While I don’t really like doing pieces like this - mostly because it’s information I really can’t get with a simple phone call or a fresh set of outgoing e-mails - it seems that trades are all everyone is wondering about these days.

It’s July 6 and even fans of other teams are asking if I have anything that concerns their team.

So, what the heck.

There will be M’s rumors in here, too, mostly those I have already touched on, I think, but this covers just about everything I have heard in the past three or four days.

The Chicago Cubs want a starting pitcher, and preferably one that’s better than every other starting pitcher they have, including Carlos Zambrano. On their wish list are C.C. Sabathia, Erik Bedard, Rich Harden and A.J. Burnett, but probably don’t have the pieces to land any of them.

The St. Louis Cardinals have the early inside track on Harden and are able to offer up Colby Rasmus as the headliner in a deal for the right-hander. The Cubs may be better off making offers for Joe Blanton, Tim Hudson and Aaron Harang.

The New York Yankees are also interested in all of the above, and they, too, may come up short in available young talent, at least for Sabathia, Harden and Bedard. One scout, citing how heavily the Yankees were scouting other specific clubs, said he expected either Bedard or Blanton to land in the Big Apple.

The rumors surrounding Sabathia and the Brewers sound awfully weak, since Milwaukee is not currently willing to send two of their top six prospects to Cleveland for a rental player they would have no chance in re-signing.

Based on what I have been told about the current market assessment, I would bet heavily on the Indians keeping Sabathia and taking the two draft picks, or finding a way to rob the Yankees of two of their top three prospects in center fielder Austin Jackson, now-catcher-soon-to-be-first-baseman Jesus Montero and right-hander Zach McAllister, or something like that.

Otherwise, the Yankees aren’t likely to get Sabathia, either.

The 2009 draft looks to be excellent and two extra picks are probably worth more than Matt LaPorta and two “B” prospects from the Brewers, and it’s certainly worth more than the same from the Yankees. And you can bet the farm that Tribe GM Mark Shapiro is going to use that as a bargaining chip.

The rumors of Tampa Bay and the Dodgers getting involved are quite ridiculous, and most likely only those two clubs are being leaked to drive up the price. It’s no coincidence that both have deep farm systems.

One thing is for sure: The club that gets Sabathia is going to pay a pretty hefty price, even if it’s just for two months and, hopefully, October.

C.C. Sabathia Prediction: - Unless the Brewers change their stance, Sabathia will land in the Bronx or stay with Cleveland.

If Milwaukee caves, at least somewhat, Cleveland would probably much prefer to send him to the National League, regardless of the fact that there is a good chance he signs with AL club in 2009, as long as the return is somewhat equal.

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Harden’s market is a little bit different, for several reasons. One, the Oakland Athletics seek a different kind of player. Not a talent type that all clubs have to send back. Two, the right-hander has a history of shoulder problems which makes it difficult for teams to pour out their farm system to the A’s to land him.The advantage, however, is that Harden is not schedule to be eligible for free agency until after the 2009 season. Harden, when healthy, is one of the top few starting pitchers in the game, but comes with the short and long-term health risk.

The Cardinals, Cubs, Phillies, Padres and Yankees all have apparent interest, and there’s really not much of a chance that Billy Beane passes up the chance to get some good value for Harden while he’s healthy.Don’t be surprised if Harden is the first to be traded.

Rich Harden Prediction: New York Yankees

If the Yankees choose to bleed their system for a pitcher not named Sabathia, Harden and Bedard are the top two candidates. Oakland would probably insist that Jackson be involved, and may prefer Montero to McAllister.

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It looks like the Toronto Blue Jays are more interested in fighting for 2008, to save J.P. Riccardi’s job and allowing right-hander A.J. Burnett to opt out of his contract rather than trading the 31-year-old.But the Seattle Mariners are certainly willing to trade left-hander Erik Bedard, and have not backed off their efforts to focus on trading other parts of the 25-man roster, as has been erroneously reported.

Bedard’s potential health risk and durability concerns will, however, probably push any trade until much closer to the deadline in order to give him time to put some of those concerns behind him.

The Phillies have been the hottest rumor, but the Yankees, Cubs and Cardinals have also shown enough interest to send scouts to see Bedard in Seattle and San Diego.

The Yankees and Cardinals each have center fielders they could deal in Colby Rasmus and Austin Jackson, which would be ideal if the M’s are going to be naive enough to leave Ichiro in right, and have other pieces that should satisfy the M’s requirements.

