MLB Trade Scenarios: Each Team's Player Already Falling out of Favor

While the 2012 season is only a few weeks old, teams are already beginning to take notice of who isn't on their games.

Some players are struggling due to injury, while others seem to be lackadaisical in their approach.

Some are victims of a numbers game and have been forced into roles that they are not comfortable or happy in.

There are any number of reasons why a player can end up in the proverbial doghouse, and while most will have ample opportunity to work their way out of their respective funks, some are virtual locks to finish the season with a different organization than the one that they started the year with.

Let's take a look at which players need to be putting their best foot forward in the coming weeks to potentially save their jobs.

Arizona Diamondbacks: Josh Collmenter

On Tuesday, Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson was nothing but supportive of struggling starter Josh Collmenter when his name came up in conversation with Arizona Sports 620 AM's Burns and Gumbo:

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"I don't sit here and go 'well, if he doesn't throw good this game he's out of here.' We're not going to be that way, we just don't talk that way. We try and predict success and we're trying to encourage positive thoughts...We've stuck with Colly and we're going to continue to do so."

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After last night's start against the Braves that saw the 26-year-old Collmenter get hit hard, allowing six hits and four earned runs over 5.1 innings pitched, he now sits with a 10.22 ERA and a 1.70 WHIP.

With Trevor Bauer dominating in Double-A and Barry Enright pitching well in Triple-A, it's hard to see how Gibson can continue to trot Collmenter out every fifth day if he continues to get hit hard.

Atlanta Braves: Jair Jurrjens

Jair Jurrjens needed nearly 90 pitches to get through four innings of work against the New York Mets on Wednesday night, yielding seven hits and four earned runs (including a solo shot to Ike Davis) while walking twice as many batters as he struck out.

For the season, Jurrjens has allowed 21 hits (including five home runs) and 12 earned runs over 13.1 innings pitched, walking nine and striking out eight. That translates to an 8.10 ERA and a WHIP of 2.25.

The 26-year-old has lost control over and command of his pitches. While his fastball velocity has been decent in the low 90s, the pitch has lost the late movement that made it effective against major league hitters.

The best possible scenario for Atlanta is to find out that Jurrjens is injured—because if he's not injured, then they have a bigger problem on their hands—a pitcher who's forgotten how to pitch and one who has no value to other teams should they try to move him at the deadline.

Baltimore Orioles: Kevin Gregg and Mark Reynolds

In what should come as no surprise to anyone, the Orioles have had their fill of both Kevin Gregg and Mark Reynolds and are eager to move both players and their salaries for the 2012 season.

Gregg, 33, was Baltimore's closer for the first half of 2011 before ultimately losing the job to Jim Johnson. Making $5.8 million this season, Gregg has been atrocious in four games for the Orioles, posting a 9.64 ERA, 2.79 WHIP, allowing eight hits and five walks over 4.2 innings pitched.

Reynolds, 28, has been equally as atrocious for the Orioles. He's a defensive liability at third base and his power, which is really the only redeeming quality he has as a player, has seemingly disappeared. What he does have is a strikeout rate of nearly 42 percent, with 15 whiffs in 36 at-bats.

The Orioles might be able to find a taker for Gregg, given the bullpen issues that are popping up around the league. It's highly doubtful that anyone will take Reynolds off of their hands, and it's entirely possible that, at some point, the team decides to release him.

Boston Red Sox: Jarrod Saltalamacchia

Now with his third major league team in six years, 26-year-old Jarrod Saltalamacchia is running out of time to live up to the considerable hype that surrounded him as a prospect with the Atlanta Braves.

Since being acquired by the Red Sox at the 2010 trade deadline, Saltalamacchia has been miserable at the plate, posting a batting line of .221/.283/.430 with 17 home runs and 59 RBI while striking out 32 percent of the time.

Thus far in 2012, he's been even worse, hitting .080/.148/.240 with a home run (one of his two hits on the season), two RBI and striking out 28 percent of the time.

