The second edition of my mini-series addressing the biggest weaknesses on the Blue Jays focuses on catchers. For those who missed Monday's intro the premise of the series is that I look at potential upgrades for the Jays at particular positions where they have had problems that could help within the 2014-2015 window I believe the team should be concentrating on. Each article looks at two options from within the organization as well as two players outside the organization, one of whom would be relatively easy to acquire, the other that would be far harder to get but might just be possible to add to the team.

The Blue Jays' catching situation is a well-documented trouble spot for the franchise. J.P. Arencibia isn't really a viable starter given that he has demonstrated the ability to hit home runs with some regularity but possesses no other baseball related skills of great value. There is some information to suggest he has been a decent pitch framer but the study of pitch framing is in its infancy and it's only the true outliers, like Jose Molina, that we can safely say make a significant difference with their ability to frame pitches. There are a lot of negative things that can be said about Arencibia, most of which can be backed up by objective data, but most of it has been heard before. I'm not interested in criticizing J.P. beyond stating that an upgrade is needed. Beating the dead horse does not constitute high quality analysis. The fact of the matter that is J.P Arencibia's production along with putrid performances by Henry Blanco and Josh Thole have given Blue Jays catchers a combined slash line of .207/.247/.375 and a league worst -0.5 WAR. It wouldn't take much to constitute an upgrade on that but where could an upgrade be found? We start with internal options.

Internal Options

Option #1 A.J. Jimenez

The 23-year-old Jimenez is one of the Blue Jays' most highly regarded prospects and he is walloping the ball at Double-A to the tune of .376/.400/.495 so there doesn't seem to be a lot not to like. Adding in an excellent defensive reputation and some surprising athleticism on the bases is just icing on the cake. However, there are a few reasons to temper optimism regarding Jimenez. One is that he has hit for fairly empty average over his minor league career. Jimenez has never hit for an ISO over .130 or had a walk rate of more than 6.6% at any of his minor league stops thus far. While he has shown solid ability as a contact hitter his lack of pop or discipline puts him somewhat at the mercy of BABIP gods who have so far been good to him with marks like .340 (2009), .362 (2010), .348 (2011) and .436 (this year so far at double-A). Though some hitters do demonstrate the ability to maintain high BABIP numbers those numbers seem likely to be unsustainable and it seems very unlikely that Jimenez will come up and hit .300 the way he has done in the minors. Not that he has to.

While his bat does scare me a bit, his contact ability alone (he had only a 14.2% strikeout rate in his last full season) gives him a higher OBP ceiling than Arencibia (not that this is a feat of any kind) and his glove will likely be his trademark in the major leagues. I haven't had the pleasure of seeing Jimenez play but the reports on his defense are fairly glowing and he profiles as an above-average defender at the position, which is something that Jays fans have not seen on a day to day basis for some time. If Jimenez can make it to AAA by the end of this year there is a chance he is given a shot at the starting job as early as 2014. Even if his bat falters he looks to have the makings of an excellent backup who would be an upgrade in that capacity at least. Either way it is likely we will see Jimenez with the Blue Jays in the not too distant future.

Option #2: Sean Ochinko

The second best catcher in the Jays system is certainly Santiago Nessy. However, given that Nessy has not yet turned 21 and is working at single-A Lansing at the moment, it doesn't seem likely that he could contribute in either 2014 or 2015. Perhaps he could reach the majors sometime in 2015 if he really excelled in the near future but it doesn't seem likely. Ochinko turns 26 this year and is getting his first taste of triple-A. He is not faring well with a .196/.328/.268 line but he's only had 68 plate appearances. Ochinko has good plate discipline (BB rate of 10.4% and 16.2% this year over two levels) but doesn't offer that much more with the bat and the last time he really hit well was last year in Dunedin as a 24 year old. He also isn't a pure catcher, playing some 3B and 1B (kind of like Yan Gomes used to do) and to be honest there just isn't a lot to see here. Positional versatility is somewhat interesting but he is unlikely to be a big league player.

Jimenez is an interesting prospect but not a surefire starter in the Travis d'Arnaud mold and so it is definitely worth looking at what might be available outside the organization.

External Options

Realistic Acquisition Possibility: Ryan Hanigan, Cincinnati Reds

For the last year and a bit the Cincinnati Reds have had trouble picking a starting catcher between reliable veteran Ryan Hanigan and promising youngster Devin Mesorasco but it appears the stalemate is about to come to an end. Mesorasco is hitting .242/.318/.363 for an underwhelming wRC+ of 82, but this will likely be enough to lay claim to the starting job due to Ryan Hanigan's absolutely awful .196/.293/.280 line for a wRC+ of 50. Mesorasco is not only producing more but is also the higher ceiling option and although the Reds would likely be happy to keep Hanigan around and give him a few starts it seems likely that a 32-year-old catcher who is on his way to becoming a backup might be available on the trade market. Given that the Reds need to win now they would want players that improve their major league club in 2013 so this might be a destination for a Darren Oliver who could perhaps be paired with Josh Thole and possibly another minor piece to get something done. Hanigan's value on the market cannot be very high given his current production and age.

Hanigan has his blemishes, this year's statistics foremost among them, he seems like an excellent buy low opportunity. Here's a basic overview of what Hanigan has done over the last few years.

In case you are curious the reason that Hanigan's WAR is higher in 2012 than 2010 is because he had a monster year defensively according to Fangraphs' defensive metrics. While Hanigan is not going to see the lofty heights of his 2010 season again, this is still a player who walks more often than he strikes out and with a little more batted ball luck his current season line could look a lot more like 2011 or 2012.While he is in the decline of his career that decline has been exaggerated by an absurdly low BABIP. Given that he has virtually no power even a rebound to his batting average and OBP leaves him as a below average hitter, but unlike Arencibia he would be a below average hitter who is an accomplished defensive catcher.

Hanigan's defense is perhaps the most important thing he brings to the table. According to Baseball-Reference he has been worth 3.9 defensive WAR over his career and Fangraphs has him as 20.8 runs above average. His arm is especially impressive as he has thrown out 40.7% of base runners over his career and 49.4% in the last two years. When you combine that defensive acumen with some potentially not-disastrous offense and team control through arbitration in 2014 Hanigan looks like an interesting target.

The second possibility mentioned here would be a long term solution at the catcher position who I think is unlikely to be available but is another guy that his lowest possible value at this moment.

Far Less Realistic Acquisition Possibility: Miguel Montero, Arizona Diamondbacks

Miguel Montero is having a tough year. He's hitting .221/.304/.322 for a paltry WAR of 0.2 in his age 30 season in the first year of his five-year $60-million dollar deal. While a deflated BABIP (.267) is one culprit for Montero's decline this year he also has had something of a power outage with an ISO of only .101, well below his career mark of .164. However, given his extended track record and the fact that his K% and BB% are right around last year's numbers a bounce back seems likely. One thing that makes Montero intriguing is that he pairs improving defense with his potentially potent bat. According to FanGraphs, Montero's defense was below average every year from his first full year in 2007 to 2010 but since 2011 he has saved 8.5 runs above average. An area where this change has come out has been his ability to catch base stealers. For his career Montero has thrown out 31% of base stealers whereas over the last three years that number has been 39%. If the quality defense remains and the bat returns then Montero is truly the complete package.

