Whether you want to admit it or not, your team always has room for improvement. Sometimes there is one player who doesn’t necessarily fit the system. So, in the spirit of the offseason, here’s a look at one player per team in the National League who might be better of getting dealt to another team.
Miami Marlins
This last offseason the Marlins did the unthinkable by having a fire sale, getting rid of all of their high-priced talent. In the end, they managed to only lose seven more games in 2013 than they did in 2012. In the big picture that’s really not too bad considering the fact that the only true talent they have is in Jose Fernandez, Logan Morrison and Giancarlo Stanton. Stanton can pack a wallop when he makes contact, but his 24 home runs and 62 RBI behind his .249 average really isn’t that impressive even if he did only play in 116 games. The Marlins need to move him now in exchange for a decent bat and some solid pitching prospects which can help them compete in two-to-three years. It sounds like a joke, but this is the team that was able to win the World Series in 1997, sell off their talent and win again in 2003. It can happen.
Chicago Cubs
The Cubbies beat me to the punch back in July be dealing Alfonso Soriano, but they’re still going to be eating quite a bit of his salary in 2014 ($13 million). The team is already looking like a scrambled mess this offseason, but if anyone would be a viable option to deal in order to get the most for it would have be Starlin Castro. Castro is great with the bat, but a bit of a flake on defense. For a team with a high payroll and in desperate need to get back to winning ways, no matter how funny that sounds, they can do better with anyone other than a guy hitting .245 with 10 home runs, 44 RBI and 22 errors. Yeesh!
Philadelphia Phillies
No doubt the one person that needs to be moved is Ryan Howard. It’s truly a shame that his achilles tendon tear at the end of the 2011 season has distorted his game, but he’s still going to be making $25 million per season until the end of the 2016 season.
Granted, his power numbers and amazing average were what got the Phillies to sign him to such a lucrative deal in the first place; however, they don't really want a .266 average with 11 home runs and 43 RBI in 80 games out of him.
Milwaukee Brewers
It would be easy to say that Ryan Braun needs to be moved, but he still has a lot of good, clean years ahead of him. Really the biggest problem for the Brewers is Rickie Weeks. Weeks hit .209 with 10 home runs and 24 RBI in 2013 which, compared to his previous years, is absolutely horrific. The Brewers will owe him $11 million in 2014 with a voidable option in 2015 if he doesn’t have at least 600 plate appearance that year or 1,200 plate appearances combined between 2013 and 2014. Scooter Gennett is a way more reliable option at second base now, so the Brewers really have two options here: trade Weeks, or keep him on the bench for $11 million which will help void his 2015 option.
New York Mets
David Wright isn’t exactly an option here, so the Mets will have to go with the next best option in Justin Turner. Turner is an above average hitter (.280 average in 2013) who can play all positions in the infield pretty well. He’s also the kind of guy who could start for quite a few teams and could attract a few reasonable offers for pitching prospects especially with Matt Harvey getting shut down for a year. The Mets could certainly use it.
Colorado Rockies
The Rockies have all of the right pieces in the field and the even better part about that is that every single one of them can hit, so you don’t want to mess with that. All that they and skipper Walt Weiss really need is a solid pitching core and a new first baseman, and they key to that is a deal with Tyler Colvin as a centerpiece. Colvin had an electric first year with the Rockies in 2012, hitting .327 with 18 home runs and 72 RBI, but his 2013 campaign fell short as he hit .190. There’s no doubt that he has a lot of potential, but the Rockies don’t really need him with Carlos Gonzalez, Dexter Fowler and Michael Cuddyer dominating the outfield. A void has been left by the retirement of Todd Helton, a void that is roughly the size of a career .316 average.
San Francisco Giants
With Barry Zito a free agent now and Tim Lincecum signed to a new two-year deal, the only other viable option for the Giants as a possible trade lies squarely on Pablo Sandoval.
Panda is in the final year of his contract which is worth $8.25 million, not terrible by any means, which would make him a very attractive addition to any team.
He’s a very consistent hitter, netting .298 lifetime along with 90 home runs and 389 RBI in six years.
