Rumor Roundup: LA would deal Urias for Sale

Many potential deals are in the works as the non-waiver Trade Deadline — Aug. 1 at 4 p.m. ET — approaches. Here is a look at the latest news, reports and rumors.

Dodgers willing to offer Urias for Sale If the White Sox decide to trade ace Chris Sale, the Dodgers are reportedly willing to be aggressive with their offer, even if that means including top prospect Julio Urias in a trade package, according to a New York Post report.

With Clayton Kershaw sidelined indefinitely by a back injury, the Dodgers are in the market for a front-line starter. Tampa Bay’s Chris Archer is among the pitchers to whom they’ve been linked in reports.

Urias, ranked as the No. 2 prospect in baseball by MLBPipeline.com, has made nine starts for the Dodgers this season, going 1-2 with a 4.69 ERA while striking out 48 batters in 40 1/3 innings. He last pitched on Thursday, allowing one run over four innings against the Nationals in Washington.

Sale, 27, is 14-3 with a 3.18 ERA this season and under team control through 2019. This past weekend, Sale was suspended for five games by the White Sox because of a pregame outburst that led to the lefty being scratched from Saturday night’s start. Sale apologized to fans for the incident and told MLB.com that he hopes to remain with Chicago and does not believe he will be traded.

“I want to win a championship in Chicago; that’s been my goal from Day 1,” Sale said.

Another White Sox starter, lefty Jose Quintana, also remains an option for Los Angeles if Sale is unavailable. A source told Yahoo Sports’ Jeff Passan that the cost to acquire Quintana may be nearly as high as Sale’s price, however.

Toronto targeting Upton Jr. The Blue Jays emerged on Monday evening as the leading candidate to acquire San Diego’s Melvin Upton Jr., according to FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal, who also said the Orioles and Indians remain in talks regarding the outfielder.

The Padres are said to be actively shopping Upton, who’s been a healthy scratch from the San Diego lineup the last two days.

“It’s somewhat unusual,” Padres manager Andy Green said on Monday. “He’s completely healthy, he’s ready to go, he’s available. There’s nothing done at this point in time. Just the decision’s been made that he’s had a couple days off.”

The Blue Jays are in the market for an additional outfielder as the Deadline approaches. Toronto has also been linked to Padres starter Andrew Cashner, whom they’ll face on Tuesday at Rogers Centre.

Upton, 31, is earning $15.45 million this season and is owed $16.45 million next year. Rosenthal said the return the Padres would receive in any trade will determine how much of his salary San Diego will …

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