Cliff Lee:
- FOX Sports.com writes that the Dodgers are pushing hard for Indians’ ace Cliff Lee, who is also being pursued by the Phillies. Philadelphia has already made a formal offer of Triple-A right hander Carlos Carrasco, shortstop Jason Donald, catcher Lou Marson and Single-A right hander Jason Knapp to Cleveland for Lee.

- Yahoo! Sports is also reporting that the Phillies are on the verge of acquiring Lee for Carrasco, Knapp and two more minor league players.

Jack Wilson and Ian Snell:
- According to a report by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Pirates have traded shortstop Jack Wilson and Ian Snell to the Mariners for Jeff Clement, Ronny Cedeno and right handed pitchers Aaron Pribanic, Brett Lorin and Nathan Adcock. Clement is a 25-year old catcher who had been hot in Triple-A in May, but the Seattle organization seemingly soured on him long before that.

Freddy Sanchez:
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is reporting that a deal between the Pirates and Giants involving second baseman Freddy Sanchez could be imminent. Sanchez has been held out of the Bucs’ last couple games due to a knee injury, which could have slowed down negotiations between the two clubs. But apparently the injury isn’t serious and a deal could be done as early as today.

- The Gazette is reporting that there is no major issues with Sanchez’s knee and is currently listed as day to day.

- Dejan Kovacevic writes via his Twitter page that Sanchez gave the Bucs a contract proposal of 3-years, $20 million, but the club rejected it.

Jarrod Washburn:
- The Brewers are no longer pursing starter Jarrod Washburn according to FOX Sports.com. Milwaukee apparently doesn’t want to give up any of their top prospects in order to make a push this season, so what you currently see is what you’re going to get with the Brewers the rest of the season.

- Ed Price of AOL Fanhouse is reporting that the Reds have acquired outfielder Wladimir Balentien from the Mariners in exchange for RHP Robert Manuel.

I get it – baseball trades are fun. They’re fun to speculate about, they’re fun to debate and they’re fun to analyze. But just because a club needs a bat, an arm or is just looking to shrink salary, doesn’t mean that a trade needs to happen.

I’ve compiled a list of five trade rumors and where they originated. I then discuss why each of them makes sense, but why they also don’t necessarily need to happen.

Rumor #1: The Red Sox will trade for Pirates shortstop Jack Wilson (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
Why it makes sense: Boston is growing impatient waiting for Jed Lowrie to recover from a wrist injury that has held him out since mid-April. They’re also tired of watching Julio Lugo (who is equally bad offensively as he is defensively) make a mockery of the game whenever he trots onto the field. While Nick Green has done well filling in for Lowrie while he’s been hurt and for Lugo while he continues to work on being the most overpaid player in professional sports, the Sox feel they could do better with Wilson. (There’s also a rumor making the rounds that Boston wouldn’t have to give up any top prospects in order to acquire Wilson – they just would need to take on the rest of his salary.)
Why it doesn’t need to happen: Wilson is excellent defensively, but he brings very little to the table in terms of offense. He’s also overpaid himself, as he’ll make $7.25 million this year and $8.4 million in 2010 despite being limited at the dish. While waiting for Lowrie to return to the field has been a slow death for the Sox, he’s cheaper than Wilson and gives the team a better overall player at the position (when he’s healthy, of course). Plus, Green has played well and Boston might be better served holding onto prospects in order to make a more productive move around the trade deadline (i.e. adding another bat in case David Oritz plans on hitting south of .200 all season) than one involving Wilson.

