by Ken Rosenthal

Updated: May 1, 2008, 5:05 PM EST 180 comments

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The players listed below are virtually certain to be available before the July 31 non-waiver deadline — and as teams fall out of contention, the list only figures to grow.

Adam Dunn/Ken Griffey Jr.: The Reds are sick of losing, or so they proclaimed when they fired Wayne Krivsky as general manager. Still, there is little point to them keeping Dunn and Griffey, both of whom will be free agents at the end of the season.

Even if the Reds mount a charge in the NL Central, they would be better off promoting center fielder Jay Bruce — one of the game's top prospects — and collecting more young talent in trades.

That means asking Griffey to waive his no-trade clause, possibly for a return to the Mariners, after he hits the three homers he needs for 600. It also means moving Dunn, who has full no-trade protection until June 15. After that, he can be sent to all but 10 clubs.

Dunn selected the teams on his limited no-trade list carefully, choosing mostly high-revenue clubs that could afford him. That way, he could gain a say — and leverage — in most discussions.

Joe Blanton/Rich Harden: A's GM Billy Beane will not shift direction because of a fast start. If anything, he might be even more motivated to continue retooling, emboldened by the early returns from his off-season trades.

Two current members of the A's rotation, left-handers Dana Eveland and Greg Smith, arrived in the Dan Haren trade. His primary center fielder, Ryan Sweeney, came in the Nick Swisher trade. Additional pieces from both deals — most notably outfielder Carlos Gonzalez — could contribute before the season is over.

Beane's leverage only will increase if the A's continue to play well — "If I'm going to break up this club," he might tell a rival GM, "it will be at my price."

Blanton likely would be the best starting pitcher available before July 31. If Harden comes back healthy — a longshot, to be sure — Beane would have one more chip to play.

Kevin Millwood/Vicente Padilla: The Rangers can only dream of moving Padilla, who is erratic and earning $23 million in 2008 and '09. Millwood, too, is expensive, but he could be perfect for a team such as the Yankees, who would value his stable presence in their rotation.

The Yankees remain deep in young pitching, and they've got two promising outfielders, Austin Jackson and Jose Tabata, at Class AA. As crazy as it might sound, the Rangers should include significant cash in a Millwood deal with the Yankees or another high-revenue team, enabling them to effectively buy prospects.

Millwood is earning $8.5 million this season, $11 million next season and $12 million in 2010, but his deal could be voided before '10 if he fails to meet certain innings thresholds.

Joe Crede/Brandon Inge/Chad Tracy: The third-base market remains flooded, and most contenders are set at the position. Of course, an injury or two could alter the equation.

Crede's hot start increases his value, and the White Sox would consider a deal only if they could help their major-league club, knowing Crede is likely to depart as a free agent and that Josh Fields is ready at Class AAA.

A rental-for-rental deal might work if the White Sox needed a starting pitcher or reliever — that way both teams could preserve their rights to draft-pick compensation.

Inge, signed through 2010 at an average of about $6.3 million per season, remains valuable to the Tigers and a difficult fit for other clubs. Tracy will be expendable to the Diamondbacks once he returns from right knee surgery.

Xavier Nady/Jason Bay: Nady is off to his usual fast start, and the Pirates should begin exploring the market for him immediately. Bay, too, is hitting, but his defense in left field draws as much disdain from rival executives as Dunn's.

Both players are under control through 2009 — Nady is earning $3.35 million in arbitration this season, while Bay is signed for $5.75 million this season and $7.5 million in '09.

Jason Bay's defense may hurt his value, but his power appears to be back. (Gregory Shamus / Getty Images)

The Pirates' new front office was largely inactive last off-season, gambling that Bay, in particular, would restore his value. As the deadline nears, the team figures to turn more aggressive.

Brian Roberts, et al: The Orioles are under no illusions. They know they are highly unlikely to stay in contention, and they will be in position to further accelerate their rebuilding process come July.

Roberts could appeal to the Indians and other clubs as well as the Cubs, and the Orioles are deep in relievers. Closer George Sherrill is second in the majors with nine saves, while righty Chad Bradford and lefty Jamie Walker, both of whom are signed through '09, could bring back a prospect or two. Ditto for first baseman Kevin Millar and outfielder Jay Payton.

Ray Durham/Rich Aurilia: Both are in the final years of their contracts, and both could help contenders if they prove they can still hit.

Coco Crisp: Still a strong candidate to be moved, but as his value to the Red Sox remains high, so does his price.

Jays' Gibbons: Too hard on his starters?

The Blue Jays do not appear anywhere close to firing manager John Gibbons. If anything, club officials expect the team to show offensive improvement now that third baseman Scott Rolen is off the disabled list and left fielder Adam Lind is back from Class AAA.

Gibbons juggled his lineup Sunday, moving Alex Rios to the leadoff spot, announcing his plan to bat David Eckstein second, and replacing Vernon Wells in the cleanup spot with Matt Stairs. The initial results were positive, but the greater issue with Gibbons is his handling of starting pitchers.

The knock on Gibbons among certain scouts, executives and sabermetricians is that he asks too much of his starters, failing to make proper use of one of the league's better bullpens. The Jays' starters entered Monday's play averaging 99 pitches per start, second in the AL to the Mariners. Individually, Roy Halladay ranked third, A.J. Burnett 10th, Shawn Marcum 14th and Dustin McGowan 23rd.

To some degree, Gibbons' reliance on his starters merely reflects the quality of the rotation — Halladay, in particular, likes to work deep into games. Then again, the wisdom of allowing Halladay to pitch three consecutive complete games in April is open to debate — especially since Halladay last season exceeded 120 pitches five times after July 27.

