As you know, July 31st is known as the trade deadline. But in fact, teams can still acquire players after that, however the players involved in a trade must first pass through waivers.

When players are placed on waivers, any of the 29 other teams can claim him which usually results in the player's current team pulling him back off waivers. In some rare instances, teams will in fact allow players to leave via waivers although the more usual scenario is that teams will work out a trade for that player during the 48 hour window they're given to negotiate.

If a player passes through waivers unclaimed, he can then be traded to any team at any time. However, a player must be on a team's active roster by August 31st in order to be eligible for post-season play.

Now that we've explained the process, who are some of the players we might still see traded this year?

ESPN's Jerry Crasnick gives these starting 9 (which actually includes 14 players)  as the most likely to be dealt:

1. Jon Garland & Doug Davis
2. Heath Bell
3. Lyle Overbay
4. Justin Duchscherer
5. The "Matt Stairs" type which Crasnick says this year includes Nomar Gargciaparra and Kevin Millar
6. The "utility man" category under which Crasnick files David Eckstein, Mark Teahen, and Jamey Carroll.
7. Carl Pavano
8. Reds Relievers of Arthur Rhodes and David Weathers
9. Miguel Batista

Heath Bell would obviously the biggest target on this list and as Crasnick mentions, would probably be claimed. However, even if he's claimed by a team that's not in contention, the Padres may be able to work out a deal.

That being said, I think Rhodes or Weathers are the much more likely releivers to be dealt.

There are also plenty of contending teams that could use a back of the rotation starter like Pavano, Davis, or Garland so I wouldn't be surprised to see their names pop up on several different radars.

We also always seem to hear about one BIG name that passes through waivers making them elligible to be dealt (Manny was put on waivers a couple years back) but deals that big usually happen before August if they're going to happen at all.

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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 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!

Update 1:35pm cst:

FoxSports is now reporting that neither Clay Buchholz nor Daniel Bard were included in the deal. If that report is accurate, this is could be an absolutely steal for the Red Sox. I would assume that Justin Masterson would have to be in the deal if Buchholz isn't.

Also, of note, Martinez has a club option for next year at a very affordable $7 million and reportedly receives a $500,000 bonus for being traded.

Update 1:20pm cst:

Ed Price keeps the information flowing, explaining that the Red Sox may need to trade recently acquired Adam LaRoche after acquiring Martinez but that the Florida Marlins aren't interested.

As Ken Rosenthall pointed out earlier today, Martinez may get playing time at first as well shifting Kevin Youkilis over to thirdbase, and putting the defensively struggling Mike Lowell into a DH or pinch hitting role.

Update:

Ed Price seems to agree saying "Source: "Looks good" for Victor Martinez to #RedSox, confirming @BNightengale report"

Bob Nightengale of USA Today is reporting that the Boston Red Sox are about to trade for Cleveland Indians All Star catcher Victor Martinez.

The Red Sox have been rumored to be interested in Martinez but had apparently rejected a deal which would send highly tauted young pitcher Clay Buckholz to Cleveland.

The Indians, having already traded away Cliff Lee, are reportedly being hit hard by the current economy and are looking to shed payroll.

Martinez would be a huge upgrade for the Red Sox behind the plate as well as offensively, as he's batting .284 with 15 HR.

We'll bring you the news of who the Red Sox gave up and any other details on this deal as they become available.

Update III:

Ken Rosenthall of FoxSports is now reporting (and others are confirming) that the deal has been made final and does include Knapp, Carasco, Donald, and Marson. The Indians are also apparently including Ben Francisco in the deal as well, presumably in order to convince Philadelphia to include Knapp in the deal.

Several scouts have called Knapp a "Halladay" clone, and consider his upside better than Drabek's although he will likely take slightly longer to reach the majors.

It's tough not to like this deal for the Phillies as they've acquired a true ace, without giving up Happ, Drabek or Brown.

The big losers in this deal? The Toronto Blue Jays who have just lost all sorts of leverage. Expect the Red Sox to make a hard late push to pry Halladay loose from their division rivals.

Update II:

Gordon Edes and Tim Brown of Yahoo are reporting that the trade is close but not finalized yet. They agree with Ken Rosenthal that Jason Knapp is also included in the deal which would make it a much more believable trade.

Update:

Jeff Blair spoke to an AL scout who was reportedly stunned by the trade report & has a hard time believing the three prospects were enough for the Phils to pry Lee loose.

It certainly would be a major coup for the Phillies to acquire Lee without giving up Happ, Drabek, or Brown although the earlier report by ESPN's Jayson Stark said the Phils insisted it was possible to get a deal down without involving them.

If the deal is legit I would expect to hear confirmation from other sources soon.

The Philadelphia Phillies have acquired Cleveland Indians ace Cliff Lee according to one minor league source.

The Phillies abruptly scratched AAA starter Carlos Carasco and have reportedly packed Carasco with fellow prospects Marson and Donald for the left handed Lee.

ESPN.com reported earlier that an official with the Indians felt that a trade involving Lee was imminent.

If the reports are accurate (and there's no reason at this point to doubt them) this would certainly seem to end the Phillies pursuit of Toronto ace Roy Halladay.

We'll keep you up to date as confirmation and more details roll in.

With negotiations for Roy Halladay seemingly at a stand-still, the Philadelphia Phillies are reportedly targeting Cleveland Indians ace, Cliff Lee.

