Tampa Bay Rays Wiretap

Rays, Yankees Not Interested In Thome

The Phillies could trade Jim Thome to an American League team, where the aging slugger could serve as a designated hitter.

According to sources, the Rays and Yankees are not among the teams interested.

Via Buster Olney/ESPN.com (via Twitter)

New York Yankees, Tampa Bay Rays, Trade Rumor

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Price Exits With Back Tightness, Expects To Make Start

David Price was pulled before the eighth inning on Friday night because of lower back tightness.

The left-hander insists that despite the injury, he'll make his next start.

"I'll be pitching in five days," he said definitively.

The injury happened in the seventh inning of Tampa Bay's 4-2 victory over Detroit when Price forced slugger Prince Fielder to ground out to short.

He stayed in to face Delmon Young, who popped out to first to end the inning.

"I just felt it after the fastball to Fielder," Price said. "It just tightened up on me a little bit. ... It was just something to be careful with."

Via MLB.com

Tampa Bay Rays, Injury

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30-Team MLB Scoop, June 25th Edition

The National League

The Kevin Towers AZ Snake Pit: "The Free Bauer movement can take a break, now that their favorite prospect will finally get his chance to bring his special style to the Major Leagues. Since being drafted last year 3rd overall, fans have been clamoring for Bauer to get called up, first for the playoff push in 2011, and this year to help bolster a rotation that has been shaky at best."

The Frank Wren David O-Brien of Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "Dan Uggla's past month has been a bit like the Braves' season, shifting from two-week power surge to two-week slump without any middle ground. After hitting .316 with five homers, 16 RBIs and a .789 slugging percentage in 12 games from May 26 to June 9, the second baseman hit .125 with no homers, one RBI and a .150 slugging percentage in his past 12 games before Sunday."

The Jed Hoyer Paul Sullivan of Chicago Tribune: "A couple of hours after his last start at Wrigley Field 11 days ago, Ryan Dempster walked around the infield with some friends, gazing at the old ballpark. Dempster's days as a Cub were seemingly numbered, and it appeared he wanted one last look at the place he'd called home since 2004."

The Walt Jocketty Andrew Simon of MLB.com: "Mat Latos has posted a 6.75 ERA over his last five starts, giving up 34 hits and 10 home runs in 28 innings. His 16 home runs allowed this season are the third-most in the NL and as many as he surrendered in 2010 and 2011."

The Dan O-Dowd Troy E. Renck of Denver Post: "Carlos Gonzalez is like nobody that's ever played for the Rockies before. He's brash, talented and has more tools than The Home Depot. Sometimes his motor purrs rather than roars, but his ability overshadows the random misfiring spark plug. So, of course, the Rockies want to move him."

The Michael Hill Juan C. Rodriguez of South Florida Sun-Sentinel: "The Marlins and Jose Reyes had a bit of a scare in Sunday's game. In the third inning, Reyes and center fielder Scott Cousins got tangled up pursuing a Brett Lawrie pop to short left-center. Cousins appeared to hesitate when he saw the charging Reyes. Once he decided to continue his pursuit, the contact could not be avoided."

The Jeff Luhnow Chip Bailey of Houston Chronicle: "The 31-year-old [Brett] Myers is in his third season with the Astros and has been extremely effective in two of those three seasons. After leaving the Phillies, Myers signed a one-year deal for $3.1 million that included an $8 million option ($2 million buyout)."

The Ned Colletti Jim Peltz of Los Angeles Times: "Will Billingsley ever again come close to winning 16 games in a season as he did early in his career in 2008? ... Or is he destined to remain the .500 or so pitcher he's been ever since? ... And why is he so unsteady?"

The Doug Melvin Michael Hunt of Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel: "About the time the Chicago White Sox were making the necessary on-field personnel moves Sunday afternoon to bring Kevin Youkilis aboard, the Milwaukee Brewers were going in a direction that could not be more contradictory to the Southsiders' objectives. The White Sox are intent on raising another American League pennant. The only National League flag the Brewers seemed interesting in hoisting was a whiter shade of pale."

