MLB Trade Ideas Based on Latest News, Rumors and Speculation

After a relatively quiet weekend, several notable MLB moves were made in rapid succession on Monday.

First, Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reported that the Miami Marlins and Giancarlo Stanton had reached an agreement on a 13-year, $325 million contract.

Then, Russell Martin signed a five-year, $82 million pact with the Toronto Blue Jays, as reported by Ken Rosenthal.

And finally, the Atlanta Braves announced they had engineered a four-player swap with the St. Louis Cardinals that included Jason Heyward and Shelby Miller.

Like we said, it was a notable day, and while those stories dominated the headlines, there are other matters that demand our attention.

As a standard note, the following proposals are nothing more than postulation. The point here is to build a trade based on someone else's written or spoken word.

They are balanced deals that are fair for each team, though, and take into consideration each franchise's strengths and weaknesses.

Here are three MLB trade scenarios based on actual need and published rumors from the last week. 

Los Angeles Dodgers Acquire Alexei Ramirez

PAUL BEATY/Associated Press

Los Angles Dodgers Get: SS Alexei Ramirez

Chicago White Sox Get: OF Andre Ethier, OF Scott Schebler

Overview

To be clear, it’s difficult to envision the Chicago White Sox moving Alexei Ramirez.

“It’s absolutely our intent (to contend in 2015),” general manager Rick Hahn said, via CSN Chicago’s Dan Hayes. “We’re going to continue to aggressively pursue targeted moves that put us on that path that ideally puts us on that path to contend in ’15.”

Simply put, trading Ramirez doesn’t fit that model. He is one of the better shortstops in the American League and provides a level of leadership through his play the White Sox need on the field.

But the shortstop's name was recently mentioned by Nick Cafardo from The Boston Globe. While adding that there are other options at shortstop for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Cafardo wrote that "Ramirez has become a popular name in trade rumors, and they [the White Sox] would deal him." 

So what type of package would it take?

Conventional thought is that trading Ramirez for Andre Ethier makes sense. Seeing as how the White Sox need help in the outfield, Ethier would certainly fit on the South Side. For the Dodgers, Ramirez would serve as an effective bridge until Corey Seager is ready to take over the everyday responsibilities at short.

So while there is a need on both sides for the two players involved, more would have to be included—and we’re not talking about money. If Ethier and Ramirez are going to be central points, the Dodgers will have to include a guy like Scott Schebler for it to make sense for the White Sox.

“Schebler led the high Class A California League with 69 extra-base hits and 227 total bases last season, tapping into his raw power by becoming more aggressive at the plate,” according to MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo. In 2014, he put up a .280/.365/.556 slash line with 28 home runs, 73 RBI and 23 doubles in 489 at-bats for Double-A Chattanooga in the Southern League.

If the Dodgers came at Hahn with this offer, he would be hard-pressed to say no. After all, Schebler is arguably ahead of where Avisail Garcia was when he came over from the Detroit Tigers in the deal that sent Jake Peavy to the Boston Red Sox.

That said, it’s hard to see the White Sox moving Ramirez right now to any team, even with a deal as strong as this one. 

Tampa Bay Rays Acquire Ryan Howard

Matt Slocum/Associated Press

Tampa Bay Rays Get: 1B Ryan Howard and cash

Philadelphia Phillies Get: C Jose Molina, UT Sean Rodriguez

Overview

We know that the Philadelphia Phillies are looking to unload several contracts. As CSN Philly’s Jim Salisbury noted, the club has "admitted that they are a rebuilding team and will listen to trade offers on any player. There are no untouchables.”

One of the guys that general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. would love to move is first baseman Ryan Howard.

Unfortunately, the $60 million that Howard is still guaranteed (at minimum) is problematic. That is especially true given the fact he’s missed extensive time due to injury in two out of the past three seasons and his power (the one thing he’s paid for) fell off the table this past season.

One team that could use even diminished power, however, is the Tampa Bay Rays.

It will take quite a bit of swallowed salary on the part of Amaro, but there is a chance that a deal can be made.

To that end, Marc Topkin from the Tampa Bay Times recently noted that the Rays will have to get creative with the 40-man roster in an effort to provide several minor leaguers with protection from the Rule 5 draft.

In order to do that, Topkin argues, the front office has decisions to make regarding guys like utility man Sean Rodriguez and catcher Jose Molina. How about satisfying two needs at once by shipping them to the Phillies in exchange for Howard and cash considerations?

Molina is only under contract for one more season and would serve as an experienced backup to Carlos Ruiz. Meanwhile, Rodriguez can play multiple positions, giving manager Ryne Sandberg some depth that was surely missed last season. 

There is no doubt that even a past-his-prime Howard would provide stability at designated hitter for the Rays. And the fact that he hits left-handed only adds to the allure.

To be sure, the amount of cash involved needs to be considerable to offset the money that Howard is owed, but this is a trade that makes sense on several levels.  

Seattle Mariners Acquire Yoenis Cespedes

Michael Dwyer/Associated Press

Boston Red Sox Get: SP Hisashi Iwakuma

Seattle Mariners Get: OF Yoenis Cespedes

Overview

How about a straight-up trade between the Seattle Mariners and Boston Red Sox involving Hisashi Iwakuma and Yoenis Cespedes?

This isn’t a novel idea. From The Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo: "Seattle has fielded inquiries from a few teams on the 33-year-old Iwakuma. The Red Sox have had at least internal conversations about him. The Mariners would want an impact hitter, such as Yoenis Cespedes, in return."

Frankly, a deal involving the two makes complete sense. Consider: Each player is a free agent at the end of the season, fills a distinct need on the other club and there is already a replacement ready to take over on each roster.

It’s just perfect.

For the Mariners, Taijuan Walker can slide into Iwakuma’s spot in the rotation. Granted, there may be a bit of an acclimation, but Walker is more than up to the challenge, posting a 2.61 ERA and a 1.289 WHIP over 38.0 innings last season.

For the Red Sox, they already have an outfield littered with talent. True, they may want to use Jackie Bradley Jr. or Mookie Betts in a trade, but even if one of them leaves following the loss of Cespedes, the Red Sox still have enough depth to make it work.

And if you’re concerned about Cespedes getting swallowed by Safeco Field, forget it. After all, he put up a .833 OPS at O.co Coliseum, proving that he can hit just about anywhere.

True, the .138/.176/.338 slash line he’s put up in 22 games at Safeco leaves a lot to be desired, but facing Felix Hernandez, Iwakuma and the Mariners bullpen certainly had quite a bit to do with the results.

Either way, this is a deal that’s a match. The M’s need a right-handed hitter, and the Red Sox need a top-of-the-rotation starter.

The conversation between Ben Cherington and Jack Zduriencik shouldn’t last very long.

Unless otherwise noted, all traditional, team and advanced statistics are courtesy of FanGraphs and Baseball-Reference. Contract information pulled from Cots Contracts. Transaction, injury and game information are courtesy of MLB.com.

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