MLB Trade Rumors

Trade rumors begin to swirl as spring training nears completion in Major League Baseball.  As Opening Day draws near, teams begin to identify their needs as well as their surpluses.  The St. Louis Cardinals, who have found themselves actively involved in the market for shortstops around the league over the last few seasons, suddenly find themselves with a player to offer to the market.

As play heats up in Arizona and Florida, the start of the regular season moves closer to reality for baseball fans. Yet, despite the calendar inching toward spring, winter isn't over for some teams.

Offseason activity still exists, especially within free agent circles impacted by draft compensation, lingering trade activity and teams looking to find the missing piece to a complete 25-man roster.

At this point of the MLB season, it's all about spring training as players get tuned up for 2014 in Arizona and Florida.

While trades during spring training are pretty rare, the MLB trade rumor mill is still alive with a few rumblings that involve a couple of starters and other players that could have big impacts this season.

Here's a look at the latest buzz from around the league on the trade front.

Major League Baseball is officially here.

The Los Angeles Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks have opened up their respective spring training camps early in preparation for their season-opening series on March 22-23 in Sydney, Australia. The rest of the league is set to follow suit with pitchers and catchers reporting the coming days throughout Arizona and Florida.

While there are still several intriguing free agents on the market as spring training approaches, many teams are looking to make last-minute improvements prior to the 2014 MLB season via trades. Luckily, some talented players are potentially on the block.

There’s a proven closer in the NL East that can definitely be had, but teams could be more interested in trading for one of the division’s other relievers.

This guy’s name: Drew Storen.

With the start of spring training just weeks away, Major League Baseball teams are looking for small pieces to upgrade the roster heading into the season. 

There are plenty of big names still available in the free-agent market, including Ubaldo Jimenez, Fernando Rodney, Nelson Cruz, Stephen Drew and many more. However, teams have shown an unwillingness to give out multi-year deals or big money for these types of players.

The five-player trade between the Houston Astros and Oakland Athletics involving Jed Lowrie and Chris Carter, who both went on to have highly productive seasons for their new teams in 2013, was the lone "blockbuster" trade from last February.

It doesn't mean that we won't have an eventful month ahead of us, with the potential for multiple impact trades to happen. Several big names have already been discussed in trades this winter and it wouldn't be a big surprise to see a few of them head into spring training with a new team.

After winning 92 games and a Wild Card berth in 2013, the last thing the Cleveland Indians would want to do is trade away staff ace Justin Masterson, who is currently the lone projected starter with at least one full big league season under his belt. If anything, they need to add another reliable starter to the mix.

Any team still looking for a starting second baseman is out of options on the free-agent market. Guys like Robinson Cano, Omar Infante and Mark Ellis are long gone.

There’s still the trade market, though. And on that market is one intriguing option: Brandon Phillips.