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Roy Halladay Rumors: Monday

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10:26pm: ESPN.com's Keith Law hears from multiple sources that the SI report below is "bogus."

9:15pm: Mike DiGiovanna at the L.A. Times talked to Angels GM Tony Reagins, who "hasn't ruled out anything" in a trade for Halladay. Still, DiGiovanna notes the Angels may not have the premium prospects to make a deal, let alone the desire to trade the prospects they have in the first place.

5:55pm: Jon Heyman at SI tweets that the Mets rejected a package of Fernando Martinez, Bobby Parnell, Jon Niese and Ruben Tejada for Halladay.

5:47pm: Peter Gammons weighs in on the situation, and talked to one GM who said "The general feeling is that he won't be traded." Gammons thinks that since Halladay's addition would give the Phillies a feasible chance to be world champions for three straight years as well as potential tutoring for Cole Hamels, the team should pursue Doc.

4:42pm: Theo Epstein told MLB.com's Ian Browne that he wants to hold onto his core of talented pitchers, but admits it's tempting to acquire an ace. He doesn't say Halladay's name, but it's fair to assume that's who he's talking about.

4:34pm: Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel doesn't expect the Brewers to acquire Halladay, primarily because they'd have to give up so much to get him.

4:05pm: Olney says he thinks the Phils should deal for Halladay, but says they may be reluctant to part with young talent for him, now that they've won 12 of 13.

3:43pm: Jeff Blair hears that just a few teams are serious about Halladay: the Phillies, Dodgers and Angels.

Cards GM John Mozeliak seems less interested in Halladay now that he has "lowered his sights in the trade market" and the Yankees and Red Sox don't believe Ricciardi will deal within the division.

12:50pm: ESPN.com's Buster Olney says the Phillies' need for Halladay could diminish if their division lead (now 6.5 games) continues to grow. Olney hears from executives who don't expect anyone to meet the asking price for Doc.

12:33pm: A friend of Halladay's tells Jon Heyman of SI.com that Doc's top priority is winning, but the righty would apparently prefer a quiet environment and a team that trains in Florida. Heyman's source believes the Yankees, Red Sox, Cardinals and Phillies are among the teams to which Halladay would approve a deal.

10:43am: MLB.com's Ken Gurnick says the Dodgers have the need for Halladay and the talent to acquire him. However, ownership may not be willing to commit enough money to land the Jays' ace.

8:58am: The latest on Roy Halladay, one day after his complete-game effort against the Red Sox…

  • Mike Rutsey of the Toronto Sun says Phillies executive Pat Gillick, Brewers assistant GM Gord Ash and scouts for the Rangers and Dodgers all watched Halladay's start yesterday.
  • The Globe's Tim Wharnsby reports that Gillick discussed the severity of Halladay's recent groin injury with the Blue Jays' team physician.
  • Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports says the Tigers, Twins and Red Sox also had people at the game, though the Red Sox "don't appear to have serious interest."
  • It's possible the teams were around to scout relievers, position players, or the Red Sox.
  • A rival GM says J.P. Ricciardi "won't trade Halladay unless he gets the deal he wants," Morosi hears. "But he wants to get a deal."
  • Jeff Blair of the Globe and Mail says the Jays scouted the Phillies' Single A team last week.
  • Blue Jays catcher Rod Barajas told MLB.com's Jordan Bastian that Halladay's the best pitcher he's ever caught. High praise, considering Barajas caught Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling with the D'Backs.

Pedro Contract Details Revealed

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Jayson Stark at ESPN has the skinny on Pedro Martinez's contract with the Phillies from sources. It's incentive-laden, and has a few intriguing facets (Many of which were also reported by Jon Paul Morosi at FOX Sports last week):

  • The deal is a prorated $2MM base salary, which will ultimately be worth less than $1MM for the rest of the season. 
  • He has incentives to pitch as both a starter and a reliever.
  • Bonuses are awarded for every start Pedro pitches after his fifth. He's also getting paid a $15K bonus for every fifteenth day he's on the active roster.
  • Incentives are included for postseason awards and the Comeback Player of the Year award.
  • In all, Pedro could receive an additional $1.275MM next to his salary.