One can picture a scenario where the Diamondbacks feel that this contract is going awry and want to get rid of Montero and the Jays swoop in to take the contract, probably parting with some decent pieces as well to get it done. That being said, the Diamondbacks probably aren't stupid enough to give up on a guy who was worth 4 WAR in 2011 and 4.6 last year. They also are interested in winning this year so would need to see either Arencibia or Thole as a plausible stop gap option for them. It's not a likely situation, but one can dream...

The Blue Jays catching situation is problematic now and there is no internal help on the horizon in 2013. As early as 2014 A.J. Jimenez could make things interesting but the Blue Jays might want to look for opportunities outside the organization nonetheless. Whichever direction they choose to go, this team does not want to be looking at the same catching situation a year from today.

The Cleveland Indians have promoted right-hander Danny Salazar to the major league roster, and he'll make his debut in the Show today with an afternoon start against the Toronto Blue Jays at Progressive Field. Salazar did not receive a large amount of press pre-season outside of Indians circles. As Let's Go Tribe tells us, that is changing, with Salazar garnering recent attention from Baseball America for instance, but he's a good example of how talent can seemingly come out of nowhere. Let's take a look at him as today's Prospect of the Day.

Salazar was originally signed by the Indians out of the Dominican Republic back in 2006. He performed well in the Dominican Summer League in 2007 (1.96 ERA in 64 innings), and remained effective after moving up to the Gulf Coast League for 2008 (2.87 ERA, 43/13 K/BB in 53 innings). 2009 didn't go as well, with a 4.44 ERA in 107 innings for Low-A Lake County, with 114 hits allowed and a sagging 65/40 K/BB ratio.

He returned to Lake County in 2010 but was limited to 32 innings by a sore elbow. This eventually required Tommy John surgery, costing him almost all of 2011 on rehab. The recovery went well, so well that the Indians feared he would be claimed by some other nosy team in the December '11 Rule 5 draft. They protected him on the 40-man roster, which drew some "huh?" attention at the time, but the Tribe knew what they were doing.

Salazar returned to action in 2012 and looked better than he did before his injury, posting a 2.68 ERA with a 53/19 K/BB in 54 innings for High-A Carolina, followed by a 1.85 ERA with a 23/8 K/BB in 34 innings in Double-A with Akron. Scouting reports were more positive, too; more on that in a second. 2013 has been even more successful: a 2.67 ERA with a 51/10 K/BB in 34 innings for Akron, followed by a 3.40 ERA with a 49/13 K/BB in 42 innings for Triple-A Columbus. He's posted an excellent 100/23 K/BB in 76 innings this year.

Born January 11, 1990 in Santo Domingo, DR, Salazar isn't a huge guy at 6-0, 190, but he has plenty of arm strength, clocked as high as 100 MPH and working regularly in the mid-90s. He's always had good velocity, but he came back stronger after surgery. He has a very good changeup, but the real key has been improvement of his breaking ball. This was poor early in his career (reflected in his weak strikeout rates in A-ball), but he's made great strides with it over the last year. It is variously described as a slider or power curve, but it is effective when he's on, and he's usually been on in '13.

Here's a good look at his delivery:

He repeats his mechanics better than he did earlier in his career, which enhances his command. The fact that his strikeout rate held up in Triple-A is also a good sign for the quality of his secondary pitches.

It has been generally assumed that Salazar was destined for the bullpen due to his injury history and the previous problems with the breaking ball. Indeed, the Indians remain cautious with his pitch counts and he's averaged less than five innings per start in Triple-A, despite his otherwise dominating numbers. There's been some talk that Salazar is being showcased for a trade, but is also entirely plausible that Salazar can help the Indians in the second half on his own terms.

Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders:W 8-7 vs. Rochester Red Wings

CF Corey Patterson 0-4, RBI, 2 K
RF Thomas Neal 2-4, RBI, K - 9 for his last 39 (.231)
2B Brent Lillibridge 3-4, 2B, HR, 2 RBI, BB, K - sixth homer w/ SWB (.455/.500/.939 last 10)
DH Randy Ruiz 1-4, HR, 2 RBI - ninth homer with SWB
1B Dan Johnson 0-3, BB
LF Addison Maruszak 2-4
3B Josh Bell 2-4, K
C Bobby Wilson 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI, K
SS Walter Ibarra 1-4, 2 K

Brett Marshall 4 IP, 6 H, 5 R/4 ER, 2 BB, K, 2 E1, WP - six groundouts, two flyouts
Yoshinori Tateyama 2 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, K
Jim Miller 2.1 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, BB, K
Mike Zagurski 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, BB, K

Despite two errors and a rough outing by Marshall, the RailRiders were able to break a 7-7 tie in the bottom of the ninth for their 46th win of the season and get back to .500 on the year. Jose Ramirez starts for the RailRiders today at 7:05 pm.

Double-A Trenton Thunder: All-Star break

High-A Tampa Yankees:L 4-8, W 7-0 vs. Dunedin Blue Jays

Game One:

SS Eduardo Nunez 0-0, BB, SB
SS Ali Castillo 0-4, K
CF Mason Williams 1-1, CS - has been dealing with an illness
CF Taylor Dugas 2-3, K, SB
C Peter O'Brien 1-3, RBI, K
DH Gary Sanchez 1-3, RBI
LF Ben Gamel 1-3, RBI, BB, K
RF Yeral Sanchez 1-4, RBI, 2 K
2B Rob Refsnyder 0-4
1B Saxon Butler 0-0
3B Alex Rodriguez 0-3, 2 K
3B Dan Fiorito 0-3, BB, error - pickoff error, eighth of the season

Corey Black 0.1 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 BB
Rafael De Paula 5.2 IP, 8 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, HB - three groundouts, seven flyouts
Branden Pinder 2 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 0 BB

Tampa pitchers allowed fifteen hits and the big blows for De Paula came in the third and fifth innings when the Blue Jays put up multi-runs. The Yankees scored three runs of their own in the sixth, but it wouldn't be enough and dropped them to 35-48 on the season.

Game Two:

LF Taylor Dugas 1-3, 2B, RBI, BB - batting .300 since his promotion
CF Ben Gamel 1-3, RBI, BB, K
3B Peter O'Brien 2-4, RBI, 2 K, 2 E5 (throwing) - batting .231/.244/.462 over his last 10 games
C Gary Sanchez 1-4, HR, RBI, 2 K - 13th homer of the season
RF Yeral Sanchez 1-3, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 K
1B Saxon Butler 0-2, BB, E3 - missed catch, seventh error of the season
DH Tyson Blaser 0-2, BB
SS Dan Fiorito 1-1, 2B, 2 BB
2B Jose Toussen 0-2, RBI

Joel De La Cruz 5 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, BB, 3 K - nine groundouts, five flyouts
Manny Barreda 2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K

In the opposite of Game One, the pitchers combined for a one-hitter and the Yankees scored two runs in the first and three runs in the second for more than enough offense to pick up their 36th win of the season. Tampa takes on Dunedin again today at 12:00 pm.