Erik Bedard Prediction: Philadelphia or New York Yankees

The Yankees would prefer Sabathia, but might prefer Bedard to Harden due to handedness. If the Yankees whiff on Sabathia, Bedard probably lands in New York for a package starting with Jackson and McAllister, who would immediately become the M’s second-best pitching prospect.

A Phillies trade would probably have to include both a healthy Carlos Carrasco and either shortstop Jason Donald, who profiles better defensively at second base, or natural second baseman Adrian Cardenas, a left-handed hitter with average to above average power, or maybe both.

It’s difficult to imagine a scenario where Milwaukee gets involved in the Bedard sweepstakes, and the two clubs may not be a match since Alcides Escobar and Mat Gamel are apparently off the table, and LaPorta and Angel Salome aren’t likely to interest the Mariners as much.

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The Cubs may be on the outside looking in, which is where right-hander Joe Blanton, Tim Hudson and Aaron Harang come into play.Blanton is probably staying put, but only because Beane isn’t too keen on selling low.Hudson, as well as first baseman Mark Teixeira, should become very available as the Braves look to revamp for next season.

Hudson is guaranteed $13 million in 2009 and has a $12 million mutual option for 2010 that holds a $1 million buyout, but 2/25 is cheap considering the market for pitching these days. Plus, Hudson is durable if nothing else, and has been very solid since changing the grip on his two-seam fastball last May, adding sink which improved the consistency in his ground ball rates.

He’ll need it if he lands in Wrigley Field.

Chicago Cubs Prediction: In-house - I don’t see a deal that makes a ton of sense for the Cubs right now. If Burnett is shopped, he’d become the leading candidate to land on the North Side.

Or if GM Jim Hendry can convince Walt Jocketty to deal within the division, Harang is a good fit, too, and Lou Pineilla’s kind of player.

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Others -Vicente Padilla - This is the kind of bargain shopping the Detroit Tigers, San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers may be into this summer. Detroit needs bullpen help - *cough* George Sherrill *cough* - and the Padres and Dodgers are in dire need of more offense and would be wise to spend their trade bait on those needs.

One Dodgers scout did say this last week when asked about their trade deadline intentions: “We do have Chad (Billingsley), Clay (Kershaw) and (Hiroki) Kuroda locked up for the next four years, giving us three really solid guys to build on after this season. Derek (Lowe) and (Brad) Penny may be gone (LAD holds an option on Penny) but I think that gives us the flexibility to use some of our minor league arms to get some offense.

“The division is there for us. I don’t know what they (the front office) have in mind specifically, but I’ve been sent to see every single bat that may or may not become available, which is why I am here in Seattle watching (Alex) Rios and Adrian Beltre. Last week I was sent to see Milton Bradley in Texas and I’m off to see Garret Atkins and Cristian Guzman - and at some point I’ll take a look at Casey Blake and Jhonny Peralta of Cleveland when they come out on a trip west this month.

“Sure, that could all be for no reason, but it usually means something.”

Jarrod Washburn - Los Angeles Dodgers

Livan Hernandez - Detroit Tigers

Gil Meche - Stays in KC until winter or next summer

Kevin Millwood - Stays in Texas

Tim Redding - St. Louis Cardinals

Randy Wolf - Milwaukee Brewers

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Nineteen seasons ago the Seattle Mariners opened the 1989 campaign in Oakland versus the defending American League Champion Oakland Athletics.

In the first inning of that game, A’s ace Dave Stewart served up a long, line-drive double to a snot-nosed kid named George.

George Kenneth Griffey, Jr.

Griffey would hit his first homer a week later off Chicago White Sox starter Eric King, an opposite field shot in the Kingdome.

Nineteen years and a few months later, Griffey hits his 600th career blast, a two-run bomb in the first inning off Florida Marlins left-hander Mark Hendrickson.

Griffey hit 398 home runs as a member of the Mariners and now has 202 in a reds uniform. But I mention this here today because the M’s suck and it’s much more fun to look back to better days.

ESPN’s Tim Kirkjian (Timmay!) wrote a sensational piece on Junior, and this was my favorite quote from that column.

“When he came to camp in 1989, he had no chance to make the team,” Bradley said. “But he got a lot of at-bats early that spring because a lot of veterans don’t like to play a lot early. After 20 games, he wasn’t just the best player on our team, he was the best player in the league that spring. The Mariners basically said, ‘We don’t want this to happen, we don’t want to rush him, we don’t want him to make the team.’ So they started running him out there against every elite pitcher, against all the nastiest left-handers they could find in hopes that he would stop hitting, and they could send him out.

