24 July 2008

No game today but a couple rumors flying around the internet. Here's the latest from Jim Molony of mlb.com.

• Frank Wren is listening to offers Will Ohman and Jeff Francoeur but is not interested in trading Mike Gonzalez. Kansas City is one of the teams said to have interest in Francoeur (Not surprising with Dayton Moore at the helm).
• Mark Teixeira isn't on the trade block right now but could be depending on how the next week goes.

and Jayson Stark from ESPN.com...

• Stark also says that this next week will decide the direction of the team.
• The Braves have at least contacted the Rays, Dodgers, Red Sox, Angels, and Yankees, but Stark says that Arizona is the "team to watch". He adds that although the Braves would probably love to have Conor Jackson, chances are that the Diamondbacks wouldn't part with him for two months of Teixeira.
• Will Ohman has attracted "massive" interest from teams looking for relief help and Mark Kotsay could be dealt.

My Take: It doesn't sound like the Braves are actively shopping Francoeur so they'd probably have to get an impressive return for the young outfielder. Frank Wren certainly won't be selling low on Francoeur. If Arizona is the front-runner for Teixeira, then it might make sense to package him with Will Ohman. The Diamondbacks, who are one game ahead of the Dodgers in the west, rank ninth in the NL in SLG (.410) and bullpen ERA (4.10). It seems much more likely that the Braves could pull of a deal including Conor Jackson with those two players in a deal.

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