Low-A Charleston RiverDogs:L 1-2 vs. Greenville Drive

SS Cito Culver 1-4, 2B, RBI, 2 K - batting .353/.421/.559 over his last 10 games
2B Angelo Gumbs 0-4, K, E4 - fielding error, second with Charleston this season
1B Greg Bird 0-4, 3 K - 6 for his last 39 (.154)
3B Dante Bichette Jr. 2-4, K
DH Reymond Nunez 0-3, BB, K
CF Jake Cave 1-4 - batting .270 this season
LF Kelvin De Leon 0-4, OF assist
RF Danny Oh 1-3
C Jackson Valera 1-3

Vicente Campos 4 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K - six groundouts, four flyouts
Brett Gerritse 3 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K - three groundouts, zero flyouts
James Pazos 1 IP, 1 H, 2 ER, BB
Zach Arneson 1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, K, HB

After scoring a run in the third inning, the RiverDogs led most of the game until the Drive put up a two-spot in the eighth inning to secure the game for them. Luis Niebla starts for Charleston tonight at 7:05 pm.

Short Season-A Staten Island Yankees:L 5-7 vs. Connecticut Tigers

2B Derek Toadvine 0-5, 2 K
SS Jose Rosario 0-5, 3 K - batting .214 this season
3B Eric Jagielo 0-4, HBP
RF Yeicok Calderon 1-4, 2B, BB, K - batting .296 with SI
CF Brandon Thomas 2-5, HR, RBI, K, SB - second homer of the season
1B Bubba Jones 0-3, 2 K, HBP
LF Daniel Lopez 1-2, 2B, 2 BB, K, E7
C Isaias Tejeda 2-3, HR, 4 RBI, K, HBP, 2 E2(throwing) - second homer of the season
DH Daniel Aldrich 0-4, K

Jairo Heredia 5.1 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 9 K, HB - four groundouts, one flyout
Conner Kendrick 1.1 IP, 3 H, 4 ER, 3 BB
Stefan Lopez 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
Andy Beresford 1 IP, 0 H, 1 R/0 ER, BB, K

Things were going well for the Yankees until the Tigers put up four runs in a disastrous seventh inning that would put Staten Island down for good in the game. Three errors didn't help matters any.

Notes from the Gulf Coast League:

GCL Yankees 1:

SS Abiatal Avelino 0-3, BB, K
2B Gosuke Katoh 2-3 - batting .333 this season
DH Matt Duran 1-4, 2 RBI, BB, K
CF Jordan Barnes 1-4, K
C Jesus Aparicio 0-3, BB, K, E2 - interference

Pat Venditte 1 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, K
Hector Bello 2 IP, 1 H, 3 R/2 ER, BB, 2 K

GCL Yankees 2:

C Luis Torrens 0-4, K
2B Jose Javier 3-3, 3B, RBI, E4 - fielding error
3B Renzo Martini 1-4, K
SS Thairo Estrada 2-4 - batting .405 this season
RF Jorge Alcantara 1-3

Rony Bautista 3 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, WP, HB - four groundouts, two flyouts
Felipe Gonzalez 4 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K
Joaquin Acuna 1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, BB

I remember the first time I saw Brett Wallace at Minute Maid Park. I marveled at how big he was. His thighs alone told a tale of power hitting and I was eager to watch him hit the cover off the baseball. Wallace was originally drafted by the Cardinals as the 13^th overall pick in the 2008 draft in part thanks to a guy named Jeff Luhnow.

It was merely coincidence that when Luhnow was offered the chance to steer the ship for an MLB team that Wallace would be in the mix with Luhnow’s new club. At that point, the corner infielder had seen his fair share of trades already; he was part of the package that the Cardinals sent to Oakland for Matt Holliday and then six months later the Athletics sent him to the Toronto Blue Jays for Michael Taylor. Fast forward another six months and Wallace was traded again, but this time to Houston where he’s remained since July 2010.

To say that Brett Wallace has struggled at the major league level is simply a fair statement. Despite dropping weight in the 2012 off season and working with hitting coaches, he built a reputation among fans for blasting balls in AAA and struggling in the big leagues...until now?

Wallace started this season with the major league club, but when it was obvious that he was once again struggling — beginning the season hitting .042 and striking out 17 times in a mere seven games — he was again shipped north to Oklahoma City.

I said that was it. I did, you can check my Twitter feed. I felt as if the Astros had given Wallace all the chances they would give him. I giggled along as other fans began calling Wallace "The Redhawks first baseman" rather than using his name. After all, in my mind he would remain in that role. But it seems I forgot two things when I decided Wallace was done. First, Jeff Luhnow is eerily right about baseball players at an alarming rate and he still believed in Wallace, and secondly, anything, yes, anything, can happen in baseball.

When Wallace went back to Oklahoma City he did what he usually does, he rediscovered his confidence and started hitting. In 59 games he managed an impressive .326 average and blasted homers 11 times. His OPS in OKC? .952. But those numbers aren’t that unusual for minor league Brett Wallace. The Astros, seeing the rise in confidence and numbers, called him back up to the bigs yet again.

It seems that the Houston Astros weren’t really done with Brett Wallace after all, and it just might be time for me to start thinking about cooking a crow pie.

Wallace has found himself back in the majors and is shocking even the most optimistic of Wallace supporters. In the 12 games since he returned he’s put together a string of successful plate appearances, hitting .262/.326/.619 in 42 at bats. The 3 home runs have elicited big responses from fans. His strike out rate has stayed a relatively consistent 28% since his return, while it was 29% in AAA. His numbers for walks suggest similar consistency. I always like to judge hitters by OPS (on base plus slugging), perhaps because it’s the most simplistic view of a hitter’s ability to drive runs and Brett’s since his return is sitting at an impressive .945. The best hitters in baseball are those with an OPS over .900.

But here’s the kicker. Brett Wallace might just be getting better. In the past, when Wallace would come back to the Astros from AAA he’d start off pretty well, but quickly find himself struggling again and several times fell into tragic hitting slumps. Something is different this time. It seems Brett Wallace just might have figured things out. I won’t call for anything above cautious optimism yet — there’s a lot of baseball that still needs to be played — but something feels different about Wallace this go-round.

In the most recent seven games he’s hitting .316 and that OPS? 1.224. Bring it, Brett. Prove me wrong. I will love every single minute of it.

Remember the first time the Blue Jays faced Justin Masterson? It was Opening Day, when the fans packed into the Rogers Centre to see the star-studded Blue Jays for the first time. If you want to look back on the optimism of early April, go and read the original preview here. Masterson put an end to the optimism quite fast going 6 innings allowing only 1 run on 6 hits with 4 walks and 5 strikeouts. Esmil Rogers will start for the first time against his former team tonight after spending 2012 in Cleveland.

