Kuzul

Chicago White Sox general manager Rick Hahn appears open to anything, that includes trading Dayan Viciedo. Hahn would be wise to keep an open mind because trading Viciedo could help the White Sox immensely.

According to CSNChicago.com White Sox Insider Dan Hayes, Viciedo is one of several White Sox youngsters who may be available. As evidence, Hayes cited “four rival executives” who believe that Hahn is “open” to trading the young left fielder.

Make no mistake about it; Viciedo’s days in a White Sox uniform could be numbered because of his contract status.

Hayes pointed out in his article that “Viciedo’s contract stipulates he must earn 80 percent of the $3.5 million he pulled in last season, which equates to $2.8 million.”

Factor in the $1 million pro-rated share of his $4 million signing bonus and Viciedo stands to get, at minimum, a $300,000 raise in 2013. At $3.8 million, he may be a bit out of Hahn’s price range.

Now, if Viciedo’s price tag does necessitate a move, what is Hahn’s best option? A three-team trade, of course, and Hahn is already thinking the same thing.

Hahn was quoted in the Chicago Tribune on Thursday saying that the conversations he’s had at the general managers meetings in California “may lead to some three-way deals in the coming weeks.”

One potential trade scenario would involve the Houston Astros and the San Diego Padres.

The three-team exchange could break down like this:

-The Padres receive Asher Wojciechowski (2-2 with a 2.06 ERA in eight starts at Double-A Corpus Christi) from the Astros and Gavin Floyd from the White Sox

-The Astros acquire Viciedo and Double-A pitcher Nestor Molina from the White Sox

-The White Sox get third baseman Chase Headley and a prospect (anyone will do) from the Padres.

As important as the players involved are, a three-team trade does something that may be even more so.

See, by combining Floyd’s $9.5 million salary with Viciedo’s, Hahn would shave a potential total of $13.3 million from the White Sox’ payroll. Hahn could then use that money to lock up Alejandro De Aza into a long-term contract and sign Headley to an extension with money to spare.

Outside-the-box thinking, to be sure, but this is an example of what adding Viciedo in a trade could do. 

In all fairness, this column is not advocating for a trade. In fact, an argument can be made that Viciedo is someone to build the future around. He is young, talented and full of potential.

If Viciedo’s worth is put into this context, however, trading him could be a great idea.

@SuggestSmith

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With the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees always at each other’s throats, winning positional battles in the offseason can make a huge impact during the summer months as they jockey for positioning atop the AL East.

The Yankees have plenty of moves to make this offseason with players like Nick Swisher, Hiroki Kuroda and Rafael Soriano declining their qualifying offers and opting for free agency instead.

Their gaps may not end there with catcher Russell Martin also entering a relatively thin free-agent market at the catcher position.

Enter the Red Sox.

After making move after move last season, Boston has plenty of maneuvering to make this offseason as they reshape their roster to get back into contention this season.

Working with Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Kelly Shoppach as their primary backstops in 2012, the Red Sox got a 25-home-run effort from Saltalamacchia, though he batted under .225 and posted an on-base percentage under .300.

He’ll be with the Sox again in 2013, but it appears that they may be looking at bringing in reinforcements at backstop, as Jon Heyman of CBS Sports has reported that Boston has been talking about the notion of bringing in Russell Martin.

It’s not entirely unheard of for a player to move from one rival to another, but with every move magnified as a season gets into full swing, it’s important to make sure that big moves pay big dividends.

Martin’s numbers this past season weren’t much of an improvement over Saltalamacchia‘s, as he batted a shade over .200 but did manage a .311 on-base percentage.

From a career standpoint, however, Martin’s track record is more polished, with three 18-plus home-run seasons and a career batting average more than 20 points higher.

He’s more stout defensively as well, with a career .991 fielding percentage while throwing out 30 percent of stolen-base attempts.

If the Red Sox are looking to get the most out of any player they sign, it’s possible they’ll run with Saltalamacchia and also sign Mike Napoli (h/t Nick Cafardo, Boston Globe), who is steady offensively and can fill in behind the plate while bridging the gap at first base left by Adrian Gonzalez.

