MLB Trade Rumors: Predicting Where 15 Hot Names Will Land

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The 2010 MLB Trade Deadline is just two weeks away. Rumors have abounded about deals involving everyone from established stars to this season's breakouts to low-key role players.

In anticipation of the ratcheting up of the trade buzz, Bleacher Report's Featured Columnists took a poll asking where each of 27 oft-discussed names will be playing come August 1st.

I picked out the 15 players who had the most interesting predictions to be featured in this slideshow. For each player, I have included the full results of where we thought he'd go, and a different writer submitted an explanation of why he or she thinks the trade would work out.

Before you eviscerate anyone for suggesting Texas pursue another starting pitcher, please keep in mind that the poll was conducted before the Rangers' shocking acquisition of Cliff Lee.

Thanks to everyone who participated, and enjoy the results!

Note: I sent this survey only to the Featured Columnists who have been active in previous polls. If you are a new FC or you have changed your mind about wanting to participate, send me a message and I'll be sure to keep you in the loop for next time!

Roy Oswalt

Texas Rangers—4
Los Angeles Dodgers—2
New York Mets—2
New York Yankees—2
Minnesota Twins—1
Philadelphia Phillies—1
St. Louis Cardinals—1
Houston Astros—4

Reminder: This poll was conducted before the Rangers acquired Cliff Lee

Why Oswalt will go to the Rangers by Steve Keegan

If Texas could manage to land an elite pitcher of Oswalt’s caliber, they would automatically lock up the West and be in a great position to go all the way. Their four top starters would be able to match up with any rotation in baseball come playoff time—especially with the electric offense that would accompany them.

It hurts me to say the West would be lost if that trade happened, but I can’t see how the Angels would be able to overcome that. Perhaps the Angels should be making a trade for Oswalt before Texas does.

Prince Fielder

Boston Red Sox—1
San Francisco Giants—1
Milwaukee Brewers—15

Why Fielder will go to the Red Sox by Todd Hayek

Fielder in Boston would add a huge bat to the offense and would give the team a lot of flexibility in the lineup, especially with the rash of injuries recently.

Kevin Youkilis has played 1B, 3B, 2B and OF before so he can be put anywhere on the field to keep his bat in the lineup. Second base would be a great place for him to occupy while Pedroia recovers. Bill Hall would play left field. Ortiz would be the full-time DH. Fielder would be at first base.

Once Pedroia comes back, Youk would be a super-utility player at all four positions, spelling Beltre, Fielder, Pedroia, Ortiz, and Hall.

Dan Uggla

Colorado Rockies—4
San Francisco Giants—3
Detroit Tigers—1
New York Mets—1
Florida Marlns—8

Why Uggla will go to the Rockies by Matt Esposito

Deadlocked in a standings battle with the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres, the Colorado Rockies are looking to recover from the loss of shortstop Troy Tulowitzki. Acquiring a power-hitting second baseman like Dan Uggla will allow a productive Clint Barmes to shift back over to his natural position at shortstop.

Uggla would replace the pop in the lineup that Tulo would usually provide, and with all of Uggla’s power, he could rack up a few more home runs by playing at Coors Field on a regular basis.

The Rockies have minor league pitching like Christian Friedrich that they could potentially offer up for Uggla’s bat, a deal that would help push their lineup back over the edge.

Adam Dunn

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim—2
Chicago White Sox—1
Colorado Rockies—1
Washington Nationals—13

Why Dunn will go to the White Sox by Cameron Britt

With Jake Peavy going down, it seems as if an upgrade to the offense (which ranks 21st in runs scored in baseball) might be the most important area to upgrade for the South-Siders.

A recent hot streak has re-energized playoff hopes for the ChiSox and there may be a willingness to part with some bigger prospects (the Nats won’t be taking a small return for a half-season of Dunn) of the Tyler Flowers, Brent Morel, or Clevelan Santeliz variety.

If the Sox want to contend with the Twins and Tigers down the stretch, a move will probably be necessary—and Dunn could be difference.

Kelly Johnson

Philadelphia Phillies—6
Boston Red Sox—2
Chicago White Sox—2
Los Angeles Dodgers—1
New York Mets—1
St. Louis Cardinals—1
Arizona Diamondbacks—4

Why Johnson will go to the Red Sox by Bob Warja

Kelly Johnson to the Red Sox makes sense in that the Sox lack quality veteran help in the infield. This is particularly visible now, with Dustin Pedroia on the shelf until August.

