The trade deadline has come and gone and left a TON of trades in it's wake. We've compiled a list of all the trades that occurred during the entire month of July in one giant trade recap. One interesting note, unless I've missed something, 27 of the 30 teams completed at least one trade last month. The Astros, Angels, and Rangers were the thre teams to stand pat in July.

• The Cubs traded for Jeff Baker from Colorado for Alberto Alburquerque.
• The Indians traded Joan Meloan from the Rays for Winson Abreu.
• The A's traded Ryan Webb, Greg Italiano, and a PTBNL (Sean Gallagher) for Scott Hairston from the Padres.
• The Orioles traded Ryan Freel to the Royals for a PTBNL.
• The White Sox acquired Tony Pena from Arizona in exchange for Brandon Allen.
• The Royals acquired Yuniesky Betancourt from Seattle for Danny Cortes and Derrick Saito.
• The Mets and Braves made a straight up trade of Ryan Church and Jeff Francoeur.
• Seattle acquired Jack Hannahan from the M's for Justin Souza.
• The Brewers traded for Felipe Lopez from the Diamondbacks for Cole Gillespie and Roque Mercedes.
• The Orioles and Padres made the second straight up trade of Oscar Salazar and Cla Meredith.
• With the third straight up trade, the Cards sent Chris Duncan to Boston for Julio Lugo. Lugo was recently DFA'd by the Red Sox.
• The Red Sox added another left-handed bat when they acquired Adam LaRoche from the Pirates for Hunter Strickland and Argenis Diaz.
• The Cardinals acquired slugger Matt Holliday for Brett Wallace, Shane Peterson, and Clayton Morentsen.
• The Giants trade Scott Barnes to the Indians in exchange for Ryan Garko.
• The Pirates and Mariners made a 7 player deal that sent Jack Wilson and Ian Snell for Jeff Clement, Ronny Cedeno, Nathan Adcock, Brett Lorin, and Aaron Pribanic.
• The Reds acquired Wladimir Balentien from Seattle in exchange for reliever Robert Manuel.
• The Yankees acquired Jason Hirsh from the Rockies for a minor leaguer and released Brett Tomko to make room.
• The Phillies traded for Cliff Lee and Ben Francisco for Carlos Carrasco, Jason Donald, Lou Marson, and Jason Knapp.
• The Giants acquired Freddy Sanchez from the Pirates in exchange for Tim Alderson.
• The Royals acquired Josh Anderson for cash considerations after he was DFA'ed by the Tigers.
• The Dodgers acquired George Sherrill from Baltimors for Josh Bell and Steve Johnson.
• The Cubs acquired both Tom Gorzelanny and John Grabow from the Pirates for Kevin Hart and Jose Ascanio.
• The Tigers acquired Jarrod Washburn for Luke French and Mauricio Robles.
• The Dodgers and Brewers swapped Vinny Rottino and Claudio Vargas.
• The Red Sox made the biggest trade by acquiring Victor Martinez in exchange for Justin Masterson, Nick Hagadone, and Bryan Price.
• The Blue Jays acquired Sean Smith from the Pirates for future considerations.
• The Yankees added Jerry Hairston Jr. from Cincinatti for minor leaguer Chase Weems.
• The Red Sox then went ahead and traded Adam Laroche to the Braves for Casey Kotchman straight up.
• The Marlins traded for Nick Johnson in exchange for Aaron Thompson.
• The Rockies added two pieces to their bullpen, a righty and lefty. Joe Beimel and Rafael Betancourt.
• The White Sox acquired Jake Peavy surprisingly and they traded Aaron Poreda, Clayton Richard, Dexter Carter, and Adam Russell for him.
• The Reds and Blue Jays exchanged third basemen, with Scott Rolen going to Cincinatti in exchange for Edwin Encarnacion, Josh Roenicke, and Zach Stewart.
• The Twins got Orlando Cabrera from the A's for Tyler Ladendorf.

Update 3:40 CST:

The White Sox have confirmed the trade for Jake Peavy. The Sox are sending Clayton Richard and minor league pitchers Poreda, Russell and Dexter Carter to the Padres for the injured ace.

Jon Heyman, who scooped the story, is also reporting that Peavy has approved the trade this time so the deal is official.

The Padres are likely to end up paying some of Peavy's large contract but it appears the team was desparate to unload some payroll and when they couldn't find acceptable deals for Adrian Gonzalez or Heath Bell, the Peavy trade became an option again.

It's certainly a risk by the White Sox but one that could pay of BIG time if Peavy can come late in the year.

Sports Illustrated Jon Heyman breaks the most surprising news of the trade deadline, Jake Peavy has once again been traded to the Chicago White Sox for minor league prospects.