Red Sox catching prospect Ryan Lavarnway isn't tearing the cover off of the ball in Triple-A, but he's playing well enough (.267/.400/.422) to supplant Saltalamacchia as Boston's starting catcher.

Unless Saltalamacchia can turn things around quickly, Lavarnway could be taking over in Boston by Memorial Day, if not earlier.

Chicago Cubs: Marlon Byrd

The subject of trade speculation going back to last season, to say that Marlon Byrd has been struggling so far in 2012 would be an understatement.

Byrd, 34, is hitting .081 with three hits in 37 at-bats. He has struggled to hit the ball out of the infield on most nights, and his strikeout rate of 24 percent is the highest of his career.

Cubs manager Dale Sveum isn't going to rush to judgement on Byrd after only a handful of games, but he's not going to give him a few months to get out of his funk. “He will go out there, and [we will] see what happens after 100 or so at-bats,” Sveum told Doug Padilla of ESPNChicago.com.

If Byrd continues to struggle, it's feasible that the Cubs will promote prospect Brett Jackson to replace him in the starting lineup at the end of this month, though the team likely prefers keeping Jackson in the minors until mid-to-late June to assure that Jackson wouldn't qualify for "super two" status in 2014.

Chicago White Sox: Gordon Beckham

We looked at Gordon Beckham last week as someone who would benefit from a change of scenery, and not much has changed since then.

Future Hall of Famer and White Sox legend Frank Thomas sat down with JJ Stankevitz of CSNChicago.com to analyze what was going on with Beckham's swing. It didn't take Thomas long to figure it out:

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"There's too much going on. His approach right now, he wants to hit the ball really bad and he's fighting himself. He has the bat waggling, he's worried about this thing now getting his foot down before the pitch comes. That's causing him to be late on a 90 mile per hour fastball."

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Entering Wednesday night's game against the Baltimore Orioles, Beckham had three hits on the season, good enough for a .103 average. He went 2-for-4 in Wednesday's game, raising his average to .152 and picking up his first RBI of the season.

The White Sox and Blue Jays had discussed a deal involving Beckham back in December, and it's possible that the White Sox could look to move the talented but struggling infielder should he not be able to get back on track.

Cincinnati Reds: Homer Bailey

You have to figure that there are two reasons Homer Bailey continues to be trotted out every fifth day by Dusty Baker.

First, Bailey is out of minor league options, which means that he'd have to be exposed to waivers to get sent down. Chances are that a team would take a flier on Bailey, seeing as how he doesn't turn 26 until next month.

Second, the Reds bullpen is something of a mess, and Aroldis Chapman, who I'd argue is the Reds' best starting pitcher, is one of the few working pieces late in games.

But how long can the Reds seriously continue to allow Bailey to put the team behind early in games?

In his two starts this season, Bailey has been hittable and unable to command his pitches. Over the 80 starts that he's made for the Reds over his career, his numbers are pretty awful—a 4.91 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP.

Sooner or later, Dusty Baker is going to have to make the move that should have been made awhile ago: Chapman to the rotation in place of Bailey.

For as important as a strong bullpen is, having a starter who can get you deep into games without giving up the farm is even more important, and Bailey may be best served by a change of scenery and a fresh start with another team.

Cleveland Indians: Matt LaPorta

Matt LaPorta fell out of favor with the Indians back in spring training, and he finds himself in Triple-A to start the season.

Even with his replacement, Casey Kotchman, off to a bad start, LaPorta is unlikely to get another shot at winning the first base job for the Indians and is a likely trade candidate as the season progresses.

How LaPorta performs in Triple-A is unlikely to affect his value—like Travis Snider in Toronto, he has nothing left to prove in the minors.

A fresh start with a new team makes sense for the player who was once the centerpiece of the trade that sent CC Sabathia from Cleveland to Milwaukee.

Colorado Rockies: Dexter Fowler

When is Dexter Fowler going to put it all together?

Coming up as a hyped prospect, Fowler was supposed to be a combination of power and speed that would be a stud playing in Coors Field.

Instead of a complete package, we've seen bits and pieces of his talents over the past three seasons, but never all of his tools at the same time.

