Apparently, Jim Bowden isn't going to stop until he gets every former Cincinnati Reds outfielder to come to Washington. There were rumors that Bowden was going after Adam Dunn earlier in the season. But in the end, he went after the much cheaper, and apparently much more expendable Wily Mo Pena, who the Red Sox traded to Bowden and the Nationals for a player to be named later.
Meanwhile the irony can't be lost on Austin Kearns, who's slugging percentage is near the bottom among starting outfielders ... and consider that the only guys below him are noted power hitters Juan Pierre, Alfredo Amezaga, Johnny Damon, Willy Taveras, and Reggie Willits. Kearns was all too happy to escape Cincinnati and the playing glut of Dunn, Pena, and Ken Griffey Jr. And now his boss, in the last two months, goes after Dunn, and trades for Pena. But Kearns should take heart, as his numbers (.250/.331/.381), bad as they are, are a touch better overall than Pena's (.218/.291/.385). So I'm sure Kearns isn't worried about losing playing time ... yet. But with those two, Ryan Church, Ryan Langerhans, and Nook Logan, that playing glut in the outfield is sure to return to Austin's life ... especially if Bowden decides to go completely crazy and go get Adam Dunn.
Another huge trade in baseball last night. Did I say huge? I'm sorry, I meant boring. Is it just me, or does every single trade being made this season involve a catcher? This isn't exactly the kind of late-July deals I'm looking for here.
The Yankees, however, were looking for a little backup for Jorge Posada. So they sent minor league reliever Jeff Kennard to the Angels for Jose Molina.
"He's a better hitter and he's a better defender, all due respect to Wil [Nieves]," New York general manager Brian Cashman said of Molina, "so I think he upgrades us on both ends."
Molina was completely caught off guard by the trade.
"Really it's still a shock," Molina said after going 0-for-2 in the Angels' 5-2 loss at Minnesota on Saturday night. "It's hard sometimes to take it because you have been here for so many years. But the way I have to see it is it's a new opportunity."
Molina will replace Wil Nieves who has been optioned back to Columbus. Nieves was hitting only .164 this season, with an OBP of .190. There are dead baseball players who could get on base more often than Nieves right now.
The Angels were able to part with Molina thanks to the return of Mike Napoli, and the emergence of 24-year old Jeff Mathis.
There had been talk in Chicago the last few days that the Cubs were interested in acquiring a catcher who could hit. Apparently they couldn't find any, because they just traded for Jason Kendall.
The Chicago Cubs, looking for help at catcher, acquired Oakland's Jason Kendall on Monday.
The Cubs will send catcher Rob Bowen and minor league pitcher Jerry Blevins to the A's for Kendall.
I'm not really sure who comes out ahead in this deal. Kendall has been struggling this season, and that's putting it nicely. He's hitting .226 with an OBP of only .261, not exactly productive offensively.
In fact, I'm pretty sure the Cubs already had an offensive catcher, but they sent him to San Diego for Rob Bowen.
As for what this trade means for Oakland, I think it's the first sign that Billy Beane is planning on being a deadline seller, and wants to bring up some of the young talent he's got in the minors.
None of that seemed to matter to Royals GM Dayton Moore, who although he appears to be a solid baseball man, just might lack some basic parental instincts.
"Obviously, there are some legal issues," general manager Dayton Moore said, "but I know Roman Colon (from time together in Atlanta), and I'd trust him with my kids.
"He is a responsible guy with great character who got involved in an unfortunate incident."
When I reached Dayton's children for their response, they just kept repeating over and over,
"Can't sleep. Colon will beat me."
Colon will first be punching teammates with the Royals rookie club in Arizona, but he won't be staying long. Since he's out of options the Royals can only keep him there for a week before they add him to the 25-man roster. Moore is familiar with Colon because he spent a couple of seasons in Atlanta before being shipped to Detroit along with Zach Miner for another angry pugilist, Kyle Farnsworth.
Could it be for real this time? Why just last week Milton Bradley was wheeled to the Royals after being designated for assignment. But the Royals backed out of the deal after learning of his oblique injury. It prompted us to wonder if anyone was interested in Milton Bradley.
Well up steps the San Diego Padres with an answer, and it's a resounding "yes", as they have reportedly worked out a deal to send a minor league pitcher to Oakland for Bradley. Anybody who would have traded for Bradley would have made a great deal for nothing, but San Diego made an especially great deal when you consider their starting corner outfielders are Termel Sledge (.224) and Jose Cruz Jr. (.264), and that the Padres are second to last in all of baseball (and last in the National League) in batting average.
