As we approach the trade deadline many names are becoming apparent for their availiblility as their teams have fallen out of contention or sense payroll issues. Injuries trade potential needs per destination and combine that with salary concerns and their upcoming record there is a wide amount of questionability with who will be traded. The way this year is shaping out there seems to be few candidates and very few bats especially. There is a tremendous amount of parity in the league right now so it definently looks like a sellers market. Anyway we might as well take a look. *Stats as of May 20th*

Arizona Diamondbacks- Sellers

Aaron Hill .269/.324/.431 BA/OBP/SLG

This might be the biggest piece the Snakes will move. They have IF depth in prospect Jake Lamb and Didi Gregorious. He is owed 12MM each of the next two years which is a price I don’t know if the Diamondbacks are able to pay.

Potential Trade partners: Marlins, Giants, Cardinals, Orioles, Yankees, Athletics

*Potential trade: Yanks get Hill; Dbacks get Tyler Austin*

Eric Chavez .283/.356/.528

He would be a perfect fit for any team looking for a left handed bat off the bench. He will likely not be very expensive to acquire.

Potential Trade Partners: Almost any contending team

*Potential Trade: Tigers get Chavez; Dbacks get Javier Betancourt*

Brandon McCarthy 5.01 ERA

He is not having a great year and would likely only garner trade interest as a starter if he improves otherwise he could be valuable as a long reliever/ 6th starter.

Potential trade Partners: Dodgers, Marlins, Brewers, Giants, White Sox, Indians, Angels, Yankees, Rangers, Blue Jays

*Potential Trade: Angels get McCarthy; Dbacks get Kevin Johnson*

Bronson Arroyo 4.15

He is due 9.5MM next year so I am not to sure he gets moved and if he is the prospect quality could depend on the amount of money the Snakes will eat.

Potential Trade partners: Contending team with money

*Potential Trade: Blue Jays get Arroyo; Dbacks get Dawel Luga*

Brad Ziegler .228 Oliver Perez .363 Joe Thatcher .277

These are the potential relievers the Snakes can move and none are closers but each should bring back decent value. Expect the return to range from a teams number 8-30th ranked prospects.

Potential Trade candidates: All non selling teams

Cubs- Selling

Starlin Castro .302/.341/.491

The Cubs I think will be very serious when listening to offers for Starlin Castro. They have infield prospects Javier Baez, Alcantara, Villanueva, & Canderlario. They also have 1st base prospect Dan Vogelbach but I don’t believe they will listen to offers on Rizzo at least until Vogelbach becomes closer to big league ready. After Starlin’s rough season last year he is playing exceptionally well and can bring back a very sizeable return for a organization which is getting closer to putting a good product on the field. While this organization isn’t lacking much in the minors it is missing a potential top line starting pitcher and a catcher. While many say “wait till the offseason as you will get a better return as you have more teams involved” that isn’t the case here as Starlin is signed long term and is very young (24 years old). I will say there is a 80% chance the Cubs sell high and move him.

Potential Trade Partners: Reds, Dodgers, Mets, Pirates, Tigers, Twins, Yankees, Mariners

*Potential Trade: Mets acquire Starlin; Cubs get Noah Syndergaard, Kevin Plawecki, & Michael Fulmer

Emilio Bonifacio .292/.337/.354

He got off to an absolutely blistering start and has cooled down since. He can be a contending teams swiss army knife capable of playing multiple positions and has the speed to be that pinch runner late in games to steal you that extra base.

Potential Trade partners: Every contending team

*Potential Trade: Giants get Bonifacio; Cubs get Keury Mella

Nate Schierholtz .197/.248/.252

The Cubbies really blew it by not trading Nate at last years deadline or in the offseason when he would have likely garnered a top 100 prospect. If he improves he can be a teams 4th OF.

Potential Trade spots: Mets, Giants, Indians, Nationals, White Sox, Yankees, Mariners

*Potential Trade: Mariners get Nate; Cubs get David Colvin

Jeff Samardzija 1.62

There will be plenty of interested parties for this guys services although no one can imagine him keeping this up. He will be a free agent after the 2015 season and can always re-sign with the Cubs. The Cubs will be looking for a elite Pitching Prospect and potentially a corner outfielder.

Potential Trade Candidates: Rockies, Dodgers, Marlins, Giants, Cardinals, Nationals, Orioles, Red Sox, Indians, Yankees, Rangers, Blue Jays

*Potential Trade: Red Sox get Samardzija; Cubs get Henry Owens, Mookie Betts & Jamie Callahan*

Jason Hammel 3.06

He has had a nice start to his Cubs career and will have a low salary to take on for the rest of the year. He is a free agent at seasons end and will most likely look for a multi-year deal.

Potential Trade Candidates: Every contending team looking for pitching

*Potential Trade: Rangers get Hammel; Cubs get Jairo Beras & Sam Wolff

Phillies- Probably the biggest wild card in the National League as if they are .500 or better they will look to acquire relief pitching and potentially another starting pitcher to go along with the promotion of 3B Maikel Franco. If they are out of it Ruben Amaro Jr. will likely be fired and they will try to trade Cliff Lee, Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, AJ Burnett, Marlon Byrd, Carlos Ruiz, Mike Adams, Jonathan Papelbon, and Wil Nieves. At some point though they will need to rebuild and replace the dinosaurs on their team.

Pirates- Sellers

Russell Martin .242/.342/.355

Martin is a free agent at seasons end and there is a good chance he does resign with the Pirates as he meant so much to this team last year. IF the Pirates can get a good prospect in return it might be worth dealing him as there does not figure to be many available catchers on the market.

Potential Trade partners: Dodgers, Red Sox, Angels, & Rangers

*Potential trade: Rangers get Martin: Pirates get Nomar Mazara

Jason Grilli 4.50

Was outstanding last year as their closer but has been on the DL for plenty of time this year.

Potential Trade Partners: Contending Teams

Potential Trade: Blue Jays get Grilli; Pirates get Clinton Hollon as Player to be named later

Fransisco Liriano 4.86

He is a big gamble as there are seasons which he is excellent and others which he flat out sucks. I can see him getting dealt to a team looking for depth.

Potential Trade Partners: Contending teams looking for depth

*Potential Trade: Blue Jays acquire Liriano; Pirates acquire Tom Robson

Middle Relief

They will deal one of many of their middle relief options if they get an offer that they can’t refuse but i don’t see them having a bullpen fire sale.

Padres- It remains yet to be seen if they will contend this year and alot of it depends on the health of Andrew Cashner. If they fall out of it they will try to trade Chase Headley, Seth Smith, & Ian Kennedy.