This year, Fowler is on pace to shatter his career high of six home runs, sitting with two long balls after 12 games. But he's hitting .216 and his defense, which has been average at best, is suffering due to his apparent lack of urgency or really caring about making plays in the outfield.

Fowler needs to start playing more like a major league outfielder and less like Willie Mays Hayes from Major League before he finds himself on the bench or another team altogether.

Detroit Tigers: Ryan Raburn

Sooner or later, something is going to have to give with the second base situation in Detroit.

Fans have called for Brandon Inge to be let go for over a year. Ramon Santiago isn't anything more than a utility player, and Ryan Raburn is a left fielder who can play second base—sort of.

Simply put, Rayburn is a below-average fielder at any of the positions he plays on the field, and his saving grace, his bat, has been non-existent thus far. Entering Thursday night's games, Rayburn is 3-for-37 (.190) with a .108 on-base percentage and one RBI.

The Tigers have enough offense and pitching to cover up their deficiencies at second base for the time being, but they'll likely need to address the situation before the playoffs start.

Houston Astros: Carlos Lee

Carlos Lee isn't falling out of favor in Houston because of something that he's done. He's simply not part of the future.

Lee, who turns 36 in June, is due $18.5 million this season, which will be a major impediment to Astros GM Jeff Luhnow trying to move him at the deadline, even if the Astros agree to pick up a sizable portion of his remaining salary.

Lee waived his 10-and-5 rights when he signed a six-year contract with the Astros in 2006, instead opting for a full no-trade clause through 2010 and a limited no-trade clause in 2011 and 2012. Lee can block a deal to 14 teams this summer, though which teams they are, remain unknown.

It would behoove Lee to accept a deal elsewhere where he could join a more competitive lineup given the relatively weak group of first basemen who will be free agents after this season. Lee would likely stand out above players like James Loney, Aubrey Huff and Adam LaRoche.

Kansas City Royals: Nobody

Royals GM Dayton Moore has built the Royals exactly how he wanted to, and in doing so has a roster full of young talent, most of whom are under team control for the foreseeable future.

With a minor league system that still has considerable talent on the way—specifically outfielders Wil Myers and Bubba Starling along with starters Mike Montgomery and Jake Odorizzi—Moore could conceivably look to move one of his reasonably priced veterans later this year.

The likely candidates would be starter Bruce Chen or outfielder Jeff Francoeur, though neither would bring back much in the way of impact players, and any moves Moore makes along those lines will likely be predicated on the continued development of the four previously named prospects.

Los Angeles Angels: Bobby Abreu and Vernon Wells

Bobby Abreu and Vernon Wells will make a combined $30 million in 2012.

They'll make that money, not earn it, as their play surely is not worthy of such hefty salaries.

Abreu, 38, was the subject of trade talks with multiple teams at various times during the offseason, only to have talks fall apart over which team was responsible for how much of the $9 million he is due this year.

Even with his putrid performance so far in 2012: 3-for-17, good enough for a .176 average with no power and three RBI, Abreu still has some value to a contender who needs a veteran bat in their lineup.

Wells, on the other hand, is the immovable object. Due $21 million each of the next three years, the 33-year-old's awful 2011 season has carried over into 2012.

Over his past 143 regular season games, Wells has posted a batting line of .220/.248/.416 with 28 home runs and 71 RBI. Did I mention that he's making $21 million a year?

Ideally, the Angels would love to move both veterans so that they have room for Mike Trout, a player who at some point this season is going to force the Angels to make Wells the most expensive fourth outfielder in the history of the game.

Realistically, Abreu has a far better chance of being dealt away.

Los Angeles Dodgers: James Loney

Last week, Dodgers manager Don Mattingly spoke with Steve Dilbeck of the LA Times and was honest in his assessment of James Loney:

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“My biggest concern with James right now is that he starts panicking and trying to do something different, because right now I feel like he’s swinging the bat all right. The way he looked in spring training is the same way he looks right now, the same way he looked at the end of last year. To me his at-bats have been OK. He’s hit some balls on the nose. He’s not crushing balls into the gap or anything, [but] he’s hit some balls square. At this point I’m OK with James.”