That should put an end to the Pedro saga (for this year), which probably continued for a longer time than many of us expected. Longer than maybe Pedro expected, too, as he had been asking $5MM in a prorated deal for his services as late as mid-June, but he wasn't expected to get more than an incentive-laden deal like the one he finally agreed to. We'll see how he performs down the stretch, as it will determine his value when he re-enters the FA market this coming offseason.

Phillies To Continue Shopping

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Andy Martino at the Philadelphia Inquirer talked to Phils manager Charlie Manuel and assistant GM Scott Proefrock, and both say that the team's current NL East lead does not affect their pursuits of help for their bullpen, rotation and bench. Says Proefrock:

"All you have to do is look back two weeks ago. We’ve got a long way to go. This isn’t over by any stretch of the imagination, and we still need to be prepared for a tough battle the rest of the way."

Martino says that Proefrock was envisioning a "potential playoff rotation," though he didn't mention Roy Halladay by name. The Phillies are six and a half games ahead in first, and this news comes after a number of reports wondered if the team would make a splash with such a comfortable lead.

Phillies Scouted Chad Qualls

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The Phillies sent a scout to watch D'Backs closer Chad Qualls this weekend, according to Ed Price of MLB Fanhouse. The 30-year-old righty makes $2.5MM this year and won't be a free agent until after next season, so he should command good prospects in any trade, especially considering how well he's pitched this year. 

Qualls has 17 saves and has struck out 33, walking only five. He uses a fastball-slider combination to induce more grounders than fly balls, which would play well at homer-friendly Citizens Bank park.

Roy Halladay Rumors: Sunday

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9:01pm: Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com has a view of the Brewers' credentials.  "Rival teams say the Brewers have enough prospects to make a Halladay deal," writes Knobler, "even though they've suggested they won't trade Alcides Escobar or Mat Gamel."

8:21pm: It's probably worth noting that Halladay collected his 11th win of the season this afternoon, tossing a one-run complete game against the AL East-leading Red Sox.  The picture of consistency, he's done nothing but help his trade value these past few weeks.

8:07pm: SI.com's Jon Heyman believes the Phillies are still the front-runners to land Toronto's ace, but notes the Giants are now "kicking the tires."  The Angels, on the other hand, "appear to be characteristically reluctant to trade their prospects, hurting their chances."

If the Phillies want to make this deal happen, it sounds like they'll need to include top pitching prospect Kyle Drabek in the package to Toronto.  Some experts have deemed him "untouchable."

11:49am:  There's a great pitching matchup in Toronto today; Roy Halladay and Jon Lester match up in about 20 minutes. A number of top officials are at Rogers Centre to watch and it's safe to say they're not there because of Lester. Here are today's Halladay rumors:

  • Top officials from the Phillies, Brewers, Rangers and White Sox were in attendance at yesterday's Jays-Red Sox game and figure to watch this afternoon, according to Ken Fidlin of the Toronto Sun.
  • The last two Toronto GMs are expected to watch: Pat Gillick on behalf of the Phils and Gord Ash, who drafted Halladay, for the Brewers.
  • As Tyler Kepner of the New York Times notes, Brian Cashman is glad he didn't give up the farm to acquire Johan Santana a couple winters ago. He doesn't sound willing to deal top prospects away for Halladay, though he doesn't discuss specific players. 
  • ESPN.com's Buster Olney says the Jays should learn from the Twins, who waited too long and didn't obtain any sure things from the Mets for Santana. Olney argues that if the Jays deal now, instead of after the season, they can acquire top talent while it's still available to them.

Roy Halladay Rumors: Saturday

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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.

