If, by the trade deadline, we're still playing ball like we were in the first half, should we become sellers and, if so, who would be on the block? To me, the only realistic option is D-Lee. No way we dump Rami, and the rest of the infield is cheap. Dumping the contracts of one or more of Soriano, Dome and Gameboard might be desirable, but highly unrealistic given the $$ involved and, more importantly, their performance this season.
If we dumped D-Lee's contract, admittedly the defense of 1B would deteriorate (and likely the infield in general, too, given D-Lee's ability to bail out Theriot's mediocre arm strength and Rami's accuracy), but there could be some upside:
1. His leaving would secure a spot for Fox or Hoff.
2. Maybe D-Lee's salary plus the loss of Harden's salary this offseason would allow us to strongly pursue Carl Crawford.
3. If we landed Crawford, you get quality players and flexibility for the outfield and infield corners:
LF - Soriano (Hoff, Fox, Dome as backups)
CF - Crawford (Dome as backup - Reed also if we keep him)
RF - Bradley (Hoff, Dome, Fox as backups)
1B - Fox (Hoff, Bradley as backups)
3B - Ramirez (Fox as backup)
Interleague DH - Hoff