A's interested in Indians prospect Joe Wendle in potential Brandon Moss trade

The Indians and A's have been involved in trade talks centered around Oakland slugger Brandon Moss for a couple days now, but we haven't had any real sense of who, the Tribe might be sending west in a potential deal (though we have certainly speculated).

Thursday night Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reported that the A's are interested in second base prospect Joe Wendle.

There is no word in the report if Wendle is viewed as the primary piece of a potential deal, or a secondary one. I would be surprised if the Indians were able to acquire Moss (whom you can read more about in the sidebar article) for only Wendle, because I would have thought they'd be getting an MLB-ready player, and Wendle isn't there yet, but I was also surprised when Oakland dealt Josh Donaldson for the return they got, so there's no reason for me to claim to know whom the A's would (or should) want.

Wendle was the Indians' 6th round pick in 2012. He is 24 years old and a left-handed hitter. He posted very strong numbers with High-A Carolina in 2013, batting .295/.372/.513. He was promoted to Double-A this season, where he posted more modest numbers (.259/.316/.431) before suffering a broken bone in his right wrist and missing six weeks. He returned to Akron for the final three weeks of the season, batting .245/.367/.306 in 60 plate appearances.

Wendle, who is currently ranked as the #9 prospect in the Tribe farm system by MLB.com, strikes me as a nice player to have in the system, someone who could be a decent MLB player starting in 2016, but he doesn't strike me as a potential star, and with the Indians having great middle infield depth right now, Wendle is certainly disposable. We'll have to wait and see who else might be involved in these trade talks, which Paul Hoynes reports will end (one way or another) on Friday.