Trade Candidate: Kurt Suzuki

Kurt Suzuki has been Athletics' starting catcher for over 4 years, but he may be losing his job soon. He has had an awful year and is a trade candidate for many reasons. One reason is that young catching prospect Derek Norris is up in the big leagues and is producing. Norris was acquired by Billy Beane and Co. during the winter in the Gio Gonzalez deal. He has shown pretty consistent numbers in the minors and once he got promoted, everyone knew that Suzuki's days were numbered.

At age 28, Suzuki is still fairly young and is value is extremely low right now, which makes him appealing to a team in need of a catcher. He is signed through 2013 with a 2014 team option so he is also locked up for the next few years. I still think he is capable of getting his career back on track, but it will be tough for him to find regular playing time anywhere.

I can see a lot of teams interested in Suzuki, because the catcher market is basically awful this year. The Nationals, Mets, Rays, Angels, and Pirates should all be interested in acquiring the five year veteran. The Nationals have been juggling their catchers every since Wilson Ramos went down with a Torn ACL. The Mets are in dire need for a backup catcher to compliment Josh Thole and possibly create a platoon situation. The Rays have Jose Molina as their catcher right now. JOSE MOLINA? Suzuki would be a huge upgrade over Molina. The Angels, like the Nats, have been juggling their catchers around. Bobby Wilson, Chris Iannetta, and Hank Conger have all been sharing the catcher duties this season and have no played well. The Pirates should jump in on Suzuki because Rod Barajas is their catcher and is not producing at all. The catcher position isn't an urgent need for Pittsburgh but they might as well chime in and check in on Oakland's asking price.

Oakland isn't going to get that much in return for Suzuki. Since his value is so low right now, I can see them getting possibly a mid level prospect if they are lucky.

Overall, Suzuki, assuming the A's fall out of contention, is as good as gone this summer. His value is low and a team is most likely going to "buy low" on him. The emergence of Derek Norris has also pretty much pushed Suzuki out the door as well. Suzuki's days as an Athletic are clearly numbered, and its only a matter of time when he will be wearing a different uniform.