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Will Soriano be moved?

It might be too early to start talking about trade rumors, but it’s never too early to start talking about rumors of trade rumors. As teams fall out of the playoff race we start to hear whispers about which players could be available as late-season additions for the league’s contenders. Here’s a glance at what the rumor mill could look like next month:

American League East

Both the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox figure to be in the race for the AL East division title and/or the Wild Card berth until the bitter end, and the Toronto Blue Jays have made too many promises to their fans (and made too much progress on the field) to bail out of the race unless they drastically go into the tank in the next little while.

That leaves the Baltimore Orioles and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays as the AL East’s two potential sellers. The O’s have players that contenders covet, especially on offense, but won’t be interested in completely breaking up the roster. That means it’ll be veterans like Javy Lopez, Jeff Conine, and Kevin Millar that will be on the block. Tampa Bay will field offers for Aubrey Huff, although his struggles this year have severely hurt his value.

American League Central

The biggest question mark in the AL Central is the Cleveland Indians, who were supposed to be a contender but have fallen off the pace set by the Detroit Tigers and Chicago White Sox. Should the Tribe continue to believe their own hype they’ll likely hold on to their more valuable assets in hopes that they can find a way to move their way up the standings and into contention, or at least set themselves up for next season.

The Minnesota Twins, though, haven’t been playing well and would be interested in dealing away some players prior to the trade deadline. That means Rondell White and Tony Batista will be available (but not worth much), and possibly Shannon Stewart as well. Starter Brad Radke might welcome a change of scenery too. As for the Kansas City Royals, if Mike Sweeney can get healthy this could be the year he’s finally traded.

American League West

Mediocre play throughout the AL West means all four teams are still holding onto some playoff hopes. However, it seems like the Seattle Mariners will be the first of the four to fall out of contention, and could start looking around for teams to take the struggling Richie Sexson and Adrian Beltre off their hands. However, their big contracts and poor stats could make them both unmovable; Carl Everett might be the easier player to deal.

National League East

The New York Mets will be looking to add a piece or two prior to the deadline, while the Philadelphia Phillies still have playoff aspirations. The Atlanta Braves probably won’t accept finally missing the postseason, so it remains to be seen if they will stay out of contention and decide to move some veteran pieces to help themselves in the future.

The Washington Nationals, though, have one of the top assets in the game potentially available - converted outfielder Alfonso Soriano. The bidding for Soriano should be fierce, and a blockbuster deal involving starter Livan Hernandez as well can’t be ruled out. The last-place Florida Marlins have little left to trade, but starting pitcher Dontrelle Willis and third baseman Miguel Cabrera will attract a lot of interest from other teams.

National League Central

The St. Louis Cardinals might need to deal to replace Albert Pujols’ power in the lineup if the slugger misses more time than expected, or if he doesn’t return at 100%. The Cincinnati Reds, Milwaukee Brewers, and Pittsburgh Pirates are all in various stages of the rebuilding process right now, and don’t seem likely to make huge moves (although a return of Ken Griffey Jr. to the American League should be bandied about as usual).

So trade rumors in the NL Central should focus on two teams - the Chicago Cubs and the Houston Astros. The Cubs are going through a disastrous season, and starter Greg Maddux would have some value as an addition to the rotation of a playoff team. And if the Astros fall out of contention before Roger Clemens has time to settle in, expect to start hearing fanciful rumors about Clemens going either to the Yankees or the BoSox.

National League West

Much like the AL West, the NL West division has all of its teams bunched up in the standings. That’ll make it difficult for any of them to decide on roster moves until much later in the summer. The two biggest assets, of course, will be Rockies first baseman Todd Helton and Giants outfielder Barry Bonds, although it remains to be seen whether Colorado or San Francisco will even entertain offers on either of the veteran sluggers.

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