MLB Trade Ideas Based on Latest News, Rumors and Speculation

With the Cactus and Grapefruit Leagues set to get underway, is there a better time for us to play general manager, formulating deals based on the latest chatter from the rumor mill? I don't think so.

Injuries have already become an issue for some teams, with the Chicago White Sox losing ace Chris Sale to a broken foot and the Toronto Blue Jays without left fielder Michael Saunders, who underwent surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee. But both of those players will be replaced internally (at least for the time being), as neither one is expected to miss a substantial chunk of the regular season.

For other teams, plugging holes that remain unfilled from the offseason or finding a piece that, potentially, could be a better option at a particular position than what they've already got are at the forefront of this week's look at possible trades.

Keep in mind that these deals are independent of each other and pure speculation—in many cases, there's no indication that any of them have actually been discussed between the teams involved. The goal is to keep these trades balanced, with each team ultimately better for having made the swap.

Brad Ziegler Gets Traded to Toronto

Ralph Freso/Getty Images

Blue Jays Get: RP Brad Ziegler

Diamondbacks Get: C Dioner Navarro

Arizona needs a catcher, Toronto needs a reliever. It's a deal that makes almost too much sense to actually happen. 

Brad Ziegler has been a fixture in the D-Backs bullpen for nearly four years and highly effective, pitching to a 2.63 ERA and 1.15 WHIP over nearly 250 relief appearances. The 35-year-old has done it in the American League as well, posting a 2.49 ERA and 1.35 WHIP over 223 appearances for Oakland.

He's the kind of experienced, durable, reliable reliever that Blue Jays manager John Gibbons needs to have at his disposal.

With Arizona in a transitional year and some young relievers knocking on the door, hanging onto a veteran making $5 million in 2015 and with a $5.5 million team option (with a $1 million buyout) for 2016 doesn't make much sense.

Dioner Navarro is also due $5 million in 2015, the final year of his deal, and he wants to spend it somewhere besides Toronto, as he explained to MLB.com's Gregor Chisholm at the start of spring training.

He's not an elite pitch-framer, but Navarro is far from an automatic out at the plate, which is more than any of the catchers with major league experience in camp with the D-Backs can say.

His arrival would let prospect Peter O'Brien continue to hone his skills in the minor leagues until he's ready for prime time, at which point Navarro's prorated contract would be easily movable to a contender looking for another bat or an upgrade behind the plate.

Alex Guerrero Gets Traded to Kansas City

John Locher/Associated Press

Dodgers Get: RP Louis Coleman

Royals Get: IF/OF Alex Guerrero

Thanks to a clause in his contract, Alex Guerrero can block Los Angeles from sending him to the minor leagues as he enters the second year of the four-year, $28 million pact that he signed with the club before last season. And he doesn't plan on returning to Triple-A, as he told MLB.com's Jesse Sanchez:

"

The team does not know what they are going to do, but all I can control is keep working hard and they will get the final word. I don't want to go down. I'm not going down. I feel like I can get better here at this level and play every day. I think that's what every player wants. You want to be in the Major Leagues and play as much as you can.

"

While Sanchez notes that Guerrero will see time at second base, third base and in the outfield this spring, he's a player without a position—or a path to regular playing time in Los Angeles. That's one of the reasons that his agent, Scott Boras, is sure to be urging the Dodgers to trade his client.

The other, as Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal pointed out last August, is this: Guerrero can become a free agent at the end of any year in which he's traded. Have you ever known Boras to delay his clients from hitting the open market?

Obviously, Guerrero is a special case. There are questions about his defense, and his value lies in the hype surrounding his right-handed bat, which produced a .329/.364/.613 slash line over nearly 260 Triple-A plate appearances but mustered only one hit in 13 late-season at-bats with the Dodgers in 2014.

A move to Kansas City doesn't immediately land him playing time, but Guerrero could find plenty with the defending American League champions. At the very least, Guerrero could serve as the team's primary right-handed bat off the bench.

But Kendrys Morales has traditionally hit better from the left side of the plate than the right, opening the door for a potential platoon at designated hitter. If Guerrero can hold his own defensively at third base, he could serve as Mike Moustakas' backup and/or platoon partner, should Moose struggle to produce.

Due only $4 million in 2015, his impact on the Royals payroll would be minimal. It's not crazy to think that the Dodgers might be convinced to pick up some of that salary to facilitate a deal that brings them back a quality reliever, which Kansas City is flush with.

Louis Coleman isn't a flashy name, and he's coming off an awful 2014, but the 28-year-old does have a track record of big league success, pitching to a 2.69 ERA and 1.15 WHIP over 117 relief appearances from 2011 to 2013 while averaging more than a strikeout per inning.

Set to make $725,000 in 2015 and under team control through the 2017 season, Coleman's addition would barely register on Los Angeles' payroll, which sits at more than $260 million heading into the season.

Trevor Cahill Gets Traded to Philadelphia

Dustin Bradford/Getty Images

Diamondbacks Get: SP/RP Joely Rodriguez

Phillies Get: SP Trevor Cahill and $6 million

While Philadelphia is rebuilding and focused on adding inexpensive prospects, Trevor Cahill is only 27 years old and could be part of the long-term solution in the team's rotation.

Cahill had put up respectable numbers up until last season (a 3.89 ERA and 1.33 WHIP over 154 career games, all but one as a starter) and does an excellent job of keeping the ball on the ground, with a career 54.6 percent ground-ball rate.

Advanced metrics indicate that his 5.61 ERA in 2014 wasn't nearly as bad as it sounds, with a respectable 3.89 FIP and 3.83 xFIP, so there's reason to believe that Cahill could bounce back in 2015. 

Under team control through 2017, the money left on his deal is significant—$12 million in 2015 with team options for 2016 ($13 million) and 2017 ($13.5 million), but the buyouts are minimal ($300,000 in 2016, $500,000 in 2017).

While Arizona general manager Dave Stewart claims he hasn't discussed Cahill with other clubs, sources tell CBS Sports' Jon Heyman otherwise. 

With the Diamondbacks kicking in half of his 2015 salary to bring back a semi-decent prospect, the Phillies don't have much to lose in the deal aside from cash. If Cahill flames out, he's gone after the season. If he shows that he can return to his prior form, the Phillies get a quality starter that they can control for another two years.

Given Cahill's diminished value, a fringe prospect like 23-year-old Joely Rodriguez is all the D-Backs can expect to receive in exchange, even with the team picking up a chunk of Cahill's salary.

Rodriguez has shown the ability to throw three pitches for strikes but struggles to make batters miss, with a career 4.02 ERA, 1.39 WHIP and 5.3 K/9 over parts of six minor league seasons. Perhaps a chance to work with Arizona pitching consultant Dave Duncan, Tony LaRussa's longtime pitching coach in St. Louis, would find Rodriguez having more success on the mound.

If nothing else, Rodriguez offers organizational depth, something the D-Backs are going to need as their best pitching prospects make their way to Chase Field.

Unless otherwise noted, all statistics courtesy of Baseball-Reference and FanGraphs. All contract information courtesy of Cot's Contracts.

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