Kuzul

The season’s midway point has technically past, so that means that the trade deadline is fast approaching.  Cincinnati clings to a two-game lead over St. Louis today.

The big prize in the trade market this year is Cliff Lee.  The Reds must get in on this action.  I know Lee could leave after the season, but it will be worth it. 

Let me break it down for you.

Acquiring Cliff Lee would all but guarantee making the postseason this year ending what seems like an eternal drought.  St. Louis isn’t playing well and the rest of the division is well, to be gentle, “also-rans.” 

So Cincy makes the playoffs, then what?  How do you like your chances with Lee starting a series?  I like them quite a bit, especially with Arroyo and Cueto in the mix. 

If the Reds make the NLCS, then how does he help?  Well he can make two starts if needed, and that gives the Reds the luxury of having guys like Leake, Harang, Chapman, and even Volquez out of the ‘pen.  That sounds pretty great to me.

So what do the Reds have to do to get him? ESPN reported today that Seattle wants two blue-chip prospects and a young player.  Alonso, Fransisco, Frazier, Mesoraco, any of those guys. The young player?  Wood, Heisey, Maloney, a guy in that kind of role.

I hear you out there. Why trade all these guys when the Reds can contend in the future?  You don’t pick when you contend, injuries and other things decide that.  The Reds are contending right now, so why write off these season when it could become special?

I love Rolen, Rhodes, and Cabrera, but how many more years can those guys produce at the level they are right now?  The time is now; you have to strike when the iron is hot. 

The Reds go and get Cliff Lee, and they become the team to beat in the National League.  Who knows, maybe they could even re-sign Lee?  That would definitely make it a worthwhile deal.

I trust Walt Jocketty and the others in the front office, and they will do what’s best for this team.  Hopefully that involves Cliff Lee putting on a Cincinnati uniform.

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The Twins, Mets, Rangers, Phillies, Tigers, and Rays have all been rumored to be interested in trading for Mariners’ pitcher Cliff Lee in recent weeks. Lee has also gained interest from the Yankees—even though they have a rotation that goes five deep.

Still, the Yankees want Lee.

They really do, but right now, there isn’t a huge need for him  to join the Yankees’ rotation.

Also, General Manager Brian Cashman doesn’t like to double—dip by trading away prospects for a player who is just going to become a free agent at the end of the year. The problem is that getting him now not only increases their chances of repeating as World Champions, but would hurt a few of their rivals’ chances as well.

What are the Yankees going to do?

According to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports , the Yankees are monitoring the trade market for Lee and would get involved if the asking price was to their liking. Rosenthal’s sources seem to think they’d probably also have to find a suitor for Javier Vazquez to open a rotation spot for Lee.

That could certainly be possible. Despite Vazquez’s poor start, he has come on strong as of late. Even though he comes with a decent price tag (he’s earning $11.5 million this season) that fact that he becomes a free agent after this season will make some teams more willing to take on that burden.

Buster Olney of ESPN has also reported that the Yankees are right now on the outside looking in on trade talks, but that could change. He said the Bronx Bombers are confident that they could put together a package centered around their young catchers .

That’s probably true.

If the Yankees don’t get Lee this season, it will simply be because they don’t want him right now—not that they wouldn’t be able to get him.

Seattle is said to be interested in a young catcher, which the Yankees have plenty of (Jesus Montero , Austin Romine , JR Murphy , Gary Sanchez   and you could even include Francisco Cervelli ).

They could also include shortstop Eduardo Nunez, whom the Mariners have said to have scouted in the past. If they threw in a talented pitcher like Zach McAllister or Jose Ramirez , the Yankees probably wouldn’t have much problem getting Lee at all.

We’ll have to see what happens in the next couple of weeks. It is really doubtful that Lee will come to the Bronx, but it is certainly possible.

Any thing is possible, really.