As you may remember, Peavy, who has a full no trade clause, rejected a trade to the White Sox this past offseason but it appears the deal is back on again.

Peavy would still have to approve the trade, but it appears the teams have agreed on a trade that would send the injured ace to the south side of Chicago.

We'll continue to update this post as more information comes in, especially if or when Peavy waves his no trade clause.

Update 7-31 3:30 CST:

It looks like Halladay is indeed staying put. While the Angels were making a late push, nothing got done before the deadline passed.

Update 7-31-09:

While there has been no news on a Roy Halladay trade 15 minutes after the official deadline, there are still rumblings that we may still hear about a deal similar to the Manny Ramirez trade last season that wasn't announced until after the deadline had passed.

Joel Sherman points out that the Jays had said Scott Rolen wouldn't be traded unless Halladay was and Rolen was traded to the Reds. So, there may be a deal we've not heard about.

Throwing more fuel on this possible rumor fire, ESPN's Jayson Stark is reporting that the Angels have made a late push for Halladay with a deal centering on young pitcher Joe Saunders.

If there's a deal, we should certainly begin to hear about it soon and of course, we'll keep you updated.

Update 7-30-09:

FoxSports' Ken Rosenthall is reporting that while the Red Sox, Rangers, Rays, Dodgers, and Angels are all still interested in acquiring the Jay's ace, it is "very quiet" on the Halladay front.

With the Phillies out of the running and Blue Jays' GM J.P. Ricciardi sticking to his high asking price, it seems more and more likely Halladay will remain with Toronto for the rest of the year.

I don't see the Jays getting the same quality offers this off-season and certainly not at next years deadline. While I understand Ricciardi wants to get the most he can for his ace, the offers that have been floating around in the media seem more than fair.

Update IV 7-24-09

Man the Halladay info is flying fast and furious today. While the Sirius report was apparently false, Ed Price is now reporting that the Blue Jays are "considering [the] Phillies offer of RHP Drabek, 3B Donald, C Marson and OF Taylor."

More as we get it...

Update III 7-24-09:

Andrew Fitzpatrick of Sirius Radio dropped the following note to me about the previous MLB XM report saying "Please be advised:  SIRIUS XM Radio is NOT reporting that the Phillies are close to a Halladay trade."

This would seem to confirm the statements of Jonathan Mayo we reported below. Also of note, the same Twitter account which made the false MLB XM claim is now reporting Buster Olney is reporting that the deal is close. Given the fallacy of the previous report, the latest alleged report should be viewed skeptically.

Update II 7-24-09:

MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo is refuting the earlier report that the trade is close saying the deal is "no where near being done; Not saying it doesn't happen, but it's not close."

Mayo still expects Halladay to end up in Philadelphia saying "usually, where there's smoke there's fire" but doesn't think it will happen as soon as is currently being reported.

Bottom line: it sounds like Halladay's probably a Phillie but will give a fairwell performance tonight in Toronto.

Update 7-24-09:

MLB XM and MLBNetwork are reporting that the Philadelphia Phillies are "close" to trading for Toronto Blue Jays ace, Roy Halladay.

An announcement could apparently come within the next 24 hours but considering Halladay is scheduled to start tonight for the Jays I would expect the deal to be completed within the next couple of hours. If Halladay is scratched from the start or pulled early, it will be a clear indication that a trade has been agreed upon.

If the Phillies do indeed land Halladay, it could set up a showdown with the St. Louis' newly acquired slugger Matt Holliday with the Cardinals in town for a three game set against the Phils.

Update 7-22-09:

It's time to catch up on all the latest rumblings & grumblings about Roy Halladay. This has all the hallmarks of being one of those deals that's talked about for the whole month of July and then nothing happens. Thankfully though, the Jays have put a deadline on negotiations of July 29th when Halladay is schedule to make a start in Seattle.

ESPN Insider (subscription required) lists the Phillies, Rays, and Rangers as the front-runners to land the coveted pitcher. However, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Joe Strauss reports that the Cardinals are still in the mix, and could get a deal done without trading Colby Rasmus.

Yahoo Sports' Gordon Edes reports that the Phillies and other teams will likely turn their attention to other targets such as the Indians' Cliff Lee if the Jays don't come down off their sky high demands.

At the same time, the Toronto Sun's Bob Elliot quotes Jay's GM Ricciardi as saying "It's unlikely Halladay will be dealt."

Before Halladay hopefulls everywhere get too upset, ESPN's Jason Stark reported this morning that Ricciardi expects talks for Halladay to heat up next week.

