Hot Baseball Trade Rumors: Brad Penny, Nick Johnson and Adam Dunn

The Major League Baseball All-Star break is just around the corner, teams are jockeying for position in the standings, and fans are becoming more vocal about what their favorite teams need to do in order to improve. All this can only mean that the trade deadline is looming in the not-too-distant future, and it's not too early to speculate about which players might be on the move. In fact, a couple of deals have already been consummated, so you can be sure that teams are busy working on their second half plans. Here are three potential trade scenarios to whet your appetite for the fun to come between now and the July 31 trade deadline.

(Note: all statistics are taken from baseball-reference.com unless otherwise noted.)

Brad Penny to the Braves/Phillies
The Red Sox remain one of the strongest teams in MLB and are sure to be fighting to the wire for supremacy in the AL East this year. As you may know, teams aren't generally seen trading away veteran pitchers under such circumstances. However, the Red Sox have a solid rotation, and John Smoltz is steadily marching back to the majors and a slot among Boston's top five. Throw in Penny's 5.32 ERA and a possible difference of opinion with BoSox management, and he becomes expendable. The early grapevine rumblings had Penny going to the Braves for Jeff Francoeur, while the more prevalent recent rumor involves Penny to the Phillies for a minor league prospect. Given the quality of the players likely to come back to Boston in such a deal, it seems that the Red Sox just want to be rid of Penny, which might not bode well for what he can be expected to deliver in the second half. Nevertheless, veteran starters are always hot commodities this time of year, and a Penny deal could help determine the outcome of the NL East race.

Nick Johnson to the Mets
The Washington Nationals aren't going anywhere this season, and the Mets efforts to get somewhere are being confounded by injuries and a sputtering offense. This confluence of circumstances may eventually drive a trade among division rivals, which is usually somewhat taboo. The Mets are especially smarting now that slugging first baseman Carlos Delgado has undergone hip surgery and will be out for up to a couple of months. While Johnson (5 dingers so far this season) won't replace Delgado's pop (38 HR last season), he is batting .315 and has an OPS of .854, so he's no pansy with the bat. He's a nice fielder, too, and he could yield a bevy of promising prospects for the Nationals, who desperately need some hope for the future. All in all, this scenario looks pretty promising.

Adam Dunn to the Tigers
This one is admittedly far-fetched, but that's part of the fun of trade deadline speculation. Stop us if you've heard this before, but the Washington Nationals aren't going anywhere this season. In Detroit, meanwhile, Magglio Ordonez has "slugged" a whopping two home runs this year and has a hefty contract option coming up. Should the Tigers decide to part ways with Mags, they could insert Dunn at DH and have the solid lefty power bat that they've needed for several years now. Sure, Dunn strikes out a ton, but he also gets on base a ton and is generally good for about 40 homers a year (he has 17 so far this season). Detroit could send some nice prospects and a couple of Cadillacs to the Nationals, and then everyone could live happily ever after.

While some or all of these rumored deals might wither on the vine, these types of rumblings are a sure sign that the baseball season is no longer young, and that teams are deciding whether to drive for the pennant or cut salaries and wait for next year. Use these proposals as food for your imagination as you ponder what your favorite team might be cooking up for the second half of the season.