From the guy who said, last August, "How about Cespedes for Lester and Gomes?" comes a new trade idea...Enjoy. -Nico

With no major power threat in the lineup, and no particularly good hitters on the free agent market, it seems more and more likely that the A's will have to look to the trade market for power. We can assume that the A's are working with some empty payroll space at the moment, and the logical trade target is a power hitter with a fairly high salary for 2015.

Reds outfielder Jay Bruce has been rumored to be on the trade block, especially after Cincinnati dealt Mat Latos to Miami in an apparent attempt to clear payroll space. Susan Slusser mentioned Jay Bruce as a possible A's target in a recent post at sfgate.com.

Given the general lack of power on the A's roster, particularly in their outfield, a potential middle of the order bat like Bruce could be attractive. The current outfield alignment of Fuld/Crisp/Gentry/Reddick could use an offensive boost, likely in the form of a lefty bat to replace Fuld (sorry Sam).

Bruce, however, was downright bad in 2014. He put up a Crosby-like .217/.281/.373 line, which is bad from a catcher, let alone a slow outfielder who is poor defensively. After the break, Jay Bruce was among the worst hitters in baseball with a .201/.241/.327 line (good for a wRC+ of 53... narrowly better than Coco Crisp's 2nd half wRC+ of 54).

(The 2nd half of the 2014 baseball season was just terrible in general)

So, as with Billy Butler earlier this offseason, it may be a buy low opportunity. Bruce is due $25.5M over the next two seasons. He turns 28 on April 3rd, and has an option for 2017 valued at $13M. A short-term commitment for a power hitter coming off a terrible year might be the best fit for the A's. If the A's agree to the salary commitment, the prospect cost will be minuscule.

Like Butler, Bruce went into 2014 as an established hitter and a former top prospect (Bruce was the number 1 prospect in all of MLB according to Baseball America prior to the 2008 season). From 2010-2013, Bruce averaged 155 games and hit .262/.337/.489 (121 OPS+). In that same time period, Butler hit .303/.374/.464 (128 OPS+). The A's are betting $30M that Billy Butler returns to form, so why not bet $25M that Jay Bruce does the same, or more?

As solid as Bruce was in that four season stretch leading up to 2014, he was still seen as a guy who hadn't reached his full potential. As the one-time top prospect in major league baseball, there was a time when he was viewed as the kind of guy who could put up David Ortiz numbers at the plate, while playing the outfield. The A's have shown a willingness to put their faith in former top prospects who haven't blossomed in the majors yet, as we saw with Brandon Moss (who, if you'll recall, exploded in his age 28 season) and see now with Brett Lawrie and Ike Davis.

Like Lawrie, Butler, and Ike Davis, Jay Bruce:

• is a former 1st round pick
• is a former top 100 prospect (top 1, even)
• is between the ages of 25 and 29

Since we seem to be targeting guys like that, it might be time to use our payroll space on Jay Bruce. His upside is still that of a 40 homer bat, and he's in the age range where we see breakouts like Brandon Moss and Chris Davis had. And after his putrid 2014 campaign, he's not going to force the A's to part with any of their prized prospects like Franklin Barreto, Matt Olson, or Daniel Robertson.

This is the calculated gamble the A's should make.