Jul 18th 2008 11:00PM by Andrew Johnson (author feed)

- The Pirates have players to give, players that could really help a contender, guys like Damaso Marte, Jason Bay and Xavier Nady, but don’t expect first-year GM Neal Huntington to give them away for nothing writes John Perrotto. Huntington, who already seems eminently more qualified for his job than predecessor Dave Littlefield, is reportedly asking for two advanced prospects and one lower-level prospect for Bay. That’s about what he should be asking for considering Bay has bounced back nicely from a rough 2007. A 29-year-old outfielder with a .917 OPS could help a considerable number of contenders.

- Toronto’s A.J. Burnett says he does not want nor does he expect to be traded before July 31, and the thing we keep hearing is that there is little movement on Burnett. But with the right-hander expected to opt out of his contract at the end of the year and with the Blue Jays treading water in the AL East, it seems unlikely that will be the case over the next few weeks. Two teams to watch on Burnett: St. Louis and the Mets, particularly if Pedro Martinez’s injury is worse than it seems.Continue Reading