"Hours before tomorrow's trade deadline, the Blue Jays now have a checklist they can consult before making any deals. Gregg Zaun: Wants out. Roy Halladay: Wants to stay put.

Zaun became the first Jay to openly express interest in leaving the club yesterday when he told mlb.com it would "probably be a good thing" if he were traded to a contender. After beginning the season as the team's frontline catcher, Zaun has recently been relegated to the backup's role by the emergence of Rod Barajas.

"I'm just disappointed that he went to the media with this," general manager J.P. Ricciardi said when told of Zaun's comments. "We have a good enough relationship that he can talk to me."

After Toronto's 3-0 loss last night to Tampa Bay, a game Zaun once again watched from the bench, the plainspoken catcher was asked to respond to the GM's rebuke.

"This shouldn't be a controversial moment for anybody. I just answered a simple question: `Would I welcome a trade,'" an exasperated Zaun said. "It's unfortunate that he feels like I'm addressing it through the media, because I really am not."

Zaun has been linked in reports to several teams, including divisional rivals Boston and New York.

"(Zaun) hasn't been able to play here like he wanted too," manager Cito Gaston said. "He got hurt and Barajas has come up here and played better than he has. To me, you put the best player out there."

The 37-year-old catcher said he had requested a trade from Ricciardi "quite a ways back." Zaun is in the final year of a two-year, $7.25 million (all figures U.S.) deal.

"We'll gladly move him if we can find someone who wants him and that's where we're at," Ricciardi said. "Right now, there's been no takers for him, there's been no inquiries about him."

That left Zaun circumspect about his situation.

"According to the GM, nobody wants me. So the chances are Friday morning I'm still going to be a Blue Jay. And I'm fine with that. I love it here," Zaun said."