The Yankees might like the final asking price on Lee. They could get a phone call with a great offer for Vazquez. In the end, there will probably be another more motivated team.

The Yankees will have their chance to get Lee this winter…if they want.

Related Stories

• June 9, 2010 — Yankees Trade Rumors: M’s Anticipate Dealing Lee to Yanks (2)
• January 1, 2010 — John Sickels Ranks the Yanks (0)
• June 22, 2010 — The Yankees Farm System is Exciting Again (10)
• March 21, 2010 — Yankees Cut Jesus Montero and 3 Others (0)

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July is when trade speculation escalates to a frenzy in Major League Baseball as clubs assess their current season prospects before the end of month transaction deadline.

The bullish clubs are the buyers and the bearish clubs are the sellers. It’s baseball’s month-long symposium on microeconomics at work.

Most of the airwaves, press, and blogosphere center on the big names that can push teams over the top and command a king’s ransom in return.  

This season, players such as Cliff Lee, Roy Oswalt, Derrek Lee, Adam Dunn, and Prince Fielder dominate the media—and for good reason.

But, often times, astute trades that involve players flying a little under the radar can have big impact on the pennant races. A perfect example is the Philadelpia Phillies acquisition of Tad Iguchi to fill-in for an injured Chase Utley that helped them win the NL East in 2007.

Here is a look at 10 “small” moves that could pay huge dividends for contenders down the stretch. Who might be this year’s Iguchi?

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Fun fact: Who has the best winning percentage of any pitcher in baseball over the past five seasons?

Here’s a hint. It’s not C.C. Sabathia, Cliff Lee, Roy Halladay, Johan Santana, Josh Beckett or any of the other pitchers the East Coast writing establishment loves to go on endlessly about.

It’s Jered Weaver at .663.

Weaver has clearly taken his game to another level in the absence of former Angels ace John Lackey, and has managed to single-handedly carry his team through a horrific stretch in the process.

The one constant for the Angels in 2010 has been quality starts by Weaver—a stat that he leads all of MLB in with 14, along with fellow West Coast All-Star snub Felix Hernandez.

At a time when the rest of the Angels rotation and bullpen were ranked at the bottom of the league in every category, Weaver kept them afloat.

At a time when his team had the worst batting average in baseball and gave him one of the lowest run support totals in the league, Weaver managed to keep his team in games and win most of them.

Weaver should not only be in the conversation for the Cy Young, but the MVP as well.

Weaver also:

• Leads both leagues in strikeouts with 124.
• Leads all starters in K’s per nine innings with 10.27.
• Is second to only Cliff Lee in walk to strikeout ratio at 4.77.
• Has the third best WHIP in the league at 1.06.
• Has the sixth best ERA in the league at 2.82.

The opposition is hitting .217 against him. Only Jon Lester and Colby Lewis (yet another snubbed West Coast pitcher) were better.

It is hard to be any more consistent than giving up two or less runs in 12 of your 17 starts, as the 27-year-old has done this season.

If it weren’t for Weaver, the Angels might very well be in the Seattle Mariners’ shoes right now—sellers at the trade deadline, instead of just 3.5 games out of the AL West.

Weaver doesn’t have a 100-mph, blow-you-away fastball. In fact, at times it is hard to see how he gets anyone out with a fastball that barely hits 90 mph.

The Simi Valley High School product simply knows how to pitch.

The game hasn’t seen a pitcher this crafty since Greg Maddux. Weaver is living proof that changing speeds and having control in the zone are just as important as having good “stuff.”

His ability to ring up batters through deception probably doesn’t get him noticed as much as hurlers with electric pitches like Sabathia. However, it’s his results that are electric and undeniable to anyone with an ounce of objectivity.

While most East Coast fans and writers are nestled in their beds or writing on deadline, Weaver will continue to take to the mound for his 10:05 EST starts and do his thing.

Hopefully, the outrage over Weaver’s failure to make the All-Star squad will help these misguided souls to discover this new invention called TiVo.

