Pedro had a private workout for the Phils and has been looking for a team for weeks now.

Phillies beat writer, Todd Zolecki reports that GM Ruben Amaro Jr. declined to comment when asked about the report.

If the Phillies are willing to pay Pedro $4 million for the rest of the season I've got a bridge they might be interested in. And, since there has been little interest from other teams and it would seem the Phillies are only bidding against themselves in this situation.

Those two points seem to call the report into question (I don't speak or read Spanish but feel free to evaluate it for yourself) but GM's usually have no problem blasting outlandish or incorrect reports so Amaro's "no comment" would seem to be significant.

Amaro made news earlier in the week by saying the team had flexibility to trade for an ace (read as Roy Halladay) and I certainly don't think with his history of injury & inconsistency that signing Pedro would pull the Phils out of the market for starting pitching.

Ryan had taken issue publicly with his work-load lately and was obviously frustrated with the situation. Similarly, the Jays were frustrated with getting a sub-par performance from the reliever, who has only 2 saves this year with a bloated 6.53 ERA.

Unfortunately for the Jays, they're still on the hook for the remainder of Ryan's contract which pays the former close $12 million this year and $10 million next year.

Despite Ryan's poor performance, I'd expect a contending team to give him a shot at the league minimum.

The New York Post's Joel Sherman says that the Phillies should be viewed as the favorite to land Halladay from the Jays. He quotes on GM as saying "No team in baseball is more motivated to get a starter than the Phillies."

Sherman also lists the Cardinals and Rangers as darkhorses in the bidding. As mentioned previously, the Cardinals have two top prospects the Jays are known to covet and as Sherman notes, have nearly $30 million coming off the books next year.

Despite that increased flexibility, Bernie Miklaz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch makes a pretty convincing case on why he doesn't the Cardinals are a fit.

Last but not least, Sherman finally gives some ink to the Rangers who have been rumored to be limited by payroll issues but certainly have the players possible to grab Toronto's interest.

Update 7-8-09:

As expected, lots of talk around the league about Halladay. The NY Daily News doesn't expect Toronto to trade within the division and also doesn't think the Yankees would pay the price in players it would take to land the ace.

The Philadelphia Inquirer believes the Phillies will make a big push to land Doc Halladay, and they would seem to have the trade chips to do so. The only problem of course is that they're not the only team that will be vying for his services.

MLB.com's Dodger beat writer doesn't seem to like the chances that Halladay will be wearing Dodger blue any time soon.

Future Redbirds author Erik Manning points out that Jay's GM J.P. Ricciardi has long coveted Brett Wallace (who was drafted by the Blue Jays back in '05 before attending ASU). Manning speculates that Wallace and highly touted prospect Pete Kozma would be the likely starting point if St. Louis were to acquire Halladay.

While some onlookers faulted Ricciardi for not trading Halladay sooner, when more teams would be able to afford to take on his salary, the feeding frenzy that has ensued after the announcement makes it clear he's still going to get plenty of bang for his buck.

7-7-09

As the Toronto Blue Jays have fallen out of contention, the pressure to trade ace Roy Halladay has been mounting. Halladay's a free agent after the 2010 season and with so few impact players on the trade market this year, the Jays could make a killing by trading the hurler.

Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi was quoted as saying "I'm not saying we're going to shop him. But if something makes sense, we at least have to listen. We're (leaning) more toward listening than we've ever been."

Halladay, 32, has a full no trade clause but has reportedly stated he'd wave it to play for a contender.

When a pitcher like "Doc" is moved AND is more than just a rental, the entire league gets interested. And, according to a tweet by Jordan Bastian, MLB.com's beat writer for the Jays, more than a dozen teams "have asked about Halladay [but] "Serious" interest [came from] NYY, NYM, STL, MIL, LAD, LAA, BOS"

While it's going to take a king's ransom for anyone to pry the former Cy Young winner away, I have a hard time believing the Jays would trade him within the division.

Sports Illustrated's Jon Heyman tweeted that the "Jays may want top SS prospect in package for Doc." Which, he points out would be "good for #phils (donald), #brewers (escobar), #chisox (beckham)."

We'll undoubtedly be hearing MUCH more about possible trades in the coming days and we'll keep this post updated with up to the minute news as we hear it. I get the feeling this year's trade deadline is going to be a wild one!

While the Padres and A's are both considered "sellers" for this year's trade deadline, Oakland has attempted to land Hairston for quite some time now. The outfielder is under team control through the 2011 season at a very reasonable rate, making him a natural fit for Oakland's Moneyball GM, Billy Beane.

Also, by landing Hairston who's in the midst of a career year batting .299 with 1o HR before the break, the A's may now be more willing to trade hard hitting outfielder Matt Holliday.

