MLB Trade Rumors: Gio Gonzales, Carlos Beltran, Prince Fielder, and Others

This will be a short one as for the first time in a long while, I actually watched a few shows last night, while trying to write. This usually is not a problem, but last night was one of those nights where the thoughts weren't flowing too well. So, my apologies.

Last night we learned that the Indians have jumped into the bidding for free agent outfielder Carlos Beltran. I find this a little strange, as the Indians are a small market team, and already have a set outfield of Michael Brantley, Grady Sizemore and Shin-Soo Choo. What is also surprising is why the Red Sox haven't signed this guy yet. He would be a perfect fit to play right field in Boston. He would also be an excellent fit for the Rays, where he could be a full time DH. Beltran, when healthy, can help any of these teams, and maybe the Indians feel they need a strong veteran presence around their young core of Carlos Beltran, Jason Kipnis and Lonnie Chisenhall.

Speaking of the Red Sox, why haven't they signed Ryan Madson yet? They need a closer. Madson closes. And he needs a job. Just sign him already. Do Red Sox fans think Mark Melancon can close games in a pennant race?

More after the jump:

Is it me, or is the market for Prince Fielder as quiet as ever? Just yesterday, talk has started up again after the Cubs have denied being interested in Fielder for like the 19th time. I think GM Jed Hoyer and President Theo Epstein are going to blow up the Cubs and rebuild.

So who should sign Fielder? As a Dodgers fan, I would love for them to sign him to a 7 or 8 year deal, but they are in the middle of being sold. But, something in the back of my mind tells me that should the team be sold by the end of January, I could see agent Scott Boras waiting this thing out to see if the Dodgers can get involved. Imagine the breath of fresh air that would sweep through Los Angeles knowing that the team is sold, and Prince Fielder is playing first base for the Dodgers.

Getting back to reality, the team that I think will sign Fielder is the Rangers. They have several reasons for signing him:

1. They need to respond to the Angels signing of Albert Pujols

2. They have lost the World Series two years in a row now, and their window of opportunity to win the World Series is closing on them. It is very difficult to make the World Series three years in a row, let alone two years in a row.

3. They don't want to invest tens of millions of dollars in outfielder Josh Hamilton. Hamilton was a great story when he came back to baseball, but he has proven to be injury prone, and I am sure some Rangers fans are wondering what could have been had Hamilton been healthy in the World Series.

4. Once Fielder gets too slow/old to play first base, he could always DH

The hot rumor the last two days is that the Nationals are very interested in trading for A's lefty Gio Gonzalez. The Nationals have the prospects to pull off a 3-1 or 4-1 deal to acquire Gonzalez, and some names involved in the rumor has catching prospect Derek Norris and pitching prospect Brad Peacock being involved in the rumored trade. Should the Nationals acquire Gonzalez, I think they could have a very real shot at challenging the Phillies and Braves for the top two spots in the NL East. With a healthy Stephen Strasburg, Jordan Zimmernann and Gonzalez, the Nationals will have a very formidable top 3 in their rotation.

For more on what is going on in the Hot Stove, be sure to check out Baseball Nation and MLB Daily Dish.