on the disabled list …
Paul Maholm on possibility of Pirates trading for him
Paul Maholm was asked about rumors the Pirates may be interested in him last night in Pittsburgh and he had this to say: “It would be ironic to leave as a free agent and then they wanted me back. There are rumors, and we will see how it turns out. My next two starts are against them. It should be …
Zach Lee won’t be traded for a rental like Ryan Dempster
The Dodgers top prospect, and the midseason #49 prospect (Baseball America) Zach Lee won't be traded for a rental according to Ken Rosenthal. Sources: #Dodgers pitching prospect Zach Lee will not be in a deal for a rental such as #Cubs' Dempster. Dodgers need offense more than SP. — Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 20, 2012
Red Sox interested in Matt Garza
The Red Sox aren't interested in Ryan Dempster, but remain interested in Matt Garza. The Red Sox maintain interest in Matt Garza, but they're officially out on Ryan Dempster, Jayson Stark of ESPN.com reports (on Twitter). The Cubs are working to trade Dempster, the MLB leader in ERA. Stark's colleague, Buster Olney, reported today that the Red Sox are more …
Jorge Soler to debut tomorrow in Arizona
The Cubs gave a lot of money to Cuban prospect Jorge Soler and he's set to make his US debut tomorrow in the AZL.
10 teams have shown interest in Ryan Dempster
Bruce Levine says 10 teams have shown interest in Ryan Dempster. With a little more than two weeks until baseball's trade deadline, 10 teams have shown legitimate interest in acquiring Dempster's services for the remainder of the season, according to industry sources. Those clubs include the Los Angeles Dodgers, Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers,New York Yankees, Chicago White Sox and Atlanta Braves. The Cubs have started, …
Pirates fail to sign first round pick, Mark Appel
The Pirates failed to reach an agreement with their first round pick today. Mark Appel was considered a possibility to be taken first overall, but instead dropped to 8th when the Pirates drafted him. Here is what Neal Huntington said about the Pirates decision. “Our final offer exceeded the available bonus pool money and was essentially up to the last …
BP’s Hitter and Pitcher Profiles
Baseball Prospectus came out with hitter profiles last week and today they released their pitcher profiles. Here's Starlin Castro's swing rate in each location. Here's the whiff rate. Here's his tAV (true Average, kind of like wOBA, but scaled to batting average).
Tigers asked about Darwin Barney
From MLBTR: The Tigers asked the Cubs about second baseman Darwin Barney a couple of weeks ago, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reports (on Twitter). However, talks didn't progress.