More than just Halladay highlighting busy market with deadline approaching
Remember when this was going to be a boring July, with no great players available on the trade market?
There weren't enough sellers, because too many teams still had a chance to win. There weren't enough buyers, because not enough teams had money to spend and no one wanted to part with top prospects.
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| Toronto's GM claims he won't give up Roy Halladay at a cheap price. (Getty Images) |
From the looks of things, it's going to be a wild final week. And multiple baseball officials are predicting that there will be plenty of activity.
In other words, it's not all Holliday and (Roy) Halladay.
Holliday is the All-Star outfielder heading from Oakland to St. Louis, in a deal completed Friday morning. Halladay is the All-Star pitcher who remains as the biggest prize on the market, with the Phillies and possibly the Brewers considered the most likely teams to land him.
Blue Jays general manager J.P. Ricciardi continues to play down the chances of a deal, telling the Jays flagship radio station Thursday that “my gut tells me it won't happen."
Ricciardi also told the FAN 590 that his sky-high asking price won't come down much, because he thinks Halladay should bring a return as big or bigger than what Baltimore got for Erik Bedard or what Cleveland got in 2002 for Bartolo Colon.
"No offense to Colon or Bedard, but we think Halladay's better," Ricciardi said. "So we need to get similar or better."
There are those who feel the Phillies will eventually make the deal, because Halladay gives them the best chance of repeating as champions. There are also those who feel that club president Dave Montgomery will eventually balk at the cost, in prospects and dollars.
There are those who feel the Brewers will make the move, because general manager Doug Melvin is so aggressive, and so is owner Mark Attanasio.
Fortunately, while we wait on Halladay, there are plenty of other final-week issues to keep us busy.
A quick look at the biggest ones:
1. The hitless wonders look for hitters. The Giants lost five of their first six games after the All-Star break, scoring a total of 11 runs in the six games. The Tigers have lost four 2-1 games in just the last six days.
No surprise, then, that Giants and Tigers scouts have been bumping into each other as they search for bats.
No surprise, either, that both looked at Holliday. Neither could satisfy the A's need for top young position players, so the Giants and Tigers will both keep looking.
Both teams have had scouts watching the Pirates, and both teams have also spent time eyeing the Washington pair of Adam Dunn and Nick Johnson. The Giants like Johnson but prefer a right-handed hitter (and one who doesn't get hurt so often), while the Tigers don't like the idea of paying all of Dunn's $12 million 2010 salary (and would rather not add another first baseman-DH).
The Tigers did add one hitter on Friday morning, when they activated Carlos Guillen from the disabled list. The Giants, meanwhile, still aren't sure it makes sense to give up top prospects just to have a chance at staying in the crowded wild-card race.
One thing to remember about the Tigers: Owner Mike Ilitch is 80 years old, and highly competitive. People who know Ilitch don't discount the possibility that he'll push for a last-minute move for one of the big prizes.
2. The Indians are open for business. When we wrote back in April that the Indians could trade a second straight Cy Young winner, many in Ohio scoffed at the idea. Sure enough, here it is July, and the Indians are listening seriously when teams call about Cliff Lee.
Not only that, but they're very willing to talk about catcher Victor Martinez, too.
The Rays have told various people that they're interested in Lee and Martinez (and Halladay, too), but they're hardly the only ones. Boston's interest in Martinez has been well known, and the Indians consider the Phillies enough of a possibility on Lee that they had a scout watching Kyle Drabek on Wednesday night (as did Toronto).
The Indians long said they didn't want to deal Lee because it would hurt their chances of competing next year, but there's a sense now that this team could be more than a year away. There's also a chance that with attendance lagging badly, the Indians would like to lighten their payroll, although Tribe officials deny there’s any financial pressure to make a move.
3. Can Rangers, Rays or Braves spare a dime? You hear that the Rangers have money problems, that the Rays can't spend, that the Braves can't add any payroll at all.
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| Several contenders are interested in Washington first baseman Nick Johnson. (Getty Images) |
What gives?
Good question, and there's really no way to know. At least not until one of those teams actually makes a deal.
4. The Orioles search for another sucker: Someone familiar with the Orioles plans said this week that as general manager Andy MacPhail shops closer George Sherrill and first baseman Aubrey Huff, "he's looking for another Bedard deal, with maybe three players rather than five."
It's hard to see anyone giving up that kind of package for Sherrill or Huff, but it never hurts to ask. After all, two years later, it's hard to imagine how ex-Mariners GM Bill Bavasi thought it was a good idea to give up Sherrill, Adam Jones, Chris Tillman and two other players for Erik Bedard.
5. Could there be even more? Earlier this week, Adrian Gonzalez told the San Diego Union-Tribune that while he still doesn't want to be traded, he would understand it if the Padres dealt him. People familiar with the Padres say Gonzalez is not on the market right now, with the emphasis on the right now part.
The thinking has been that the Padres would more likely explore a Gonzalez trade this winter. But the way things go in the final days of July, anything is possible.
