Trade Candidate: Joe Saunders

Joe Saunders' name has been mentioned in some trade rumors this season, and with the Diamondbacks falling out of the race, I expect them to trade him. Saunders was brought over in the Dan Haren trade and has been average. He is an ideal #3 starter and will probably never be an ace. He is not a strikeout pitcher and lets the hitters put the ball in play. He still could bring a nice prospect back to Arizona. He currently has a 3.65 ERA in 11 starts. That's about what Saunders is able to provide to a contender, a mid-high 3 ERA and durability. He will definitely be a hot commodity this summer because there aren't too many starting pitchers available. I expect a team that doesn't want to throw their whole farm system away to go after Saunders.

Many teams will be interested in Saunders. A few of those teams could be the Pirates, Yankees, Orioles, Angels and Braves. The Pirates, if contention, will definitely need some starting pitching help. Their rotation consists of Eric Bedard, Charlie Morton and James McDonald. Saunders would be a nice #4 or #5 starter for the Bucs. The Yankees have been searching for pitching help and Saunders could be a nice fit in their rotation as well. The Orioles need pitching and they have some trade chips that the Diamondbacks may be interested in. The Angels could use Saunders as their #5 starter, but Jerome Williams is currently in that role and playing well enough to keep it. The Braves have always had an abundance of starting pitching but Jair Jurrjens has proved to be a bust and the team will most likely search for a starter that could come cheap. Of course there are other teams that I haven't mentioned, like the Red Sox for example, that could be interested in Saunders, but the list just keeps going on and on.

I think it will take a mid level prospect to acquire Saunders. If anything, maybe a mid level prospect and salary relief. Lets put it this way, a team that wants him will not have to dump their whole farm system to get him.

The great thing about this trade for the Dbacks is that moving Saunders would make room for top prospect Trevor Bauer. Bauer has been performing very well in the minor leagues and is a candidate to crack the Diamondbacks rotation by sometime this season. Moving Saunders would allow the team to know what they have in Bauer. It would also help them rebuild as they will most likely look to the future. Its not like they are 10 good players away from contending but they have a few moves they must make if they want to make it to the postseason in the next few years.