"Here's another fellow whose team (Oakland) would be delighted to move him. Heck, the A's pretty much signed him so they could move him in July. They'll even pick up much of the $4.5 million or so that's left on his contract this year.

"If you call on him, you'd better be ready to make a deal, because they're ready," said an exec of one team. "If you're just kicking tires, don't call. And if you do call, you'd better know you want him, and you'd better know definitively what you're going to give up because they've done their homework, and they know exactly what they want."

All that is conducive to deal-making. But here's what isn't: We're also talking about a fellow who is 4-9 with a 4.53 ERA and run-of-the-mill 1.39 WHIP while pitching in a pitcher's nirvana in Oakland. And the buyers out there sound incredibly wary.

"I don't know, man," one exec said. "Last time out, he looked like Livan Hernandez out there. He was throwing 85-87 [mph]. This was a guy who had premium stuff at one point. It was remarkable how different he was."

But we remind you again: There isn't much on the shelves. Everybody loves Sheets' makeup and fire. And you have a motivated seller. So it would be an upset if this guy doesn't call a moving van between now and August."