Elephant Rumblings: A’s Sign Four International Prospects, Rich Hill Wants To Tape His Fingers

A’s Coverage:

• Hall: Maxwell back with A’s; Phegley optioned; Garneau DFA’d...
• Lockard: Oakland Athletics ink four international pitching prospects...
• Gallegos: How A’s ace has found the confidence to match his talent...
• Slusser: A’s Blake Treinen making closer job ‘look easy’...
• Sickels: Luzardo joins updated Top 30 prospects list...

MLB News:

• ESPN: Nationals’ Juan Soto, 19, homers in first start...
• Axisa: Dodgers’ Rich Hill, desperate to solve blister issues, plans to ask MLB to let him pitch with tape on his fingers...
• ESPN: Cards’ Alex Reyes to start, could return next week...
• AP: Twins designate struggling starter Phil Hughes for assignment...
• Axisa: Mets reportedly interested in signing Jose Bautista to shore up outfield depth following several injuries...

Baseball Interest Stories:

• Alex Rodriguez on Robinson Cano’s PED suspension: ‘It will be a long road back’...
• Phillies’ Gabe Kapler: Jorge Alfaro and Pudge Rodriguez are ‘neck-and-neck, at worst’...
• Baumann: The Art of Mike Clevinger...
• Cut4: How did Mario Mendoza become a shorthand for batting futility?

Today in Baseball History:

• 2002 - The Athletics send OF Jeremy Giambi to the Phillies in exchange for IF/OF John Mabry. The trade, viewed as one-sided for the Phils, especially by the statistically-oriented community, will be a good one for Oakland. Giambi will homer in his first two Phillie at bats on the 25th, and be the first player in major league history to hit eight homers in each league before the All-Star break. He’ll finish the year with 20. That, plus Jason Giambi’s 41, will give the Giambi boys the record for homers by brothers in the same season, topping the 59 hit in 1937 by Joe DiMaggio (46) and Vince DiMaggio (13). However, Mabry will slug .523 in 89 games and help Oakland to a division title.
• 2010 - Gio Gonzalez of the Athletics has the best outing of his career so far, tossing 8 shutout innings in beating San Francisco, 1 - 0. He retires the final 20 batters he faces before manager Bob Geren gives the ball to Andrew Baileyto pitch the 9th. However, the news is not all good for Oakland: they place long-time 3B Eric Chavez on the disabled list with two bulging disks in his neck; Chavez, who has been bothered by injuries continually since 2007, hints that his career may be over. He is hitting .234 with one homer in 33 games and has been used almost exclusively as a designated hitter. He won’t play for Oakland again, but will make a successful comeback as a back-up with the Yankees next season.

Best of Twitter:

• Impressive debut, indeed...

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• Rafael Palmeiro...