One more name to watch in trade talks this spring: Jair Jurrjens.

He was a popular name on the market when the winter began. The Braves didn't trade him, in part because they couldn't convince potential trade partners that he's healthy and can stay healthy.

Perhaps he can prove that this spring. If so, the Braves could well try to move him again, according to sources.

As I pointed out in this column, big spring training trades have become a rarity in modern baseball. But Jurrjens isn't terribly expensive ($5.5 million this year), and when he's been healthy, he's been very good. His ERA in the first half of the 2011 season was 1.87, second to Jered Weaver among major-league starters.

Why would the Braves trade him? Skeptics would say that they don't believe he can stay healthy, but they would counter that they have a crowded rotation, even with Tim Hudson likely to miss the first few starts of the year after offseason back surgery. The Braves are convinced that Tommy Hanson's shoulder is fine (and say that Hanson is in much better shape), and they're excited about youngsters Randall Delgado and Julio Teheran.

And Jurrjens is due to be a free agent after the 2013 season, always a consideration for the cost-conscious Braves.

Even if Jurrjens looks healthy this spring -- and the Braves say he does -- it may be hard to convince teams that he is worth the risk. While the Red Sox could use a starter (and Jurrjens would fit into their price range), they're known to have had serious doubts about the right-hander's health.

Jurrjens missed the end of the 2011 season with a knee injury. The Braves say he recovered so well that he would have started a playoff game if not for their September collapse. But after making 65 starts in his first two years with the Braves, Jurrjens has been able to make just 43 starts over the last two seasons.

Is he healthy now? Again, the Braves say yes.

If he can prove it this spring, maybe another team will believe it enough to deal for him.

Among teams and agents with starting pitching for sale, there was some hope that the Yu Darvish decision would spur movement in a market that has been slow to develop.

That could still happen. But for now, there is still so much pitching available that it's hard to understand why any team would feel the need to panic.

The free-agent market still offers Hiroki Kuroda, Edwin Jackson and Roy Oswalt, among others.

On the trade market, Jair Jurrjens, Wade Davis, Jeff Niemann, Wandy Rodriguez, Matt Garza and more are all believed by other teams to be available, albeit at what buyers still consider to be inflated prices. Even with Mat Latos already having gone to the Reds, John Danks signing an extension with the White Sox and Gio Gonzalez gone to the Nationals, it's a long list (and others such as the Mets' Jon Niese are also out there, along with longer-shot names like James Shields).

Compare that to last July 31, when the Tigers were able to trade for Doug Fister and the Indians got Ubaldo Jimenez, but many teams trying to deal for pitching found no one of real value available.

Now, the question is the high cost in prospects, at least based on what the Padres and A's got for Latos and Gonzalez. Meanwhile, the Red Sox, Marlins, Blue Jays, Royals, Tigers, Mariners, Yankees, Rockies, Orioles and others are hoping to add at least one more starter this winter.

And the market is still so fluid that one person who talked to the Red Sox this week reported back that they are "in on everybody."

In part because so many pitchers are still available, many rival officials continue to think that the Padres did very well in what they got from the Reds for Latos, who is young (24), cheap (not even arbitration-eligible yet), controllable (can't be a free agent until 2016) and talented, but also is regarded as having questionable makeup.

The Reds would no doubt argue that the price for any top pitching remains high, and for now it does.

The question is where the market goes from here, particularly with so many pitchers available.

DALLAS -- More baseball talk from the second full day at the winter meetings:

-- The hometown Rangers have watched the Marlins dominate the first two days of the meetings, and they spent Tuesday night meeting with the representative for pitcher C.J. Wilson, who they very likely will not re-sign. But the Rangers have been active on many other fronts, according to sources. They're in on free-agent pitcher Mark Buehrle, and potentially in on free-agent first baseman Prince Fielder. Also, despite already signing closer Joe Nathan, the Rangers have considered a run at A's closer Andrew Bailey, who is available in trade.

-- The Phillies have decided against pursuing free-agent third baseman Aramis Ramirez, and will instead keep Placido Polanco at third and fully concentrate their efforts on retaining shortstop Jimmy Rollins. Ramirez still has interest from the Brewers and Angels, and the Brewers could be the best fit (assuming they don't re-sign Fielder).

-- While much of the day Tuesday was dominated by the Albert Pujols chase, agent Scott Boras has decided to let the Fielder market develop more slowly. Interested teams include the Cubs, Rangers, Mariners, Orioles and possibly the Nationals, plus the Brewers.

-- The Reds have continued to pursue starting pitching. They've been probably the most aggressive team after Jair Jurrjens of the Braves, and have also continued a dialogue with the Rays that began last July.