Rumor #2: The Giants will trade for Marlins second baseman Dan Uggla (Sun-Sentinel)
Why it makes sense: The Giants are playing better than most expected this season, but they’re doing it all with pitching. They’ve surrendered the fewest runs this year (233), but have scored the third fewest (248) themselves. San Fran might not be able to catch the streaking Dodgers in the NL West (as of this writing, the Giants are seven games back of L.A. in the division despite being six games above .500), but if they continue to play well, the Wild Card is certainly attainable. But they need offense – badly. While Uggla’s batting average has been atrocious all season, he does have 11 home runs and 40 RBI so the thought is that he could add much-needed pop to the Giants’ lineup.
Why it doesn’t need to happen: Yes, the Giants do need offense. But don’t forget that they play in a pitcher’s park so even if they did acquire Uggla, who knows how his power would translate to AT&T Park. And his average is death so if he’s not going to hit home runs, he’s not worth acquiring (and don’t forget that his defense is brutal, too). The Giants’ current starting second baseman is Emmanuel Burriss, who has zero pop and has struggled at the plate despite tearing it up in the spring, but he has an outstanding glove and he’s young. It’s rumored that the Marlins would be looking for young pitching in exchange for Uggla, but it’s not worth it for the Giants to give up a young arm like Jonathan Sanchez (even though he’s struggling) to acquire Uggla while there are still options within the organization (and I don’t necessarily mean Burriss, who has been brutal, but Kevin Frandsen, who has been absolutely hosed by the organization this season). Plus, the Giants aren’t one bat away from making a deep postseason run – they’re two or three bats away. Acquiring Uggla isn’t going to change that. The Giants have also been linked to players like Adam Dunn and Paul Konerko and I would say the same thing about them as I do about Uggla – those players aren’t worth giving up young arms with the Giants still a year or two away from seriously competing. Unless they could get a young bat in a deal, San Fran GM Brian Sabean should stand pat and continue his rebuilding plan.

Rumor #3: The Cardinals will trade for Astros shortstop Miguel Tejada (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
Why it makes sense: Manager Tony La Russa desperately wants to add another bat to the lineup to help protect Albert Pujols and upgrading the left side of the infield while Troy Glaus and Khalil Greene continue to miss time is a necessity as well. Tejada would cover both needs as he’s hitting .344 with six home runs and some feel as though he can play third base if needed, although he has never actually played there before.
Why it doesn’t need to happen: First and foremost, there’s no guarantee that the Astros would want to trade within their own division. Plus, despite currently being three games under .500 and in last place, Houston is only four games back of the Brewers in the NL Central, so they’ll hang onto Tejada if they feel as though they have a shot at the playoffs (however slim those hopes may be). But looking at this from the Cardinals’ perspective, acquiring Tejada doesn’t make as much sense as going after someone like Cleveland’s Mark DeRosa, who is also rumored to be available. Tejada will earn $13 million in 2009 and is set to become a free agent in 2010. Chances are, St. Louis wouldn’t re-sign Tejada in the offseason and they’d probably have to pay Houston a premium because it would be a trade down within the division. Throw in the fact that Tejada isn’t that great of a defensive player and adding him makes little sense. A guy like DeRosa would still give the Cards a quality bat, a better defender who has actually spent time at third base, and cheaper player to boot.

Rumor #4: The Padres will trade Adrian Gonzalez (ESPN.com’s Buster Onley)
Why it makes sense: It doesn’t make sense unless you look at it from the view of the Padres’ front office, who wants to cut team salary significantly. (That’s why San Diego has been actively shopping Jake Peavy.)
Why it doesn’t need to happen: This is more of a notion than a rumor. As previously noted, the Padres want to cut salary but they’ve been unable to move Peavy, so speculation has it that they could wind up dealing Gonzo if the right trade comes along. But while cutting salary is important to the front office, GM Kevin Towers can’t just give up a young slugger like Gonzalez in a cost-cutting move. Obviously Towers would get a couple of prospects in exchange for Gonzo, but would he be willing to take a lesser deal just to free up some money? If so, that would be incredibly disappointing for a Padre fan base that has embraced Gonzalez and hopes that he’ll still be around when San Diego eventually is competitive again (whenever that might be).

