Five Under-the-Radar Trade Candidates Teams Should Be Calling About

Photo Courtesy of USA Today

By: Chris Larson 

Although there has been minimal activity overall in the Hot Stove League over the last few weeks, it is still indeed Hot Stove season. That means that all thirty General Managers are still able to look at ways to upgrade their 26-man roster and put their team in the best position to be as competitive as possible this coming season.

However, besides Josh Donaldson signing with the Minnesota Twins last week, there has been very little happening on the trade market. Much of what has occurred over the last few weeks has been chatter involving big-named players like Nolan Arenado of the Colorado Rockies, Francisco Lindor of the Cleveland Indians and Kris Bryant of the Chicago Cubs. Boston Red Sox outfielder, Mookie Betts was once viewed as a logical trade candidate, but his name has not been circulated in the trade rumor mill for a while now.

Regardless, since there is nothing going on in the trade market, that means now is the time to encourage all thirty General Managers to get creative, think outside of the box, and identify under-the-radar trade candidates that don't fall in the category of Nolan Arenado, Francisco Lindor, Kris Bryant, or Mookie Betts. With a little under a month to go until Spring Training officially starts, now is the time for every General Manager to act and make upgrades to their team's roster.

With that being said, here are five under-the-radar trade candidates to monitor that teams should be calling about.

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1. RHP Jeff Samardzija (San Francisco Giants) - Given the need for starting pitching around the league, it seems like right-hander Jeff Samardzija could be a logical trade candidate for a number of teams looking for a veteran arm for their rotation. Samardzija has one-year remaining on his current contract at $19.8 million dollars. While the price tag is high, Samardzija has a track record of being durable over his big league career and could provide some valuable innings to the right team. Some of the teams that could have used Jeff Samardzija early on this offseason no longer have a spot for him, but teams like the Milwaukee Brewers, Los Angeles Angels, Philadelphia Phillies, and Minnesota Twins could all afford to add Samardzija to their team. Some of those teams have a more pressing need than others, but as every season has shown in the past, a team can never have enough pitching depth to help them get through a regular 162-game season - let alone one that includes a postseason appearance as well.

Last season with the San Francisco Giants, Samardzija posted a 3.52 ERA over 181.1 innings of work with an ERA+ value of 119 and a 6.9 strikeouts-per-9 rate. There is some concern in regards to his Fielding Independent Percentage from last year which was 4.59, but the overall pedigree of what Samardzija brings to the table should be factored in here. Furthermore, Samardzija had the highest left on-base percentage (76.9%) of his big league career last season. A veteran that can eat up innings, knows how to pitch in critical situations, and one that can provide leadership to a young starting rotation is exactly what Jeff Samardzija can bring to a team.

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2. 2B Dee Gordon (Seattle Mariners) - When you look around the league, there's not many teams that are in need of a second baseman anymore. Despite that though, a team like the Chicago Cubs should look at potentially adding Dee Gordon to their roster. Gordon has the ability to play second base, hits leadoff which is an area of the lineup the Cubs have desperately needed to upgrade the past few seasons, and would likely come at an affordable cost. As it stands right now, Gordon has one-year guaranteed left on his contract at a salary of $13.8 million dollars. In addition, Gordon's contract includes a $14 million dollar team option or $1 million dollar buyout option for the 2021 regular season. While the Chicago Cubs might not be able to add all of that salary to their payroll, the Mariners have shown a willingness to pay down some money for players in trades previously such as the Robinson Cano and Edwin Diaz deal with the New York Mets.

While Gordon rated below average among second baseman, with at least 400 plate appearances last season, he did have a .313 Batting Average on Balls In Play (BABIP) and is a well-known base runner as illustrated by the 22 stolen bases he recorded last season over 27 opportunities. In the base running category, Gordon ranked eighth using the same criteria from above, with a 2.9 value based on data compiled by FanGraphs. A bulk of Gordon's plate appearances last season came from the 7, 8, and 9 holes of the Mariners lineup, but Gordon is a prototypical leadoff hitter and one that could boost the Chicago Cubs lineup very easily with speed at the top.

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3. RHP Carlos Estevez (Colorado Rockies) - Although the Colorado Rockies have a much more well-known trade candidate on the market in the aforementioned Nolan Arenado, the team needs to be open and willing to all trade possibilities this offseason. Thus far, the Rockies have been very quiet in the Hot Stove League, but they should really consider doing something before Opening Day to give the team a nice jolt. An Arenado trade still could happen before Opening Day, but if there was another potential name to monitor on their team it would be right-handed reliever, Carlos Estevez. Estevez is entering his age 27 season and has three years of team control remaining before he is due to hit free agency. When you look around the rest of the league, there are still a fair number of teams that could use bullpen help and given the lack of impactful options left in free agency, those teams could turn to the trade market for suitable options. Estevez could definitely fall into that category, but will cost a premium given the years of control remaining.

