Instead of projecting my own opinions on to any one reporters distillation of what his or her teams needs or what his or her team wants the reporter to circulate, I am just going to give the links and a money quote. You decide the merits of the r`umor.
While some of these absolutely scream for a comment, I am refraining. (In the body of the post, that is. I cannot vouch for restraint in the Comments) Amongst the players mentioned are Xavier Nady and Damso Marte of Pittsburgh, A.J. Burnett in Toronto, Barry Bonds to the New York Yankees, and Brian Fuentes of Colorado and interest in Clint Barmes and Willy Taveras by the Tampa Bay Rays.
The Pirates are known to be seeking two quality prospects in any Nady or Marte deal, with a leaning toward pitching. The price for Bay would be higher.One reason they have not been able to strike a deal to this point, the team official said, is that other teams are declaring many top prospects untouchable, perhaps many more than usual as more organizations are converting to build-within philosophies.
Still, talks remain active for Nady and Marte. The New York Mets and Atlanta Braves recently conducted conference calls with the Pirates to discuss Nady, according to one source, and many other teams are involved.
What happens over the next two weeks is in the hands of J.P. Ricciardi, and as of yesterday, the Jays GM said there is nothing on the trade table for Burnett or any other Jay.
The Rangers have something to offer everyone: relievers (Jamey Wright and Eddie Guardado), bats (Hank Blalock, Milton Bradley and Frank Catalanotto), starting pitching (Kevin Millwood and Vicente Padilla) and catching (Saltalamacchia and Gerald Laird). That list is most likely in descending order of most likely to be traded to least likely.
The Yanks are not after Bonds or currently stalking any high- profile position player on the trade market.
With this in mind, let’s touch upon some players that I see as prime trade candidates in the upcoming trade season.
David DeJjesus
Mark Grudzalaniek
Gil Meche
Ron Mahay
Zack Greinke
The Phillies' acquisition of Oakland right- hander Joe Blanton for three prospects means it's unlikely the Phillies have enough trade material left to deal for Rockies closer Brian Fuentes. Tampa Bay and both New York teams remain interested. The Rays also have shown interest in shortstop Clint Barmes, according to a major-league source, and center fielder Willy Taveras, whom the Rockies are trying to trade.
AJC: If the team makes a run and you do look to add in a trade, what would you be looking for?
Frank Wren: It would probably be an offensive position, to create a little more offense in our lineup. We could use a right-handed hitter. We could use more power. We could use more offense in our outfield. Those are all areas that we've talked about.