Heyman On Halladay, Francoeur, Brewers

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Jon Heyman of SI.com hears the Blue Jays have told the Yankees and Red Sox they're unlikely to trade Roy Halladay within the AL East and haven't even returned a call the Yankees placed about Halladay over a week ago. That leaves the Phillies and, now, the Dodgers as frontrunners to acquire the Jays ace. Here are the details and a few stray rumors:

  • One executive believes that any Blue Jays-Phillies swap would have to begin with the supposedly untouchable Kyle Drabek, who impressed in this week's Futures Game.
  • At least one exec believes the Jays would want to pluck a player from the Dodgers major league roster in any deal.
  • The Dodgers don't necessarily have enough minor league talent to tempt the Jays.
  • One Jays person said Cardinals top prospect Brett Wallace may not be enough to acquire Doc. 
  • The Jays are not insisting that teams take on the Vernon Wells contract in a potential deal. 
  • The Yankees and Red Sox have become more protective of their minor leaguers, so they're not likely to overwhelm the Jays with offers.  
  • The Yankees tried to trade for Jeff Francoeur last offseason. 
  • The Brewers could still make a run for a star pitcher. 
  • As SI writer Tom Verducci notes, the Dodgers would like to acquire a top reliever such as Chad Qualls or George Sherrill.

Roy Halladay Rumors: Friday

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12:30pm: Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com hears from an AL executive who would be "very surprised" if White Sox GM Kenny Williams isn't pursuing Halladay. 

The White Sox have seen attendance drop and Gordon Beckham appears to be untouchable. This means the White Sox could have trouble paying Halladay or enticing the Blue Jays with a package centered around Clayton Richard, Aaron Poreda, Dayan Viciedo and Tyler Flowers.

Tom Verducci of SI.com hears that Clayton Kershaw is off-limits, but the Dodgers want to make a run at Halladay with other prospects. The Jays like minor league third baseman Josh Bell.

10:10am: Here are the latest Roy Halladay rumors and a bit of trivia to explain why he's in such high demand: Halladay pitched less than seven innings for the first time this season on June 12th.

  • Don't expect the Cardinals to trade Colby Rasmus for Halladay. GM John Mozeliak told Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that he won't move the young outfielder in a deal for a player the Cards only control for a year and a half.
  • The Dodgers are looking for relievers now, but they'll try to acquire Halladay or Cliff Lee to improve their rotation, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com.
  • Bill Conlin of the Philadelphia Daily News says Halladay's availability has created such a frenzy that people "who wouldn't know Michael Taylor from Elizabeth Taylor speak authoritatively about a hole in the … outfielder's swing."
  • Mike Lupica of the New York Daily News says the Yankees should have enough talent not to have to bring in another Cy Young Award winner less than 100 games after adding C.C. Sabathia.

Odds & Ends: Escobar, Peavy, Mets, Cardinals

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A gaggle of links for your Thursday evening reading pleasure…

  • In response to someone mentioning the Yunel Escobar–Matt Holliday rumors, MLB.com's Mark Bowman says "There is zero truth to those Escobar rumors. The Braves have NO and I repeat no intention to move him. Believe me, if they move him, it will simply be a deal that they simply can't refuse and that wouldn't include anything involving Holliday."
  • Tom Krasovic notes that Jake Peavy is out of his walking boot, and is ready to begin "ramping it up."
  • David Lennon of Newsday says that earlier today Mets GM Omar Minaya twice mentioned "that he talked with five or six teams today."
  • Joe Strauss of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch says that the Cardinals may search for starting pitching if Todd Wellemeyer doesn't show more consistency over his next 2-3 starts.
  • Scott Lauber of The News Journal notes that the Phillies promoted one of their best prospects, outfielder Michael Taylor, to Triple-A. He speculates that Taylor may best serve the club as trade bait, considering all three of their regular outfielders were All Stars.
  • When asked who the best prospect was if matched up head to head, Baseball America's Jim Callis said he'd go with Bryce Harper over Justin Upton, citing Harper's advantage in power.
  • MLB.com's Mark Sheldon reports that the Reds gave Venezuelan shortstop Humberto Valor a $690k bonus. Valor signed with Cincinnati earlier this month.
  • David Villavicencio of MLB.com mentions that the Marlins have signed eight of their first ten draft picks. First rounder Chad James remains unsigned, however.
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