Biggest Trade and Free Agency Rumors Around the MLB

Big offseason moves help make the teams that make them major contenders for a World Series Championship Series.  It is no surprise that nearly as soon as the MLB season is over that free agency and trade  rumors are already beginning to run rampant.  Here is a look at some of the biggest trade and free agency hearsay circulating through the rumor mill.

Free Agency

 

Any time a major player from a World Series winning team is making his way into the free agency it is a big deal. This is the case with Boston Red Sox center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury.  Ellsbury has a solid all around game.  When batting he looks to make contact and utilize his speed to pick up bases and is very good at doing so. He also picked up 52 stolen bases during the 2013 season. Ellsbury uses that same speed to cover the center field with his stats running well above average.  The biggest concern a team will have in picking up Ellsbury is his speed, ironically. Speed does not usually age well. Teams looking at Ellsbury will have to consider how long his particular skill set will hold up.

The biggest addition to the free agency pool is Robinson Cano, New York Yankees second baseman.  Cano is the best power hitting second baseman a team can ask for.  While Cano posted some solid number in 2013, it was also his worst hitting year since 2009.  Cano is in his 30s and a team will have to consider whether or not his power is deteriorating with age.

Trade Rumors

It is not secret that the Tampa Bay Rays have one of the best pitching staffs in the entire MLB.  That is why when it is rumored that one of their pitchers is on the trading block it is a big deal. This rumor comes from David Price, himself, who says that he expects to be traded during the offseason. Price had a rough start last season but came away pitching like a Cy Young caliber pitcher towards the end of the season and during the postseason.

Trade rumors are also circulating around Marlins right fielder Giancarlo Stanton, despite GM Dan Jennings insistence that he is not going anywhere. Jennings claims they will be building around Stanton, who is one of the best power hitters in the league on one of the worst teams.  One has to wonder, though, if Stanton would like to be traded to somewhere where his talent will be more productive, while he is in his prime.