Jarrod Washburn to the Yanks?

Jon Heyman is reporting that the M's are interested in some of the Yankees prospects excluding Phil Hughes, Joba Chamberlain, Austin Jackson, Austin Romine and Jesus Montero. Could something come about?

Thursday Halladay Rumors

The Latest: Jordan Bastian reports that there is "nothing to" the reports that the Rangers are going hard after Halladay.

Ricciardihttp://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=4367359 "not saying definitively" but the GM believes Halladay will remain a Jay.

8:11 PM: The Rangers are willing to take on hallaays contract if they can work out the prospects. The Rangers can create space for Halladay's 15.75 million dollar salary by letting the trio of veterans walk after the season.

The Latest; After false reports, here's whats new: FOX Sports hears that the Rangers have a legitimate chance of trading for Halladay. Rangers have "significant ongoing communications" with the Blue Jays, and money won't be an issue (I thought they had money issues?)

12:21 PM: The Dodges are now in the lead for Halladay with the Rangers in the mix, and the Red Sox calming down.

9:09 AM: Tony Massarotti is reporting that the chances of the Red Sox acquiring Halladay is unlikely since the Red Sox won't amp of there bid for him, theirs also been no contact between the two teams in the last three days.

8:35 AM: Bob Elliott finds it "unlikely" the Halladay will be traded.

Brewers not after arms?

Brewers GM Doug Melvin said that he doesn't expect to make a move for an arm before tomorrow's deadline.

"We're just not a match for anybody right now," Melvin said.

He also thinks the M's will hold on to Jarrod Washburn.

Earlier Notes

With the next 19 hours and 36 minutes and currently 51 seconds (50, 49,48....) it will be hectic, so lets do quick hits:

• Ken Gurnick reports that the Dodgers acquired George Sherrill for Josh Bell and righty Steve Johnson.
• The Astros released pitcher Russ Ortiz.
• Rockies are interested in Nick Johnson as a bench player.
• The Dodgers after acquiring George Sherrill are looking for relievers, as well as the Angels. The Dodgers could be interested in David Weathers, Matt Capps, Arthur Rhodes and Jason Frasor. While the Angels have eyed Heath Bell and Chad Qualls.
• According to Buster Olney teams are inquiring on righty Brian Bannister of the Royals. Olney also mentiosn that Willie Bloomquist is also drawing interest.
• The Mets are buyers, but they don't want to give up prospects (that's hard).
• The Braves granted righty Jeff Bennett his release after asking for it.
• Giants seem done dealing, for now!
  

Marlins "Making Strong" Push for Johnson?

According to Ken Rosenthal the Marlins are making a "strong push" for Nationals first baseman Nick Johnson. They're still discussing players, suck as Aaron Thompson and Ryan Tucker of the fish.

Cubs Acquire Grabow, Gorzelanny

The Cubs have sent pitchers Kevin Hart (who won today for the Cubs, giving up 3 runs in 6 innings of work), Jose Ascanio, and third baseman Josh Harrison to the Pirates for John Grabow and Tom Gorzelanny. Tom Gorzelanny will head to Triple A Iowa.

Thursday Afternoon Updates

Here's the latest:

• Jarrod Washburn of the Mariners has been involved in some rumors today. The Yankees are in the mix, but the Brewers are no longer interested. Jon Heyman says the Yanks are indeed the favorite to land Washburn.
• According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Pirates and Cubs are close to finalizing a deal that would send both John Grabow and Tom Gorzelanny to Chicago. Lots of sources are saying that a deal that sends Grabow to the Cubs in on the horizon.
• The Dodgers acquired Orioles closer George Sherrill in the big trade of today. Josh bell and Steve Johnson went to the O's in that trade.
• The Blue Jays are talking Scott Rolen with the Reds. The Jays would get Edwin Encarnacion if this deal does get done according to CBS Sports.
• The Marlins are in series talks for Heath Bell, the Padres closer.
• The Texas Rangers aren't in on Bell or Matt Capps according to Ken Rosental of FOX.
• The Astros are looking for pitching after Roy Oswalt went down.
• All is quiet on the Kevin Kouzmanoff front.
• The Cubs are looking to add a backup outfielder in addition to the reliever.