-- While the Marlins pursued Pujols, they also continued to look at starting pitching. The Marlins have tried for both of the top two free-agent starters (Wilson and Buehrle), and have also made trade inquiries on Gio Gonzalez of the A's and Wandy Rodriguez of the Astros, among others.

-- The Cardinals have been so focused on trying to retain Pujols that they have yet to have a full-group meeting on what path they would pursue if he leaves. Some think they could pursue Rollins or Ryan Madson, and others believe that they could jump in on Buehrle.

DALLAS -- More baseball talk from the first full day at the winter meetings:

-- The Braves' duo of Jair Jurrjens and Martin Prado continue to be as sought after as any players on the slow-developing trade market. Sources say that 8-10 teams have shown real interest in Jurrjens, while "half the teams in baseball" have talked to the Braves about Prado, most with the idea of playing him at second base. The Braves continue to say that they don't need to move either player, and will only do so if the return helps make them more competitive in 2012 (as opposed to dealing for long-term prospects). The Braves have assured teams that Jurrjens is fully healthy, and that his velocity returned to the mid 90s when he resumed throwing in instructional league.

-- Royals executive J.J. Picollo became the latest to interview with the Astros for their vacant general manager position. The Astros' interest in Picollo and in the Rockies' Bill Geivett would seem to indicate that they want to hire someone with a strong background in scouting and player development. Picollo is Kansas City's assistant GM for scouting and player development, and he previously ran the Braves' minor-league system.

-- The Angels spent Monday night talking to Bob Garber, who represents free-agent pitcher C.J. Wilson. The Angels' interest in Wilson is serious, and has been since last month's general managers meetings in Milwaukee.

-- The Dodgers were considered to have a good day Monday, signing infielder Jerry Hairston and starter Aaron Harang to two-year deals. Rival executives suggest that Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti needs to do whatever he can to try to give his chance a team to play well early in 2012, in hopes of convincing whoever the new owner is that he should keep his job.

-- The A's continue to explore trading closer Andrew Bailey, and are expected to talk to the Red Sox on Tuesday. The Red Sox have not yet been aggressive in pursuit of Bailey.

-- The Tigers are not believed to have shown any significant interest in any of the big names on the free-agent market, and seem content to make smaller improvements to a team that won 95 games in 2011. If the Tigers make a big-money signing this winter, it seems a lot more likely to be Cuban outfielder Yoenis Cespedes than Mark Buehrle, Aramis Ramirez, Coco Crisp or other big names that have been speculated about. It's still not clear how soon Cespedes will be declared a free agent, because of delays in paperwork needed to establish residency in the Dominican Republic. One possibility is that Cespedes could try to establish residency in Mexico, instead.

-- While the White Sox are open to listening to trade proposals for any of John Danks, Gavin Floyd, Carlos Quentin and Gordon Beckham, some club officials insist that they are not "rebuilding," even though general manager Ken Williams used that exact word last month. The Sox insist that they while they are trying to get younger, they would only trade their valuable chips if they get players who are ready to contribute at the big-league level immediately.

-- The Pirates continue to show no interest in trading center fielder Andrew McCutchen, even though early talks on a possible long-term contract showed that the two sides were "not even in the same ballpark," according to sources. McCutchen isn't eligible for free agency for another four years, so the Pirates aren't yet under time pressure to sign him or trade him.

-- The Giants have talked to the representatives for Tim Lincecum, but there doesn't appear to be much progress towards getting Lincecum signed to a long-term contract. Lincecum has two years to go before free agency.

-- A day after some Brewers people expressed a slight hint of optimism at their chances of retaining free-agent first baseman Prince Fielder, others insisted the chances remain very bleak. The Brewers do have real interest in Aramis Ramirez, and have been in contact with every free-agent shortstop.

-- The Rays are open to trading Jeff Niemann or Wade Davis in their quest to improve their offense, but have told teams that they would only listen to overwhelming offers for James Shields. The Rays would also like to trade Reid Brignac, would still like to upgrade their catching, and are once again willing to talk about dealing B.J. Upton.

PHILADELPHIA -- Tommy Hanson said Monday that he hopes to return to the Braves rotation in time to make one or two starts before the regular season ends. Jair Jurrjens said the same thing.

They'd better, if they hope to pitch in October.

Braves general manager Frank Wren said Hanson and Jurrjens will only be considered for the playoff rotation if they first show they're ready by making a regular-season start.

"If they don't pitch in the regular season, they can't pitch in the playoffs, at least not in the first round," Wren said, before the Braves' game against the Phillies.

Hanson and Jurrjens combined for 22 wins in the first half, but have just one win each since the All-Star break. Hanson hasn't pitched since Aug. 6 because of a sore right shoulder, while Jurrjens has a bone bruise on his right knee and has been out since Aug. 30.

