MLB Trade Rumors: Starting Pitchers on Market for Teams with Postseason Dreams

Starting pitching seems to always be at a premium these days, no matter if it's in the heat of a pennant race or the dead of winter.

That fact will continue to ring true with the approach of the July 31st non-waiver trade deadline in Major League Baseball, as a host of teams with legitimate October aspirations, including the New York Yankees, the Boston Red Sox and the Detroit Tigers, are on the prowl for support in their respective rotations.

However, with so many teams in contention (even the Pittsburgh Pirates are in first place!), and so few on the verge of wholesale rebuilding efforts, the pickings figure to be uncommonly slim for those in need of an innings eater here or a quality arm there.

Not that teams with the right mix of money and minor leaguers can't get a deal done. The bigger question for those select clubs with fingers just itching for World Series rings is, are there any available pitchers out there who are worth the haul it would likely require to get them?

There are at least a few, to be sure. Here, then, are the top starters primed to move before the calendar turns to August. 

Wandy Rodriguez: Dollars and Sense Too Much for Lefty?

You know the market for pitching is thin when Wandy Rodriguez is a hot topic of discussion.

The stumpy southpaw has been solid for the woebegone Houston Astros this season, sporting a record of 6-6 and an earned run average of 3.52, though his WHIP (1.34) and his batting average against (.265) are both decidedly average.

Nonetheless, at least one or two teams with deep pockets figure to come calling for Rodriguez, who is owed a whopping $23 million over the next two seasons and comes with a club option for 2014. There is also some concern as to how Rodriguez, who is something of a company man in Houston, would fare in the American League.

That being said, the Astros won't likely put up much of a fight if a team emerges with the right price. At a Major League-worst 30-63, Houston has plenty of problems of its own and is quickly careening toward a wholesale roster rebuild into which Rodriguez figures prominently. 

Edwin Jackson: Odd Man out on the South Side of Chicago

Like the Rockies, the Chicago White Sox aren't about to break up the band and start all over from scratch, though that won't likely preclude general manager Kenny Williams from being an active participant in this year's deadline frenzy.

Ozzie Guillen's club is a mere five games out of first place in the American League Central and just so happens to be one of a very few select teams in baseball these days that has more starting pitching than it knows what to do with. The Pale Hose will have six starters in their rotation once John Danks gets healthy, though that luxury won't likely last long given the team's needs on offense.

As such, Williams will likely use whomever the odd man out may be—most likely Edwin Jackson—as a bargaining chip to bring back a big bat or two. Jackson (5-7, 4.30 ERA, 1.44 WHIP) has been entirely average this year after finishing up strong on the South Side last season, though his arm is still undeniably a rather live one that teams in need of pitching depth could put to good use at the back end of a rotation.

What's more, Jackson, who has pitched for five different teams since his Major League debut against Randy Johnson back in 2003, will be a free agent after this season, giving the Sox more incentive to move him for some value in return.

Derek Lowe: Veteran with Value Heading Back to Boston?

The Atlanta Braves currently find themselves in much the same position as the Chicago White Sox: plenty of pitching, not enough hitting and a wholly surmountable gap between themselves and the leaders in their division.

More than anything, the Braves could use a player with some defensive versatility and a quality bat, though their best option, Minnesota Twins utility man extraordinaire Michael Cuddyer, isn't likely to move.

Not that Atlanta doesn't have enough to offer in return. Veteran right-hander Derek Lowe (5-7, 4.30 ERA) may not be having the finest season of his long and winding career, but he still checks in as a quality arm with plenty of experience pitching under the pressure of a pennant race from his days with the Red Sox and the Dodgers.

Even with the dearth of good arms on the market, moving Lowe won't be all that easy, given that he's still owed another $15 million for the 2012 season.

However, with big-money clubs like the Yankees and the Red Sox hurting for rotation depth, and both being so intimately familiar with what Lowe brings to the table, the Braves figure to find takers for him and, as a result, make room in their rotation for 20-year-old uber-prospect Julio Teheran.

Hiroki Kuroda: Dodgers' Tragedy Becomes Contender's Treasure

Hiroki Kuroda has been a beacon of hope amidst a season of disappointment and embarrassment both on and off the field for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Despite a five-game winning streak, the Blue Crew are still 11.5 games out of first place in the NL West, meaning it might just be time for manager Don Mattingly's club to throw in the towel on postseason contention this year.

For his considerable contributions and stellar service to the team, the 36-year-old Kuroda, who jumped to the Majors from Japan four years ago, deserves a chance to pitch in a real pennant race.

And there figures to be a few interested in a veteran arm like Kuroda's, especially given his performance thus far in 2011 (3.06 ERA, 1.22 WHIP in 114 and two-third innings).

For the Dodgers' sake, Kuroda will be a free agent after the season, meaning general manager Ned Colletti would do well to get whatever value he can for Kuroda before he bolts Chavez Ravine in the winter.

Ted Lilly: Languishing Left Anything but Untouchable

Now, if there's one pitcher the Dodgers really would want to unload, it's Ted Lilly.

