1B II

Possible trade options:

Richie Sexson

Why he's on the market:

He makes about $13M per year, but hasn't provided $13M of production. His stats actually haven't dropped off as much as you'd think; the move from Miller to Safeco is what killed him.

What it would take to get him:

I have no idea. The Mariners have Ben Broussard as a place holder if Sexson is traded, so they might be looking to free up salary for Daisuke Matsuzaka. That doesn't necessarily mean they'd just hand Sexson over to the first team that will assume his contract. If the price is a young starter that isn't Cain, Lowry, or Sanchez (YoSTICLoS), the Giants should explore the idea, but the Mariners would probably have better offers from other teams.

Upside:

An honest-to-goodness right-handed power hitter. The mind boggles. No more checking stats in July to see the Giants' home run leader has 12 home runs.

Downside:

If the Giants spend all of that money on Sexson, how will they afford the next big free agent superstar that they don't plan on signing?

Pat Burrell

Why he's on the market:

Just like Sexson, he is paid far too much money for the good-not-great production he provides. The contract only runs for two more years, however.

What it would take to get him:

It's hard to say, but the Giants might be able to foist a bad contract back on the Phillies for taking on Burrell's monstrosity.

Upside:

He's another right-handed power bat, which is something the Giants need with Alou leaving.

Downside:

It's never a good idea to just assume non-1Bs can play first. Sure, Burrell played there his rookie year, but there's probably a really good reason why the Phillies brought in Travis Lee to play first the following year. You could probably live with the defense, but there's always the fear that he has another season like 2003 in him. For a bazillion dollars per year, that's just not cool.

Adam Dunn

Why he could be on the market:

He's only making $7M this year, but $10M the year after that. Some folks don't like the low-average/high-strikeout combination.

What it would take to get him

More than the Giants have. Even if we started with a package of Lowry and Sanchez, there'd likely be a line of teams that could beat the Giants' offer.

Upside

He's young and he's a monster. Imagine if he figures out how to hit .280.

Downside

Whatever package it takes to get him will decimate whatever young pitching depth the Giants have cobbled together.

Cliff Floyd

Why he could be on the market:

He's injury prone, and the Mets might want Carlos Lee in his place.

What it would take to get him

More than it would be worth. The Mets really don't need to trade him, and even after a down year he'd be coveted by a lot of other teams.

Upside

He'd be a good power source, and he's athletic enough to go back to first.

Downside

Floyd makes Ray Durham look like Cal Ripken, and he hit just north of Billy Ripken this past season. Plus, the last time he played first was almost a decade ago, and he suffered a career-threatening injury there. He might not be so keen on the idea. Floyd's all risk, but there's certainly some reward to be found if you squint.

Gary Sheffield

Why he could be on the market:

If the Yankees don't excercise his option, he'll be a free agent, so they might pick up the option and see what his trade value is.

What it would take to get him

Like most of the trade options on this list, the price is likely something between what the Giants are willing to offer and what they actually have. If the Giants are to trade Lowry and/or Sanchez, it'd have to be for a young player who is far from free agency.

Upside

He can certainly hit in his prime, and it'd be hard to find that kind of production anywhere else.

Downside

He's like Bonds without the sense of franchise history or personal charm. From watching the playoffs, it seems like he plays first like he has light bulbs in his undies. The Giants could do without that. It would be acceptable if he was the Sheffield of old, but his stats have been slowly declining for three years now.

Justin Huber/Mike Sweeney

Why they could be on the market:

The Royals have a logjam. There's Alex Gordon, Mark Teahen, and Ryan Shealy all vying for two corner spots, and Sweeney as the DH. Huber would be the odd man out.

What it would take to get them

Not too much for Sweeney and his contract, but he could void any proposed trade as a 10-and-5 man. Huber might be blocked, but that doesn't mean the Royals will just leave him in the free box in front of Kaufman. They'd probably want more than just a YoSTICLoS or a crappy Giants position player prospect (CGPPP).

Upside

Not much at all with Sweeney. His stats were one the decline when he didn't have to play the field. Huber is a decent prospect, but he'll be 25 and he didn't exactly light up AAA last year.

Downside

Sweeney explodes into flames on the side of the road, and Huber is just Lance Niekro with an extra walk per week.

Casey Kotchman

Why he could be on the market:

He's been a complete and total flop at the major league level, and was messed up by illness in 2006. People in the front office of the Angels light their cigars with good young prospects, so they have alternatives.

What it would take to get him

There's no real reason for the Angels to just give up on him, so the talks would probably start with Sanchez and maybe a CGPPP.

Upside

As a 21-year-old in AAA, he hit .372/.423/.558.

Downside

As a 22-year-old in AAA, he hit .289/.372/.441. Then came the mononucleosis this last season, and there has to be some question as to how the year off affected him.

Brad Wilkerson

Why he could be on the market:

Remember him? The Rangers don't.

What it would take to get him

A YoSTICLoS might actually do it with this one; maybe the Rangers could be mesmerized by Hennessey's shiny ERA. They also might know that Wilkerson could still bounce back, and ask for a lot more. They don't need to trade him.

Upside

Good OBP, relatively low cost.

Downside

The new and busted Wilkerson might be the norm from now on. Mays Field would sap whatever power he came in with.

Lots o' options; few obvious gimmes. It all depends on what other teams ask for. Few teams are going to want to sift through a pile of B-/C+ prospects while the Giants keep Cain, Lowry, and Sanchez behind the counter. Any of the above players for (practially) free? That's a different story, and I'd hope the Giants would be on board with that idea as well.