Kuzul

So far this season, the St. Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds have been engaged in a dogfight among the top of the National League Central. With St. Louis recently solidifying their starting rotation, that may be about to change.

St. Louis pulled off a three-team deal with the San Diego Padres and Cleveland Indians, acquiring Indians starter Jake Westbrook while shipping right fielder Ryan Ludwick to San Diego. Meanwhile, the Reds, who have been in need of bullpen help all season, made no moves leading up to the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline.

“There were a couple yesterday that we had been working on for a while that fell apart at the end,” Cincinnati GM Walt Jocketty said after the 4:00 PM EST deadline had passed. “The players we were pursuing were not traded. They probably were not real serious.”

So, while quality arms like Octavio Dotel, Kyle Farnsworth, Kerry Wood, and Chad Qualls will all wear new uniforms in the coming days, none of them will suit up in Cin City.

Instead, the Reds look to build from within, with Russ Springer, former Cardinal Jason Isringhausen, and young Cuban fireballer Aroldis Chapman waiting in the minor leagues.

Meanwhile, St. Louis has bolstered their starting rotation with a quality fourth starter in Jake Westbrook. Ryan Ludwick, who was batting .281/.343/.484 with 11 home runs, 43 RBI, and 44 runs scored in 77 games, was sent to the NL West-leading Padres. St. Louis also receives Padres left-handed prospect Nick Greenwood and an undisclosed amount of cash from Cleveland.

“I think they gave up a pretty good hitter to get him,” Jocketty said of the Westbrook-
Ludwick deal. “Offense has been one of their struggles of late. He’s a good addition for them but they also lost a very good offensive player.”

But although they traded Ludwick, the Cardinals are faithful that rookie Jon Jay, who has batted .396 and slugged .604 while filling in for an injured Ludwick, can fill the void admirably.

The 21-year-old has impressed the Cardinals organization, obviously enough to turn the reins over to him in right field, where he started Saturday’s game against the Pirates. He also plays a good center field, although that position is currently held by Colby Rasmus. He is fourth among NL center fielders in Total Zone Runs this year.

“In fairness, our offense was inconsistent with him,” Cards GM John Mozeliak said. “Will it be inconsistent without him? I don’t know. But we have had some success when we’ve had players out of the lineup. We still have a chance to get [David] Freese back in the next 10 days or so, and if that happens, that should be a jolt offensively for the club. But overall, I just felt like the way things were going offensively, it made sense.”

Ludwick, who has been a fan favorite during his four years in St. Louis, had mixed feelings about the deal.

“I’m excited,” the newest Padre said. “Sad, excited, nervous, a lot of things…[Coming to St. Louis] jump-started my career. That’s why I’m sad to leave. Management, coaching staff, players, I got along with everyone. I’m sad leaving the fans. They treated me great.”

Westbrook, who has not been to the playoffs since 2007, carried a much merrier tone.

“I’m excited to go to a club contending for a playoff spot and pitch in some meaningful ballgames,” he said. “That’s why you play the game, for a chance to get into the playoffs, and I’m looking forward to doing that.”

The righty, who had pitched over 210 innings per season from 2004-06 before undergoing Tommy John surgery and missing all of the 2009 campaign, has been slowly returning to form over the course of this season. Although he is 6-7 with a 4.65 ERA over the course of the season, he has seen a return to form lately, averaging 6.4 innings over his last 15 games.

Although St. Louis may miss Ludwick’s bat while Jay transitions to a starting job, receiving some dependability from someone outside of Adam Wainwright, Chris Carpenter, and Jaime Garcia will help over the long stretch, and gives the Cardinals a serviceable options other than their top three starters come October.

If Cincinnati doesn’t find some way to strengthen their bullpen, they may be looking up at St. Louis come playoff time.

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Jake Westbrook and Ryan Ludwick were traded today in a creative three-way trade. The moving parts in this deal looked like this:

Cardinals acquire:
Jake Westbrook (From Indians)
Nick Greenwood (From Padres)
Undisclosed amount of cash (From Indians)

Padres acquire:
Ryan Ludwick (From Cardinals)
Undisclosed amount of cash (From Indians)

Indians acquire:
Corey Kluber (From Padres)

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11:00am CDT – Update on the three-team deal. The Padres would get outfielder Ryan Ludwick from the Cardinals, Jake Westbrook goes from the Indians to the Cardinals and the Padres would send one prospect each to the Indians and Cardinals.

10:58am CDT – Tom Krasovic reporting that the San Diego Padres are the third team involved in the Jake Westbrook deal with Jake Ludwick going to San Diego and Westbrook going from Cleveland to St. Louis.

10:57am CDT – Another deal I failed to mention from last night was the Yankees acquiring Austin Kearns from the Cleveland Indians.

10:56am CDT – Looks like the Adam Dunn deal to the White Sox is dead according to Joe Cowley.

10:52am CDT – Anthony Castrovince, MLB.com beat writer for the Cleveland Indians, reports that there is now a third team involved in the Jake Westbrook to the Cardinals deal. More details still to come.

