Six years ago today, two NL East clubs pulled off a rare intra-division trade when the Phillies sent Marlon Byrd to the Nationals for Endy Chavez. Byrd hit .245/.318/.366 in 471 plate appearances with the Nats before signing with Texas as a free agent while Chavez hit .215/.243/.299 in 118 plate appearances with Philadelphia. He moved on to the Mets as a free agent after the season.
Let's check in on the latest news from the only division with three 21+ win teams…
- Because Rodrigo Lopez would earn a $1MM salary upon reaching the majors, Julio Teheran and Mike Minor seemingly stand as the more likely candidates to step into the Braves rotation, writes Mark Bowman of MLB.com.
- Mike Vaccaro of The New York Post wonders if the Mets would be willing to trade Carlos Beltran to the Yankees given the potential fan backlash if he performs well in the Bronx.
- MLB.com's Todd Zolecki says that Phillies' reliever Danys Baez could be in trouble if he's not pitching well when Brad Lidge and Jose Contreras come off the disabled list.
- The Braves are likely to wait until tomorrow to put Brandon Beachy on the disabled list after he left yesterday's start with a strained oblique according to Dave O'Brien of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter links). He says they'll add Scott Proctor to the bullpen, who will fill the final spot on the 40-man roster, then possibly use Mike Minor in Beachy's place since Rodrigo Lopez would require a 40-man move. Julio Teheran is another 40-man roster option as well, says MLB.com's Mark Bowman.