Three trade candidates in American League

We are almost to Memorial Day weekend, which means we can start to look at the Major Baseball League standings and take them seriously. Judging from the first quarter of the season, the Kansas City Royals are legitimate, the Oakland Athletics are hot garbage, and the Tampa Bay Rays are shocking all of us.

With all that in mind, here are three players likely to get dealt by their current teams on or before the July 31 trade deadline.

Scott Kazmir

The A’s are terrible. Absolutely horrific, to the point we should all feel bad for their fans. The only thing worse than the team is the stadium they play in.

Kazmir is one of the premiere southpaws in the game today and is in the last year of a two-year contract. After making the All-Star team in 2014, Kazmir is off and running once again. Kazmir has posted six quality starts in eight chances with a 2-2 record and a 3.08 ERA. This is a quality lefty who could certainly help a team like the Royals or New York Yankees, slotting in as a great No. 2 in the rotation. Considering he only makes $11 million this year, Kazmir is very affordable.

Adrian Beltre

It’s time the All-Star third baseman moves on from the Texas Rangers. Look, Texas isn’t going anywhere. The best case scenario for the Rangers is finishing above the sad-sack A’s in the AL West. The Rangers have a bunch of bloated contracts including Elvis Andrus, Matt Harrison and Prince Fielder.

Getting some young, cheap and talented players for Beltre would be in Texas’ best interest. Beltre is still one of the more dangerous hitters in the league. After a horrid start, Beltre is hitting .259 with five home runs and 15 RBI. Smart money says Beltre will be mashing his way to prolific numbers by season’s end, so getting him would be a wise move for a contender.

Edwin Encarnacion

The Toronto Blue Jays are the highest-scoring team in the American League, and still sit last in the East. What does that tell you? The pitching is brutal, and it is. With youngster Marcus Stroman on the disabled list for the rest of the year with a torn ACL, Toronto has no shot to make real noise in 2015.

Dealing Encarnacion, who only has this year and a $10 million option in 2016 remaining on his deal, would be the prudent decision. Encarnacion is a true power hitter, already with 10 homers and 28 RBI. Toronto would get a considerable haul for the 32-year-old Dominican. The Blue Jays have to accept that this current group is not going to become a contender any time soon, and start breaking down while building up with younger talent.