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The three words that stick out—"at this point."

Mattingly isn't going to give Loney a long leash. Twice already this season Loney has been benched in favor of Juan Rivera at first base against lefty starters, with Jerry Hairston taking over in left field.

After starting the season 0-for-16, Loney has started to swing well, putting together a 6-for-19 run over the past six games.

That being said, if Jerry Sands can re-discover his swing in Triple-A and Loney gets back into a funk, I don't think you could rule out a Rivera/Loney platoon at first with Sands taking over in left.

Miami Marlins: Chris Coghlan

It wasn't that long ago that Chris Coghlan was named National League Rookie of the Year, but it sure seems like it was.

With Giancarlo Stanton and Logan Morrison battling balky knees since spring training, Coghlan was expected to be able to contribute when he's in the lineup replacing one of them.

Instead, Coghlan has gone 3-for-21 with a double, three RBI and two strikeouts—a .143/.143/.190 batting line.

Should Morrison or Stanton miss any significant playing time, at this point the Marlins are going to have to look elsewhere for their replacement unless Coghlan can get himself straightened out at the plate.

Milwaukee Brewers: Nyjer Morgan

Even after he ignored third base coach Ed Sedar's call to stop at third base and after he scored the winning run against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 10th inning on Wednesday, Nyjer Morgan still has work to do if he wants to get out of the doghouse with Brewers fans.

Morgan has five singles in 36 plate appearances, to go along with nine strikeouts, no walks and one stolen base.

To his credit, Morgan is confident that the worst is behind him: "My character is getting tested right now, but I'm still the same person, even though things stink. For sure, I know "Dr. Freeze" ain't going to stay around too much longer."

He'd better hope so.

With fans clamoring to see more of Norichika Aoki and the Brewers off to a slow start, Morgan is going to need to break out his funk shortly or face losing playing time—something that "Plush" isn't likely to take well.

Minnesota Twins: Francisco Liriano

It doesn't matter if you give him a lead, because he'll give it back.

When he does have a good start, he follows it up with an awful one.

If there was a baseball dictionary and you looked up the word "inconsistent," Francisco Liriano's picture would be next to it.

Liriano has yet to go more than four innings in any of his three starts, has given up five earned runs in each and is walking more batters than he strikes out.

Even if he was to be sent to Triple-A, what he did there would do nothing to increase his value, though it might help his confidence.

It might be in the best interest of all parties involved to each go their separate ways.

New York Mets: Jason Bay

Even after going deep and robbing Jack Wilson of a home run on Wednesday, the more things change for Jason Bay, the more they stay the same.

Nursing a jammed finger, Bay is hitting .211/.295/.421 with two home runs, four RBI and expectations for much more.

Whatever the reason, Bay has never looked comfortable wearing a Mets uniform, and between his disastrous performance with the bat and penchant for missing large chunks of time due to injury, Bay likely never will be able to win over the New York crowd.

Which is a shame, because anytime you see his name mentioned in conversations with his former coaches and teammates, nobody has a bad word to say about him—he seems like a genuinely nice guy, and everyone likes to see the nice guy succeed.

The Mets will be hard pressed to find a taker for Bay, and even if they did, the team would likely have to pick up a significant portion of the $49 million he is owed over the next three years, and it's doubtful that the Wilpons would be willing to do so.

New York Yankees: Freddy Garcia and Phil Hughes

Freddy Garcia wasn't originally supposed to be part of the Yankees starting rotation, but with Michael Pineda on the disabled list to start the season, Garcia got the nod.

Over two starts, he has a 6.97 ERA, 1.58 WHIP and allowed 13 hits in 10.1 innings pitched.

While the majority of the Yankees rotation has struggled, Garcia likely has a handful of starts left before Michael Pineda comes off of the disabled list and Andy Pettitte is deemed ready to return to the major leagues.

Hughes on the other hand, is a favorite of GM Brian Cashman's and at only 26-years-old, is unlikely to be headed anywhere anytime soon. Hughes could lose his spot in the rotation to one of the returning players, but then again, he might not.