The 2013 season has been an adventure for Masterson, dominating at times and getting smashed around during others. He has a 3.78 ERA and a 3.42 FIP this season although his ERA was 3.48 before his last appearance where he didn't see the end of the fifth inning in a slaughter by Detroit.

On the April 2nd appearance, Masterson threw fastballs, sinkers, and sliders. That trend has continued this year with Masterson throwing sinkers 38.30% of the time, fastballs 33.38%, and sliders 28.12%. You usually know what you're going to get with Masterson day in and day out, bringing a hard sinker-slider combination to the table. The sinker staying down and recording ground balls is key and he's had success doing that this year with the sinker getting 68.31% GB/BIP. Surprisingly, his K/9 of 9.16 is the highest in his career by far largely due to his slider get 40% whiffs/swing this year.

You can see how Justin Masterson gets his whiffs with his slider down and away against righties which has been a weakness for Blue Jays hitters all year:

via www.brooksbaseball.net

The sinker has the opposite effect, always riding in on same-handed batters (you'd have to think some of these inside sinkers hit the batter):

via www.fangraphs.com

Justin Masterson has two pitches that are very tough against same-handed batters and none that are tough on lefties, so as you would expect there is huge splits against him. This year lefties have almost 100 points more in their wOBA and in his career the difference is almost just as large. There is no excuse for the Blue Jays not to stack this lineup with lefties and play the numbers.

The lineup I'd like to see is:

1. Reyes SS
2. Bautista RF
3. Lind 1B
4. Encarnacion DH
5. Rasmus CF
6. Izturis 3B
7. Thole C
8. Bonifacio LF
9. Kawasaki 2B

According to ESPN's Outside the Lines, Major League Baseball requested to interview Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun to discuss his involvement with Biogenesis and its founder Tony Bosch. Braun is said to have "refused to answer questions" during this meeting. In 2011, he also took a urine test which showed high levels of testosterone which may have been caused by a performance-enhancing drug. Ryan Braun then issued statements in early 2012 claiming he had not done anything wrong and many believe he got away with it because of minor technicalities.

As for Alex Rodriguez, he is expected to meet with the league this week (OTL says Friday) and the Yankees third baseman is, of course, no stranger to these rumors. The fourteen-time All-Star and three-time MVP has even admitted to his use of steroids in 2009, saying he used them sometime during his tenure with the Texas Rangers.

But the names don't end with just Braun and Rodriguez, Outside the Lines' sources have said they are as many as twenty players who are linked to Biogenesis. Some of them are currently in the minors or are free agents. The following are reportedly involved:

• Everth Cabrera (Padres)
• Melky Cabrera (Blue Jays)
• Francisco Cervelli (Yankees)
• Bartolo Colon (Athletics)
• Nelson Cruz (Rangers)
• Gio Gonzalez (Nationals) *May have received only legal substances
• Yasmani Grandal (Padres)
• Fernando Martinez (Yankees)
• Jesus Montero (Mariners)
• Jordan Norberto (Free Agent)
• Jhonny Peralta (Tigers)
• Cesar Puuello (Mets)
• Fautino de los Santos (Free Agent)

Source: ESPN Outside the Lines

Angels sign Drew Carpenter

The Los Angeles Angels signed right-handed pitcher Drew Carpenter to a minor league deal, according to MLB.com's official transactions page. The 28-year old was released by the Colorado Rockies on June 29th. The Angels will be his third organization on the season, joining the Rockies and Cubs, who traded him to Colorado on May 10th. In 15 starts between the Cubs' and Rockies' Triple-A affiliates, Carpenter is 3-7 with a 6.96 ERA in 75 innings of work. He has 23 games of major league experience with the Phillies (2008-2011), Padres (2011), and Blue Jays (2012), and is 1-1 with a 7.56 ERA in 33.1 innings of major league work. He will likely head to Triple-A Salt Lake for the Angels.

Pirates acquire Brian Bocock

The Pittsburgh Pirates have acquired shortstop Brian Bocock from the Washington Nationals, according to an announcement from the Pirates' Triple-A affiliate. Bocock is the player to be named later in the May 17th deal that sent catcher Brian Jeroloman to the Nationals organization. In 22 games with Triple-A Syracuse on the year, Bocock is hitting .182 with 2 RBI. The former Giant (2008) and Phillie (2010) has hit .134 with 2 RBI in 38 career major league games. Bocock will join Triple-A Indianapolis and serve as organizational depth for the Pirates.

The Blue Jays had until 5 pm on Friday to sign their 2013 Rule 4 (Amateur) draftees, and the organization almost used all of their allowed time before announcing that they've signed 11th-rounder Jake Brentz and 30th-rounder Rowdy Tellez. Brentz cost the Jays $700,000 and Tellez was given $850,000. Baseball America's Jim Callis broke the news on Twitter:

#Jays sign 11th-rder Jake Brentz (No. 80 on BA 500) for $700k. Missouri HS LHP, up to 97 at times, feel for changeup too. #mlbdraft

— Jim Callis (@jimcallisBA) July 12, 2013

The Blue Jays were not able to sign first-round draft pick Phil Bickford, who opted to go better himself with higher education at California State University--Fullerton. Good for him. I wonder when course selection begins?

Rowdy Tellez was ranked 59th best prospect in the draft, but was thought to be a tough sign, having committed to play for USC. The MLB profile on Tellez says that he is big and strong hitter. Jacob Brentz is a power lefty (always good thing to have) who can touch the upper-90s, according to his MLB.com profile.

Welcome to the Blue Jays, Messrs Brentz and Tellez!

Well that sucked.

Let's start with the good:

• Juan Perez and Neil Wagner came out from the bullpen and pitched two perfect innings. Perez still has a 0 ERA (19.2 IP) and Wagner got two strikeouts.
• J.P. Arencibia put the blue birds up on the board early with a two-run homer, and later Edwin Encarnacion crushed a Chris Tillman offer for a solo shot.
• The Blue Jays outhit the Orioles 14-9.

And now the bad. Note the relative length of this section:

• The Blue Jays out LOBbed the Orioles 9-1. The blue birds were 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position, the orange birds were 3-for-4.
• Jose Bautista got a golden sombrero (Brett Lawrie got one Thursday with the Bisons), going 0-for-5 in the game, leaving five men on base.
• Arencibia followed his homer with a line drive single that he tried to extend into a double. It is incredible how many baserunning ugliness we've seen from the Blue Jays lately.
• Mark Buehrle gave up three homers (Chris Davis, Adam Jones, and J.J. Hardy), nine hits, and eight runs. His ERA is now at 4.89. Eight runs is the most he has given up this season. He did give the Jays six innings and 100 pitches though. That's something, right? Although, to be fair, Buehrle would've gotten out of the third inning without having to face Jones but normally sure-handed Jose Reyes dropped a Manny Machado grounder, which was scored an infield hit.
• After he was pulled, it looked like Buehrle was very emotional and had a stern talk with fellow starter Josh Johnson while he was holding on to Johnson's hoodie.

The Orioles decisively took game one of the series against the Blue Jays tonight as they combined solid, but not spectacular, starting pitching from Chris Tillman with eight runs scored, all on home runs. It was a fun win, especially since we got to watch Jose Bautista strike out four times.

