Ok the winter meetings have ended in Texas where it was below freezing occasionally.  They could have had the meetings in Cleveland.

The Tribe has been connected to a lot of rumors.  I really don’t expect the Indians to be big players in the free agent market, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they went with a trade.  Free agent Josh Willingham’s name keeps coming up and there have been rumors since last summer.   I assume the Indians are serious about Willingham, but so are a few other clubs.  Tribe talking to Willingham  They could sign Willingham and still make a trade.  If they don’t sign Willingham I expect that they will actively pursue a trade for a right handed bat. As I have mentioned before they have plenty of relief pitching available.  The Tribe has quality relief pitchers at the major league level and at about every stop of their minor leagues system.  This is a position of strength in the Indians organization.  Don’t be surprised if any relief pitcher is traded, including closer Chris Perez. Free agents and ex-Indians Mark DeRosa and Casey Blake have also been mentioned as potential Tribe targets.  They both are at the end of their careers and would come cheap.  I am not sure how they would help, but wouldn’t it be nice to see Blake in a Tribe uniform again. Tribe interest in Blake

Here is the real news.  Chris Antonetti was quoted at the meetings that he had a trade in the works and if it goes through you couldn’t guess it in 50 tries. Antonetti hints at surprising deal in works  So I decided that I would give it a try.  I don’t think the Tribe would be able to trade for a majority of the players that I am about to list.  The player’s salary and the probability of the other team parting ways with a star player being the main reasons the Indians would never make these moves.  But Antonetti did say we couldn’t guess who it was so I can take some liberties and guess wildly, maybe even dream.

Antonetti said we could never guess so I would expect the Tribe to announce a trade that involved players who were uninspiring or we have never heard of.  My first choices and probably the most likely are:

The “who the hell are you”, better known as the David Dellucci/Jason Michaels group:

50.  Jason Michaels HOU – Yes he is still playing and he batted .199 with 2 HR’s last year.  Wow.

49.  Kyle Blanks SAN – Career #s 420 AB – 20 HR – .219 AVG.  Just what the Tribe doesn’t need.

48.  Brian Bixler   WAS – Career .187 hitter who plays SS.  He is from Sandusky.

47.  Drew Stubbs CIN – Actually a tough player, with lots of energy.  Great 4^th outfielder.

46. Chris Carter OAK – Who?

45.  Russell Branyan LAA – He is in fact a free agent.

You make way too much money for the Indians to ever consider group.  (This group could include all of the remaining players)  Any trades made for these players would require the Indians giving up high prospects and/or  current players, and the other participating team taking on a majority of the players’ salary.

44.  Jason Bay NYM – Two down years in a row, maybe on the down side of his career.

43.  Joey Votto CIN – Do the Reds trade a past MVP?  He is due a big raise soon making it a possibility.  I doubt the Tribe would want to deal with that raise.

42.  Matt Holiday STL – Do the Cardinals begin to retool since losing Pujols?

41.  Vernon Wells LAA – 26 million per year.  The Tribe would have to send half their team to cover that salary.

40.  Alfonso Soriano CHC – The Cubs would love to get rid of Soriano, but would they eat that much of his contract?  He is getting up there in age, but he might fit into the Tribe’s window.

39.  Carlos Zambrano CHC – The Cubs would do anything to drop this head case.  He is the Milton Bradley of pitchers.  They played on the same team!  Reality show.

38.  Jose Bautista TOR – Does Toronto sell a player at his highest value.  One who has been linked to stealing signs?

37. Carl Crawford BOS – They were not happy with his performance last year on the field or in the clubhouse.

36. Alex Rio CWS – The White Sox regret picking up Rios and his contract.

35.  Hunter Pence PHI – They were renting him last year.  Yea right.

I wish (The Tribe would have to sell the farm for any of these players)

34.   David Wright NYM – Goodbye Chisenhall, Chris Perez and others…

33.   Ryan Braun MIL – Never happening.

32.   Andrew McCutchen PIT – Would Pittsburgh trade the face of their franchise for enough players?

31.  Paul Konerko CWS – Perfect player for the Tribe clubhouse, but not going to happen.

30.  Kevin Youkilis BOS – Another great player and club house leader the Indians need.  Not going to happen.

29.  Pablo Sandoval SF – A young third baseman with a low salary.  The Giants would require a lot to trade him, Chisenhall plus others.  He does have weight problems and just maybe the Giants sell high.

28.  Justin Upton ARZ – Back up the truck full of major league talent for a player of this caliber.

27.  Jason Heyward ATL – He is a lefty and the Braves are looking for another bat.  This trade would never work out.  Just my wish to have instead of Beau Mills who the Indians drafted one spot ahead of Heyward in the 2007 draft.