While his pitching line from Thursday night doesn't look great, having allowed six runs to the Minnesota Twins, only two of those were earned thanks to Eduardo Nunez's inability to field a ground ball. Hughes could find himself in the bullpen or back in Triple-A should the rotation get crowded, but he's unlikely to be headed out of the Bronx.

If Pettitte and Pineda return to the rotation and Hughes winds up in the bullpen, Garcia would be the odd man out with nowhere to pitch, and could find himself elsewhere.

Oakland A's: Coco Crisp

Back in spring training, Coco Crisp told USA Today's Bob Nightengale that he would not have re-signed with Oakland had he known that he'd be playing left field instead of center. He would have signed with Tampa instead.

In retrospect, the A's might have preferred that Crisp went to Tampa, as the 32-year-old has looked lost at the plate with a .156/.208/.156 batting line, three RBI and no extra base hits.

Currently out with the flu, Crisp could be a target for the Boston Red Sox who are looking to add an outfielder to replace the injured Jacoby Ellsbury.

Philadelphia Phillies: Placido Polanco

Phillies manager Charlie Manuel doesn't seem to envision a lineup without Placido Polanco hitting second in comments he made to David Hale of the Asbury Park Press: "“When I go over our lineup, he’s always kind of fit there when he’s been healthy. Polly knows he has to get going.”

Hitting .176 with only one extra base hit, Polanco is seemingly healthy, so injuries can't be blamed for his slow start.

Back in December, when it was uncertain whether the Phillies would re-sign Jimmy Rollins, Jayson Stark of ESPN reported that the team was shopping Polanco around the league with the goal of signing Aramis Ramirez to replace him at third base.

When Ryan Howard returns from the disabled list, it's entirely possible that if Polanco is still struggling, that Ty Wigginton takes over for him at the hot corner, and Polanco is reduced to a reserve role or moved out of Philadelphia altogether.

Pittsburgh Pirates: Pedro Alvarez

Pedro Alvarez has two home runs this season.

Pedro Alvarez has two hits this season.

Take a .074/.107/.296 batting line, throw in 13 strikeouts and below average defense, and you get the player that the Pittsburgh Pirates insist on continuing to trot out to third base every day, regardless of the fact that he's an automatic out and a major liability in the field.

It's unlikely that they could find a taker for Alvarez, but at this point in his career, he's regressed to the point where he's simply not a major league player and should be playing in the minors.

San Diego Padres: Orlando Hudson

Orlando Hudson, 34, is in the second year of a three-year deal with the Padres that pays him $5.5 million in 2012 and either $8 million in 2013 or $2 million as a buyout.

Hitting .143/.163/.190 with one walk and 10 strikeouts on the young season, Hudson has already seen himself benched in favor of 26-year-old Andy Parrino on more than one occasion this season.

With Parrino the apparent future at second base, Orlando Hudson will soon find himself somewhere other than San Diego.

San Francisco Giants: Brandon Belt

For whatever the reason, manager Bruce Bochy and the San Francisco Giants have no idea what to do with their best hitting prospect Brandon Belt.

Belt, who has crushed minor league pitching, simply needs consistent playing time to get into a groove. Yet the Giants insist on playing both Aubrey Huff and Brett Pill at first base in place of the 24-year-old.

Belt, who started the season 1-for-11, has gone 3-for-8 since then, and as the future at first base for the Giants, you'd think that the Giants would allow Belt to work through whatever early season struggles he has.

Instead, Bochy insists on playing the versatile but fading Huff and the middling Pill over Belt on a fairly consistent basis, which simply makes no sense.

Getting out of San Francisco is likely the best thing for Brandon Belt, and perhaps Giants GM Brian Sabean will make that happen should he decide that he needs to acquire another pitcher, either to shore up the rotation or the bullpen, which is now without its closer and leader, Brian Wilson.

Seattle Mariners: Chone Figgins

Back in November, the Mariners let it be known that they were willing to include cash as part of any deal that resulted in Chone Figgins leaving Seattle.

