Carlos Gomez trade rumors: Brewers not willing to deal CF, reports Mariners beat writer

Though the Brewers finally got their first series win of 2015 against the Cubs on Sunday, trade rumors have surrounded the team of late as Milwaukee has stumbled to a 7-18 record.

According to Mariners beat reporter Bob Dutton (twice), however, one player the Brewers seem unwilling to part with yet appears to be center fielder Carlos Gomez.

Gomez would arguable be the most valuable trade chip the Brewers have right now (along with Jonathan Lucroy). He's one of the top overall center fielders in baseball and is a defensive phenom. If the Brewers hope to retool for a run in the next couple of seasons, though, he's still a valuable piece to keep. He's only under contract through 2016, but if the Brewers think they can re-sign him, it's possible they would rather keep him.

So far in 2015, Gomez has not had the greatest start. He hit just .235/.257/.441 through his first eight games before needed a disabled list stint due to an injured hamstring. Since returning, however, he has three hits in eight at-bats, along with two runs and two RBI.

Of course, we don't know where Dutton is getting his information that the Brewers aren't willing to trade Gomez. It could be information from within the Mariners organization -- personnel telling him that the Brewers have made it known the two-time All Star isn't for sale. Or it could be the general sense he's gotten from other reports online, like the ones we've seen as well. Or maybe it's just a gut feeling. Who knows?!? It's all the fun of the MLB trade deadline, months before we normally worry about it!

Other reports have Lucroy being untouchable. Same with Jimmy Nelson. But every team should be willing to deal any player. It just depends on what another team is willing to offer. If the Angels get offered...like...some weird multi-team trade where they get Addison Russell, Kris Bryant, Clayton Kershaw, Andrew McCutchen and $100 million for Mike Trout, they should/would take it. But reporters would say that Trout is untouchable right now, in any reasonable kind of deal.

Similarly, the Brewers would/should/could trade Gomez or Lucroy if the right kind of deal is offered. What kind of package would put the Brewers over that line, who knows.

We're at that point, though, where teams are trying to figure out who the Brewers are making available. Right now, it seems like the team has made veterans like Kyle Lohse, Aramis Ramirez and Matt Garza available. That would indicate the team wants to get back into contention as soon as possible. If they opt for a longer outlook, Gomez might be put on the block.

For now, however, the Brewers don't need to be in a rush to trade Gomez, who is 29 years old. He's still got all of 2015 and 2016 under a reasonable contract. Advertising him as 'up for sale' right now won't do the team much good; if they get offered something extravagant for Gomez to deal him sooner, great! If not, they still have so much time to trade him if they choose.

With months until the trade deadline, the Brewers still have time to figure out the extent to which they'll sell (or if they will at all, if they start playing better). Gomez could potentially be on the block by that point, but for now the general feeling around baseball seems to be he'll stay a Brewer.