His contract is reasonable and he is only signed through this season, making him even more attractive to a contending club like Boston. Plus, Johnson is the type of player the Sox like – disciplined, draws walks and is showing unusual power (his SLG is about 55 points higher than his career average).

His home and road splits are a concern, but Fenway is a great hitters park and with the D-Backs going nowhere and the Sox with a surplus of young pitching, why not?

Corey Hart

Atlanta Braves—6
San Diego Padres—2
Milwaukee Brewers—9

Why Hart will go to the Braves by Cameron Britt

The Braves are almost frantically seeking a right-handed power bat and the Brewers aren’t really going to be competing in 2010.

Corey Hart fits the bill, and the Braves have pieces like LHP Mike Minor, RHP Randall Delgado, OF Cody Johnson, C Christian Bethancourt (sic), and a slew of other prospects throughout their system that would all be appealing to a rebuilding Milwaukee club, there seems to be a fit.

Even with other options on the market, Hart’s ability to play center (he’s excelled in limited time) could persuade the Braves to pony up to the Brewers’ demands.

Dan Haren

St. Louis Cardinals—5
Atlanta Braves—1
Boston Red Sox—1
Los Angeles Angels—1
Los Angeles Dodgers—1
Minnesota Twins—1
New York Mets—1
Arizona Diamondbacks—6

Why Haren will go to the Cardinals by Samantha Bunten

The Cardinals aren’t exactly desperate for pitching help, but they’re also going into the All-Star break behind Cincinnati in the NL Central, so improving the staff couldn’t hurt.

Haren is an ex-Cardinal who has already stated that he enjoyed playing in St. Louis and wouldn’t mind going back. The Diamondbacks said they would have to be “blown away” to deal Haren, but St Louis owner William Dewitt has reportedly given Cards GM John Mozeliak the go-ahead to do just such a thing for the right starter.

The move would cost them, but if it’s enough of a boost to get them in front of Cincinnati, they’ll pull the trigger.

Austin Kearns

San Francisco Giants—4
San Diego Padres—3
Washington Nationals—2
Boston Red Sox—1
Cincinnati Reds—1
New York Yankees—1
Texas Rangers—1
Cleveland Indians—3

Why Kearns will go to the Padres by Dennis Schlossman

San Diego General Manager Jed Hoyer has stated more than once that one of the missing components of making the Padres a stronger contender is a well-rounded hitter in the outfield.

Despite the speculation of limited funds, Hoyer says they have payroll flexibility, and Austin Kearns of the Cleveland Indians fits the bill perfectly; Kearns’ current $750,000 annual salary should be no problem for San Diego to fit into their current budget structure.

Looking towards the future, Cleveland wants to rebuild with youth. San Diego would have no problem moving a couple prospects off the farm to get another potent bat in the lineup.

Ty Wigginton

Philadelphia Phillies—4
New York Yankees—3
St. Louis Cardinals—2
Boston Red Sox—1
Colorado Rockies—1
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim—1
Tampa Bay Rays—1
Baltimore Orioles—4

Why Wigginton will go to the Phillies by Asher Chancey

It has been a topsy-turvy year for the Phillies and their Hall of Fame infield. First Jimmy Rollins missed most of the first half of the season with calf injury, and Chase Utley will be out until at least August with a thumb ligament issue.

What this has meant, to this point, is that Wilson Valdez has been getting serious playing time, and this can’t stand.

Meanwhile, Ty Wigginton has been a super-sub for the lowly Baltimore Orioles, even going to the All-Star game as a utility player.

The Orioles can’t think that Wigginton’s success is anything but fleeting, and the Phillies can’t believe that they’ll make the playoffs with Wilson Valdez in the lineup every day. It is a match made in heaven.

Brett Myers

New York Mets—2
Boston Red Sox—1
Colorado Rockies—1
Detroit Tigers—1
Philadelphia Phillies—1
St. Louis Cardinals—1
Texas Rangers—1
Houston Astros—9

Why Myers will go to the Mets by Thomas Pinzone

If the New York Mets plan on making a postseason run one more quality starter certainly would be a big piece of the puzzle. With their internal options for the fifth spot not panning out, moving for one in a trade seems ideal.

The ideal man to go out and get is Astros starter Brett Myers. He is enjoying one of his better seasons posting a 3.57 ERA and 3.93 FIP. Myers doesn’t strikeout a ton of batters but has decent control walking 3.02 batters per nine.

And this season Myers has cut back on his always problematic home run rate. Moving him to more of a pitcher’s park would further increase his performance this year.

