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More Halladay Chatter

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GMs' phones must be ringing off the hook tonight, and most of the incoming calls are probably from your friendly neighborhood baseball beat writer. Let's scope out the latest news from Buster Olney:

  • Olney has updated his previous post on the news, and gets word that Halladay might be open to waiving his no-trade clause.
  • Olney goes on to say that since Halladay would depart after 2010 as a likely Type A, he will command two high draft choices. Thus, all trade offers would have to begin with such talent.
  • Angels manager Mike Scioscia says GM Tony Reagins has talked to Toronto about Doc.
  • Olney runs through more suitors: the Red Sox, who have "stubbornly clung to their young pitching," the Mets and Cubs, who may or may not have the proper package of prospects, Yankees, and the Phillies.

In other news around the beat:

Halladay Season: Link Round-Up

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The baseball realm is a-twitter with the news that the Blue Jays will listen to offers on Roy Halladay. Let's run down the latest bullet points on this front:

Odds And Ends: O’s, Phillies, Braun, DeRosa

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More links for the afternoon…

One Year Ago: Sabathia Trade Completed

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One year ago today, the Brewers and Indians officially announced the trade that sent C.C. Sabathia to Milwaukee for Matt LaPorta and others. The deal worked perfectly for the Brewers, who made the playoffs thanks to 13 dominant starts by Sabathia, including seven complete games and three shutouts. The Brewers also received two compensation picks for losing Sabathia in free agency, which they used last month to select Kentrail Davis and Maxwell Walla.

The Indians received LaPorta, who has hit well for them in Triple A, putting up a .307/.384/.535 line with 27 extra base hits this year. He struggled in 49 big league plate appearances, hitting .190/.286/.286 with one homer. LaPorta's more valuable than the Davis-Walla combination and should be a contributor on Indians teams for years.

As this blockbuster deal shows, trades are not necessarily a zero-sum game; both teams can benefit from the right move.

Discussion: Milwaukee Brewers

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SATURDAY, 7:44pm: Brewers GM Doug Melvin did not approve of Braun's comments, telling Haudricourt Monday that he was "ticked off" upon hearing them.

“It was inappropriate for him to say what he said, and I’m not happy about it,” Melvin said on Monday.  "To make the statements he made and also get on his teammates like that, it was irresponsible on his part. It just ticked me off.”

FRIDAY, 8:10pm: According to Tom Haudricourt at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, you can count Ryan Braun in as a proponent of the Brewers pursuing a pitcher: 

"To show everybody we’re for real, we can go out there and make a move and improve our ball club. We want to head in the right direction, not the wrong direction," Braun said after the team lost three of four to the Cubs. He said the Cubs "threw the ball a lot better than our starters did. They certainly swung the bats better than we did as well. Clearly, they were the better team."

11:31am: Yesterday, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com suggested the Brewers have some questions to answer, including their rotation and whether or not to send Mat Gamel to Triple-A.

Tom Haudricourt thinks the Brewers need to act quickly to acquire a starting pitcher. "It's a tough market, depleted by injuries to Jake Peavy and Erik Bedard, but the Brewers need another arm to stay in the playoff race. That remains true even if [Dave] Bush and [Manny] Parra return to the rotation in the near future," says Haudricourt.

Anthony Witrado of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says "it's no secret" the Brewers are trying to add another player via trade before the end of July. However, the market is bare. Witrado says, "Based on what the Brewers are looking for (probably established pitching) and what potential sellers would want in return (probably younger pitching), [Doug] Melvin said there are fewer than 10 teams that could potentially 'match up' with the Brewers."

Witrado notes Gamel and Alcides Escobar are untouchable. "So to pull off a deal and keep the organization's two best prospects, a big-league player would probably have to be involved," says Witrado.

What would you do if you were running the Brewers? Who would you target and what would you give up? What would you do about Gamel?

Brewers, Braves Not Discussing Vazquez

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4:35pm: Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel spoke with Brewers GM Doug Melvin and heard that the two teams are not discussing a trade for Vazquez.

3:40pm: The Brewers heard Ryan Braun's plea for help and they have responded. They called the Braves about Javier Vazquez, according to ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick. However, Atlanta likely won't part with Vazquez in a deal that doesn't bring back Mat Gamel or Alcides Escobar, a pair of youngsters Brewers GM Doug Melvin has repeatedly deemed untouchable. Buster Olney said this weekend that the Brewers wouldn't be able to acquire Vazquez for Corey Hart alone.

The Brewers need pitching and the Braves have rotation depth, as Tim Hudson's expected to return next month. However, Braves GM Frank Wren won't make a deal unless he's "overwhelmed," as Vazquez is a major trade chip in a pitching-thin market. Vazquez makes $11.5MM this year and next and he can't be traded to any Western division team without his permission.

