3B – Wilson Betemit

Scott Proctor is gone.

The Dodgers and Yankees have agreed in principle on a trade that would send reliever Scott Proctor to the Dodgers for infielder Wilson Betemit, sources told ESPN The Magazine’s Buster Olney.

The Dodgers, who have a 5.61 bullpen ERA since the All-Star break, have been in on a number of trade discussions involving relievers but zeroed in on Proctor over the last 24 hours.

The Yankees view Betemit as another first-base/DH/bench option for this year, and a potential third-base replacement for Alex Rodriguez next year.

Betemit is batting .231 with 10 home runs and 26 RBIs this season off the Dodgers’ bench. Proctor is 2-5 with a 3.81 ERA, and his 54 1/3 innings out of the Yankees’ bullpen are tied for fourth-most among AL relievers.

Yankee fans will soon be seeing Joba Chamberlain in the bullpen probably by the weekend.

Now if they can only find a team to take Kyle Farnsworth.

Also… it doesn’t look like the Yankees are very optimistic about acquiring Eric Gagne reports Ken Rosenthal.

Thanks to Steve for the tip.

Manny Ramirez earned his 15th AL Player of the week honor after hitting .393 with four doubles, three homers and 10 RBIs.

Maybe A-Rod will hit #500 against the White Sox tonight. Maybe not.

Did you know Erik Bedard is French Canadian?

Speaking of Canadians, some may be broken-hearted after last night’s 11th inning loss to the Devil Rays.

Speaking of the D’Rays, check out Carl Crawford’s walkoff.

What is wrong with A’s manager Bob Geren? I mean, besides the obvious.

Papier-mâché hurler Chris Reitsma will undergo arthroscopic surgery on his right elbow this week, marking the fifth time that joint has been under the knife.

Kenny Rogers has a revelation: “My timing can’t be worse.”

The Twins dealt speedy second baseman Luis Castillo to the Mets for 2 guys who probably won’t play until 2010.

Some sad news out of Cleveland was possibly buffered by a trip to the Jake.

And the people keep filing into U.S. Cellular.

The Royals get hot for like, four games and then they’re the Royals again.

The Halos have been fairly quiet up to today’s trade deadline.

The Rangers finally traded Mark Teixeira (along with Ron Mahay) to the Braves for Jarrod Saltalamacchia, a couple minor leaguers and of course, a player to be named later.

Baltimore legend Cal Ripken, Jr. sends a message with his HoF induction speech as the Yankees snap the O’s 6-game win streak.

A-Rod’s bat is MIA – maybe he can use his day off to find it.

Mike Timlin’s right shoulder is still feeling achy as he hopes to return to Boston’s bullpen on Tuesday.

A.J. Burnett can’t wait to return to the Blue Jays rotation, claiming he’ll throw 100% during his first rehab start this Wednesday.

After trading Ty Wiggington to Houston for Dan Wheeler, Tampa Bay recalled utility infielder Ben Zobrist to play primarily at short.

Carlos Beltran may be headed to the DL after an MRI Sunday on his strained left oblique revealed fluid and a minor abdominal tear.

Rumor has it, the Braves still have their radar on Rangers’ first baseman Mark Teixeira, possibly for Atlanta’ top pitching prospect, Matt Harrison.

Jimmy Rollins continues to swing a hot bat for Philly in the absence of his partner in crime, Chase Utley.

Washington hurlers can’t expect a victory when they allow 5 runs on 10 hits in just 4 innings. It doesn’t tend to help when your starter throws 83 pitches in three, either.

Jeremy Hermida visited the School of Bonds this weekend.

Dustin Pedroia will return to the Red Sox lineup after resting his sore ribs for two games.

Scott Proctor has struggled as of late for the Yankees.

Mike Napoli went to the Angels DL with a strained hamstring.

The Astros hitters have been working with a pitching machine that throws tennis balls.

Huston Street says he is ready to assume his old role as closer for the A’s again.

The Blue Jays held a closed-door players-only meeting to respond to Josh Towers’ comments the other day.

