7/29 11:59:

7/29 11:50: A source close to Matthew Gelb of The Philadelphia Inquire says Oswalt has accepted deal.

7/29 11:44: Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports drops in a few tweets:

Oswalt option for ‘12 actually mutual option. With trade, buyout will increase from 1M to 2M if #Phillies pick up option and Oswalt declines, becoming FA instead. Buyout will remain 2M if he simply opts out on his own.

Rosenthal adds, “The players in the Oswalt deal, which is still not official: J.A. Happ, OF Anthony Gose, SS Jonathan Villan.”

7/29 10:18: A source close to Jayson Stark of ESPN says Oswalt plans to accept the proposed trade to the Phillies.

Oswalt hasn’t officially waived his no-trade clause yet, but considering his options the right-hander is prepared to go to Philadelphia.

Jerry Crasknick of ESPN says that Antony Gose’s name is floating around as candidate to to Houston in the Oswalt deal.

Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports says Oswalt will be compensated for waiving his no-trade clause in “some other way”.

Sources close to Jayson Stark of ESPN says that the Astros will send $11 million to Phillies as part of the deal.

7/29 07:46: Jayson Stark of ESPN says that there’s no deadline for Oswalt to approve the deal, but He and Happ are scheduled to start on Friday, so both teams prefer and answer today.

7/29 06:56: Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated says, “hearing #astros are paying a lot of $ to philly in oswalt deal. he has $24 mil left thru ‘11.”

7/29 06:52: Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports says “Confirmed: Deal between #Astros, #Phillies for Oswalt is in place. Need Oswalt’s approval.”

7/29 06:13: Jon Heyman of SI is hearing that the Astros and Phillies are discussing, J.A. Happ, righty Vance Worley, and two younger pitchers.  Worley is 22 years old and has spent almost the entire year at double-A.  He has put together a 3.20 ERA and ranks as the Phils 18th best prosepct.

7/28 23:53: Brian McTaggart of MLB.com says the Astros have scouted Phillies left-handed pitcher J.A. Happ’s most recent start, and he llikely would be included in the deal. Astros GM Ed Wade also personally scouted Philadelphia’s Class A Lakewood affiliate. First baseman Jonathan Singleton could be in the deal.

7/28 22:15: A source close to a Mark Berman, sports director of FOX 26 Sports, the Houston Astros have a deal in place to trade Roy Oswalt to the Philadelphia Philies if Oswalt agrees to waive his no-trade clause.

Sources told FOX 26 the Astros have approached Oswalt. He is aware of the deal that is on the table and the club is waiting for his response.

The sources told FOX 26 the Astros and Phillies have agreed on the amount of money Houston will take back in the deal and two teams have agreed on the players Philadelphia will be sending.

Oswalt owed about $5 million for the rest of this season. He will make $16 million in the 2011 season and there is a team option for 2012 worth $16 million with a $2 million buyout.

Earlier this morning, we talked about the possibility of the Brewers trading Hoffman despite Rosenthal saying the Brewers are not inclined to trade the right-hander.

Hoffman could be attractive to clubs seeking right-handed relief help. He has a 1.69 ERA in his last 15 appearances. He signed through this season for $7.5 million, and has a club option for 2011 with a $500,000 buyout.

Earlier today Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe said the Red Sox expect to do something to help their bullpen by the July 31st trade deadline.
Some candidates that they could go after include Rafael Perez, Will Ohman, Mike Gonzalez, Matt Capps, Michael Wuertz, Craig Breslow, Sean Marshall, Kerry Wood, David Aardsma and Kyle Farnsworth to name a few.

Showalter, 54, is taking over the Major League’s worst team. The Orioles, currently 31-70, fired manager Dave Trembley on June 4 and replaced him with Juan Samuel on an interim basis.

It’s expected that the official announcement won’t likely be made until after the completion of the Trade Deadline (Saturday, July 31 at 1pm PST). A managerial announcement will not come until at least August, president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail confirmed earlier this week, as he concentrates on the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline.

