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Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Lee, Halladay, Holliday, Zito

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On this date one year ago, the Phillies traded three minor leaguers to the A's for Joe Blanton. He would go on to make 13 starts for the Fightins, finishing 4-0 with a 4.20 ERA. With only two weeks remaining before this season's trade deadline, let's take a look at what is being written in the Blogosphere…

  • MLB Notebook says it is time for the Indians to move Cliff Lee.
  • The Ghost of Moonlight Graham breaks down the needs of the contenders as we approach the deadline.
  • Drunk Jays Fans explains why Roy Halladay should be traded and why he will still be a Blue Jay in August.
  • Talking Chop breaks down the Matt Holliday to Atlanta rumors.
  • The Fowl Balls says the Yankees need to get Roy Halladay and is willing to part with Joba Chamberlain, Austin Jackson and others. Just not Phil Hughes.
  • Viva El Birdos breaks down what it would cost the Cardinals to land Roy Halladay in terms of players and money.
  • The Voice of Yankees Universe looks at some big names that could be moved and have an impact on the AL East.
  • Jorge Says No! looks at whether Barry Zito's contract was the worst ever given to a pitcher.
  • We're the Team to Beat wonders why Omar Minaya is still calling the shots for the Mets.

Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com. If you have a suggestion for this feature, Cork can be reached here, and followed on Twitter here.

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.

Trade Candidates: Starting Pitchers

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Roy Halladay's availability changes everything, because teams in search of an ace can target him instead of settling for lesser pitchers. But many arms could be moved in the next 17 days and some could even be traded in August. These pitchers, who could all conceivably be dealt, are ranked from highest 2009 salary to lowest:

  • Roy Halladay, Blue Jays – At $14.25MM he's pricey, but he's one of the top pitchers in the game, capable of transforming a team's playoff chances like C.C. Sabathia did last year.
  • Javier Vazquez, Braves – The rumors surrounding Vazquez have quieted lately, but he could be moved. He makes $11.5MM this year and next and can't be traded to any Western division team.  
  • Gil Meche, Royals – Meche makes $11MM this year and has $24MM remaining on his deal afterwards.
  • Doug Davis, D'Backs – The D'Backs aren't impressed with the players the Brewers are willing to offer for their pitcher, who makes $8.75MM this year. Davis has been productive all season.
  • Jon Garland, D'Backs – Another solid but unspectacular arm, Garland makes $6.25MM this year. No team acquiring him should count on receiving picks if he leaves as a free agent, because Garland has a clause in his contract that prevents teams from offering him arbitration if he has Type A stauts.
  • Cliff Lee, Indians – He makes just $5.75MM this year and the Indians have an affordable $8MM option for 2010, so they'd have to see an awesome offer to part with Lee, who's following up his Cy Young season with another solid year.
  • Brad Penny, Red Sox – Now that they've called on Clay Buchholz, the Red Sox once again have a surplus of big league pitchers. At $5MM plus incentives, Penny's affordable this year. 
  • Ian Snell, Pirates – He's pitching well in Triple A, where he struck out 17 in one game. The Pirates have tried to move Snell and his $3MM salary.
  • Paul Mahom, Pirates – The Pirates have been willing to sell and Maholm's been effective this year. He makes $2MM, and has at least $11MM remaining on his deal after the year.
  • Brian Bannister, Royals – At just $1.7MM, he's one of the cheaper starters out there.  
  • Carl Pavano, Indians – The Indians aren't contenders and Pavano has pitched better this season than he did in four years with the Yankees. He makes a base salary of just $1.5MM, but that could rise as high as $6.8MM because of incentives.
  • Jonathan Sanchez, Giants – He makes less than $500k and, as we found out this weekend, he has the potential to be dominant.  

Let's not forget about some free agent pitchers like Ben Sheets (may be injured), Pedro Martinez (about to sign), Odalis Perez and Paul Byrd.

None of the following pitchers are available now, but they could be if their teams fall from contention: Bronson Arroyo, Doug Brocail, Jason Marquis, Erik Bedard and Jarrod Washburn.

Heyman On Deadline Deals

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Jon Heyman of SI.com believes Roy Halladay will be traded before the end of the month. Here are some teams that could pursue him:

  • The Phillies have the right combination of money, prospects and need to go after Doc.
  • The Rangers probably don't have the money to take on the $14.25MM Halladay makes this year.  
  • It's hard to see the White Sox obtaining Halladay without surrendering Gordon Beckham in the deal. 
  • Heyman considers Beckham as close to untouchable as it gets, along with Neftali Feliz, Derek Holland, Brett Wallace and others.