After a quick first inning in which Tillman needed just twelve pitches, he got into a jam in the second. With Colby Rasmus on second base with a double and two outs, J.P. Arencibia did the only thing he actually does well: he hit a home run. It was crushed, too, to centerfield. It gave the Blue Jays a 2-0 lead. Tillman then gave up a single up the middle to Mark DeRosa but got the world's most adorable archnemesis, Munenori Kawasaki, to line out to first to end the inning.

The lead lasted, oh, two minutes as the Orioles followed suit in the bottom of the second. Adam Jones, who has been looking much better at the plate the last few games, took a ball to the opposite field where it landed just inside the foul line for an easy double. That brought Chris Davis to the plate. Before this at bat, Davis was just 2 for his last 27 and both were home runs. After this at bat, Davis was 3 for his last 28 and all three were home runs. He hit an opposite field homer that just made it into the left field stands. It turns out that ridiculous strength doesn't slump.

The top of the third started off well enough for Tillman. He got two quick outs on Joses Reyes and Bautista, then left a change up up and in the middle of the zone to Edwin Encarnacion. Um, Chris? That's not a good idea. Encarnacion absolutely smoked it to left field, it got out so fast McLouth barely had time to move his feet (not that it would have mattered).

I know that Tillman gives up homers, and I know that players like Encarnacion are good at hitting homers, but right after the O's tied the game? Really, Chris?

After the home run, Adam Lind hit a ground ball up the middle that J.J. Hardy showed fantastic range to get to. He gloved the ball, got ready to throw and...ran into Brian Roberts. Oops. Come on, Brian! You gotta watch out for J.J.! Luckily it didn't do any damage as Colby Rasmus hit a sinking liner to left field that Nate McLouth made a sliding catch on to end the inning. That's a plus for you, Nate.

Tillman settled down after that, though he never really looked great. He faced just three batters in the fourth inning thanks to a fantastic play by Adam Jones. With one out, J.P. Arencibia hit a ball into the right-center gap. He tried to stretch it to a double and Jones made just a perfect throw to second base to nail him. I tell you, Adam Jones had himself a game tonight. Tillman worked around a leadoff walk in the fifth thanks to a double play ball and pitched a relatively easy sixth other than a dropped popup in the infield.

Really, though, once the bottom of the third inning rolled around, Tillman was kind of an afterthought. Buehrle got two quick outs to start the third, but singles by Manny Machado and Nick Markakis brought Jones to the plate. Adam already had a nice double and a sweet defensive play, and he added to his night with a a three-run homer to put the Orioles back on top. It was Jones's 17th home run of the season.

The O's weren't satisfied with one Earl Weaver Special on the night, so they added another in the sixth inning. This time Jones and Davis were on base with singles for J.J. Hardy. Hardy had already seen both of his fellow All Star Game starters go deep in the game, and he wanted to join the party. He hit a bomb to left field that landed deep in the seats. It was about the same location as Davis's but ten rows deeper. The crowd of over 42,000, which was loud as could be tonight, went wild. The O's were up 8-3 and the yard was rocking.

With the lead well in hand, Buck Showalter turned to the newest member of the bullpen, Jairo Asencio. Asencio walked the first batter he faced; I'll chalk it up to nerves. He got a ground ball right back to him from Kawasaki that he fielded well, but his throw to second wasn't great and they couldn't turn the double play. After a seeing eye single from Jose Reyes put another runner on, Asencio got it together and struck out Bautista and Encarnacion to end the inning. Impressive! Bautista's K was his fourth of the day. Somewhere in the bullpen, Darren O'Day was smiling.

Brian Matusz started the eighth inning and he was a disaster. He got one out and allowed two baserunners. Tommy Hunter had to come in and clean up his mess, getting two quick outs and stranding both runners. Hunter wasn't as efficient in the ninth inning, though. He gave up two runs when Lind hit a two-out double with runners on, making the score 8-5. Just like that it was a save situation, and so Showalter went to Jim Johnson in the pen. Sigh. The next batter up was Colby Rasmus and I have every confidence that Hunter could have gotten him out. But instead Johnson had to come in and make an appearance. It took JJ longer to run in from the bullpen than to get the final out as Rasmus grounded out to second base on the first pitch he saw.

Even with the less than exciting ending, it was a great game from the Orioles and their third straight win. Tomorrow they'll send Jason Hammel out to try and make the winning streak four.

More from Camden Chat:

• Orioles select contract of RHP Jairo Asencio, Designate RHP Jair Jurrjens for assignment
• 2013 MLB All Star Game: Studs and Snubs - NL Edition
• Around the Minors: 7/11/13

Jason Hammel goes up against Todd Redmond today in a pretty boring pitching match-up. Hammel has been horrible this year with a 5.03 ERA as throwing fastballs almost two thirds of the time has caught up to him. His most used off-speed pitch, the slider, hasn't been getting whiffs making Hammel pretty one-dimensional. Left-hander hitters have been pounding him and as you can see he's always missing up and away as I noted in the first preview of him as well:

His heavy usage of the sinker early in the season has given way to more four-seamers, which may be part of the reason his ERA has skyrocketed:

The lineup I'd like to see against Hammel would be:

1. Reyes SS
2. Bautista RF
3. Lind 1B
4. Encarnacion DH
5. Rasmus CF
6. Izturis 3B
7. Thole C
8. Bonifacio LF
9. Kawasaki 2B

Enjoy the game (or your Saturday if you can't bear the torture anymore) and let's see a win please Blue Jays.

Brett Lawrie has been recalled to the Toronto Blue Jays and is expected to be in the lineup today against Baltimore according to this tweet by Mike Wilner:

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, Brett Lawrie has been recalled by #Bluejays - he's here in Baltimore and expected to play today. #Jays#orioles

— Mike Wilner (@Wilnerness590) July 13, 2013

He sprained his ankle on May 27th and had a slightly extended rehab stint in a few different minor league affiliates of the Blue Jays. He also tried playing second base during his rehab, which hopefully doesn't translate to a position change with the big squad.

The man going down (again) is fan favourite Munenori Kawasaki as expected:

ROSTER MOVE- Brett Lawrie activated from DL, Kawasaki optioned to AAA @BuffaloBisons

— Blue Jays-Official (@BlueJays) July 13, 2013

There was no real place for Kawasaki with Lawrie coming up and so many infielders on the active roster.

The last piece of news, which a lot of people were fearing, is that Brett Lawrie will be starting today at second base and Maicer Izturis will start at third base:

Today's @BlueJays lineup vs. #Orioles Reyes-SS, Bautista-RF, Edwin-1B, Lind-DH, Rasmus-CF, Izturis-3B, Arencibia-C, Lawrie-2B, Bonifacio-LF

— Blue Jays-Official (@BlueJays) July 13, 2013

Yours truly wrote some words about Brett Lawrie at second base a while back and now I must say, something most definitely is rotten in the state of Denmark.

If you're watching this game, good luck to you.

