brjones

Just FWIW...this was from a Gammons article published yesterday (http://insider.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?name=gammons_peter): He continued with some "possible, but unlikely" scenarios like AJ Burnett, Ben Sheets, etc. So the fact that Lowe is in the list that has no "if they fall out of the race" or "if they get the right player" caveats makes me think he's pretty available.

I'm not an Edmonds fan...but given that Pie is probably not going to play regularly, I don't really understand what the big downside is. And in all fairness, Edmonds' .227 BABIP is ridiculously low for a guy with a LD% of 22.4% so far this year. If Lee or Soto or Murton had such an unlucky BABIP, a lot of people here would be pointing it out.

I know you guys aren't going to like to hear this, but optioning Murton makes more sense at this point than optioning Pagan. Since coming up, Pagan is hitting .298/.365/.532, and he plays good defense at all three outfield positions. Murton, on the other hand, is hitting .264/.341/.355, and plays mediocre defense only on the outfield corners. I like Murton as much as anyone, but he's not hitting and needs regular ABs. Of course, finding anywhere to dump Jones makes even more sense. If Ramirez is hurt enough that he's going to miss a week or so, I wish the Cubs would just go on and put him on the DL. Soriano limped and struggled his way through a few weeks after he came back from his leg injury, and he's still not running at 100%...it would be nice to get someone completely healthy before bringing them back.

Agreed that the Rangers wouldn't even consider Z for Teixeira. They're one of the worst teams in baseball so far this year, so why would they have interest in a pitcher who is a free agent at the end of the year? I'd ask about the poor man's Tex in Arizona, Chad Tracy. Mark Reynolds has been ridiculously good since coming up when Tracy got hurt (.426/.484/.815 in 54 AB), and seems likely to keep the third base job. The Diamondbacks seem pretty committed to Jackson (who has been good lately anyway), Quentin, and Young, and Eric Byrnes has been their best righthanded hitter. Tracy may not have a spot, and he'd be a good #4/#5 LH hitter in RF for the next 3-4 years. But the DBacks are good enough to win this year, and wouldn't be hurt by adding another pitcher. Of course, we'd need a pitcher to replace Z, because Hendry isn't going to give up on the season. So Zambrano + ?? (Marmol? Marshall? A prospect?) + Floyd (just because the DBacks might want a safety net for Quentin and/or Byrnes) for Tracy and Livan Hernandez. Since you might run into issues trading for Tracy while he's on the DL, "suspend" Zambrano for a start. The trade could take place in about a week or so when Tracy is supposed to be ready to come off the DL. If they're not willing to trade Hernandez, then get Tracy and a prospect, then find a starter somewhere else.

I don't post on this board much, but I'll go on record as saying Randy Wolf is the sleeper of the offseason. He was a legit, durable #2 before his elbow problems started, and he'll be 20-21 months removed from Tommy John when the 2007 season starts--that's fully rehabbed. Tommy John is as reliable as any operation can be these days. He has never had any other pitching injury...at least none that I can find documented on the internet. His only other injury was a sprained ankle he got once from falling on the dugout steps. He will have the injury stigma on his back, though, and may be looking for a one year deal to prove himself. I'd target him.