Scott Downs; Photo from Wikimedia Commons

We’re just 23 days from the MLB non-waiver trade deadline so you can expect trade rumors to be heating up over the coming days and weeks. As with most baseball stories, Kentucky players figure to factor in the middle of many of the rumors. I’ve outlined some early Kentucky trade storylines to watch below:

• The relief pitching market is always a big commodity during July as evidenced in this breakdown by the Boston Globe‘s Chad Finn. Among the hottest relievers on the block is former University of Kentucky left-handed pitcher Scott Downs, currently a set-up man for the Blue Jays. Peter Gammons of MLB.com calls Downs the “hottest name on the market” right now and says he may even attract more interest than perennial All-Star Roy Oswalt.
• Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle tweeted earlier this week that the Giants have interest in Brewers outfielder and Bowling Green native Corey Hart, who the Brewers have been rumored to be trying to move at various points in the last year. However, Hart has led the National League in home runs for much of the first half and is worth more than ever after being named to his second All-Star team, so he won’t come cheap.
• The Cleveland Indians are not very good and may be preparing for another fire sale which means Lexington native Austin Kearns, who has enjoyed a career resurgence this season could be on the move. For now though Kearns isn’t attracting the same level of interest as some other Indians, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com.
• It wouldn’t be a Kentucky trade rumor breakdown without mention of Florida Marlins second baseman Dan Uggla, who was born in Louisville. The Marlins tried to move Uggla throughout most of the offseason but their asking price proved too high. That price may prevent him from be traded before the deadline, but the Marlins and Rockies matchup nicely for a deal if they were motivated to move the slugging infielder, Buster Olney of ESPN.com reports.

Remember too that any number of Kentucky minor leaguers could be moved in deals for established MLB names. For the latest trade rumors from all of baseball you can’t do any better than MLBTradeRumors.com.