With the Blue Jay's asking price sky high for Halladay, Lee has emerged as a VERY popular trade target, with everyone from the Rays, to Red Sox, to Rangers, and now the Phillies trying to acquire the left handed ace.

The Indians are obviously looking to capitalize on the high demand and are apparently asking for several prospects in return, however, the Phillies apparently wouldn't have to include top pitching prospect Kyle Drabek.

While not quite as dominant as Halladay this year, Lee has been very effective going 7-9 with a 3.14 ERA and is under contract for year at a price of just $8 million (or roughly half of what Halladay is due).

It certainly would make sense for the Phillies to have a backup plan in case they don't land Halladay and it also gives them a bit more leverage with Toronto. Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi has constantly insisted that the Jays don't have to trade Halladay, but he'd be a fool not to as Halladay's value plumets once the clock strikes midnight this Friday.

I wouldn't be surprised if this report of the Phillies pursuing Lee didn't get the Halladay to Philadelphia talks rolling once more.

Cleveland for their part seems to be playing the situation quite well. They can either wait until Halladay is delt and operate from a position of power holding the only remaining ace available, or they can snatch up one a package of top prospects while Toronto continues to play hardball.

Both the Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays are discussing possible blockbuster trades with the Cleveland Indians that would net them both Cy Young award winner Cliff Lee and former All Star catcher Victor Martinez according to several sources across the league.

Joel Sherman is reporting that the Rays are willing to part with pitching prospect Wade Davis while the BoSox seem hesitent to include Clay Buchholz.

While Fox Sport's Ken Rosenthall reports that the deal is unlikely to happen simply due to the magnitude of the potential trade & the number of prospects that would be required, it doesn't seem like an impossibility just yet.

Sherman says the Rays are actively shopping Scott Kazmir to the Rangers and Mets in hopes of freeing up payrol & obtaining prospects that would be required in a deal with the Indians. Ed Price ads the Angels name to the mix of teams possibly in on Kazmir.

They Rays are also said to be willing to deal Carlos Pena and possibly even Carl Crawford if the price is right so they certainly look to be ready to make big waves as the deadline approaches.

Sports Illustrated's Jon Heyman is reporting that the New York Yankees have inquired about Cleveland Indians' ace, Cliff Lee.

While the Yankees already have an impressive 1-2 punch with CC Sabathia and AJ Burnett, the addition of Lee would immediately vault them into being the favorites for the Word Series title. And, as every baseball fan knows, the Yankees can never have too much talent.

The Indians are said to be demanding that either Joba Chamberlain or Phillip Hughes be included in the return for Lee, a price which may prove to be too steep for the Yankees liking. The Bombers have been unwilling to include either pitcher in a trade to date, but Lee may prove to be too valuable for them to resist.

While Roy Halladay is the most talked about pitcher on the trading block this year, Lee is a Cy Young award winner as well and has a club option for next year of only $9 million. I wouldn't be surprised to see the Indians hold on to Lee until after Halladay is either traded or pulled off the block in order to pit as many contending teams as possible in a bidding war against each other.

Ed Price over at Fanhouse.com reports that the Colorado Rockies have acquired right handed setup man, Rafael Betancourt, from the Cleveland Indians.

A Rockies trade for a reliever was known to be in the works this morning but the target was not known.

Betancourt should help shore up the Rockies bullpen, having compiled a record of 1-2 with a 3.52 ERA thus far this year. However the reliever is also coming off a groin injury that caused him to miss an entire month.

Cleveland's return for Betancourt has not yet been disclosed.

The Chicago Cubs finished out 2008 by trading super-sub Mark DeRosa to the Cleveland Indians for three minor league pitchers and signed former St. Louis Cardinal, Aaron Miles, to replace him. Miles' deal is a 2 year agreement reportedly worth $4.9 million. Along with the three young hurlers, right-handed closer Jeff Stevens, right-hander Chris Archer and south-paw John Gaub, the Cubs gained more payroll flexibility for next year with DeRosa due $5.5 million next year.

That payroll, along with the savings from trading starting pitcher Jason Marquis, was used, as expected to ink the switch-hitting outfielder, Milton Bradley to a 3 year deal worth $30 million. The deal is still contingent on Bradley passing a physical, which given his history of injuries is no small matter. I would expect the deal to be completed barring some major health related red flags, and the Ken Rosenthall is reporting that the Cubs plan to use Bradley primarily in right field, spelling him occasionally with Kosuke Fukudome. Despite Bradley's injury riddled past, the 30 year old should provide the power the Cubs had been looking for this offseason.

Bradley smacked 22 home runs last year, dividing them evenly between the left and right sides of the plate, driving in 77 runs with an average of .321 in 126 games last year for the Texas Rangers. The Cubs had long been reported to be seeking a left handed bat for the outfield and with his switch hitting abilities, Bradley fit the mold perfectly.

Over the course of a week the Cubs will have replaced Marquis and DeRosa with 3 minor league pitchers, Luis Vizcaino, Aaron Miles, Milton Bradley, and about $24.5 million in debt payed out over the next three years. While the DeRosa to Miles switch is likely a step backwards, it's tough not to like the Cubs flury of moves. Assuming Bradley can stay healthy (which might prove to be a big assumption) the holiday season of 2008 will have been a VERY productive one for Cubs GM Jim Hendry.