With plenty of payroll to work with, there’s no reason that Boston can’t (and shouldn’t) make a move at both players, giving them an offensive jolt that accounted for 45 home runs and 109 RBI in 2012.

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Tampa Bay’s Jeremy Hellickson is drawing a huge amount of interest in trade talks, according to CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman—and any general manager who isn’t calling Tampa Bay’s Andrew Friedman to try and acquire him, frankly, shouldn’t be a general manager.

Hellickson, 25, made 31 starts for the Rays in 2012, going 10-11 with a 3.14 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 124 strikeouts over 177 innings of work.

Winner of the 2011 AL Rookie of the Year award and a Gold Glove recipient in 2012, Hellickson has a career mark of 27-21 to go along with an impressive 3.06 ERA and 1.19 WHIP in just over 400 innings—with the bulk of those innings coming in AL East play.

He’s also under team control through the 2017 season.

So why would the Rays be looking to move someone with considerable upside who has yet to reach his prime?

Two words: Scott Boras.

Hellickson is represented by the mega-agent, and Tampa Bay knows that reaching any sort of long-term deal with him is virtually impossible.

Moving him now would bring back a substantial return for the Rays, primarily a middle-of-the-order bat to pair alongside 3B Evan Longoria.

Let’s take a look at five teams who not only have the hitting prospects that Tampa Bay would covet, but who would benefit greatly by adding Hellickson to their rotations.

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New Chicago White Sox general manager Rick Hahn will have his hands full this winter as he attempts to turn the White Sox into a playoff team.

Dave van Dyck of the Chicago Tribune has reported that the White Sox will focus on the trade market more than the free-agent market to make any major moves.

While there are a number of priorities, third base stands out as an urgent area of need. AJ Mass of ESPN (Insider required) has suggested that the White Sox could trade starter Gavin Floyd to the Kansas City Royals for Mike Moustakas.

Interdivisional trades may not be common, but this is a deal that would benefit both sides.

Moustakas was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2007 MLB draft and he was immediately labeled with a comparison to Alex Rodriguez by his agent Scott Boras (h/t Conor Nicholl of MLB.com). That comparison is very optimistic, but Moustakas has developed into a good player.

The 24-year old third baseman hit .242 with 20 home runs and 73 RBI during his first full season in the major leagues. There is still a lot of room for Moustakas to continue to develop, and there is a good chance that he becomes one of the elite offensive third basemen in the American League in the next few years.

Additionally, Moustakas is a great fit for the Royals because he will not hit the free-agent market until after the 2018 season. Given these facts, it appears unlikely that the Royals would be willing to deal Moustakas.

However, after their acquisition of Ervin Santana, it appears as if the Royals are interested in making a push for the postseason this year. The starting rotation was one of the Royals’ biggest problems last season and they will need to bring in another starter or two this winter.

Gavin Floyd could serve as a steady middle-of-the-rotation starter for the Royals. He went 12-11 with a 4.26 ERA in 2012, and he will be 30 years old next season. Floyd has one year and $9.5 million left on his contract.

Even though Floyd has a decent amount of trade value, it is hard to see him being dealt straight up to the Royals for Moustakas. Kansas City would certainly demand more than Floyd in return for a potentially perennial All-Star.

Floyd could serve as a center piece for a deal, but at least one other player would need to go to the Royals.

Perhaps the White Sox could sweeten the deal by including a prospect like Carlos Sanchez in the deal. The young middle infielder has been moving quickly through the White Sox system and he earned himself an invitation to the Futures Game in 2012.

Sanchez was ranked as the seventh-best prospect in the White Sox organization following the 2012 season by Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com. Between High-A, Double-A and Triple-A last season, the switch-hitter batted .323 and stole 26 bases. It is possible that Sanchez could make his major-league debut before his 21st birthday this June.

