*there will not be a new rumor every day
From Jon Paul Morosi:
The Mariners, running a close third in the American League West, will probably wait about two weeks before moving definitively on the trade market.Already, though, they have engaged in preliminary discussions with the Padres about third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff, according to one source with knowledge of the talks.
The person added that the chances for a deal — at this point, at least — are not strong. But San Diego officials have made clear to other clubs that Kouzmanoff is available.
I don't advise getting your hopes up (or down, depending on your perspective) quite yet, but with the Mariners in desperate need of a third baseman and the Padres being out of the race, it shouldn't come as a surprise that the teams have talked to each other. Kouzmanoff's actually a pretty obvious target when you really think about things, and though I should caution that the odds are probably 90-95% that nothing like this ever happens, he's a player to think about that could help us both now and over the next few years. Don't be deterred by his unimpressive numbers - Petco just kills him, and the reality is that he's a solidly average to above-average regular who'd fill a big hole. Assuming a reasonable price, I'd be happy to have him. As much as I'd like to have Beltre come back, that's probably not in the cards.
So there you go. A little something to take your mind off the loss.