Rumors are really starting to heat up as contending teams either get hurt (Phillies) or finally realize that what they had maybe wasn't all that great to begin with (Mets, Cubs).
The two obvious names right now being mentioned are Jake Peavy and Erik Bedard. I think Bedard is going to be dealt, and dealt pretty soon especially if this guy has it his way. Bedard is an injury risk, and every time he pitches you increas the chance that he gets hurt. His value cannot get any higher realistically, 3-2, 2.48 ERA, and basically a strikeout an inning. He's a free agent next year and although the Mariners are going to want something good back considering they traded Adam Jones and Chris Tillman for him, he won't cost as much as a Jake Peavy. I say he gets dealt before July and to the Phillies, and if it's not him it's his teammate Jarrod Washburn.
Jake Peavy is a different case, he has a no trade clause and has a lot of money left on his contract. That's partially a good thing becuase the team will control him for a long time, but it also is a big sum of money to take on, and only a few teams can take on that kind of load. If he gets traded this year (because I'm not convinced he will) it would have to be to an NL team it looks like. He also likes the west coast, and New York doesn't seem like a place for an Alabama youngin. The Cubs look like they could be players, as well as the Cardinals and Brewers, but nothing seems substantial, I say he stays. And what about his teammate Adrian Gonzalez? His biggest draw besides his 20 homers is that he's cheap. Unless they get blown away by an offer (which only conceivably the Red Sox could pull off), I say he stays.
Roy Oswalt. He's longed for the Astros to acquire Peavy, but that's not happening, and I think that he's grown tired now of the Astros...finally. I think it's 50/50 he gets traded, and if he does look for it to be the Phillies and the Mets. Some of these are based in some truth, this is just total speculation but if Oswalt gets shipped off, is there a reason to have Carlos Lee and Lance Berkman as they enter the downside of their careers? It wouldn't shock me to see a random Astros firesale. How's about Buchholz and Anderson for Lance Berkman sound Red Sox fans? Berkman would also be a great fit for the Angels, and if they aren't going to give Brandon Wood a shot, his only use is via trade, and he'd be a nice future replacement for Tejada.
When the A's traded for Matt Holliday I stupidly ignored their pitiful rotation and thought they'd be contenders, well they aren't. The A's will now decide if they should take the draft picks they'll receive as compensation this offseason or a deal they can get. I say they take the picks and keep Holliday around until at least the deadline, because right now he's not looking too exciting. Although he's one hot June away from playing in pinstripes.
There are also an infinite amount of small deals that will likely take place, but I don't need to talk about them so I'll list some names: Every non young A's regular, Cliff Lee (guess he's not small but he is boring right?), every other non La Porta/Sizemore/Choo Indian, Garrett Atkins, Brad Hawpe, Josh Willingham, Nick Johnson... you get the point, the bad teams good older players.
That's all for now. Remember most of this (if not all) is speculation on my part. Some of it obviously is somewhat substantiated from stuff I've read, but I didn't feel like finding and linking to everything. All of it makes sense, but not all of it has been discussed.
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