Alex Rios has done a good job of making it through the rumor mill the last couple of days. First he was linked in a possible trade to the Indians, which turned out to be bogus. Now he has cropped up in trade rumors involving a swap with the Giants for Tim Lincecum.  I don't understand how this makes much sense for San Francisco because they don't have just one hole in their lineup, but six or seven. If the Giants are intent on moving Lincecum, he's better suited to a 3-for-1 or a 4-for-1 swap that would bring in prospects at multiple positions. That said, Rios does seem to be a much better player than I thought him to be initially. He's clearly one of the top five or ten outfielders in the American League.

I think we match up very well with the Giants given the number of young position players we have in our system. Plus, the Indians have shown an interest in Tim Lincecum in the past. He was our 42nd pick in the 2005 draft. Seven figure salary demands prevented the Indians from signing him. Can we come up with a fair package that the Giants would be interested in? They're not necessarily going to want players we want to get rid of. So, take a look at their roster and minor league system.

The Indians won't want to make a move that put their 2008 campaign in serious doubt or jeopardy. So lets just assume that the following players won't be traded for Lincecum under any circumstances -

1. Victor Martinez
   
2. Grady Sizemore
   
3. Travis Hafner
   
4. Carsten Charles
   
5. Fausto Carmona
   
6. Jake Westbrook

The following players could be included in a trade because their production could be replaceable with internal options, but they are still highly unlikely to be moved.

7. Ryan Garko (Casey Blake at 1B, Marte at 3B, Brown potentially waiting in the wings to take over at 1B)
   
8. Jhonny Peralta (Asdrubal at SS, Barfield at 2B)

p.s: I'm tempted to include Asdrubal here, but we've only seen him in the majors for a little over a month. Even though he cut down his K's and upped his walks as the season drew to a close, I think he's a trade candidate (albeit low probability one).

Let's hear it! What's your trade package?

- Assuming a trade can be swung without completely killing our 2008 or long term chances, that would be one sweet rotation we'd have out there - Carsten, Fausto, Jake, Tim and Laffey/Lee/Sowers/Byrd.