The Major League Baseball Trade Deadline is tomorrow at 4 ET, and we'll have you covered all the way up to the deadline here at the MLB Corner!

Cubs Want a Bat? Reliever?

11:59 AM: Jayson Stark is reporting that the Cubs are "strictly mining the lefthanded reliever market" and not looking for a bat.

10:51 AM: According to Ken Rosenthal the Cubs prefer John Grabow of the Buc's over Joe Biemal of the Nat's. He mentions that the Cubs will stay in-house for Reed Johnson's replacement, Sam Fuld? Grabow is a type A free agent, so the Bucs would probably want two decent prospects.

9:00 AM:According to Gordon Wittenmyer; the Cubs are looking for a left-handed hitter who can play right field, with guys like Mark Teahen of the Royals and Jeremy Hermida of the Marlins on their radar. Gordon says the Cubs have abut 2-3 Million dollars to spend. The good news is that the Cubs can get one of these players and still get a reliever to be under that 3 million dollar mark. Teahen has approximately $1.37MM left on his contract while Hermida has $847K remaining.

Victor Martinez Rumors

One of the best remaining players on the trading block is Victor Martinez catcher/first baseman of the Indians. While the Red Sox and Rays had initial interest, the Rays seem don't seem anxious with Cliff Lee out of the picture. Ken Rosenthal is reporting that "other, unidentified teams are believed to be interested in Martinez as well."

Blue Jays Rumors

Bob Elliott is reporting that the Twins are still interested in Jays shortstop Marco Scutaro, especially with Freddy Sanchez already traded. Elliott mentions that the Reds "met last night to decide to come up with a package to land third baseman Scott Rolen."

B & G's 7/29/09

Baseballs:

**Randy Wells, Chicago Cubs- Randy threw 8 strong innings, not giving up a run, walking 2 and struck out 1. Randy won his 7Th game of the season and now has a 2.84 ERA.

**Howie Kendrick, LA Angels- Howie had a great day, he went 3-4 and hit his 6Th Home Run of the season, drove in 5 runs, giving him 36 RBIs. Howie is hitting .267.

**Jose Lopez, Seattle Mariners- Jose went 3-4 at the plate with a double and a Home Run, his 13Th of the season. Lopez drove in 1 run, giving him 53 RBIs and he is hitting .266.

**Matt Cain, San Francisco Giants- Matt threw 9 shutout innings and didn't get the win, but his team did, and that is all that matters. Matt walked 2 and struck out 4. Cain now has a 2.12 ERA.

**Adam Jones, Baltimore Orioles- Adam went 2-5, drove in 3 runs and hit his 17Th Home Run of the year. He now has 59 RBIs and is hitting .298 on the season.

**Josh Johnson, Florida Marlins- He doesn't get a baseball because of his pitching, he did fine there too (6 IP, 3 ER, 1 BB, 1 K), but he gets one because of his bat. Josh hit a 3 run Home Runs, his 2Nd shot of the year, with 3 RBIs, he now has 8 and is hitting .150. Oh yeah, Josh also has a 2.87 ERA.

**Joba Chamberlain, New York Yankees- Joba was superb tonight, throwing 8 shutout innings, he walked 2 and struck out 5. Joba has a 3.58 ERA and earned his 7Th win.

**Adam Kennedy, Oakland Athletics- Adam picked right up where he left off last night, he started the 1st inning with a Home Run, his 8Th of the season and he now has 38 RBIs. After his 2-5 evening, Adam is hitting .296.

**Mat Latos, San Diego Padres- Mat threw 7 fantastic innings, just giving up 1 run (1 earned) on 1 hit, he walked 1 and struck out 4. Mat now has a 2.70 ERA, winning his 2Nd game of the season.

**Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers- 7 strong innings, but he struck out a career high 13 men. His offense wasn't too bad either, giving him 13 runs to work with. Justin gave up 4 runs (3 earned), he didn't walk anyone either. Justin won his 12Th game of the season and he now has a 3.16 ERA.

