The Dodgers are looking for starting pitching, and the latest on where Justin Upton, Huston Street, Zack Greinke, and Carlos Quentin might end up.
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- The Dodgers are in talks with the Cubs about Ryan Dempster and Matt Garza, reports our Baseball Insider Jon Heyman. Consider the Dodgers the favorite to land Dempster, who happens to be good friends with injured LA starter Ted Lilly.
- Dempster will make his second start since returning from the DL on Saturday. His ERA is a sparkling 1.99, and he hasn't allowed a run in 27 innings.
- On Garza, Heyman notes that four out of the five teams in the AL East could be interested: the Yankees, Red Sox, Blue Jays, and Orioles.
- San Diego closer Huston Street is well aware that he's a candidate to be traded before the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline, and, just in case he's dealt to the Mets, he let it be known that he's got no issues with Bob Geren, the Mets' bench coach, and his former manager in Oakland, reports Jon Heyman.
- Street said: "If I get to the Mets, that'll be the first bug I go squash."
- The Mets are known to be looking for bullpen help, and could target any of Street, Oakland's Grant Balfour, Kansas City's Jonathan Broxton, Houston's Brett Myers and Brandon Lyon, and Milwaukee's Francisco Rodriguez.
- If Zack Greinke is made available by the Brewers, look for the Angels to be involved in trying to land him, according to Heyman. The Angels will battle their division rival Texas Rangers for Greinke's services, as well as the Orioles and Braves.
- Milwaukee -- like a lot of teams -- should know over the next 10 days or so whether they'll be sellers at the deadline.
- The Rangers have the most young talent, in terms of outbidding the Orioles, Braves, and Angels. They can probably get a deal done without including shortstop prospect Jurickson Profar, according to ESPN. The Rangers could trade third baseman Mike Olt, who has a .977 OPS with Double-A Frisco.
- The Indians are in the mix to land Carlos Quentin, writes Terry Pluto at Cleveland's Plain Dealer, "but they don't have much common ground with the Padres right now."
- Cleveland's also looking to add a starting pitcher, notes Pluto.
- Thanks to San Diego's struggling offense, teams are going to have to "overpay with prospects" to land Quentin, thinks ESPN's Jim Bowden.
- Finally, Justin Upton, arguably the biggest name available the trade market. If the Diamondbacks deal him, they want a shortstop, a third baseman, or a star pitcher, reports the Arizona Republic's Nick Piecero.
- Diamondbacks GM Kevin Towers was quoted, "We're not looking for prospects. We're still in win mode. We're certainly not in sell mode at all," in another Piecero column.
- Upton has a limited no-trade clause through which he can block a trade to big market teams including the Yankees, tweeted ESPN's Buster Olney.
- The Rangers could be a fit for Upton, too, Olney tweeted, as insurance in case Josh Hamilton leaves via free agency, with third base prospect Mike Olt potentially going to the Diamondbacks.