June 2015 - Baseball Wiretap

Bedard Signs Minor League Deal With Dodgers
Erik Bedard pitched 75 2/3 innings for the Rays in 2014, posting a 4.76 ERA, 7.6 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 before he was released in August.

Ken Gurnick/MLB

Marlins Sign Don Kelly To Minor League Deal
Kelly, 34, has a career .232/.296/.336 line in seven seasons, six of them with the Detroit Tigers.

Anthony Fenech/Detroit Free-Press

Orioles Discussing Extension With Tillman
Baltimore avoided arbitration with Chris Tillman on Friday by agreeing to a one-year, $4.315 million deal for 2015.

Roch Kubatko/MASN

Nationals, Max Scherzer Agree To Seven-Year Deal
Max Scherzer is 91-50 in seven seasons with the Diamondbacks and Tigers.

ESPN.com

Giants Sign Gregor Blanco To Two-Year Deal
Gregor Blanco will shift to a backup role this season, but provides valuable experience at all three outfield positions.

MLB.com

Cardinals Will Wear Patches To Honor Tavaras
The Cardinals will wear an "OT" patch to honor the late outfielder.

ESPN.com

Rangers Close To Trading For Yovani Gallardo
Yovani Gallardo is 89-64 in parts of eight seasons with the Brewers.

ESPN.com

Source: Max Scherzer Nearing Agreement
It is being reported that Max Scherzer is nearing agreement on a seven-year deal with an unidentified club.

ESPN.com

Jason Heyward Open To Extension Offer
Jason Heyward would not be opposed to in-season negotiations with the Cardinals on a long-term deal.

MLB.com

Well-Traveled Arthur Rhodes Retires
Arthur Rhodes had a 20-year career, changing uniforms 9 times in eleven years.

Yahoo.com

Joe Maddon Receives Warm Welcome From Cubs Fans
New managerJoe Maddon tells Cubs fans, "bring on the expectations."

Yahoo.com

Wrigley Field Bleachers Won't Open Until May
The target date for the left field bleachers is May 11, and late May for the right field bleachers.

ESPN.com

Lester Not In Favor Of Using Pitch Clock
MLB will experiment with a pitch clock at Double-A and Triple-A this season.

ESPN.com

Jeff Samardzija Will Earn $9.8M In 2015
The White Sox acquired Jeff Samardzija in a trade with the Athletics earlier this offseason.

Dan Hayes/CSN Chicago

Hellickson Avoids Arbitration With Arizona
The Diamondbacks have avoided arbitration with Jeremy Hellickson by agreeing to a one-year, $4.275 million contract.

Associated Press

Source: Giants To Sign Nori Aoki
The guaranteed contract is worth $4.7 million.

Jerry Crasnick/ESPN

Price Gets Record $19.75M From Tigers Through Arbitration
The agreement is the largest one-year deal for a player who filed for arbitration.

ESPN

Strasburg, Nationals Reach $7.4M Deal
The Nationals have Stephen Strasburg have agreed to a one-year, $7.4 million deal, avoiding arbitration.

Associated Press

Rockies Won't Trade Tulowitzki To Mets
Rockies owner Charlie Monfort appears to have put an end to rumors that the Mets could acquire Troy Tulowitzki.

Adam Rubin/ESPN

Nationals Open To Trading Ian Desmond
Ian Desmond will be the starting shortstop for the Nationals in 2015, if the team doesn't trade him.

Bill Ladson/MLB

Rangers Still In Pursuit Of Cole Hamels
Cole Hamels is guaranteed $96 million over the remainder of his contract, which ends with a club option for 2019 at $20 million.

Gerry Fraley/Dallas Morning News

Hart: Braves Will Contend In 2015
The Braves have rebuilt their roster this season, but John Hart insists that the club will contend in 2015.

Associated Press

Cardinals Discussed Long-Term Deal With Lynn
The Cardinals discussed a long-term deal with Lance Lynn that would have bought out some of his years of free agency, but eventually settled on a three-year, $22 million contract.

Jenifer Langosch/MLB

Rizzo: Cubs Will Win NL Central
At the end of last season Anthony Rizzo predicted the Cubs would make the playoffs, he's added a potential World Series to the mix.

Jesse Rogers/ESPN

Cardinals, Padres, Rangers, Red Sox Linked To Hamels
Cole Hamels, who has been available since last summer, can still be acquired from the Phillies for a steep price.

Jim Salisbury/CSN Philly

Cardinals, Lynn Agree To Three-Year, $22M Deal
Lance Lynn gets $7 million this year and $7.5 million in each of the following two seasons.

Associated Press

White Sox To Retire Konerko's No. 14
The White Sox will honor Paul Konerko by retiring his No. 14 on May 23.

Doug Padilla/ESPN

San Diego To Host 2016 All-Star Game
The announcement marks the second straight year the game will be played at a National League site.

Associated Press

Pitch Clocks To Be Used At Triple-A, Double-A Levels
Bud Selig said the decision followed a successful experiment with the clock in the Arizona Fall League.

Associated Press

Angelos: Duquette Won't Be Leaving Orioles For Blue Jays
The Blue Jays have expressed interest in acquiring executive Dan Duquette from the Orioles, but managing partner Peter Angelos says that won't happen.

Dan Connolly/Baltimore Sun