The New York Yankees and Los Angeles Angels are supposedly talking to the folks with the Toronto Blue Jays about what it would take to bring ace Roy Hallday to their clubs. But it appears that the Boston Red Sox are coming after Halladay hard if you believe a source to the New York Daily News.

The source said that the Sox are "putting on a full-court press" to get Halladay and would love to get the deal done before the winter meetings. While that timeline seems unlikely, the world is full of surprises. Clay Buchholz(notes) and No. 1 prospect Casey Kelly would likely need to be in the package for Halladay, who has one more year on his current contract.

Meanwhile, the Red Sox have also asked for the medical records of pitchers Kelvim Escobar(notes) and Rafael Soriano(notes), according to the Boston Herald. The thought is that Boston would like to get Escobar on with a minor-league deal since he has pitched in the majors only once in the last two years.

Source: New York Daily NewsBoston Herald

The man at the top of the list in Atlanta is supposedly Billy Wagner(notes), who finished out last season with the Boston Red Sox after spending most of the year as a full-fledged member of the injured New York Mets contingent.

Talks between the Braves and Wagner's rep have reportedly already taken place. Wagner is a Type A free agent but so are Soriano and Gonzalez so the compensation Atlanta would get from any team those two sign with will offset whatever the Braves need to give up for signing Wagner.

The funny thing is that Soriano and Gonzalez are apparently on the list for the Boston Red Sox so this may end up being a trade of sorts.

If Wagner joins the Braves, it will be the third National League East team that he has played for, since also spent time as the closer for the Philadelphia Phillies.

Source: MLB.com

Boston Red Sox third baseman Mike Lowell(notes) is apparently up on the trading block in an off-season that is crowded with third sackers, according to the FOXSports.

The word is that the Red Sox will pay half of the 35-year-old Lowell's $12 million salary next season to anybody who will take him.

Lowell hasn't played more than 120 games in the last two years so if anybody takes him, they better have a decent backup.

If the Sox can get Adrian Gonzalez(notes) from the San Diego Padres, he'll be playing first and Kevin Youkilis(notes) will be moved to third. Otherwise, Boston will be bidding for the likes of Adrian Beltre(notes), Placido Polanco(notes), Chone Figgins(notes), and a bunch of others, though Beltre is believed to be the one of most interest to the Sox.

Source: FOXSports

Midnight last night was the moment that the 171 free agents currently on the market can start negotiating with any team they want and it appears that former Boston Red Sox slugger Jason Bay(notes) might be the most popular guy out there right now, according to the Boston Herald.

Bay apparently has an "unbelievable" number of teams making calls for him, says his (totally unbiased) agent. Bay, Matt Holliday(notes), and John Lackey(notes) will be the three biggest free agents on the market this off-season but Bay seems to be the most accessible of the three to more clubs.

Bay reportedly wants a five-year deal worth $17 million annually and supposedly declined a four-year, $60 million proposal on the table from the Red Sox. Now he's waiting to see what kind of dollars and years will be offered by such clubs as the New York Mets, St. Louis Cardinals, Toronto Blue Jays, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, and Seattle Mariners.

And, of course, the Red Sox will keep a watchful eye over the proceedings and try to get back in at an opportune moment.

Source: Boston Herald

Teams have till Friday to get their own free agents signed before anybody else can offer them any dough and it's not looking good for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim to get third baseman Chone Figgins(notes) and pitcher John Lackey(notes) re-signed before then, according to the Los Angeles Times.

There's a rumor floating around that the team (along with the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees) is waiting to throw more than $100 million at outfielder Matt Holliday(notes), who hit .313 with 24 home runs and 109 runs batted in for the Oakland Athletics and St. Louis Cardinals this past season. But GM Tony Reagins is saying that no such thing is true. "Our focus is not on him right now."

It is extremely doubtful that Reagins will get Figgins or Lackey to sign anything before Friday. Both are highly coveted on the free-agent market and would likely get paid to play more elsewhere. "They have earned the right to see what their value is," Reagins said.

Lackey supposedly wants to sign a deal worth more than $100 million and has interest from the Seattle Mariners, Milwaukee Brewers, Boston Red Sox, New York Mets, and New York Yankees. Figgins is likely to sign a deal for half of that and his suitors supposedly include the Philadelphia Phillies, New York Mets, Chicago White Sox, and Chicago Cubs.

Source: Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim hurler John Lackey(notes) is clearly the top pitcher in this off-season's free-agent marketplace and all the wallets are starting to come out in preparation for trying to snag him.

Anaheim loses exclusive negotiating rights to Lackey this Friday and, according to the Sporting News, the New York Mets, Milwaukee Brewers, and Boston Red Sox have all apparently started checking their wallets to see what they've got in there to flash at the 31-year-old. All three of those clubs have supposedly talked to Lackey's agent already. The New York Yankees and Seattle Mariners are expected to get into the fray pretty soon as well.

The main concern for most teams is Lackey's stamina. In the past two years, he's made 24 and 27 starts and had different arm injuries both years. The 6'6", 245-pounder went 11-8 this year with a 3.43 ERA and 139 strikeouts in 176.1 innings.

Source: Sporting News

Hideki Matsui(notes) put on quite an offensive show in Game 6 of the World Series as his New York Yankees made the final push past the Philadelphia Phillies to become champions. And the Boston Red Sox appear to want a piece of that, according to the Boston Globe.

The Globe reports that a Japanese sports Web site is saying that the Red Sox would love to have free-agent Matsui come to their team. According to the Japanese site, Nikkan Sports, the Red Sox are ready to offer a multi-year deal to the 35-year-old designated hitter.

Matsui has made about $13 million a year for each of the last four, but he is apparently ready to lower his price for his next deal to $8 million annually. Couldn't be cheaper, right?

There is plenty of doubt in Boston that this story has any truth to it, but it's always fun when a Yankees or Red Sox player switches sides.

Source: Boston Globe

The Boston Red Sox would love to keep left fielder Jason Bay(notes) in the house and have apparently offered him a four-year, $60 million deal, according to the Boston Globe.

But the Sox are apparently ready to make an offer to Matt Holliday(notes) if Bay shows any resistance or doesn't want to sign for some reason.

Of course Holliday will be looking for more dough than Bay can get, especially since he is represented by Scott Boras, who has a way of making teams separate themselves from their cash.

Source: Boston Globe

Javier Vazquez(notes) had a stellar year for the National League East third-place Atlanta Braves. He won 15 games and had a 2.87 ERA and 1.03 WHIP (walks and hits per innings pitched). Plus, the guy had 238 strikeouts.

Not bad for a guy the Yankees dumped back in 2004 after he gave up a grand slam to Johnny Damon(notes) in that famous American League Championship Series against the Boston Red Sox.

Vazquez is in a little better spot these days and it appears that the Braves are going to try and get him signed to a contract extension this off-season, according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution. With the year he had, Vazquez would likely be looking for some big dollars.

Source: Atlanta Journal Constitution

Boston Red Sox GM Theo Epstein is apparently saying he "bought low on a player with considerable promise" when he snagged Jeremy Hermida(notes) from the Florida Marlins yesterday, according to MLB Trade Rumors. "He hasn't fulfilled his potential yet," Epstein said, according to MLB Trade Rumors. "We acquired him today to see if he can fulfill that potential." The Red Sox are apparently hoping the change in geography will help Hermida.

Red Sox fans have got to hope the 25-year-old outfielder can do better than hitting .259. He reportedly won't be expected to be an incredible defensive presence.

Contractually, Hermida has two years to show that Epstein's prediction was true.

Source: MLB Trade Rumors