The Boston Red Sox and free agent pitcher John Lackey have reportedly agreed to a 5 year deal worth $82.5 million.

Lackey was considered by many to be the top starting pitcher on the free agent market this year.

Ken Rosenthall says the Red Sox will also attempt to extend Josh Beckett (likely to a slightly more expensive deal) and may even explore a possible trade for San Diego Padres first baseman, Adrian Gonzalez likely centered around Clay Buchholz.

Lackey's signing also ends the Red Sox's pursuit of free agents Jason Bay or Matt Holliday.

Lackey would also be the second high profile free agent to leave the Angels so far this offseason, following Chone Figgins out the door.

The Los Angeles Angels are "close" to acquiring left handed starter, Scott Kazmir from the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for two prospects, reportedly pitcher Alexander Torres and third baseman Matthew Sweeney, according to MLB.com's Lyle Spencer.

The Angels have been looking for help in their rotation and the 25 year old southpaw should fit in nicely, despite having a down year this year with an ERA of nearly 6.

The Rays signed Kazmir to a long term deal after the lefty posted ERA's under 3.5 each of the last three years. However, as the Rays began looking to shed payroll and with Kazmir's ERA skyrocketing, Tampa began looking to unload his contract.

To be honest, it seems like the Rays are selling low on Kazmir. Since the All Star break he's pitched much better with only 3 bad starts mixed in with several quality outings. With young left handed pitching so hard to come by, I'm a little surprised the Rays agreed to this deal.

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!

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.

The Atlanta Braves have once again reportedly reached an agreement with a free agent. For the Braves' sake, let's hope this one sticks.

ESPN.com is reporting that the Braves have signed Garret Anderson to a one year deal for $2.5 million with the announcement coming tomorrow.

The Braves have experienced a frustrating off season, having been linked to a possible trade for Jake Peavy, and signings of Rafael Furcal and Ken Griffey Jr. all of which fell apart after public reports had them pegged as done deals.

Anderson, a long time Angel, will likely platoon with Matt Diaz and will be asked to provide some power from the left side of the plate. The 36 year old veteran batted .293 and had 15 home runs for the Angels last year, all but one of them coming off right handed pitchers.

The Los Angeles Angels seem to be close to landing free agent slugger Bobby Abreu to a one year deal.

Abreu initially sought a three year deal in the neighborhood of $48 million, however as the economic reality of this offseason set in, it became clear that the outfielder would have to settle for something drastically less.

ESPN's Jerry Crasnick reports that Abreu may be willing to accept a one year deal in the neighborhood of $8 million and Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal is reporting that the Angles asked for waivers on Nick Green, possibly in preparation of an Abreu deal.

The Angels lineup has been depleted this offseason by the free agent defections of Mark Teixeira and Garret Anderson and Abreu's 20 home runs and 100 RBI's last year with the New York Yankees would be a welcome addition.

The Atlanta Braves had been rumored to be interested in Abreu, but apparently could not meet the player's salary demands, even on a one year deal.

The New York Yankees have reportedly reached an agreement with free agent first baseman Mark Teixeira on an eight year deal worth $180 million.

The Yankees' bitter rivals, the Boston Red Sox had been favored to land the slugger but the Bronx Bombers once again won the war of the pocketbooks. Teixeira's deal takes the Yankees' off season tab up to $423.5 million to three players over an 8 year period, and also gives the team famous for it's spending, the 4 highest paid players in the game (Teixeira, Sabathia, Jeter, and Rodriguez).

Teixeira, who hit .308 with 33 home runs and 121 RBIs last year, should passify Yankee fans who had been clamoring for the team to replace the offensive output of departing free agents Bobby Abreu and Jason Giambi. Defensively, "Tex" will take over first base, moving the recently acquired Nick Swisher back into a crowded outfield. Along with Swisher the Yankees also have Hideki Matsui, Johnny Damon, and Xavier Nady competing for the two corner positions in the outfield and possibly the DH if Jorge Posada can bounce back and be an every day catcher.

Asside from the Washington Nationals and Red Sox who had been previously expected to land Teixeira, the Brewers and the Blue Jays also have their compensitory draft picks pushed back a round with the Los Angeles Angels now getting New York's first pick as well as a pick in the supplementary round between the first and second round of drafting. The pick will likely be little consolation to Angels fans who are once again faced with a lineup lacking power and without protection for Valdamir Guererro.

The Cleveland Indians have reportedly agreed to terms on a two year deal with former Cubs closer, Kerry Wood. The deal is believed to be worth nearly $20 million and have a vesting option for a third should the oft-injured pitcher reach certain performance incentives.

Wood was being heavily pursued by the Indians as well as the Detroit Tigers, and the signing gives the Indians the solid closer they were missing last year. Cleveland used several different pitchers to close out games last year, with 5 relievers combining for a total of 31 saves.

This deal, combined with the Met's signing of Francisco Rodriguez leaves only Brian Fuentes left among the top flight free agent closers. Detroit is said to have moved their focus to trading for the Mariners' JJ Putz and Fuentes has received interest from several clubs including the Cardinals, Angels, Brewers (possibly as a setup man for Francisco Cordero?), and to a lesser extent the Tigers.

Several sources are reporting that the New York Mets have signed free agent closer Francisco Rodriguez to a three year deal worth $37 million with a vesting option for a 4th year at $14 million. The former Angels closer had originally been seeking a 5 year deal worth $75 million and his signing may be the strongest signal yet of the impact the economy is having on the free agent market.

K-Rod had 62 saves for the Angels last year, setting a new single season record and has had 149 saves over the last three years. He should provide the Mets an anchor for the back of their bullpen which struggled last year, and lost closer Billy Wagner to injury.

The Angels, who offered K-Rod a deal worth only about $3 million less in Spring Training, will receive the Mets' first round draft pick (#25 overall) and a supplemental pick in between the first and second rounds.

The signing is the first of the high profile free agents this year, and will likely set a precedence for fellow free agent closers Brian Fuentes and Kerry Wood. Teams that had not planned on being a player for some of these larger names may find themselves back in the midst of the action, since prices and demands have apparently fallen considerably.

Deals involving big name players like this have a tendency to have a bit of a dominoe effect as teams that missed out, scramble to snatch up their second or third options. Be sure to subscribe to our RSS feed or have posts delivered daily to your email inbox so you can keep up on all the latest MLB rumors and free agent signings.

Now that the Phillies have declined to offer free agent Pat Burrell arbitration, several teams have picked up their pursuit of the slugger, including the Seattle Mariners, Los Angeles Angels, and San Francisco Giants according to MLB.com's Ken Mandel.

Mandel mentions that Burrell grew up in the Bay Area and implies that the Giants may be the favorites to land the outfielder. Burrell hammered 33 HR and had 86 RBI last year for the World Series Champion Phillies, and would provide a much needed offensive boost for the Giants who had only 94 home runs as a team last year. He would also be a lower cost option than Manny Ramirez or Mark Teixeira who are being courted by teams with much deeper pockets. If the Giants are in fact in "win now mode" signing Burrell or perhaps Adam Dunn would be a big step in the right direction.