A whole world of baseball exists on the West Coast of your continent, East Coast homers. A world that extends beyond the former Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants.

If the East Coast writers manage to discover this world in time, and Weaver continues to demonstrate the consistency he has shown throughout his entire career—maybe, just maybe—Weaver can have his vindication at the end of the year in the form of a Cy Young Award.

Until then, the Angels, the team that had 100 wins last season.

The team that is the current three-time defending champions of the West.

The team that is hosting the Midsummer Classic, will have to settle for its hometown fans cheering for one player (Torii Hunter), as he takes to the field All-Star Weekend.

Enjoy your game, East Coast.

The West Coast fans are glad we could provide you with a neutral site on which to play it.

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He’s currently the most coveted pitcher out on the trade market.

They are the best team in baseball trying to defend their championship.

The Yankees and Cliff Lee, seems like a trade everyone is expecting or debating about that could, might, or won’t happen.

But here is the big question: will the Yankees pull the trigger and make a deal with the Mariners to get Lee?

As of right now, the Yankees don’t have room or a spot for another starter. CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, Andy Pettitte, Javier Vazquez and Phil Hughes are all a combined 43-21 and are one of the league’s best rotations.

So where would Lee fit in?

Most would guess that if the Yankees do gamble and make the deal, they would then turn around and trade Vazquez to a team that could use a pitcher for their second half, probably even a National League team, if he weren’t included in a deal to Seattle for Lee.

Trading Vazquez now would be a lot easier considering he’s been pitching much better as of late. At one point, he was 1-4 with an ERA around 8.14. That was back in May.

Two months later, Vazquez is 7-7 with an ERA of 4.81, which is completely better and much improved. He’s also in the final year of his contract, so that also makes him more expendable to a contender looking to rent out a pitcher for two or three months.

Now, there are a ton of questions that fans have, like for instance, why would the Yankees trade for Lee now when they can wait until free agency?

It’s an excellent point and one I have touched on in past stories before. But, they also have the Red Sox and Rays breathing down their neck in the A.L. East race and it will not get any easier trying to hold onto their grasp of the division.

At one point, Tampa looked like they would never lose. They seemed like they could overtake the division, but then got hit hard last month and were brought back down to Earth.

At one point, Boston looked all but out of it sitting in fourth place, then they came roaring back into second, but injuries have taken their toll on the Sox with a ton of their roster on the disabled list (Josh Beckett, Clay Buchholz, Victor Martinez, Jason Varitek, Mike Lowell, Dustin Pedroia.)

But we know Boston can re-surge at anytime, plus have the prospects to make a deal for themselves, so never count them out of any race.

The possibility of the Red Sox and Rays both giving the Yankees fits in August and September could be enough to make them trade for Lee.

Also, if they do make the trade, they could end up just re-signing Lee at the end of the season anyway.

Most people expected the Yankees to go hard after Lee once the 2010 season ended and many feel that the Yankees will be the highest bidder for him. With an extra 15 days to negotiate with Lee to get a deal done, the Yankees could have a major advantage in locking him up long-term instead of him being a rental like other teams might see if they try to trade for him this month.

Now, another question that people ask, what type of package from the Yankees will it take to get Lee from Seattle?

The Mariners are looking to get a top-prospect catcher in return for Lee. The Yankees have two available.

They have Jesus Montero and Austin Romine in their minor league system and both are projected to be very good players if they ever reach the majors. Either one of those players would be the start to a trade for Lee, but do the Yankees want to trade either of them?

Maybe they could part with Montero, who the Yankees were willing to deal in the winter when Roy Halladay was on the trading block before being dealt to the Phillies.

The possibility of the Rays being interested in Lee might enhance the Yankees interest even more now than before. Rumors were swirling around that B.J. Upton might be part of a trade for Lee.

