MLB Trade Rumors

Well, they are not really looking at Albert Pujols yet, as he is not a free agent until after this season.

But the Yankees have said all along their priority is Cliff Lee with GM Brian Cashman already meeting with the Lee family at their home in Arkansas. And yesterday Hank Steinbrenner said, "It's no secret we want Cliff and we will do whatever it takes to get him. That's the bottom line."

With the winter meetings just a few days away, the San Diego Padres and Boston Red Sox are apparently not waiting to get their trade talks going.

This Major League Baseball offseason, while slow to build up, has started to make many large splashes. Recently, Adam Dunn signed a contract with the White Sox, and Troy Tulowitzki agreed to a massive extension with the Rockies.

While free agents are being signed, players are being traded. What is particularly interesting about the rumor mill for trades this year is that many of the players there were once considered untouchable. No one saw Jose Reyes leaving the Mets five years ago, or even last year, and likewise for Zack Greinke.

We all know that some players just aren't worth the money that they are making. Almost every team has one; some have significantly more than that. No matter how much love that some fans may have for some of them, the fact is they are not what they once were. 

Here are 25 of the most dead-weight players in baseball that their current teams would love to move.

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Originally, the Mariners were in the clear. Then, they weren’t.

A few days later, Justin Upton’s agents decided to set the record straight and let everyone know that their client’s contract does not bar a trade to Seattle.

Now the question yielded is should the Mariners make a run at him?

In baseball, divisions can be won or lost based on what a team does in the winter months, and perhaps more so than any other division, the NL Central could be decided by a few key off season moves.

The division looks to be a three team race between the Cardinals, Reds, and Cubs. The Brewers are also capable of making some noise, while the Astros and Pirates are in the middle of rebuilding and could see marked improvement in the years to come.

The off-season free agency frenzy has already begun, and so far we’ve seen only a handful of players switch teams. Dan Uggla was dealt to the Braves, Javier Vazquez returned to the NL, and Victor Martinez joined fellow countryman Miguel Cabrera in Detroit.

While unsigned free agents Cliff Lee, Adrian Beltre and Carl Crawford will make great impacts for their new teams, we can’t forget that there is more than one way to improve your team.

Over the course of the 2010 MLB season, when the conversation turned to the upcoming free agent market, little attention was paid to Derek Jeter.

The fates of Carl Crawford and Cliff Lee have inspired countless articles and debates, but few writers spilled ink on his pending free agency because it seemed unfathomable that the Yankees captain would ever play anywhere but New York.

Let’s get one thing clear, the Red Sox cannot find replacements for Victor Martinez and Adrian Beltre, and improve offensively. Martinez batted .400 against lefties, Beltre was the best player on the team. Good luck finding that level of production on the trade market.

As far as replacing Victor Martinez, there is one thing everyone should remember: The Red Sox have Jarrod Saltalamacchia right now. It would not take much to be an improvement.

Since the tragic signing of Jeff Suppan in 2007, the Brewers have continued to look, albeit not very hard, for solid and consistent starting pitching. Randy Wolf finally came on at the end of last season, but he is no better than a No. 3 starter despite the bill of goods Doug Melvin has been trying to sell us.

The free agent market is pretty barren after Cliff Lee, so the Brewers will have to trade for pitching. Prince Fielder, Rickie Weeks, Corey Hart and an array of prospects are what the Brewers have to offer. Let's take a look and see who's out there.