Trade Market

The Royals will spend the majority of the offseason looking to upgrade a few positions in the field for a power hitter either SS, LF, or both.  The FA options have been discussed heavily over the past couple weeks.   In this article, I will break trade canidates into veterans at SS, veterans at LF, and the category I think the Royals will venture into the undervalued talent, which will be under team control for a greater amount of time.  Of course, trades are a little trickier than FA's seeing as we have to have something another team would actually want.  I figure our most tradeable commodoties are DDJ, Gobble, Gator, Huber, Costa, Buckner, Peralta.    

Veteran Trade Canidates at SS:
1.) Miguel Tejada (Orioles) - Though he is a player on the decline, his production could be a welcome boost to the middle of the lineup.  In 2007, he hit .297/.357/.442 with 18 HR's and 96 RBI's.  Defense is also on the downward slide, could TPJ be his defensive replacement?  Under contract until 2009, but 26 mil seems expensive.  

2.) Orlando Cabrera (Angels) - He would be a one year rent-a-player for 9 mil, but he would provide solid D and a welcome bat, but does he provide more offense than TPJ?  2007 stats: .301/.345/.397 with 8 HR and 86 RBI's.  20 SB's are a nice perk as well.  

3.) Rafael Furcal (Dodgers) - Another one year player with a slightly higher price tag of $13 mil.  He provides a lot of the same skills that Cabrera does albeit with a higher price tag.  2007 stats:  .270/.333/.355 with 6 HR and 47 RBI's.  He also had 25 SB's.  

4.) Bobby Crosby (A's) Signed through 2009 for 8.75 mil.  He's often injured, but who on the A's wasn't this year.  The A's could quite possibly be focusing on a rebuilding year.  Due to his injury history and being a bit of an underperformer also with the A's being sellers could he be had on the cheap?  2007 stats:  .226/.278/.341 with 8 HR and 31 RBI in 349 AB's.  

5.) Bill Hall (Brewers) - He's signed though 2010 for about 20 mil.  While somewhat defensively challenged at both SS and CF, his bat will play anywhere.  He's another one who will need TPJ as a defensive replacement, but he could be capable of hitting 30 HR's.  2007 stats:  .254/.315/.425 14 HR and 63 RBI's albeit in an off year for him, but he's signed to a reasonable deal and might be had reasonably.  

Veteran Trade Canidates in OF:  
1.) Rocco Baldelli (D'Rays) - His contract has one guaranteed year at 2.25 mil and club options for 2009-2011.   Though he is often injured, his value will never be lower and he could still have a JD Drew like career.  Could he be had for a defensive minded SS and a pitcher?  Question is has all his time off hurt his productivity on the field?  2007 stats:  .204/.268/.358 with 5 HR and 12 RBI's in 137 AB's.  

2.) Pat Burrell (Phillies) -  He would be a one year rent-a-player for 14 mil. The Phillies are not happy with him despite his 30 HR's and 96 RBI's, so would they be crazy enough to trade him?  His 2007 line is .256/400/.502.  Drawback:  He'll need a platoon partner due to significant splits and is a little strikeout prone.  

3.) Jason Bay (Pirates) He is under contract through 2009 for 13.25 mil.  He's coming off an off year.  The Pirates will be asking a lot, but he'd make a nice addition if he can bounce back.  2007 stats: .247/.327/.418 with 21 HR and 84 RBI's.  

4.) Luke Scott (Astros)  He is making little more than the minimum and is under team control for the next 4 years. For whatever reason the Astros just don't seem to like this guy, he got off to a slow start, but is capable of hitting 25 to 30 HR's in a year.  Drawback:  The Astros needs are much the same as ours.  2007 stats: .255/.351/.504 18 HR and 64 RBI's in 369 AB's.  Now again, Why don't they like this guy?

5.) Marcus Thames (Tigers) He's making little more than the league minimum and under team control for 3 more years. Though he is a little defensively challenged and a little bit of a late bloomer, he has a lot of power for a corner OF.  He's another one who seems to have fallen out of favor with the Tigers, most likely due to lack of OBP.  Maybe Chris Shelton could be had as well?  2007 stats:  .242/.278/.498 with 18 HR's and 54 RBI's.  

Up and Coming Canidates at SS:
1.) Brett Lillibridge/Yunel Escobar (Braves)
2.) Chin Lin Hu (Dodgers)
3.) Sean Rodriquez (Angels)

Up and Coming Canidates in OF:
1.) Carlos Quentin/Carlos Gonzalez (D'backs)
2.) Matt Murton (Cubs)
3.) Lastings Milledge (Mets)

Overall, it will boil down to the amount of talent that we will have to part with and what exactly the other teams need.  I think we match up well with some teams, particularly any needing bullpen help and CF help.  I also tried to keep the list realistic to people we could realistically obtain; even though, I'd love to see Jimmy Rollins in Royal Blue.  Any thoughts on the trade market?  Are there any rumors in the works that could possibly break?