Showalter is 882-833 as a Major League manager. He has managed the New York Yankees, Arizona Diamondbacks and Texas Rangers in his career. He won the Manager of the Year award in 1994 with the Yankees and 2004 with the Rangers.

The Padres are in need of infield depth since second baseman David Eckstein went onto the disabled list with a right calf strain on July 21. Eckstein may not be ready when he’s eligible to come off the DL in the first week of August.

“Jed’s trying like heck,” one source said of general manager Jed Hoyer’s efforts during his first July trade deadline.

Tejada, 36, is hitting .269 with 7 home runs and 39 RBIs in 97 games for the Orioles this season. He’s primarily been playing third base, but the Padres think he can return to his shortstop roots. Tejada is owed about $2 million for the rest of the 2010 season, and he will likely cost the Padres a mid-level prospect.

Rosenthal reminds us that last July the Mariners’ Felix Hernandez was dangled at the last minute, and he suggests that Kansas City Royals’ Zack Greinke could be this year’s mystery pitcher that could make noise in the next 48 hours.

Teams such as the Minnesota Twins, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets and Detroit Tigers could enter the mix on Lilly. One stipulation to note – the Twins are on Lilly’s no-trade list, so he would need to be compensated in some way to pitch for Minnesota, but according to a source, Lilly is more open to a trade.

Bob Nightengale of USA Today is the Marlins have informed the Rangers they are willing to pay most, if not all, of the remainder of Cantu’s contract.

The Rangers and Marlins apparently have been negotiating throughout the week. If Cantu is traded, the Marlins will use Donnie Murphy and Wes Helms at third base.

In addition to the Rangers, Cantu has drawn interest from the San Francisco Giants and Colorado Rockies.

Yesterday, there were a few rumors circulating regarding the status of the Blue Jays’ left-handed reliever. Apparently the Jays have drawn interest from the Red Sox, Yankees and the Giants with the team already asking for  right-handed pitcher Joba Chamberlain from the New York Yankees.

Downs has about $1.33 million left in salary for this year. He’s very effective against left-handed hitters with batters hitting .185 against him. Overall both left and right handed hitters are batting .240, so he’s pretty good overall.

7/28 18:55: Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports says the Kansas City Royals are not done selling yet. He says there may be some interest in utility man Willie Bloomquist and outfielder Rick Ankiel.

There hasn’t been much noise surrounding either player lately.

In June, Buster Olney of ESPN suggested that Ankiel could be a good candidate for the Boston Red Sox, but that was pure speculation. It was believed that Ankiel was signed this off-season with the intent to flip him at this time. He’s a little pricey with $1.1 million due to him for a two month rental. He also has a $6 million option for next season with a $500,000 buyout.

Bob Dutton of The Kansas City Star said in June that Bloomquist drew interest last year at the trade deadline, and he’s the type of “do-everything” player that contenders love down the stretch. Bloomquist would only cost a team a $600,000 over the last two months before becoming a free agent, so he’s relatively a bargain.

Jerry Crasnick of ESPN

Francoeur was frequently named in possible trades to the Kansas Ctiy Royals, but any deal was nixed when Mets’ outfielder Jason Bay was placed on the disabled list. Francoeur was the odd man out in the outfielder depth chart with the return of Carlos Beltran from the disabled list. Angel Pagan has taken over most of the right field duties with Francoeur coming off the bench.

At some point in August, Bay is scheduled to come back, and Francoeur will be back on the bench – making him expendable.

The Rays wanted DeJesus and Werth for their defensive skills.

The bigger names available such as Washington Nationals first baseman Adam Dunn and Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Prince Fielder are much less attractive to the Rays, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports. Neither is a strong defender and Dunn has been reluctant to be a designated hitter.

7/26 10:41: Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated says Orioles owner Peter Angelos doesn’t want to trade with the Yankees, limiting Wigginton’s options.

