Cubs Rumors: Aramis Ramirez, Untouchables

There hasn't been a lot of talk about the Cubs lately, but we should probably keep an eye on them given that they should be major sellers at this point. The fact that we haven't heard much about the Cubs selling probably is another point against Jim Hendry, although to be fair he's already traded Kosuke Fukudome. I'd expect more, though, given how much money the Cubs owe to such a bad team.

• At the moment, we're hearing conflicting reports on Aramis Ramirez's willingness to waive his no-trade clause. Earlier in the season, we had heard that Ramirez wouldn't waive the clause and wanted to finish the season in Chicago. Then Patrick Mooney of CSN Chicago tweeted that Ramirez is somewhat open to a deal and doesn't want to stay around Chicago for a rebuilding effort. But later, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports disagreed with that report from Mooney, tweeting that nothing has changed and Ramirez still doesn't want to be dealt. So at this point, it's really hard to tell whether the Cubs can actually deal their star third baseman.
• But if they can, we can confirm that the Los Angeles Angels were certainly be one suitor. According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, the Angels are "indeed quite interested" in Ramirez, and Nightengale notes that Ramirez would be a perfect fit for the Halos. It's worth noting that John Perrotto of Baseball Prospectus reported in his most recent "On The Beat" column that the Cubs have told teams that, "Ramirez might now be convinced to waive the no-trade clause in his contract."
• Also from Perrotto, the Cubs are apparently, "telling teams that everyone but shortstop Starlin Castro could be had in the right deal," which conflicts with previous reports that players like Sean Marshall, Jeff Baker and Darwin Barney wouldn't be discussed.