While you’re scanning a list of potential free agents that will be available this winter, don’t forget there should be a handful of impact players available via trade over the coming months.
Over the next few slides, we’ll identify a few major leaguers entering the final year of their contracts who could be trade candidates during the offseason.
No organization wants to trade quality players. But in some cases, teams just don’t have many options. Attractive players become expendable when teams realize they won’t be able to match the asking price the player will be looking for when they hit free agency.
That could be the case with Stephen Strasburg and Aroldis Chapman. Both flamethrowers have elite arm talent but look to be heading toward paydays that their respective teams won’t be able to afford. Instead of watching them walk after one final season, doesn’t it make sense for the Washington Nationals and Cincinnati Reds to flip their stars for a prospect package before they leave next winter?
In other cases, certain players may become tradable because they just don’t fit in with their current teams. Mitch Moreland, Andrew Cashner and Jay Bruce are names that may have just outstayed their welcome in their current cities.
Let us know what you think about these rental ideas. Would you be OK with your team parting ways with one of these guys, knowing they could be crucial to its success in 2016? On the flip side, how would you feel if your team parted ways with multiple prospects in exchange for one year of a rental player?
The MLB offseason is always filled with moving parts and surprising plot twists. Let’s dive into some players and organizations that could make headlines over the coming months.