7/25 14:09: Orioles president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail believes that Ty Wigginton will not lose value based on his pending three-game suspension, according to Brittany Ghiroli of MLB.com.

“I don’t think that’s going to be impactful for that,” said MacPhail, who called the trade market a slow development that is “prodding along”.

“Everybody is being a little coy right now, myself included,” MacPhail said when asked if he expected the team to make at least one trade before the deadline.

“My own impression is that we have some of these big-target starting pitchers out there who probably have a lot of teams focused on whether they are in or out of that picture or not before they move on to other targets. I think that might be slowing down our market a little.”

Ghiroli reminds us that Wigginton’s name has been mentioned in conjunction with at least 10 teams, including the Philadelphia Phillies, Texas Rangers and New York Yankees.]

Other trade candidates on Orioles’ roster include Miguel Tejada, Will Ohman, Corey Patterson and Luke Scott. Starting pitcher Jeremy Guthrie has been mentioned in trade talks too, but it’s believed the Orioles want a significant return for him.

The Mets and Cubs have been rumored to be discussing Lilly for some time. Sherman says there is not a match because the Mets are not willing to take on most to all of the $4 million-plus Lilly is still owed for this year and give up prospects.

The Mets were also interested in Houston Astros pitcher Brett Myers, but the team found out that the Astros are almost completely unwilling to engage in serious discussion. Myers and the Astros have a mutual option for $8 million next  year, and a Mets official said, “I think Houston wants to bring him back next year.”

Shermain says the Mets will continue to search for a starter or reliever before Saturday’s Trade Deadline, but it looks more and more likely the team will have to wait until August to see which players clear waivers.

7/28 14:48: Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports chimes in with a few rumors from the Baltimore Orioles.

Rosenthal says that the St. Louis Cardinals are showing interest in Orioles third baseman Miguel Tejada. It’s unclear if there’s a match between the two teams. Multiple sources close to Rosenthal say that both the Tejada and infielder Ty Wigginton are drawing the heaviest interest.

Yesterday, we heard that the Orioles are ready to sell Tejada, but one team that could be interested, the New York Yankees, feels “lukewarm at best.”

Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun wonders if the Phillies acquire Major League home run leader Jose Bautista, would they move Placido Polanco from third base to second base to allow Bautista to play third in Philadelphia. Elliott also says the Blue Jays are looking for starter since Jamie Moyer was injured with no expected date of return.

“Toronto has told us they’re looking for kids who are controllable with zero to three years of service time or less, either pitchers or position players,” said an American League scout. “They want blue-chip prospects, even a kid from class A.”

If the Phillies are going after Bautista, then they need to keep in mind that there will be competition. The San Francisco Giants and Chicago White Sox have inquired about Bautista. Both teams are in desperate need of additional offense for their lineup.

“Would I tell my general manager to trade for him?” said a National League scout of Bautista. “I would, but I’d also tell my boss he could top out with nine home runs next year. It’s not like he has a proven track record. Toronto is selling at the right time.”

Bautista is relatively affordable at $2.4 million this season. He would be in the $6-7 million range next season through salary arbitration.

Hoffman has a no-trade clause in his contract that prevents the Brewers from trading him to all but five of the other Major league teams without his permission.

Hoffman could be attractive to clubs seeking right-handed relief help. He has a 1.69 ERA in his last 15 appearances. He signed through this season for $7.5 million, and has a club option for 2011 with a $500,000 buyout.

“I haven’t even really thought about it,” Hoffman said. “I’m comfortable here. I think we’re a good enough ballclub to scratch back in this thing. If your mind starts to drift any other way, then I don’t think you’re ‘all-in’ with what we’re doing here.

“I understand the adage from the time you’re coming up, that as you’re trying to make it with your particular club, there are 29 other teams scouting you. But if you have that kind of back-of-your-mind mentality, you’re going to sabotage yourself.”

