Breaking Down Oakland Athletics’ Possible Trade Suitors

The First Two Teams Out

Jul 20, 2015; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Royals first basemen Eric Hosmer (35) reacts after hitting a RBI triple against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the seventh inning at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter G. Aiken-USA TODAY Sports

8. KANSAS CITY ROYALS: 57-36 – 1st in AL Central

While no one – including myself – would like to see the Athletics aid the team who took them down in the playoffs last season en route to a World Series appearance, it would make sense for both sides to at least consider the idea. After Kansas City made the move today to send Yordano Ventura down to their Triple-A affiliate, it shows they might feel as though they have a weakness within their starting rotation. This would mean going after Kazmir or even Chavez and giving up a decent amount in return, which isn’t really the Royals’ style. I don’t really see it coming to fruition.

7. PITTSBURG PIRATES: 54-40 – 2nd in NL Central

Rumors surfaced a couple of days ago on MLBtraderumors.com that, “With both Josh Harrison and Jordy Mercer out for six to seven weeks, the suddenly injury-plagued Pirates have reached out to the Athletics … to express respective interest in Ben Zobrist.” This may seem logical for both teams however the ‘Bucs function much like Oakland in the sense that they tend to grow from within instead of going out to buy players. This means that it is unlikely that Pittsburg would part with either of their two top prospects Tyler Glanslow (RHP) or Taylor Taillon (RHP), which are really the only two talents worth taking a look at. This just seems like too high of a price to pay for the Pirates.

Next: Possible, But Still Unlikely Trade Partners