Did you hear this one?
After the Diamondbacks asked for Chamberlain to be part of a Dan Haren deal, a source who has knowledge of what the Blue Jays want for lefty reliever Scott Downs said Toronto requested Chamberlain.
When the Red Sox contacted the Blue Jays about Downs, Toronto asked for highly regarded infield prospects Casey Kelly or Jose Iglesias.
I think Downs would be a great addition to the pen. He'd easily be the best lefty relievers the Yankees have had since the first time Mike Stanton was in the Bronx.
But a 23-year-old, cost controlled pitcher (even one with all of Joba's issues) for a 34-year-old lefty in the last months of his contract?
It might be a quiet trade deadline if the price for Downs and Oswalt doesn't drop.
Speaking of the Astro's ace, he's clearly the best pitcher available, but available is a relative term because the Astro's GM wants the moon for the RHP (4! MLB ready or top flight prospects). But I was listening to the 4 letter network as I got ready this morning, and they had a reporter for some newspaper or other speculating that the Yanks and Cards are the two teams Oswalt would waive his no-trade for without his $16M option for 2012 being picked up.
This speculation is, of course, the exact opposite of what we've heard in the last few days suggesting Oswalt might not want to play in New York at all.