Logical deals for Pence, Bell and others

July, 24, 2011

7/24/11

10:00

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By Jim Bowden | ESPN.com

Over 95 percent of the trades that GMs will work on this month will not come to fruition. And with all the names that are bandied about only a small minority will actually get moved.

Here are my top five players who I think will actually get moved at the trade deadline, along with a realistic trade idea for each guy. I ranked the players in terms of the package they should be able to bring back. Hunter Pence is listed first because the club that acquires him will have control of him for two more years. Heath Bell is listed second because the club that gets him will likely get two draft picks as compensation, assuming he is offered arbitration and signs elsewhere. Carlos Beltran is third because he has a clause in his contract that says he can't be offered arbitration, which means the team that gets him won't receive draft-pick compensation if he signs elsewhere this winter.

1. Hunter Pence, RF, Houston Astros

Traded to the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for:

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ABOUT THIS BLOG

Jim Bowden

Bowden, who served as the senior vice president and GM for the Cincinnati Reds and the Washington Nationals, is an analyst for ESPN.com. In 1992, Bowden became the youngest GM in MLB history when the Reds hired him at age 31. The Reds finished in first place twice during his 10 years as GM, and he was named MLB Executive of the Year by Baseball America in 1999. After working for ESPN in 2004, Bowden became the first GM of the Washington Nationals when the franchise relocated from Montreal to Washington, D.C., in 2005, working in that role until the 2009 season. Bowden co-hosts the "Inside Pitch" radio show on Sirius XM satellite radio. Follow on Twitter: @JimBowdenESPNxm.