Team-by-Team Trade Possibilities: AL Central

Yesterday, I ran down the big rumors involving AL East teams, today, it’s the AL Central.   Without further ado…

AL Central
Cleveland Indians – The Indians have already been busy, moving free agent-to-be ace CC Sabathia to the Brewers earlier this month.  Over the weekend, they sent 3B/1B/OF Casey Blake to the LA Dodgers for Jon Meloan, a high minors pitching prospect, and Carlos Santana, a catcher at High-A ball with impressive hitting numbers.  They also acquired Anthony Reyes from the Cardinals for minor league pitcher Luis Perdomo.  A couple of years ago, Reyes looked like a good bet to have a long career as a middle of the rotation starter, but faltered in St. Louis.  These all look like good moves for a team that is not contending this year, but will in the near future.  Maybe they should have held onto CC a bit longer, but the package they got – centering on LF/1B Matt LaPorta, who might be up in September – is not lacking.
It now seems as though the Indians have done most of their selling.  They would like to move Paul Byrd, but there probably are not lots of teams panting after him; he’s 37, he’s struck out 51 men in 110.1 innings, and he’s given up 23 home runs.  Oh, and he has a 5.14 ERA.  He’s no more than a back of the rotation starter at this point, but some teams just need a guy to take the mound and give them 5 solid innings every 5 days.  He might not move until the waiver period in August, but I suspect someone will bite, even as an injury replacement.

Kansas City Royals – As has been the case in recent years, the Royals are in a position to sell off their veterans at the trade deadline.  This year, there are fewer to move, but they have several nice pieces, so we’ll see what happens.  There has been some noise about the Yankees wanting Brian Bannister; if they can’t pry Jarrod Washburn from the seemingly very stubborn Mariners, they might turn their attention elsewhere.  That’s where Bannister comes in.
Jose Guillen is another name who keeps popping up in rumors, but as I wrote yesterday, most of the contenders seem pretty well set at the outfield corners/DH.  Also, the Royals are not just going to give him away, as reports indicate they want to get back a nice package of players for him.
Catcher Miguel Olivo has been connected to at least a couple teams who badly need to improve behind the plate – Yankees and Marlins.  Despite what Joe Girardi says, the Yankees can do better than Jose Molina back there.
Theoretically, Esteban German could be moved, but there does not seem to be much interest.  Mark Grudzielanek’s name has been whispered around this time of year every year since he’s been a Royal, but he’s still there, and it does not seem like they want to move him.

Detroit Tigers – The Tigers have had a real roller coaster of a season.  Still, they’re only 6.5 games out of the division lead right now, and coming on pretty strong.  They’re looking for relief help, especially now that Freddy Dolsi and Joel Zumaya are experiencing some aches and pains.  They’ve been linked to all the usual suspects, and seem to be especially hot on Gians lefty Jack Taschner and O’s lefty George Sherrill.  Presumably, they could be a suitor for Scott Eyre, should the Cubs decide to move him, which seems likely, given their other two lefties (Sean Marshall, Neal Cotts) and the emergence of Jeff Samardzija.
This year marks the second straight year they’ve been linked to Pittsburgh shortstop Jack Wilson, but Pittsburgh would rather keep him, as they have few in-house replacement options, so the asking price is high.  He’ll probably stay put, unless Detroit decides they can’t live without him.

Minnesota Twins – The big story here is that Livan Hernandez just keeps getting lit up, while Francisco Liriano is toying with Triple A hitters.  Seriously, check out his recent starts, he’s been tremendous.  There are service time concerns, I guess, but Minnesota is just being incredibly cheap if they won’t cut bait on Livan and call up Liriano as soon as…last week.  Most of the other players they’re rumored to be interested in are hitters – that’s pretty much the case every year with this franchise, by the way.  They seem to be really interested in adding a third baseman, with the two primary targets being Hank Blalock of the Rangers and Adrian Beltre of the Mariners.  They also might be interested in LaTroy Hawkins, who the Yanks recently designated for assignment.

Chicago White Sox – Sox GM Kenny Williams recently said the “climate was awful” for trades, which for some reason I find hilarious.  They already have a nice bullpen, but they have been linked to Oakland A’s closer Huston Street nonetheless.  They’ve also been linked to the A’s Justin Duchscherer, who’s leading the AL in ERA.  They also might be willing to move Orlando Cabrera, which would open up shortstop for Alexei Ramirez, their current second baseman.  That would make sense if they acquired Brian Roberts, who they’ve been rumored to like, but it seems unlikely to me.  The Dodgers and Red Sox are also interested in Cabrera.
There have been some rumblings that they might send their backup shortstop, Juan Uribe, to the Red Sox for their backup infielder, Alex Cora, but those talks seem to have fizzled.  They would probably still be interested in moving Uribe, and in the right deal, they would part with third baseman of the future Josh Fields.  At this point, I would be surprised to see them make any blockbuster deal, but Kenny Williams has been quite a dealer in the past, so not much would shock me.

Up next:  AL West