The Toronto Blue Jays activated third baseman Brett Lawrie from the disabled list on Saturday, according to the team's official Twitter page. Munenori Kawasaki was optioned back to the minors to create room for Lawrie on the active roster.

Lawrie has been on the disabled list since the end of May with a sprained right ankle. He has been on a minor league rehab assignment since June 26. Lawrie has played in just 37 games in 2013 due to both the sprained ankle and a ribcage injury which put him on the DL at the beginning of the season. When he has played, he has not impressed with a .209/.268/.374 line and five home runs in his third MLB season.

Kawasaki has been with the Blue Jays nearly the entire season and filled in as the starting shortstop while Jose Reyes was out with a sprained ankle of his own. Despite producing just a .617 OPS, Kawasaki became a fan favorite due to his energy and entertaining post-game interviews.

More from SB Nation:

• Derek Jeter is hurt again

• Sharks, tornadoes and baseball players

• Vote for the GIF of the week!

• A Day’s Work: Boggs tends the grounds at The Cell

• Longread: Brooklyn’s field of broken dreams

Blue Jays 7 Orioles 3

Now that was more like it.

We have a heck of a bullpen. Today they pitched 5 scoreless inning, allowing just 3 hits and 3 walks (at least one of them an Angel Hernandez special), with 5 strikeouts. Aaron Loup went 1.1 and got the win. Dustin McGowan also went 1.1, with 2 strikeouts. Brett Cecil 1.0, with 2 strikeouts. Steve Delabar got the last out in the 8th, then had some troubles in the 9th, mostly troubles with getting Angel to call a strike. Casey Janssen picked him up, striking out two to get his 18th save.

Todd Redmond wasn't as great. He gave up 4 hits, 2 home runs, a walk and 3 runs, in 4 inning. He also struck out 6. He had his moments and really did what we needed him to, considering we have all those guys in the pen and the All-Star break coming up. I hope we don't see him make more starts for us.

It was nice to see the offense get it going. We had 12 hits and 3 walks. 3 hits for Maicer Izturis. 2 each for Adam Lind and Colby Rasmus. Everyone else had 1 hit accept our second baseman, Brett Lawrie. Even Emilio Bonifacio had a good day at the plate, going 1 for 2, with a walk and a hit by pitch. Unfortunately, he was caught stealing twice. We shouldn't be trying to steal against Matt Wieters, though, the second time, with two outs, getting caught let the next inning start with Jose Reye leading off. So it was likely worth the shot.

Edwin Encarnacion crushed a solo homer in the first. J.P. Arencibia hit a 2-run, bases loaded single, in the sixth, making up for a strikeout with runners on the corner in the fourth. We got 3 more in the 7th, one on an Jose Bautista RBI double. One on a line drive by Adam Lind, that hit Chris Davis' glove but he couldn't catch it. Unfortunately he picked it up in time to force Edwin at second. And the last on a soft ground out by Colby.

Jays of the Day are Arencibia (.155, plus a nice throw to catch Davis trying to steal), McGowan (.109 WPA), Encarnacion (.107) and Izturis (.098).

Suckage goes to Redmond (-.141).

Lawrie had a bad day at the plate, in his first game back. On defense, I think he only had 2 chance in the field. An easy pop up and a ground ball, that he made a less than perfect throw to second for a force out at second. I'm not sure if there was the possibility of a double play, the ball wasn't hard hit, but the throw didn't help.

We had a nice GameThread, 40 of us put up 680 comments. I led the way, just beating out Belisarius.

The Chicago Cubs are making progress in trade talks involving Matt Garza with at least two teams, according to Buster Olney of ESPN.com. A deal over the All-Star break appears likely, and many teams have shown consistent interest in the 29-year old, who made what is likely his last start in a Cubs' uniform on Saturday night.

Those two teams may be the Toronto Blue Jays and Texas Rangers, who ESPNChicago's Bruce Levine reports are the frontrunners to acquire the right-hander. Levine also notes that the Red Sox, Indians and Giants have shown interest in Garza.

The Dodgers, Nationals, Red Sox and Rangers are teams who are most prominently interested in Garza, according to FOXSports.com's Ken Rosenthal. Rosenthal adds that the Tigers, Orioles, Pirates and Blue Jays were all scouting the Cubs on Saturday, but that most of those teams were likely looking at other available players. The Orioles are out of the talks unless there is a dramatic change, according to a later tweet from Olney

Because Garza is one of three impact pitchers currently available on the trade market (along with Bud Norris and Yovani Gallardo), the Cubs' asking price has been very high, according to reports. The team is likely seeking two or three top prospects, and they will have to sift through the multiple offers for Garza in determining the best return.

Although many reports suggested that Garza was discussing an extension with the Cubs in recent days, the likelihood of a trade is much greater than a long-term commitment.

In ten starts since returning from injury in late May, Garza is 6-1 with a 3.17 ERA in 71 innings of work. He is a free agent after the season, and has long been rumored to be available in the Cubs' firesale this summer. Nate Schierholtz, Kevin Gregg, Alfonso Soriano, James Russell and Dioner Navarro have also been the subject of trade talks.

Fox-TV's Ken Rosenthal got the ball rolling before the game even started, profiling the Garza trade talks in this video and including some pretty eye-opening snippets. In it, Rosenthal says,"The Cubs have been willing to act sooner rather than later: take a slightly lesser package, in return for slightly greater savings on the remainder of the $4.5 million on his contract."

Before we move forward, it's a little unclear on what Rosenthal means here. In my opinion, Rosenthal implies that the Cubs are trying to move quickly in order to get out from under a few hundred thousand bucks on Garza's contract and they're willing to take a decreased package in order to do so. To me, that makes no sense. Garza should command a bigger package the earlier this deal gets done. The important thing here is the number of starts, not a small amount of incremental savings/expense due to having him on the payroll. The Cubs front office isn't stupid; they know this.

Rosenthal could also have meant that they just prefer a deal sooner and that the Cubs aren't interested in throwing in money in to sweeten the package, instead just choosing to take the salary relief and prospects. If that was the case, it'd be concerning, unless they planned to do something else with the savings (international spending, free agents next year, etc). Rosenthal goes on to mention the Dodgers, Nationals, Red Sox and Rangers as teams involved and while he says other teams may be involved, he says the Cardinals are an unlikely suitor because they won't give up prospects for a rental.

Later, Rosenthal tweeted:

#Rangers have two scouts watching #Cubs’ Garza. Also at Wrigley: #Tigers, #Orioles, #Pirates, #BlueJays. Remember: Other Cubs also in play.

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 13, 2013

... to let us know some of the scouts on hand that may have been watching Garza.

Now, while you're thinking Rosenthal's comments might create a stir, Buster Olney bumped it up a notch with this tweet:

This may well be Matt Garza's last start with CHC, who are said to be making progress with at least 2 teams. Deal over break appears likely.

— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) July 14, 2013

and then later followed it up with this one:

Unless there is a dramatic change, the Orioles are out of the Garza trade talks. Too much cost in prospects and money to them.

— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) July 14, 2013

Then, local sports reporter Bruce Levine apparently decided that he didn't want to be outdone by the national guys and talked about the trade candidates in this article.

