In the midst of persistent Mets and Dodgers rumors, Trib writer Phil Rogers suggests the Arizona Diamondbacks might be closer to consummating a deal for one of the Sox starters than anyone else. MLB sources believe the Diamondbacks played first baseman Conor Jackson in left field last night to showcase him for a possible deal to Chicago.

The 25-year-old Jackson, highly-touted last year, is hitting only .262 with 5 HRs with the Diamondbacks, but has excellent plate discipline resulting in more walks (37) than strikeouts (26), which is no easy feat. The Diamondbacks have scouted Jose Contreras lately, but would prefer to land Jon Garland…shocker. Still, the presence of Livan Hernandez, El Duque’s brother, might make Contreras comfortable.

Rogers also mentions that trade talks could include young starters, namely John Danks, Gavin Floyd, Charlie Haeger, Lance Broadway and Heath Phillips. But Floyd, Haeger and Phillips are closing in on the dreaded “old” tag and have still combined for a pedestrian 4.45 ERA in Triple-A, limiting their trade value. Danks is all but untouchable; I cannot imagine the mountain of talent Ken Williams would have to receive to trade Danks and hold onto Contreras’s and his $10 million/year salary.

So it’s going to be Contreras, Vazquez or Garland that gets moved and Vazquez has a limited no-trade clause that would prevent him from going (back) to Arizona. Considering Contreras has done nothing to improve his trade value over the past months, a Conor Jackson might not be too bad of a return. He has a lot of upside though his natural position is a spot the Sox already have covered with Paul Konerko and Jim Thome.

But there are so many teams in the hunt for Contreras/Vazquez/Garland that the optimist in me believes mere supply and demand could net the Sox a surprisingly good deal for the Cuban. Then again, we did say the same thing about Freddy Garcia last winter and the return on that trade was astoundingly low.

The Diamondbacks do have a plethora of your infield and outfield talent, some of which the Sox have already tapped into: second baseman Danny Richar, acquired from Arizona last month, is hitting .358 in 23 games at Triple-A since joining the Sox. Contreras might not net the Sox too much, but if Williams decides to part with Garland he should require at least two of Arizona’s young hitters. How ironic would it be if the Sox reacquired centerfielder Chris Young? Carlos Quentin, Justin Upton and Alberto Callaspo are other names to watch.

Along with this Diamondbacks development, the Mets are still among the front runner to land Contreras. With that in mind, the Mets called up trade bait outfielder Lastings Milledge, who was on the shelf with a foot injury. In his first five games back in New York, Milledge went 4-for-19 (.211) with a homerun and 5 RBIs. I’m still not sold on this guy who, as this Fox Sports article point out, has had his share of character issues:

“Milledge was the Mets’ top prospect when he made his major league debut in May 2006. In his first month, he showed off the considerable talent that made him such a highly coveted player, but also made his share of missteps on and off the field.  He was reprimanded for not running hard on the bases and also arrived late to the clubhouse for a game. Near the end of the season, a sign was posted in his locker at Washington - "Know your place, rook. Your teammates," it said. ... He rankled team management for making a rap CD that used foul and offensive language.”

Maybe he’s been humbled a bit in the past few months and has rededicated himself on the field. Otherwise, this is not exactly the guy I want to rejuvenate this Sox team. Either way, the Sox need to sell the Mets on Jermaine Dye, who’s been heating up the past few days, or Tadahito Iguchi in addition to Contreras to get anything of value in return.

The other hot spot for a Contreras/Dye or Garland package is Los Angeles, where the prospect-loaded Dodgers are a tweak away from heading to their first World Series in nearly 20 years. The Dodgers are busting with prospects, several major-league ready, that the Sox could scoop up. Outfielders Matt Kemp, James Loney and Andre Ethier and minor league shortstop Chin-Lung Hu are the crown jewels; acquiring even one of them for Contreras and Dye would be a major coup for Williams.

If a package centered around Garland could net the Sox two of those names, I think Williams would pull the trigger. Garland and Dye for Kemp/Ethier and Hu would be very exciting for both teams, though I’d expect the Sox to ask some pitching in return (like starter Chad Billingsley or reliever Jonathan Broxton).

In any case, getting the Diamondbacks, Mets and Dodgers—three of most prospect-rich teams in baseball—to compete with each other in trade offers, along with wildcard teams like the Brewers, Rockies or Mariners, can only lead to a better 2008 for the Sox. Exactly two weeks until the trade deadline, what will happen next?

Mike_D@chitowdailynews.org