With all that being said, we still don't know all that much more than we did a week ago. It sounds like the Red Sox, Yankees, Mets, and Cubs are out of the running for Halladay. However, GM's don't exactly like to negotiate trades in full view of the public & the media. Most of what we hear from Ricciardi and other sources from around the league could just as easily be posturing to manuever the price more to their liking.

Nevertheless, we'll keep you up-to-date on all the rumors as we hear them!

Update 7-16-09:

Lots of Halladay related news today. Ken Rosenthal started his most recent article with this tidbit:

"The Angels and Cardinals are among the teams interested in Roy Halladay, but rival executives are skeptical that either club can produce a strong enough package to land the Blue Jays' ace."

Rosenthal lists the Phillies and Yankees as the favorites to land Doc Halladay.

SI's Jon Heyman says the Blue Jays have "told AL East contenders they much prefer to trade Halladay out of the division" which would seem to knock the Yankees back out of it.

Cardinals reporter Joe Strauss reported today that the Cardinals recently contacted the Jays but are now "downplaying" the possibilities of a trade due to the Jay's high demands which apparently included Colby Rasmus. Rasmus would obviously be a deal breaker for the Cardinals and Strauss mentioned in a chat that he believes the Cardinals' best shot at landing Halladay may require a third team involved.

That's quite a few snippets of Halladay news today but as expected, it doesn't appear anything is in the works yet & the only teams I'd really count "out" of it are the Red Sox and Yankees. Even then if one of them (read as Yankees) got desperate enough, even they could make a late surge.

Update 7-13-09:

Speaking in St. Louis before his All-Star game start, Roy Halladay estimated his chances of being traded at 50/50. That's considerably better than the 20% chance Peter Gammons gave last week, but not quite as certain as Jon Heyman seemed yesterday.

Halladay once again cited his desire to play for a winner but failed to specify whether a contract extension would be required for him to waive his full no-trade clause.

While it's probably anyone's guess at this point where or even if Halladay gets traded, I'd be surprised if one contending team (most likely the Phillies) didn't make a big push to land the ace.

However, if Cleveland begins to seriously consider trading lefty Cliff Lee, Toronto may be forced to either come off their sky-high demands, or wait to trade Halladay in the offseason or even at next year's deadline.

Update 7-9-09:

Baseball Prospectus' Will Carroll just Tweeted that the Jays may try to "hang" Vernon Wells onto any Roy Halladay deal similarly to how Mike Lowell was included in the deal that netted the Red Sox Josh Beckett.

Of course, Wells is still owed over $100 million by my count and Halladay is making quite a bit more than Beckett was back then as well.

To be honest, I don't know that the Jays would find a team willing to take on Wells' contract if Toronto threw in Halladay for free.

Update II 7-8-09:

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!

According to White Sox VP Scott Reifert, the Chicago White Sox have traded centerfielder Brian Anderson to the Boston Red Sox for firstbaseman/outfielder Mark Kotsay.

Neither player is having a good year and in fact Kotsay was designated for assignment by the Red Sox on Saturday. He's hitting .257 in 27 games since coming off the DL in June.

Anderson is hitting only .238 in 67 games this year and has also had a stint on the DL.

Anderson is making about a million dollars less than Kotsay this year but the financial details of the deal have not yet been disclosed.

Update: The Chicago Sun Times is reporting that Peavy has rejected the trade to the White Sox, citing a desire to stay in the National League. It probably wouldn't hurt if his new team was willing to pick up the pitcher's $22 million option for the 2013 season either. Don't be surprised if we start to hear Peavy to the Cubs rumors again soon.

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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.

One could hardly fault Twins fans for being a bit anxious. The team had entered spring training without having made any significant moves to address their offensive needs.

Well Minnesota, your Twins have finally made a move, inking long time White Sox thirdbaseman, Joe Crede, to a one year incentive-laden contract. The deal is reportedly for $2.5 million and with incentives can earn Crede as much as $7 million.

If Crede can stay healthy, he should provide the right handed bat in the hear of the Twins lefty dominated lineup.Unfortunately, that hasn't been easy for Crede. He's missed significant time due to recurring back problems and has had two major surgeries in the last two years.

In 2006, Crede batted .284 with 30 home runs and drove in 94 runs over 150 games. In the two seasons since, he's only been able to appear in 144 games batting a combined .237 with 21 home runs and 77 RBI.

Chicago White Sox pitcher Mark Buehrle spoke openly about retirement on the first day of spring training. Despite being only 30 years old, the southpaw told reporters "as I look at it today, I don't think you're going to see me in a baseball uniform for too many more years. I miss my family too much when I'm away."

Now, obviously "too many more years" is rather vague, but keep in mind the pitchers current contract expires after the 2011 season.

