Hoyle Stays Busy, Actively Seeking Deals

As is usually the case, the Julian Javelina do not plan to be quiet during the upcoming Winter Meetings. In fact, GM Jamie Hoyle has been hard at work in his attempts to both add and shed contracts. It is widely known that Hoyle has been entertaining trade offers for starting pitchers Gil Meche and Paul Maholm, as well as outfielder Eric Byrnes. In the case of Meche, Hoyle thinks he can extract some value in terms of a draft pick, but he has been open about his desire to move Byrnes and Maholm at all costs.

"Yeah, we're trying to move those three for sure," said Hoyle. "We have six open contracts heading into the draft, so we're in good shape. That said, it wouldn't kill us to open up a couple additional spots for the sake of flexibility."

But that's not all. While Hoyle wouldn't confirm it, several team sources have indicated that the team has been engaged in discussions surrounding Geovany Soto, Yovanni Gallardo, Stephen Drew, and even Adrian Gonzalez. It is clearly unlikely that the team would move that many pieces in one off-season, but it is not out of the question that the team could part with one or two of their big names in the interest of a major rebuilding project.

"Do we want to move Adrian, Stephen, Yo, or Geo? Absolutely not," explained Hoyle. "Having said that, we have to at least listen if someone takes the time to put an offer together. How can we get back to the playoffs if we aren't open minded about additions and subtractions?"

Most people in and around the organization say the two most likely pieces to be moved, if any, are Gonzalez and Gallardo. Why? Simply put, they have more value than anyone else on the roster. Well designed trades involving both players could hasten the rebuilding process significantly.

Stay tuned, it promises to be a busy offseason.