Update: The St. Louis Cardinals have reportedly made Matt Holliday their biggest contract offer in team history, an 8 year deal with an average annual value "around $16 million." That's still well short of the $180 million Boras was seeking, but it sounds like the Cardinals could be close to re-signing their free agent slugger.

Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post Dispatch is reporting "movement" that "most would [classify as] positive" by the St. Louis Cardinals in their negotiations with free agent outfielder Matt Holliday.

The Cardinals reportedly made an initial offer to Holliday late last week before leaving the Winter Meetings. While terms of the offer were not officially disclosed, Strauss reported it was for 8 years at an annual average of $14-16 million.

Any annual value less than $18 million would be less than Holliday rejected to stay with the Colorado Rockies, however, by going 8 years the Cardinals might buy themselves a bit of a discount. Of course Holliday's agent, Scott Boras, was said to be seeking a $180 million deal so the Cards would still likely have to increase their initial offer.

Holliday is also said to be seeking a full no-trade clause and the Cardinals have admitted that they'll need to be "creative" in their attempts to lock up the slugger.

Strauss has indicated it could be a late night of negotiations but we'll keep you posted as this rumor involves the home town Cardinals and hey, I get to be a little bit biased every now and then.

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.

The Colorado Rockies have traded for the Washington Nationals' Joe Beimel.

The Nationals will reportedly receive two minor leaguers in exchange for the 32 year old lefty.

Beimel has an ERA of 3.40 with 10 holds so far this year but has been even better against lefties.

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.

Trade rumors have already begun swirling around the Oakland A's star outfielder Matt Holliday. But, according to ESPN.com, the slugger doesn't mind.

The A's have struggled so far this year and the always money conscious team seems highly unlikely to resign Holliday who's making $13.5 million this year and figures to cash in on free agency next year. Holliday, for his part, has only fanned the smoldering trade rumors saying:

"I'm not going to be mad either way, let's just say that. I'll be OK to stay and play it out and see what happens. Or, if  Billy [Beane] thinks he can get a couple good players for me and give me a chance to go play in the postseason, I'll be OK with that too."

The list of teams interested in the All-Star outfielder will depend largely on the number of teams that think they can resign him at a reasonable price. While big spenders like the Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers and Cubs can always be mentioned as possible suitors for high dollar players, several other teams in need of an offensive boost would be interested if there's an indication Holliday would be anything other than a rent-a-slugger.

While detractors point to Holliday's down numbers in his first year away from Coors field, the rumors are certain to intensify as we move towards the July 31st trade deadline.

The Chicago Cubs have reportedly traded starting pitcher Jason Marquis to the Colorado Rockies for reliever Luis Vizcaino.

The move is largely a salary dump for the Cubs who will rid themselves of about $5 million of Marquis' $9.5 million salary. The Rockies acquire an enigmatic starter who should eat some innings at the back of their rotation, and dump a reliever who had a 5.43 ERA and a DUI arrest in October.

There's speculation that the Cubs' savings will be used to sign free agent outfielder Milton Bradley. Bradley, who put up a .321 average and 22 home runs last year with the Rangers would provide the Cubs the outfield bat that they've been seeking.

The Free Agent pool of players got a bit bigger at midnight on Friday when players who were not tendered contract offers from their teams became free agents. I've broken the list down by position and as you can see, there are a few surprises here including former Dodgers closer Takashi Saito (2.49 ERA and 18 saves) and Nationals starter Tim Redding (10 wins).

Pitchers

Starters:

• Wil Ledezma - LHP - Arizona Diamondbacks
• Chuck James - LHP - Atlanta Braves
• Daniel Cabrera - RHP - Baltimore Orioles
• John Bale - LHP - Kansas City Royals
• Chris Capuano - LHP - Milwaukee Brewers
• Scott Mathieson - RHP - Philadelphia Phillies
• Doug Mathis - RHP - Texas Rangers
• Tim Redding - RHP - Washington Nationals

Relievers:

• Lance Cormier - RHP - Baltimore Orioles
• Joe Nelson - RHP - Florida Marlins
• Jairo Cuevas - RHP- Kansas City Royals
• Mario Alvarez - RHP - Los Angeles Dodgers
• Yhency Brazoban - RHP - Los Angeles Dodgers
• Scott Proctor - RHP - Los Angeles Dodgers
• Takashi Saito - RHP - Los Angeles Dodgers
• Chris Britton - RHP - New York Yankees
• Denny Bautista - RHP - Pitsburgh Pirates
• Clay Hensley - RHP - San Diego Padres
• Charlie Haeger - RHP - San Diego Padres
• Randy Flores - LHP - St. Louis Cardinals
• Tyler Johnson - LHP -  St. Louis Cardinals

Catchers

• Robby Hammock - Arizona Diamondbacks
• Kevin Cash - Boston Red Sox
• Jamie Burke - Seattle Mariners

First basemen

• None - kind of odd but hey, it's the truth.

Second basemen

• Chris Burke - Arizona Diamondbacks
• Jonathan Herrera - Colorado Rockies
• Aaron Miles - St. Louis Cardinals

Shortstops

• Angel Berroa - Los Angeles Dodgers

Third basemen

• Ty Wigginton - Houston Astros
• Jason Smith - Kansas City Royals

Outfielders

• Jeff Salazar - Arizona Diamondbacks
• Willy Taveras - Colorado Rockies
• Reggie Abercrombie - Houston Astros
• Joey Gathright - Kansas City Royals
• Justin Christian - New York Yankees
• Jonny Gomes - Tampa Bay Rays

Teams have until midnight eastern time tonight to extend offers of arbitration to their free agents and I'll be updating this page as often as news becomes available about teams' arbitration actions.

Update

The offers are all in, and according to the AP only 24 players were offered arbitration. The list is as follows:

American League

• Boston Red Sox - Paul Byrd, rhp; Jason Varitek, c.
• Chicago White Sox - Orlando Cabrera, ss.
• Kansas City Royals - Mark Grudzielanek, 2b.
• Los Angels Angels - Jon Garland, rhp; Darren Oliver, lhp; Francisco Rodriguez, rhp; Mark Teixeira, 1b.
• Minnesota Twins - Dennys Reyes, lhp.
• Seattle Mariners - Raul Ibanez, of.
• Texas Rangers - Milton Bradley, dh.
• Toronto Blue Jays - A.J. Burnett, rhp.

National League

• Arizona Diamondbacks - Juan Cruz, rhp; Orlando Hudson, 2b; Brandon Lyon, rhp.
• Cincinnati Reds - David Weathers, rhp.
• Colorado Rockies - Brian Fuentes, lhp.
• Los Angeles Dodgers - Casey Blake, 3b; Derek Lowe, rhp; Manny Ramirez, of.
• Milwaukee Brewers - CC Sabathia, lhp; Ben Sheets, rhp; Brian Shouse, lhp.
• New York Mets - Oliver Perez, lhp.

Reds

The Cincinnati Reds have reportedly offered arbitration to reliever David Weathers (type B) who pitched in 72 games wracking up an ERA of 3.25 with 19 holds.

White Sox

The White Sox have not offered arbitration to free agents Juan Uribe or Ken Griffey Jr (type B) but have made an offer to Orlando Cabrera (type A).

Astros

The Astros did not extend offers to Doug Brocail (type A) or Randy Wolf and Mark Loretta (type B). The 'Stros had been in negotiations to resign Wolf although negotiations have stalled in recent days.

Phillies

The Philadelphia Phillies have passed on arbitration for Pat Burrell and Jamie Moyer (type A) as well as Rudy Seanez (type B) and Tom Gordon (unranked). Burrell hit 33 homeruns with 86 RBI and a batting average of .250 and would have likely been awarded a raise on the $13.25 million salary he earned last year. One has to wonder if the D'backs lack of an offer to Adam Dunn influenced the Phillies descision as the two players have similar stats at the plate and limitations in the field.

Moyer appears likely to return to the Phils but again, the team opted not to risk having his price set by a 3rd party arbiter.

Marlins

The Florida Marlins have apparently declined to offer arbitration to Arthur Rhodes, Paul Lo Duca, and Luis Gonzalez (all type B free agents). There seems to be a trend emerging of teams being fairly careful with their arbitration offers this year as Rhodes has had more several teams express interest and, in my opinion would have been worth extending an offer to.

