More Baseball Trade News

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Walker rejects trade to Rangers

Rockies right fielder Larry Walker invoked his no-trade clause to reject a trade to the Rangers, according to a source with knowledge of the talks.

This is the second time that Walker has rejected a trade out of Colorado. He previously refused to go to the Diamondbacks before the 2003 season.

The Marlins also have been interested in Walker, but it is unclear whether he would be willing to go to Florida if a deal was proposed to him.


Trade Beltran ASAP!
You're the Astros, a .500 team trying to hold on in the wild-card race. You've just split four games at home with the sad-sack Diamondbacks. You've got physical questions surrounding two starting pitchers, lefthander Andy Pettitte and righthander Wade Miller.

Why in the world would you keep center fielder Carlos Beltran?

It's true the Astros made a commitment to their players and ticket buyers to field a championship-caliber team. Owner Drayton McLane is acting honorably by refusing to give up on the season. But the Astros' chances of winning the wild card are increasingly slim. And after this season, they're going to need to retool, anyway.

Better they should start the process now and attempt to get back more than they gave up for Beltran — a quality reliever, Octavio Dotel, and promising catcher, John Buck. The Red Sox and Phillies would jump if the Astros made Beltran available. So might the Angels, Dodgers and Padres.

Beltran, 27, is certain to depart as a free agent at the end of the season. The Astros would receive two first-round draft picks as compensation. They surely could do better in a trade.


Lofton to Phillies?
The Phillies are trying to obtain Yankees center fielder Kenny Lofton, but the possibility of a three-way deal with the A's is eroding.

In one proposed scenario, the Phillies would obtain Lofton, with second baseman Placido Polanco going to the A's and lefthander Ricardo Rincon to the Yankes. But that idea makes little sense; the A's would be helping the Yankees, a potential postseason opponent.

Oakland ownership nixed a deal in which the A's would have acquired Polanco for Rincon — Polanco is earning $3.95 million this season, Rincon $1.75 million, and the teams could not reach a financial agreement. Another A's reliever, righthander Justin Duchscherer, left Thursday night's game with tightness in his back, possibly increasing the A's reluctance to trade Rincon.

Lofton, 37, is a proven short-term boost — he helped the Giants reach the postseason two years ago and did the same thing for the Cubs last year. The difference now is that he is already signed for an additional season due to the Yankees' largesse. Lofton will earn $3.1 million next season, $1 million deferred.



This N' that

The chances of a Red Sox-Cubs deal involving Sox shortstop Nomar Garciaparra and Cubs righthander Matt Clement appear to be fading. The Cubs might instead acquire Expos shortstop Orlando Cabrera, who also remains a possibility for the Giants. At one point, there were three-way discussions in which Garciaparra would have gone to the Cubs, the Cubs would have sent prospects to the Expos and the Expos would have sent Cabrera to the Sox. ...

The Reds have lost eight straight games, but GM Dan O'Brien continues to say he will not trade either of his potential free-agent righthanders, Paul Wilson and Cory Lidle. "At this moment, unless there's something right around the corner that we don't know about, I think both individuals will stay with our ballclub," O'Brien says. "In the National League, the parity with the wild card speaks for itself. We think we have a chance. The only way it (a trade) would work is if we got major-league pitching back. That makes it fairly difficult." ...

The Padres are close to acquiring infielder/outfielder Dave Hansen from the Mariners as a lefthanded hitter off the bench. ...

The market for Tigers closer Ugueth Urbina appears to be diminishing. An official from one club that had interest in Urbina says he is concerned about the pitcher's velocity. ...

The Indians, looking for more pitching, might prefer a starter to a reliever. Closer Bob Wickman is back to throwing 92 to 94 mph, reliever Bob Howry 92 to 95.

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