Even if Sanchez is not a fit in a possible deal for Moustakas, the White Sox could package a different prospect with Floyd such as Scott Snodgress or Simon Castro in order to get a deal done.

Moustakas would be an outstanding addition to the White Sox lineup in 2013 and beyond. Acquiring Moustakas would be expensive for Chicago, but it would very well be worth it.

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The title of this article says it all—Could David Wright pack his bags and take over third base for the Cincinnati Reds? Well, it just may be possible. 

Assuming that the New York Mets are unable to re-sign (or just decide not to re-sign) David Wright, a trade could be in the foreseeable future. A recent article by Mark Simon on ESPN.com suggests that the Cincinnati Reds could be one of five possible suitors for Wright if such a circumstance arises. 

Not only does the article suggest a possible trade, but it also suggests that Cincy may have the means to sign Wright to an extended contract. If you still don’t believe the Cincinnati Reds are suddenly into the money, you need to think again.

Cincinnati committed $250 million to Joey Votto and also gave Brandon Phillips (aka @DatDudeBP) a six-year, $72.5 million contract before the start of the 2012 season. Not only are the Reds convinced they have the ability to spend, but it seems as though the national media is beginning to believe as well—Mr. Simon’s article states just as much.

The Reds reworked their radio deal in recent years and are due to receive a lucrative new TV deal in the very near future. The Reds maintained the top radio listener-ship and were in the top two in TV ratings among all MLB teams in 2012—both equal money.

But back to David Wright.

Where does he fit, you ask? Well, at third base of course. What does that mean for Todd Frazier? Left field, my friends. He has proven that he is much more than a body in the field. He played very well at first base, third base, and yes, left field in 2012.

David Wright is a Gold Glove-caliber third baseman. He is also a .301 career hitter—he hit .306 with 21 home runs and 93 RBI in 2012. Wright did all of this in a pitcher’s ball park. Just imagine what he could do at GABP.

Simon’s article suggests using Mike Leake and/or Drew Stubbs in such a trade. I am sure that this appeals to many. It also suggests that the Reds may need to use catching prospect Devin Mesoraco—a much more realistic option.

Just think for a minute, though, a lineup that consists of Joey Votto, David Wright and Jay Bruce? Now that is appealing. Very appealing.

You can follow Josh Ramsey on Twitter @JRamCincy

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The New York Mets will be looking to make a number of changes this offseason. Rumors about the players that the Mets are interested in pursuing this winter have already come to light, and there are certainly some interesting players mentioned.

New York has already made what will likely be their two biggest moves of the offseason. Both David Wright and R.A. Dickey had their options for the 2013 season picked up by the Mets (h/t Jon Paul Morosi and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports).

Pitching, outfield help and a catcher will be three of the Mets’ largest priorities this winter. The Mets have a number of pieces in place, and with the right moves, they could be a team that contends for the Wild Card in 2013 if things go right.

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Now that the World Series is over, baseball fans will have to be content to obsess over free-agency rumors for the next couple of months.

Don’t forget all the trade rumors, though. They won’t be as plentiful as free-agency rumors throughout the winter, but they’ll definitely be out there. Some of them could end up bearing some rather interesting fruit.

The trade-rumor mill is already starting to spin. There are rumors out there that the Los Angeles Dodgers may trade All-Star right fielder Andre Ethier and that the Los Angeles Angeles may trade Dan Haren or Ervin Santana, or maybe even Haren and Santana.

And of course, there’s the Alex Rodriguez situation. After the postseason he just had, there’s a slight possibility that he will be moved this winter.

Here’s a look at the latest chatter from around the internets.

Note: Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com unless otherwise noted. Salary figures courtesy of Cot’s Baseball Contracts.

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Alex Rodriguez could have easily been one of the most talked about stories of the winter, but it is apparently a little bit too early to start talking yet and there may not be any reason to be talking at all.

According to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports, no teams have called the New York Yankees to talk about their talented, yet vastly overpaid third baseman.