Heyman lists over 30 trade candidates; here are some highlights:

  • The A's may have to hold onto Matt Holliday and hope for a pair of high draft picks after the season, as Holliday's shown little power recently.
  • The D'Backs aren't impressed by what the Brewers are willing to give up for Doug Davis, so they may try to keep him in Arizona.
  • The offers for Chad Qualls may be too tempting for the D'Backs to ignore.  
  • "Teams will call" about Cliff Lee.  
  • Jose Valverde would be a trade candidate but for one thing: "the 'Stros don't like to sell."

And finally, a note on Pedro Martinez: 

  • Pedro should decide on his future soon. The Phillies are the favorites, followed by the Rangers.  

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.  

Cliff Lee Rumors: Monday

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Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that Indians GM Mark Shapiro would not specifically discuss possible trades involving Cliff Lee or Victor Martinez. Instead, Shapiro repeated that the Indians seek pitching in any deals, particularly young, controllable pitchers who are close-to-major-league-ready.  

The Rangers have a number of talented young pitchers, but don't expect them to dangle Neftali Feliz or Derek Holland to make a play for Lee. Tim Cowlishaw of the Dallas Morning News doesn't anticipate the cash-strapped Rangers will be active at the trade deadline.

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.  

Stark On Royals, Phillies, Holliday

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ESPN.com's Jayson Stark asks some thoughtful baseball people why we're not greeting Manny Ramirez like the "team-wrecking, alibi-distorting, female-fertility-drug-popping scoundrel he is." And, of course, Stark has piles of rumors. Here they are:

  • The Mets were never willing to move Bobby Parnell or other top young arms for Mark DeRosa, so they weren't as close to acquiring him as the Reds and Cubs were. The Phillies, Marlins and Giants were also in the mix.
  • The Indians are more interested in dealing Rafael Bentancourt than Kerry Wood, whose contract ($15MM remaining) would be hard to move.  
  • The Royals will listen on anyone but Zack Greinke, but that doesn't mean they're looking to deal starters. They're "reluctant" to deal Brian Bannister, Kyle Davies or Gil Meche, who has a no-trade clause.
  • The Phillies were looking at Juan Cruz, who the Royals say they'd only deal for an upper-tier prospect ready to make a big-league impact.  
  • The Reds will wait it out and ramp up their pursuit of a bat if they're in the race later in the month.  
  • One executive says Pedro Martinez didn't look bad in last month's workout; Pedro's just demanding too much money. 
  • The Phillies haven't given up on pursuing Cliff Lee, Erik Bedard or Roy Oswalt.  
  • The Braves are trying to deal Jeff Francoeur everywhere, but no one's interested. One front-office guy says his team would be interested if Francoeur's non-tendered.  
  • Officials are divided on whether Yunel Escobar could be dealt, but a trade is unlikely at best.  
  • Rangers GM Jon Daniels says he is now looking to bolster his rotation.  
  • As expected, Daniels confirmed that the Rangers will have "limited" ability to take on salary at the deadline. 
  • The A's will want "two prospects with tremendous upside" for Matt Holliday if they deal him. It's unclear how much of the $6.75MM remaining on his contract the A's would pick up.
  • Could Josh Willingham be the next-best bat on the market? One exec says he might be if Russell Branyan and Miguel Tejada don't become available.  
  • Another official says Willingham's unappealing because of his back issues.  

Odds And Ends: Blue Jays, Cotts, Indians

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Manny's back to help celebrate the Fourth of July weekend! Here are some links to start the day off…

Rosenthal On Holliday, Lee, Jays

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On the MLB Network, Ken Rosenthal says he wouldn't be surprised to see the Indians deal Cliff Lee. Here are the details and the rest of his rumors:

  • There's a good chance Matt Holliday will be dealt, though the A's aren't shopping him now. They say they'd have to be impressed to deal him, but Rosenthal suggests this is just a more subtle way of asking for offers.
  • Several GMs believe Billy Beane will trade Holliday this month. 
  • Rosenthal isn't sure Cliff Lee will be in Cleveland for the rest of the year. He says the Indians aren't going to sign him when he becomes a free agent after 2010, so if someone offers the young top-of-the-rotation starter the Indians are looking for, they could deal their ace.
  • Victor Martinez is less likely to be dealt, as the Indians would consider keeping him after 2010, when they're expected to pick up his option.  
  • There's no chance Vernon Wells gets traded.  
  • Alex Rios, however, could appeal to some teams as a center fielder, so there's a chance he's moved. 
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