Also, he’s a two-time World Series champion, the last of which came as a result of a dominating three-home run performance in Game One against the Detroit Tigers in 2012. He can definitely fetch a lot.
San Diego Padres
Little by little the Padres are starting to climb out of the cellar of the National League Western Division behind a decent pitching core which could still use some improvement. The one guy who could potentially fetch a few young arms is none other than left fielder Carlos Quentin. Quentin had a great career with the Chicago White Sox from 2008-2011 with a .257 average and at least 26 home runs and 80 per season. Before that, he had two rough years with the Arizona Diamondbacks and so far he’s doing a little above average with the Padres. Quentin would make for a great power-hitting option with a an American league team in a more right side of the plate batter friendly ballpark like Fenway Park or Yankee Stadium. Both of those team could afford to give up a pitching option, more like John Lackey of the Boston Red Sox for starters.
Arizona Diamondbacks
Heath Bell. Not really sure who would want him, maybe the Cleveland Indians to help them forget about Chris Perez. If Diamondbacks were to get anything for him, even a years supply of sunflower seeds would be a worthy addition and departure.
Washington Nationals
Remember when Drew Storen saved 43 games in 2011 for the Nationals? No? You probably remember him more for his meltdown in the 2012 National League Division Series.
Things weren’t much brighter in 2013 either as he finished the season 4-2 with a 4.52 ERA and 58 strikeouts in 68 games.
The Nationals have all of the pieces to get back to the postseason, but their bullpen certainly could use a bit of work. Get rid of Storen, get back to happier times.
Cincinnati Reds
It’s not about who the Reds need to get rid of, it’s really about what do they need? Shin-Soo Choo is out for now and will come with a hefty price tag. The starting pitching is rock solid and most of the field can hit, except for their catchers. If there was a way to get rid of both Ryan Hanigan and Devin Mesoraco for one slightly above average-hitting/fielding catcher the Reds would be in amazing shape. Oh wait, the Reds signed Brayan Pena a few days ago, so really it might seem more realistic to make Hanigan and Mesoraco fight to the death for the backup role. I would say combine both guys into one person, but medical science hasn’t really reached that level yet.
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Dodgers have a lot of great players, but still need two stellar pitchers to have as close to a perfect team as one can get in Los Angeles. The best option for the Dodgers to move is one of their high-priced and most-talented players, Josh Beckett. Beckett has been in meltdown mode since 2012, but lest we forget he is a two-time World Series champion and almost won the AL Cy Young Award twice. He’s only 33-years-old and is under contract for one more season. There’s a good chance he’ll make some team happy, more than likely an AL team in exchange for a solid prospect or two.
Pittsburgh Pirates
It sounds crazy, but it’s really not. If the Pirates were to trade anyone who could potentially net them some solid players, their best option would be one of their best hitters, Pedro Alvarez.
Alvarez had a career season in 2013 when he hit 36 home runs and 100 RBI but had a .233 average and struck out a league-high 186 times.
Alvarez is due $700,000 in 2014, but his trade value is way beyond that.
The Pirates won’t be able to afford to keep him around beyond next year and they can certainly use whatever they can get to remain competitive for years to come, hopefully avoiding another 20-year drought.
Atlanta Braves
It was a horrible idea for the Braves to sign B.J. Upton not only to a multi-year deal, but to even sign him in the first place, and his .184 average in 2013 proved that. As the elder of the Upton pair, B.J. has only really proved himself in the AL with the Tampa Bay Rays with a sub-par .255 average during his eight years. The Braves need to dump him as soon as possible and find anyone else who can hit the ball better than at the Mendoza Line.
St. Louis Cardinals
Pete Kozma has the makings to be a stellar defensive shortstop, much like Ozzie Smith in the 1980s and early-1990s; however, unlike Smith, Kozma can’t hit. Kozma hit .217 in his first full season with the Cardinals, which is something that will not fly in front of “the best fans in baseball.” He’s young and sturdy and could attract a team like the New York Yankees who will soon be in need of a new shortstop depending on whether or not they decide to hang onto Brendan Ryan who is six years older than Kozma.