Carlos Quentin, when healthy, has had streaks in which he was a top power hitter in baseball. Conversely, however, he is a below average player when unhealthy or hurt. Unfortunately, since his monster 2008 Campaign, Quentin has been more of the latter. Despite posting over 20 home runs in each season, Quentin showed little else. His average and on-base percentage deteriorated, making him only marginally above replacement level over the last two seasons. Combined with his abysmal fielding, Quentin has been worth a whopping -.3 WAR over that span. Obviously, he has been a marginal contributor over that time.

Despite his shortfalls, Quentin constantly shows enough for the Sox to want to hold onto him. In stretches, he has hit as well as he did in his 2008 campaign, hitting home runs out with ferocity when he's "on." The raw power he possesses is very intriguing to say the least. This convinces General Manager Kenny Williams that his coaches can get something out of him, but it also may give him some trade value. 

Carlos Quentin's offensive skill set could be very enticing to many teams. Though he would probably would be best off as a DH, some NL teams may also see him as a fit to boost their offense. Though the Sox will not get Colby Rasmus for him (as a rumor hinted earlier this offseason), a quality reliever and an average outfielder (see Carlos Lee deal) would be a fair return for him. Some teams that may be interested:

Angels: The Angels currently have all three outfield spots filled. However, it is no secret that they would like to move Juan Rivera, who is actually a similar player to Quentin. A Rivera-for-Quentin swap would seem to make sense, but the Sox may need to add a C-level prospect.

Dodgers: The Dodgers currently have Jay Gibbons and Tony Gwynn penciled in to platoon in left field, so Quentin would be an upgrade over the two. The Dodgers are missing a pure power hitter, and Quentin would likely benefit a switch to the NL west. Relief Pitcher Carlos Monasterios would be a good player to center a package around.

Padres: The Padres are slated to start Will Venable, Cameron Maybin and Ryan Ludwick in the outfield, and Quentin would provide some much needed power to offset the loss of Adrian Gonzales. The Sox would likely want Venable and a reliever in return for Quentin, which would seem pretty even. Biggest worry here would be Quentin playing the field in Petco Park.

Rockies: Quentin would be an upgrade over Ryan Spilborghs, and could hit a TON of home runs in Coors Field, so maybe a package of Spilborghs and Franklin Morales would work. Trading Gavin Floyd along with Quentin would be very appealing to the Rockies, who had interest in Floyd, though it would take a lot in return. Ian Stewart and one of the Rockies young starters (Jhoulys Chacin preferably) as well as someone else would be a good deal for both teams.

Quentin is obviously a special player when he's on, but his defensive deficiency and lack of consistency hurts his value. A trade of him hypothetically help finance a signing of another free agent, maybe even an Adrian Beltre or Rafael Soriano, If a replacement did not come in a trade, looking at Lastings Milledge would be a potential low-risk, high-reward deal.