It’s possible that Hoffman can clear waivers for August given his high salary, so he could be traded after this Saturday.

7/28 12:40: A source close to Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports says the Colorado Rockies could trade left-handed reliever Joe Beimel, and the Philadelphia Phillies could be interested.

The Rockies are eight games out of first place in the NL West and 5 1/2 games out of the Wild Card, so it’s hard to tell if they are buyers or sellers at this point, but regardless of the standings, Rosenthal thinks the Rox could trade Beimel.

Beimel signed a Minor League contract with the Rockies last March. He pitched in the Minors for a few weeks before he was called up to the Major Leagues in April. Beimel, 33, is 1-1 with a 2.87 ERA in 45 appearances for the Rockies this season.

7/28 10:25: Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated says the Texas Rangers, Los Angeles Angels and the Chicago White Sox are active on the hunt for Prince Fielder. Heyman is surprised about the Rangers’ activity given their current bankruptcy status.

The Rangers have been actively seeking first baseman depth since they traded Justin Smoak in the Cliff Lee trade. The Angels have been looking for a first baseman to replace the injured Kendry Morales since May. The White Sox have been the least shy in the group to make their intentions known about acquiring a first baseman. Chicago White Sox GM, Kenny Williams, is very confident in landing either Prince Fielder or Adam Dunn.

7/28 11:11: Jim Bowden of FOXSports Radio has some information on Washington Nationals first baseman Adam Dunn:

Bowden confirms that Dunn has not received a counter-proposal from the Nationals. “In fact [he] has never received an offer from the Nationals”

The New York Yankees, Tampa Bay Rays and Chicago White Sox are pursuing Dunn at this hour.

Bowden speculates that the Nationals will wait until the last hour then ask him “‘You want to DH in AL or sign here for this offer?’ Bye Bye”

One source close to Stark says there was still a “a large gulf” between the clubs on how large a portion of the $23 million on Oswalt’s contract the Astros would be willing pay.

There are still doubts that Oswalt is willing to waive his no-trade clause to approve a trade to the Phillies.

Because of the uncertainty of the Oswalt deal, the Phillies have made contact with the Chicago Cubs about Ted Lilly and with the Cleveland Indians about Fausto Carmona and Jake Westbrook.

7/28 18:58: Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated tweets, “phillies remain favorites for oswalt. yankees checked in on roy only once. but its always hard to rule them out entirely.”

7/28 18:33: Buster Olney of ESPN tweets, “Heard this: A third team that was involved in the Phillies-Oswalt talks has backed out. Philly-Houston now dealing head to head.” Olney earlier said, “Heard this: The Phillies’ trade for Roy Oswalt that has been discussed is likely to include three or four teams — if it happens.”

7/28 11:28: Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports confirms that the Reds made a call on Oswalt, but no names were exchanged.

7/28 10:36: Jimmy “The Cat” Hayes of The Team 1380 of St. Louis says (via Tim McKernan of insideSTL.com) the Cincinnati Reds are “active” in the Oswalt trade talks.

7/28 10:16: In a series of tweets, a source close to Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports says the Philadelphia Phillies know what the Houston Astros want for right-handed pitcher Roy Oswalt, and they can satisfy those demands without making a separate deal involving outfielder Jayson Werth.

Rosenthal adds that the St. Louis Cardinals and Los Angeles Dodgers are out of the Oswalt sweepstakes. The Phillies are divided about whether or not they want to take additional payroll and trade additional prospects.

Rosenthal says the Rockies are out on Florida Marlins Jorge Cantu.

The Rockies were previously known to be quietly shopping pitcher Aaron Cook. Rosenthal says the Philadelphia Phillies could be interested in the right-hander. Cook, 31, is 4-6 with a 4.78 ERA in 19 starts this season.

Earlier Rosenthal said the Rockies could trade left-handed reliever Joe Beimel. Rosenthal now says there could be 4-5 teams in on Beimel. One of those teams are the Phillies.