The Sandy Alderson Bill Madden of New York Daily News: "Talking about Dickey's knuckleball, Joe Girardi said the most impressive thing about it was the pitcher's ability to throw it so consistently for strikes."

The Ruben Amaro Jr. Jay Floyd of Phillies Nation: "Tropical Storm Debby swept through Florida this weekend and impacted the home of the Class A Advanced Clearwater Threshers, Brighthouse Field."

The Neal Huntington Bucs Dugout: "Now that most of the picks from the first ten rounds have signed, the picture is becoming clearer on the Pirates' available pool money for above-slot signings. I thought it might be a good idea to revisit the known information on signability for some of the remaining outstanding picks."

The John Mozeliak Viva El Birdos: "In the 6th inning of yesterday's game, with a 4 run lead, the Cardinals found themselves with runners on first and second and no outs. A quick look at a run expectancy matrix would tell you that the "average" team between 1990 and 2010 ended the inning having scored 1.56 runs in that situation. A successful bunt would have put runners at second and third with one out leaving the Cardinals with a 1.45 run expectancy. Is it a significant drop off in scoring? No. Why, however, would you sacrifice any probabilistic edge?"

The Josh Byrnes Gaslamp Ball: "It's nice to see the dugout fired up after a big hit. We haven't seen that too many times this season. As good as he's been [Chase] Headley has taken over for Adrian Gonzalez with his permanent poopy face. The rest of the team usually looks about as bored as the fans."

The Brian Sabean Steve Kroner of San Francisco Chronicle: "Matt Cain came oh-so-close to the Barber. That would be Sal "The Barber" Maglie, who won nine consecutive starts for the New York Giants in 1952. Cain brought an eight-start win streak into Sunday's game against the A's. No San Francisco Giants pitcher has won nine straight starts in one season."

The Mike Rizzo Nats Enquirer: "Take a look at the "Clown Question Bro" beer logo."

The American League

The Dan Duquette Zach Helfand of Baltimore Sun: "[Jake] Arrieta didn't have too much time to refocus. After moving to the bullpen, an injury to Brian Matusz and the need to get Jason Hammel some rest put Arrieta right back into the rotation. Since then, Arrieta has been solid in three outings, with the exception of one pitch that led to a grand slam against the Mets."

The Ben Cherington Nick Cafardo of Boston Globe: "With Kevin Youkilis gone, David Ortiz is the only player remaining from the 2004 Red Sox World Series team."

The Kenny Williams Dave van Dyck of Chicago Tribune: "Let the record show that the White Sox won a one-run game Sunday - although it took them 10 innings to do it - and that is big news in the Central scheme of things."

The Chris Antonetti Paul Hoynes of Cleveland Plain-Dealer: "Jeanmar Gomez has been put on notice. Following his fifth inning collapse Saturday against the Astros, he could be in line for a trip to Class AAA Columbus."

The Dave Dombrowski Mark Emery of MLB.com: "When a team's offense has sputtered to the extent that Detroit's has recently, it's not uncommon for starting pitchers to talk about taking responsibility and hurling a gem to relieve some pressure from the other players in the lineup. But Tigers manager Jim Leyland called that "shop talk," saying pitchers don't think along those lines as much as it might seem. Justin Verlander, Sunday's starter in Pittsburgh, has kept plenty of opponents off the scoreboard before, and he took a no-hitter into the ninth inning at home against the Pirates in May. Even so, Leyland didn't think his ace would grab the ball Sunday assuming he needs to be perfect for Detroit to win."

The Dayton Moore Royals Review: "I can understand fans and members of the media wanting Dayton Moore to keep his job. I can understand a balanced discussion, followed by the conclusion that Moore should be retained. What I can't understand is the complete lack of pressure or criticism directed towards this regime."