There is no word if Tampa really wants to deal Upton or not and Upton has made it clear through reporters that he doesn’t want to be traded away, so that could hold up things for Tampa.

Right now, teams are evaluating to see if they are buyers and sellers this season. The Mariners are definitely sellers and Lee is the top prize this summer.

The Yankees are definitely interested, even if they say they aren’t, they most certainly are. But so are others like the Mets, Twins, Rays, Tigers, Reds and Phillies. It all depends on who can put together the best package that will make Seattle part with Lee.

At 51-31 right now, the Yankees aren’t desperate for Lee’s services, but by the end of the month, they have to figure out if they will want his services for the second half and a playoff run.

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As I sit here waiting for my boring accounting professor to get done talking with some 60-year-old woman, it occurs to me that I haven’t written anything in two months. Call it annoyance with the fact that no one reads my articles.

Read this article!

Anyway, you’ve probably heard that the St. Louis Cardinals need another starting pitcher.

Kyle Lohse had his forearm surgically repaired and even though his rehab is moving quickly, it doesn’t mean he is close to rejoining the roster. Mainly, in my opinion, he shouldn’t be allowed to rejoin the roster. Let the forearm heal. Throw batting practice into the start of August, then give him a month rehab assignment.

As a reliever.

The Cardinals could use another arm in that bullpen, and for a September stretch drive, Lohse would be good to use. Let him come back that way, then rejoin the rotation next spring.

Alas, I have returned to finish me stories, ye hearties.

Gotta reiterate a point here to get my brain back on the thinking track: Lohse joining the bullpen for a month would show if Lohse can return to form, and would give him a chance to work out any type of kinks he may have in short stints.

For Brad Penny, he needs to return to the rotation. He was throwing well and everything was getting ready to click when he went down. A deal for Lee would give him time to get healthy and be back before August starts.

Oh, did I mention that a deal for a Lee would get rid of Jeff Suppan? Yeah, thought that might cheer you up.

Let’s get down and dirty here, whatcha say?

This trade is a three-team blockbuster. The deal includes the Arizona Diamondbacks, Seattle Mariners, and the Cardinals.

Players on the move:

To Mariners: C Chris Snyder (ARI), 1B/OF Mark Hamilton (STL), 1B/3B/OF Allen Craig (STL), RHP Casey Mulligan (STL), LHP Evan MacLane (STL), OF Tyler Henley (STL)

To Diamondbacks: SS Pete Kozma (STL), OF Daryl Jones (STL), C Bryan Anderson (STL), 1B/OF Dennis Raben

To Cardinals: SS Stephen Drew (ARI), LHP Cliff Lee (SEA)

Let’s break it down. The Mariners need a catcher, and with Snyder a free agent at the end of the season, he fits this need perfectly. Snyder was hitting well with Miguel Montero on the mend early on, but Montero back in the lineup, Snyder has been getting less play time.

In come the Mariners. They need Snyder, and Snyder needs the Mariners. If Snyder is going to get any kind of contract this off-season, Snyder needs to play and he won’t play in Arizona.

As for Hamilton and Craig, both are strong hitters. Craig has over 60 runs batted in in just 61 games at Triple A. He hasn’t done much at the Major League level, but chalk that up to sporadic starts and too much pinch hitting for a kid that has always been a starter.

Drafted in 2007 as a senior in college, Craig is a bat that Jack Zduriencik, General Manager of the Mariners, wants for Lee. Add in Hamilton, who is a decent fielding first baseman with a big left handed bat, and Zduriencik will be happy.

Neither Craig or Hamilton have a spot in St. Louis. There’s this player named Albert Pujols at first base, you might have heard about that guy, who isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

With Matt Holliday in the first year of a seven year contract, and Ryan Ludwick bound for a four year contract this off-season, neither will see starting time under the Arch.

Different story for a rebuilding Mariners team. They need big bats like these two that the team can add to its core. Craig at designated hitter and Hamilton at first (or vice verse), the Mariners would be in good shape.

