By Chris Cotillo | ccotillo@masslive.com

Keep up with the latest Boston Red Sox news, trade rumors, signings and more with the weekly MLB News and Notes from MassLive's Chris Cotillo.

Make sure to follow Chris on Twitter at @ChrisCotillo to get the live Red Sox coverage on and off the field. You can contact him at CCotillo@masslive.com for any news tips and suggestions.

AP Photo/Winslow Townson

BOSTON -- Red Sox All-Star first baseman Mitch Moreland nearly wasn't a first baseman at all. If Rangers president of baseball operations/general manager Jon Daniels had his way back in 2007, Moreland would've turned into a pitching prospect for Texas.

Moreland, a 17th-round pick by Texas in 2007, made 25 appearances on the mound in three years at Mississippi State, logging a 3.31 ERA in 32.2 innings. He was drafted as a first baseman and had an average year in his first pro season, OPSing .706 with Low-A Spokane.

Daniels and then-farm director Scott Servais, who is now the manager of the Mariners, had an idea. They asked Moreland to pitch in 2008, having seen his college success. Moreland asked them for one more chance to stick as a hitter, starting the 2008 season with Single-A Clinton. The rest was history.

Don't Edit

AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall

Moreland broke into the majors two years later, beating out two other Rangers prospects who have each been All-Stars themselves in Justin Smoak and Chris Davis. Moreland beat out Smoak, a first-round pick, and Davis, a fifth-rounder, to become Texas' first baseman of the future.

"Mitch just put his head down and outperformed those guys," Daniels said. "When we got to the playoffs in 2010, Mitch took the job and was the guy."

Daniels is proud to see his former player doing so well in Boston after leaving Texas following the 2016 season. Seeing Moreland named to his first All-Star Game has made Daniels proud.

Don't Edit

Give it up for first time All-Star, Mitch Moreland! 👏👏👏 pic.twitter.com/YYN9pU4Pzz — Red Sox (@RedSox) July 8, 2018

"Mitch is a salt-of-the-earth human," Daniels said. "Hard worker, hard-nosed guy. Very principled. Kind of more of a lead-by-example guy. Always was playing through a ton of injuries with us. Sometimes, to an extreme. He was kind of a quiet leader. Set an example for other guys who maybe didn't want to go out there without being 100 percent. Mitch was out there every day and never at 100 percent."

"It's extremely well-deserved and really earned in every sense of the word."

Don't Edit

AP Photo/Lynne Sladky

Lackluster Derby rosters a disappointment

If the obvious All-Star Game snubs weren't enough, Major League Baseball struck out again with the lackluster Home Run Derby field that they announced Wednesday.

Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, J.D. Martinez and Mookie Betts are all sitting this one out. Ditto Jose Ramirez, Francisco Lindor, Mike Trout, Nolan Arenado, Manny Machado and Paul Goldschmidt, who all have more than 20 homer this season. Instead, the field includes two stars in Bryce Harper and Freddie Freeman, two exciting young players in Alex Bregman and Javier Baez, and then three non-All Stars (Kyle Schwarber, Max Muncy and Rhys Hoskins) and a Final Vote winner (Jesus Aguilar).

Don't Edit

AP Photo/Gregory Bull

Aguilar and Muncy are great stories, considering not many people had heard of them before this year. But the derby is supposed to be about the stars and fails miserably this year.

It's on Major League Baseball to find a way to make the derby exciting again, whether by incentivizing it for players or marketing it in a way similar to the NBA Slam Dunk contest. Some claim the All-Star Game is dying. The Home Run Derby sure looks to be, too.

Don't Edit

Don't Edit

AP Photo/Chris O'Meara

Demand for starting pitching market is there, but supply isn't

A year after teams looking for starting pitching had Jose Quintana, Yu Darvish, Sonny Gray and Justin Verlander to choose from on the trade market, it's slim pickings this year. Though the demand is there (hello, Yankees, Diamondbacks, Cubs, Brewers, Mariners, Nationals and others), the supply is not.

J.A. Happ (Blue Jays), Cole Hamels (Rangers), Nathan Eovaldi (Rays), Tyson Ross (Padres), Matt Harvey (Reds), Mike Fiers (Tigers) and Zack Wheeler (Mets) seem to be among the readily available names. Teams will try to pry away Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard from the Mets, Michael Fulmer from the Tigers and Blake Snell from the Rays, likely to no avail.

Don't Edit

AP Photo/Frank Franklin II

It appears Happ will be the top name available at the deadline, which looks reasonable considering he's an All-Star on an expiring contract and worse when you look at his 4.44 ERA entering Tuesday's start in Boston. Ross and Eovaldi, two comeback stories, may be the safest rental bets.

Contenders without rotation question marks like the Red Sox, Astros and Indians are comfortable with their staffs in good year to feel that way. Only nominal upgrades are available.

Don't Edit

AP Photo/Carlos Osorio

Potential Beltre deal complicated for Texas

Adrian Beltre looks like a perfect trade candidate on paper, as he's OPSing .750, playing solid defense and is an on expiring contract, even at 39. But there are a few factors complicating a potential trade by the Rangers.

First, Texas values Beltre's leadership in a lost year and may look to extend him before his two-year, $36 million deal is up at the end of the season. The future Hall of Famer has thrived in his eight years with the club and may be amenable to finishing up there, even if the club won't contend.

Don't Edit

AP Photo/Ron Jenkins

Second, Beltre's salary (about $9 million) for the rest of the year may be too much for some clubs with luxury tax concerns to handle. And lastly, Beltre has full 10-and-5 rights, meaning he can block a trade anywhere and may prefer to stay in Texas and continue helping with the rebuild.

Beltre's case will be a fascinating one to watch as we approach the deadline and Jon Daniels works to extract value in his first deadline as a seller in a few years.