Does this mean that we'll see one Washington's infielders traded? Felipe Lopez, Ronnie Belliard or Cristian Guzman could be on their way of out town. Of the three, Guzman's got the most value as a trading chip. Lopez is consistently inconsistent, and Belliard is on the DL.

However, Jim Bowden insists that the move is all about helping out the Triple A team, who are short on infielders right now.

Where's Pokey been lately? He was last seen in the majors at spring training in '06 with the Marlins.

And no, the title of this post is not stolen from a bluegrass tune!

Eric Gagne could be headed to the Mets, while his chances of landing with the Yankees or Red Sox appear to have declined. The Brewers also recently threw their hat into the Gagne pool. After all is said and done though, he may just end up staying in Texas.

Jermaine Dye is another big name who might be headed to Boston. No deal yet, but it could still happen provided Dye is pleased with the financials and playing time.

Joe Blanton has received interest from the Dodgers, who made a strong push to acquire the right-hander from the A's on Monday, but no deal was struck. Amoung the names LA tossed out: 3B Andy LaRoche, SS Chin-Lung Hu, 2B Tony Abreu and RH reliver Jon Meloan.

Troy Glaus is available, for the right price. He has a no-trade clause, but would surely waive it for a return to the Angels. The Yankees and Rangers are two other teams that could spot Glaus at 1B and take advantage of his hefty bat.  

Mike Lamb is drawing strong interest from the Padres, who would prefer his bat over Mark Loretta's.  

Morgan Ensberg could wind up in Minnesota, but the interest is minimal and the Twins would prefer Bambi-eatin' Clint Barmes.

Jack Wilson is almost certainly going to become a Tiger, but if that falls through, Detroit might enter the sweepstakes for Barmes. 

Sammy Sosa and is lefty mashing would fit in nicely with the Mets, but is garnering little interest from any team. 

Bronson Arroyo might find himself in Atlanta. The Braves are shopping Jo-Jo Reyes for the Reds pitcher.

Jason Jennings has been scouted by the Phillies this week.  

Relievers. There is a big pool of relievers that could be dipped into by the Mariners, Mets, Phillies, Tigers, Indians and Rockies. The biggest names here are Kyle Farnsworth of the Yankees; Chad Cordero and Jon Rauch of the Nationals; Russ Springer and Troy Percival of the Cardinals, Chad Qualls and the "untouchable" Brad Lidge of the Astros; Al Reyes and the just-acquired Dan Wheeler of the Devil Rays; and Brian Fuentes of the Rockies.

The Mets have apparently offered Philip Humber in exchange for Cordero.  Boston is also on Jim Bowden's radar–he love to get Wily Mo Pena. In defense of Wily Mo, I'm pretty confident that he could become a solid masher if he was simply given regular playing time. The Diamondbacks might also try to acquire Cordero and might offer up OF Carlos Quentin.

Still on the Nationals train, Bowden is apparently trying hard for Adam Dunn. Kearns, Dunn, Willy Mo… it looks like Bowden is trying to rebuild the Big Red Machine… in DC. 

Scott Procter has apparently just been traded to the Dodgers for INF Wilson Betemit.

That's the Rumor Roundup! This is easily one of my favourite days of the baseball season!!

The news of Belliard's extension prompted Dmitri Young to publicly assert that he too would like to remain with the Nationals. I've liked Dmitri Young for some time now, and he's been an undeniable powerhouse for the Nats this season. However, I do think he should be traded. He's got value NOW and could net some prospects from teams looking to make it to the post-season this year. I've said it before and I'll say it again: don't ask for the moon Jim!

UPDATE: I was surprised to read that the Jays had reportedly been in touch with the Pirates about Jack Wilson. It appears that the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette started this rumor. J.P.'s come out of the gates denying it:

We have no interest in Jack Wilson. Absolutely no interest in Jack Wilson. None. I have [a] Jack Wilson. I have John McDonald (a light-hitting, good defensive player).

And there we have it. Next rumor please! Josh Towers to the Phillies? He does seem more like an NL pitcher…

Courtesy of Baseball-Reference, here is Pierre's line so far this season:

Out in the field, Pierre has a .987 average, with 1 assist and 3 errors.

We've past the mid-point of the season, so we can look back and ask: is this performance worth a $44 million, 5-year contract? Hmm.

When the Dodgers announced the signing, there was plenty of protest. Rich Lederer wrote these comments at The Baseball Analysts:

Pierre has led the league in hits in two of the past three seasons, but he has also finished in the top two in outs in each of the last four campaigns. The hits are nice. The outs are painful. As a lead-off hitter who plays everyday and doesn't walk or strike out much, he gets plenty of both.

The bottom line is that Pierre is one of the most overrated players in the game. He was first-team All-OOPs in 2006 and second-team All-OOPs in 2005. Pierre can still run and, in fact, has finished first or second in stolen bases in every full season of his career. He can chase down fly balls but his arm is well below average, making him nothing more than a passable center fielder.