As for Henley, the Mariners add another power hitting left handed bat. Henley has struggled in a brief exposure at the Triple A level this year, but his stats add up.

He plays the corner outfield and would fight with Michael Saunders for the every day left field job in 2012 when Milton Bradley had left via free agency.

Mulligan, who I describe as Jason Motte version 2 (with better command and movement), could join the beleaguered Mariner bullpen right away.

MacLane could join the bullpen as well, or the rotation. He is more of a throw-in for the deal. Drafted in 2003 by the New York Mets, he rose quickly through their system and appeared at the Triple A level.

He was traded for an outfielder by the name of Shawn Green (might have heard of that guy, right?) in 2006 and pitched for Arizona’s Triple A affiliate every season since that trade.

We was traded to the Cardinals and assigned to Triple A, again, in 2009. He has been there ever since, with the exception of sitting on the bullpen bench for two days without appearing in a game for the Cardinals at the end of May.

MacLane is a good arm. He is older, but he is left handed and has put up good numbers at Triple A in his career. If given the chance, the Mariners would add a quality arm to their arsenal.

For the Diamondbacks, they make a nice haul.

Essentially, the Diamondbacks deal Snyder for Raben, a 23 year old left handed hitter with good power.

From the Cardinals, they land two highly regarded prospects who have stalled in the St. Louis system.

Kozma, a glove first shortstop and former first round pick (2007) of the Cardinals, hasn’t hit well at any system. It isn’t like he is allergic to ash bats, he just isn’t amazing.

He is a good on-base guy, and has flashed some power with eight home runs this season. By changing organizations, Kozma could get a fresh start and get going. It is an ‘if,’ by Kozma can be a Major League player. Utility or starter is up in the air, but worth the gamble.

For Jones, he too has stalled. He had a breakout 2008 campaign, and then injured his knees last season and hasn’t fully recovered this season. Changing organizations for him could do well, like going to Triple A for once and seeing if he can get restarted.

If healthy, Jones is a difference maker. His speed, double ability, and strong defense makes him a star in the making…if he can stay healthy. Another risk worth taking.

Anderson is an offensive catcher with average defensive skills. He won’t likely be a backup for the Cardinals as Dave Duncan likes to have a veteran backup Yadier Molina. For the Diamondbacks, though, he could create competition with Montero.

Like Montero, Anderson is left handed. He hits for a fair amount of power and is an average defensive catcher. He isn’t the left handed version of Molina, let’s put it that way.

For the Cardinals, they add another Cy Young winner to complement their one winner (Chris Carpenter) and their one screwed-over winner (Adam Wainwright), along with their budding left-handed ace (Jamie Garcia).

Throw in Penny to the mix, and this rotation is unstoppable.

Add Drew to the offense, and the Cardinals ill have a bat for the two hole. Drew, Skip Schumaker, Felipe Lopez, and Brendan Ryan can be used on a carousel to keep everyone fresh, with Lopez and Ryan play 2B and SS.

Ryan and Lopez would also serve as the utility infielders on the bench, meaning that Aaron Miles is out of job. Couple that with a release of Suppan, and a release of Randy Winn when Ludwick returns from the DL, the Cardinals offense and pitching will be in fine shape.

Hope you all enjoyed this. Remember, this is my own speculation/hope. I haven’t heard Drew’s name attached to the Cardinals, and I haven’t heard any names from the Cardinals involved in a possible Lee scenario (though the Cardinals are among the handful of teams scouting Lee).

I also haven’t heard Snyder’s name attached to the Mariners. My own speculation.

Serious discussion only, please. Name calling, insults, bad language can go elsewhere. Be adults. Be kind to each other.

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With just a few weeks to go before Major League Baseball’s trade deadline, the hottest name on the rumor sheets is Seattle left-hander Cliff Lee, who has turned in one brilliant performance after another lately.