The Jerry DiPoto Halos Heaven: "Mike Trout was drafted on June 9, 2009 by the Angels with the 25th pick in that year's amateur draft. 21 teams passed on him."

The Terry Ryan Joe Christensen of Star-Tribune: "The Twins plan to promote left-handed reliever Tyler Robertson from Class AAA Rochester to fill an expected roster opening Monday, with closer Matt Capps likely headed to the disabled list."

The Brian Cashman Erik Boland of Newsday: "Nick Swisher said the approach against R.A. Dickey was to have no approach. "You can't have a plan," he said Sunday night before facing Dickey's knuckleball. "There is no plan because you never know what it's going to do. Just see it and hit it." Solid advice. And Swisher followed it to a T, swatting a 2-and-1 knuckleball for a three-run home run in a four-run third inning as the Yankees gave CC Sabathia a 4-0 lead in a game they'd eventually win, 6-5. "See it high, let it fly," Swisher said of the pitch he hit out for his 11th homer of the season."

The Billy Beane Susan Slusser of San Francisco Chronicle: "Oakland has a full bullpen at the moment, eight strong, with the addition of right-hander Evan Scribner on Sunday. Considering the inexperience of the rotation, pitching depth seems wise, plus, according to manager Bob Melvin, the team would like to be careful with rookie relievers Sean Doolittle and Ryan Cook and not overuse either one."

The Jack Zduriencik Geoff Baker of Seattle Times: "Dustin Ackley is struggling mightily. Manager Eric Wedge talked about it after the game, showing support for his second baseman. I think he will ultimately be fine, and for now am willing to write this off as growing pains for a 24-year-old player in his first full season. A player who has hit everywhere he has been, and who showed so much potential last year in his first callup that I'm truly surprised at his ongoing struggles."

The Andrew Friedman Roger Mooney of Tampa Tribune: "Rays third baseman Sean Rodriguez was involved in another collision with a catcher during Sunday night's 7-3 win against the Phillies, crashing into Brian Schneider as Rodriguez scored from first in the sixth inning on a double off the right wall by Brooks Conrad."

The Jon Daniels Evan Grant of Dallas Morning News: "With their 22nd sellout of the season tonight, the Texas Rangers established a new club record for home sellouts in a season. The previous record was 21 in the team's first season at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington in 1994. The club has sold out five of its last six games in Arlington."

The Alex Anthopoulos Bluebird Banter: "Adam Lind has had his contract purchased from AAA Las Vegas. Ben Francisco is being activated as well. To make room on the roster Mike McCoy and David Cooper are being sent back down."

Via Andrew Perna/RealGM

Arizona Diamondbacks, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Tampa Bay Rays, All-Star, Misc Rumor, Team Achievement

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Papelbon Offers Thome $5K For Home Run

Jonathan Papelbon offered to pay Jim Thome $5K for saving the Phillies on Saturday night, according to an ESPN.com report.

Thome hit a pinch-hit home run leading off the bottom of the ninth inning to lift the Phillies over the Rays 7-6 after Papelbon blew his first save chance this season.

Papelbon said he told Thome in the on-deck circle that he would give him $5K if he hit a homer. Papelbon said he wrote the check in the clubhouse. Thome, however, told the Philadelphia Inquirer that he hadn't received any payment.

"That was a huge pickup by Jim Thome," Papelbon said. "I couldn't be happier for anybody in the clubhouse."

Via ESPN.com

Philadelphia Phillies, Tampa Bay Rays, Misc Rumor

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Peralta Drops Appeal, Begins Suspension

Rays reliever Joel Peralta has dropped his appeal for having pine tar on his glove and will begin serving his eight-game suspension Friday night.

Peralta was ejected from Tuesday night's game against the Nationals after umpires found pine tar on his mitt.

Via ESPN.com

Tampa Bay Rays, Suspension

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