Rumor #5: The Red Sox will trade Brad Penny (Boston Globe)
Why it makes sense: With John Smoltz set to come back soon from a rehab assignment, Penny will be expandable to the Red Sox, who have discussed moving him to the pen (despite his unwillingness) when Smoltz returns to the mound. Boston seemingly has an abundance of starting pitching and if they could get a couple of prospects or a position player of worth in exchange for Penny, why not move him?
Why it doesn’t need to happen: A lot has been made about Boston’s pitching depth, but things could go from good to ugly at the drop of a dime. Dice-K has been brutal and has already made one trip to the DL. Josh Beckett started off slow, recovered to pitch incredibly well over the last month but then was shelled yesterday in Philadelphia. Smoltz is set to return from his rehab assignment, but who knows how he’ll pitch once he faces major league batters again. So essentially yes, the Red Sox do have a ton of depth. But that could vanish in a heartbeat and while Penny has looked good in his last three starts, teams aren’t going to be willing to overpay for the 31-year old’s services – especially knowing that Boston has an abundance of arms. In the end, holding on to Penny for depth and in case of injuries to other starters might be worth it in the end. Of course, if some club offers a top prospect in exchange for Penny (which is doubtful), then all bets are off.

Apparently the near-Jake Peavy deal between the Padres and White Sox woke up other general managers in baseball, because trade rumors are starting to kick up around the league.

One of the bigger rumors is that the Giants are interested in Marlins’ second baseman Dan Uggla. According to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, the offense-needy Giants would have to give up a young starter to swing a deal for Uggla, and both Matt Cain and Jonathan Sanchez’s names were brought up in the report.

Even though San Fran has one of the worst offenses in baseball (they currently rank dead last in the NL in runs scored, on base percentage and slugging percentage), Giants’ GM Brian Sabean should be kicked repeatedly in the stones if he trades Cain for Uggla straight up.

Cain is pitching in his fourth year already and he’s only 24. His career record of 35-44 suggests he’s light years away from becoming a productive pitcher, but his career ERA of 3.63 paints a better picture. He’s a pitcher that has been cursed with poor run support over his career, but that has changed this season and he’s now finally getting the attention he deserves while posting a 5-1 record and 2.40 ERA so far in ’09.

Uggla would give the Giants’ lineup much-needed pop, but his .200 batting average is death right now and who knows how his power would transfer to a pitcher-friendly AT&T Park. Ask Aaron Rowand how it feels to hit in that home run-killer that the Giants play in. He hit 27 dingers three years ago with the Phillies and managed just 13 last year in his first season with Frisco.

I know I might regret saying this because after all, he was the nitwit who traded Joe Nathan, Francisco Liriano and Boof Bonser for ass clown A.J. Pierzynski in 2003, but Sabean isn’t stupid enough to trade Cain for Uggla straight up. The Giants need offense, but it can’t come at the cost of sacrificing a potential 20-game winner in Cain. Sanchez might be another story considering he is less of a sure thing than Cain is, but even he might not be worth giving up for an average-killer like Uggla.

Believe it or not, the Giants are headed in the right direction. They’re stacked with young pitchers (including two minor league prospects Madison Bumgarner and Tim Alderson) and have a couple of emerging position players who will be ready for the show by 2011 (or sooner). They’re probably not going to catch the Dodgers or make a serious run at the NL Wild Card this year, so there’s no sense panicking and trading away young pitching for guys like Uggla. They’d be better off giving youngsters Emmanuel Burriss and Kevin Frandsen more playing time and hoping one of them can emerge as a quality seventh or eighth hitter in the lineup. (Not too mention that both Burriss and Frandsen are better defensively than Uggla is.)

