A source shot down rumors of Hanley Ramirez's departure from Miami, and Nate Schierholtz is unhappy in San Francisco.
- Boston and others may be interested in Ramirez, but the Marlins aren't keen on trading their infielder, wrote Clark Spencer in the Miami Herald.
- Spencer quoted a source as saying: "There are no discussions with anybody for anyone."
- The Marlins are currently on a six-game road trip that ends on Sunday, and will only decide what they'll do at the deadline -- buy, sell, or stand pat -- when they return to Miami.
- Anibal Sanchez, Randy Choate, and Omar Infante are the Marlins most likely to be dealt, while Giancarlo Stanton won't be going anywhere.
- Outfielder Nate Schierholtz is unhappy in San Francisco, thanks to limited playing time, and, while he hasn't asked for a trade, all signs point to him being open to one, wrote the San Francisco Chronicle's Henry Schulman.
- Schierholtz is batting .250/.314/.400 with 3 home runs and 12 RBI in 67 games. In 2011, in 115 games, he registered an OPS of .756. According to FanGraphs, he is a plus-defender.
- Giants manager Bruce Bochy told Schierholtz, 28, in May that he doesn't view him as an everyday player, after Schierholtz started the season as the team's right fielder.
- Gregor Blanco took Schierholtz's place in the lineup.
- In Los Angeles, Torii Hunter is willing to take a pay cut to stay with the
Angels when he becomes a free agent at the end of the season, wrote Los Angeles Times Angels beat writer Mike DiGiovanna. - Hunter, who turned 37 on Thursday, in the final year of a five-year, $90 million contract, and is batting .272/.333/.426 with 10 home runs and 39 RBI in 72 games.
- "I'd take $10 million," Hunter said.
- If the Angels don't want Hunter back, he said he'll consider playing for the
Yankees ,Rangers , orDodgers . If there's no interest from any of those three teams, he'll retire. For Hunter, "it's all about winning." - Wandy Rodriguez's audition didn't go so well Wednesday night, when he was being scouted by a number of teams, including the
Tigers , Yankees, andRoyals , as reported by CBSSports.com's Scott Miller. - Rodriguez went four innings and allowed five earned runs on four hits. He walked two and struck out four, and eventually took the loss, his eighth of the season. It was his shortest start of the season, and snapped a streak of 48 consecutive starts in which Rodriguez pitched at least five innings.
- Rodriguez has a 5.65 ERA in his last 10 starts, as his trade value continues to diminish leading up to the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline.