Trade Deadline Quickly Approaching

The Major League Baseball Trade Deadline is only a day away from expiring and the following moves have been made.

Matt Holliday from Oakland to St.Louis for Brett Wallace, Shane Peterson, & Clayton Mortensen.

Cliff Lee & Ben Francisco from Cleveland to Philadelphia for Jason Knapp, Carlos Carrasco, Jason Donald and Lou Marson.

Ryan Garko from Cleveland to San Francisco for Scott Barnes.

Freddy Sanchez from Pittsburgh to San Francisco for Tim Alderson.

Jack Wilson & Ian Snell from Pittsburgh to Seattle for Ronny Cedeno, Jeff Clement, Aaron Pribanic, Brett Lorin and Nathan Adcock.

Adam LaRoche from Pittsburgh to Boston for Argenis Diaz and Hunter Strickland.

Julio Lugo plus cash from Boston to St.Louis for Chris Duncan.

Mark Kotsay plus cash from Boston to Chicago White Sox for Brian Anderson

Wladimir Balentien from Seattle to Cincinnati for Robert Manuel.

Josh Anderson from Detroit to Kansas City for cash.

The Pittsburgh Pirates and Cleveland Indians have been the talk of the trade town and note that the Toronto Blue Jays have not made a single deal as of yet.

Yes, Roy Halladay's name has been dangled for weeks, but with the top suitor for Halladay, Philadelphia, acquiring Cliff Lee, Halladay may be a Blue Jay come August 1st.

The Jays front office has said since the beginning of this season that the Jays goal is to contend in 2010.

With their current team, plus the additions of Shaun Marcum, Dustin McGowan & Jesse Litsch to the pitching rotation next season, the chances are better than ever.

However, that does not mean the Blue Jays are not shopping some players around before the deadline.

Rumours have arisen that players such as Scott Rolen, Marco Scutaro, Lyle Overbay, and Scott Downs are being shopped by Toronto.

Hal McCoy of Dayton Daily News has reported a Scott Rolen for Aaron Harang type deal here:

http://www.daytondailynews.com/dayton-sports/cincinnati-reds/trade-rumors-swirling-around-harang-rolen-225938.html

Reports have also surfaced that Rolen could go to the Reds for Edwin Encarnacion in a swap of third baseman as a payroll cut for Toronto, but those reports have slowly been disappearing as the Roy Halladay discussions slow down.

Marco Scutaro to the Minnestoa Twins? Yes, reports of Scutaro heading to the Twins have been made.

Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun reports the Scutaro to Minnestoa deal here:

http://www.torontosun.com/sports/columnists/bob_elliott/2009/07/30/10308921-sun.html

What could the Jays get back from Minnesota, perhaps a future shortstop possibility in Trevor Plouffe plus another high ceiling prospect?

If the Jays made a deal for Scutaro they would most certainly have to get back more than the two draft picks they would receive if Scutaro avoided arbitration to test the free agent market at the end of this season.

That of course is if Scutaro is classified as a Type A free agent, but with the season he is putting together both offensively and defensively, that classification is very possible.

That's quite a lot to ask of a team like Minnestoa or any team in general for less than half a season of Scutaro so Scutaro could remain in Toronto for next season's playoff push.

Also, Ken Rosenthal & Jon Paul Morosi reported that Jays first baseman Lyle Overbay may be on the move here(scroll about half way down the page):

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/9866498/MLB-trade-deadline-buzz:-Wednesday's-edition

Overbay is above average defensively at first base, but has seen a drastic power outage offensivly.

Overbay's current 2009 statistics are: .255AVG, 10HR, 43RBI in 259AB

Not really a lot of pop from a close to everyday first baseman.

Is there someone out there who will take Overbay off of Toronto's hands? Will Overbay's 7 million dollar per year contract for this season and next affect a trade?

Finally, Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun tweeted that the Colorado Rockies were interested in Blue Jays closer Scott Downs here: http://twitter.com/elliottbaseball

Downs would fill the void of a left handed reliever the Rockies are looking for to accompany Franklin Morales out of their bullpen, for their push towards the National League wild card spot.

Will the Jays make a deal before the trade deadline expires?

Jays fans will have to watch, read and wait as the deadline quickly approcahes.