MLB Trade Rumors: Freshest Buzz on Day 2 of 2014 Baseball Winter Meetings

It's Day 2 of the 113th annual winter meetings from San Diego, and it's only a matter of time before the first big splash is made.

The yearly meetings are always a time when big deals are made. Sometimes it's with free agents who find new homes, but these meetings give general managers an opportunity to meet face-to-face with each other for a full week to consummate a trade. Sometimes it's hard to communicate over the phone or via email. There isn't always an opportunity for direct communication.

That opportunity is provided by the winter meetings, and that's why we could see some surprising trades. All it takes is a spark to get something in motion.

There have been plenty of names already tossed around the rumor mill since the end of the 2014 season. Below you'll find fresh updates on a few of the more notable players involved in rumors.

Howie Kendrick

Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press

Given how thin the market for second basemen is in free agency, players like Howie Kendrick have immense value. He's a 31-year-old with a career OPS of .756 who hits both lefties (.298 career batting average) and righties (.290) well. Plus, he plays good enough defense (career UZR/150 of 5.6, per FanGraphs) to be considered one of the best all-around middle infielders in baseball.

Kendrick often gets overlooked because of his rather pedestrian marks all across the board. He has never hit more than 18 home runs in a season, and he has never knocked in more than 75 runs (twice). That said, he has never posted an average below .279 and averages 180 hits per 162 games.

Naturally, these numbers have enticed teams in need of help up the middle. Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal tweets that the Los Angeles Angels don't want to move him, though:

The Angels struggled offensively at times last season. The main culprit was Josh Hamilton, as Rosenthal pointed out. He hit just .263/.331/.414 with 10 homers and 44 RBI in 89 games. Signed to be a middle-of-the-order bat, he has largely disappointed in two seasons with the Halos.

That makes Kendrick all the more valuable to his current team. He had the second-highest WAR on the Angels last season, per FanGraphs, and that type of production is hard to replace—especially at second base.

It's hard to imagine the Angels refraining from making a trade if they are blown away by the offer, but something like that probably isn't in the cards. Kendrick is only under contract for the upcoming season at $9.5 million. The affordable price tag is attractive, but with no longevity guaranteed, any team trading for him would be reluctant to move top talent.

In all likelihood, Kendrick will be an Angel come spring training. If the team is out of contention by the July 31 trade deadline, then a trade could be explored more seriously. For now, the team shouldn't move one of their most consistent players of the past decade.

Starlin Castro

Nam Y. Huh/Associated Press

Similar to the market for second basemen, there aren't many impact shortstops available via free agency.

Asdrubal Cabrera, Everth Cabrera, Stephen Drew and Jed Lowrie currently headline those without a home for 2015. While not necessarily bad players, they aren't exactly players who are guaranteed upgrades over current in-house candidates for most teams.

This deficiency in the market led the New York Yankees to trade for Didi Gregorius. Several other teams could look to other organizations as well.

One shortstop who won't be moved, however, is Starlin Castro of the Chicago Cubs. CBS Sports' Jon Heyman tells us that "the Cubs informed the Mets, the Yankees (before they acquired Didi Gregorius) and other teams that Castro won't be going anywhere. So expect no Castro talk."

To add to that report, Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times told his followers that the Cubs even reached out to Castro directly:

It's not a surprise to hear that teams covet the 24-year-old. He made his third All-Star team in 2014, finishing the year with a career-high .777 OPS and 154 hits in 134 games.

One would have thought that the Cubs would consider moving Castro given their wealth of middle-infield talent—Javier Baez, Addison Russell and Arismendy Alcantara are all young players with high upside. But it's hard to fault them for choosing to hang on to a proven producer at the plate.

Teams like the New York Mets will now be forced to look elsewhere. Then again, there aren't many options. Newsday's Marc Carig tweeted about how difficult it will be for the Mets to find an upgrade:

With Castro presumably staying put, who will be the next shortstop tossed around the rumor mill? You'll likely hear more than one name during the winter meetings.

Yoenis Cespedes

Patrick Semansky/Associated Press

Even the outfield market is thinning quickly.

Colby Rasmus, Melky Cabrera, Michael Morse and Alex Rios are the only remotely attractive options left, with Cabrera being the clear best player of the bunch. But he might be scooped up fast, as the Seattle Mariners are getting aggressive in their pursuit of the corner outfielder.

We already saw Jason Heyward get dealt to the St. Louis Cardinals, and Justin Upton could be on his way out of Atlanta as well. It's clear that there's a market for productive outfielders, and the Boston Red Sox could look to deal from that position of depth in order to make upgrades in other aspects of their roster.

One name to keep an eye on is Yoenis Cespedes. Rosenthal tweeted that the Red Sox and San Diego Padres have already discussed a potential deal:

Cespedes is a quality player (.751 OPS, 100 RBI in 2014), but there's absolutely no way he is worth much more than Ian Kennedy. The 29-year-old outfielder is only under control for one more season before he'll hit the free-agent market. It's likely that he only yielded Jon Lester last season because the Red Sox wanted desperately to get value for Lester before he hit the open market this offseason.

Plus, concerns regarding his mentality arose earlier this offseason. Bill Madden of the New York Daily News reported that he didn't make a good impression on the team's coaching staff: "Two other reasons the Red Sox are open to dealing Cespedes are his open disenchantment with Boston and his refusal to pay any heed to their coaches. 'He marches to his own drum and the coaches all hate him,' said a Red Sox insider."

Several Red Sox reps later disputed Madden's report.

There's a distinct chance here that the Red Sox are undervaluing Kennedy's 2014 campaign. Pitching for the offensively limited Padres, the 29-year-old (who turns 30 on Dec. 19) went 13-13 with a 3.63 ERA (3.21 FIP) and a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 2.96 in 201 innings.

FanGraphs gives him a 2.9 WAR for his production, higher than any starting pitcher currently on the team's roster. It should be noted that Lester posted a 4.5 WAR with the team before being traded to the Oakland Athletics midseason, however.

Transitioning from the National League West to the American League East is a tough switch for a pitcher, and his brief tenure with the Yankees from 2007 to 2009 shouldn't even be brought up as an argument against a potential trade. He has grown immensely as a pitcher since then.

In short, the Sox should really accept a deal of this magnitude if the rumor is true. With a surplus of outfielders and a dearth of starting pitchers, Boston isn't in a position to be overly picky.

Follow Kenny DeJohn on Twitter: @kennydejohn