Roy Halladay Rumors: Saturday
3:11pm: FOXSports.com's Jon Paul Morosi reports the Tigers have had internal conversations about Halladay, but doesn't see a deal happening:
"Meantime, the Tigers have had some internal discussions about Toronto ace Roy Halladay," writes Morosi," but have yet to initiate a trade dialogue with the Blue Jays about him. It's unlikely that Detroit would be able to meet Toronto's price in prospects, and Halladay, who has a no-trade clause, would have to approve the deal."
12:39pm: SI.com's Jon Heyman tweets that the Phillies are still the favorites to land Halladay. He hears that the Angels want to keep their prospects while the Rangers don't have the money to bring Doc aboard.
9:25am: Add the Brewers to the mix of teams who've talked to the Blue Jays about All Star Roy Halladay. Tom Haudricourt of The Journal Sentinel spoke to GM Doug Melvin, who confirmed that he did have a conversation with Toronto, but wouldn't go into details. It was previously reported that the Brewers weren't likely to part with top prospects Mat Gamel and Alcides Escobar, a point that was reiterated by Melvin.
Bill Shaikin of The LA Times reports that the Angels have pursued Halladay as well, but "club officials are not confident they can satisfy the Blue Jays in a trade." He says the Halos would consider parting with Brandon Wood, but would be hesitant to include one of their young Major League pitchers in a deal.
Roy Halladay Rumors: Thursday
7:08pm: T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com says the Rangers have had discussions with the Blue Jays about Halladay, but sources call it a "long-shot."
5:13pm: Joe Strauss of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch says the Cardinals are now downplaying a potential Halladay trade, mentioning that they have too little pitching and won't include centerfielder Colby Rasmus in a deal.
3:56pm: The Blue Jays told the Yankees and Red Sox they'd prefer to deal Halladay outside of the AL East according to Jon Heyman.
1:21pm: MLB.com's Todd Zolecki heard from a Phillies source who says Halladay's $14.25MM salary is nothing and won't be an issue. The inclusion of Vernon Wells in any trade would be a dealbreaker, however.
12:15pm: One exec told Jon Heyman of SI.com that he would trade Joba Chamberlain for Halladay, but wouldn't give Rick Porcello up for him.
11:07am: We heard that the Angels and Cardinals may have trouble piecing together an offer for Roy Halladay, but assembling an appealing group of players would be even harder for the Tigers. Here are details on Halladay, the Tigers and other suitors for baseball's best available pitcher:
- MLB.com's Jason Beck says the Tigers have the financial might to pursue Halladay, even if their young talent begins and ends with Rick Porcello and Ryan Perry.
- The Tigers don't have a stable fifth starter, so Halladay would be a massive upgrade for them, but money will not be enough to pry him away from the Jays and the Tigers don't have top prospects in the minors.
- I discussed Halladay and other players the Tigers could look to acquire in a Q&A at EyeOfTheTigers.com.
- Bill Madden of the New York Daily News says the Yankees need to give up the top prospects to acquire Halladay if the Blue Jays are willing to deal their ace within the division.
Odds And Ends: Pirates, K-Rod, Jackson
Some links to peruse in between home runs…
- Here are the latest minor league transactions from Baseball America.
- CBS Sports reports that Indian pitcher Rinku Singh picked up his first win as a pro. Check out Dejan Kovacevic's article on Singh's team, the Bradenton Pirates, which has players from five continents on its roster.
- Danny Knobler of CBS Sports has a source who believes a Roy Halladay deal is more likely in the winter. It's hard to imagine Halladay's value being much higher than it is now.
- Francisco Rodriguez told Kevin Baxter of the LA Times that he enjoys baseball less than he did growing up, but realizes it's a business.
- Edwin Jackson isn't bitter about his Tampa Bay Rays tenure, according to Kevin Baxter of the LA Times.
- The AP (via the Miami Herald) reports that a number of agents are pressing the Players' association to file a collusion grievance against teams.
- John Perrotto of PiratesReport.com revisits a deal that would have sent Paul Maholm to Toronto for Alex Rios in 2005 and wonders if the Pirates and Jays could make the same deal work today.
- Click here to listen to my chat with Justin Hull on 1570 The Score this afternoon.
Odds And Ends: Acta, Cubs, Halladay
Some links to start the week off…
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post doesn't believe the Mets would fire Jerry Manuel and call on Manny Acta.
- ESPN.com's Keith Law says Acta's firing reflects worse on the Nats than it does on Acta.
- Jon Heyman of SI.com says Acta will get another managerial job somewhere.
- Brandon Inge told Chris Iott of MLive.com that the Tigers haven't played their best, even though they're in first place.
- John Smallwood of the Philadelphia Daily News says the Phillies have a much better chance at repeating as World Series champions if they acquire Roy Halladay.
- Sherman points out that the Mets would have to play .640 ball the rest of the way to win 90 games. Doesn't seem likely.
- Bloomberg.com reports that the Cubs could file for bankruptcy to complete the sale of the team.
- Check out the first part of an ongoing series at NESN.com in which I discuss hot rumors around the majors. Click the link for thoughts on Roy Halladay, the Red Sox and the Yankee rotation and check back tomorrow for more.
Price’s Latest: Red Sox, Orioles, Tigers
Ed Price's Baseball Brunch column is up over at fanhouse.com. Let's take a look at the highlights:
- Price names several amusing first-half awards, including the "Bg Hitter" award for Albert Pujols, in honor of Albert's mammoth home run that took out the "I" in the Big Mac Land sign at Busch Stadium.
