A Hill of Beanes, Part II

But, wait...there's more.

Orioles get Jason Grimsley on 6/22

The Orioles need everything. Funny how everyone's advocating that the D-backs and Royals get an early start on next season, but the Os have been mostly immune to the same criticism. They're 16.5 games out of first right now, running neck-and-neck with Toronto for last place in the Al East. But no one really expected the Orioles to contend in the war games between the Yanks and Red Sox. So I'm throwing all of my support to the Devil Rays to stop the madness. As far as Grimsley goes, he's desirable because of his limited experience as a starter (72 starts in 13 seasons) and the Orioles need all the help they can get if BJ Ryan gets dangled as trade bait. The Royals got minor leaguer Denny Bautista in return, who could be good a few years down the line, though he may be tipping his pitches and there's some concern over his awkward delivery.

Beltran to Astros, Dotel to As, prospects to Royals on 6/25

Oakland GM Billy Beane must be involved in any trade involving a Royals outfielder. It's actually in the major league rulebook, and it's a necessary condition for his continued membership in this powerful organization. This time out, though, the Royals OF went to the Astros -- fella by the name of Carlos Beltran, formerly the American League's equivalent of Bobby Abreu. Beane got his man with Octavio Dotel, who got his first win of the season with Oakland after giving up 4 runs. Dotel brings the heat, though, and let's face it: even Billy Koch would be a step up from the failed Arthur Rhodes closer experiment. Royals GM Allan Baird spun Beltran into three prospects: catcher John Buck (from Houston) and Mark Teahen and Mike Wood (from Oakland). Buck has been inserted into the starting line-up since the deal and is apparently strong with the glove. Mike Wood got shelled in 3 major league starts last season, but is ready for another trial after two strong seasons in AAA. And Mark Teahen has advanced pretty quickly since the Moneyball draft; like a lot of Beane's draftees, he's thin on power but gets on base...A LOT.

Freddy Garcia to White Sox on 6/28

Back-to-back lackluster seasons have made Garcia's stock fall considerably -- Eric Neel doesn't even rate him in his top go-to guys. Recent struggles aside, Garcia reminds me a lot of Bartolo Colon, who was 65-69 at the same point in his career and on the verge of a breakout 20-8 season. Opponents are hitting just .236 off him this year -- the second lowest figure of his career -- and he ranks 5th in league ERA. Sox GM Kenny Williams has a history of getting spanked on trades, but he never hesitates to pull the trigger on big deals, and this one's a no-brainer. Seattle doesn't get any younger with this deal, but they managed to unload Ben Davis and net a handful of pretty good prospects in return. Catcher Miguel Olivo turned it on this season and has a rocket for an arm. OF Jeremy Reed is considered to be one of the top prospects in the loaded Sox system, but will probably take some time to develop at the major league level a la Aaron Rowand. I don't know anything about AA SS Michael Morse, but the Ms could use added depth at that position, so it makes sense.

Most traded active major leaguer update: Todd Zeile has also been traded five times in his career, tying him with David Weathers and Brad Ausmus. But Terry Mulholland, currently pitching with the Twins, has been traded 6 times in his career. Is there a topper, anyone?