In it, Levine says:

The Texas Rangers and Toronto Blue Jays remain the front runners for a trade with Chicago, according to industry sources. The Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Indians and San Francisco Giants have also expressed strong interest in the pitcher.

Remain?!? Since when have the Blue Jays been considered a front runner for Garza in the last two months? Did I miss a previous Bruce Levine article where he divulged that information? No? Hmmmm... kind of makes you wonder if this guy knows what he's talking about, huh? (And, yes, that's the nicest way I can put my thoughts on Levine.)

So, what do we have here? The Rangers, Jays, Orioles, Tigers and Pirates might have have been watching Matt Garza tonight... unless they were just watching other Cubs players. The Cubs might be trading Matt Garza before his next start (stop me if you've heard that one). The Cubs might be focusing on two teams and those teams may be the Rangers and Blue Jays, but it doesn't look like the Orioles are one of them. Lastly, the Cubs might be trying to trade Garza sooner for a lesser package in order to get salary relief quicker (again, maybe I read this differently than everyone else, but this makes no sense).

Or none of this might happen at all. That's why they call these "rumors."

Here is a live discussion thread for the 2013 MLB All Star Futures game, which begins at 2 PM Eastern time. I will be here throughout the game live-blogging in the comment thread, so stick around and enjoy the fun!

Here are the starting lineups.

UNITED STATES TEAM
1) Billy Hamilton, CF, Reds
2) Delino DeShields, 2B, Astros
3) George Springer, RF, Astros
4) C.J. Cron, 1B, Angels
5) Matt Davidson, 3B, Diamondbacks
6) Joc Pederson, LF, Dodgers
7) Christian Yelich, DH, Marlins
8) Addison Russell, SS, Athletics
9) Austin Hedges, C, Padres
Starting Pitcher: Noah Syndergaard, RHP, Mets
COMMENT: Interesting that the US team has chosen to start Billy Hamilton in center field over Byron Buxton, who is the best overall prospect in baseball. I'd imagine that Buxton will get in the game pretty quickly.

WORLD TEAM
1) Reymond Fuentes, LF, Padres
2) Arismendy Alcantara, 2B, Cubs
3) Xander Bogaerts, SS, Red Sox
4) Miguel Sano, 3B, Twins
5) Henry Urrutia, RF, Orioles
6) Jordan Lennerton, 1B, Tigers
7) Gregory Polanco, CF, Pirates
8) Maikel Franco, DH, Phillies
9) A.J. Jimenez, C, Blue Jays
Starting Pitcher: Rafael Montero, RHP, Mets
COMMENT: How soon will the world team get Carlos Correa into the game?

More from Minor League Ball:

• How I would change the 2013 MLB All Star Futures Game rosters
• 2013 MLB All Star Futures Game: United States Roster Analysis
• 2013 MLB All Star Futures Game: World Roster Analysis

I was sitting in a meeting room trying to wrap up some work late in the work day last November when I checked my phone and saw something that made me do a little fist pump. Finally, I thought, something positive was happening with the ballclub that I've been following. Something exciting that I could look forward to.

Source: #BlueJays on verge of acquiring Josh Johnson from #Marlins. Deal could be even larger than that.

— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) November 13, 2012

Josh Johnson was a great pitcher and had been solid when he was healthy, and the Blue Jays' 2012 rotation descended into a patchwork of replacement pieces due to injuries, and general suckage. Of course, that "deal" mentioned by Jon Morosi did end up becoming bigger, with Alex Anthopoulos greatly bolstering his rotation to try to take a run at the playoffs.

Unfortunately, Johnson has been bad more often than good this year--and when he's been good, he hasn't had any run support. He hasn't looked like the Josh Johnson of old, and the Baltimore Orioles exploited it today, hammering the Jays' starter early.

Johnson allowed a couple of singles to start off the game, but then got Nick Markaikis to fly out on two pitches. The problem is that Adam Jones and Chris Davis were up next in the Orioles' lineup. Jones poked a base hit to the edge of the dirt to score one, then Davis doubled to right to score two. THen J.J. Hardy brought in another with a single. It was 4-0 Orioles at Camden Yards before the grilled swordfish was even cooked all the way through. In the bottom of the third, Johnson walked Jones to bring up the red-hot Chris Davis, who slammed his 37th homer to make it a 6-0 game. Davis has now homered in four-straight games, matching a streak he had back in early April. Adam Jones added another homer for the O's in the bottom of the fifth off Johnson.

Johnson finished his six innings having struck out seven orange birds, but gave up seven runs on seven hits. The last time he gave up seven was on June 23, 2007. With Johnson pitching the way he is right now, I don't see the Blue Jays getting much for him at he trade deadline.

The starter dug a big hole for the offense to climb out of, the bullpen came out and kept the opponent scoreless, and the batters did make it interesting with a comeback bid in the ninth that fell short. If I were smarter, I could just have copied-and-pasted a previous game recap and just changed the names. We've seen this type of game far too often this season.

Toronto outhit Baltimore again, but unfortunately someone decided a long time ago that victories and defeats were decided by runs, not hits.

Maicer Izturis was the offensive player of the game, going 2-for-4, batting in three of the Jays' four runs. Edwin Encarnacion had the other RBI. The Blue Jays made a little run in the ninth, started off with a Colby Rasmus double and an Izturis RBI-single. Brett Lawrie got his first base hit--a single-- since returning from his time on the disabled list to keep his first-half batting average above the Mendoza Line. He was also one of three Blue Jays to not strike out in the game. Unfortunately the rally sizzled as quickly as it started.

With the loss, the Blue Jays have dropped to 45-49 (.484), 11.5 games behind the division-leading Red Sox, and 8 games behind the wild card leaders Rays and Rangers. The Jays are now four games under .500. One of the good things about the Blue Jays is that they have been around .500 going into the All-Star Break pretty much every single season this past decade. We have to go back all the way to 2004 before finding a season where they have had a worse record at the All-Star Break. They were 43-43 in 2012, 45-47 in 2011, 44-45 in 2010, 44-46 in 2009, 47-49 in 2008, 43-44 in 2007, 49-39 in 2006, 44-44 in 2005, and 39-49 in 2004. Optimistically, perhaps we can look to the magical 1989 season: Toronto was sitting at 42-45 at the break and were seven games behind. So there is still some, faint hope.

Jays of the Day! None on the field. But let's give it to all the Blue Jays fans in the crowd.

Suckage Jays: Josh Johnson (-.327). This is his sixth Suckage award in 12 starts.

There are few problems with the Orioles so bad that a seven-inning quality start can't make you feel better about them. A day after a Jason Hammel disaster, Scott Feldman faced the same team and pitched the kind of game that Orioles fans dream of every time out. Chris Davis and Adam Jones each added a home run to power the O's to a 7-4 victory - and a series victory - over the Blue Jays as they head into the All-Star Break.

With four days looming with no Orioles baseball - no, the Home Run Derby and All-Star Game don't count, even though Orioles will be in them - the victory tastes all the sweeter because there would have been nothing but anger and bitterness.