I've got to wonder if this is a product of the economy and perhaps an indication that free agent spending will be down this year as well. Obviously the top tier players such as Sabathia, Teixeira, and Manny Ramirez will be offered huge deals (or in Sabathia and Ramirez's case, already have been) however, it looks like the rest of the free agents might encounter a few more money conscious teams this off-season.

(via MLBTradeRumors.com)

Rangers

The Texas Rangers offered arbitration to type B free agent Milton Bradley, but not unranked free agents Jamey Wright, Ramon Vazquez or Jason Jennings. Bradley made the All-Star team and batted .321 with 22 HR and 77 RBI in 126 games. I would be surprised if he didn't receive a 3 year offer after his performance last year, with teams like the Mets, Phillies, Blue Jays, and Cardinals possibly in the mix.

Cubs

The Chicago Cubs did not offer arbitration to free agent relievers Bob Howry or Kerry Wood, both type A free agents. The club had been expected to offer Wood arbitration but apparently did not want to risk the closer accepting the offer. Wood saved 34 games last year with a 3.26 ERA and would likely have been awarded a raise on his $4.2 million salary. Howry had a much less successful year, putting up a 5.35 ERA over 72 appearances and also might have accepted arbitration, possibly resulting in the Cubs paying him $4.5 million for another year.

The lack of offer to Wood makes him even more attractive to teams seeking an elite closer, especially considering that both Fuentes and Francisco Rodriguez were offered arbitration.

Diamondbacks

The Diamondbacks have reportedly offered arbitration to free agent Orlando Hudson, Juan Cruz (type A), and Brandon Lyon but surprisingly not Adam Dunn. The team also did not offer veteran pitcher Randy Johnson (type B), or David Eckstein and Tony Clark (did not qualify) arbitration although none of those moves came as a surprise. The decision on Dunn again, makes absolutely NO sense to me. While he was likely to get a raise from the $13 million he made last year, Dunn smacked 40 long balls last year while driving in 100 runs last season. Even with the D'backs trying to keep costs low, they could turn around and trade the power hitter if he accepted arbitration. If he declined and signed elsewhere, they'd be rewarded with two extra picks. Where's the downside?

As if that weren't enough, they did extend offers to both relievers, Cruz and Lyon. If both players happened to accept the offer, the Dbacks would be stuck with two expensive relievers. As evidenced by the Dunn decision, the Dbacks are quite concerned with their payroll so the team must be fairly confident that the pitchers will decline their offer. We'll find out whether the Dbacks guessed right by Dec. 7th, the deadline for the players to accept or reject their arbitration offers.

A's

The Oakland A's did not offer arbitration to Emil Brown or Frank Thomas (both type B free agents) or to Alan Embree or Keith Foulke who did not qualify. Thomas has expressed interest in returning to the A's, but Oakland would need to drastically reduce his salary ($12.5 million last year) to make that happen after Thomas batted just .240 with only 8 homeruns.

Rays

The Rays did not offer arbitration to free agents Eric Hinske, Rocco Baldelli, Cliff Floyd, and Trever Miller (who still has not signed with the Cardinals despite previous reports). Since none of the players qualified as type A or B, the team would have nothing to gain by extending offers.

Nationals

The Washington Nationals, like the Rays, did not have any type A or B free agents and did not offer arbitration to Aaron Boone or Odalis Perez. The club has expressed interest in bringing both players back, according to MLB.com, but are waiting to see how the market develops before making offers.

Orioles

The Baltimore Orioles declined to offer arbitration to all of their free agents, Kevin Millar, Jay Payton, Juan Castro and Alex Cintron, none of whom qaulified as type A or B players.

Padres

The San Diego Padres have declined to offer arbitration to future Hall of Fame closer Trevor Hoffman, a type A free agent. The move has long been predicted but, I can't figure out why the Padres wouldn't make the offer. Hoffman has said the odds of him returning to the Padres are a longshot at 99-1 after the way the team has treated him. The Padres made Hoffman an offer to return, but later pulled the offer in an effort to cut costs. Even still, with Hoffman unlikely to return, it would make sense for the team to offer the closer arbitration and collect the draft picks when he signs else where.

