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The Shortstop Market Revisited

By Tim Dierkes [July 17, 2008 at 9:51am CST]

Next up in our second pass through the Trade Market: shortstops.

Cristian Guzman, Nationals. He's having a fine year, hitting .313/.340/.424 in 424 plate appearances. Extension talks with the Nationals have dragged. The Nats might prefer to trade him, while Guzman might prefer to test the free agent market.
Miguel Tejada, Astros. The Astros have given no signs of kicking off a rebuilding effort, so a trade is unlikely. Plus, Tejada hasn't hit much since April. He's signed for '09 at $13MM.
Clint Barmes, Rockies. The Rox might be able to spare him, but Barmes has never hit away from Coors and other teams know that. He'll be arbitration-eligible for the first time after this season.
David Eckstein, Blue Jays. Whether or not the Jays decide to sell this year, Eckstein is expendable. The Orioles rumors have died down though.
Jack Wilson, Pirates. I think the Bucs would need to be blown away to move Wilson, since he'd be hard for them to replace. The Dodgers are still in talks, last we've heard. Wilson earns $7.25MM in '09 with an $8.4MM club option for '10. He also has limited no-trade protection.
Brent Lillibridge, Braves. He didn't raise his stock by hitting .212/.276/.288 in Triple A this year.
Edgar Renteria, Tigers. He's been awful, and his '09 option may be declined. It's for $11MM with a $3MM buyout.
Khalil Greene, Padres. Greene has also been terrible. He's signed for '09 at $6.5MM.
Chin-lung Hu, Dodgers. He figures to either be the team's shortstop of the future or a prime trade chip.
Omar Vizquel, Giants. He's been a big negative with the bat this year; he might be finished. The Red Sox are not interested.
Juan Uribe, White Sox. Uribe has been perilously close to a trade or release for months. His hitting has continued to deteriorate, and he's played very little shortstop this year.
Ronny Cedeno, Cubs. Cedeno is only 25, and he's performed well at Triple A. Lou Piniella has given him very little playing time this month; he could be a useful trade chip.