The Oakland Athletics traded outfielder Milton Bradley to the Kansas City Royals for pitcher Leo Nunez, ESPN The Magazine's Buster Olney reports. The Royals will pay Bradley's entire salary as he is owed $2.3 million for the remainder of the season.
Considering the Athletics already have Nick Swisher, Mark Kotsay, Jack Cust and Shannon Stewart in the outfield, with two more outfielders set to come off the disabled list in Bobby Kielty and Chris Snelling, trading Bradley was the most logical choice for the A's. Especially since he's spent more time on the disabled list than in the field.
As for Bradley, he's going to get his wish. That playing time he's been lobbying for is finally his. Sure it's in Kansas City, but beggars can't be choosers.
This is what you call an equal value trade, except in this case, the value on both sides is incredibly low. In fact, this trade is probably only noteworthy because it involves two of the more noticeably awful pitchers in Major League Baseball this year.
On the bright side, things couldn't get any worse for either pitcher in their former locales, so a trade might be best for everyone at this point. Kim gets a chance to work on his mechanics with a new, less hostile coaching staff, and Julio can work on whatever mental demons have caused him to struggle so mightily in Florida. Maybe the clean mountain air will clear his head, or something like that.
Neither team's fortunes are going to be changed by this trade, but at least it gives both players a chance at a new start. Whether they make the most of that new start, and lower those ridiculous ERAs, is up to them.
As I reported here yesterday, the Royals were actively searching for a backup plan at shortstop to replace the natural disaster that is Angel Berroa. Well, general manager Dayton Moore called in a few favors, and he's found his man.
The Royals traded for Tony Peña Jr, whom they got from the Atlanta Braves, where Moore had spent the last several years as an assistant to John Schuerholz. If you recognize the name Tony Peña Jr, it's because he's the son of former Royals manager, and Major League catcher, Tony Peña.
"We've seen [Peña Jr.] several times and [our scouts] are raving about his play," Moore said. "He is having an exceptional spring. He's a very instinctive, heady player. He's very sure-handed and a rangy-type shortstop. He can really play shortstop. He's very charismatic and humble. The fans in Kansas City are going to love him."
Of course, neither Moore or manager Buddy Bell are ready to admit that Berroa's days are done.
"We feel obviously the acquisition of Tony Pena Jr. strengthens our shortstop position," Moore said. "He's on our club, which naturally brings up, what do we do with the other shortstop? We're going to evaluate it the final 10 days of Spring Training."
Moore then immediately pointed out that Berroa still has options left and could be sent to the minor leagues, which can't be a good sign if you are Angel Berroa.
It's not too early to start talking deadline deals is it? I mean, there are only 134 days left until July 31st, general managers better start getting their butts in gear.
When the deadline does come, the biggest name on the block could be Ichiro Suzuki. Suzuki is entering the final year of his contract, and there has been talk that he may be ready to move on from Seattle, especially if the team is once again out of contention this season.
Ichiro is Ichiro, and has his pending free agency to serve as extra motivation. Enjoy him while you can: Should the Mariners collapse, the odds increase considerably that they would trade Ichiro by the July 31 deadline.
As Stone also points out in the article, and I myself pointed out in the Fanhouse's Mariners preview, it's not out of question that the Mariners will contend for the AL West. None of the four teams in the division really made a step forward this offseason, and in some cases, they took a step backward.
More about where Ichiro could end up after the jump.
Apparently, Jim Bowden isn't going to stop until he gets every former Cincinnati Reds outfielder to come to Washington. There were rumors that Bowden was going after Adam Dunn earlier in the season. But in the end, he went after the much cheaper, and apparently much more expendable Wily Mo Pena, who the Red Sox traded to Bowden and the Nationals for a player to be named later.
Another huge trade in baseball last night. Did I say huge? I'm sorry, I meant boring. Is it just me, or does every single trade being made this season involve a catcher? This isn't exactly the kind of late-July deals I'm looking for here.
There had been talk in Chicago the last few days that the 
Could it be for real this time? Why just last week Milton Bradley was wheeled to the 
Billy Beane
This is what you call an equal value trade, except in this case, the value on both sides is incredibly low. In fact, this trade is probably only noteworthy because it involves two of the more noticeably awful pitchers in Major League Baseball this year. 
As I reported 
It's not too early to start talking deadline deals is it? I mean, there are only 134 days left until July 31st, general managers better start getting their butts in gear.