David DeJesus

Boston Red Sox—5
Atlanta Braves—1
Cincinnati Reds—1
New York Yankees—1
Philadelphia Phillies—1
San Diego Padres—1
San Francisco Giants—1
Seattle Mariners—1
St. Louis Cardinals—1
Kansas City Royals—4

Why DeJesus will go to the Red Sox by Lewie Pollis

Injuries have hit Boston hard this year, nowhere moreso than the outfield. A whopping 10 different players have patrolled Fenway’s big green in 2010, including such marquee names as Jeremy Hermida and Jonathan van Every.

Given that David DeJesus’ 2011 option is far from a no-brainer for the Royals, he’d be a great option for the Red Sox to help patch up their roster.

This winter, GM Theo Epstein displayed his affinity for solid defenders who have unsexy and therefore underrated bats. With a 7.3 UZR/150 this season there are no doubts about his glove, and despite having just five homers and 36 RBI, DeJesus has earned an .880 OPS and .375 wOBA—good for 2.7 WAR in just 85 games.

Jake Westbrook

Los Angeles Dodgers—2
Philadelphia Phillies—2
Texas Rangers—2
Chicago White Sox—1
New York Mets—1
New York Yankees—1
Toronto Blue Jays—1
Cleveland Indians—7

Why Westbrook will go to the Dodgers by Dave Hampton

Jake Westbrook will be going to the Dodgers to satisfy their need for reliable starting pitching. He would fortify the middle of the rotation as a solid innings eater, reminiscent of their move to acquire Jon Garland last year from the Diamondbacks.

As a bonus, Westbrook will be reuniting with former teammates Casey Blake, Ron Belliard and Jamey Carroll.

Acquiring Westbrook allows the Dodgers to push rookie John Ely from the rotation, until such time that the other starting pitcher, Vicente Padilla, wears out his welcome (as he has with every other team he has ever pitched for) and gets cut.

Ben Sheets

St. Louis Cardinals—2
Texas Rangers—2
Colorado Rockies—1
Detroit Tigers—1
New York Mets—1
New York Yankees—1
Philadelphia Phillies—1
Oakland Athletics—8

Why Sheets will go to the Cardinals by Lewie Pollis

As a low-budget non-contender, the A’s would love to move Sheets and the roughly $5 million left on his contract before the deadline.

The problem is, Sheets is broken. Once one of the game’s most feared pitchers, he’s posting the worst winning percentage (.333) of his career along with his worst ERA (4.63) and FIP (4.71) since he was a rookie in 2001, and the worst K/9 (6.6) and K/BB (2.0) rates since 2003.

Why, then, should he go to St. Louis? It’s partly because they could use an extra arm in the back of their rotation, but also because he needs to be fixed and no one does that better than Cardinals pitching coach Dave Duncan.

Adam LaRoche

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim—3
Chicago White Sox—2
San Francisco Giants—2
Boston Red Sox—1
Texas Rangers—1
Arizona Diamondbacks—8

Why LaRoche will go to the Angels by Matt Esposito

It is no secret that Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are in dire need of a replacement at first to fill the shoes of Kendry Morales. To contend against the Texas Rangers, the Angels must pick up a power bat for first base.

LaRoche could provide the Angels with power and is currently on a free swinging Arizona Diamondbacks club that really isn’t going anywhere.

The Angels have mid-level infield prospects that they could be open to trading, and the Diamondbacks could inquire about starting pitchers like Sean O’Sullivan, Trevor Reckling, or a handful of other names.

Cliff Lee

It's too late now, but I still thought these results were interesting:

Minnesota Twins—6
New York Mets—5
Cincinnati Reds—2
Atlanta Braves—1
Los Angeles Dodgers—1
New York Yankees—1
Texas Rangers—1 (kudos to Nino Colla for getting this right)

Why Lee will go to the Reds by Dan Tylicki

Lee to the Reds makes sense for three reasons: he’d provide some veteran leadership to a mostly young Reds pitching staff, the Reds have plenty of prospects to make the trade work (i.e. Yonder Alonso), and they can package Aaron Harang to make room and give him a perhaps necessary change of scenery to restart his career.

Why Lee will go to the Mets by Bob Warja

By adding Cliff Lee, the Mets become the favorites in the East. Despite the team’s economic struggles, Lee’s contract is reasonable and even if they don’t re-sign him, he should net a couple of solid draft picks. Jenrry Mejia and Wilmer Flores plus another lesser prospect may do it.