Hart started and picked up the win on Thursday, 12-3 over the Houston Astros, before getting the news about the trade. Grabow will help take some of the load off of lefty reliever Sean Marshall in the bullpen while Gorzelanny, who was with the Pirates Triple-A affiliate will now be assigned to the Triple-A affiliate of the Cubs for the time being.

The trade deadline is only hours away so stay tuned for more information on every player that has been moved prior to 4pm on Friday afternoon.

Let’s begin with Ryan Dempster and the obscure injury that has forced the Cubs starting pitcher to the disabled list. Dempster injured his big right toe on Sunday when jumping over the dugout railing to celebrate his team’s win over the Milwaukee Brewers. Dempster fractured his toe and could be on the shelf for at least a month. He got his leg stuck on the railing and landed hard, causing the injury.

The injury to Dempster is a big blow to the Cubs; who activated Aramis Ramirez, Angel Guzman, and Reed Johnson from the Disabled List on Monday to help the team get just a little bit healthier. Now Dempster is in danger of missing at least three starts, maybe even five, after winning 17 games in 2008 with the Cubs.

Phillies Scout Martinez:

Not long after Phillies General Manager Ruben Amaro Jr. told reporters that the team has no interest in signing Pedro Martinez the club sent scouts to watch him throw a simulated game in the Dominican Republic on Tuesday.

An unnamed source from another club monitoring Martinez claims that the Phillies are more interested in the righty then they are actually letting on in the media. The Phillies were supposedly the only club present on Tuesday. Stay tuned for more on this development.

Beltran and Reyes Not Close:

The Mets received some harsh news earlier this week when they found out that injured stars Carlos Beltran and Jose Reyes will not return to the lineup any time soon. Beltran will not be evaluated until after the All-Star Break and will need a rehab assignment prior to being activated from the Disabled List. On the other hand, Reyes needed a cortisone shot in his right leg Tuesday because he still felt pain. The Mets did not say what the timetable for his return would be either.

Cubs For Sale:

The Chicago Cubs, owned by the Tribune Co., received a second offer for the sale of the franchise on Tuesday. The group, run by private equity investor Marc Utay, is the second offer made to the Tribune Co. recently. The Tribune Co. now has two offers to submit to the bankruptcy court regarding their sale.

DeRosa to the D.L.:

The St. Louis Cardinals acquired Mark DeRosa from the Cleveland Indians not too long ago and have now placed the utility player on the Disabled List with a strained left wrist. DeRosa went 0-for-9 in his first three games with the RedBirds after hitting .270 with the Indians in 2009.

LaRussa Drops Twitter Lawsuit:

Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa dropped all claims in a lawsuit against the social media site Twitter. The one paragraph statement also said that LaRussa was not compensated in exchange for the drop of the suit and that he cannot reopen the same suit against Twitter in the future.

The lawsuit stated that Twitter committed an alleged trademark infringement, cybersquatting, and misappropriation of his name. He accuses Twitter of posting an unauthorized page with his name on it which caused emotional distress because the page made light of his DUI charge and the recent deaths of two Cardinals pitchers.

Halladay on the Market?:

General Manager J.P. Ricciardi of the Toronto Blue Jays told the media on Tuesday that the team will listen to offers on their star pitcher. Halladay has a no-trade clause that he will have to waive if the Blue Jays wish to trade him before the July 31 non-waiver trading deadline.

“He’s open to at least listening,” said Ricciardi. “He’s not going to be a guy who will let you do all the work [preparing for a possible trade], and then he’s not willing to listen. If it makes sense, he will listen.”

Halladay will be eligible for free agency after the 2010 season and said he would like to stay in Toronto but it might be tough to get an extension done, causing the Jays to get as much in return for their ace as possible via a trade.

“I want to stay, but I think it’s a situation you have to evaluate,” Halladay said. “I’m really not at that situation just yet. If something does come up, you weigh your options at that point. I hate to put the cart in front of the horse and start saying ‘Do I want to do that?’ I think you just evaluate the situations when they come.”

The teams interested in Halladay are the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, the Philadelphia Phillies, possibly the Boston Red Sox, possibly the New York Yankees, the Chicago Cubs, the Los Angeles Dodgers and maybe even the New York Mets.

Baker was hitting .130 in 12 games prior to going on the disabled list with the Rockies because of a left hand sprain. He was transferred to the 60 day disabled list on May 24th. Alburquerque has been assigned to Tulsa of the Texas League, the Rockies’ Double-A affiliate.

With the acquisition of Baker the Cubs have sent infielder Ryan Freel to the Kansas City Royals for a minor league player to be named later. Freel was acquired by the Cubs from the Baltimore Orioles for outfielder Joey Gathright on May 8. He was acquired by the Orioles on December 9th from the Cincinnati Reds for catcher Ramon Hernandez.

Freel was hitting only .143 for the Cubs in 14 games. He was designated for assignment on July 2nd witht he acquisition of Baker by the Cubs.

The Cubs are tied for second place in the National League Central with the Cardinals and the Reds, 2.5 games out of first behind the Brewers. Piniella’s team has struggled to start the 2009 season because of injuries and a struggling pitching staff. In 2008 the Cubs took Andrew Cashner with the 19th pick.

Cashner is a right handed pitcher out of Texas Christian University. He has a 1.75 ERA in eight starts with the Daytona Cubs of the Class A Advanced Florida State League. Cashner has struck out 22 hitters in just over 25 innings pitched. He has allowed only 21 hits and 10 walks.

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