Next up in our Trade Market series, starting pitchers. Click here to see our free agent market analysis. Get a comfy chair, because there are about 30 pitchers named here.
- Roy Halladay, Blue Jays. Doc is perhaps the game's best pitcher, and new Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos may look to cash him in for a bevy of young talent. Halladay has a no-trade clause and $15.75MM remaining on his contract.
- Edwin Jackson, Tigers. The rumor first surfaced at the GM Meetings that Jackson could be made available as a way for the Tigers to trim payroll. Jackson's probably not as good as his 3.62 ERA this year, but he's only 26 and is under team control for two more years.
- Justin Verlander, Tigers. We haven't heard Verlander's name in trade rumors. But he's similar to Felix Hernandez, a young ace headed toward a large second-year arbitration award. Imagine the teams that would come calling for Verlander.
- Nate Robertson, Tigers. At $10MM next year, the Tigers could attempt to unload Robertson in a bad contract swap or by pairing him with someone valuable. He had minor elbow surgery in July and hasn't been effective in years.
- Dontrelle Willis, Tigers. Willis, owed $12MM in 2010, suffered through another lost season this year. He has even less trade value than Robertson.
- Jeremy Bonderman,Tigers. The 27-year-old Bonderman would be an interesting project if he wasn't owed $12.5MM. He's coming back from a shoulder injury.
- Derek Lowe, Braves. Trading Lowe would free up $45MM over the next three years for the Braves. The contract might be viewed as excessive, but Lowe still has value.
- Kenshin Kawakami, Braves. With $13.3MM owed over the new two years, Kawakami would be an affordable mid-rotation acquisition. Kawakami posted a 3.86 ERA in 156.3 innings in his MLB debut.
- Javier Vazquez, Braves. Vazquez was an ace in 2009, ranking fourth in baseball with 238 strikeouts. He's earning $11.5MM in '10, and can block deals to AL and NL West clubs. The Braves may extend him if they trade Lowe.
- Felix Hernandez, Mariners. At the GM Meetings, Ms GM Jack Zduriencik said "Felix is our property," but wouldn't rule out a future trade. The expectation is that the Mariners will attempt to lock him up and might consider a trade if they fail. Hernandez will turn 24 in April.
- Barry Zito, Giants. Zito is owed $83MM over the next four years, and has a full no-trade clause. He's pretty much untradeable, and aside from Vernon Wells' deal there's not much worse.
- Bronson Arroyo, Reds. The durable Arroyo pitched below a 2.00 ERA over the season's last two months, dragging his '09 mark down to 3.84. He has $13MM and one year left on his contract, and presumably the Reds could dump him to cut costs.
- Aaron Harang, Reds. Harang has been very hittable in recent years, but his strikeout and walk rates are still pretty good. He has $14.5MM and one year left on his deal, so he might be tougher to move than Arroyo.
- Jeremy Guthrie, Orioles. Guthrie turns 31 in April, but he's still under team control through 2012. His numbers slipped last year, and the Orioles could move him to the NL and still get something decent in return.
- Josh Johnson, Marlins. Arbitration-eligible Marlins always make the Trade Candidate posts. Johnson is the rare talent the Fish will actually try to lock up, though.
- Jeff Suppan, Brewers. His ugly contract is wrapping up, with $14.5MM left for one year. The Brewers need starters, but not ones with a 1.08 K/BB ratio.
- Roy Oswalt, Astros. Will the Astros fixture finally be traded this year? He has a full no-trade clause and is owed $33MM over the next two seasons. His value seems to be slipping as his salary increases. But if the Astros are trying to contend, they must keep Oswalt.
- Carlos Zambrano, Cubs. A trade rumbling popped up in September, but was quickly shot down.
- Gil Meche, Royals. Meche will earn $24MM over the next two seasons. Shoulder and back problems resulted in his first lousy Royals campaign this year.
- Brian Bannister, Royals. The studious righty drew trade deadline interest from multiple clubs. Shoulder fatigue ended his season, during which he posted a 4.73 ERA in 154 innings. Like Guthrie, Bannister is under team control through 2012.
- Brian Tallet, Blue Jays. The 32-year-old lefty moved in and out of the Jays rotation this year, and seems expendable. He's headed toward an arbitration raise if tendered a contract.
- Dave Bush, Brewers. The Brewers are not in a position to shed pitching, but the arbitration-eligible Bush earned $4MM in '09. If the Brewers consider him a non-tender candidate, they could look to trade him first.
- Brandon McCarthy, Rangers. Another arbitration-eligible righty, McCarthy has never pitched more than 101.6 big league innings in a season. The Rangers may decide to go with someone else for their fifth starter job.
- Andy Sonnanstine, Rays. The soft-tossing righty couldn't hang on to his rotation spot this year despite 13 wins in '08. He lost his pinpoint control, but the NL has a way of making those things return. Bonus: he's not yet arbitration-eligible.
- Oliver Perez, Mets. Just another ugly contract, with $24MM over two years remaining. He'll try to rebuild his value with a winter at the Athletes Performance Institute.
- Carlos Silva, Mariners. Silva has $25MM remaining over two years, so he's probably unmovable.
- Brandon Webb, Diamondbacks. Webb is one to watch as a possible summer trade candidate, should the D'Backs fall out of contention.
- Jamie Moyer, Phillies. Moyer profiles as the Phillies' fifth starter, with Pedro Martinez and Brett Myers headed for free agency. The 47-year-old wasn't thrilled about being sent to the bullpen in August, and ESPN's Jayson Stark pondered his offseason trade prospects at that time. The $8MM he has coming next year would be the issue.
- Chris Young, Padres. At $6.25MM in 2010, Young is the highest-paid Padre. If he can bounce back from exploratory shoulder surgery, he could be put on the block next summer.
- Jake Westbrook, Indians. The Tribe surely wouldn't mind shedding Westbrook's $11MM. He had Tommy John surgery in June of '08 and hasn't pitched in the Majors since.