Yunel Escobar is proving he belongs in Atlanta.

Brewers rookie Manny Parra learned a valuable lesson on Saturday.

The Cardinals should be getting some pitching help back from the DL shortly.

Kerry Wood was with the Cubs on Saturday but won’t be activated just yet.

Shawn Camp was sent down by the Devil Rays to make room for newly acquired Grant Balfour.

With Randy Johnson out for the year, the Diamondbacks rotation has a little pressure on it to perform.

The Dodgers starting pitching has taken a hit as of late from the injury bug.

Indians shortstop Jhonny Peralta doesn’t think of himself as a home run hitter.

Mariners 3B Adrian Beltre is throwing his name in the hat for the Gold Glove.

Carlos Beltran will be out of the Mets lineup for a bit with a strained abdominal muscle.

The Nationals are concerned Nick Johnson might not return in 2007.

The Orioles have had to mix together their bullpen right now.

Scott Hairston brings versatility to the Padres lineup.

Tadahito Iguchi saw his first action for the Phillies on Saturday.

Tony Armas was moved back into the Pirates rotation and will start on Wednesday.

The Rangers sweepstakes for Mark Teixeira has heated up as of late.

Friday night’s walk-off hit for Edwin Encarnacion might be the boost he was looking for.

Jorge Julio has been pitching well as off late for the Rockies.

Mark Teahan has been searching for his power stroke for the Royals.

Tigers reliever Joel Zumaya has been throwing hard as of late in his recovery.

With it being his walk year, Torii Hunter is wondering if the Twins will trade him.

Danny Richar is ready to show the White Sox what he can do.

The Giants’ Omar Vizquel threw out his good buddy Miguel Cabrera from the Marlins on Friday night in a highlight reel play.

According to Fox Sports Ken Rosenthal, the Red Sox nearly acquired Jermaine Dye earlier this week. The deal with Chicago and an unnamed third team reportedly fell through when because of an issue involving a player on third team. Rosenthal reports that the Red Sox gave Dye assurances that he would play five times a week. Dye is willing to waive his limited no-trade clause if he secures guarantees about his playing time and incentives.

The Red Sox also remain in the running for Royal reliever Octavio Dotel. Rosenthal says the Dodgers are the front runners along with the Indians, who offered Ben Francisco, the Mariners, Braves and Tigers. No word on what player the Sox are putting on the table for Dotel but I’d imagine Wily Mo Pena would be involved. Kansas City would be an awesome place for Pena to play and garner the at bats he needs to work on his game.

Also according to Rosenthal some other hot rumors are:

Rangers 1B Mark Teixeira. The Braves have made a knock out offer of Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Double A lefty Matt Harrison, and A Ball short stop Elvis Andrus. The Dodgers are trying as well offering 1B James Loney, OF Andre Either and a prospect. The Angels are in the mix too having 1B Casey Kotchman on the table with Ervin Santana and some prospects but they want the Rangers to add prospect Brandon Wood.

The Twins are looking to move 2B Luis Castillo and P Carlos Silva. No word on Torii Hunter or Johan Santana.

The Marlins are saying they will not trade Dontrelle Willis.

The Angels, D-Backs and Padres are all interested in Adam Dunn of the Reds. Arizona prefers players they can control beyond this season but Dunn’s contract allows his to go to free agency if he were traded. The Reds have also received calls about P Kyle Lohse and 1B Jeff Conine.

Houston is looking to move Brad Lidge, Chad Qualls and/or Dan Wheeler.

The Royals have been asked about P Zack Greinke by the D-Backs, Dodgers, Braves and Cubs but it is unlikely they would move him.

The A’s are willing to listen to offers for Joe Blanton and Hudson Street and the Cardinals are willing to move Jason Isringhausen but Rosenthal reports those chances are remote.

Barry Bonds hit #754 in the 1st inning of the Giants game against the Florida Marlins. His victim was the young rookie, Rick Vanden Hurk, who now becomes the 444th pitcher to allow a homerun to Bonds.