“It never happened.”

Awesome.

A cyber standing ovation to “The Kid” who did it naturally.

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While Kenny Lofton, Corey Patterson, Bartolo Colon, Freddy Garcia and Sammy Sosa are still seeking employment, there are clubs in both leagues that continue to look to build their roster for the upcoming season.

Including the Seattle Mariners.

The M’s are apparently still open to adding more lineup depth and have had talks with a number of the remaining free agents and have made at least a few calls to clubs to talk trade.

Trot Nixon wanted more money and more assured playing time than Seattle was able to offer, prompting the 10-year veteran to sign a deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

“I think there’s a better possibility that we do something later in the spring,” said a Mariners front office representative. “Right now we have to find out what we already have and then we can act accordingly. I think a lot of clubs are in the same position.”

The Chicago Cubs and Boston Red Sox are not among those teams, however. Cubs GM Jim Hendry is still itching to add second baseman Brian Roberts to the top of his lineup but Baltimore Orioles front man Andy McPhail has held out for ransom packages.

One National League executive all but guaranteed that by the time the Cubs head to Las Vegas for the final two games of their Cactus League schedule, Roberts will have made the flight from soggy Florida.

“It’s not that different than the deal with (Erik) Bedard,” he said. “He’s (McPhail) just trying to get all he can and when the smoke clears he’ll get a good enough deal.”

The most likely trio of talents heading to Baltimore at this point, according to this NL Central rep, includes infielder Ronny Cedeno and right-handers Sean Gallagher and Kevin Hart.

But for the deal to get done, it sound like the Cubs will likely have to replace Hart or Cedeno with one two outfielders, Felix Pie or Tyler Colvin.

It is also believed that while the O’s prefer to get a potential shortstop in the deal, Cedeno, they are much more convinced that second baseman Eric Patterson will perform offensively in the majors.

The Red Sox have re-contacted the agent for right-hander Bartolo Colon to inform him of their potential interest. Colon is looking for guaranteed money for more than one season, but there are rumors that he’d take a one-year deal to go to Boston.

Boston’s interest hinges on the state of their rotation once they get a more definitive word on the immediate future of Curt Schilling.

Other Spring Notes

Lofton is going to play in 2008, and at least a half-dozen clubs have been in constant contact with his agent… Colon has minor league offers from four teams; the White Sox, Cardinals, Giants and Indians… Patterson wants to start for a playoff team, which is likely to lead him back to the National League. None of the top six teams in the junior circuit are seeking outfield help, though Patterson would be a great fit in left field for the Tribe. San Diego has shown interest but there’s at least one Braves scout that has recommended Patterson to play center field for Atlanta until top prospect Jordan Schafer is ready… The Orioles are expected to watch the progress of right-hander Daniel Cabrera very closely during the season’s first 10-12 weeks, and then shop him as they have Bedard and Roberts.

Mariners Notes

There are two players getting a lot of attention this spring of which fans and media alike should temper their enthusiasm. Infielder Yung Chi Chen is a solid ball player, and might earn regular time with the M’s this season, but he’s no future star and is better suited as a reserve. He’s a better bat than Willie Bloomquist, is an above-average base runner, and is a solid glove at second and third base. But the 24-year-old is void of a plus tool and lacks ideal extra-base power to soak up one of nine lineup spots on a regular basis.

Right-hander Phillippe Aumont, the club’s first round pick last June, has created a buzz already in his first spring training as a pro. But ignore anyone - I mean anyone, Bill Bavasi, John McLaren, Mel Stottlemyre, the beat writers, and even me if I try and tell you that Aumont has any chance to break into the big-league rotation next season. He’s 19 years old, has no professional experience and some scouts are a bit worried about a few things. “With that arm slot he hasn’t as much room for error as he develops his pitches,” said one scout whose club was set to draft Aumont with a pick very near where Seattle snagged him at No. 11. “He throws hard, and he’s a big, physical arm, but with that high-3/4 slot throwing a true curve ball might be tough, and maintaining a consistent release point could be a problem area, too. I really like him, but he’s probably not going to move very quickly.”

Aumont has already hit the mid-90s with his fastball this spring, and brings a useful changeup and slider to the table.

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I did some leg work to see if anyone else I knew could fill in the gaps since the last time any significant news came down the pipe on the Erik Bedard-Adam Jones scenario, and while there wasn’t much to stir up, I did dig up a few fresh nuggets.