- The Red Sox's strategy as the deadline approaches is dependent on Mike Lowell's health. The Sox have looked at Garrett Atkins, but have found Colorado's asking price to be too much. Colorado apparently isn't impressed with Takashi Saito. If Lowell is to miss an extended period of time, Price writes that the Red Sox would have an easier time getting a first baseman and putting Kevin Youkilis at third.
- The Orioles know they're sellers, and have good trade pieces in Aubrey Huff and Danys Baez. However, Andy MacPhail has said he wants his team to be competitive in the second half, given the September slides his team has seen the past two seasons. Price briefly speculates that Baez could intrigue the Twins.
- The O's would have to be overwhelmed to move George Sherrill, and Jeremy Guthrie is no longer a trade candidate, with Koji Uehara ailing.
- Huff may interest Detroit, who needs some left-handed help in the order. They'd like someone who could play in the outfield, however. Price says that the Tigers inquired on Adam Dunn, but the finances didn't line up.
- The Rockies are in need of a quality setup man, as they've been using Joel Peralta and Matt Daley to get to Huston Street.
- The rumors of Doug Davis going to Milwaukee have died down for now.
- The Rays would like to upgrade in right field; they're currently using a platoon of Gabe Gross and Gabe Kapler.
Odds And Ends: Glaus, Magglio, Halladay
More links for the afternoon… for those on Roy Halladay alert, he pitched well today, though he wasn't exactly lights-out.
- Troy Glaus could begin rehabbing this weekend, according to Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
- ESPN.com's Rob Neyer says it will be "exceptionally difficult" for Magglio Ordonez to bat 166 more times if he remains in a platoon. If he bats 165 times or less, his $18MM option for 2010 doesn't vest.
- Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News says there's almost no way the Yankees would agree to take on Vernon Wells' salary in a potential Roy Halladay deal.
- Jay Jaffe of Baseball Prospectus writes on ESPN.com that the Phillies need Halladay now. The Rangers, Brewers, Angels and Cardinals fill out Jaffe's list of teams that need Doc most.
- Diamond Leung reports that the Padres acquired minor league catcher Yamid Haad from the Mariners organization and assigned him to Triple A.
- Lost and found: Bartolo Colon will start tonight for Triple A Charlotte, according to Mark Gonzales.
Maggs In Platoon; 2010 Option May Not Kick In
Magglio Ordonez and Clete Thomas are now platooning in right field, which could prevent Magglio's $18MM option from vesting for next year. Because he played regularly last season, Maggs needs to start 126 games or bat 457 times for his option to kick in. He won't likely start 126 games, since Thomas will get the call against righties, but 457 plate appearances remain within Maggs' grasp.
Rosenthal On Vazquez, Hairston, Teahen
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says Javier Vazquez has more value than any available hitter. Here are the details and the rest of Rosenthal's rumors:
- Not even Matt Holliday or Corey Hart would be fair value for Vazquez, so Rosenthal asks why the Braves would want to trade him at all.
- The Mets inquired on Scott Hairston, who could have been an affordable stopgap, but balked when the Padres asked for Bobby Parnell.
- The Marlins offered Gaby Sanchez for Manny Delcarmen, but the Red Sox weren't interested.
- The Mariners, Tigers and Rays weren't far from agreeing to a deal that would have sent Edwin Jackson to Seattle and J.J. Putz to Detroit last offseason.
- Kevin Towers compares Rule 5 pick Everth Cabrera to Rafael Furcal.
- The Royals "do not seem terribly inclined" to deal Mark Teahen.
- The Pirates covet Eric Young Jr. of the Rockies.
- Some predict that the distribution of amateur talent- through the draft and international signings- will be the biggest issue in the next Collective Bargaining Agreement.
Odds And Ends: O’s, Phillies, Braun, DeRosa
More links for the afternoon…
- Today's chat will take place in a little over an hour, at 2pm CST.
- It's worth checking out this Jerry Crasnick article at ESPN.com just for the photo of Nick Markakis balancing a folding chair on his chin. As Crasnick says, Markakis, Adam Jones, Nolan Reimold and Luke Scott will be an impressive group of outfielders on improved O's teams in the near future.
- In the midst of his mid-season awards, SI.com's Tom Verducci says the Tigers and Dodgers deserve credit for well-thought-out offseason moves.
- David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News lays out five possible packages the Phillies could offer the Jays for Roy Halladay. Every deal is headed by Dominic Brown or Kyle Drabek and includes other quality prospects.
- Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that Doug Melvin and Ryan Braun will meet today to discuss Braun's recent suggestion that the Brewers need pitching.
- One of this year's big acquisitions, Mark DeRosa, will hit the 15-day DL, according to Roger Hensley of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Odds And Ends: Escobar, Sanchez, Beimel
Some odds and ends to start the week off…
- Carroll Rogers of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution hears the Royals "covet" Yunel Escobar. As O'Brien says, Mark Teahen alone would not likely be enough to acquire the Braves' shortstop.
- Kiley McDaniel of Baseball Prospectus reports that the Tigers signed a pair of shortstops from Panama.
- Almost 70% of Cleveland Plain Dealer readers don't think Eric Wedge should be around for the rest of the year.
- Scott Ostler of the San Francisco Chronicle tells us how some well-placed calls by Ryan Sadowski's mother helped the Giants starter make the big leagues.
- Remember that Freddy Sanchez's All-Star Game berth means he only needs 600 plate appearances for his $8MM option to vest in 2010. He needs just 271 more.
- As Ben Bolch of the LA Times reports, Joe Beimel would return to the Dodgers if he could.
- Scott Hairston had a tough departure from his Padres teammates last night, according to MLB.com's Corey Brock.
- The D'Backs are making progress with first round pick Bobby Borchering and hope to sign him this month, according to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic.