Can you guess what the magic word is for this chilly December 1st day?

To begin, Toronto starting pitcher Roy Halladay has given the Blue Jays a deadline for trading him or he will invoke his no trade clause according to Buster Olney of ESPN.

Roy Halladay, the All-Star pitcher who has been the subject of much trade talk since before the July deadline, will not approve any proposed deal after he reports to spring training, according to his representatives.

This means that the Toronto Blue Jays either will have to work out a trade of Halladay by the end of the offseason, or be prepared to receive only draft-pick compensation when the pitcher becomes eligible for free agency in the fall of 2010.

Olney also adds that currently, Halladay would only accept a deal to the Red Sox, Yankees, Phillies, or Angels. If the Mets want Halladay, they better get busy signing a Matt Holliday or Jason Bay first, because it looks like he only wants to play for a team that is a lock for the playoffs, and not one that has merely a chance to contend.

According to Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports, 2009 American League MVP Joe Mauer will end contract negotiations if he doesn’t have a deal with the Twins by a deadline of Opening Day.

Mauer plans on ending contract negotiations if a deal isn’t struck by the end of spring training, a source close to the American League Most Valuable Player told Yahoo! Sports on Monday. Mauer would play out the season, then enter free agency primed to land perhaps the second-biggest bonanza in baseball history.

It looks like Mauer just wants to light a fire under the Twins brass, but they have already said they plan on getting a deal done by Christmas. I wonder what kind of a hometown discount Mauer will give the Twins if any?

Finally, today is the deadline for teams to offer their players arbitration. The Mets are not expected to offer arby to Carlos Delgado, J.J. Putz and Fernando Tatis, but they have a few players on the bubble such as John Maine, Jeremy Reed, Tim Redding and Cory Sullivan.

Once the deadline passes, it should add a few dozen more players to the free agent class. There may be some good opportunities to pick up a solid player or two. Many of the non-tenders are very useful players who were non-tendered because they would have been grossly overpaid thanks to the current system which has many flaws.