Bullpen injuries

I've already mentioned that Brian Bruney will be in New York sometime today to get his foot checked out. The disabled list remains a possibility.

It doesn't end there. Kyle Farnsworth injured his elbow during the seventh inning of last night's 7-6 loss in Chicago. Farnsworth slipped on the mound after throwing his final pitch of the inning. While he doesn't believe it's serious, Farnsworth would have gone out for a second inning of work. The team will find out more today.

With Ross Ohlendorf throwing 49 pitches in two innings, the team will need to make some sort of move with the four-game series in Cleveland beginning tonight.

Breaking news: He finally did it

Alex Rodriguez has just hit his 500th home run. After a one-out single by Derek Jeter and a walk by Bobby Abreu, Rodriguez hit the first pitch he saw down the left field line near the foul pole for a three-run home run off of Kyle Davies.

He is now the youngest ever to hit 500 home runs.

This is also his 36th home run of the season, which surpasses his total from all of last year. It is August 4, by the way.

Congratulations, Mr. Rodriguez.

Pre-trade deadline deals

A few trades were made today in advance of Tuesday's 4:00 p.m. non-waiver trading deadline.

Pending physicals, Texas Rangers 1B Mark Teixeira is on his way to Atlanta. Joining him will be RHP Ron Mahay. The Braves are sending rookie C Jarrod Saltalamacchia, minor league SS Elvis Andrus and two more prospects to Texas (source). From the same article, there is a rumor that the Braves are trying to acquire Kansas City Royals reliever Octavio Dotel for RHP Kyle Davies.

After Jose Valentin broke a bone in his leg, the New York Mets needed a second baseman. Today, they acquired Luis Castillo from the Minnesota Twins for two prospects (source). While Castillo doesn't steal many bases anymore, he is still a solid hitter (batting .304 this season) and is a three-time Gold Glove winner. Here is what one Met fan thinks of the trade.

The Cincinnati Reds have traded RHP Kyle Lohse to the Philadelphia Phillies for minor league LHP Matt Maloney (source). Lohse is 6-12 with a 4.58 ERA in 21 starts. Maloney is 9-7 with a 3.94 ERA and 115 strikeouts in 125 2-3 innings in AA.