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Angels Resume Pursuit Of Roy Halladay

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The Angels have gotten back into the Roy Halladay sweepstakes, according to Mike DiGiovanna of The LA Times. We know the Halos were hard after the former Cy Young Award winner at the trade deadline, but Giovanna says the talks broke down when the Halos refused to include Erick Aybar in the deal. They eventually moved on and acquired Scott Kazmir.

With J.P. Ricciardi out of the picture, DiGiovanna notes that new GM Alex Anthopoulos may be willing to do a deal without Aybar. We've already heard that Anthopoulos may consider granting a team a window to negotiate a contract extension with Halladay before a trade, as long as it improves the return. The Angels might lose incumbent ace John Lackey to free agency, and a deal for Doc is expected to cost them one of their better young pitchers – Jered Weaver, Joe Saunders, or Ervin Santana.

DiGiovanna also reiterates what we heard last night, that it's a "long shot" that the Dodgers will trade for Halladay.

Dodgers “Long Shot” To Land Halladay

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Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times reports that the Dodgers are a "long shot" to land Roy Halladay, while Los Angeles GM Ned Colletti indicated an unwillingness to add Chad Billingsley into any Halladay deal.

It doesn't take much of a leap to think the former is a result of the latter.

Colletti refused to discuss Halladay specifically, but said of his desire to improve the pitching staff, "We would like to improve our pitching, especially starting pitching. I don't believe we can subtract from it in order to improve it."

The Dodgers have plenty of prospects for a potential Halladay deal, but adding Billingsley, an established arm, would give them a leg up on other teams who would have the financial flexibility to sign Halladay long-term.

Hernandez also writes that Colletti has been in contact with Brad Ausmus, but hasn't had discussions about Brandon Phillips or Dan Uggla.

Dodgers, Blue Jays Discussing Halladay

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SATURDAY 10:45pm: Citing a source close to the situation, Brown says the deal looked "highly unlikely" as of last night.

FRIDAY 8:26pm: Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports tweets that the Dodgers and Blue Jays are once again discussing Roy Halladay. Earlier today we learned that Toronto GM Alex Anthopoulos had contacted the Cubs about moving Halladay, and as Brown said, it looks like he's "restarting the process of moving Doc."

Odds & Ends: Atkins, Twins, Carlyle

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Links for Friday, as the free agent market officially opens…

Chien-Ming Wang Open To Dodgers

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Chien-Ming Wang appears open to pitching for the Dodgers if the Yankees cut him loose, according to a Taiwanese report passed along by Diamond Leung.  Reporters brought up the Dodgers idea and Wang replied, "Not bad" and talked about his comfort pitching for Joe Torre.  Whether the Dodgers are interested, we don't know.

Wang is nearly certain to be non-tendered by the Yankees after having surgery in July to repair a torn ligament in his shoulder capsule.  Joel Sherman of the New York Post wrote earlier this month that the Yankees might not even offer an incentive-based contract after non-tendering Wang.

Dodgers Don’t Plan To Pursue Lackey

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They may be looking for starting pitching , but the Dodgers don't plan to pursue John Lackey, according to Bill Shaikin of the LA Times. Team president Dennis Mannion told Shaikin that the team has reservations about making a big free agent commitment.

"You can't ignore the fact the economy will be level at best for next year," Mannion said. "We're not going to make any outlandish-type decisions in a rough economy."

That doesn't mean the Dodgers will have to trade arbitration-eligible players to save money. The team's ownership is in flux because of the McCourt divorce, but the Dodgers intend to keep players like Matt Kemp and Chad Billingsley as they become more expensive.

Jason Schmidt To Retire?

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MLB.com's Ken Gurnick confirmed Wednesday that Jason Schmidt is likely to retire.

Schmidt filed for free agency last week, but it may have simply been a formality.  "Leaving my options open," he said. "At this moment, no, I'm not thinking about pitching anymore. Down the road, I'm not sure. Initially, I'd say no way. I'm not planning on playing at this moment. In my mind, I retired when I left in August."

The 36-year-old right-hander made just 10 starts during his three-year tenure with the Dodgers, finishing 3-6 with a 6.02 ERA.  He has pitched 13 major league seasons, and, if truly done, will end his career with a 130-96 record, 3.96 ERA and 1,758 strikeouts.

Odds & Ends: DeRosa, Smoltz, Indians

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Some news and notes from around the majors….

  • It was previously reported that eight teams were interested in veteran utilityman Mark DeRosa.  According to Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times, you can add the Mets, Braves and Twins to the list, as well as DeRosa's most recent team, the Cardinals.  With so many interested parties, DeRosa's agent Keith Grunewald believes his client should have no problem getting his desired multi-year contract.
  • In that same article, Hernandez notes that the Dodgers talked to Grunewald about both DeRosa and another of the agent's clients, pitcher John Smoltz.  The Dodgers were previously cited as one of seven clubs looking at Smoltz, with Los Angeles being one of the teams looking at the veteran right-hander as a starter.
  • Speaking of Smoltz, MLB.com's Brian McTaggart (via Twitter) says the Astros aren't interested in the future Hall-of-Famer.
  • Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com breaks down what Cleveland might do with the back-end of their 40-man roster and with some of their top minor-league prospects.
  • Tracy Ringolsby, in a response to a reader's e-mail, doesn't believe the Rockies will pursue a free-agent infielder given the team's satisfaction with Ian Stewart and Clint Barmes.  Ringolsby also thinks that the return of Jeff Francis from injury will preclude Colorado from chasing a free-agent starter.
  • Cardinals GM John Mozeliak all but confirmed that Troy Glaus won't be back in St. Louis next season, says MLB.com's Matthew Leach.  Leach also notes that Mozeliak was non-committal about Jason LaRue returning as the Cards' backup catcher in 2010.

Several Teams Interested In Smoltz

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Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FoxSports.com report that several teams have expressed interest in free agent righty John Smoltz, who is open to starting or relieving. The Cardinals, Dodgers, Mets, Mariners, Astros, Rangers, and Orioles are the among the teams interested in the future Hall of Famer, and some teams inquired about him as a closer.

The 42-year-old Smoltz put up a 4.26 ERA in seven starts with St. Louis after his eight start cameo with Boston. His fastball generally sat in the low-90's, though he did strike out 73 batters in 78 total innings. 

Olney On Lackey, Astros, Rangers, Doumit, Carroll

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In today's blog post at ESPN.com, Buster Olney writes about Michael Bourn, and how he went from hitting .218 with a .273 OBP in the first half of 2008 to hitting .285 with a .354 OBP in 2009 thanks to a suggestion from Astros' coach Dave Clark.

Here's a roundup of Olney's rumors…

  • The Angels last offer to John Lackey was a $72MM package, made earlier this year.
  • Olney's educated guess is that the Mariners are the best bet to sign Lackey, followed in order by the Angels, Brewers, Mets, Red Sox, and Yankees.
  • Olney hears that the Astros "are cutting payroll, and will have the flexibility to make only minor moves, such as getting a right-handed hitting third baseman, to platoon with Geoff Blum."
  • Tom Hicks is still trying to find a way to hold onto the Rangers, but bids from prospective buyers are due next week.
  • The Pirates "first made it clear" they were willing to deal Ryan Doumit before the trade deadline, while the Dodgers have been having "internal conversations" about bringing Jamey Carroll aboard as a utility infielder.
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