Royals

The Kansas City Royals have offered arbitration to second basemen Mark Grudzielanek. While the move came as a surprise to most, Grudz will reportedly turn down the Royals' offer in hopes of playing for a contender. While the Royals offer may represent the highest salary Grudzielanek will be offered, Kansas City certainly is not a contender and several more competitive teams including Grudzielanek's former club the St. Louis Cardinals are in need of middle infielders.

Mets

The New York Mets have reportedly passed on offering Moises Alou and Louis Ayala arbitration but did extend an offer to free agent pitcher Oliver Perez. Perez is a type A free agent after going 10-7 with a 4.22 ERA. The 27 year old southpaw is widely expected to decline the offer and sign a multi-year deal with the Washington Nationals reportedly leading the way to land the free agent pitcher.

Braves

The Atlanta Braves did not offer arbitration to veteran pitcher John Smoltz, however the team still expects to resign the long time Brave should he decide not to retire.

Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox have offered arbitration to Jason Varitek (type A) and Paul Byrd (type B). Arbitration was not offered to the Sox other free agents, Curt Schilling, Mike Timlin, Bartolo Colon, Alex Cora, Sean Casey, David Ross and Mark Kotsay.

Predictions about whether the Red Sox would offer their free agent catcher had been mixed, and there are just as many differeing opinions about whether the Red Sox captain will accept the offer. According to Varitek's agent, Scott Boras, the veteran wants to play full time, however former teammate Curt Shilling has said that Veritek wouldn't mind a reduced roll. Players have until Dec. 7th to accept the arbitration offers and it wil be interesting to see what the three-time All-Star decides.

Angels

The Los Angeles Angels have reportedly offered arbitration to Mark Teixeira, Darren Oliver, Francisco Rodriguez (all type A) and Jon Garland (type B). By offering Teixeira arbitration, the Angels make the price of signing him slightly higher for other interested teams, although I still expect the first basement to resign with LA.

The Angels also declined to offer Garrett Anderson arbitration, likely ending his 12 year tenure with LA.

Dodgers

The Los Angeles Dodgers have offered arbitration to Manny Ramirez and Derek Lowe (both type A), as well as Casey Blake (type B) while declining to offer it to type B free agents Greg Maddux, Jeff Kent, Joe Beimel and Brad Penny.

The lack of an offer to Beimel was expected but I still don't agree with the Dodgers' decision. Beimel has reportedly drawn interest from the Mets, Cardinals, Rockies, Reds and Tigers and is seeking a 3 year deal which makes him an unlikely candidate to accept the Dodgers' offer.

Rockies

The Colorado Rockies have offered arbitration to closer Brian Fuentes, their only type A free agent. Fuentes has drawn interest from several teams as the best closer on the market other than Francisco Rodriguez. The Mets, Cardinals, and Indians have all expressed interest in Fuentes who had 30 saves last season.

As with other type A free agents who have been offered arbitration, if the Rockies are unable to resign the reliever they'll receive two draft picks, a 1st or 2nd round pick from the team that signs Fuentes (depending on that team's record the previous season) and a “sandwich” pick after the first round but before the second.

Blue Jays

The Toronto Blue Jays have offered pitcher A.J. Burnett arbitration while declining to extend an offer to catcher Greg Zaun. The offer to Burnett was an obvious move as Burnett has already opted out of his existing deal with the Jays and appears likely to cash in with a huge contract. By offering the pitcher arbitration, the Blue Jays, who still hope to resign the pitcher, will receive two draft picks should Burnett sign with another team.

Cardinals

Matthew Leach of MLB.com is reporting that the St. Louis Cardinals won't offer arbitration to any of their free agents which include Russ Springer (type A), Jason Isringhausen, and Braden Looper (type B). The decision not to offer Looper arbitration has me pretty puzzled as the Cardinals have a hole at the back end of their rotation and Looper has put up two very serviceable years as a starter.

The Cardinals have been very accommodating with Springer who has a special needs child attending a local school. I wouldn't be surprised if they're hoping to resign the 40 year old veteran to a deal worth less than an arbiter would award after his 50 innings, 2.32 ERA performance last year.