Jurrjens visited a knee specialist over the weekend, and was told not to throw off a mound for the next two weeks. The Braves continue to say that Jurrjens has only a knee problem, even as scouts following the team see his diminished velocity (only 86 mph in a recent start) and suspect shoulder trouble.

Hanson threw from 90 feet on Monday, and said afterwards that he considered it significant progress.

"I think I have more peace of mind now," Hanson said.

The Braves seem more hopeful about Hanson than about Jurrjens, but they really can't be sure about either one.

Rookies Brandon Beachy and Mike Minor have pitched well enough that the Braves wouldn't necessarily be devastated if Hanson and Jurrjens don’t return to a playoff rotation that will be headed by Tim Hudson and Derek Lowe. But obviously, a healthy Hanson or a healthy Jurrjens -- or having both healthy -- would make the Braves a more formidable playoff team.

The last time Derek Jeter came off the disabled list, he got six hits in his first three games.

The time before that, he had eight hits in his first three games. The time before that, he had six hits in his first two games.

So with Jeter set to come off the disabled list as the Yankees begin a three-game series in Cleveland, does that mean Derek Jeter is going to get his 3,000th hit in George Steinbrenner's hometown?

No more than fact that Jeter has six hits in only one of the 16 three-game series he has played in this year means that he won't.

All we really know is that Jeter (who returns from the DL with 2,994 career hits) has a history of fast starts when coming off the disabled list. And also that Jeter is not the same hitter he was in 2003, the last time he went on the DL.

For what it's worth, we know that Jeter is a career .343 hitter against the Indians, and that he's a career .370 hitter at the ballpark that was known as Jacobs Field when he first played there, and now goes by the name Progressive Field.

We know that two members of the 3,000-hit club -- Tris Speaker and Nap Lajoie -- reached the milestone in Cleveland, and that one member of the club -- Robin Yount -- did it against the Indians.

And we know that the Yankees insist that they're not worried about giving Jeter a chance to get to 3,000 this weekend at Yankee Stadium.

"I know there are conspiracy theories, but we need to win games," general manager Brian Cashman told reporters Saturday in Trenton, N.J. "We dopn't have time to play around with milestone stuff and all that extra stuff. I can honestly tell you, I could care less."

If the Yankees did care, they wouldn't be the first. As I pointed out last month, in 1978 Reds manager Sparky Anderson said he would pull Pete Rose from a game, rather than take a chance that he would get 3,000 in New York.

"I will not allow Pete Rose to do it anywhere but Cincinnati," Anderson said then. "I would not cheat those people. It's a must that he do it at home."

The Yankees have three games in Cleveland, followed by four games at home against the Rays, followed by a trip to Toronto and Tampa Bay after the All-Star break.

When will 3,000 come?

We can only tell you that history says it might not take long.

On to 3 to Watch:

1. Before Jeter's calf injury, and before his return was scheduled for Monday, we thought the game of the day would be in St. Louis. It still might be, because Reds at Cardinals, Monday night (6:15 ET) at Busch Stadium, brings the renewal of what has become one of the most heated rivalries in the game. It's quite a week in the National League Central, where the top four teams finished play Sunday separated by just two games. The Cardinals and Brewers begin the week tied for first, and the Reds (two games back) play three games this week in St. Louis followed by four in Milwaukee.

2. Our C. Trent Rosecrans says Roy Halladay should be the National League starter in the All-Star Game. I'm not going to disagree, but I will say that Jair Jurrjens would be a good option, too. Halladay doesn't pitch again until Friday, so Jurrjens (who leads the majors with a 1.89 ERA) has a chance to become the NL's first 12-game winner when he starts in Rockies at Braves, Wednesday night (7:10 ET) at Turner Field.

3. Jeter's return from the DL will get more attention, but Phil Hughes' return, in Yankees at Indians, Wednesday night (7:05 ET) at Progressive Field, may be more important to the Yankees' chances this season. The reports from Hughes' minor-league rehab starts have been good, but you can bet everyone will be checking the radar gun readings and the box score line from his first big-league start since April 14. Oh, and maybe you should watch Jeter, too. He's 5-for-12 in his career against Justin Masterson, who will start for the Indians.

The bar is set high, but then it would be anyway.

Roy Halladay returns to Toronto this weekend, to pitch at the Rogers Centre for the first time since the big trade that sent him to the Phillies 19 months ago. Cliff Lee follows Halladay on Sunday, with a chance to become the first pitcher since Orel Hershiser (1988) with four consecutive shutouts.

And they'll do it on the same field where Justin Verlander no-hit the Blue Jays eight weeks ago.

So maybe by the time this weekend is over, we'll have a better way of answering the question that has been bugging me for weeks.

Who is the best pitcher in baseball right now?

"To be honest, I think it's between me and Halladay," Verlander said when I asked him that question last week. "But if you asked anyone, they'd probably say that about themselves."

