The Oakland Athletics have started to sell at the trade deadline with Scott Kazmir and now players like Ben Zobrist, Tyler Clippard or Josh Reddick could be traded by the A's and teams like the New York Yankees, Washington Nationals, Chicago Cubs, NY Mets, Pittsburgh Pirates and Kansas City Royals could be interested ahead the July 31 deadline date.
The Athletics have reportedly traded Kazmir to the Astros for a couple minor league players and now Oakland is poised to start selling more. Jeff Passan at Yahoo Sports writes that although deals with Ben Zobrist and Tyler Clippard are "not close," the team is likely going to trade the players in the "coming days" and it could be a "matter of time" before the deals go down. The Athletics have been near the bottom of the AL for most of the season and could look at trying to restock prospects.
The Athletics reportedly had the Angels call about Reddick and the team said "no" to a deal earlier in July, according to FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal. Reddick may not get traded, but players like Zobrist and Clippard are almost guaranteed to get moved. Zobrist has high value for teams and he is also coming into free agency and that means the A's likely will trade him since they are probably not re-signing him. Oakland has been scuffling and with teams like the Yankees, Mets and Cubs reportedly interested, Zobrist could net a solid prospect.
Zobrist is coming in after dealing with an injury earlier in the season and he is hitting .259 with five home runs in 63 games for Oakland. Zobrist is a versatile player and can play multiple positions in the infield and outfield. The versatility makes him a major target for teams with needs at the OF positions, including the Orioles and the Pirates. The Nationals and Cubs have also expressed interest, while the Yankees and Mets could use Zobrist as an infielder.
There have been conflicting reports about the Mets being interested in Zobrist, as Ken Rosenthal reports that there are "no active discussions" between the teams. Earlier in the week the New York Daily News reported that the two asides have "discussed names" and that the Mets could consider moving Rafael Montero to get a deal done. The Mets have had offensive issues all season and with David Wright and Michael Cuddyer injured, the team needs some help in the lineup.
Clippard reportedly has had interest from the Washington Nationals, Toronto Blue Jays and the Cubs, according to Fox Sports. Clippard is coming in with a 2.79 ERA this season and he has been striking out about one batter per inning in 38 innings of work. Clippard could be used as a closer or a reliever depending on where he is traded to. The Athletics acquired prospects for Kazmir in the deal with the Astros, as Hardball Talk reports that Jake Nottingham and Dan Mengden were part of the trade.
Check here for more on the Athletics trade rumors or for more on the Kazmir deal.