Only one problem: The Mariners have yet to make him officially available. But there are a select few teams that are waiting by the phone, desperately wanting for it ring.

We’ve read several rumors over the past month and a half about teams that may have inquired about his services and there’s been talk about players that could be involved in any deal that would send Lee their way.

Here are five teams that could land the left hander in the coming weeks.

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To add Cliff Lee or not to add Cliff Lee, that is the question surrounding a lot of teams as the trade deadline is just a few weeks away.

For the Texas Rangers, however, the answer to this question has to be a resounding-no.

For one, the team is currently four and a half games up on the defending AL West champion Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and don’t look to be slowing down any time soon.

Second, unless the Angels make a blockbuster deal that makes them far and away better than they are right now, and unless the Rangers fall on their face, I don’t see this race going any other way than the Rangers’ way.

That being said, I’m wondering if we can kill the Cliff Lee to Texas rumors once and for all.

I’m not saying this team doesn’t need him because Lee definitely makes this pitching staff a lot more formidable than they have been all season.

However, does adding a guy like Lee make them contenders to get to the World Series, let alone the ALCS?

Now, before I got into my rant, bare in mind that this is only my opinion and you can agree or disagree with me all you want, and believe me I welcome a debate on the subject.

For my money, Lee is too expensive and the Rangers would have to give up too much for a guy that is a lock to go into free agency and not sign long term with Texas. So are the Rangers really ready to give up a few of their top hitting and pitching prospects to land a guy for two months?

ESPN Dallas’ Richard Durett talked to Lee when the Mariners made their stop in Texas back in early June. He asked Lee about the possibility of him signing a new deal in Texas and he told Durett, “I’d prefer cooler temperatures and a perfect climate, but any pitcher would tell you that.”

Let’s be honest, Lee is more than likely headed to free agency where there will be no shortage of teams jockeying for his signature on the dotted line.

So, if Lee really does intend to head to free agency after this season and has no intention of signing long term with whatever team he’s traded to, why would any team give up top prospects for two months of his service?

Put yourself in Rangers’ general manager Jon Daniels’ shoes. Think for a second that you have a chance to land one of the best starters in the game right now to your rotation. There’s no question this guy makes you better, but better doesn’t necessarily get you past potential playoff teams like New York, Boston, Minnesota, and Detroit among others.

My intention right now is not to dispel what Lee could do for a team like the Rangers down the stretch, my problem is giving up players that make this team better for years to come and not just for two months.

Let’s say, hypothetically, the Rangers did make a deal that brought Lee to Texas. He gives you another eight to 10 good starts down the stretch and the Rangers win the AL West.

Their first round of the playoffs comes against the New York Yankees and they get beat three games to one a best of five series. Now what?

Lee makes it clear to the Rangers that he’s not willing to sign long term and wants to test the free agent waters. He signs with another team prior to the 2011 season and now you’re out two to three top prospects for what?

I know it seems like I’m making the same point over and over again, but this is not the best move for the team going forward.

The Rangers need a player they can control for the foreseeable future. The Astros are apparently willing to pick up some of Roy Oswalt’s remaining contract, but any deal for the Houston right hander would need approval from the courts as the Rangers are currently in the middle of bankruptcy proceedings.

However, there’s one problem with landing Oswalt. Daniels has been quoted as saying that they are only able to make a deal for a player who’s contract is up at the end of the 2010 season.

So, with that information being known, a few other players the Rangers could look at come the trade deadline are Jeremy Guthrie, Jake Westbrook, and Ted Lilly.

Honestly, the way Lilly has pitched so far for the Cubs, he would be my first choice, and he’s not going to cost the Rangers nearly as much as Lee would.

Jamey Newberg of The Newberg Report has an interesting article that talks about this exact thing and he goes over some of the prospects, plus major league talent, it would take to possibly get a deal done.

