Larry Stone Notebook | Highly sought Roy Halladay not only Jay up for grabs

The Blue Jays are said to be willing to expand the Roy Halladay trade to include any number of players that the Jays are prepared to deal. That includes infielders Marco Scutaro and Scott Rolen, relievers Jayson Frasor, Scott Downs and Brian Tallet, and outfielders Vernon Wells and Alex Rios (not that many, or any, teams would want to take on the huge salaries of the latter two).

By the way, if Halladay makes his scheduled start Wednesday against the Mariners in Seattle, that would signal he's not being traded. Toronto GM J.P. Ricciardi has set the previous day as a deadline to get the Halladay deal done.

That Wednesday game originally shaped up as a matchup between Halladay and another trade-deadline candidate, Erik Bedard, until Bedard was pushed back a day. Now it's most likely to be Ryan Rowland-Smith.

Red Sox in the hunt?

Despite their protestations, and the fact Toronto is reluctant to deal in the division, don't be surprised if the Red Sox get in the Halladay sweepstakes.

They have a deep farm system, and a newfound need for pitching help. Plus, the Red Sox had two scouts at Halladay's last start.

Tim Wakefield is on the disabled list with a back strain, John Smoltz and Brad Penny have struggled, and rookie Clay Buchholz was shaky against the Rangers on Wednesday. Daisuke Matsuzaka is also on the DL.

Talking about Lee

Cliff Lee, last year's Cy Young winner, would become nearly as coveted a pitcher as Halladay if he's made available — and the Indians are willing to listen to offers.

Lee has pitched much better than his 6-9 mark. The Indians have scored a total of 14 runs in his nine losses. Since the All-Star break, Lee has won both his starts with complete games (one against Seattle) and has a 1.00 earned-run average, 10 strikeouts and no walks.

Notes

• The Nationals, not surprisingly, will trade just about anyone besides Ryan Zimmerman or one of the young pitchers in their starting rotation.

Doubtful anyone would want highly paid and underperforming Austin Kearns or Ronnie Belliard, but there should be a market for lefty reliever Joe Beimel, utility man Willie Harris, first baseman Nick Johnson, and outfielders Adam Dunn and Josh Willingham.

• The Yankees surged into the AL East lead with a stretch in which they went 19-5. Fat lot of good it did the Mariners. Three of those losses were to the Angels.

Now the Mariners are hoping to get help from the Tigers. The Rangers are 7-2 against the Angels this season, and 5-1 against the Red Sox, but 0-6 against the Tigers. Detroit makes its only visit to Texas this week, opening a three-game series on Monday.

• Despite reports to the contrary, the Nationals' front office is said to still be confident of their ability to sign Stephen Strasburg. Perhaps that's because the fate of the franchise depends on it.

• Harsh words from Arizona pitcher Jon Garland after a ragged 4-3 loss by the Diamondbacks that featured poor defense from Justin Upton and Mark Reynolds:

"To me, we're going out there and playing like a last-place team," Garland told The Associated Press and other news outlets. "I don't see any fight in them."

• Todd Helton on Thursday became the fastest hitter to reach 500 doubles since 1954, doing so in his 1,749th game. The previous fastest? Edgar Martinez, who needed 1,942 games.

• The Orioles are moving their spring training from Fort Lauderdale to Sarasota, Fla, and few will miss the dilapidated complex known as Fort Lauderdale Stadium

"Anything would be an upgrade," Aubrey Huff told the Baltimore Sun. "Don't get me wrong. I love Fort Lauderdale and it's an awesome place to be. But you walk into the clubhouse, and you get that musty smell of asbestos. And then you walk outside, and you get the jet fuel smell. The infield was terrible and the weight room was a tent. It was just bad."

• With Geovany Soto on the disabled list, the Cubs had to rely on Koyie Hill to pretty much catch every day — including 22 innings in 22 hours Tuesday and Wednesday. The Cubs had a 13-inning loss Tuesday night and a day game Wednesday.

"I feel good, at least the parts of my body I still feel," Hill said.

• Former Giants reliever Steve Kline, now a minor-league pitching coach, visited his old team in Atlanta.

"I can still get some guys out," Kline told the San Francisco Chronicle, "but they're retired, too."