The good news: Halladay averaged a mere 111 pitches in his three straight CGs.

The firing of Krivsky: A question of style

Walt Jocketty's arrival signaled the end for Wayne Krivsky. (Al Behrman / Associated Press)

Wayne Krivsky made more good moves than bad. The Reds are better off than they were when they hired him. Thus, there are only two logical explanations for his firing:

The impatience of owner Bob Castellini.

The inability of Krivsky to adjust to Castellini's appointment of former Cardinals GM Walt Jocketty as a special advisor.

The arrival of Jocketty in January was the beginning of the end for Krivsky, who lasted only two years and two months. Krivsky's critics say he became almost paranoid about Jocketty, leading to breakdowns in communications. Krivsky disputes that assessment, allowing that the situation was "awkward" and a "work in progress," but insisting that his relationship with Jocketty was improving and would have improved further over time.

Castellini should have anticipated that Krivsky, a first-time GM, would be uneasy under Jocketty. The new arrangement created tension and inevitable friction, as Krivsky and Jocketty operated with different styles.

The question now is whether Krivsky will get another chance. Some in baseball view him as too rigid a personality. Others, recalling his success under the Twins' Terry Ryan, see him as more of an assistant GM.

Then again, if given the opportunity, Krivsky might become a front-office version of Joe Girardi — someone who made political mistakes in his first job, but was smart enough to take a different approach in his second.

Comparing Fukudome and Ichiro

Ichiro's first major-league manager was Lou Piniella. Ditto for Kosuke Fukudome. Piniella sees similarities in the two Japanese stars.

"I was told that Fukudome was a cross between Ichiro and Hideki Matsui," Piniella says. "He's much closer to Ichiro than he is to the other guy. He's a little stronger than Ichiro. But his style — he slashes like Ichiro does. Ichiro is more of a breaking-ball hitter. This guy is more disciplined.

"Both are excellent outfielders. Ichiro is a little quicker. Fukudome gets a real good jump on the ball, moves with the count. Ichiro has a little stronger arm — an outfielder's arm. This kid (Fukudome), you can tell he was a shortstop. He short-arms it just a little more. But he has good carry to it. And he's accurate."

O's Sherrill: Haunting the Mariners

Is it possible that the Erik Bedard trade has already cost the Mariners a postseason berth? Sherrill — one of five players the Mariners sent to the Orioles — already has five saves against his former team. The Mariners should be thankful that the Orioles might trade him by the next time the teams meet — Aug. 1-3 in Seattle.

George Sherrill has really stuck it to his former team. (Elaine Thompson / Associated Press)

Sherrill, according to STATS LLC, is the ninth pitcher to earn five saves against a single opponent in a single month since the save statistic became official in 1969 — and the first to do it against a former team. Another player in the Bedard deal, center fielder Adam Jones, had three RBIs in the Orioles' 8-7 victory over the M's last Thursday.

Tigers' Galarraga: Another Texas blunder?

If the Rangers were wrong about right-hander Armando Galarraga, whom they bumped off their 40-man roster and traded to the Tigers for minor-league outfielder Michael Hernandez in February, then other clubs were wrong about him, too.

One team's scouting report said that Galarraga had an above-average slider, but a straight fastball and poor command. He too often would fall behind, preventing him from getting into slider counts. The report went on to say that with improved control of his slider, Galarraga could be a major-league reliever.

Well, in three starts with the Tigers, Galarraga is 2-0 with a 1.50 ERA, with victories over the Indians and Blue Jays and as many strikeouts (13) as hits and walks combined.

Around the Horn

The Diamondbacks eventually could look to strengthen the middle of their bullpen, though the newly promoted Max Scherzer could fill such a role and maybe even evolve into a late-inning force. Scherzer and fellow right-hander Jarrod Parker, the D-Backs' first-rounder last year, are all but untouchable. Tracy is a more realistic trade chip.

The Nationals believe that right-hander Shawn Hill and lefty John Lannan are keepers in their rotation, and they could add two more potential building blocks if Class AAA righty Collin Balester arrives at the All-Star break and Class A righty Jordan Zimmermann by September. After that, the Nats could bid for younger free agents who would fit their building program. Dunn, 28, Indians left-hander C.C. Sabathia, 27, Brewers righty Ben Sheets, 29, and Dodgers shortstop Rafael Furcal, 30, would qualify. ...

The expected return of left-hander Scott Kazmir from an elbow strain this weekend will give the Rays six starters for five spots. Right-handers Edwin Jackson and Jason Hammel are out of minor-league options, so the most logical move might be to stick righty Andy Sonnanstine in the bullpen. Jackson, who has produced dominant performances against the Yankees, Red Sox and Mariners, is drawing the most trade interest. ...

The Rockies designated second baseman Jayson Nix for assignment after he opened the season 5-for-45. The Red Sox showed more patience last season with Dustin Pedroia, who was batting .172 on May 1, and the Braves put similar faith in Kelly Johnson, who was batting .150 on April 16. Nix, 25, is a gifted defender, but the Rockies do not believe that he will hit. Second base is his only position, so it is possible that he will clear waivers. ...

The Rockies replaced closer Manny Corpas with Brian Fuentes, but the bullpen is not their biggest issue; the team ranks 13th in the NL in runs and 15th in rotation ERA. Troy Tulowitzki's .464 OPS is the second lowest in the NL. He "leads" only the Pirates' Adam LaRoche (.460). Five Padres are in the bottom 17 — not surprising, considering the team recently lost three straight home games even though its starting pitchers allowed only one run in 22 innings.