10:51am CDT – The White Sox apparently called the Dodgers about acquiring Manny Ramirez. According to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports, the White Sox wanted the Dodgers to pay all but $1 million of what was left of Ramirez’s contract with no player coming back.

10:49am CDT – The Arizona Diamondbacks still would like to move Kelly Johnson or Adam LaRoche according to Jon Paul Morosi of Fox Sports.

10:46am CDT – The San Diego Padres are apparently deep in talks with the Cardinals about outfielder Ryan Ludwick. The Padres have been in need of an outfield bat and his .281 batting average to go along with 11 home runs would fit the bill.

10:39am CDT – Let’s get to the news of the morning so far.

Adam Dunn is still a member of the Washington Nationals and apparently the White Sox are none too happy with how things have transpired thus far.

The Arizona Diamondbacks traded catcher Chris Snyder last night for cash and a player to be named later to the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Pirates say they have no interest in flipping Snyder to another team.

One deal this morning is close and it’s the St. Louis Cardinals who are very close to landing Cleveland Indians’ right-hander Jake Westbrook. Several sources are reporting it but the deal is not complete. Westbrook is scheduled to pitch for the Indians in a few hours from now so we’ll see what happens.

10:37am CDT – Good afternoon baseball fans and welcome to one of the most exciting days of the baseball season, maybe even more so than the All-Star festivities. It’s the trade deadline.

This is the day where all of us fans sit on the edge of our seats waiting to see what kind of deals our teams are going to make. We want certain players, we hear certain rumors, we get our hopes up, and we wait.

We’ll have all of the breaking news of the day and all of the rumors from now until the end of the deadline later this afternoon. So hang with us all day, join in on the conversation, and we’ll keep you up to date all day long.

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All eyes will be on Jake Westbrook today as he takes the mound for the Cleveland Indians against the Toronto Blue Jays. Not many people will actually be paying much attention to whether he wins and loses, instead wondering whether or not the Tribe will continue their perennial sell-at-all-costs spiral intooblivion started after the 2007 crash-and-burn against the Boston Red Sox in the ALCS.

With Jhonny Peralta (Detroit) and Austin Kearns (New York Yankees) heading to much greener pastures in recent days, look for Westbrook to get plenty of hits today from several teams looking for pitching.

Topping the list of potential suitors for the veteran righty are the recurrent trading partners for the Indians, the St. Louis Cardinals. The Cards are looking for a starter that can eat up innings, and Westbrook may just be the guy. He’s already thrown 127 2/3 innings this year, which is exactly what the doctor ordered for the Cardinals.

The only potential road block in a deal with the N.L. Central leaders is Westbrook’s salary. He’s scheduled to make four million dollars over the final two months of the season, and the Indians would likely to have to take on much of that salary. Top that off with a two million dollar bonus that Westbrook would receive if a trade is made, and you may have a deal-breaker.

The Indians faithful shouldn’t expect much for Westbrook in the deal, although as the deadline looms closer, you really never know what the Indians may get. Also take into account that Westbrook is pitching today. Should he put together a solid performance, it could teeter a team on the brink of a move before today’s 4:00 deadline.

Other clubs that may have interest in Westbrook’s services are the New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Dodgers. While the Yankees seem to be doing what they always do during the deadline, and trade for everything whether they need it or not, I can’t imagine that Westbrook is heading their way, or he likely would have been part of the Kearns deal. The Dodgers, who tend to overpay for players, likely aren’t going to make any big deals with the ownership in the midst of an “As the World Turns” divorce.

In Westbrook’s nine years with the Tribe, he’s gone 69-69, with a 4.29 ERA.

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With only one full day remaining before the non-waiver trade deadline, and 60 games left to be played on their schedule, the Los Angeles Dodgers find themselves trailing the division leading San Diego Padres by a full seven games, and are seeing their chances of returning to the playoffs gradually disappear.

Even the line for the lone wild card spot is becoming quite crowded, and yet the Dodgers continue to push on and hope that solid play down the stretch will elevate them in the standings.

All of Dodgertown is hoping that the offense finds a spark, and General Manager Ned Colletti has already stated that he will do his best to find help for the Los Angeles pitching staff.

Although the Dodgers starting pitchers have fared quite well over the last several weeks, the fifth spot in the rotation still seems to be an area of concern for Los Angeles.

The following slides break down six possible pitchers, in order, of who could most benefit the Dodgers down the home stretch of the season, and provide a statistical commentary of why they are a good fit for Los Angeles.

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We sit just two weeks in front of the Major League Baseball non-waiver trade deadline, which occurs on July 31. Already, we have seen one ace (Cliff Lee) get dealt to a new team, and there are several more arms that could be traded before 4:00 pm on the 31st.

And tonight, all of those pitchers are on the mound for their current teams. Could this be the last starts for their respective clubs? Will these starts act as auditions? Only time will tell.

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The boys of summer are taking their annual break in sunny southern California—Anaheim to be exact.

