The 2016 MLB season is still a few months away, but things have heated up quite a bit with a flurry of free agency moves. One team oddly hasn’t been very active: the New York Yankees. One big reason could be because the Yanks have some tricks up their sleeves of the trade variety. If New York has waited this long to pull the trigger on potential deals, other teams could be doing the same.
Let’s take a second to look at some teams that could soon be making some noise in the trade field and what players could be on the move:
Brett Gardner, OF, New York Yankees
With depth in the outfield and tons of hitting to spare, the Yanks could end up shopping outfielder Brett Gardner. Gardner is a great utility player and numerous teams could step up and pounce on him, but Nick Cafardo of the The Boston Globe suggests it could be the L.A. Angels that end up offering young pitcher Andrew Heaney for the extra bat. The Angels really struggled for consistent offense outside of Mike Trout and Albert Pujols last year and landing someone like Garner could up their averages and give them an extra bat. Heaney would be especially attractive to New York, too, as they’d get a young pitcher on the rise to help round out a decent pitching rotation that could need just one more ace to take their game to the next level.
Ryan Braun, OF, Milwaukee Brewers
The Brewers aren’t winning with Braun, so it may be time for both sides to part. Rumors of such a possibility broke out after the season ended, with the Brewers reportedly admitting they’d freely part with the bloated star. Braun can still bring power to the table and is a competent fielder, but is over 30 and no longer is the reason Brewers win games. Milwaukee was a big seller near the trade deadline last year and with another losing season surely on the horizon in 2016, they could opt to dump Braun to the highest bidder.
C.J. Wilson, SP, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
You can toss the aforementioned Heaney and veteran Jered Weaver in the mix, here, too. The point is the Angels aren’t getting what they want out of their would-be loading pitching staff and they certainly are lacking on the offensive side. It’s time for the Angels to finish the building job they started and actually field a strong supporting cast around superstar Mike Trout. That doesn’t mean they have to get rid of all of their best pitchers – nor should they – but Wilson and Weaver have failed to live up to expectations and could potentially bring back some hitting upgrades.
Padres Pitchers
Andrew Cashner, James Shields and Tyson Ross are all in danger if the Padres slip early again in 2016. The odd part is all three are quite good and could easily pull it together to form a very stable rotation this year, but San Diego could use another bat or two to form a more consistent offense. Ross re-upped with the team and may be the one guy of the three that San Diego actually wants to keep, but Shields is exiting his prime (or is already out) and Cashner is already 29. It will be interesting to see what San Diego ends up doing, but as recently as December they were still sending out feelers for both Cashner and Shields.
Jay Bruce, OF, Cincinnati Reds
Remember when the Reds started blowing things up last year by trading stud power hitter Todd Frazier to the Chicago White Sox? Yeah, they’re not even close to done. The Reds have only gotten older a year later and with the team finally actually committed to a full rebuild, it’s only a matter of time until they start unloading their other star veterans. Bruce is definitely high on the list of guys to hit the exit, as he’s nearing 30 years of age and has seen his play drop off in the past couple of years. He still can hit the long ball, though, and could be very useful to the right team. Cincy, meanwhile, would probably just want some young prospects in return. Joey Votto is a bigger name that could end up being mixed up in Reds trade rumors, too, but the 32-year old masher has yet to waive his no-trade clause.
As the 2016 MLB season draws closer we’re sure to hear more about potential trades before the season, but for now these may be the top names/teams to keep an eye on. Got another juicy trade rumor we need to hear about? Tell us in the comments below!
