10 MLB Teams That Need to Get Busy in the Trade Market

Surprising blockbuster trades have become a big part of the Major League Baseball offseason over the last couple years. For clubs with payroll restrictions or weak win-loss records, pursuing trades is the best viable option over spending money on free agents.

Teams such as the San Diego Padres and the Oakland Athletics made headlines last winter with their aggressive trades. With the 2015-16 hot stove season now underway, there are plenty of teams that would benefit from getting active in a similar fashion.

Big trades have already happened, such as the Andrelton Simmons acquisition by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim or the Craig Kimbrel trade to the Boston Red Sox. On top of that, plenty of rumors have been going around involving teams that may be looking at a rebuild.

For this list, we’ll look at certain teams’ biggest areas of need given their trade histories as well as various trade likelihoods for the 2015-16 offseason.

With the winter meetings still three weeks away, there is plenty of time for teams to lay the groundwork for potential deals.

Atlanta Braves

Atlanta Braves general manager John Coppolella has already been aggressive this offseason, shipping Simmons to the Angels on Nov. 12 in exchange for shortstop Erick Aybar and two pitching prospects.

The other big news is that the Braves are exploring potential trade options for first baseman Freddie Freeman, per Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com.

Following a 95-loss season, the Braves may be in complete rebuild mode. The fact of the matter is they should be.

As Scout.com writer Bill Shanks opines, the Braves’ trade history suggests they are looking to restock on young pitching.

That is a smart idea, given that in 2015 Atlanta starters went 45-67. The rotation allowed the fourth-most runs per game in MLB at 4.69.

After trading the Upton brothers last offseason and now Simmons, a complete fire sale is almost necessary at this point. 

In the video from MLB Network’s Hot Stove above, Rosenthal discusses how a potential Freeman trade has been the talk of the Arizona Fall League.

“I had a club official say to me that everyone earning money with the Braves is in play,” Rosenthal said. “Based on what they’ve done so far, trading Simmons, I would certainly assume they would be willing to trade others.”

Beyond Freeman, pitcher Julio Teheran is one player rumored to be available in the coming weeks.

San Diego Padres

Denis Poroy/Getty Images

As mentioned in a previous piece, the Padres have been insanely busy once again. General manager A.J. Preller concluded last week with three trades in three days.

Setup man Joaquin Benoit is gone. Closer Kimbrel is gone.

What makes sense for Preller is to keep going.

Much like the Miami Marlins front office in November 2012, Preller must atone for some of the hasty deals he made last year.

When the big free-agent signings of Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle and others failed to make a difference for the Marlins, they knew they had to reverse course a year later by dumping contracts via trades. 

Now it appears Preller may be doing something similar, as the latest rumors mark Matt Kemp and Tyson Ross as potential trade pieces, per Rosenthal.

A Kemp trade would make sense given his high base salary (not all of which will be paid by the Padres) next season and his defensive limitations due to a history of knee problems.

Oakland Athletics

With the lowest total payroll in the majors this offseason, it is no surprise that signing lots of players via free agency simply doesn’t make sense for the Athletics.

As always, look for the A’s to get creative in order to improve their club. Whether that means trades or international signings is not clear at this point, but reports indicate that Billy Beane and Co. are not entering a full rebuild mode, per MLB.com columnist Tracy Ringolsby's piece.  

On Tuesday, general manager David Forst told MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart the team does not intend to trade staff ace Sonny Gray. 

“We really believe [Sonny’s] here when our next group of players come and when we're back in contention," Forst said.

Forst also added that they are content with their current outfield depth. 

This means they must be aggressive in trading for middle infield help beyond Marcus Semien and Brett Lawrie, who hit .257 and .260, respectively, last year. 

It has also been rumored that Oakland may be looking to trade designated hitter Billy Butler following a disappointing season, per MLB.com Athletics beat writer Jane Lee's offseason preview piece. In his first year as an Athletic, the career .290 hitter managed only a .251 batting average with 15 homers, one of which is shown in the MLB.com video above. 

As Butler is owed $10 million in each of the next two years, this could be a salary dump situation for Oakland and a chance for Butler to rebound with another team.

Minnesota Twins

Following one of the most surprising seasons in franchise history, the Minnesota Twins are in win-now mode. After bidding $12.8 million to negotiate with Korean slugger Byung-ho Park, Minnesota should keep its foot on the accelerator this winter.

One way in which general manager Terry Ryan can make another splash is by trading for pitching.

There have been rumors that Twins third baseman Trevor Plouffe may be attainable via trade, per Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register, and the Angels have been linked in trade talks.

In exchange, the Twins are looking for power pitching, according to Fletcher. Young Angels reliever Cam Bedrosian has caught the Twins eyes. 