Not anyone. I know that, because I asked Lee, the guy with three straight shutouts, the guy who had a ridiculous 0.21 ERA in June (compared to 0.92 for Verlander and 2.00 for Halladay).

"In my opinion, it's not even debatable," Lee said. "Nobody else is in Halladay's ballpark. It's not even close."

I can't say I tried to argue with him, but I did point out the three straight shutouts.

"It takes longevity," Lee said.

Halladay has the longevity, and he has the great history in Toronto. So when you look at this weekend's schedule, it's hard to leave his big return to the Rogers Centre out of 3 to Watch.

But I'm going to do just that, because I always stick to one game per series and I can't pass up Lee's attempt at a fourth straight shutout.

For this weekend, though, think of this as 4 to Watch, and pretend I included them both:

1. If you check the ERA leaders, you might notice that neither Lee nor Halladay leads the National League. Instead, it's Jair Jurrjens of the Braves, at 2.07, and it's probably worth pointing out that he gets his next start in Orioles at Braves, Friday night (7:35 ET) at Turner Field. Jurrjens faces Jeremy Guthrie, who was throwing 96-97 mph in his last start.

2. If you check the ERA leaders again, you might notice that Verlander doesn't lead the American League. Instead, it's Jered Weaver of the Angels, at 1.97, and it's probably worth pointing out he makes his next start in Dodgers at Angels, Saturday night (9:05 ET) at Angel Stadium. His mound opponent, Clayton Kershaw, isn't bad, either.

3. I'll assume you already watched Halladay against the Jays on Saturday (1:07 ET). But I'm sticking with Lee, in Phillies at Blue Jays, Sunday afternoon (1:07 ET) at Rogers Centre. According to research through Baseball-reference.com, only eight pitchers in the last 90 years have thrown four straight shutouts. The last before Hershiser was Luis Tiant, in 1972.

The Tigers know better than most teams that early-season leads in the American League Central don't always hold.

Or they ought to.

They've been where the Indians are now. They've been the surprise team. They've been in first place in June.

They've been chased down, and they still haven't ever won an AL Central title (they went to the World Series as a wild card in 2006 and last won a division crown in the AL East in 1987).

The Tigers also know that it doesn't really get uncomfortable for the team in front until one of the chasing teams starts winning every day.

And that's why this could be a significant weekend in the Central.

The Indians are home against the Rangers, continuing the most difficult stretch of their schedule so far (with a trip to New York coming up next week).

Meanwhile, the Tigers have won four in a row. The White Sox just swept a three-game series in Boston.

And the Tigers and White Sox meet this weekend in Chicago.

So far, the Indians really haven't been challenged. They went just 14-12 in May, but entered the month 4 1/2 games in front and finished it with a five-game lead. They went 3-5 over the last eight games and lost just two games off their lead.

Can the Tigers put heat on them? Can the White Sox?

Maybe this weekend will give us a hint.

On to 3 to Watch:

1. Remember when we were wondering if Fausto Carmona would pitch well enough to interest a contender in trading for him? Now we're asking if Carmona can pitch consistently enough for the contending Indians. While the rest of the rotation has been solid, the Indians' opening day starter is winless in five starts since May 3. Worse yet, he's getting worse, allowing 19 earned runs in 17 innings over his last three starts (all losses). Carmona is also winless in his last four starts against Texas, the team he'll face in Rangers at Indians, Saturday night (7:05 ET) at Progressive Field.

2. In April, the Tigers beat Mark Buehrle for the first time in nine starts since July 2007. Saturday, the White Sox will try to beat Justin Verlander for the first time in seven starts since September 2008. Verlander has won each of his last six starts against Chicago, going at least seven innings each time, with three complete games and a 2.03 ERA. He faces ex-Tiger Edwin Jackson in Tigers at White Sox, Saturday night (7:10 ET) at U.S. Cellular Field.

3. Jair Jurrjens is always the Braves starter who gets overlooked. But Jurrjens was the National League's pitcher of the month in May, Jurrjens is the major-league ERA leader for the year, and Jurrjens has to be the NL Cy Young leader at this point. He's also one of just four pitchers ever (according to the Elias Sports Bureau) to go at least six innings in each of his first nine starts while never allowing more than two earned runs. Two of the other three (Lefty Gomez in 1937 and Randy Johnson in 2000) had the streak end at nine. The only one who went longer was Ubaldo Jimenez, who got to 12 games with last year's Rockies. Jurrjens goes for 10 in Braves at Mets, Saturday night (7:10 ET) at Citi Field. Mets starter Dillon Gee has his own distinction as just the second Mets rookie to begin a season 5-0. Jon Matlack started 6-0 (and finished 15-10) in 1972.