1 player from each AL East team that will be traded after the lockout

4. Blue Jays: Randal Grichuk

There’s been some unfounded speculation that the Blue Jays might consider trading outfielder Randal Grichuk, and it’s certainly not out of the question. With George Springer in the fold, Toronto has a full, capable outfield with Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Teoscar Hernandez, both of whom are under control through 2023. Cavan Biggio might be the fourth outfielder, too, if the Jays opt to upgrade at either second or third base.

So why pay Grichuk, who’s essentially the fourth outfielder at the moment, nearly $21 million total over the next two seasons to serve as a depth option? He has the ability to start despite a down campaign in 2021 (career-worst .703 OPS and 89 OPS+) and plenty of teams need outfield help for a reasonable AAV (cheaper than Aaron Hicks!).

Small market teams such as the Guardians could use the help and big market behemoths like the Dodgers would stand to benefit from adding a guy like Grichuk to their outfield rotation. The suitors will be aplenty. Yankees fans will especially love to see him go since he’s clobbered 17 homers against the Bombers (the second most against ANY team in his career) since arriving in Toronto back in 2018.

The Jays have $136 million committed to the 2022 payroll and could stand to increase their flexibility by getting Grichuk’s $10.33 million salary off the books in 2022 and 2023 (that year, the payroll hikes up to nearly $150 million). Expect movement here and more additions from Toronto.

3. Rays: Kevin Kiermaier

Every rival AL East fan will celebrate the moment Kevin Kiermaier is traded out of the division. A tremendous athlete, Kiermaier is a hothead and loves to brag about his defensive abilities. Yes, he’s among the best defensive center fielders we’ve seen in recent years, but we don’t need to hear about it from the source. He’s managed to become an unlikable figure among all of the division rivals.

Now, with his contract extension in its final guaranteed year (he has a $13 million team option with a $2.5 million buyout in 2023), the Rays are reportedly looking to trade him, which will save them $14.67 million. Classic Rays move. They just did it with Blake Snell. They traded Joey Wendle in November as his arbitration salaries were set to escalate. They will find someone else and plug them into the Tampa Machine — baseball’s version of Westworld.

Again, $25 million total for Kiermaier over the next two seasons might be “expensive” for the Rays, but other teams would gladly pay that price for upper echelon defense and live with his below-average bat, which largely suffered from 2018-2020 to bring his career totals way down.

Like Grichuk, Kiermaier is an inexplicable Yankee killer. The man has just 75 career homers to his name and has 13 against New York (the most he has against any team). Good riddance (please).

2. Red Sox: Bobby Dalbec

What is going on with the Red Sox first base situation? Is Kyle Schwarber coming back? Does Boston want to expedite Triston Casas’ MLB debut after he reached Triple-A in 2021 and then had a great showing in the Arizona Fall League?

All of those factors have played a role in the Bobby Dalbec trade speculation, which honestly seems a bit crazy. The 26-year-old hit 25 homers and batted in 78 runs while maintaining a 105 OPS+ in his first full season in 2021. Though his 156 strikeouts were a bit of an issue, there’s still a lot of room for improvement. He also dominates left-handed pitching, which is an asset.

However, Dalbec was deemphasized in the postseason, receiving only 12 at-bats during Boston’s run to the ALCS, indicating that manager Alex Cora preferred Kyle Schwarber, who isn’t even a first baseman, to log the more important at-bats.

Trading Dalbec is dependent on the Sox bringing in another first baseman, because it’d be irresponsible to trust that Casas will be an immediate success in need of no insurance. You can’t put anything past general manager Chaim Bloom, either, who was already wheeling and dealing before the lockout and has plenty of experience making these types of deals during his days in Tampa.

He’ll figure out a way to get value for a 26-year-old slugging first baseman and convince a suitor that Dalbec is going to be a capable starter for the next five years if he chooses that route. If Schwarber returns or the Sox bring in another veteran first base option, don’t be surprised if Dalbec is quickly offloaded.

1. Yankees: Luke Voit

The (obvious) moment you’ve all been waiting for. Luke Voit wants to remain a Yankee, but it’s hard to envision that being the reality in 2022 after what happened last year. Couple that with all the Freddie Freeman, Matt Olson and Anthony Rizzo rumors, and, even though it could all be one giant smokescreen, it’s not boding well for Voit’s future.

The slugger, who still possesses a ton of value despite his lengthy injury history, is under club control for three more seasons and will make ~$5.5 million in 2022. The Yankees won’t be paying that to a backup and it’s hard to believe Voit will accept a lesser role in these prime years for him to earn significant raises through arbitration.

And with the universal DH expected to be enacted, Voit’s trade suitors just doubled now that the NL can employ somebody at the position. Concerned about his injury history? Very well then. Take him off his feet at first base and you’ll be able to minimize the injury potential while having him rake in the middle of the lineup.

Though Brian Cashman won’t want to trade Voit for pennies on the dollar, he might not have much of a choice. The penny-pinching Bombers might be more concerned about offloading his salary (especially if they’re adding more money via free agency). Hell, they traded an asset in Luis Cessa at the July deadline to save $1 million by dumping Justin Wilson’s contract.

Voit staying wouldn’t exactly shock the world, but it’d be a notable surprise based on what happened down the stretch last year and the discourse that has continued since.

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