Why on earth would the Reds trade for Tex? That makes no sense. And I would have zero interest in Arroyo.

Hey I am open to suggestions give me some, give us all some suggestions on who you would all want for Tex.

I don’t know why I’m doing this, because I’m in the camp of wanting to keep Tex for the push after the all-star break when FYF and Cy Hampton surface from the minor leagues to carry us to glory. However, I guess I’ve wondered as well, so now might be a good a time as any to check out potential suitors.

First things first: I don’t really think a trade is going to happen, for a couple reasons. One, management has shown no indication that he’s being shopped, much less indicating that we’re selling in the first place. Two, we have no adequate replacement for him. Scott Thorman? Please. Our replacements are years away (Freeman, C. Johnson; I don’t consider Kala a replacement because he looks too much like Thorman to me) and I don’t know of any one on the major league club who can fill in first. Perhaps Diaz can play first for half a year (gulp.)

so with that being said, here we go.

First and foremost: Tampa Bay Rays.

Now that the devil has been exorcised they’ve looked good, and the wonderful depth they have in terms of young prospects means they can go out and get that impact rental player easier than most teams. I don’t know if they’re looking, so this is pure speculation. But Pena is slumming around .750 OPS and they have Cliff Floyd (HA!) and Johnny Gomes listed as their first two DH options. Now imagine Tex’s D in their already stellar defense, and put his switch hitting power in the middle of their lineup…yowsa. If I were a Rays fan I would be licking my chops at putting him in the middle of my lineup.

The Braves would almost certainly be looking at their young pitching, starting with David Price. If I were Wren and the Rays came up looking for Tex, I would say Price has to be part of the deal. I would use the Sabathia deal (if it goes down, mind you) as a model, showing that the Brew Crew are getting half a year of Chunky for their top prospect and then some. I’m not intimately familiar with the Rays farm system, but other young pitchers that come to mind are Wade Davis, Jacob McGee, and Jeremy Hellickson in their AA affiliate (lulz @ the Biscuits). I’m not a big fan of Jeff Niemann, but then again, I’m no scout. If they’re reluctant to give up Price, we can use Ohman as sweeter to pry more quality out of them. So a proposed deal would be:

TB Gets:
Mark Teixeira

ATL gets:
David Price
1-2 other not so high prospects, probably a middle infielder/3B and another pitcher.

TB gets:
Tex
Ohman

Atl gets:
2 of the 4 mentioned pitchers
1-2 other not so high prospects.

Again, disclaimer: I have no idea if Price is untouchable, but I don’t think its outside the realm of possibility to get him, either. If he’s dangled then there probably no way I don’t make the deal.

Next up: Oakland A’s

In the fanciful situation where Oakland actually buys at the deadline, they would certainly have prospects interesting for the Braves, having stocked up recently. The need for Oakland is as strong as the Rays, but the advantage isn’t as clear cut. They still need to play catch up with the Angels, and will Tex be able to make that difference? Also, I don’t think we’re in nearly as strong of a bargaining position with the A’s as the Rays.

Regardless, a few names jump out. First is Sean Doolittle, the A’s sandwich pick last year from UVA. He’s mashing in High-A ball, and could probably compete for the starting first baseman job as early as ST next year. Christopher Carter is another masher name, but seems more raw than Doolittle and isn’t availible to help as soon (which we would need if we trade Tex). Would getting Doolittle help ease Thompson into signing? Oakland’s pitching prospects might be easier to pry away from Beane than his hitting prospects, and the jewel is Trevor Cahill.

Oak gets:
Tex

Atl gets:
Doolittle or Cahill
others.

About the other hopeful contenders, I just couldn’t find a good fit. Arizona and Los Angeles have perfectly fine first basemen, and lack the DH position to throw them into. NYY have the great Giambino, and all of the NL central contenders have equally talented or better than Tex in the first place. So…that’s it. Tampa Bay is tailor made for us to trade Tex to them, as well as Oakland should they choose to buy. Other than that, I don’t see another team having a whole lot of interest unless the Dodgers get the veteran urge again or the Diamonbacks magically find another position for Conor Jackson. Although I’d love to make a deal centering around Max Scherzer…

And for all you nay-sayers who say we can’t get top talent for Tex, I point to the proposed Sabathia deal. I also point to the fact that if we DON’T get exactly who we want, there’s no burning need to trade him in my opinion. So if we can’t get the likes of Price, Doolittle, or Cahill, then…we just don’t. Play to the end of the season and try to resign him or take our draft picks and call it a day.

Yeesh, I didn’t mean to turn this into a dissertation. For the tl;dr among you, basically I said Tex for 1 top prospect + other pieces from the Rays or A’s.

I could see the Dodgers looking at Tex if they thought they could hold up with the additional offense. I know they have Loney but Loney can play LF if he needed to, and You could play Kemp in CF with Either in RF. Kind of a stretch but they have some prospects and they desperately need a bat. I could even see a package of Tex and Infante

LA Angels would be an obvious choice: They have the talent and need a Tex-like bat. He could DH/1B with Kotchman. His presence hitting hehind Guerrero would have a season altering effect on their line-up.

Boston: If the Red Sox have problems catching up to the Rays and Pappi can’t come back then I could see the Red Sox at least talking to the Braves.

Yeah there is zero chance the Rays part with Price for a player who will be there 2 months. If we trade Tex we aren’t anywhere near the players you think we would. Whoever trades for him knows they may not be able to keep him (in the Rays case no chance) so they aren’t giving up top prospects for him.