Rodriguez is still owed a total of $114 million through 2017 according to Cot’s Contracts, so it is going to be difficult to find a team willing to take on that kind of deal. To put it in perspective, in 2012, only eight teams had total team payrolls over $114 million. Of course, Rodriguez is not going to earn that all in one year, but it is an interesting perspective nonetheless.

If Rodriguez were still producing at the MVP level that we have seen from him earlier in his career, perhaps this would not be such a huge problem. However, paying that much money for a 37-year-old third baseman who hit .272 with 18 home runs and 57 RBI in 2012 is obviously a bit of a logical stretch.

With these two factors, it is hard to imagine a team would really be willing to take such a major chance on Rodriguez. On October 24, Joe Girardi told Andrew Marchand of ESPN that Rodriguez will be the starting third baseman for the New York Yankees in 2013.

Now, when you combine all three of these details with the fact that Rodriguez has a full no-trade clause on his contract, it is even more difficult to imagine him moving from New York. While it might be in the best business interests of the Yankees to reduce their payroll substantially by letting Rodriguez move on, the environment does not seem conducive to this type of move at the moment.

Whether you think I know everything or nothing about Major League Baseball, you should follow me on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook and keep in touch. I love hearing what you all have to say!

Follow @spinkickers

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Blockbuster deals are becoming more common, and a number of big-name players have changed teams. The Adrian Gonzalez trade is just one recent blockbluster.

There could be a lot more deals that happen this winter. Teams have players with big salaries that they want to get rid of or potential stars that are currently block. In this second instance, they can either trade the prospect or the player that is blocking them.

It seems likely that at least one All-Star gets traded this winter, and there is a possibility that two are dealt for each other during the 2013 MLB offseason. Each the teams on this list have the potential to pull off a blockbuster deal, but some will be buyers and others will be sellers.

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Daisuke Matsuzaka has been an enigma for the Boston Red Sox since he came to the team in 2007.

That year he went 15-12 with a 4.40 ERA and helped the Sox win Game 3 of the World Series against the Colorado Rockies. The following season, he was a Cy Young contender, having gone 18-3 with a sparkling 2.90 ERA. His strikeouts went down in year two, but he gave up almost half as many runs, and seemed to settle into his role with the team.

Since 2009, Daisuke has yet to win more than nine games, and his ERA was under five once in 2010 when he logged 153.2 innings. Injuries have certainly played a major role in his downswing, but it has become increasingly difficult to predict what he will do during any given fifth day.

His career ERA of 4.29 does not scream of a guy who is downright terrible, but after all the hullabaloo that followed his signing with the team in 2007, the Sox were right in expecting a bigger return on their investment.

Now, the Red Sox have placed the 31-year-old righty on waivers, according to Buster Olney of ESPN. And although he does have no-trade capabilities, there is a chance he could don another uniform this season.

Washington Nationals

Much has been made of Stephen Strasburg and his season potentially ending early, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Nats go for a starting pitcher. The team does own the best record in baseball, and if their young stud cannot pitch during the playoffs, they will need an additional arm.

While the Nats may be reluctant to take on the last $2 million of his $52 million contract, it’s tough to put a price on good pitching in the playoffs. And seeing as how he has pitched in the World Series with success, he could be an important piece for them going forward.

Pittsburgh Pirates

The Pirates are another young, inexperienced team that has surprised almost everyone this year. And with news coming out that they released Erik Bedard on Tuesday, they could be looking to add pitching depth to shrink that three-game deficit in the National League Wild Card race. A.J. Burnett and James McDonald have pitched well, but the team doesn’t have another reliable starter to lean on. Daisuke could be a solid fit for this young team.

Los Angeles Dodgers

The Dodgers may have just made one of the biggest trades in the last decade, but don’t be surprised to see this team looking to add more pitching depth. Josh Beckett looked solid in his first start with the team Monday, but their rotation is far from a dominating unit. Clayton Kershaw has been his usual reliable self, having thrown 186.2 innings thus far and accruing an impressive 2.84 ERA. While Billingsley, Capuano and Harang have held down the fort, an additional starter could do wonders.

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