With the July 31 trading deadline around the corner, the question around baseball is who's buying, who's selling and who's not sure yet.
The one certainty is that there are no 1 starters available, no matter how much teams like the Indians and Mets would like to acquire one."There's not a Randy Johnson out there this year," said Mets GM Steve Phillips, who settled for Oakland's Kenny Rogers on Friday in exchange for two minor leaguers.
Because there is no Johnson available, or most likely not even a Curt Schilling or a David Wells, other teams will also look for secondary options and internal solutions.
The Indians think they might have found their ace. Bartolo Colon is 3-0 with a 2.67 ERA in his last four starts and is impressing opponents with his high-90s fastball.
"I've heard they're looking for a No. 1 starter, but I don't know why when they have him on the mound," Craig Biggio said after Colon beat Houston 7-1.
Cleveland GM John Hart would still like to add another pitcher. But with injuries to Wil Cordero, Travis Fryman and Sandy Alomar, and the trades of Brian Giles and Sean Casey the last two seasons, the cupboard might be bare.
"I can't fill every hole we have," Hart admitted.
Cleveland is targeting Anaheim's Chuck Finley, Kansas City's Jose Rosado, Florida's Alex Fernandez and Baltimore reliever Arthur Rhodes. All but Fernandez are left-handed, which could be important in a potential playoff matchup with the Yankees.
Phillips was in a similar predicament, having gutted his farm system in recent years to bring in Mike Piazza, Al Leiter and Dennis Cook. Fortunately for New York, he was able to land Rogers without giving up much.
With closer John Franco injured and the Mets starters rarely going more than six innings, the Mets have been taxed all year. The 34-year-old Rogers, a lefty, gives them much-needed help.
Across town, the Yankees are shopping for a left-fielder, a left-handed reliever and maybe even another starter. But with Shane Spencer and Darryl Strawberry set to return in the next few weeks and Andy Pettitte having won two straight starts, GM Brian Cashman might not pull the trigger.
Other teams shopping to fill holes include the Braves, who would like to bring Fred McGriff back from Tampa Bay to fill the void left by Andres Galarraga.
Complicating any deals is the uncertainty of who is actually in the playoff race. Last week, the Angels seemed more likely to add players with Tim Salmon and Gary DiSarcina coming off the DL and the team poised for a run.
Now Anaheim is on a seven-game skid heading into the weekend and Finley might be back on the block. That's why most GMs will wait until July 31 to make a move.
"Everybody plays the clock," Toronto GM Gord Ash said. "It's human nature to wait until the deadline."
After July 31, though, players must clear waivers before they can be traded. Years ago, that used to be merely a formality as teams usually did not block other clubs from making trades.
That hands-off policy, however, has changed in recent years.
TRIBUTE: The Milwaukee Brewers will wear a commemorative patch in memory of three construction workers killed in an accident last week at the team's new stadium.
The Brewers will also donate $3 for every ticket sold for the game against Montreal on July 30 to a fund organized to aid the families of the victims.