The Major League Baseball season for 2013 is now done after the Boston Red Sox took care of the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 6 of the World Series and heading into the offseason, some of the biggest questions includes players that might be trades and the top names includes David Price, Joe Nathan, Homer Bailey, Giancarlo Stanton and Gordon Beckham.
The offseason should be an exciting one with plenty of names on the free agent market like Jacoby Ellsbury, Robinson Cano and Matt Garza, but the real games could be played in the trade market, where a number of big names could end up moving, including those listed above as well as plenty of others. Price will be the top name mentioned in trade rumors, as he is playing on a Tampa Bay Rays team that usually does not go for big contracts for anyone and with his age, he will be a prime target for a number of teams, including ones like the Yankees and Dodgers.
Price is one of the best young pitchers in the league and with him going to arbitration and likely getting a bump up in his salary from $10 million, even Price himself has said he knows there is a chance he could be dealt. The team has done that before with names like James Shields and Matt Garza and now it could be Price's turn to move. Price took home the Cy Young Award last season and has been a very productive pitcher and he also has been to the All-Star game in half of his seasons with the Rays.
The Rays already have a glut of young pitchers with Matt Moore, Alex Cobb, Jeremy Hellickson and Chris Archer and they have more on the way and with Price being 28-years-old with plenty of good years ahead of him, the "price" might be too high for the Rays to keep him. SI.com reports that the Washington Nationals and the Texas Rangers could be options to move Price, as the Rays will likely want to trade him for younger players and both those teams have solid farm systems.
Joe Nathan on the Rangers is another player that could move and this comes after he was mentioned in trade rumors during the season. Nathan has an option for just under $10 million next season and with the Rangers likely needing to add some pieces after losing in the wild card round this season, he could be one player to be traded. MLB.com reported on Beckham's possible trade and that move would be to the Toronto Blue Jays, who did not get much out of their second basemen in 2013 and would like to upgrade. The Blue Jays are not a team that is scared of making a move, as they did back with the big Miami Marlins trade.
Speaking of the Marlins, Giancarlo Stanton could eventually get traded after all that speculation from earlier this season, but knowing Miami they will wait as long as they can before dealing him. Stanton would be the top bat option if he was available and teams could try and call the Marlins about it.