In case you care, the game is on ESPN and will be on ESPN again on Saturday night at 9 PM ET. Also, Bud Selig is not at the game as he in Cooperstown for this weekend’s Hall of Fame ceremonies. Bob DuPuy, president and COO, is there representing Major League Baseball.

The Philadelphia Phillies wasted no time trying to take care of their needs at second base after losing All-Star Chase Utley to a broken hand. They acquired Tadahito Iguchi from the Chicago White Sox for a low-A pitcher Michael Dubee.

Utley suffered the broken hand on Thursday and underwent surgey on Friday. He should be back in 4-6 weeks if it heals properly.

While Iguchi won’t replace Utley’s 82 RBIs, which puts him third in the NL behind teammate Ryan Howard and Carlos Lee, he should get on base a little more than the alternative, Abraham Nuñez. Iguchi was hitting .251 with 6 homers and 31 RBIs while stealing 8 bases. His OPS stands at .723 which is about 100 points higher than Nuñez.

Iguchi is set to be a free agent at the end of the season. He more than likely wouldn’t be signed by the Phillies but you never know.

This is a good deal for the Phillies considering they didn’t have to give up much at all. It also shows the Phillies fans that they aren’t giving up on the season with the loss of their All-Star second baseman.

I can’t wait to see Texy’s reaction to this one.

Rockies catcher Yorvit Torrealba has taken weights out of his training routine and it has helped.

Angels reliever Chris Bootcheck has fit in nicely on and off the field.

The Giants’ fans are looking forward to Armando Benitez’s return to San Francisco this weekend.

Bobby Crosby is the latest member of the A’s to go on the disabled list.

Randy Wolf probably needs one to two more rehab starts before rejoining the Dodgers.

Jon McLaren has been learning on the job as manager of the Mariners.

The Diamondbacks have been streaky throughout the month of July.

Their has been a lot of interest from teams in the Rangers’ Mark Teixeira.

Joe Thatcher made his MLB debut for the Padres just one day after coming over in a trade.

Astros rookie Hunter Pence plans on learning a new sliding technique after landing on the DL.

Indians skipper Eric Wedge has a lot of confidence in Travis Hafner.

The Brewers traded away three pitching prospects for Scott Linebrink.

The Royals cut Scott Elarton after his recent dismal outing.

Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa is doing his best to ease his player’s minds about trade rumors.

The injuries in the Tigers bullpen are starting show as they have struggled as of late.

Mark DeRosa missed Wednesday’s Cubs game with a hamstring issue.

Mike Redmond returned to the Twins lineup just in time to give Joe Mauer a day off.

Jason Bay is starting to come around for the Pirates at the plate.

Scott Podsednik prefers to bat at the top of the White Sox order.

The Reds may help their rotation out by pulling someone from the bullpen.

After 20 year, the Astros’ Craig Biggio has decided to retire at the end of the year.

Hideki Kazuo Matsui is struggling at the plate for the Rockies.

A major league scout says that the Braves are interested in Mark Teixeira.

The Reds hope Alex Gonzalez will return to the lineup on Friday.

Brewers catcher Johnny Estrada is out with a hamstring injury.

Cardinals pitcher Chris Carpenter had his surgery and should be back in 2008.

The Cubs would like to tinker with their roster some more.

Injured Diamondbacks pitcher Randy Johnson threw 42 pitches in a simulated game on Tuesday.

Takashi Saito played catch to test his injured shoulder before the Dodgers game on Tuesday.

Jack Taschner was happy with his performance for the Giants on Monday night.

Marlins pitcher Dontrelle Willis has pitched to seven different batterymates in his career in Florida.

Injured Mets’ Moises Alou and Pedro Martinez both suffered setbacks in their rehab.

Dimitri Young would like to sign a contract extension with the Nationals.

Scott Linebrink’s recent struggles have cost him his setup role with the Padres.

J.D. Durbin is hoping the Phillies don’t trade him.

Matt Kata has made quite an impression on the Pirates.