MLB Trade Rumors: Analyzing Buzz on Josh Hamilton, Justin Upton and More

Major League Baseball teams celebrate the holiday season similarly to how the rest of us do. Their shopping starts, for the most part, in early December, and they continue to explore their options the rest of the month. 

When the big move happens, fans and front office personnel celebrate their newest toy. The magic of sports is that the celebration doesn't last one day but continues until the games start. When the regular season gets underway, it's a different kind of joy when you watch your team win. 

Before we get to spring training in two months, teams are still busy working the phones to make sure they have exhausted every possible trade option to ensure they are putting the best 25-man roster together that will help them win in 2015 or in the future. 

Here are the latest trade rumors that could have a profound impact on the races next season if they come to fruition. 

Josh Hamilton Moving Out of L.A.?

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When the Angels signed Josh Hamilton for five years and $125 million in December 2012, there were obvious questions about how someone with a troubled past like his would handle a new environment and more money than he had ever seen. 

The good news is there haven't been any reported incidents for Hamilton since joining the Angels. From a professional standpoint, though, the deal quickly turned into an albatross that Los Angeles would have a hard time getting away from. 

According to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports, the Angels are at least talking about moving Hamilton at some point:

"

The Angels, according to major-league sources, have discussed a possible Hamilton trade with at least two teams this offseason, the Rangers and the Padres.

The talks were exploratory in nature; they did not gain traction, and the Angels did not contact Hamilton about waiving his no-trade clause, sources said.

"

Hamilton played in 151 games two years ago, the second most in his career, but set career worsts for batting average (.250), on-base percentage (.307) and OPS (.739). He was injured in 2014, playing in just 89 games, but did raise his on-base percentage 24 points and average 13 points. 

Those numbers still aren't good enough to justify the $90.2 million Hamilton is guaranteed through 2017, at which time he will be 36 years old. 

Give the Angels credit for exploring their options, particularly with Texas. The Rangers know Hamilton as well as any organization and could use another outfielder/designated hitter next season, but Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com reported those conversations were over nearly as fast as they started:

Rosenthal led his report by saying that a scout he converses with often was predicting that Hamilton "would not open the season as a member of the Angels." 

Many strange things happen in baseball, but that's an optimistic projection considering everything working against Hamilton. He's an old 33, has had problems staying healthy throughout his career, has years of declining performance and is still owed a ton of money. 

Unless the Angels want to kick in a vast sum of what Hamilton is owed to a potential trade partner, there's no way he will be playing somewhere else when spring training starts in February. 

Braves Still Getting Interest in Justin Upton

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If you are familiar with the butterfly effect—the actual theory, not the awful Ashton Kutcher movie—you know that one small change in the most mundane item in one part of the world can have a full-scale negative impact on a large scale. 

That's an overly dramatic way of saying the Braves may have gone into a panic upon seeing the San Diego Padres reportedly acquire Wil Myers in a three-team, 11-player trade on Wednesday, according to ESPN's Jim Bowden:

According to Mark Bowman of MLB.com, the Braves are still getting a lot of interest around the league in Justin Upton:

The Padres were rumored to have significant interest in Justin Upton. Rosenthal reported on December 14 that "one rival executive says the Pads are 'all over' Upton." 

However, the acquisition of Myers may have put a dent in Atlanta's potential dealings with the Padres. Then again, maybe it didn't. 

Matt Kemp still hasn't officially been traded to the Padres, as Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported the physical raised some red flags:

The deal involving Kemp between the Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers was first reported by Nightengale on December 11. It's not like there is a game tomorrow that increases the urgency to get a deal done, but seven days is a long time without a completed deal after it was reportedly agreed upon. 

If the Padres decide to back out of the Kemp deal, which hasn't happened yet, that gives the Braves another potential trade partner for Upton. 

Without the Padres, despite Bowman's report, it's hard to figure out where Atlanta could find a potential trade partner for Upton. 

Seattle seemed like a logical destination, but all the discussion around the Mariners and Upton has been more speculation than reported interest. It also doesn't help that the Mariners have already signed Nelson Cruz and acquired Justin Ruggiano from Chicago in a trade on Wednesday. 

The Braves don't have a lot of time to waste if they want to trade Upton. His value decreases dramatically once the regular season starts because that's one less game a new team can control him. San Diego would seem to hold all the cards, depending on what happens with Kemp. 

Padres Not Done Dealing Regardless...

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Speaking of the Padres, while their offseason will be defined largely by what happens with Kemp, there may be some other deals coming. 

According to Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports, there's no way the Padres can stand pat because of how many outfielders they could end up having:

Backing up that report, ESPN's Jerry Crasnick noted that Seth Smith appears to be a name of interest worth watching:

That's certainly not a deal at the level of Kemp or Upton, but at least the Padres are able to trade from a position of excess to upgrade other needs they have. 

Smith is also an underrated bat who could slot in nicely with a lot of lineups around the league. Playing his home games at Petco Park last year, the 32-year-old posted a strong .266/.367/.440 slash line with 48 extra-base hits and 69 walks in 443 at-bats. 

He's also cheap, guaranteed $12.75 million through 2016 with a $7 million team option for 2017, so there should be a lot of interest. 

It's already been an interesting offseason for San Diego, and there's going to be a lot more action before the Padres open camp. 

Stats and contract info via Baseball-Reference.com 

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