Last week, I talked about the American League and the National League in the context of which teams I thought might be sellers, which teams might be buyers, and which teams might be on the fence. Tonight, I thought I'd take a more specific look at players who might be changing addresses at the trade deadline.
Rather than try to cram too much of this into one post, I'm going to break this out across three posts, one for the eastern divisions, one for the central and one for the west. Tonight I'll look at the East.
Nationals - One of the problems with a team as bad as the Nationals are is that they have almost nothing of interest to deal. Dmitri Young and Ronnie Belliard will probably be of some interest for depth to a contender, but these types of deals don't have much in the way of Roto impact.
Devil Rays - Unlike the Nationals, the D-Rays are a team that is finally moving in the right direction. Part of this move was the elimination of bringing in aging vets like Tino Martinez for the sake of bringing in Tino Martinez. Casey Fossum, Greg Norton and Al Reyes are the guys who might get moved. Fossum has been so bad that I can't even see a quasi-contender taking a stab. Norton could provide bench strength, but he would lose what little Roto value he has. Reyes is the guy to watch. The Devil Rays do hold an option, but they might very well try to move Reyes to a desperate contender in July. If you own Reyes, be aware that you might lose him (and his saves) to another team at the deadline. If you're in a league with deep reserve lists, you might want to grab someone like Chad Orvella, Seth McClung, or (yech) Shawn Camp as a hedge.
Marlins - This is yet another young team, but the guys to watch for are obviously Dontrelle Willis and Miguel Cabrera. Willis avoided arbitration with the team last year, while Cabrera won. They're both relative bargains, but who can predict what Florida will do with these guys? My hunch is that Cabrera isn't going anywhere but that Willis might get moved. With all of the pitchers signed to long-term contracts this winter, Willis is one of the few guys who might actually be available, and he'll command a hefty price if the Marlins do decide to cut bait.
Orioles - There might be the usual talk about Miguel Tejada getting moved, but I see him staying put. The Orioles are a conservative organization when it comes to trades, so I wouldn't look to see any non-2008 free agents going anywhere. Corey Patterson and Kevin Millar are the guys who might move. Millar fits that bat-off-the-bench profile. Patterson could help a team looking for a centerfielder, but I wouldn't be surprised to see the Orioles continue to get sucked into his Roto skills and hang on to him.
Blue Jays -This team just seems older than it is. Surprisingly, there aren't a ton of candidates to get traded. Once again, Matt Stairs could be the bat-off-the-bench guy. Royce Clayton simply isn't going to command any interest. The Jays are already shopping Tomo Ohka around, according to Rotoworld, so he might actually be gone early next month. Reed Johnson and Gregg Zaun are possible candidates to get moved after they come off the DL, but they'd have to prove full health first. Troy Glaus is the non-2008 free agent candidate for a trade, but he has a no-trade clause and a player option in 2009, so I'm somehow guessing that he's not going anywhere.
In both leagues, the options in the East look weak. Dontrelle Willis, if he's shopped, is an extremely interesting candidate for a high FAAB bid, but he's no sure thing to move. Most of these other guys probably wouldn't even start for their new teams.
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