Cleveland Indians have numerous options to replace Byrd, Brantley

3. Trade for Matt Kemp

The A.J Preller era for the San Diego Padres  started off with a bang in 2015, as they made numerous moves in hopes that it would lead to them contending for a world series. In the end, the finished 74-88 and in fourth place in the NL West. They have been slow out of the gate in 2016, as they have a 23-35 record, and don’t look like a contender. This has led them to already make some moves, as they traded James Shields to the White Sox for prospects. Shields was one of the headline acquisitions Preller made in the 2015 offseason.

The other big name was Matt Kemp, leading many to believe that the power hitting right-fielder could be dealt this season. Now Kemp is nowhere near the five-tool player he was with the Dodgers, but he can still provide some genuine raw power in the lineup as he’s proven so far this year with San Diego, as he has 13 home runs and 39 RBI through 57 games. Getting Kemp will not be cheap, though, as the Padres appear to be in full rebuild mode, so they would probably want some big name prospects, like Clint Frazier, Bobby Bradley, or Mike Papi. If not Kemp, the Padres also have Melvin Upton Jr. and Wil Myers, who are both adequate MLB outfielders, and might not have such a steep cost like Kemp. 

4. Trade for Carlos “CarGo” Gonzalez

Like Kemp, Carlos Gonzalez is on an NL West team that is in the rebuild process, and would love to have young, team friendly prospects. The reason the Rockies might truly entertain trade talk with the Indians is because the Rockies desperately need pitching. Offense has never been a problem for the Rockies, but the lack of even semi-decent pitching has deterred any true hopes of them contending since they last reached the world series in 2007.

Gonzalez is currently batting .308 this year with 13 home runs and 29 RBI in his year 30 season. But what’s even more impressive about Gonzalez is that his batting average is currently higher on the road compared to home (.310 compared to .307). Gonzalez plays his home games in Denver at Coors Field, where the ball just flies out of the ballpark, so the fact that he has a higher average on the road goes to show how good of a hitter he truly is.

Next: Could Another Trade With the Cardinals Work?