The July 31st Trade Deadline wouldn’t be exciting unless the New York Yankees participated. The Yankees made a statement by acquiring Lance Berkman from the Houston Astros. There is a 24 hour window before the deal becomes official, but it is expected to be finalized without any problems.  Here are the events leading up to this:

7/31 10:43: Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports says the deal is official.

7/30 16:03: Buster Olney of ESPN says the Astros are picking up a lot of money on this trade, and the Yankees won’t have to give up major prospects.

7/30 15:10: Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets, “Deal is completed, Berkman consented to waive no-trade rights, just have to wait 24 hrs for the technicality”

7/30 14:48: A source (via Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports )says, “Berkman gave approval earlier today, so everything should be OK. But official word would not be until Sat. aft.”. Rosenthal adds that the deal will be announced tomorrow likely.

In an earlier tweet, Rosenthal says, “#Yankees indeed moving quickly on Berkman, as others report. Team will NOT pick up 15M option as condition of deal; strictly a rental. #MLB”

7/30 14:46: Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets, “Rule is Berkman deal can’t be officially announced for 24 hrs after completed because the player (Berkman) has to waive 10-5 rights .” He adds that it’s more of a technicality.

7/30 14:08: Alyson Footer of MLB.com tweets, “Berkman said no matter what happens, he wants the opp. to come back to Astros next year. So a requirement if he was traded would be for the new team to NOT pick up his option. He’s the anti-Oswalt.”

7/30 14:03: Joel Sherman of the New York Post says a Berkman deal from the Astros to the Yankees is on the verge of completion.

7/30 13:00: Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets, “#Yankees are definitely in for Lance Berkman, considering him seriously”

7/30 12:50: Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated tweets “berkman one of many #yankees are looking at for offense. they find relief market dismal thus far.”

7/30 10:40: Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports tweets that Berkman could be in play for the New York Yankees. Berkman is good friends with Andy Pettitte, and he would likely waive his no-trade clause for the Bronx Bombers.

7/30 09:08: Ed Price of AOL FanHouse tweets that there is a “buzz” about the Chicago White Sox going after Houston Astros Lance Berkman.

Yesterday, Joel Sherman of the New York Post said the Astros might move their long-time first baseman. The White Sox are likely considering Berkman as a plan B if they cannot acquire Adam Dunn from the Washington Nationals.

One stipulation to note, Berkman has a no-trade clause in his contract, but Sherman says that he could be a lower-cost option for most teams that don’t like what the Washington Nationals may be asking for Dunn. Berkman has a $15 million team option for 2011, and he previously told Bernardo Fallas of the Houston Chronicle that he hasn’t gotten any indication that the Astros will pick it up.

Berkman has previously has said that he would waive his no-trade clause to a team if they picked up his team option in the process.