Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports sets up a new line of trade speculatin' today: he asks whether the Indians might be willing to take offers on catcher/first baseman Victor Martinez in the near future. The Indians would have to fall out of contention first (they're currently 7.5 games out), and even then it'd be a long shot. Martinez, 30, is hitting a robust .401/.478/.632 in 178 plate appearances this year. He has $4.3MM more coming this year and an easily-decided $7MM club option for 2010.
Rosenthal says the Red Sox already inquired on Martinez about a month ago. While "premium players on both sides" were discussed, "the talks failed to progress." Rosenthal speculates on names such as Clay Buchholz, Daniel Bard, and Lars Anderson.
Rosenthal doesn't mention them, but the Mets could be a nice fit for V-Mart if Carlos Delgado's injury puts him out for several months.