The Mets, Reds, Giants, and Phillies were also rumored to be interested in Hairston but all would likely become suitors for Holliday if Oakland decides to come off their demand of two "high impact" prospects in exchange for the soon to be free agent slugger.

The Padres, for their part, are said to view the PTBNL as the key to the deal. The player will reportedly be one of two Oakland pitchers one of whom is said to have Major League service time.

The player will be announced next month but landing 3 decent arms for a formerly mediocre player having a career year seems to define "selling high" for the Padres.

"contrary to an ESPN.com report, a Major League source said that the Braves don't have any interest in acquiring Brad Penny from the Red Sox. " and that "the Braves won't be among the teams showing interest in the big right-hander. "

The Atlanta Braves are interested in acquiring Boston Red Sox pitcher Brad Penny, according to unnamed sources cited by ESPN's Buster Olney.

Penny's name has been floated in just about every rumor involving the Red Sox but it appears there may be something to this one as the Red Sox have been evaluating Brave outfielder Jeff Francoeur.

The Braves recently acquired outfielder Nate McClouth and still have Matt Diaz who could step in to right field so Francoeur could easily be available.

While, the Braves already have an impressive rotation featuring Lowe, Vazquez and Jurrjens their bullpen could certainly use some help. And, as Olney points out that trading for Penny would allow Atlanta to shift Kenshin Kawakami into the 'pen.

Tom Haudricourt reported via Twitter that the Brewers would "have to get a very good pitcher in return to think of doing that."

While Brad Penny is said to be available, I highly doubt Milwaukee sees him as the kind of "very goood" pitcher they'd want in return. The BoSox do, however have several young arms who would no doubt qualify so don't be surprised to see this rumor stick around for a while in one form or another.

Update: Haudricourt has added:

"I don't think the Brewers would trade Hardy. He's one of those "glue" players that holds team together. Would have to be a blockbuster."

Given the Red Sox wealth of young pitching and the Brewers' penchant of making deals happen for the stretch run, I still wouldn't be surprised if this deal got done.

Padilla, who had been targeted to fill the second spot in the Rangers rotation, has expressed a strong desire to stay with the team, according to the Dallas Morning News.

And, while any team will have until noon today to claim the hurler, they would then be on the hook for the more than $8 million that remains on Padilla's contract. It seems unlikely that any pitching starved team would be willing to shell out that kind of money for a pitcher who's 3-3 with a 5.57 ERA.

The A's have struggled so far this year and the always money conscious team seems highly unlikely to resign Holliday who's making $13.5 million this year and figures to cash in on free agency next year. Holliday, for his part, has only fanned the smoldering trade rumors saying:

"I'm not going to be mad either way, let's just say that. I'll be OK to stay and play it out and see what happens. Or, if  Billy [Beane] thinks he can get a couple good players for me and give me a chance to go play in the postseason, I'll be OK with that too."

The list of teams interested in the All-Star outfielder will depend largely on the number of teams that think they can resign him at a reasonable price. While big spenders like the Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers and Cubs can always be mentioned as possible suitors for high dollar players, several other teams in need of an offensive boost would be interested if there's an indication Holliday would be anything other than a rent-a-slugger.

While detractors point to Holliday's down numbers in his first year away from Coors field, the rumors are certain to intensify as we move towards the July 31st trade deadline.

In exchange, the Pirates receive outfield prospect Gorkys Hernandez, who had been ranked towards the top of Atlanta's farm system, as well as pitchers Charlie Morton and Jeff Locke.

McLouth has 9 home runs and 34 RBI so far this year after smacking 26 long balls and driving in 94 runs in his first All Star season last year. The outfielder should provide an instant impact to a power starved outfield that has combined for just one more home run (10) than McLouth has hit on his own.

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Update: ESPNchicago.com is reporting that the Padres will receive "left-handed pitcher Clayton Richard and former No. 1 draft pick Aaron Poreda, ... a 6-6, left-handed pitcher" in exchange for Peavy.

One of Peavy's former teammates, Scott Linebrink, now with the White Sox reportedly spoke with Peavy about the possibility of playing on Chicago's south side. Linebrink was quoted as saying "Right now, I'd say it's 50-50 as to whether he accepts it or not. He'll get with his family today and make a decision."

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The last off-season was filled with rumors that Jake Peavy was headed to Chicago. And, if reports out today are accurate, he may finally complete that journey in short order. Unlike the winter rumors, it appears to be the White Sox, not the Cubs, who have landed the Padre pitcher.

While the deal between the Padres and the White Sox has reportedly been agreed to in principle, Peavy must still wave his no-trade clause in order for the deal to be finalized.

ESPN is reporting that a fellow Padre "believes Peavy respects the White Sox for pursuing a trade for him, but may have reservations about playing for White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen."

We'll keep you updated as more information on this possible blockbuster trade becomes available.