Last season over 72 innings of work, Estevez posted a 3.75 ERA with a strikeout percentage of 26.3% and a groundball rate of 38.1%. From a career perspective, Estevez strikeout percentage was the highest it has ever been over his three years in the majors and the groundball rate was down somewhat from 2016 and 2017 (43.8% in 2016 and 45.1% in 2017). Some of that might be due to the dynamics of the baseball last year and the idea that hitters seemed to square up on every single pitch. Therefore, a team might see some promise and feel as though Estevez can excel in the right atmosphere and with the right analytical plan put into place. The Colorado Rockies might be hesitant to deal away Carlos Estevez because they feel as though they can contend again this coming season, but if Estevez nets the team the right pack in return, then a trade should happen.

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4. 3B Colin Moran (Pittsburgh Pirates) - The third base market has lost a few teams over the past few weeks as the Texas Rangers came to terms with Todd Frazier on a one-year deal and the Minnesota Twins signed Josh Donaldson to their aforementioned four-year deal. Despite that though, there still might be a team or two out there that could use an upgrade at the hot corner. The Atlanta Braves seem content with a platoon of Austin Riley and Johan Camargo, but they might see a need to add someone like Colin Moran to the mix. Another potential would be the Texas Rangers - if they feel as though Todd Frazier fits better at first base and then upgrade at third base with Moran. In both instances, it's more of a luxury type of situation rather than a dire need type of scenario. Regardless though, Moran has been a more under-the-radar type of name on the trade market all offseason due to the lack of activity and noise coming out of Pittsburgh.

Last season, Moran played in 149 games in which he hit: .277/.322/.417 over 503 plate appearances with a .341 BABIP and a Weighted Runs Created Plus (wRC+) value of 94. Overall, Moran rated poorly both offensively (-7.4) and defensively (-7.8) last season, but a team might still see some potential in his game and believe that a change of scenery could help him. Add to the fact that Moran is still relatively young (he will turn 28 this coming October), there might be some untaped potential for the right team to tap into. Furthermore, another potential promising sign for a team that might be interested in acquiring Colin Moran is the idea that his Hard Hit Rate was the highest it's been last year over his four-year big league career. Moran had a Hard Hit Rate of 34.3% last year, but again some of that might be due to the dynamics of the baseball. Regardless, Colin Moran could be a potential trade chip for a Pittsburgh Pirates team that has been stunningly quiet all offseason long.

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5. LHP J.A. Happ (New York Yankees) - Now that the New York Yankees have right-hander, Gerrit Cole anchoring down their starting rotation, they don't have as much of a need for someone like left-hander, J.A. Happ. Sure, depth is never a bad thing because of injuries and unexpected circumstances, but the Yankees have made it known that they would like to trim Happ's salary from their payroll with the addition of Gerrit Cole's contract to the books. Happ is under contract this coming season for $17 million dollars and has a $17 million dollar vesting option for next season as well assuming that he reaches 165 innings or makes 27 starts this coming season. Therefore, if Happ stays healthy and his option for the 2021 regular season ends up vesting, the team acquiring him would have control for two seasons. However, no one has a crystal ball and is able to say whether or not that 2021 vesting option will take effect, but if Happ's track record says anything it looks likely that it will. Dating back to the 2016 regular season, Happ has made at least 25 starts every year.

Last year, Happ was a victim of the home run ball, as illustrated by his home runs-per-9 rate of 1.9 which was the highest value of his 13-year big league career, but recorded 140 strikeouts and an ERA+ of 90 over 161.1 innings of work in 2019. Furthermore, Happ incorporated his slider into his pitch repertoire much more often last season compared to the year before. Last year, Happ relied on his slider 17.4% of the time compared to 12.7% during the 2018 regular season. If the Yankees were to trade Happ, they might need to attach another intriguing player or prospect to the deal given that some teams might be concerned over Happs age (37) and his overall workload. In addition, if a deal were to commence, the Yankees would likely have to pay down some of his salary for the coming season. Although, a team like the Los Angeles Angels could afford to add another left-hander to their starting rotation as could the Milwaukee Brewers. Both the Angels and Brewers are in obvious win-now mode so a trade for J.A. Happ would help to capitalize those efforts for both teams.