The Rockies could re-sign starting pitcher Jorge de la Rosa. de la Rosa, 29, is 3-3 with a 5.65 ERA in 8 starts this season.

Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports says the Royals will get Triple-A catcher Lucas May and Single-A right-handed pitcher Elisaul Pimental from the Dodgers for Pimentel.

Earlier today, Strak said the Dodgers were shifting their focus away from acquiring pitching to acquiring a hitter before the Trade Deadline. In a series of Tweets, a source close to Stark says the Dodgers are “moving closer” on Kansas City Royals’ outfielder Scott Podsednik. Stark added that Los Angeles is also having interest in Detroit Tigers outfielder Ryan Raburn.

It was widely believed that the San Francisco Giants were also interested in acquiring the Royals’ outfielder.

Podsednik, 34, is hitting .309/.352/.400 with 5 home runs and 44 RBIs in 94 games this season. He will make $1.65 million this season, but the Dodgers will assume the approximately $650,000 left on the contract for this year.

“Yeah, I’d like to have an opportunity to go and play in the postseason and play with a contender,” Carrasco said on Wednesday. “I’m not getting any younger. That window gets a little smaller as you get older. At the same time, hopefully it could help the Pirates build if they can get what they need from me.”

Carrasco’s name hasn’t come up as often as teammate Octavio Dotel, but given the weak market of relief pitching, it wouldn’t be surprising if Carrasco is traded to a contender.

In 54 2/3 innings, Carrasco has a 3.95 ERA, struck out 44 and walked 22 batters in 44 appearances. Despite being used as a long reliever, he would some the chance to be a starting pitcher again.

Carrasco could be a good pick up for the budget conscious team or for those teams that are teetering on the buying/selling border.

The Dodgers are considering trades for Scott Podsednik and other outfielders as they wait for the return of the injured Manny Ramirez and Reed Johnson. Jayson Stark of ESPN said the Dodgers were pursuing Detroit Tigers outfielder Ryan Raburn.

The Giants are also talking to the Royals about Podsednik. They are also weight other options such as Florida Marlins’ Jorge Cantu, Royals’ Jose Guillen and several left-handed and right-handed relievers.

The Dodgers are also active in the bullpen market. They are looking at the three Toronto Blue Jays relievers: right-handers Kevin Gregg and Jason Frasor and left-hander Scott Downs – though Downs is “a longshot”.

The Padres are focusing in on two or three modest candidates, most likely on the offensive side.

The Rockies are in the mix for Cantu, but also could be sellers. Earlier we talked about the Rockies possibly parting with reliever Joe Beimel.

Johnson is appealing to the Blue Jays for several reasons: he isn’t scheduled to become a free agent until after the 2011 season, he would be a high on-base-percentage player for a team that doesn’t walk very much and he could fit in the line up in left field or second base.

The Blue Jays incumbent second baseman, Aaron Hill, told Jeff Blair of the Globe and Mail that he would be willing to switch positions if it meant the team could upgrade their offense.

Johnson is statistics having the best season in his career by batting .276/.366/.499 in 94 games. He is earning $2.35 million this year.

Today, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle says Oakland’s pitcher Ben Sheets will miss the season due to a torn flexor tendon. No surgery is scheduled yet. Sheets has said his elbow has been extremely sore the past three start.

Prior to his injury, Sheets was a target of the Phillies and the Twins and Tigers. Beane previously said he doesn’t plan on being active by the July 31st non-waiver trade deadline. He liked the veteran influence that Sheets had on the younger players.

It’s likely that the A’s can recoup some of Sheets’ salary for the rest of the year via insurance. Sheet’s signed a one-year, $10 million deal before the season, so he has a little less than $5 million owed to him.The 32-year-old is pitching as well as almost every pitcher on the market with a 3.64 ERA in his past 14 starts, so he would have been a valuable trading chip had the A’s shopped him.