The epitome of vanilla on the pitching mound, Lilly has been less than stellar for LA this season, sporting an ERA of 4.79 and a batting average against of .278 while continuing to be one of the slowest-moving pitchers in all of baseball in the first of a three-year, $33-million deal.

That being said, Lilly is intimately familiar with the AL East, having spent a combined five-and-a-half seasons between the Yankees and the Blue Jays, and has proven in the past that he can be a quality arm and an innings eater in the latter half of a contending rotation.

Grim as it may seem for any team considering a deal for Lilly, it's tough to discount the value of a left-handed pitcher, especially against American League lineups loaded with slugging southpaws.

Ubaldo Jimenez: Unstoppable Force and Immovable Object?

The biggest name being floated about as a potential mover and shaker is Colorado Rockies ace Ubaldo Jimenez.

The 27-year-old fireballer hasn't been quite the same pitcher since he rode into the 2010 MLB All-Star Game in Anaheim with a record of 15-1 and an ERA of 2.20. So far this season, Jimenez has been wholly disappointing (5-8, 4.08 ERA), though he recently told the Denver Post that his problems are easily attributable to injuries:

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"I didn't pitch well early because of my thumb and groin (hip flexor) injury. I didn't build up my arm strength in spring, so I didn't have my velocity or breaking ball. That's why I struggled. Right now, I feel like I can dominate again."

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And back to dominating he is, sporting a sparkling 2.52 ERA over his last eight starts, while showing more than just flashes of the velocity and movement that made Jimenez's pitches so unhittable during the first half of the 2010 season.

As for the Rockies, general manager Dan O'Dowd finds himself in a bit of a conundrum regarding Jimenez. On the one hand, Colorado is eight-and-a-half games out of first place in the National League West and, barring a miracle (see: 2007), the Rockies aren't about to leapfrog both the San Francisco Giants and the Arizona Diamondbacks for the division crown.

By the same token, the pool of available starting pitching on the market this July is painfully shallow, which means O'Dowd could practically fleece the farm system of a team like the Yankees or the Red Sox if he were to put Jimenez on the block.

On the other hand, Jimenez is a tremendous pitcher when healthy, and Colorado has him under contract for another three years at a bargain basement rate of just under $6 million per year. And with stars like Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez locked up for the long haul, it's not as though the Rockies are bound to rebuild anytime soon.

Hence, don't expect Jimenez to go anywhere unless someone pulls a "Don Corleone" and makes the Rockies an offer they can't refuse.

Aaron Harang: Another Padres Pitcher on the Block

The center of the baseball universe shifts closer and closer to San Diego with each passing day, as contenders eye the Padres pitching staff like vultures circling over their fallen prey in the desert.

Most of the attention thus far has gone to the tossing trio of Heath Bell, Mike Adams and Chad Qualls out of the bullpen, though teams in need of solid innings would do well to scope out the Dads' rotation, where they'll find Aaron Harang up for sale.

The 33-year-old righty has become one of baseball's most under-appreciated and reliable middle-of-the-rotation guys over the course of his career and is currently in the midst of yet another solid season (7-2, 3.19 ERA) for an offensively-inept ball club.

Harang won't exactly wow a World Series contender with his stuff, but he'll pitch well enough to give his team a chance to win and take some pressure off the bullpen in the process.

And with but a mutual option left on his deal for 2012, the Padres would do well to get whatever they can for Harang while they have him.

Livan Hernandez: Cuban Rubber Man Still Has Gas Left in the Tank

Livan Hernandez is baseball's version of the Energizer bunny: After 16 years of pitching in the Major Leagues, he just keeps going and going and going.

The half brother of "El Duque," Livan has been a steady presence in Washington's rotation this season (4.09 ERA in 125 and a third innings) and though the Nationals, at 46-47, aren't exactly about to have a fire sale anytime soon, odds are that some team looking for a pitcher with a rubber arm will at least put in an offer for Hernandez, if not wrest him from the Beltway entirely.

Jeremy Guthrie: Could a Change of Scenery Be in Store for This Bad Luck Bird?

Speaking of the Beltway, few pitchers in the Majors have run into as much hard luck this year as Baltimore's Jeremy Guthrie.

It's no secret that folks around baseball believe that Guthrie would win a lot more games with a decent team, and his numbers (3-13, 4.45 ERA) bear that out to some extent.

Guthrie's stats have worsened with each successive step the Orioles (36-54) have taken deeper and deeper into the cellar of the American League.

Might Guthrie's performance perk up if he were plucked out of last place? Some team out there is likely to find out before the month of July is through.

Carlos Zambrano: Chicago Cubs Head Case Could Be Had

And for the most daring of general managers, there's Carlos Zambrano.

The Cubs seem to find themselves in the same conundrum every year, with Zambrano wearing his welcome either thin or out completely but Chicago having few options given his hefty salary (he's due $18 million in 2012), his inconsistent performance and his loose screws upstairs.

Then again, Zambrano, now 30 years old, has proven capable of being a high-quality pitcher in the past and could find a new home with a deep-pocketed franchise willing to bet that a new situation will awaken Zambrano's inner ace to shore up a shaky rotation.

That is, if Zambrano, who sports a full no-trade clause, doesn't veto whatever deal general manager Jim Hendry tries to make.