Ryan Garko could be available...

Omar Minaya continues to call his team a buyer despite the chances of them making the playoffs near impossible. I hope he's not delusional like Rob Neyer suggested but Umpbump does make a very good case for removing Omar before he does something desperate and stupid.

Of Course, the last time Omar was in charge of a team that was a buyer and seller at the same time he orchestrated a trade in which he bought an ace pitcher ( Colon ) at the cost of his entire farm and then the very next week sold his best hitter (Floyd). The Colon trade with Floyd consideration is currently being ranked the worst trade of the decade by MLB Fanhouse.

Aside from hoping that calling the Mets buyers would keep ticket sales up, I believe Omar will make a deal that will help the team next year, if he can find one.

The Indians have been selective sellers this month, trading players who are no longer in their long term plans. Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com covering the Indians believes that Ryan Garko could be the next player on the block.

Garko is currently blocking top prospect Matt LePorta from taking firstbase and the Indians have incentive to turn the position over to the prospect. Garko is making near league min. but next year he begins his first year of arbitration, which means he will recieve a large raise. For a mid-market team with a top prospect in the position who is ready for the majors, Garko becomes a luxury but for a large market team in need of a 1B Garko is a cheap player they control for three years.

Ryan Garko is a 28 y/o right handed hitter with a lifetime BA of .282 and a Slg. pct. of .446. During the Indians 2007 World Series run he hit .314 with 1HR , 2 doubles and 5 RBIs. In 2007 he hit 21 HRs and the next year had 90 RBIs. This year despite the trade rumors and a struggling team he is hitting .280 with 9 HRs, 9 doubles and 34 RBIs. He's spent his entire major league career at 1B until this year when he started playing the corner outfield ( 12 games).

Garko is the type of trade that Omar should be looking to make, this year he can platoon with Delgado when he returns and could play the corner outfield, if Manuel wanted them both in the game. Not only would he put a buzz in the stadium and help win a few games but he would then be around for at least the next three years.

If Garko was making the Major League minimum or something close to it, his position on the active roster would not be much of an issue. But that won't be the case beyond 2009. Garko is entering arbitration-eligibility this winter, and if you look at his comparables around the league, he's in line for a hefty raise. It appears he could certainly command more than the $1.95 million Shoppach received in arbitration last year.

Garko has proven to be an effective run producer when he plays consistently (he drove in a team-high 91 runs last year), but his slugging percentage is what it is, and the Indians have never seemed enamored with him as a regular. source MLB.com