The Friday Night Rumor Mill

Of all the teams considered pre-season contenders, the Blue Jays appear to be the first club ready to throw in the towel and start building for 2008. A flood of early injuries, culminating in B.J. Ryan’s season-ending Tommy John surgery, has wrecked Toronto’s playoff hopes while also putting manager John Gibbons on the firing line. While Gibbons may receive a temporary reprieve because of the wave of injuries, it’s likely that GM J.P. Ricciardi will start moving talent quickly. The first player to be relocated could be third baseman Troy Glaus, whose hot start has only increased his value. (Glaus does have a no-trade clause, but might be willing to waive it in order to play for a contender.) There are several teams in need of help at third base, principally the Angels, Glaus’ former employer. Anaheim desperately needs hitting, to the point that GM Bill Stoneman needs to act quickly. With a bevy of prospects at his disposal, the Angels would provide a perfect match in a trade with the Blue Jays…

The Phillies are another team that badly needs a third baseman. Glaus would also provide the Phils with a perfect fit as the No. 5 hitter, batting behind Chase Utley and Ryan Howard. The Phillies don’t have as many prospects to surrender as the Angels, but might be able to cobble together a package that includes Mad Dog Madson and some young pitching… A third suitor for Glaus could be the Reds, who have grown so frustrated with Edwin Encarnacion’s erratic play (too many errors, not enough walks, and an unwillingness to run out grounders) that they demoted him to Triple-A this week. The Reds may look to trade Encarnacion for some bullpen help, which remains a major concern for Jerry Narron’s team. Ryan Freel will play third base for now, but he’s best suited to a jack-of-all-trades role that involves playing the outfield and second base… And then there are always the Padres, who are still desperately seeking power—and a quality third baseman. They’ve been severely disappointed by Kevin Kouzmanoff (who has a .175 on-base percentage), the onetime top prospect they acquired last winter for Josh Barfield…

Unlike the Jays, the Rangers aren’t quite ready to ditch the season, but their poor start under new manager Ron Washington has the front office contemplating changes in personnel. If the Rangers choose to make a major move, they’ll start with the enigmatic Mark Texeira, who is off to another slow start and doesn’t look like the franchise player he was once tagged to be. He can also become a free agent after the 2008 season. If the Rangers make Texeira available, expect the Orioles to move to the head of the line, but they’ll have to offer some of their healthy young pitching to entice Texas…

How desperate are the injury-wracked Orioles for starting pitching? With Kris Benson sidelined for the season and both Adam Loewen and Jaret Wright (who could also be done for the season with shoulder problems) on the disabled list, they’ve actually talked trade with the Mets about Chan Ho Park, who was awful in his one New York start after beginning the season at Triple-A New Orleans. The Orioles are also expected to make a run at Jason Davis, who was designated for assignment by the Indians earlier this week. Davis has been used mostly as a reliever, but would like to start for his new team, whichever club that might be…

Like Craig "The Blond Bomber" Wilson in seasons past, Colorado’s Byung Hyun Kim seems to be perpetually on the trading block. Now if only the Rockies would budge and stop asking for the moon in return for the side-arming right-hander. There remains interest in Kim, principally from the Nationals and the Mariners…

Speaking of Seattle, it’s only a matter of time before the Mariners designate Jeff Weaver (0-6 with an ERA of 14.32) for assignment, in the hope that they can find a taker for his salary. It’s become plainly obvious that Weaver can’t thrive in the American League, which the Angels discovered all too blatantly last year. Weaver could end up in Cincinnati, Houston, or perhaps back in St. Louis…

Another pitcher who will likely be moving on within the next few days is journeyman left-hander Ron Villone, who’s been mowing down hitters for Scranton in the International League. If the Yankees don’t promote Villone by Tuesday, he can become a free agent, an option that he’ll almost certainly exercise. One way or another, look for Villone to be back in somebody’s major league uniform by next week.