One club’s representative says the latest he heard was that Baltimore was waiting for Seattle to either agree to include Brandon Morrow or Carlos Triunfel in the package along with Adam Jones and George Sherrill, or for the Reds to start their package with Jay Bruce.

I pushed hard to see if the Orioles were truly only interested in what Cincinnati had to offer if Bruce was included and the response I got was “yes, unless they want to gut their system.”

This tells me that the Reds have not agreed to a Homer Bailey, Johnny Cueto, Joey Votto and a fourth player deal.

Another league source claims he spoke with someone close to the situation in Baltimore and got the impression that Seattle was likely to cave on Morrow before agreeing to include Triunfel in any trade, but that no progress involving the right-hander had been achieved.

The most intriguing information I got this morning is from a former front office member of one of the teams involved. He says the Orioles gave the Mariners a once-and-for-all type counter offer (apparently to the Jones-Clement-Sherrill offer Seattle is thought to have made) and if Triunfel or Morrow are not included, the Orioles will shut down talks.

He also says that this type of act by one side often forces the other to either turn away completely or fall for the move and give in.

He predicts the Mariners will introduce Bedard at a press conference Thursday, “if not well before” and that the Mariners will certainly have vastly overpaid in the deal.

When asked what kind of package he’d be willing to part with if he were the Mariners, this is what he came up with.

“Nothing involving Jones, and no deal that has two of their best guys in it. Not Clement and Morrow, not Clement and Triunfel. I might do Clement and the other outfielder, Balentien, but Baltimore wants pitching. Clement or Balentien plus Tillman or Butler. I’d do that.”

For the record, my offer would start and end this way:

Wladimir Balentien OR Brandon Morrow OR Jeff Clement, plus Tony Butler, George Sherrill and one of the following three — Adam Moore, Kameron Mickolio or Michael Saunders. Although I’d include any two of the latter three if the Orioles put newly-acquired left-hander Troy Patton or right-hander Pedro Beato into the deal, too.

Otherwise, the club runs a ridiculously high risk of acquiring Bedard and finishing in second place for two more seasons, watching Bedard sign with the Red Sox, Yankees, Dodgers, Mets or Blue Jays while Jones and company come into their own as key members of the Orioles 25-man roster.

In my conversation with a friend of mine that works with the Mets, he asked me to describe a scenario where I would make a deal for Bedard that included Jones or Triunfel.

I painted in two Beltre or better level bats, at least one a lefty, that were assets defensively at first base (in place of Sexson) and in a corner outfield spot (in place of Ibanez, who moves to DH).

Then the offense and the defense are ready to support what would be a pretty solid staff with a rather nasty 1-2 punch at the top of the rotation.

But since the offense has just a good a shot to finish in the bottom third as it does the top half (see potential declines from Ibanez, Johjima and Vidro, and more bad offense by Lopez and Sexson,) and the outfield defense could be wretched in the corners, I absolutely cannot figure out a scenario where the current roster plus Bedard seriously contends with the 2008 Los Angeles Angels, who, by the way, may not be done bettering their roster, too.

Far too many things would have to go right. Most of which could easily be deemed “unlikely” by objective observers.

And for those who keep telling me “if they get Bedard and need more offense, they can still go get it since it’s only January,” well, tell me who they can go get? There isn’t a single impact bat - outside Barry Bonds whom the club won’t consider signing - on the free agent market and the trade route might bare even fewer and less attractive options.

And even if there was a perfect trade target, you’d have to further gut your system or trade from the 25-man roster in order to get a deal done.

Seattle is so close to being in a position to make moves, such as the Bedard idea, it’s just a year or two early. Think a year or two from right now as the Halos get old and their key guys get to free agency, and when the Rays are trading Scott Kazmir or the Rockies are entertaining offers for Jeff Francis, Ubaldo Jimenez or Franklin Morales.

At that point, the M’s will know what they have in Chris Tillman, have a better idea of what Butler, Juan Ramirez and Phillippe Aumont are going to be, and won’t have to consider Triunfel a high-risk talent since he’s likely to see Double-A in 2008.

There are almost always certain prospects that each club should protect, particularly in this day and age where the free agent market is what it is. And most of those with such value are usually on the brink of the big leagues.

The Yankees have Joba Chamberlain. The Red Sox have Clay Buchholz. The LA Dodgers have Clayton Kershaw while the Cincinnati Reds have Jay Bruce.

And the Seattle Mariners have Adam Jones.

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