Updated Dodgers rumors

Via Pro Sports Daily:

Trade winds blow in Maddux’s direction (Chicago Tribune)

The Dodgers are considered the most likely destination if Maddux is dealt. Los Angeles is close to his home in Las Vegas and the Dodgers were one of the teams he considered signing with after the 2003 season, when he agreed to a three-year deal with the Cubs.

Maddux has reached breaking point with Cubs (Chicago Sun-Times)

Just let him go. Reports say the Dodgers are interested in him. Make the deal. He’s not a Cub.

Big League Buzz (Chicago Sun-Times, scroll)

Before he was traded to the Texas Rangers, infielder/outfielder Jerry Hairston Jr. was being evaluated by the Los Angeles Dodgers. Talks with Cubs general manager Jim Hendry grew so serious, the Dodgers sent a scout to Chicago to evaluate Hairston. But the Dodgers are working with infielders Cesar Izturis and Willy Aybar to sharpen their skills in the outfield, so GM Ned Colletti backed off. Colletti is said to be interested in pursuing a July trade for veteran Greg Maddux, should the Cubs be out of serious postseason contention.

Fairy-tale ending for Maddux? Get out of town! (Chicago Sun-Times)

Let Maddux try to win a World Series elsewhere. As he points out, his three-year Cubs pact, which expires at season’s end, doesn’t include a no-trade clause. Though he’d never admit as much, that is a blessing. The Los Angeles Dodgers already have leaked interest in acquiring him, and that is no idle chatter considering their general manager is Ned Colletti, who tried in vain as a Cubs front-office staffer to keep Maddux in 1992 and nearly landed Maddux in San Francisco two years ago. With no assurance Barry Zito and Dontrelle Willis will be on the trading block next month, Maddux could be the focus of a midseason bidding battle that also might involve the Yankees, Red Sox, Giants and Padres. He deserves to pitch in a pennant race, and he’ll have that chance as soon as he says the word.

Singles and doubles (NewsDay, scroll)

Former Yankees farmhand Dioner Navarro is being shopped by the Dodgers, who like Russell Martin better.

The Dodgers also would deal Cesar Izturis — “he’s Omar Vizquel with an arm,” one scout said — and the Red Sox have interest.

A-Rod, Giambi queasy on availability tonight (NJ Star-Ledger, scroll)

The Yankees, who pick 21st in the first round and also have the 41st overall pick as compensation for losing Tom Gordon, have also been linked to […] Indiana high school infielder Preston Mattingly (son of hitting coach Don)…

The Los Angeles Dodgers also are high on the 18-year-old Mattingly, who will work out today for Yankees scouts in Tampa, Fla.