Ken Rosenthal might be pulling some kind of marathon of his own.
Just a bit ago, he reported that the Arizona Diamondbacks, who’ve been largely quiet in the rumor mill (though, at 52-51, just 3.5 out in the NL West, and with a historically active GM, you can presume they’d be working the phones) are cooking up something big. From Rosenthal:
The Diamondbacks are trying to pull off a blockbuster for a premier starting pitcher, according to major-league sources. The identity of the pitcher is not known.
Towers has the pieces to make such a deal happen – specifically, right fielder Justin Upton and a stable of top pitching prospects.
D-backs officials all but dismissed the possibility of trading Upton last week, but Towers repeatedly has said that he will move any player in the right deal.
By including Upton, who is signed for $9.75 million next season, $14.25 million in 2014 and $14.5 million in ’15, the D-Backs would create financial room for an established veteran starter.
Before you jump to conclusions, let me disabuse you of any Matt Garza-related thoughts. It’s not that I think the Diamondbacks would absolutely not have interest in Garza. They could. But I don’t think, when Rosenthal uses terms like “blockbuster” and “premier,” he’s talking about Garza. I think Matt is the cat’s pajamas, but, in the national media, he isn’t a blockbuster or a premier starting pitcher. (Of course, Rosenthal’s source is the one using those words, so maybe the source is a bit looser with the terms.)
So, who might the Diamondbacks be targeting? A couple of names comes to mind: Cliff Lee, and Felix Hernandez. There could be others, but the former has been discussed at length on the trade market today, and the latter is as blockbuster-y and premier-y as it gets. Hernandez is highly unlikely to be dealt, but his name always seems to pop up at this time of year. Who knows? Maybe this is the time it happens.
If the Diamondbacks do pick up a huge arm, maybe the Dodgers and Giants suddenly feel added pressure to make a big move, themselves.
And as I type this, Rosenthal just updated his original post, and his guesses were also Lee and Hernandez. I feel so smart … at 4:30am, my time!
(And, yes, I still like using the old Diamondbacks logo.)
Yeah, the word “premier pitching” really don’t bring to mind the Cubs…
I hope its not cliff lee, im going to barf if they get good talent in return, i hate the phillies with a deep burning passion
4:30? Not Chicago time?!
He’s in Columbus, OH EST there
Haha thanks for clearing it up, totally forgot!
I’m an outsider!
Don’t worry Brett I’m an outsider too.
I once read a book called “The Outsiders.” Does that count?
I dont make the decisions around here. You have to ask the big man what the ruling is on that one.
Want to feel like an outsider? Go visit Chase Field. Good morning, Brett.
It’s 1:35pm on Tuesday here.. Trade deadline almost over! oops.. They mean EST?
Are you in Eastern Europe? Russia/Middle east?
I could see it being cliff lee since pence will most likely be traded and upton could take over in right for the phils
I keep seeing Vicarinos name mentioned as well. Though it seems like Pences is most likely to go
King Felix would be huge a definately cause the Dodgers to panic… EXCELLENT
This! So exciting a rizzo squeal might be necessary!!
It might not be squeal like but it will be excellent news.
when the la FO bends for the good old theo/Jed stick, I won’t be able to contain myself!
Sorry if that brings some uncomfortable imagery but take that LA, lol.
Could be the kick in the pants to motivate Ned into upping his offer for Dempster.
my favorite Dbacks memory besides Grace winning a title was when Brenly flipped out on the dude on SD for breaking up the new hitter with a bunt…..that was a fun moment
I have a medical problem that I now have to stay up and get checked for at 7:30 and it is 3;45 now and I have not slept so I suppose you will have another person to help you stay awake
So whos the first to be traded today? any takers? demp? garza? soriano?
That would be great for the Cubs. Let’s just hope it happens with enough time to finalize a deal.
Since it is so late and he is hurt anyway it would be fun to venture a guess but I am going to say Vizcaino turns into a 4-5yr setup man for Cubs
So you think Camp gets traded?
Camp is like 40 y/o.. I wouldn’t think he’s going to factor into the 4-5 year future of the team.
I really hope they stretch him back into a starter. I read an article that says he touches 100mph. Which doesn’t make him good, but I’m just saying it’s fun to watch.. (although our last 100mph guy didn’t turn out so good.. Kyle Farnsworth anyone?)
Our last 100 mph guy was Cashner. He turned into Rizzo.
@brad…. Im not sure on camp. By himself he wont fetch much. adding him to a demp or garza trade would be ideal.
I wouldn’t be terribly surprised to see Camp dealt tomorrow. I would have thought he would have gone before Maholm..
Camp’s been our best pitcher out of the bullpen this year. It was a great pickup. I’m hoping the same for Justin Germano..
A present for those of you troopers still here: I’m told that we should expect at least one of Garza and Dempster to be dealt a fair bit in advance of the deadline. As we’ve seen, there are never any guarantees, but there you have it.
That’s awesome. I’d be estatic if we accomplished one of those two today. My preference would be for Garza unless we’re going to get value for Dempster.
Thanks Brett. Keep up the great work. I’ll probably be up for another 2 hours so im staying positive I’ll get to see one more deal get done before I pass out.
I’m not a trooper as I live in Scotland and its 10AM, but this is still good news
Amen to that…i’m in England
Me too. I’m in the City right now.
Speaking of Germano.. How’d he look yesterday? I don’t get the games here and the internet is so slow, the streaming games just hiccup.
I couldn’t watch the game either, but his line is good: 5 innings, 4 hits, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 Ks. That’s against the Pirates too who have been on fire as of late.
Cheers Brett! Hopefully its RD to the Nats, leaving sufficient time for Texas/Toronto/redsox to get twitchy about Garza
Even though i would love for garza to stay, Im way to excited to see what prospects he could net the cubs!
I think that side session he did today did wonders for his trade value to pick up again!
The action is slowing down! We have to keep the comments rolling in
There’ll be a morning crowd checking in within an hour or two, I’d think.
I just got off work and the wife and kid are sleeping so im enjoying my time on bleacher nation haha! I just donated brett! Hope it helps
Thanks, man.
Im going to the cubs padres game in san diego aug 7th and need to buy a shirt to support BN! Do you think i would get it in time if I order now?
‘morning Brett. Keep up the great work!
[...] Diamondbacks are trying to put together a “blockbuster,” which may or may not include the likes of Cliff Lee or *gasp* Felix [...]
Was briefly the other day thinking about Upton as a Cub. I know it’s just another outfielder in an already hopefully crowded outfield in 2014ish, but why not? He’s only 24 soon to be 25? I know, we need pitching…look at me, talking myself out of it all in one post. heh.