Author: Tim Dierkes

Roughly a half-dozen teams may be shopping credible starting pitching at this year's trade deadline.  Let's play matchmaker and examine potential buyers.

• Nationals.  As I wrote on May 6th, the Nationals should acquire starting pitching as soon as possible.  Reinforcements are on the way, but with Scott Olsen hitting the DL there is too much uncertainty. 
• Blue Jays.  Jesse Litsch will be back in June, but one veteran addition would help.
• Tigers.  Max Scherzer could be a shot in the arm if he straightens things out in Triple A.  Otherwise, they have Rick Porcello, Jeremy Bonderman, Dontrelle Willis, and Armando Galarraga backing up Justin Verlander.
• Diamondbacks.  Brandon Webb might be all this team needs, but he's working on a new arm slot as he rehabs from shoulder surgery.  It may take another month.
• Red Sox.  Josh Beckett is on the DL with a back strain, so Tim Wakefield stepped in.  Boston's interest in starting pitching might be limited to the possibility of renting Cliff Lee. 
• Reds.  Homer Bailey's shoulder tightness is a concern, but the Reds' biggest gains will probably come from continued improvements by Bronson Arroyo and Aaron Harang. 
• Angels.  They've got their starting five, so they might just have to hope for better things from Joel Pineiro and Scott Kazmir. 
• Dodgers. John Ely has been excellent and Vicente Padilla has been working his way back, so the Dodgers' interest in starting pitching might be limited to aces.
• Mets.  Mike Pelfrey has emerged behind Johan Santana.  Jon Niese has a spot when he returns from a hamstring strain and Hisanori Takahashi looked good against the Yankees.  The Mets should still look to add at least one starter, but most people felt that way during the offseason.

Starting pitching is always the biggest need at the trade deadline.  Over two months remain until July 31st, but we may have enough data to determine who's selling.

• Orioles.  They'll presumably have Kevin Millwood up for auction.  The 35-year-old righty is winless in ten starts despite the best strikeout-to-walk ratio of his career and a league-leading 68 innings.  The Orioles are paying him $9MM this year and would have to get around his limited no-trade clause.  The O's can also offer 31-year-old righty Jeremy Guthrie, who's trimmed walks this year and sports a 3.86 ERA.  Guthrie is more than a rental; he's under team control through 2012.
• Indians.  A Jake Westbrook trade seems inevitable.  He's finally back from Tommy John surgery and has retained his ability to generate grounders.  His $11MM salary will limit the Indians' return.
• Royals.  They could part with Gil Meche, but he's been walking everyone this year after dealing with shoulder pain in April.  He earns $12MM this year and the same in '11, so interest will be minimal.  Brian Bannister might be a better trade candidate.  The 29-year-old righty is under team control through '12, just like Guthrie.
• White Sox.  If the Sox quit on the season, they could consider dealing Mark Buehrle, Freddy Garcia, or even John Danks.  Buehrle is well-paid and will get 10-and-5 rights on July 6th.  If dealt, his contract is expanded to cover 2012 at $15MM.  Garcia hasn't shown much promise this year.  Danks has been dominant and is under team control through '12, but the Sox would presumably need a ton to cash him in now.
• Mariners.  They'd have the best rental trade chip of any team: Cliff Lee, being paid just $9MM this year.  The Ms would also want to dump Ian Snell, who is likely to be non-tendered after having his '11 option declined.
• Astros.  They could market three veteran starters, led of course by Roy Oswalt.  We've discussed Oswalt quite a bit at MLBTR, but the Astros may also trade Brett Myers and Wandy Rodriguez.  Myers is having a resurgent season and has only a mutual option for '11.  Rodriguez has slipped from his breakout '09 and is under team control through '11.
• Brewers.  They can offer up veterans Dave Bush, Doug Davis, and Jeff Suppan, if anyone will have them.  The goal here would be just to free up a few million bucks.
• The Pirates, Cubs, and Diamondbacks could become sellers, with Brandon Webb the most interesting potential name.  The Athletics, Angels, Braves, and Padres could offer a few arms if things head south.

The starting pitching trade market may feature a pair of aces in Oswalt and Lee, with the cost-conscious buyers gravitating toward Lee.  Millwood, Westbrook, and Myers are three likely veteran rentals.  The undefined segment of the market is those under team control beyond 2010 – we don't know whether Guthrie, Bannister, Danks, and Rodriguez can be had.

Looking for left-handed relief?  Here's a look at the projected trade market.

• Aaron Laffey is doing a nice job against southpaws for the Indians, and he's under team control for the foreseeable future.  Rafael Perez should also be available, but he hasn't been effective in a while.
• The Pirates could move Jack Taschner and Javier Lopez.  Taschner has strong peripherals against lefties, aside from hits allowed.
• Matt Thornton has been dominant and is capable of closing, but the White Sox might want him around for next year.  He has a reasonable $3MM club option.
• The Orioles can offer a pair of veteran southpaws in Will Ohman and Mark Hendrickson.  Ohman sports a 0.00 ERA, but he's walked 5.4 per nine.
• The Dodgers' George Sherrill is a non-tender candidate after the season, as he's earning $4.5MM this year.  He's had a rough year so far, with 12 walks and 15 hits in 13 innings.  The Dodgers have a more appealing lefty in Hong-Chih Kuo, who is superb when healthy.
• Teams would probably line up for the Brewers' Manny Parra, but he's currently in the rotation while Doug Davis is on the DL.

Cubs GM Jim Hendry recently explained to the Chicago Sun-Times that he'd like to add a right-handed reliever, but they're hard to come by on the trade market.  For the Cubs and other interested teams, which righty relievers might be out there soon?

• Kyle Farnsworth has done tolerable work so far this year.  He's being paid $4.5MM, plus a $500K buyout after the season.  The Royals would probably eat a significant portion.  The Indians will have to get creative to move Kerry Wood, who is earning $10.5MM.  The Orioles' Koji Uehara was recently activated from the DL.  At $5MM, the O's would presumably be happy to move a portion of his contract.
• If the White Sox decide to sell, they could potentially blow up their bullpen.  Tony Pena, Bobby Jenks, J.J. Putz, and Scott Linebrink would have varying degrees of trade value.  The Astros could do the same, with Matt Lindstrom the most attractive piece.  The Brewers have inventory, but no one too useful.
• The Mariners have three controlled, quality arms in David Aardsma, Brandon League, and Mark Lowe.  Lowe is currently on the DL with a back injury.  If the Ms start looking to next year, one of the three might be traded.
• The Pirates could look to flip many of their recently-signed free agent relievers, including Octavio Dotel, Brendan Donnelly, and D.J. Carrasco.  Donnelly should return from an oblique strain this week.
• Should the Diamondbacks send up the white flag, Aaron Heilman and Chad Qualls could hit the market.