**Alexi Casilla, Minnesota Twins- His 2 RBIs hurt the White Sox, especially the one that drove in the winning run in the 6Th inning. Casilla went 2-3 and with those 2 RBIs, he now has 8 and is now hitting .171.

**Casey McGehee, Milwaukee Brewers- Casey hit a pinch hit Home Run, giving the Brewers the lead for good. Casey now has 8 Home Runs, 33 RBIs and is now hitting .316.

**Justin Upton, Arizona Diamondbacks- Justin went 3-4 and hit his 19Th Home Run of the season, he drove in 3 runs, giving him 63 RBIs. Justin is now hitting .301 on the season.

**Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals- Albert drove in the walk off run in the 15Th inning. Albert finished up 3-7 with a double and he now has 92 RBIs and now is hitting .323.

Goofballs:

**Mike Hampton, Houston Astros- Mike gave up 6 runs in the 1st inning, and he was more or less done. He did work 3 more innings, but at the end of the day, 9 runs (9 earned) in just 4 innings. Mike walked 4 and struck out 1. He now has a 5.68 ERA.

**Aaron Laffey, Cleveland Indians- Aaron has to pitch better than this, but today he was awful. He worked 4 innings, giving up 7 runs (6 earned), he walked 2 and struck out 2. Aaron now has a 4.40 ERA.

**Blue Jays Offense- 2 runs on just 3 hits today, not giving much offense for Roy Halladay. They walked 1 time and struck out 7.

**Pirates Offense- The offense could just gather 3 hits, while being shutout for 10 innings. They walked 2 times and struck out 6, leaving 5 men on base.

**Royals Bullpen- The Royals had a 3-2 lead for Zack Greinke, but the bullpen blew the lead, they gave up 5 runs in 2 innings. The combination of Robinson Tejada (2 ER) in 0 innings, John Bale (1 ER) in 1/3 of an inning, and Juan Cruz (2 ER) in 1 1/3 innings. Tejada, who lost the game now has a 6.31 ERA, Bale has a 6.16 ERA, and Cruz with a 6.54 ERA.

**Kenshin Kawakami, Atlanta Braves- Kenshin wasn't good tonight, he threw 4 2/3 innings, giving up 6 runs (6 earned), 3 Home Runs didn't help either. He walked 3 and struck out 4. Kenshin now has a 4.37 ERA and lost his 8Th game.

**Rays Offense- Tonight they had no answers against Joba, 2 runs, 6 hits, 3 walks and 7 strikeouts. They left 6 men on base too.

**Brad Penny, Boston Red Sox- Brad didn't do his team any favors, putting a 5 spot in the 1st inning. He lasted 5 innings, giving up 7 runs (7 earned), he walked 4 and struck out 3. Brad now has a 5.07 ERA.

**Reds Offense- Yes, Adam Harang was bad, but the Reds offense was worst. 1 run on 1 hit. They walked 2 times and struck out 4.

**Rangers Offense- Yes, Scott Feldman had a rough night, but so did the Rangers offense, 18 strikeouts as a team.

**White Sox Offense- 2 runs on only 6 hits tonight, they walked 2 times and struck out 4. Had nothing after the 6Th inning when the Twins scored the winning run.

**Tyler Clippard, Washington Nationals- Blew the save opportunity, throwing 1 1/3 innings, giving up 2 runs (2 earned), he walked 2 and struck out 1. Tyler now has a 2.70 ERA.

**Phillies Offense- Maybe they were just so excited that Cliff Lee was coming aboard they forgot they had a game? Okay a bit of a stretch, I know, but 0 runs, 7 hits, 2 walks, and 12 strikeouts. That can happen sometimes.

**Dodgers Offense- 2 runs 13 hits, they had 7 walks, and 13 strikeouts. They had chances to drive in winning runs, but they eventually made the 3rd out before anyone else could.

Teams After Bell

According to Ken Rosenthal, 10 to 15 teams are hot after heath bell, and the frontrunner is the Marlins. The Padres are asking for the Marlins top pitching prospects in Andrew Miller and Sean West if a deal were to happen.