Twins

The Minnesota Twins offered arbitration to their only qualifying free agent, reliever Dennys Reyes (type B). Reyes, who made an even $1 million last year had an ERA of 2.33 in 46.1 innings pitched over 75 appearances making the decision to offer arbitration a no-brainer. I'd be quite surprised if the 11 year veteran accepted the offer as he's likely to receiver much higher offers considering his performance last year and the fact that he's a lefty. The Twins declined to extend offers to their free agents that did not qualify, "Everyday" Eddie Guardado, Nick Punto, and Adam Everett.

Tigers

The Detroit Tigers declined to offer arbitration to short stop Edgar Renteria, their only free agent that would have qualified them for compensatory draft picks (they also declined to make offers to Kenny Rogers, Freddie Garcia, and Kyle Farnsworth who didn't qualify). I'm a bit surprised that the Tigers weren't willing to take the risk of making an offer. Renteria appears dead set on leaving Detroit and likely the AL as a whole and I doubt he would have accepted arbitration, even though he likely would have received at least $9 million for the year.

Mariners

The Seattle Mariners have offered arbitration to Raul Ibanez (a type A free agent) while telling Willie Bloomquist and Miguel Cairo thanks but no thanks. Ibanez had a career year last year and has stated that he'd like to win which pretty much rules out returning to the Mariners, losers of 101 games last year.

Brewers

The Brewers have extended arbitration offers to CC Sabathia, Ben Sheets, and Brian Shouse but not Eric Gagne (a type B free agent). Many commentators were watching the Brewers' move with Sheets as an indication of his health, but the Brewers would have been incredibly foolish had they not made the offer. Even if they're not sure Sheets can remain healthy, by making the offer they signal to the rest of the league that they'd like to keep him and as such, increase the likelihood he signs elsewhere giving them two extra draft picks. The offer might also been seen as a good will gesture and help in the Brewers negotiations to resign Sheets if they miss out on Sabathia.

Yankees

The Yankees have reportedly declined to offer arbitration to all 8 of their free agents, including Andy Pettitte and Bobby Abreu as well as Jason Giambi, Mike Mussina (who's retiring), and Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez. This means the Yankees will not receive any compensatory picks if and when their free agents sign elsewhere.

Pirates, Indians, & Giants

The Pitsburgh Pirates, Cleveland Indians, and San Francisco Giants did not have any free agents that qualified as type A or B and as such, extended no offers of arbitration.

The St. Louis Cardinals are reportedly working on a deal to send All-Star outfielder Ryan Ludwick to the Colorado Rockies in exchange for slugger Matt Holliday.

Ludwick enjoyed a break out year last year batting .299 with 37 home runs and 113 RBI while Holliday hit .321 with 25 long balls, and 88 runs driven in. The Rockies are reportedly interested in dealing their star slugger since he's entering the final year of his contract while Ludwick is entering only his first year of arbitration and would be under team control for the next 3 seasons.

The Cardinals have been searching for a consistent bat to pair with future hall of famer Albert Pujols and if they can in fact pull this trade off and sign Holliday to a long term extension, they'd have an incredibly potent 1-2 punch in the middle of their lineup for years to come. And, despite the fact that Holliday has been in the league longer, the Redbirds would actually be getting younger, trading the 30 year old Ludwick for the 28 year old Holliday.

This actually appears to be about as even a deal as it gets these days in MLB. While the Rockies would have to wonder whether Ludwick could perform at the same level for years to come, the Cardinals would need to consider how much of Holliday's power is due to that crisp Rockie Mountain air.

What do you think? If you were the Cardinals or the Rockies would you pull the trigger?

Buster Olney is citing a source that claims the likely hood of the A's completing any more trades before todays deadline is "less than 1%."

The A's have been busy players as we approached the deadline dealing both Joe Blanton and Rich Harden. However, it appears that other Oakland players that had been rumored to be on the market will stay put.

Most notably, this includes closer Houston Street who had been sought by several clubs including the Cardinals and the White Sox. With right at 4 hours remaining until the deadline, the removal of Street from the market could push teams seeking a reliever to meet Colorado's reportedly steep asking price for Brian Fuentes or Atlanta's similarly high price for Will Ohman.