MLB Trade Rumors: Breaking Down Buzz on David Price, Justin Upton and More

As all 30 Major League Baseball teams and countless executives prepare to converge on San Diego for the 2014 winter meetings, the rumors and speculation about potential trades are going to increase. It's already started to happen with some huge names reportedly drawing interest. 

Unlike past years, where there's been a lot of smoke and no fire, this winter feels different. Some of the top teams are being forced to make moves, either for financial reasons or because they're trying to get younger or both. As a result, that makes this offseason more interesting.

Teams are always cautious when making deals, as opposed to signing a free agent, because you have to give up more. Instead of just handing over cash and a roster spot in free agency, trades require a team to send something of value back. 

Under the right circumstances, teams will find even ground to balance both of their needs in order to consummate a trade. With the names being bantered about, that shouldn't be too hard. Let's examine the latest trade chatter. 

Tigers Losing Two Cy Young Winners?

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The Detroit Tigers are facing one of the most interesting dilemmas that no one seems to be talking about. It's clear the team still thinks of itself as a contender with the re-signing of Victor Martinez for four years, but the Tigers' window is closing quickly with most of their core players on the wrong side of 30 (Martinez, Miguel Cabrera, Justin Verlander). 

Max Scherzer, who turned 30 in July, is a free agent, and his future destination isn't clear at this point. Now, Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports is reporting that David Price is one of two Tigers starters drawing trade interest:

"

Sources: #Tigers drawing strong interest in Price, Porcello. Both entering FA years, as are Zimmermann, Samardzija, etc. All still in play.

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 4, 2014"

If there's a scenario in which the Tigers do trade Price, that could leave them with a rotation of Verlander, Rick Porcello (if he isn't traded) and Anibal Sanchez in the top three spots. Verlander had the worst season of his career last year and is one year older now. Porcello is a solid starter but a step down from Price and Scherzer.

Sanchez isn't going to be as good as he was in 2013 again, leading the American League with a 2.57 ERA and striking out 202 hitters in 182 innings. He's also been injury prone recently, making less than 30 starts in each of the last two years. 

However, the Tigers could be playing a game with everyone. Jason Beck of MLB.com noted that if the Tigers are going to trade Price or Porcello, it will likely only happen because the team has managed to re-sign Scherzer:

"Trading David Price or Rick Porcello entering their contract year for (Yoenis) Cespedes entering his contract year could be a match," Beck wrote. "Any such deal, however, hinges on the Tigers first bringing back Scherzer or adding another starter. Either way, it could take a while."

That makes it seem unlikely the Tigers will lose two of the three Cy Young winners who comprised their rotation in the second half of 2014. Price may not fetch as much of a return in a trade as one might suspect, just as Tampa Bay seemed to take a lesser deal when it shipped Price to Detroit just prior to the July 31 trade deadline. 

The problem, as Beck wrote, is Price will be a free agent after 2015 and is projected to make $18.9 million through arbitration, according to Tim Dierkes of MLBTradeRumors.com.

While Price's projected salary is fair for a proven No. 1 starter, it's still expensive for the small- and mid-market teams that also don't want to give up the prospects necessary to acquire a starting pitcher for one season. 

As things stand, don't expect Price to go anywhere unless the Tigers feel good about Scherzer coming back and are able to get a nice deal for the 2012 Cy Young winner. 

Nick Markakis as an Insurance Policy

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One of the most puzzling moves of the offseason came courtesy of the Atlanta Braves, who agreed to a four-year deal with Nick Markakis, according to Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports:

What made the move strange is Markakis' middling offensive performance, including a .276/.342/.386 slash line last year, and the Braves' currently overcrowded outfield that features the already overpaid B.J. Upton, soon-to-be free agent Justin Upton and on-base-percentage-averse Evan Gattis. 

However, based on a report by Jon Heyman of CBS Sports, Markakis' signing could be a precursor move to the Braves dealing Upton:

The Braves were having a good offseason prior to the Markakis signing, acquiring Shelby Miller and Tyrell Jenkins from St. Louis for Jason Heyward. It's not even that Markakis is a bad player, but the lack of power for a corner outfielder who signed a four-year deal is not likely to end well. 

Upton does provide plenty of power—he hit 56 homers in two years with Atlanta—and will be an attractive commodity on the trade market. The Braves face the same dilemma with Upton that the Tigers have with Price, meaning he's an expensive ($14.5 million) player on the brink of free agency after 2015. 

Dave Cameron of FanGraphs may have found a trade scenario that works for the Braves, based on recent moves:

The Mariners are trying build a team capable of winning now but are still lacking at least one hitter in the lineup to complement Robinson Cano and Kyle Seager.

Nelson Cruz has power but is also 34 and hit closer to his career numbers in the second half last year (.249/.306/.463, per Baseball-Reference.com) after his white-hot start to the season. 

Upton has age (27) and a history of getting on base to support his power that Cruz can't match. He doesn't seem to have a long shelf life in Atlanta any more given the direction of the franchise, so it's only a matter of the front office finding the right trade partner. 

Athletics Going to Keep Dealing

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It seems like the Oakland Athletics are going to enter 2015 with an offense worse than the one that ended last year, which is hard to fathom after they scored 263 runs (3.9 per game) in 67 games in the second half, via Baseball-Reference.com. 

General manager Billy Beane has already traded All-Star third baseman Josh Donaldson to Toronto. His next move, according to ESPN's Jayson Stark, is likely to involve first baseman Brandon Moss:

As Stark also mentioned, there are rumblings in regard to Cleveland inquiring about Moss' availability. John Hickey of Bay Area News Group was the first to report about the Indians' interest:

Moss would be an upgrade for the Indians, who could use the 25 home runs he hit last year in the middle of their lineup. He also comes with the benefit of team control, not being a free agent until after 2016, though there should be some concern about his health after undergoing offseason hip surgery. 

Of course, an optimist will point out that Moss was able to hit 25 home runs playing most of his games in spacious O.co Coliseum. Moving him out of there could increase his power numbers. 

If the plan is for Oakland to get younger and add more talent to its farm system after going all-in to win last year, Moss does make sense as a trade chip. He's 31 years old, and his OPS has gone from .954 in 2012 to .772 last year, per Baseball-Reference.com. 

Beane would do well to trade Moss now while he's still got some value, as opposed to waiting and hoping for a bounce-back season in 2015 that may not come and diminish all of his trade value. 

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