Take a deep breath. Relax. Pause. Count to 10.  Ok? Now repeat.  Good, now that you have calmed yourself, please feel free to read my trade idea with the Tampa Bay Rays.

Players to be had: Casey Kotchman, BJ Upton, Reid Brignac

Curiously, Kotchman was signed by the Rays to a minor league contract and was purchased after Manny retired.  Not curious because Kotchman had a bad 2010, curious because I still would have pegged him as a player to get a MLB deal somewhere.  Kotchman has always been very sure handed at 1b, and this year he is really lighting it up at the plate.  Kotchman has always been very selective at the plate and has a great eye, his career high in Ks for a season is 57.  With an OPS of .866 this season, he may be playing at a higher level then he is used to, but the Rays paid little to get him and could sell high on Kotchman.

The thing I like is that selling high on "Casey Kotchman" is that the price honestly can't be "that high".  Maybe one of our back of the rotation potential pitchers such as Justin Wilson paired with Overbay and the Pirates covering Overbays salary.  Or maybe a Pribanic with a Garrett Jones?  Maybe we package 2 or 3 of our roster crunch guys together.   

Curious on BD thoughts on this?

Now this is where things can get very interesting for the Pirates.  From what I can gather looking at BJ Uptons service time, it appears he would still be under contract for one more year?  Correct me if Im wrong on that one, but Upton is struggling this season and as Ive seen on MLBTR he is potentially on the trading block.  Buying low on a guy like Upton would be a smart move for the Pirates, as they can pencil him in at RF.  He has a good mix of speed and pop that he could work wonders at the top of our order. His K rate is pretty poor, but I can live with it. Price could be an issue but the Buccos have some salary off the books and Upton shouldnt price himself out of Pittsburgh if this is indeed his final year of arbitration.

Brignac is another interesting case in Tampa.  Signed through 2016, he could be our future SS if we were to acquire him.  His offense this season has been worse than that of Cedeno but his defense is good, his cost is low and could be in Pittsburgh for a lot longer than Cedeno.  Having a black hole at SS is never a good thing, and its tough to argue Brignac would be an upgrade with the bat vs Cedeno but its a risk Id be willing to take if the cost was worth the risk.

Im not exactly sure how in depth of a trade the Pirates could make here, they could easily throw in a top prospect and get any of these guys in my opinion but are any of them worth losing a Marte or Sanchez?  If two could come packaged together would it be more worth it to send them a RP or SP with a mid prospect?  Just some thought on some different names that are having poor seasons and the Pirates could buy low on.