MLB Trade Rumors: Dodgers May Be Nearing Ted Lilly Trade

Just because it's past midnight on the East coast doesn't mean the rumors are done flying. Buster Olney comes in with the latest on perhaps the top starting pitcher left on the market:

Heard this: The Dodgers and Cubs are closing in on a Ted Lilly trade.

The Dodgers have been a rumored destination for Lilly for quite some time, as they could slide him in between Chad Billingsley/Clayton Kershaw and Vicente Padilla/Hiroki Kuroda. The probability is that they'd need the Cubs to kick in some cash to cover at least a fraction of Lilly's remaining 2010 salary, but the Cubs have expressed a willingness to do so, and doing so would aid in bringing back more talent from the Dodgers.

The Yankees have also shown recent interest in Lilly, with Andy Pettitte on the disabled list.