Heyman On Street, Indians, Pedro, Davis

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Jon Heyman of SI.com lists his mid-season award winners, led by Albert Pujols and Joe Mauer. Here are Heyman's latest rumors:

  • Huston Street alone is worth more on the trade market than Matt Holliday. Dan O'Dowd must be happy with his return, which also included Carlos Gonzalez.
  • Jhonny Peralta, Kerry Wood and Carl Pavano are all available.  
  • Indians GM Mark Shapiro believes he can still get a fair return for Cliff Lee if he deals him a year from now, a few months before the lefty is scheduled to become free agent.
  • One executive says the Royals are "pushing" Brian Bannister as a trade candidate. However, they're reluctant to deal Gil Meche and Joakim Soria.  
  • Pedro Martinez intends to sign soon. We know the Phillies are scouting him. Could there be a match in Philly?  The Rays are "thought to be in the mix," while the Yankees are not, even with Chien-Ming Wang's injury.
  • There's apparently been "little progress" between the Brewers and D'Backs regarding Doug Davis. 
  • Nolan Ryan is part of one group trying to buy the Rangers.  

Odds & Ends: Marlins, Brewers, Wang, Mitre, Matzek

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Here's some links to hold you over while waiting for the sky to start lighting up…

  • Manny Navarro of The Miami Herald says the Marlins have some important decisions to make in the coming weeks, whether they plan to make a trade before the deadline or not.
  • MLB.com's Adam McCalvy mentions that the Brewers have some questions of their own to answer, including what to do with the starting rotation and how to handle Mat Gamel, who hasn't played much of late.
  • Chien-Ming Wang is headed for the DL after leaving today's game with a shoulder strain and bursitis, and Peter Abraham of The Journal News mentions that Sergio Mitre could be an option to replace him in the rotation. After rehabbing from Tommy John surgery and serving a 50-game suspension, Mitre has a 3.26 ERA and a 2.71 GB/FB ratio in 30.1 Triple-A innings this year.
  • Wang's injury basically eliminates any chance he'll be traded by the 31st as well.
  • Rockies' top pick Tyler Matzek is the first rounder most likely not to sign according to Jim Callis of Baseball America.
  • Bart Hubbuch of The New York Post tweets that reliever Connor Robertson has been demoted all the way to High-A ball. Ouch. Robertson had been designated for assignment about two weeks ago.

Olney’s Latest: Atlanta’s Potential Trade Partners

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ESPN.com's Buster Olney chimes in with some players and teams that could matchup in a trade with the Braves, who could dangle Javier Vazquez and/or Yunel Escobar as bait. Most of the rumors are just Olney's own speculation, but let's round 'em up anyway.

  • The Red Sox have liked Escobar for a while, but don't match up very well for a trade.
  • Olney mentions that Jacoby Ellsbury might be the only fit since JD Drew is owed a ton of money and Jason Bay will be a free agent after the year, but that wouldn't work for  Boston since they would then need to find another centerfielder.
  • Olney speculates that the Red Sox could use their young pitching to engage a third team in a trade, mentioning that Matt LaPorta, Shin-Soo Choo and Corey Hart could be a good fit.
  • Boston could eat some of the money left on Julio Lugo's deal to give Atlanta a stop-gap shortstop should they deal Escobar.
  • The Red Sox are not interested in Jeff Francoeur.
  • If Milwaukee and Atlanta discussed a Vazquez-Hart swap, the Brewers would likely have to kick in another piece.
  • The Twins could offer one of their many outfielders in exchange for Escobar. Delmon Young might not be enough to entice the Braves, but Michael Cuddyer or Denard Span could be.
  • The Dodgers would love to add Vazquez to their rotation, but Juan Pierre probably wouldn't be enough given his lack of power.
  • The A's could package Matt Holliday and Orlando Cabrera, both free agents after the season, for Escobar, who would step in as Oakland's shortstop of the future.

Heyman On V-Mart, Red Sox, Chapman

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Jon Heyman of SI.com says the Red Sox will come calling if the Indians are willing to part with Victor Martinez. And take this for what it's worth, but the Indians were scouting Boston's best prospects this week. Here are details on those two clubs and the rest of Heyman's rumors:

  • Clay Buchholz, Justin Masterson and Michael Bowden are just the sort of MLB-ready pitchers the Indians seek.
  • Still, the Indians would require a stunning amount in return for Martinez or Cliff Lee, since both players can be part of a contending Indians club for affordable 2010 options.  
  • Generally speaking, the Red Sox are reluctant to deal their top young pitching.
  • The Indians are relatively deep at catcher, with Kelly Shoppach and prospect Carlos Santana.  
  • Red Sox first base prospect Lars Anderson could also appeal to the Indians. 
  • The Pirates initially asked for Craig Stammen or Garret Mock in their recent deal with the Nats, but Mike Rizzo wasn't willing to deal them. 
  • The Phillies discussed Pedro Martinez, since there are few good fits for them on the trade market now. 
  • Heyman says Doug Davis makes sense for the Brewers. 
  • A D'Backs person says "[Dan] Haren stays," even though many of his teammates are believed to be available.
  • Heyman names the Yankees as the early favorites to sign Aroldis Chapman.  
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