NL East Links: Marrero, Prado, Silverio

A few notable NL East players and teams are mentioned in Paul Swydan's ESPN Insider piece (subscription required) about "certain players who get overlooked by their own teams."  Swydan suggests that the Phillies may have lost faith in Domonic Brown and could trade him to a team like the Twins, while the Mets could explore acquiring Casper Wells, who is struggling for playing time in Seattle.

Here are some links from around the NL East...

• Chris Marrero could become trade bait for the Nationals during Spring Training, opines MLB.com's Bill Ladson.  The Nats took Marrero with the 15th overall pick of the 2006 draft but the first baseman has struggled to stay healthy and looks to be blocked at first base behind Adam LaRoche and Tyler Moore.  Marrero, 24, has hit .284/.353/.452 with 86 homers in 2791 minor league plate appearances and received 117 PAs at the Major League level with Washington in 2011.
• The Braves "had gained a strong sense this would have been [Martin Prado's] final season in Atlanta" after difficult arbitration negotiations and Prado's demands for a $12MM average annual salary in a multiyear deal, MLB.com's Mark Bowman writes.  This made him expendable enough to be traded to the Diamondbacks in last week's deal for Justin Upton.
• It was just over a year ago that outfielder Alfredo Silverio was severely injured in a car accident that sidelined him for the entire 2012 season.  Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald chronicles how Silverio has recovered and is now trying to catch on with the Marlins after being selected off the Dodgers' roster in the Rule 5 Draft.  Silverio, 25, hit .292/.326/.479 in 2385 minor league plate appearances in the Dodgers' system, topping out at an .883 OPS at Double-A in 2011.
• Over at Roto Authority, MLBTR's fantasy baseball affiliate, I recently looked which of two NL East pitchers (Roy Halladay and Kris Medlen) was a better fantasy bet for the 2013 season.

2012 Rule 5 Draft Results

Each year, Major League Baseball's Winter Meetings conclude with the Rule 5 Draft. For those who are unfamiliar with the event, MLBTR offers an in-depth description, but here's a quick overview.

Players are eligible for the Rule 5 Draft if they aren't on the 40-man roster four or five years after signing, depending on the age at which they signed. Teams draft in the reverse order of the previous season's standings but aren't required to make a selection. If they do choose a player, they pay his former team $50K and must keep that player on the Major League roster all season or offer him back to his original team for $25K.

The results from the Major League phase:

1. Astros take righty Josh Fields from Red Sox
2. Cubs take righty Hector Rondon from Indians
3. Rockies take lefty Danny Rosenbaum from Nationals
4. Twins take righty Ryan Pressly from Red Sox
5. Indians take first baseman Chris McGuiness from Rangers
6. Marlins take outfielder Alfredo Silverio from Dodgers
7. Red Sox take second baseman Jeff Kobernus from Nationals; traded to Tigers for infielder/outfielder Justin Henry
8. Royals
9. Blue Jays
10. Mets take lefty Kyle Lobstein from Rays; traded to Tigers for cash considerations
11. Mariners
12. Padres
13. Pirates
14. Diamondbacks take righty Starling Peralta from Cubs
15. Phillies take outfielder Ender Inciarte from Diamondbacks
16. Brewers
17. White Sox take infielder Angel Sanchez from Angels
18. Dodgers
19. Cardinals
20. Tigers
21. Angels
22. Rays
23. Orioles take lefty T.J. McFarland from Indians
24. Rangers take righty Coty Woods from Rockies
25. Athletics
26. Giants
27. Braves
28. Yankees
29. Reds
30. Nationals

Second round of Major League phase:

• Astros take first baseman Nate Freiman from Padres
• Marlins take lefty Braulio Lara from Rays