Jul 20th 2008 3:15PM by Andrew Johnson (author feed)

- How much will it cost to pry Matt Holliday away from the Rockies? We might finally have an idea. Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times reports that the Angels have inquired about Holliday and Colorado’s price started with pitcher Nick Adenhart, Los Angeles’ top pitching prospect, and would likely include second baseman Howie Kendrick and either Ervin Santana or Joe Saunders.

Look, it’s pretty clear that the Angels are going to coast to the AL West title. It’s also become pretty clear over the past few seasons that they need another bat to get out of the divisional round of the playoffs. So it’s easy to criticize the L.A. front office for not being aggressive enough in getting another big bopper. But that’s an exorbitant price for any player, especially a nice one like Holliday, who happens to be pretty average away from the hitting paradise that is Coors Field. Adenhart and Saunders, in particular, are both a tad overrated, but a trade involving those two Howie Kendrick would take away players contributing to the Angels right now. That’s the definition of robbing Peter to pay Paul.

- As for the other big bat prominently mentioned in rumors, Mark Teixeira, the Braves appear more resolute to hold on to him and make a push in the NL East, despite the fact that the first baseman is likely to walk at the end of the season. Atlanta entered Sunday with the same run differential as the Mets, so perhaps there is reason for optimism. But there is also this: Atlanta is still 5 1/2 games behind New York in the standings and the rotation beyond Tim Hudson and Jair Jurrjens is in tatters. There is ground to cover and the Braves’ best baseball might already be behind them. It might be time to swallow hard and become a seller.Continue Reading