Hiroki Kuroda might turn down a trade anywhere. Or he might not. .
MLB.com spoke to him after his start yesterday. Despite the way this quote has been spun by some media members on Twitter -- that he wont' accept a trade -- it sounds inconclusive to me.
"My honest feeling is that I can't fathom wearing another uniform than the Dodgers uniform right now. I never thought about it, and it's really hard to think."
"I haven't really decided on anything, so I can't really give you an answer."
CBS Sports' Danny Knobler says the Dodgers still have a scout watching a Tigers' Single-A club. (Didn't say which)
So make of that what you will.
Ubaldo Jimenez trade to Detroit unlikely
The Tigers are reportedly still interested, but "on the fringe" according to CBS Sports' Danny Knobler.
Other teams that showed early interest in Jimenez include the Tigers and Blue Jays, but the chances of a deal with either of those teams appear far more remote at this point.
After all the initial excitement about Jimenez, there's been a lot of recent talk about concern over his velocity and arm. Sour grapes by some team officials who enjoy anonymous shadows?
It's getting pretty quiet isn't it?
This isn't a rumor from the media. Just an observation from someone whose job it to keep up on such things. It's getting pretty quiet around the Tigers. There haven't been any rumors or much of anything for a day or two. GM Dave Dombrowski really tightened up the operation.
It seems to me that a few things happen yearly when it comes to acquisitions. 1) The Tigers are linked to a lot of people. 2) The Tigers do not acquire any of them. 3) The Tigers do acquire someone that makes some sense that no one thought of or mentioned.
Sure some times there are moves where the smoke blows up in a sudden gust and a trade or signing happens within a day. But usually it's pretty concrete when it's floated into the media. Detroit hasn't really had any concrete deals out there yet. Just one-sided "who'd come to Detroit" stuff from anonymous sources. Dombrowski is like a magician. Smoke distracts you while he does something else.
So I now think the move will more likely involve a team that Detroit hasn't been linked to. Oakland (Brandon McCarthy?) or Washington (Livan Hernandez, Jason Marquis?) might be the likeliest "surprise" partners. Whether or not you think those names area ideal, that's just the kind of move that strikes me as more likely than anything they've been linked to in rumors.
Indians trade for Kosuke Fukodome
Honestly, when I heard this rumor my first thought was "Wait, he still plays in the MLB?" Apparently he does. And now he plays in Cleveland. The Indians reportedly will send two prospect's Chicago's way, though I haven't heard the names yet. It is said to be one upper level and one mid-level prospect, however. (MLB Trade Rumors article)
White Sox trade Edwin Jackson, Mark Teahen to Blue Jays for Jason Frasor, prospects
This happened yesterday and we talked about it in the comments mostly. So I'll just make a quick note here in case BYB is inexplicably someone's only source of news.
I don't think this is any sign of a "fire sale" or anything of that nature. Just a bit of reconfiguration of their team. They save about $9 million, no longer have to worry about a 6-man rotation and get a pretty good pitching prospect and MLB reliever in return. Jackson was having a pretty good season -- third in their rotation in ERA, first in xFIP -- so they might be a bit worse off. It depends if Jake Peavy can step up and stay in the game longer than 75 pitches. But frankly, I'm glad Jackson is out of the division.
White Sox plan to keep Carlos Quentin
We'd know Chicago was going to do a fire sale if they traded Carlos Quentin and John Danks. They don't appear to be interested in doing that. The Phillies reportedly are interested in Quentin but Chicago told them he wasn't going to be traded. (MLB Trade Rumors)
Carlos Beltran traded to Giants
He wasn't coming to Detroit anyway