The Major League Baseball offseason is now in full swing and one of the prime positions coming up in trade rumors is at second base and the top 2B players that have been mentioned includes Howie Kendrick, Ian Kinsler and Dan Uggla and teams like the Baltimore Orioles, LA Dodgers, NY Yankees, Kansas City Royals and Detroit Tigers could be interested.
The Angels have already shopped Kendrick before so that would be a move that wouldn't surprise anyone, while the Rangers have been interested in restocking their farm system and sending Elvis Andrus or Ian Kinsler likely would help that for GM Jon Daniels, who was just given full control of the team. The Dodgers and Orioles as well as the Tigers all could use upgrades at the position and the Braves could trade Uggla after he had an up and down season where he also missed the playoffs after getting surgery.
Kendrick is a solid trade target for a number of teams, as he hit nearly .300 last season with 13 home runs and over 50 RBIs and he also added six stolen bases and over 50 runs. Last season he had similar numbers while playing in 147 games and he should be a solid target for teams, as he will make $9.35 million in 2014 and just a bit more the season after, not too bad of a deal for some of the higher spending teams in the league. The Angels have shopped Kendrick before, including this past summer and teams like the Royals and Orioles have players they can move for him.
The Angels missed the playoffs again and with Brian Roberts likely on his way out, Kendrick could slip in and take over for Baltimore. Apart from this season Kendrick has been a solid and healthy player, appearing in 140 games or more in four of the past five seasons and he has averaged a .292 batting average with eight home runs and 50 RBIs per season, which is solid production from his position. Before getting injured last season, Kendrick was hitting .301 with 11 home runs and 47 RBIs and along with Kinsler he could be a prime trade target.
The Rangers have some big changes coming possibly, as Nelson Cruz is a free agent and the team would like to add more offense and names like Ian Kinsler, Elvis Andrus and Jurickson Profar could get moved to help with that. Daniels wants to upgrade the offense after scoring 730 runs last season, which is the lowest since moving ballparks according to ESPN.com. The team also scored nearly 80 runs less this season and that is not the direction a team wants to go in. Daniels knows that Kinsler is a good player, but it could be perfect time to move him with four years left on his deal with over $60 million and while he is a solid player, teams need options at 2B and some can't afford someone like Robbie Cano, so a trade could be a better move. The Braves could also deal Uggla after a disappointing season last year and any of the above mentioned teams could be in the mix.
