April 2013 - Baseball Wiretap

Cubs Claim Brett Marshall From Yankees
The Yankees designated Brett Marshall for assignment earlier this week when they made the Carlos Beltran signing official.

Chris Cotillo/MLB Daily Dish

Blue Jays Claim Morel From White Sox
Brent Morel has a career .229/.276/.333 batting line in 669 Major League plate appearances with Chicago.

Steve Adams/MLB Trade Rumors

Reduced Velocity Hurting Papelbon's Value
The Phillies have been looking to trade Jonathan Papelbon, but they have been unable to find a suitor.

Nick Cafardo/Boston Globe

Yankees To Play Ellsbury In Left Field?
The Yankees have Jacoby Ellsbury and Brett Gardner, both center fields, on their roster.

Nick Cafardo/Boston Globe

Red Sox Remain Likely Option For Drew
Unless a new suitor emerges, the Red Sox remain the most likely option for Stephen Drew.

Nick Cafardo/Boston Globe

Four Teams Targeting Grant Balfour
Grant Balfour has a new contract offer on the table and as many as four teams are interested in his services.

Joey Nowak/MLB.com

Dodgers Nearing Deal With Chris Perez
The Dodgers are closing in on a one-year contract with Chris Perez, according to sources.

Dylan Hernandez/Los Angeles Times

Beltran Pushed For Third Year With Eye On Hall Of Fame
Carlos Beltran pushed for a three-year deal from the Yankees because he hopes to put together a good enough resume to enter Cooperstown.

David Lennon/Newsday

Agents May Deal With Orioles Differently Following Balfour Deal
One agent plans to begin dealing with the Orioles differently in the wake of the broken down deal with Grant Balfour.

Peter Gammons

Grant Balfour Drawing Interest Again
ESPN.com's Jim Bowden has reported the Tampa Bay Rays have interest in signing free-agent Grant Balfour.

MLB.com

Alex Cabrera Breaks Venezuelan HR Record
Alex Cabrera broke the three-decade-old Venezuelan record for the most home runs in a season on Sunday.

ESPN.com

Chris Snyder Agrees To Minor League Deal With Nats
The Nationals and catcher Chris Snyder agreed to a minor league contract on Saturday.

ESPN.com

Leonys Martin's Alledged Kidnap Detailed
Leonys Martin is suing his alleged kidnappers for the return of more than $1.3M he already paid them.

ESPN.com

Giants Sell Brett Pill To Kia Tigers
The Giants have agreed to sell Brett Pill to the Kia Tigers of the Korean Baseball Organization.

ESPN.com

Shin-Soo Choo, Rangers Agree To Seven-Year, $130M Deal
Shin-Soo Choo was one of the top leadoff hitters in baseball last season, with a .423 on-base percentage for the Reds.

ESPN.com

Luke Scott Signs With South Korean Team
Luke Scott has signed a one-year contract with SK Wyvern in South Korea's baseball league.

ESPN.com

D-Backs, Brad Ziegler Agree To Deal
The Diamondbacks and reliever Brad Ziegler have agreed to a two-year, $10.5M deal.

ESPN.com

A's Re-Sign Daric Barton; Claim Chris Gamez From Rays
The A's have signed Daric Barton, avoiding arbitration with the club's longest- tenured player.

ESPN.com

Orioles Will Not Sign Grant Balfour
The Orioles agreed to terms with Balfour on a two-year, $15 million contract earlier this week.

Roch Kubatko/MASN

Troy Patton Suspended 25 Games
Troy Patton has been suspended for the first 25 games of next season after a positive test for a banned amphetamine.

Associated Press

Report: Twins To Sign Kurt Suzuki
Minnesota was in the market for a veteran catcher after announcing last month that Joe Mauer was moving to first base.

Associated Press

Youkilis To Play For Rakuten Golden Eagles
Kevin Youkilis has agreed to a one-year contract with the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles.

Jerry Crasnick/ESPN

Rays Prefer Major League Talent In Return For Price
The Rays are willing to trade David Price, but they also don't want to quit on the 2014 season.

Ken Rosenthal/FOX Sports

Report: Rakuten Leaning Towards Keeping Tanaka
According to several reports out of Japan, the Rakuten Golden Eagles are preparing to tell Masahiro Tanaka that they will not post him this winter.

John Schlegel/MLB.com

Mulder Looking For More Than Giants Can Offer
Mark Mulder has not thrown a Major League pitch since 2008 because of shoulder issues.

Andrew Baggarly/CSN Bay Area

Royals Used Santana Money To Sign Infante, Vargas
The Royals are at their payroll limit, which makes it unlikely that they'll re-sign Ervin Santana.

Jerry Crasnick/ESPN

Report: BC, Notre Dame In Talks To Play At Fenway
Boston College and Notre Dame are in discussions to play a football game at Fenway Park, The Boston Globe is reporting.

ESPN

Balfour's Deal With Orioles In Jeopardy
Grant Balfour's deal with the Orioles is in jeopardy of falling through due to a concern over his physical.

Tim Kurkjian/ESPN

Phillies Confident Core Will Produce In 2014
The Phillies have millions of dollars committed to Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, Cliff Lee, Jonathan Papelbon, Carlos Ruiz and Cole Hamels.

Todd Zolecki/MLB.com

Tsuyoshi Wada Signs With Cubs
The Cubs view him as a starter.

Paul Sullivan/Chicago Tribune