26.  Desmond Jennings TB – Tampa Bay giving up young, cheap talent.  Not likely.

25.  Adam Jones BAL – The Orioles have numerous holes.  Do they trade a star player to quickly fill those holes?

24.  Mike Stanton MIA – Young player with power.  Would the Marlins trade him if they sign Fielder for other parts?  Doubt it.

Possible, but I really doubt it group.  The Tribe would have to send multiple players and have the other team take on a majority of the contract, or this group may have other problems complicating a trade.

23.  Carlos Gonzalez COL – Colorado needs more parts and is not ready to compete yet.  They would ask for a lot and probably major league talent.  He is a lefty and the Tribe is looking for a right handed bat

22.  Delmon Young DET – The Indians were linked to Young in the summer.  Would they make a trade with Detroit?

21.  Denard Span MIN – Again would the Indians trade with a division opponent?  Twins need relief help.

20.  James Loney LAD – Career .288 hitter with 15 HR power.  The problem is he is left handed.

19.  Shane Victorino PHI – Would be a great fit on the Tribe.  Philly is getting old and needs bullpen help.  They also have younger outfield options to maybe fill in for Victorino.  His salary is getting up there.

18.  Lance Berkman STL – He is getting older and only makes 8 million.  Cardinals could retool and take on some of the salary?

17.  . Michael Young TEX – He is 35 and has no set position with Texas.  He also makes 16 million per year.

These trades I could possible see working.

17.  Seth Smith COL – Left handed but has a nice average with average power. We need a righty.

16.  Adam LaRoche WAS – He has 25 HR power and is a .267 career hitter as a lefty.  Last year he had shoulder problems and was finished early in the season.  He posted career lows and is signed for one more year with a club option for 2013.  LaRoche might be out of the Tribe’s price range.

15.  Jeff Francoeur KC – The Tribe had interest last year at the trade deadline in Francoeur.

14.  Carlos Quentin CWS – I am not so sure how feasible this is really, but the White Sox need to get younger and are in a state of transition.

13.  Chris Young ARZ – Good HR totals with a low lifetime average.  Would the Diamondbacks consider letting him go for pitching?

12.  Mitch Moreland TEX – With the Rangers looking to spend money and may be on Fielder, someone is available.

11.  Mike Carp SEA – Seattle is looking into 1^st baseman Prince Fielder also.

10.  Justin Smoak SEA – The Mariners received the highly touted Smoak in a trade last year for Cliff Lee.  If they are looking at Fielder they may be looking to trade Smoak for other talent.

9.  Marlon Byrd CHC – The Cubs need a fresh start and almost anyone should be available.

8.  Mark Reynolds BAL – Great power, but man does this guy strike out a lot.  196 times last year and that was his best in the last 4 years.  WOW!  Look out Branyon Russell.

7. Carlos Lee HOU – Houston needs talent at many positions.  Lee is one of the few tradable commodities the Astros have.

6.  Brett Wallace HOU – I have talked about Wallace in prior post.  If the Astros keep Lee which they have said they will, I assume they would try and trade Wallace.

5.  Prado Martin ATL – Atlanta is looking for a bat and Martin has been connected to multiple teams in trade rumors.  10-15 HR power with the ability to hit over .300.

4.  Gabby Sanchez MIA – Miami flirted with Albert Pujols and now are mentioned in the Prince Fielder talks.  If Fielder ends up in Miami then Sanchez will be moved.  20HR power with a .270 average.

3.  Yonder Alonso CIN – The Reds have Joey Votto and can use Alonso to help fill holes.  Alonso has power and hits for average, the downside………. He is left handed.

2.  Mark Trumbo LAA – The Angles just signed Albert Pujols.  Trumbo was a rookie last year and batted .254 with 29 HR.  Oh if Matt LaPorta could do that.

1. Hanley Ramirez MIA – What?  He plays shortstop!  So does Jose Reyes that the Marlins just signed. The Tribe could move him to 3^rd base like the Marlins are planning on doing. Ramirez has been mentioned in trade rumors and reports are he is not happy about moving to 3^rd base.  He is a high maintenance player that Miami may look to get rid of.  His name was mentioned quit frequently at the winter meeting, and where there is smoke there is a fire.  Ramirez has a career .306 average and 25 homerun power.  Would the Tribe consider going with a young established player over Lonnie Chisenhall.  Reality check for Ramirez

Who do think Antonetti was talking about?  Post your ideas in the comments section.