All the talk in Major League Baseball right now is about spring games, prospects who have looked good and established starters battling injuries. There are plenty of those stories to go around, but there is also a budding trade market developing.
Of course, any trade talk this time of year comes with a caveat. Most of it will be proceeded by "for the right offer..." or something vague like that, so expecting any deal to happen will lead to disappointment.
That doesn't mean these things aren't worth discussing, especially since sometimes a desperate team will pull the trigger on a move, causing all sorts of ripple effects across the sport. Here are the trade rumors we are keeping track of this spring.
Tigers willing to part with Rick Porcello?
The Tigers made two big moves in the offseason, including trading Doug Fister to Washington for a package of players that included left-hander Robbie Ray, but there might be more change happening in the rotation.
According to Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe, the Tigers are open to trading right-hander Rick Porcello.
The Tigers are said to be willing to listen to offers on him, according major league sources. Porcello is once again at the back end of the Tiger rotation. While still young and promising, the Tigers need more consistency in the rotation.
Now would either be the right or wrong time to trade Porcello, depending on whether you are an optimist or a pessimist. His ERA has dropped in each of the last three years, while his strikeouts, strikeout-to-walk ratio and ERA+ have gone up.
Porcello is just 25 years old and just entering his prime seasons, so he could continue trending upward and become a very good mid-rotation starter.
If you think Porcello is turning a corner, trying to trade him now is a mistake because his value at midseason or next winter will be higher.
If you still assume that he's nothing more than a back-end guy, trading Porcello while his numbers continue to decrease is a smart, bold strategy.
Ray's performance will likely play a role in what the Tigers do with Porcello. Since the Tigers clearly think highly of Ray, making him the key piece in the Fister trade, they believe he can be a mid-rotation starter soon.
That gives the Tigers a cheap option for the rotation, even more crucial now since they have to worry about re-signing Max Scherzer before he hits free agency next winter.
Mariners eyeing White Sox for another bat?
Since Robinson Cano is asking the Mariners for another bat, and his $240 million contract basically gives him control over what the front office does, it shouldn't be a surprise that the Mariners are scouring whatever avenues they can to appease him.
The Mariners' need for offense is leading them to Chicago and the White Sox, according to Bruce Levine of CBSChicago.com.
Although the White Sox are not shopping outfielder Dayan Viciedo, they are listening to other clubs about there interest in the Cuban power hitter. Several major league sources confirmed that the Sox and Mariners have had discussions on a deal that could center around Viciedo.
Viciedo is a monster human being at 5'11", 230 pounds, has the raw power to support that frame, but doesn't offer much in the way of value on either side of the ball. He's never seen a pitch that wasn't too bad to swing at.
In the last two years, he's barely been worth a replacement level player, totaling 0.2 FanGraphs' Wins Above Replacement.
The best thing you can say about Viciedo is that he's cheap at $2.8 million and won't cost much in a trade. He's 25 years old, so if you want to be really optimistic, he can learn to take a pitch and get on base enough to be a nice piece in an average lineup.
Twins looking at Alejandro De Aza
Even though the Minnesota Twins have a future superstar in center field with Byron Buxton and two capable options for the position in 2014 with Aaron Hicks and Alex Presley, they are exploring all of their options.
Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe reports that one of those options includes Chicago White Sox leadoff hitter Alejandro De Aza.
He’s not exactly everything you want in a center fielder, leadoff type, but last season De Aza hit 17 homers and drove in 62 runs. His career .336 on-base percentage (.323 last season) isn’t that compelling, but for teams looking for a center fielder who brings some varied skills, he’s not a bad option. The Twins have some interest.
De Aza had a breakout season for the White Sox last year with those 17 home runs. He did change his hitting style to get that power, selling out more often by posting the second-lowest walk rate (7.4 percent) and highest strikeout rate (21.8 percent) of his career since 2007.
The Twins have been trying to build a more dynamic roster this winter, adding Ricky Nolasco and Philip Hughes to the rotation, but De Aza would become trade bait or would have to switch positions when Buxton comes up later this year or next year.
They would be better off keeping the pieces they have and go with that until Buxton is brought up.
All stats courtesy of FanGraphs and Baseball Reference unless otherwise noted.
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