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Thursday could be a good one for teams looking to sell middle infield help before the trade deadline.
With less than 24 hours before the trade deadline, proverbial hands are starting to shake and deals are starting to get done. We haven't had any big blockbusters yet, but there should be some action before the clock strikes 4 p.m. ET on Thursday.
That's good news if you're a bad team with a second baseman of reasonable skill, because arguably no position in the league has more suitors right now. Several of the best teams in the game have somehow won while having at least one black hole in the lineup, and many of them need help in the same spot.
Lots of needy bidders can only mean good things for teams in position to sell, and they're likely angling to maximize a serious opportunity. Price tags will likely get driven up in the process, making certain GMs look good and making others look silly.
This is clearly a seller's market, and one that lacks exciting options. That's music to the ears of practically every team with a useful veteran who plays second base, though, and we'll see just how much they can take advantage.
The buyers
Five teams currently stand out in terms of getting particularly dreadful production at second base, and four of them are in line for playoff spots right now. The other is San Diego. None of them are getting even a .600 OPS at the position, with the Padres at the bottom getting a .176/.234/.270 line (yikes).
The most aggressive of the bunch, at least as far as rumors are concerned, has been the Giants. They've been rolling with Brandon Hicks, Ehire Adrianza and Joe Panik for most of their playing time at second base, and the result has been a .176/.257/.276 performance. Dan Uggla was recently brought in, but he's pretty clearly not a solution.
The other three teams are the Athletics, Orioles and Cardinals. There haven't been as many solid rumors tying them to available players, at least at second base, but they all need help. Young players such as Jonathan Schoop and Kolten Wong haven't cut it at the plate, and veterans such as Mark Ellis and Nick Punto haven't been answers.
The sellers
The dearth of quality second basemen around the game means few teams are willing to part with their best pieces. Only mid-tier players at the position are really hitting the market, and that means picking your poison from a group of flawed options if you're a buyer.
The big names on the rumor mill have been Gordon Beckham, Emilio Bonifacio and Asdrubal Cabrera. Other possibilities include Martin Prado, Aaron Hill, Alexei Ramirez and Daniel Murphy. The gem of the market, of course, is Ben Zobrist, who probably will not get traded.
For a team such as Arizona, the opportunity to shed much of Prado's contract, which has $22 million remaining for 2015-16, would obviously be appealing. Normally, that would probably be impossible due to his play the past two seasons, but it's probably not out of the question given the circumstances.
The Diamondbacks aren't the only team that could benefit. The White Sox, Cubs, Mets and Indians all have potential trade candidates, and could take advantage of some desperate peers.
The Red Sox and Phillies haven't entertained the possibility of trading Dustin Pedroia and Chase Utley, respectively, but they could likely get huge returns if they wanted. Then again, it's admittedly hard giving up a franchise second baseman once you have one.
The rumors
We know the Giants are "weighing their options" at the position, including Beckham, Cabrera and Bonifacio, but it's hard to peg what the other teams are thinking. St. Louis seems focused on pitching right now, and already added Justin Masterson, and we haven't heard much from the Athletics.
Baltimore has been tied to Bonifacio by on-and-off reports, and he's clearly available, but the latest indications don't seem to be pointing toward a deal. Like with the Cardinals, we've heard more about the Orioles' pursuit of high-end pitching than we have about their need at second base.
Still, there's not a whole lot these teams can do if they want to improve, and second base seems like one of the obvious places to do it. Should one of these teams land its ace or move on from that endeavor, it's possible addressing the middle infield is the next step in the plan.
The guys listed above aren't game-changers, but most of them represent clear upgrades from the poor production these contenders have received. If any teams have an opportunity to get serious value at the deadline, it's the sellers on the 2B market.