Would a healthy 32 year old pitcher walk away from the game? Listening to Buehrle I certainly wouldn't question the possibility. However, a more likely scenario, at least to me, would be Buehrle working out a deal with the St. Louis Cardinals who play just minutes away from his St. Charles, MO home.

And listening to Buehrle's reasoning, it's tough to argue with the man.

"I've already done a lot of things in baseball, including winning a World Series," he said. "I really don't know if I'm going to have enough reasons to keep playing. I really don't know if I'm going to want to play after this contract. Maybe I'll just want a one-year deal."

The New York Mets and Yankees are reportedly the favorites to land free agent pitcher Freddy Garcia, who is seeking a guaranteed deal despite having only pitched 73 innings combined in the past two seasons.

Garcia, who topped 200 innings pitched in the 04-06 seasons, had shoulder surgery in 2007 and returned to action in September of last year, making three starts for the Detroit Tigers going 1-1 with a 4.20 ERA over 15 innings.

The 32 year old pitcher would be battling for the 5th spot in the rotation for both New York teams and would obviously represent an injury risk. While a non-guaranteed deal is the most likely scenario, the Chicago White Sox and Texas Rangers had been rumored to be interested in Garcia as well.

Whichever team blinks first and offers a guaranteed deal will probably land the veteran hurler. Naturally, when you're talking about taking a financial risk in the game of baseball, the teams from New York immediately stand out as the front-runners.

Here's a quick rundown of some of the free agent signings that you might have missed in the midst of all the Sabathia, Yankees, Mets madness lately.

The Cincinnati Reds signed reliever Arthur Rhodes to a 2 year deal worth $4 million. The veteran lefty put up impressive numbers last year, pitching in 61 games with the Mariners and Marlins and going 4-1 with a 2.06 ERA.

The Minnesota Twins re-signed infielder Nick Punto to a 2 year deal worth $8.5 million. The infielder batted .284 with 2 long balls and 28 RBI in 99 games for the Twins last year and will likely be the team's starting shortstop going forward.

The Toronto Blue Jays gave Matt Clement a minor league deal with an invitation to Spring Training. The pitcher hasn't appeared in a major league game for two years due to injury but if healthy, could be a great cheap option for the Jays rotation.

The White Sox agreed to a 4 year deal worth $10 million with 19 year old infielder Dayan Viciedo. The former Cuban League All-Star, Viciedo, is expected to compete for the starting third base job and the White Sox project him as an impact player for years to come.

The Washington Nationals re-signed journeyman outfielder Willie Harris to a two-year, $3 million deal. Harris had a career year in terms of home runs (13) and runs driven in (43) after getting a chance to be an everyday player in the second half of the season.

The Pitsburgh Pirates inked infielder Ramon Vazquez to a two-year, $4 million deal. Vazquez will likely be a super-sub and could also act as an insurance policy should the Pirates find a taker for shortstop Jack Wilson or 2nd baseman Freddy Sanchez but the market has been pretty weak for Wilson (especially with Lopez and Punto both filling middle infielder needs).

Infielder Felipe Lopez signed on with the Arizona Diamondbacks, agreeing to terms on a one-year, $3.5 million deal. Lopez resurrected his career last year in St. Louis, batting .385 over 156 at bats after being released by the Nationals. He'll likely replace the Orlando Hudson as the D'backs every-day second baseman and could prove to be one of the most under-rated signings of the winter.

The Kansas City Royals signed reliever Kyle Farnsworth to a two year deal, reportedly worth $9.5 million. Farnsworth had a  3.65 ERA in 45 games with the Yankees but struggled after being traded to the Tigers, putting up a 6.75 ERA in 16 games.

Update: Just as I suspected, Walt Jocketty, the Reds GM has denied making a deal with the Sox and in fact said that he hasn't had any discussions with the AL Chicago team since before Thanksgiving.

The Dayton Daily News has been told by a "source" that the Cincinnati Reds have traded pitcher Homer Baily to the Chicago White Sox in exchange for slugger Jermaine Dye.

A major-league source close to the situation told The Dayton Daily News on Sunday, Dec. 7, "The deal is done and will be announced this week."

Now, the Winter Meetings do have a history of churning out "done" deals that either never get completed or never existed in the first place. However, if it's printed in a legitimate source, I'll post it here for you to to decide for yourselves.

If the deal is legit, the White Sox must know something I don't. Yes Bailey is young and had been hyped as the next great Reds pitcher, but he put up a 7.93 ERA with the Reds last year and a 4.77 ERA with the Triple-A club. That's hardly what I'd expect in return for Dye who has as least been rumored to be attracting interest from several teams and hit 34 home runs last year with a .292 batting average! Reds or White Sox fans, I'd wait for confirmation on this one before getting too worked up about it.