They’ll laugh with other big league players they don’t often get the chance to converse with. They’ll have their laughs, their deep conversations, and ability to forget about the chase for the playoffs, if only for a few days.

Those that aren’t taking part in the festivities in Anaheim get a much needed break to lick their wounds and heal-up from injuries that kept them from performing to their highest abilities.

What the All-Star break also signifies is a two week point before baseball’s trading deadline.

A big name has already moved to a new home and several others are yet to make a move. There are teams that need to make a splash to stay in the race, and others that need to free-up salaries and rebuild for another race.

Here are 10 names that will be moved and where they’re new predicted homes will be.

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With the Mets having lost the Cliff Lee sweepstakes, they are still in need of another starting pitcher. Losing the last two games to the Braves and falling to five games out of first place and two back in the wild card race have made this need even more obvious.

Names that have recently come up in connection to the Mets include Ted Lilly , Fausto Carmona , Jake Westbrook, and Dan Haren . However, all of these players come at a price.

A popular name that is being thrown around as a player the Mets would need to include in a deal is Josh Thole. At just age 22, Thole had success during his short stint in the major leagues last season.

After starting the season in the minors, Thole has worked his way back up to the big league club. He struggled in the minors this year posting just a .267 batting average and a .353 on-base percentage. Many wondered if Thole had truly merited his promotion. Others wondered if it was in an attempt to showcase him for a trade. It appears to be the latter.

Thole would be a key piece in a deal for any of the aforementioned pitchers. He would have different value to each team.

The Cubs appear to have no need for Thole, yet they have requested that he be included in a deal for Ted Lilly. This speaks volumes about the confidence the Cubs have in Geovany Soto. (to read the rest of the article click on the link below)

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With the trade deadline less then a month away, the San Diego Padres are looking at all of their options and weighing which ones will help the team keep a hold of the NL West division.

There are a few players the Padres have been rumored to be after and a few scenarios that might make sense.

However, knowing the team has the second lowest payroll in all of baseball, you’d think that new owner Jeff Moorad would give general manager Jed Hoyer some room to maneuver and make a deal here and there.

While Moorad has said the Padres may spend money to bring in what they need, they also need to be cognizant of other teams looking to scavenge from the depth of San Diego’s talented pitching staff.

Among those names is closer Heath Bell. Don’t be surprised if he’s the center of a deal come the trade deadline.

Here are some of the other possible scenarios as the month of July winds down.

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As the MLB trade deadline is quickly approaching, we have a greater idea of which teams will be buyers and which will be sellers.

One of the biggest commodities during the trade deadline will be starting pitching.

No team can have enough pitching and with all six divisions being decided by six games or less, the races are closer than ever.

A good starting pitcher can mean the difference between a team ending its season in disappointment and a team reaching the playoffs. 

Besides Cliff Lee and Roy Oswalt, two of the more interesting pitching options on the market are Jake Westbrook of the Cleveland Indians and Ben Sheets of the Oakland Athletics.

Both of these pitchers have the talent to be a second or third starter and will cost considerably less than Lee or Oswalt.

It is very likely that both of these pitchers will land in the National League East.

The Mets, Braves, and Phillies are all in a tight playoff race and all three teams lack depth in their starting rotations.

If I had to guess, I would predict Ben Sheets will end up in New York and Jake Westbrook will have a new home in Philadelphia.

The Mets expressed interest in Ben Sheets during the off-season and he could provide the team some much needed pitching depth.

It is unlikely R.A Dickey and Hinsori Takahashi will continue their hot starts while John Maine and John Niese are still injury risks.

Signing Ben Sheets would give the Mets a pitcher with great raw talent.

The Mets realized Sheets isn’t a polished pitcher but his potential down the stretch, combined with his recent successes, will make him a viable option for New York.

Ever since losing J.A. Happ to an early season injury, the Phillies have been looking for pitching help.

The team has recently contacted Pedro Martinez about returning for the second half of the year.

Although Pedro Martinez has plenty of playoff experience,he does not have a great deal of velocity. I question his ability to pitch quality starts week after week without breaking down.

For the right price, Pedro may be worth a chance but Jake Westbrook is a much safer bet for the team.

Westbrook has a career ERA under four and is less of an injury risk.

The reason why I don’t see the Braves landing Westbrook or Sheets is because I think they are the front runners to land Cliff Lee.

Unlike the Mets and Phillies, the Braves lack a number one starting pitcher (the Mets have Johan Santana and the Phillies have Roy Halladay). Cliff Lee can be that answer.

Lee pitched brilliantly last year in the playoffs and would provide the relatively young Atlanta Braves roster with some much needed postseason experience.

Although Roy Oswalt is a likely target for all three of these teams, it is doubtful any of them will get the Astros hurler.

Oswalt is a long-term commitment, unlike the aforementioned three starters and has a no trade clause.

This combination of factors will most likely not land him in the National League East.

It will be interesting to see how the NL East shapes up in the next few weeks.

It will be a tight race until the end and all three contenders will look to the pitching market to gain a competitive advantage.

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