Not surprisingly, they found no takers for a 33-year-old that was coming off of the worst season of his career, hitting .188/.241/.243 in 81 games and who was owed at least $17 million over the next two seasons.

Instead, Figgins began the year leading off for the Mariners, and the results have been better. Figgins is off to a .241/.300/.370 start with four extra base hits and six RBI.

If Figgins can continue to produce at the plate, the Mariners, assuming that they're still willing to include a significant amount of cash in a deal, could finally be able to move Figgins out of town once and for all.

St. Louis Cardinals: Tyler Greene

Tyler Greene is likely to get a proverbial stay of execution with Jon Jay's shoulder injury. Skip Schumaker, due back from the disabled list today, will likely slide into Jay's outfield spot until he can return, leaving Greene and Daniel Descalso to split time at second base.

Greene, 28, is hitting .192/.276/.346 with one home run and four RBI on the season, and his defense isn't anything to get overly excited about.

Entering his fourth season, Greene has a career batting line of .216/.305/.316, all with the Cardinals. He has no discernible power and at this point, he can be classified as a low-end utility player.

The Cardinals have better options in house and can find a more productive, veteran infielder as a free agent—Aaron Miles makes a ton of sense for the defending World Series champions.

Tampa Bay Rays: Joel Peralta

In 2011, Joel Peralta was a highly effective reliever for the Rays, going 3-4 with a 2.93 ERA and 0.92 WHIP with six saves over 64.2 innings pitched.

Right-handed batters hit .218/.283/.435 against him.

Left-handed batters had even less success, posting a .155/.198/.236 batting line against the 35-year-old Peralta.

So far in 2012, Peralta looks like a completely different pitcher, sitting with an ERA of 15.75 and a WHIP of 2.25. Lefties are hitting .333/.400/.889 against him, and Peralta has become a liability on what is otherwise a fairly solid Rays team.

He'll need to get himself straightened out sooner than later, otherwise the Rays will have to consider other options for his spot in the bullpen.

Texas Rangers: Joe Nathan

The Texas Rangers are 11-2 so far in the 2012 season.

Joe Nathan is 0-2 so far in the 2012 season.

That's right, the Rangers closer is responsible for both of the team's losses this season.

Signed to a two-year, $14 million deal (with a $9 million team option for a third year) this past winter, Nathan has been hit-or-miss so far for the Rangers.

He sits with a 5.14 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, three saves and nine strikeouts over seven innings of work.

If Nathan continues to struggle, the Rangers have other options internally, including former starter Alexi Ogando, who could push Nathan out of the closer's role and potentially to another team altogether.

Toronto Blue Jays: J.P. Arencibia

Thankfully for J.P. Arencibia, Blue Jays prospect Travis d'Arnaud is struggling with the bat at Triple-A. If d'Arnaud was hitting well, the clock would be ticking even faster on Arencibia's time as the Blue Jays' starting catcher.

There is no question that Arencibia has a ton of power in his swing—of his 97 hits in 2011, 48 percent of them went for extra bases, including 23 home runs.

But with the power came a .219/.282/.438 batting line, 36 walks and 133 strikeouts.

2012 hasn't gotten off to a better start for him: a line of .111/.158/.222 with one home run, six RBI, one walk and 13 strikeouts.

Sooner or later, he's going to have to prove that he can hit for average in the majors to stick with the Blue Jays. Otherwise, they may look to move him to a team that needs a catcher for the future—like Arizona.

Washington Nationals: Roger Bernadina

Really we could have picked any of the Nationals outfielders aside from Jayson Werth: Rick Ankiel, Bernadina and Xavier Nady.

But Bernadina has gotten the bulk of the playing time in center, and thus far he's been awful at the plate posting a .206/.308/.294 line with three RBI.

Realistically, Bernadina himself knows that he's playing on borrowed time. Bryce Harper will join the Nationals at some point this season and when he does, he'll take Bernadina's job.

Under team control through 2016, Bernadina could find himself headed to a team that needs a decent fourth outfielder once Harper makes his debut.