Sunday's game was the kind where the O's struck early and often. They wasted no time threatening against Toronto starter Josh Johnson, with Nate McLouth and Manny Machado singling in the first two at-bats of the game. When you put men on base for Jones and Davis, good things will happen. Jones' one-out single drove in McLouth, and Davis cleared the bases with a double.

In a meaningless stat alert, this gave Davis 30+ home runs and 90+ RBI before the All-Star Break, only the second time that's ever been done in MLB history. The first time was Miguel Cabrera, whenever he hit his 30th home run.

J.J. Hardy added an RBI single to give the Orioles a 4-0 lead after one inning.

Reversing the usual Orioles starter trend, Feldman took this lead and essentially said, "Don't worry, guys. I've got this." He held Toronto to one hit through three innings, with a shaky fourth that he recovered from fine to hold the Jays to two runs when they were threatening more. For extra flair, he struck out O's nemesis J.P. Arencibia to end the inning.

Two runs may sound worrisome out of a four-run lead, but the Orioles did not go quiet after a strong first inning. Their third inning saw the unicorn of Jones taking a walk. What happens when you walk a batter in front of the MLB leader in home runs? The answer is that he goes opposite field on you, because he is Chris Davis, and he will hit homers in any direction. Emilio Bonifacio futilely chased the ball to the fence, but when Davis gets that swing, it doesn't matter. Good-bye, home run, his 37th of the year, a measly 373 feet to left.

Jones added a home run of his own, a solo shot to deep center that was his 19th blast of the year. Jones' day powered his slugging percentage back up over .500. As much criticism as Jones sometimes gets and deserves, it's easy to forget he is a very good baseball player. 19 home runs at the All-Star Break? All of our oxygen would be spent talking up what a great power threat Jones is, if only Davis wasn't hitting all of the home runs all of the time.

Davis has 37 home runs in 96 team games. He homered in four straight heading into the break. He could cool off with the break, sure, but every time he's seemed to cool off, he gets hot again. His .717 slugging percentage would be 26th-best in a single season in all of MLB history. He is being mentioned in the same sentence as Roger Maris for what some (including Davis himself) see as the legitimate home run record.

Feldman rolled through the fifth, sixth, and seventh (!!!) without allowing any more damage, and not only did he finish seven, he came out for the eighth. He was lifted for Tommy Hunter after getting out Bonifacio on a grounder, then allowing a single to Jose Reyes. Hunter allowed the runner to score, which closed the book on Feldman with 7.1 innings pitched, five hits, one walk, three earned runs, and seven strikeouts. He threw 110 pitches.

Seven strikeouts to one walk? A sub-1.00 WHIP on the day? More than seven innings pitched and still a quality start! Be still, my beating heart! Feldman worked the ground balls, with eight ground ball outs. Add that to seven strikeouts and that's 15 of the 22 outs he recorded. That will play in Camden Yards, and that will get you a well-deserved standing ovation every time. 34,478 came out to watch the Sunday afternoon contest.

Despite going into the ninth inning with a four-run lead, the Orioles still needed to summon Jim Johnson. Hunter allowed a double and a single to start the ninth, and he was lifted. Johnson had a three-run cushion and needed three outs. A man was on first. He struck out Arencibia, then allowed a single to Brett Lawrie, which brought the tying run to the plate with one out. That was Bonifacio, who hit into a fielder's choice. Johnson struck out the dangerous Reyes to end the game and pick up his 33rd save.

Feldman earned the win, his first in an Orioles uniform, to raise his AL record to 1-1. Josh Johnson took the loss, dropping to 1-5 on the season.

All of the O's runs scored were charged against Josh Johnson, who pitched six innings and gave up seven earned runs on seven hits. He also struck out seven and walked one.

The win sends the Orioles into the All-Star Break with a 53-43 record. They are five games back in the AL East, with Boston still to play. They are in third place, staring up at the Rays, who are two games ahead after winning nine of their last ten headed into the break. In their 96th game last year, they lost, 3-1, to the Cleveland Indians, to drop to 51-45, seven games back in the East. Hunter was the starter and ended the game with a 5.57 ERA. After giving up a run in 0.2 innings today, he has a 2.41 ERA this season.

Four days off, really? Yes, the next game isn't until Friday, when the Orioles will travel to Texas for an 8:05pm start.

More from Camden Chat:

• MLB All Star news: Chris Tillman added to American League Roster
• Around the Minors: July 13th, 2013
• Chris Tillman, 20 game winner. Really.

With Ben Revere out for at least six to eight weeks with a broken right ankle, the Phillies are suddenly looking for a center fielder to fill the void.

From Todd Zolecki of MLB.com:

"The prognosis doesn't sound too good," Amaro said. "I think it's something that's going to take a while. … Whoever we think is an upgrade, whether it's defensive or offensive. We'd like to probably get a little bit better. John [Mayberry Jr.] is a good center fielder. He's not a plus defender. So if we can get a better one than that, that'd be good."

Revere was one of the hottest hitters on the Phillies at the time of his injury. He was hitting .347 since the end of April, the sixth best in baseball in that time span.

While the Phillies are looking internally for a replacement, there are more likely to test the trade market. Here are a couple options:

Alejandro De Aza

While De Aza may not be the strongest centerfielder defensively, he has been a productive hitter for the White Sox for the last two years. He is arbitration-eligible for the second time in the offseason and his salary is manageable at $2.08M for 2013. The White Sox are selling and looking to rebuild. De Aza could potentially garner a couple decent chips for rebuilding.

Justin Ruggiano

The Marlins are not interested in trading Ruggiano according to a report by Juan Rodriguez of the South Florida Sun Sentinel. Ruggiano is a top-notch fielder and has a solid power and speed. He is under team control until 2016 and is not yet arbitration eligible, so the asking price will likely be high.

Colby Rasmus

This one is totally dependent on whether or not the Blue Jays will become sellers at the deadline. General manager Alex Anthopoulos' team is currently 11.5 games out of first place and eight games back in the Wild Card race. A losing streak could easily push them out of contention. Rasmus has one year of team control left before free agency. Any team interested in Rasmus will likely need to pay a pretty hefty price. A former top prospect for the Cardinals, Rasmus has a lot of potential and tools.

David DeJesus

DeJesus is currently injured and there is no timetable for his return. That alone would prevent him from being traded. When he is healthy, DeJesus is very good against right-handed pitching and has a cheap club option for 2014, so he would likely be more than a rental for any team that goes after him. He may be available in August if he can clear waivers.

Alex Rios

Rios has not player centerfield since De Aza arrived in Chicago in 2011. He is currently hitting .270 with 11 home runs, 40 RBI and a .326 OBP. Rios' contract is set to expire in 2014 with a club option for 2015. The White Sox could get a pretty good package for the outfielder.

More from MLB Daily Dish:

• Cubs rumors: Sides making progress in Matt Garza talks
• Yankees rumors: Robinson Cano likely headed for free agency
• Red Sox rumors: Looking hard for bullpen help
• Phillies interested in Joba Chamberlain
• Join the MLBDD community and write a fanpost!