Why the Dodgers would ink Pierre to a long-term deal is beyond me. Not only do they have Matt Kemp in waiting but re-signing Kenny Lofton for one year could give the team almost everything Pierre can (albeit in 25 or so fewer games) for a lot less money. 

Pierre doesn't hit for power, and that's no surprise. The Dodgers knew they'd still have to add power following the Pierre signing.

The low OBP is probably Pierre's biggest problem. Your leadoff hitter simply has to get on base.

Tim Brown at Yahoo! Sports wrote last month:

Juan Pierre is not a good leadoff hitter, capable center fielder or wise investment. He's not a winner. He doesn't hit for power and he doesn't get on base. He takes odd routes in the outfield and, when he and the Dodgers are lucky, covers the mistakes with speed. He throws poorly. 

When center fielders Torii Hunter and Andruw Jones and Ichiro Suzuki come on the market, the Dodgers will have four more years of Pierre. When Matt Kemp is ready to play a big-league center field, the Dodgers will have 3½ more years of Pierre.

It's a no-brainer that Pierre is overpaid, but despite his weaknesses, he can still provide value to the right team. In a recent post, I referenced a trade scenario that would see Griffey head to the Angels and Gary Matthews Jr. to the Dodgers, leaving Pierre out in the cold. Hypothetically speaking, this could work out as a 3-way trade, with Pierre going to Cincinnati. The Reds would lose power and OBP (Griffey's sporting a .393 OBP), but they'd be adding speed, getting comparible fielding and shaving a few years off the age of the outfield. Perhaps the Dodgers could throw in Ethier or Kemp to balance that out.

Over at CBC.ca, they're suggesting that the Dodgers or Angels might offer the Jays something in return for Glaus, who's been putting on a clinic at the plate this season despite that nagging heel injury.

The Dodgers have needed a big bat all season long, but I suspect we'll hear loud complaints from the Chavez Ravine peanut gallery should GM Ned Colletti move one of his prized young players, like James Loney, Matt Kemp or Chad Billingsley. (I guarantee you that Alyssa Milano would be pissed!) Given Glaus' tendency to land on the DL, I'd be inclined to agree with those protests. Nomar is a veteran who's already blocking 3B from Dodgers' rookies–they don't need two vets barring the bag! If one of the young guns has got to go, then make a trade for a solid hitting OF, not a 3B.

The Angels seem like a better fit. Chone Figgins is maintaining a rather decent .307 BA, but his slugging is sitting at a meager .386, compared to Glaus' impressive .553. Glaus' defense is also better. Backups Maicer Izturis and Brandon Wood are getting the job done, but they aren't impact players. The Angels could trade for Glaus, then maybe flip Figgins in a package deal over to the Reds in exchange for Griffey. That would push Gary Matthews out–perhaps the Dodgers could get in on the action and acquire Matthews, shipping out Juan Pierre and his under achieving bat.

I admit this scenario is probably a little far fetched, but both the Dodgers and Angels would get an excellent offensive upgrade. The Reds would also benefit: Edwin Encarnacion hasn't been predictable, and the last place team could start to rebuild with the money freed up from Griffey's departure. The only question marks would be what could the Jays land for parting ways with Glaus, and who would bite on acquiring Juan Pierre?

Let's also not forget Kevin Towers and the Padres. They're another SoCal team desperately in need of a big bat and dealing with inconsistent offense and defense from their 3B players (Kouzmanoff, Branyon, and the useful utility guy, Geoff Blum.) Glaus would fit in well with the Friars, though it would be interesting to see if NL-style play would change his impact at the plate at all. In return, the Jays could ask for a package that included Scott Linebrink.

It sure is fun coming up with these possible scenarios! However, we'll see the real story unfold over the next two weeks.

It would surely make sense to move Young to a contender before the trade deadline. Switch hitting with power is a rare commodity. Where would Dmitri fit in well? I've started a new poll below that asks just this question.

Blalock has been a solid offensive threat for the Rangers for several years now, and was recently mentioned in several trade rumors. Presumably, this news will halt speculations about what uniform Hank will be wearing by the season's end.

I saw a headline earlier today that suggested that the Astros' Morgan Ensberg was off the block as well, but for a very different reason: nobody wants him. (Apologies, but I cannot find this link now!) Ensberg, a career Astro who put up great numbers in 2003, 2004 and 2005 has slumped of late, and has been benched in favor of the streaking Mike Lamb. (That's Lamb, not that other streaker.)

So, just in this past week we've seen the pool of available third basemen shrink considerably. Troy Glaus' heel injury will likely plague him all season long, but he's still the best option for a team looking to add offense and average defense at the hot corner. Edwin Encarnacion is another possibility, but only for a team that's in a position to take a risk: he's been miserable at the plate and on the bag in 2007.