Now that we’re in June, many teams are starting to consider the way they are headed. Many teams are going to be conceding already and selling off anything that can bring in prospects. Here are a few teams I can see doing that…
Arizona Diamondbacks
The D’backs are moving quicker than most other teams, having already traded Connor Jackson to the A’s.
They also have ace Dan Haren that could bring a nice return; even with this years struggles, Haren is still a top tier pitcher and has a decent contract. He’d be a nice fit for a contender.
Stephen Drew’s name came up a bit in the off-season. He’s not been as good as advertised, but is better than half of the shortstops in the league. The D’backs don’t have a shortstop ready in his place, but could move him for an MLB ready one.
Adam LaRoche was traded twice prior to last seasons deadline and could be on the move again this year. He’s a free agent at the end of the season and has semi-low price tag. He wouldn’t cost much in terms of talent, but a mid-tier prospect is still better than nothing when his deal expires.
Kelly Johnson is the one to really watch. He’s under team control for next season and has hit very well this year. His defense is better than average and the team has a replacement in house with Tony Abreu. He could net a prospect or 2, especially if he continues to hit.
Seattle Mariners
The pre-season favorite for the AL West has been horrible this year. So bad that they will listen to offers on former Cy Young winner and prized off-season addition Cliff Lee. Lee should bring a nice return; he cost 3 good prospects and hasn’t hurt his stock by bad performances. He’ll be a Type A free agent, so he’ll net 2 first round picks when he declines arbitration. Any contender that needs pitching (Mets, Cardinals for example) will kick the tires here.
Along with Lee, pretty much anyone but Felix Hernandez and Ichiro are available.
Beyond Lee, they don’t have much. Ian Snell is available; the former Pirate was recently DFAed and would have to be traded by next Friday or else he’ll be released or placed on waivers. He’ll bring little to the team.
Casey Kotchman is probably expendable too. He won’t bring a huge return, as he’s never lived up to potential, but would be a nice fit for a team looking for a mid-tier first baseman or bench help.
If Erik Bedard were healthy, he could bring a decent return. He hasn’t pitched this year, so he’ll end up staying here.
Jack Wilson, who came to the Mariners with Snell, is also on the DL with a calf strain; he could be dealt to a team looking to upgrade defense. He doesn’t offer much with the bat, so he won’t get much in return.
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pirates are always looking to unload veterans to stock their system. Unfortunately, they don’t have much.
Prior to the season, the best trade option looked to be Akinori Iwamura; unfortunately he’s played poorly and was DFAed yesterday. The Pirates are planning on eating his contract and trying to move him for better prospects.
Closer Octavio Dotel may be attractive to teams with bullpen issues. He’s 12 for 15 in saves and has a 2:1 K:BB ratio. His ERA is high at 5.84, but he still has value. He’s only due about $2MM or so for the rest of the season, which is very affordable.
Outside of that, most of their players are young, under team control, and/or don’t have anyone that can take over the position.
Houston Astros
We’ve already seen the names of Roy Owalt and Lance Berkman being floated around, but both will be hard to move due to the size of their contracts. If the Astros would eat some money to move them, they could get decent returns for both; all rumors show that they don’t want to take on much of the contracts though.
Carlos Lee is also an attractive piece to contenders, but, again, his price tag is too high.
If Wandy Rodriguez continues to struggle, the team could give up on him. That’d be a great chance for a team to buy low on him. I wouldn’t put this past Ed Wade.
Brett Myers and Jason Michaels are both affordable and could serve needs for contenders; Myers would fit at the back of the rotation, while Michaels makes for a decent bench player. Neither should cost too much to get either.
Chicago White Sox
Kenny Williams has been on the record stating that things need to be shaken up. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a roster make over here.
Pitching-wise, they have a few candidates to be moved.
Freddy Garcia, barring injury, is looking decent season (7-3, 4.94 ERA). He could net a mid-level prospects from a contender. J.J. Putz is proving he’s healthy and could bring in a low tier prospects. Also, closer Bobby Jenks has had 1 foot out the door for a while now; his name comes up whenever he struggles. He’s due for a nice raise after the season and Matt Thornton looks like a potential replacement. Jenks has value, even though each outing doesn’t always look good; he could bring in a couple mid-tier guys.
Ace Jake Peavy has gone on record stating that he wants to leave if they go in rebuilding mode; I bet San Diego is looking pretty good now. Peavy is not as good as advertised in my mind, but could bring a decent return if he approves a trade.
On the other side, Paul Konerko looks like the best player to move right now. He’s playing well and quite a few teams need a first baseman. He could net a mid- to upper prospect in the right deal. A.J. Pierzynski has achieved 10 and 5 rights (AKA limited no trade clause), so he can veto potential trades. He has said that he’d like to stay, but also wouldn’t be against a trade in the right circumstance.
Omar Vizquel, Mark Kotsay, and Andruw Jones have limited value and could bring in fringe prospects.
