MLB Trade Rumors: Cliff Lee Ready to Move? Utley to Follow? Ervin Santana Leaving K.C.?

The MLB non-waiver trade deadline is quickly approaching and the market has been sluggish at best. The names that have been available aren't going to stir much excitement in contenders looking to add just one more player for a run at October... until now.

Cliff Lee is available. Jerry Crasnick of ESPN reports that the GM of the Philadelphia Phillies, Ruben Amaro Jr., is willing to hear potential deals for Lee. This is a bombshell. Not to take anything away from Jake Peavy, he's a former Cy Young Award winner and still a solid starter, but the talent gap between Lee and the next best available pitcher is huge. Although, from listening to Amaro it sounds like the Phillies' asking price is also going to be huge.

"I never put any real absolutes on anything," Amaro told ESPN. "Although we don't have any desire to move a guy like that because we view him as someone who will be key to our future, I am a businessperson as well and I'll be a good listening. I can't sit here and say I'm not going to trade Chase (Utley), or Cliff, or Michael Young or Chooch (Carlos Ruiz), or any of these guys."

While Lee is enormously talented there are some complications that make it more likely than not that he will stay in the city of brotherly love. First, he was scratched from Saturday's start due to a stiff neck. Teams won't want to give up as much as they'll need to in order to obtain Lee if he's going to be sitting on the bench. Secondly, he has an enormous contract that doesn't end any time soon. According to ESPN, Lee will be owed close to $100 million over the next three years and it's unclear if Philadelphia wants to pick up any of that cash. Lastly, Lee is allowed to block trades to 21 clubs each year.

Still, even with all of those complications there are a lot of teams (Boston, LA Dodgers, St. Louis, Atlanta, Pittsburgh) that need to add some pitching before Wednesday and Lee would be an enormous addition to any of those staffs.

While Amaro did talk about the possibility of trading Utley it's almost impossible to imagine him ever wearing a different uniform. His contract is up at the end of the year and the Phillies don't appear to be in a hurry to sign him so it's possible. Oakland is a team that should definitely consider picking up the veteran if they can get the right price.

Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports is reporting that the Royals are asking for quite a bounty of players in exchange for Ervin Santana. The team wants major league ready talent in exchange for the pitcher. Royals GM Dayton Moore has been reluctant to even consider selling at the deadline this year, he seems to think that the Royals are only a player or two away from being respectable again. Kansas City has won 4 in a row to run their record to 49-51 but they are far from contending. The only teams in the American League to score less runs are the atrocious Chicago White Sox and the historically awful Houston Astros.

The Atlanta Braves need to add pitching after losing Tim Hudson for the year and it looks as if they may turn to Houston's Bud Norris to fill that hole, according to Fox Sports. Norris isn't a bad pitcher, he's certainly not as good as Hudson, but he would fill in a role while everyone else in the rotation moves up a spot. He's posted a 3.93 ERA pitching in the glorified Wiffle Ball field in Houston against American League hitting so he would probably welcome pitching in Turner Field. The Braves might also want to pick up a bat before the deadline but it looks like pitching is their focus, according to CBS Sports.