As the MLB.com video above shows, Bedrosian can reach 98 mph with his fastball and would provide added stability to the bullpen.

Another hard thrower available is Cincinnati Reds closer Aroldis Chapman, but the asking price may be too high for the youthful Twins.

Philadelphia Phillies

After unloading Cole Hamels at last season’s trade deadline, rumors are now swirling around another Philadelphia Phillies pitcher. Ken Giles, 25, could easily be dealt, per Jake Kaplan of the Philadelphia Inquirer, and right now is the correct time to do so.

Giles’ 1.80 ERA and competitive spirit, on display in the MLB.com video above, could command a couple nice young players in return.

While Philadelphia has an exciting core of offensive players in Maikel Franco, Odubel Herrera, Cameron Rupp and Darin Ruf, some more starting pitching would be nice.

Colorado Rockies

David Zalubowski/Associated Press

Will the Colorado Rockies finally realize that pitching wins championships? Much like the Toronto Blue Jays over the past few years, it’s been puzzling as to why the Rockies haven’t aggressively pursued starting pitching each and every offseason. 

Sure, they play in the hitters’ paradise that is Coors Field. But good pitchers can still succeed there. Just look at what Ubaldo Jimenez did during his 2010 All-Star campaign with the Rockies. That year he was 9-2 with a 3.19 ERA at home.

The good news, depending on where you’re coming from, is that GM Jeff Bridich said he would consider giving up prospects for starting pitching, per Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post.

The Rockies had the worst starting rotation ERA in the majors last season at 5.27.

Meanwhile, the club has made Carlos Gonzalez available in trades, per Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com, and it will be fun to watch whether they can net some big league-ready pitching in return for the smooth-hitting right fielder.

Cincinnati Reds

As expected, the Cincinnati Reds have been receiving plenty of attention around the league since the end of the World Series.

The July trade of Johnny Cueto to the Kansas City Royals signaled a major shift for the franchise—marquee names are on their way out. 

Seemingly every day we get updates on the latest teams interested in the Cuban flamethrower Chapman. As the MLB.com video above shows, Chapman’s ability to strike out opponents is uncanny.

The teams most recently linked to the four-time All-Star include the New York Yankees, the Washington Nationals and the Detroit Tigers. The Arizona Diamondbacks and Blue Jays have shown interest in the past as well, according to MLB Trade Rumors.

Seattle Mariners

Mitchell Layton/Getty Images

The Seattle Mariners have had a series of frustrating years following what have appeared, on paper, to be productive offseasons. So what will be different about this one, you may ask?

Well, look for the Mariners to potentially reel back their spending a little and instead pursue trade routes to improve their club. 

After committing $240 million to Robinson Cano in 2013 and $57 million to Nelson Cruz two years later, the Mariners have little to show for it.

As speculated, the fact that they have traded Logan Morrison to the Tampa Bay Rays for two pitchers and an outfielder meant that more deals were to follow for GM Jerry Dipoto. 

On Monday, Dipoto started the week off right by acquiring outfielder Leonys Martin from the Texas Rangers for reliever Tom Wilhelmsen, according to the Associated Press, via ESPN.com.

If the club is unable to re-sign Hisashi Iwakuma in free agency, then Dipoto could pick up the phone and strike a trade for multiple arms. As mentioned above, the past few years have been disappointing. It’s time for the M’s to be aggressive.

Chicago White Sox

The situation for the Chicago White Sox is not much different than that of the Mariners. After signing a bunch of free agents last offseason all at once, the South Siders finished the 2015 campaign with a record of 76-86.

Now, the front office may be weary of spending. While starting pitcher Chris Sale is not likely available on the trade market, per Dan Hayes of CSNChicago.com, there are other pieces the White Sox may look to move instead, potentially out of the bullpen. 

The White Sox have needs at shortstop, second base and third base, as touched on by MLB.com columnist Anthony Castrovince in the video above. Trading an established arm such as David Robertson could net them some talent.

Milwaukee Brewers

John Minchillo/Associated Press

Similar to the Reds, the Milwaukee Brewers were highly active on the trade front during the 2015 regular season. The Mike Fiers and Carlos Gomez trade now presents holes in both the rotation and the outfield.

Since the Brewers are rebuilding, don’t expect them to be big spenders in free agency, according to MLB.com’s Carrie Muskat and Adam McCalvy. Instead, new GM David Stearns will most likely go with internal options such as Domingo Santana for the outfield.

As for the hole at third base, look for Milwaukee to either make a trade or sign an affordable free agent with a good glove.

In any case, expect some growing pains ahead for Craig Counsell as he deals with what could be a very limited offensive lineup.