Less than a month before pitchers and catchers report, here are some of the big names still available: Manny freaking Ramirez, Adam Dunn, Bobby Abreu, Ken Griffey, Orlando Hudson, Frank Thomas, and to a lesser extent, Kevin Millar (20 homers last season) and Orlando Cabrera. To put this in perspective, the Astros signed pitcher Russ Ortiz to a minor league deal a few days ago, the Dodgers signed reliever Guillermo Mota, the Angels inked Darren Oliver for one year, and the White Sox brought back a Bartolo Colon who is on the downside of his career. Clearly, it’s a pitchers’ market this off-season, and it’s almost mind-boggling that Ramirez has gone almost three full months without being signed.

Part of the problem here is that the big spenders (ahem, New York teams) have blown their collective load on the likes of CC Sabathia, AJ Burnett, Mark Teixeira, Francisco Rodriguez, etc., leaving a team like the Dodgers the likely scenario for Man-Ram in 2009, which at the end of the day is probably best for both sides anyway. But some of those other guys are going to have trouble finding work, or they are going to take a recession-friendly deal from a team they wouldn’t have signed with otherwise. It’s already happened with Pat Burrell in Tampa and Jason Giambi with Oakland.

In other more recent news, the Red Sox avoided arbitration with Kevin Youkilis on Thursday, agreeing to terms on a four-year deal. And the Dodgers finally released beleaguered outfielder Andruw Jones, who the Braves are considering bringing back for the league minimum salary. The Braves are also mulling over whether to bring back injury-plagued LHP Tom Glavine for one more season.

Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti told ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark on Monday that he ran into the free agent on Sunday night in a hotel lobby and the left-hander told him that he wants to be a Dodger.

Although the New York Yankees and Milwaukee Brewers have made offers to the prize of the free-agent class, speculation continued that Sabathia would want to play near the home he is building in Southern California.

Sabathia did meet with the Yankees on Sunday and Monday, and his representatives spoke with the Brewers on Monday.

According to a baseball man with knowledge of the meeting, Sabathia wanted to meet with the Yankees on Sunday because he’s “trying to gather information” about the franchise and New York.
Sabathia and his agent, Greg Genske, met for about 2½ hours on Sunday with Yankees GM Brian Cashman, manager Joe Girardi and adviser Reggie Jackson. And the main focus of the conversation, the source said, was whether Sabathia wants to be a Yankee.

Cashman met alone with Sabathia and his representatives on Monday.

Many insist that Sabathia will eventually take the money and wind up in New York, but his desire to hit and play in his home state seem to be more appealing at this point. The Dodgers seem like a perfect fit for the three things Sabathia wants – his home state, money and the opportunity to hit. The other two California teams that have shown interest – the Angels and Giants – only seem to be trying to drive up the market value for the ace with the Yankees and Dodgers being the two main players in the Sabathia sweepstakes.

The Mets appear on the verge of simultaneously interrupting a sluggish baseball market and solving their biggest winter issue. They are closing in on a deal to sign star free-agent closer Francisco Rodriguez.

“It’s going to get done,” said a person familiar with the talks.

It almost had to. The Mets badly needed a big-time closer to replace injured star Billy Wagner and anchor what was one of the worst bullpens ever attached to a contender. To accomplish their goal, they focused on K-Rod as their closer of choice over the past couple weeks.

The contract is a very reasonable one for the Mets in that Rodriguez will make only about $3 million more than he was offered by the Angels in spring training, before he set the single-season record for saves in a season with 62. It is also $6 million less over its term than the Mets paid to Wagner three winters ago.

The deal makes sense for K-Rod, too, since he knew he couldn’t top that type of deal in those smaller markets. he is also thought to want to be in a big market, anyway. His first choice appeared to be to go back to the Angels, but they have suitable replacement in Jose Arredondo and Scot Shields and put him way on the back burner while pursing top target, free-agent first baseman Mark Teixeira.

This Mets team has to succeed this year. The club spent beaucoup bucks on ace Johan Santana last year, have plenty of quality hitters and are now adding one of the top closers in the game. Of course, everything comes down to execution, which has been the Mets problem over the years. It’ll be interesting to see how much noise the Mets continue to make during the winter meetings.