Now, bare in mind that he puts together a lot of names but in the end, he does put it in perspective. One of the names that he mentions I don’t think would bother Ranger fans much at all, Rich Harden.

Harden hasn’t exactly been the pitcher that the Rangers were hoping he would be, though his numbers have declined in each of the past three seasons.

In 2008, Harden finished 5-1 through 12 starts with a 1.77 ERA for the Chicago Cubs. In the very next season, through 26 starts, Harden finished 9-9 with a somewhat respectable 4.09 ERA. But, this season, Harden has struggled to the tune of 3-3 record and a 5.86 ERA through 12 starts and is currently on the disabled list.

While Harden has been struggling, as has Scott Feldman who turned in a career performance in 2009 for the Rangers finishing 17-8 with a 4.08 ERA.

This season, Feldman has looked nothing like his 2009 self. He’s currently 5-7 with a 5.48 ERA and has given up 17 earned runs in his last four starts, including five earned runs each in starts against the Angels and Pirates.

But, even though Harden and Feldman are not the guys the Rangers thought they would have in 2010, they’ve been getting huge starts from not only C.J. Wilson (3.34 ERA) and Colby Lewis (3.35 ERA) but they’ve been pleasantly surprised by Tommy “Big Game” Hunter, who sports an unbeaten record (5-0) and an even more eye opening 1.98 ERA on the season.

With Wilson, Lewis, and Hunter holding the Rangers’ ship afloat so far, it wouldn’t hurt to land another starter to really make this team untouchable.

However, Dave Michaels of KVCE Radio here in Dallas thinks it’s their bullpen that needs to hold strong. “So far during this season they have won games that they were not suppose to win, and they’ve lost games they were suppose to win. Go figure, that’s baseball. As far as what they will need in the playoffs they have the arms right now but they need a bullpen that won’t fold under the pressure.”

That being said, I asked Michaels if he thought the Rangers could move Neftali Feliz from the bullpen to a starter and possibly look at making a deal for a guy like Heath Bell. He told me, “I don’t think [Feliz’s] arm can do that. He is better out of the bullpen and not as a starter. Spot starter maybe but a regular starter no way.”

So, in the end, this is a deal that is going to be broken down and debated in every which way but loose.

There will be fans that want to see this deal get done and have Lee added to the pitching rotation, than there are others who are not willing to bring a rent-a-player who will only be with the team for two months.

As it stands right now, the Mariners have yet to even put the left hander on the trade block, according to Andy Martin and Christian Red of the New York Daily News. A source told both Martin and Red, “It is the same thing with [Mariners’ general manager Jack Zduriencik] as it has been all along. He knows to contact teams when he’s ready to deal. He hasn’t done that yet, but that could change any minute.”

While the baseball world waits for that phone call to come from Seattle, the teams that are interested in acquiring him will make back up plans just in case the Mariners decided to ride out the year with the left hander.

Though the odds of that are slim at this point, but stranger things have happened.

As for the Rangers, they continue to lead the AL West by 3.5 games over the Angels. At this point, they’re not bad where they are and I don’t see them making any sort of a deal prior to the trade deadline due to the court proceedings.

That doesn’t mean they can’t make a waiver wire deal as teams have been known to wait until after the deadline to make their moves. It’s not out of the realm of possibility that the Rangers will be able to make a trade after the bankruptcy dealings are over though it’s unknown when that will be.

For now, as long as the Rangers keep playing the way they have to this point, they should be able to hold off the Angels.

However, if the Angels make the big move, it could make the race that much more interested as we head down the stretch.

You can follow Todd Kaufmann on Twitter (twitter.com/toddkaufmannbr) or find him on Facebook.

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The trade deadline is looming and it is only a matter of time before the most talked about players are on the move.

Position by position, there appear to be players who will definitely find themselves wearing new threads.

Based on the trade rumors that are circulating throughout baseball, here is a starting lineup comprised of some of the best players on the trading block.

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